Basically Balser's

Once in a Lifetime

2011-09-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Picture 1

Normally my posts don't involve me! (I do that on purpose) This one however IS all about me, Me, ME! (Sorry)

First, a riddle: What do you get when you add picture 1, 2, & 3 together??

ANSWER: The choir that I got to sing in!! Woot Woot!

Okay, so technically, this post isn't about just me...it involves another 364 women in the choir plus our fantabulous choir director, the General Relief Society Presidency, the General Relief Society Board, the First Presidency of the Church, and a whole bunch of beautiful women around the world! WOWZERS!! (phewff...makes me feel better that I'm not just posting about me!)

Several months ago I received a calling (yes, it was a calling!) to be a member of the multi-stake choir from Eagle Mountain & Saratoga Springs that would be singing in the Relief Society General Women's Broadcast. I'm not sure I knew quite what I was getting into, but I'm glad I accepted the call because it was an experience that I will never forget.

We started practice an August 21st, 2011 (1 month before the broadcast occured). Each Sunday evening we would meet together as a choir. We were blessed to hear from several Stake Presidents from each of the stakes, and from many of the RS Board Members each week as they would address us in a short devotional prior to our rehearsal. I'll have to admit, that after a long day of taking care of our responsibilities at church, taking care of our ward choir, and then usually getting home with only minutes to spare before having to run off to this choir, there were times when I wondered if it was really worth it. Then I would get to rehearsal, listen to the devotionals, and listen to our choir director, and think, "THIS, is why I'm here!" The time & effort (and lack of dinner) it took were definitely worth being part of the choir.

Our choir director was Sis. Emily Wadley. She is a Jr. High choir teacher in Bountiful (and I'm pretty sure she'll have an extra 365 "older looking" 9th graders transfer into her classes next semester.) I can't say enough how wonderful she was. Her knowledge and experience were amazing (she has sung in several different choirs, and worked in church productions...including a pretty big role in 17 Miracles), but above and beyond that, the spirit that she radiated was PRICELESS! She was bubbly, happy, funny, energetic, and she took her responsibilities seriously...meaning, she was prepared. It was a blessing to be able to be with her each week!

On Saturday Sept. 17, we had a dress rehearsal in the conference center. Pres. Draper (our Stake President) and Sis. Barbara Thompson addressed. I've never seen Pres. Draper so nervous, but he spoke of the hymn, "High on a Mountain Top", and how we would be the banner to the world as we sung our praises to the Lord during the meeting. Sis. Thompson shared her gratitude with us for participating in the choir.

The following week, Saturday, Sept. 24, we met at 12 noon...boarded un-air conditioned school buses, and drove up to the conference center. We had a short rehearsal, followed by a quick meeting with the Relief Society General Presidency (Sis. Julie B. Beck, Sis. Sylvia Allred, Sis. Barbara Thompson), followed by a more thorough rehearsal (complete with camera's), lunch, and then finally, the meeting (and our performance).

As for me...well, I got to do my part in the choir! I got to participate in a historic meeting, and sit not far from our RS Leaders, Apostles, and even our Prophet. It was a blessing, and a real "a-ha" moment as I sat and listened to Pres. Uchtdorf share his message with the sisters! I'm so glad I was able to participate...to be able to share my testimony of the gospel all over the world...through song. I think that was my favorite part...and the easiest way to be able to share my testimony. No tears, no nerves, just standing there with my friends singing about the joy that the gospel brings into my life!! AMEN! (Wonder if the Bishop would let me give more testimony like that! LOL!)

If you didn't get a chance to watch the broadcast, I would encourage you to watch it...not me...it, the broadcast! But, for posterity sake, here is the link to one of the songs that we sang: The Morning Breaks. Arrangment by Mack Wilberg (gotta LOVE him!)

Who's Kid is that Anyway?

2011-09-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

We have a lot of kids on our street, and Kenny came home with this story the other day:

One of our neighbors was out working in the yard the other day when a kid rode by on his scooter singing a little song to himself: "I'm on the highway to hell..."

The neighbor stopped the child and politely commented, "Maybe you should sing a different song...I don't think your parents would like you singing that song." To which the child replied, "No, it's okay...this is my dad's FAVORITE song!" and he rode away happily singing his little tune.

After I finished chuckling at the story, Kenny asked me if I could guess who the budding rock star was. I replied that it could have been any number of children on our block, but immediately got a sinking feeling in my stomach because yes, I could indeed guess who the budding rock star was...Rylen! (My only consolation is that Rylen said it was DAD's favorite song...not MOM's...pfweff!)

Curse you Mega Mind!!

Sunday Recap

2011-05-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

I have plenty of other pictures & posts on the back burner, but this particular conversation was too good not to post:

We always get a recap at dinner of the kids church lessons. Apparently, yesterday we learned about:

fruit snacks (Bright),

Lemen & Lamuel (Rylen),

the parable of the mustard seed that fell on the rocks (Breven),

how exactly to pass out flowers to mom's in sacrament meeting (*very pertinent...especially since those flowers were passed out an hour before!) (Jackson),

and the parable of the blind man and the widow with no money who only had 5 loaves, 2 fishes & some water that had been turned into wine. (Ashlynn)

Kenny and I were rolling on the floor in tears...I mean, really??

Truthfully, Ashlynn's lesson was probably a little embelished because by the time we got around the table, and heard everyone else's lessons, we couldn't help but "help" her as she tried to remember the parable they talked about in class.

*We should probably note that the DAD'S all taught primary this week so the MOM'S could go to Relief Society, so we probably could have been expecting those particular recaps! LOL!

The {not-so-funny} April Fool's Day

2011-04-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

While Kenny was away on a business trip, Rylen started complaining that one of his teeth was really hurting. I ignored him...he's five, I figured one of his new teeth was about to come in. When Kenny got home from his trip, Rylen's tooth was still hurting. Kenny dismissed it as growing pains too. Neither of us really thought anything of it until Rylen came downstairs for scriptures the morning of April 1st looking like this:

His upper lip and cheek were HUGE! We couldn't figure out what was going on, and then it hit us...the sore tooth probably stemmed from problems other than getting ready to lose a tooth. But I wasn't sure what was causing the problem, and didn't know if it was something I should go to a doctor or dentist for. I chose the doctor. We couldn't get in to see our beloved Dr. Mike, but after spending an hour in the doc's office and having the dr. tell us he had no idea what was going on, we came home with an 10 day prescription for an antibiotic we hoped would help.

After a couple of days, the swelling in his lip and cheek were almost unnoticeable, but as we examined him, we noticed a couple of large absesses over his top front teeth. Day 10 of the antibiotics, and the absesses, although smaller, were still there, so we made an emergency trip to see the dentist. And the result is...

Our toothless wonder!

It turned out that for some unknown reason, one of Rylen's front teeth was in the process of dying, and caused an infection. The choice was 2 root canals, OR 2 tooth extractions! (Not much of a choice if you ask me!) Anyhoo...we went ahead and pulled the teeth out right then and there. *Note to self: NEVER, tell a kid that it will just be a quick and painless dental visit...just plead ignorance, and tell them the dentist will do what they have to do, and you're sure they're tough enough to handle anything!!*

Rylen actually did really well...especially since the dentist told me after the process that the anestetic probably didn't work very well because the anestetic was a base and the infection was an acid, so they cancelled each other out. (It might have been nice to know that beforehand...then again, it might not have been). Why is it that mom has to deal with all those painful, horrible memory moments like baby shots, and broken arms...and tooth extraction???

Now, a couple days later, Rylen seems to be no worse for the wear. Plus he looks pretty cute missing his 2 front teeth...which is a good thing because the dentist said he'll probalby be without them for a good long time.

A visit from the tooth fairy didn't hurt either. $10!! (The older siblings were trying to figure out a way to lose a few more teeth after they saw how generous the tooth fairy was). Apparently the tooth fairy takes into account how the teeth actually came out of your mouth and reimburses you appropriately.

Here's to a happy kid, a healthy mouth...and {hopefully} never having to do that again!!

March Student of the Month

2011-04-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Rylen was given the Student of the Month Award for his kindergarten class in March. He was given a bookmark, a pencil, a lollipop, and a certificate of achievement. Mrs. Woffinden said she gave him the award this month because he was a good listener...hmmm, wish he'd show me that same character trait here at home!!

Congratulations Rylen!!

The Shark Project (yep...still in March)

2011-04-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

Rylen's kindergarten class has been learning about animals this year, and the kids had to do a project on their favorite animal. The project included a report, and a model of the animal. Rylen chose a shark...

He wrote all the text and drew the pictures:

Sharks book by: Rylen

Sharks eat meat and seals.

A shark has 3000 teeth

Sharks have to swim to brethe

Sharks do not chew their food.

Then he worked on his shark model with his Dad...it looked pretty good!

Good job Rylen!!

More of the same in March

2011-04-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

March began the way February left off...basketball, basketball, and a little more basketball.

The boys didn't smell any better as the season went on...but they went undefeated, so I guess it was all worth it in the end. Jackson still needs a little work on his free throws, but his defense got better as the season went on, and he definitely played an integral part in an his teams winning season!

Takin' the ball in...

Makin' the shot...

Takin' one for the team
(Jackson took on Connor for the offensive charge call)

Blocking the shot...

If only we could make a free throw...

For their part, Breven, Rylen, & Bright, couldn't wait for game day...to practice their skills! (We may still have a little work to do with them.)

To cap off the season, the coaches to all the boys to a Jazz game. Hooray for a great basketball season...now on to baseball!

February continued...

2011-04-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Although it occupied the majority of our time, it wouldn't be fair to ONLY post about basketball.

Ashlynn & the 6th graders held their annual Rennaissance Faire, which involved costumes, food, a decorations, a jousting contest...the whole kit and caboodle. It was quite a production.

We (by that I mean me!) made Ashlynn a peasant costume: peasant top, long skirt, and apron. Ashlynn made a circlet of flowers to go on her head. Her actual project was being a baker, so we (by that I mean me!) made 4 dozen rolls for her to sell at her bakery (Ye Ole Bakery) the day of the Renaissance Faire. Ashlynn also made a Balser family crest shield to hang on the wall of the gym for some decoration.

Truthfully, I don't remember Jackson's Renaissance project being so involved. I'm pretty sure he put on a silly hat, called himself a court jester, and told a bunch of silly stories...but I 'spose that's the difference between boys and girls. I did get a few ideas for Breven to do when he has to do his Renaissance project though; No more baking or sewing, we'll go for fish monger...strap a couple of buckets to a stick, and throw in to swedish fish. Now, that's my kind of project!!

Ashlynn really had fun with the Renaissance faire (aside from the fact that all her rolls were eaten before she got to have any)...and on a positive note, I've already got her Halloween costume done!! WOOHOO!

February

2011-04-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

It's pretty bad when you're so far behind, that you have to title your posts by month, rather than some catchy little phrase. Oh well, it's a start...

February was basketball, basketball, and a little more basketball. We signed Jackson up to play Jr. Jazz this year because, well frankly, he needed something to do. It just so happened that Jr. Jazz also occured at the same time as the Stake YM's basketball games, so we were playing double! Kenny officially designated himself as coach of our ward YM's team, and unofficially became one of the Jr. Jazz asst. coaches, and although he complained (quite often) about how stinky the boys were, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jackson, for his part, had a great time. He liked his team. He played hard. He enjoyed having his Dad be his coach (they'd talk basketball all night long!), and he learned a few things. He was the tallest kid on his team, so he saw quite a bit of playing time. He gets called for travelling quite often (he hasn't got that pivot down quite yet), and he's got some work to do on his free throws, but he's definitely got the NBA basketball attitude down (that foul wasn't HIS fault!).

Breven, Rylen, and Bright enjoyed going to Jackson's games...especially when they could steal a ball, and get a little time on the court, and I think Ashlynn even had fun watching occasionally. She always like to sit and analyze how to play the game, or how to do something better...maybe she'll end up being a coach one day.

Excuses Excuses

2011-04-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

So, my previous resolution to write at least monthly has obviously not come to fruition.
I've thought about writing a post...quite often actually. I just never got around to doing it. Would you like to hear my excuses:

5 kids
baskeball practice
basketball games
baseball practices
track practices
track meets
coaching tumbling
an active 2 year old
too many pictures to edit first
dinner to make
piles of laundry
a house to clean
too lazy
I'm using Heritage Makers to do the really important stuff
exercise (LOL!)
school projects
preparing for primary on Sundays
life

Need I go on...
I'm sure somewhere in there, there is a valid excuse.

Regardless, I am recommitting myself to writing monthly, so that I can remember the things that I want to put in all my little fabulous Heritage Makers projects throughout the year.

Monthly Blog Post - Take two...

Repentance...

2011-01-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

Throughout the month of January, I've been trying to complete a 2010 Basically Balser's Family Yearbook for our family...ya know, our escapades and such from 2010. However, I ran into a problem as I tried to complete that book because my "source" material (that would be this blog) was incomplete at best. Apparently, entire months of 2010 just didn't exist. Not only that, but most of the pictures that would have, could have, or should have been posted were not even off the memory cards, AND if they were lucky enough to find their way off the memory cards, they were haphazardly stored "somewhere" on my computer. Thus completing a family yearbook was made twice as difficult because of my laziness during the rest of the year.

So, I've been called to repentance...by myself! (LOL!) I suppose it is a selfish kind of repentance in that I am doing it to make my life easier in the long run (as I fully intend to make a 2011 family yearbook too), but it's the act that counts...right? My resolution is to edit & organize my pictures in a timely fashion, AND get back to writing on our family blog. *crossing my fingers!*

So, here's my first post for the new year. Complete with pics!

Fun at the Gym

January just seems to be one of "those" months. Christmas is over. Clean up begins! It's COLD!!! School starts again...sometimes it just seems like it's the same day over and over again, so it was nice to receive an invite to attend a Gymnastics Alumni event at BYU in the middle of January.

After a frantic morning of cleaning (or more likely, pretending to clean) we loaded everyone into the van, and headed to BYU. The kids had no idea what we were doing...and it's been a really long time since we've been to any gym, let alone BYU, so this was a real treat! The kids had the run of the gym. Ashlynn was thrilled to meet each of the BYU Team. The boys were thrilled that there was PIZZA, and Bright was ecstatic about jumping on the tramp and playing in the marshmallows.

Before we got to the gym, Jackson assured us that he could still climb the rope, and he did...EVENTUALLY!

Dodgeball?? (in the air)

Flyin'...at least for a minute!

Head over Heals...with a little help from Dad

Uh huh! That would be the Dad nailing the 2 year old as he comes flying into the pit!

Saturday at the gym was definitely a hit (in more ways than one)! We had to bribe Bright to get him to leave the gym, and even then he wailed all the way out to the car..."I want to go back to the marshmallow...I want to go back to the tramp!!" Thanks to Brad, Dawn, Shauna, and the Team for the fun afternoon!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

Kenny came home from work last night and implored me to update our blog since our last post was in August. My big plan to get all caught up on our blog prior to Christmas have not come to fruition, so...a Merry Christmas post will just have to do.

(This is our Christmas Card this year. Click to enlarge it so you can actually read it)

We originally thought we were going to have a quiet Christmas, but then my parents came...and instead of heading to sunny California to spend Christmas with Kirsten (my youngest sister), my dad decided to get sick, so Kirsten & Michael decided to come here to celebrate the holidays. Denice & her family were planning on a New Years visit to us, but when they heard everyone would be here for Christmas they tried to make the trek from Colorado. Unfortunately, the timing didn't work...and the weather didn't really cooperate, so we'll spend Christmas day Skyping with them :)

The tree is up. The food is prepared. The presents are purchased...I'm sure we'll have a funfilled Christmas Eve wrapping the gifts. Now bring on Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

(had to put this one in...just for good measure!)

Cannon Beach

2010-08-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Okay...so I'm totally going out of order on this post, but I figure at least it's a post.

At the beginning of August, we hit the road to Oregon for a family reunion. Despite a LONG drive to and from, we had a great time. The whole family rented a Methodist?? run summer camp called Camp Magruder. For 3 fun filled days and nights the Payne family took over the camp...and I can't be sure that a few Books of Mormon weren't accidentally left behind (missionary work ya know!). The kids had a blast with their cousins and Grammie & Grampie. Among the activities for the few days were Cannon Beach (home of the Goonies!), The Tillamook Cheese Factory, and crabbing (which was the highlight of Kenny & the kids trip).

An explanation of the following pics: I was attempting to blog a new way (with scrap pages) however, I made a few mistakes: 1. I wrote too small on the scrap pages (so You can't read it unless you enlarge the page), and 2. I didn't realize that my blog columns were too small to enlarge the page enough for you to read it. So...my time-saving effort, really hasn't saved me any time since I'll have to rewrite all the pages for you anyhow, but I have learned, and next time I'll do better!

It was a balmy 64° in Oregon when we decided to pack up and head to Cannon Beach. Crazy?? Probably. Fun?? Definitely. The cool weather & even cooler water didn't stop the kids (except Rylen, who managed to fall in and completely submerge his body in the ocean within 30 minutes of arriving) from having fun.

The kids loved exploring the tide pools; discovering starfish, sea anemones, and hermit crabs. But the catch of the day had to be the sea fleas that they managed to dig up every time the tide rolled in. They had caught over 30 of the little creatures before we decided it was time to leave. They also had a blast playing in the sand. Jackson buried each of the "littles" in sand...and then graciously consented to be buried by them.

Those of us who had NO desire to enter the freezing water set up camp on the beach in the warm sand and watched all the action. It was a super fun and relaxing afternoon.

It doesn't get much better than spending a lazy summer afternoon on the beach with your Grammie & Grampie, your Aunt & Uncle, and some of the BEST cousins in the WORLD! Playing in the surf. Laying in the sand. Takin' it easy! That's how we roll!

More summer updates coming soon...and I promise to back track and get caught up on all the rest of our summer ASAP!

Look Out!!

2010-06-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

Brother's BEWARE! This too, may happen to you if you play ball with your sister!

Last Saturday...right BEFORE pictures...Ashlynn managed to nail Breven right in the nose. It wasn't on purpose of course, but for whatever reason, although we've tried to explain the "don't throw to someone unless they're looking at you" rule, it's never really registered for the kids. I suppose in Ashlynn's defense, it definitely appears that Breven was "looking" in her direction...maybe not necessarily at her, but in her general direction since he took the ball right across the bridge of the nose, and not in the back of the head. What can I say? The girls got good aim!

Originally we were worried that his nose might be broken, but after giving it a few days, he looks fine...mostly. A little swelling. A little bruising. But hey, it could be worse...in fact I think Breven's a little upset he didn't get more of a war wound. With all the tears, blood, and such on Saturday, two black eyes would have made him look a whole lot tougher (and he was hoping for something more to hold over Ashlynn's head)

Growing Up

2010-05-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a big day for Rylen: Preschool Graduation (official preschool graduation...last year he graduated from 3 yr old preschool, but this year he officially graduates from preschool; meaning he moves on to kindergarten). He has loved going to preschool with Miss Karen. He has loved playing with his friends. He has loved singing the songs, and he has learned so much!

Graduation was great! It showcased the kids perfectly. The kids looked very official in the caps & gowns. The program consisted of a few cute songs that the kids have learned this year including: a version of The ABC Song, The Months of the Year Song, The Little Red Box Song (my favorite), and You're a Grand Old Flag. Rylen sang his heart out! After the program, Miss Karen presented each of the kids with their graduation certificate and their candy lei's.

There are many things in life I try to just race through: laundry, dishes, books.... (need I go on). On more than one occasion I've made an exasperated comment to one (or more) of my kids, "Oh, just grow up!"

And then there are days like yesterday when I'm hit with the realization that they are growing up...at an alarming rate. When did Jackson switch from being the kid watching Teletubbies to a moody teenager? When did Ashlynn start caring about her hair? How can Breven be big enough to play tackle football?

...And how did Rylen all of a sudden become old enough to graduate from preschool?

(More importantly, when did Kenny and I get old enough to watch all of this happen???...It's a good thing we have Bright to keep up young!)

Congratulations Rylen! We love you!

Look out kindergarten, here comes Rylen!

Irony

2010-05-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

Got this quote in my inbox this morning:

"Don't overschedule yourselves or your children. We live in a world that is filled with options. If we are not careful, we will find every minute jammed with social events, classes, exercise time, book clubs, scrapbooking, Church callings, music, sports, the Internet, and our favorite TV shows. One mother told me of a time that her children had 29 scheduled commitments every week: music lessons, Scouts, dance, Little League, day camps, soccer, art, and so forth. She felt like a taxi driver."

-M. Russell Ballard

(Made me chuckle after my last post)

I wish I could say overscheduling was our problem. Sadly, it's not the scheduling (or lack thereof) that exhausts me...it just the sheer number of children!

Author's note: I was happy to find out that my Friday will have one less event than first assumed...I had inadvertantly overscheduled myself :)

Back in the Swing of Things

2010-05-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

I should have expected it to happen! Every year Kenny and I debate over which kids we should sign up for what sport. I argue that I can only be so many places at one time. Kenny argues that there are always lots of kids on a team that are willing to carpool (which, by the way, hasn't happened YET!). Inevitably, I give in. Kenny promises that he will help get the kids to their various activities. We sign everyone up for the same sport...all on different teams...AND, I go crazy trying to get to three different practices in three different places at the same time.

Admittedly, I thought this year might be a little different. I figured that Kenny would be able to help me taxi kids back and forth. I was wrong. I guess it's the Lord's way of getting both of us right back into the swing of things...Kenny back to work, Me back to driving and driving and driving.... (BUT, I won't complain!)

(Ashlynn)

(Breven)

Anyhoo...the past week has thrown all of us right back into the swing of things. Kenny survived training, and is settling into his new job. I am almost used to being the taxi driver again, and the kids are in full-fledged baseball mode. Jackson, Ashlynn, and Breven all had their first games this week, and we're happy to say that each of their teams are as of now, undefeated! WooHoo! Ashlynn has improved leaps and bounds over last year, and in her first 2 at bats, she got 2 hits AND got on base both times. We do, however, have to work on her sliding. Breven was a little disappointed that they had to use the pitching machine for their first game. He is eagerly anticipating the first game where he can actually pitch the ball. He also had a couple of great hits. Unfortunately, I didn't watch a lot of Jackson's games. Suffice it to say: It. Was. COLD!! I did my best to find the best parking spot I could and I watched from the comfort (and warmth) of my front seat. I did get out and watch for an inning or two of each game...only to freeze my *** off. Jackson played catcher for one of the games, and short stop for another. His pitching has improved, and he is also eagerly anticipating his first game as starting pitcher!

(Jackson)

As for the little boys...they had a ball playing at the park for hours on end. Practice. Game Day. It didn't matter, as long as they had free reign of the playground.

Here's hoping we make it through the next week!

Practicing on Peep

2010-05-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

It all started a couple of years ago. I got frustrated with my camera. I could never get the picture I wanted (which of course was the camera's fault), and I begged and pleaded with Kenny to get me a new one. I promised him that if he got me a good camera, I would take more pics, maybe even work on a few scrapbooks, and work on my photography skills so that maybe (just maybe) one day I'd be able to do something more with it. I got my wish Christmas before last. This past Christmas Kenny gave me a photography workshop that I've been wanting to attend forever, and then I splurged and had Emily come and do a little 1 on 1 photoshop tutoring for me. I have loved learning more about photography and more about photoshop! And while I'm far from becoming professional (I throw away more pictures than I keep), I'm getting better. Maybe there is hope!

While at the park, I asked Ashlynn if should would let me practice on her (partially because she was the only one who would stand still long enough for me to take her picture). She agreed, and I think I got some pretty good shots of her. Although, that's not very hard since she's so pretty and super photogenic.

♫ Saturday in the Park ♫

2010-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

♫ Saturday, in the Park....I WISH it were the 4th of July ♫ (Then maybe I'd be warm!!)

I mentioned in my previous post that my parents, and the Fisher family came to visit us in April...technically, they came to support Michael as he graduated with his MBA, but we'll just pretend they came to see us :)

Michael and Kir put on a fun little shin-dig to celebrate. We were a little worried about the weather considering mother nature can't decide whether she wants to shower us with warmth or snow, but we lucked out, and ended up enjoying a beautiful day at the park.

Baseball practice and an overnight scout camp-out gave us a late start for the celebration, but everyone was kind enough to save us some food...and truthfully, I was just waiting for it to warm up a bit!

Food. Folks. Fun. How can you go wrong? The kids had fun playing with their cousins and running all over the playground. Breven and Ashlynn had fun throwing a baseball around with their Dad. Bright had fun with his Grandpa. Jackson was content to chase his little cousins all over the park and be the COOL big cousin, and I had fun taking pictures of everyone!

Congrats to Michael on graduation! We're not very excited to see more family move away from us, but we're excited for what the future holds for the Esselman family...and we're all happy that the event gave us all a reason to get together again!

The Hole to China

2010-04-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

My parents and the Fisher clan joined us last week to help celebrate Michael's (my brother in law) graduation from the MBA program at BYU. Rylen was in heaven. He had his best buddies back! Thankfully we had some beautiful weather, and were able to kick all the kids outside where they busied themselves by....digging a hole to China, what else?? (What can I say, I'm a mean mom, and I wouldn't let them play the Wii, so they had to have something to do! FYI: The boys managed to survive a whole week without playing the Wii once!)

Bright had fun contributing to the hole too...although he did more mud pie making than hole digging.

I don't think they got very far, but they got quite dirty...and they had a lot of fun!

Come to think of it, we did seem to have a lot of Asian food last week, so maybe they did make it!

Lazy Easter

2010-04-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

You know its bad when you walk into Walmart, see all of the Easter goodies, and think to yourself, "Man...if it's Easter this weekend we're in trouble!"

Luckily I did that the week before Easter...but of course I still put off buying any Easter goodies until Easter weekend. You'd think with all that chocolate available that I would have had my stash long ago...alas, if I had had that stash, it would have been gone, and I still would have been at Walmart on Saturday fighting for chocolate eggs and Peeps. (Although, I would not have fought very hard for the latter!)

Our Easter was very, VERY low key. Instead of decorating eggs (my poor kids), we ate them the next morning for breakfast, as is tradition in our house Conference morning. I did manage to put out Easter baskets for each of the kids, but they had minimal treats in them, because the more treats I put out, the more get eaten. Bright had gone through all of his treats by 9 am Easter morning and was desperately trying to snag other goodies from any or all other baskets that he could get his hands on. He's no respecter of baskets!

We watched Conference all day, and enjoyed a yummy Easter dinner (prepared by Kenny) with Kirsten & Michael, and my cousin, Dave & his family. It was a fabulous lazy Easter day!

Now, call me a bad mom, but with all the goings on...conference, food preparation, company., we forgot all about doing our Easter egg hunt..Yes, the one that I specifically went out on Saturday for, to make sure that we had something to hunt...oops! So, in restitution to Rylen (who was most disappointed when he went to bed Sunday night) we held our Easter Egg hunt on Monday for family night. Our plethora of candy eggs were found despite Kenny's best efforts to hide them (I'm tellin' ya, Bright can smell candy a mile away), and said eggs were (just as I predicted) eaten within the hour! (Again, thanks to Bright)

Recycling

2010-03-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

This post is not what you think.

I'm not going to try to convince you to separate all of your various pieces of trash or smoosh all your cereal boxes into a nice little compact bin.

Don't get me wrong...that may be nice for the environment, but it makes for an awfully boring read!

I'm talking about TOY recycling (everything is more fun when toys are involved)......

Kenny and I were puttering around in the garage last weekend...trying to whittle down the pile of junk that has accumulated in it since finishing the basement...and ran across a treasure trove of old toys. Easy Bake Oven. Play-Doh accessories....and the Lite-Brite. Bright & Rylen's eyes lit up when Kenny brought out our old Lite-Brite, and showed them how to make a picture with the pegs...and then make it light up!! Talk about an attention getter! Granted, I think Bright just enjoyed scattering the pegs from here to kalamazoo, but our "old" little Lite-Brite kept Rylen entertained for hours. Yes. Hours. With that kind of success I think I'll go digging for more treasures. Hooray for "old" toys that open up a whole "new" world for little boys

(oh, and in case you're wondering...no that's not a booger on the end of Brights nose, it's chocolate frosting!)

"4 Year Old" Wisdom

2010-03-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

"Dad, I don't want to be a teenager when I grow up...I want to be a fireman!"

More Toothpaste Please....

2010-03-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Bright likes toothpaste. Really likes toothpaste. Quite often we find him wandering around the house with a tube of toothpaste in one hand and a toothbrush in the other.

Bright likes ice cream too. I dare say it's his treat of choice (although technically, he wouldn't pass up anything with sugar).

We needed a little treat the other night. Kenny pulled the peppermint ice cream out of the freezer. It's been in there a while...nobody really liked it...until Bright. He was a little apprehensive when Kenny scooped pink ice cream into his bowl (normally he goes for straight up vanilla with a healthy drizzle of chocolate on top), but Kenny told Bright he would like it because it tasted like toothpaste. That did the trick. Bright gobbled it up...and apparently really liked it because tonight we sat down to have a little treat as a family, Bright noticed the bright pink ice cream container on the counter, and asked for the ice cream by name...

"Toothpaste....more toothpaste please!"

Of course the toothpaste had to have a healthy drizzle of chocolate on it.

Groovy Parents

2010-02-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Confessions:
Holidays (other than Christmas, July 4th, and birthdays) really aren't that big of a deal at our house. They're nice to have...but we just don't do a whole lot for them. No decorating. No special thingies. I know, we're just party poopers! (It's a good thing the kids have grandparents!)

So yesterday for Valentines Day I'm sure we surprised the kids...in fact we probably gave them a heart attack! (Literally and figuratively) I thought it would be fun to heart attack their bedroom doors Friday night, so in the morning they woke up to something like this....

Well, apparently this was quite a hit...because I heard a little scuffling outside our room Sunday morning, and when I finally decided to drag myself out of bed I found that our own door had been plastered with valentines and candy. My favorite valentine....

(Just in case you're wondering..."Groovmonkey" is Kenny's nickname/screen name, so I only thought it appropriate to call myself "Groovmommy")

Who knew that a little heart attack would make us such Groovy Parents!

Tired...Take 2

2010-02-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

Gives new meaning to the phrase "Asleep on your feet."

...I'm starting to think he's going to bed too late!

Tired

2010-02-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

You know you're tired when.....

...you fall asleep on the bathroom floor BEFORE you've eaten your granola bar!

or...

...you fall asleep clutching your beloved video games!

Just An Ordinary Day

2010-01-26T15:32:00.000-08:00

Just a day, just an ordinary day...

Just trying to get by...

Just a boy, just an ordinary boy

but, he was looking to the sky...

And as he asked if I would come along,

I started to realize,

That everyday, he'd find just what he's looking for...

Like a shooting star

(or maybe a shredder, or a gameboy, or a SNOWBALL...what more could a boy ask for?)

Liken the Scriptures

2010-01-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

Our ward currently occupies the 1pm time slot for church. We're not quite used to it yet...although, it's not all completely bad. On the positive side we've been at church on time every week...in fact we're ready rather early. Too early most times, which means that the kids are looking for something to do. That inevitably turns into the, "Mom, can I just watch a little TV?" question, to which the answer is always, "No, it's Sunday. You don't need to watch TV before we go to church." The kids have finally clued into this answer, so they've decided to change the question..."Mom, can I watch a Jesus movie?" Now, technically, it's still TV, BUT, it's also a church/scriptures/keep their Sunday clothes clean before church activity, so I usually say yes!

We made a great discovery a couple of years ago...the Liken the Scriptures movies, and our kids have LOVED them. They have singing, and dancing, and fun storylines...plus they tell the scripture story and share it in a way that the kids can apply it in their lives. Our favorites include Samuel the Lamanite, Queen Ester, and David & Goliaith. I've really enjoyed them! It never fails that I end up singing one of the songs for the rest of the day, after we've watched one of the movies.

Anyhoo...Liken is in the process of doing a new production called "Jonah and the Great Fish." It will be playing live on stage at the Scera Theater from Feb. 5 - 15th. Don't you think that would that would be a fun activity for family night...or just a fun family activity? I do! I'll have to keep it in mind as I plan FHE for the next few weeks!

A December to Remember

2010-01-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

The bad news is that it is now Jan. 12th, and I am just posting about Christmas...I'm starting off the new year...behind...again.

The good news is that it's only January 12th, so I'm only 2 weeks behind (and technically, January didn't really start until Jan. 4th because that's when we actually had to get out of our PJ's and do something...like go to school, or whatever, SO...really, and truly, I'm only 1 week behind...WooHoo!)

That said, I'll give you the run down on Christmas in the Balser household:

We realized that one of the blessing of being out of work during the holidays is that there are no commitments, no time schedules, and no need to request time off, SO, we packed up the kids, loaded up the car, and took a last minute trip to Canada for Christmas.

The drive, aside from being looooooooooooong, and booooooooooooring, was uneventful. With i-pods, game-boys, books, and coloring paraphenalia to entertain them, travelling was a breeze. Well, not quite a breeze, but it was okay. Bright even did really well, until it was too dark to see out the window. We stopped in Idaho Falls each way to break up the trip a little bit. Thanks to Aunt Nancy & Uncle Robert for letting us crash at their house. The kids had fun watching movies...and Bright was completely fascinated by Zoe (the dog).

We haven't been to Canada for Christmas since Rylen was about Bright's age (about 3 years), so Grandma Robby & Grandpa Tony (despite their protests about not wanting us to come because they didn't want us driving in bad weather) were excited to have us come and wreak havoc on their house. Kirsten and Michael beat us there by a couple of days. We arrived just in time to spend Christmas Eve day doing some last minute shopping at the mall while the kids stayed home and played some old school Nintendo. Kenny wasn't thrilled with the idea of the going to the mall on Christmas Eve day, but some poutine (fries, sprinkled w/ cheese curds, and then smothered in gravy to melt the cheese) and Tim Horton's doughnuts put him in a better mood! You know the saying, "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach!" *Here's a funny little note for all you politically minded peoples out there: One of the stores at the mall was a pet store (Pet Smart or something like that)...the store itself had gone out of business, but it was the image that counted....big pet store with a huge sign in the window saying: Immunization Clinic. Is that a testament for not wanting govt. run healthcare or what??? (I am kicking myself that I didn't get a picture of it...Glenn Beck would have loved it!)

On Christmas Eve, the kids opened their jammies (tradition!) and we watched "Joy to the World." We had originally thought about going to watch the live nativity that one of the Lethbridge Stakes puts on every Christmas, but December (and October, November, February, March, and April) are COLD in Canada...so we opted for the DVD version.

Christmas day was pretty low key. The kids slept until at least 9 am! Crazy! Due to our job situation we had been preparing them for a rather small Christmas. (That was one of the reasons we decided to go to Canada for Christmas...we thought that even though we might not be able to get a lot for Christmas this year, we could at least let the kids have fun spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.) Santa managed to find us in Canada, and as usual, Grandma & Grandpa spoiled us! I think the kids were pleasantly surprised at everything that they received. Jackson is a teenager and into clothes now, so he liked all the clothes he got. Ashlynn loved the books and nail polish that she got. Breven had fun with his legos. Rylen loved his Batman stuff (big surprise!), and Bright got 2 different Elmo's that he toted around the house with him for the next couple of days. We all enjoyed the fun Wii games that Grandma & Grandpa...and Santa gave us.

The next few days were filled with yummy food, lots of family, and lots of fun:

Food:

Kenny is convinced that all we did during our visit was eat...not that he's complaining about it. There are certain things that you can only get in Canada...like poutine, Tim Horton's, Chinese food (Canadian style...it's different, than the Chinese food here), and nanaimo bars, and dino-sours. Kenny and Michael decided that they're going to start their own restaurant down here with a menu consisting of the aforementioned list, and call it "What We Like". Odd....but strangely enough, I'd eat there!

Family:

Bright spend the week being Grandpa's shadow! Along with spending the week with Grandma Robby & Grandpa Tony, and Kir & Michael, we also had the opportunity to visit with a lot of my family that we hadn't seen in a while. Aunt Pam, Clint, and Danielle came down from Edmonton to spend a couple of days with us. Aunt Carolyn & Uncle Ken came from Calgary, and we took the kids over to visit with Aunt Bert & Uncle Bill. Bright is still thanking Uncle Bill everyday. We spent our time together playing Wii games, and cards (an Allison family tradition)...and eating (another Allison family tradition!)

Fun:

With Kir and Michael there, we decided it would be fun to do a little sledding while we were in the frozen North...and I'm not exaggerating, IT. WAS. FROZEN! The thermostat didn't go about -12 degrees while we were there. No I'm know why I'm staying down south...cause our Utah winter's are so much warmer! We didn't stay out for very long because it was so cold and the sun was going down, but the kids had a great time! Rylen was fearless! Jackson found a snowboard that someone had just left on the hill, and borrowed it for our sledding excursion, and it was a toss up as to who got down the hill more often...Brev or Ashlynn. Just between you and me, I think it was probably Kenny.

The kids also got to go out for an afternoon of fun with Grandma (thanks to Uncle Bill). They started off with a movie (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), then went miniature golfing, and finally caught up to us in the evening for a bite of Chinese Food...yummy!

We're grateful for the chance to go to Canada for Christmas. Thanks to Grandma Robby & Grandpa Tony for EVERYTHING! Hope you'll let us come back again...although, if it's all the same to you, I think we might have to do it when it warmer!

And...we want to say a special thank you to our family and friends who were SO generous to our family throughout the Christmas season. We feel very blessed to have you in our lives, and thank you for helping make our Christmas a season of joy!

Gettin' Back on the "List"

2009-12-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

The last couple of posts have displayed our #1 mischief maker.

I'm happy to report, he's turned the corner. Done an about face. Turned over a new leaf. He's making his way back onto Santa's nice list....one shovel of snow at a time.

I have a feeling (judging by the last picture) that the mischief maker side of him has only gone into hibernation for a short while, but it was a valiant effort!

Naughty or Nice?

2009-12-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

Bright has a tendency to not eat (at meal time anyhow...he's a grazer!)

I have a tendency to not want to clean up dinner immediately following dinner.

Actually, I think dinner ends up sitting on the table because we all start eating dinner at the same time, but never actually finish at the same time. Someone has to get to scouts. Someone else has a meeting, and another someone has a concert. Thus, dinner ends up sitting on the table for a while just in case someone doesn't have time to finish their meal or in case someone wants more or someone just doesn't want to clean it up!

Well, put those two things together, add in the fact that Bright is a climber, and you end up with a scene something like this...........

Caught red handed!

Couple of things to note:
1. Rylen in the background...see how he's just watching and laughing at Bright. Big help!

2. You can see from the carnage that was dinner how Bright has just helped himself.

3. Notice the spoon that is bigger than his mouth...apparently size does matter.

4. Notice the self-satisfied smile he's giving me. He knows full well he shouldn't be up there, but instead a fearing the wrath of his mother, he waits there with a big smile sure that a cute grin will save him from certain destruction.

Now, this wasn't Bright's first "mess" nor will it be his last mess, but it's a good things he's so cute or he might have made it onto Santa's naughty list!

Point of View

2009-11-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

Normally I'd just go ahead and call it bad luck...lousy timing...kicking us when we're down, but I've got "Elmo in Grouchland" songs on the brain (we've watched it an average of 4x a day for the past week or so because it's Bright's favorite movie at the moment) so I've been reminded that what may seem like bad luck may just have to be viewed from a different perspective.

What am I talking about???

Saturday morning, as I was trying to get ready to leave for my Heritage Makers craft show, we had a small accident...Rylen tipped over the little step stool he was sitting on while watching cartoons, hit the leg of the chair I was sitting on, and opened up a little gash to the left of his eye...requiring 4 stitches. Ahhhh!

Initial thought: Not today, I've got to leave in a hour to get to the craft show...I don't have time for an emergency room visit.
But upon further contemplation: Kenny was home...he was able to take Rylen to the clinic to get stitched up. And Jackson was home to babysit everyone else if I needed to leave before Kenny got home.

Next thought: Oh brother! We don't need another medical bill!
But upon further contemplation: Well, at least we had insurance...and we really haven't had all that many "accidents" requiring medical attention at our house. (It does look like Rylen will change that statistic.) Furthermore, the gash only required 4 stitches, so it probably could have been much worse.

As for Rylen's...
His first reaction: "No, I don't want to get stitches again...they hurt!"
But, after very minor surgery, our seriously brave (albeit accident prone) 4 year old earned himself a treat at Maggie Moos. So...it was all worth it...kind of???

Lastly,
Yes, Rylen did have to get stitches...it was painful, and it was inconvenient, BUT, they were BYU blue, so we like to think that Rylen's discomfort gave the Cougs that extra little umphhhhh they needed to put them over the top in their WIN against the Utes.

So, my little "Elmo in Grouchland" song is right...it's all about your point of view. What a smart little monster!

Mischief Maker

2009-11-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you cross a 16 month old and a jar of Nivea hand cream????

This

or This

or THIS...

Thankfully after a warm shower and a truckload of degreaser (his head pretty much repelled all water with that cream on it...so we had to use the degreaser to get him cleaned up) he cleaned up to be a pretty cute, albeit MISCHEVIOUS little 16 month old!

Who knows, maybe he's practicing for a career in the circus with the clowns!

Blessings

2009-11-18T17:38:00.000-08:00

November did not start out as we planned. We've encountered some minor setbacks, but that is life. You can either sit down and cry and feel sorry for yourself, or you can put on a smile, trust the Lord, and then get to work. I've chosen the latter (at least most of the time.) Of course there are always moments when worry, doubt, fear, and stress creep back in, but I've found myself (over the last couple of weeks) truly counting my blessing, and recognizing new blessings that have only come as a result of the setbacks. As November is Thanksgiving, it is an appropriate month to recognize all of my blessings!

Food Storage

A Finished Basement

Family and Friends

Help with housework

Using Less Gas
Savings

Going Visiting Teaching Without Kids

Attending the Temple Weekly

More Time with Kenny

More Time to Serve

More Time with Family

Freedom

Good Health

Little Debt

Inspiration

Knowledge of the Gospel

Hope

Prayer

Faith

(and so many more)

Our setbacks have helped us realize that there are certain necessities in life, but there are also so many things we can do without. Funny enough, the most important things are the things that come with the smallest price tag, but bring the greatest joy. Truly Priceless!

We don't necessarily recommend this road to all but we are grateful for what we're learning...and we're hoping (and praying) to close out November better than it started!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu

2009-11-18T17:28:00.000-08:00

I thought this was an appropriate title, considering my sister (and her family) just up and left us, and she used to watch this movie every Sunday afternoon when we were growing up!

We've been fortunate enough to live in close proximity to both of my sisters since we've been married. Now we're down to one. Denice and Steve left us for sunny, warm Colorado at the beginning of the month. It's been fun to get together for birthdays, holidays, and just any days in general. My kids enjoy being around their aunts, uncles, and cousins. Rylen is not going to know what to do without his trusty sidekick.

We managed (between crazy schedules, moving trucks, and sickness) to get together for one last party before they left us. (And yes...just in case you're wondering, I'm trying to make them feel really bad for leaving...LOL) We caught up with each other at Pirate Island Pizza. Arggggggg! It was a great night of food, folks, and fun. Pirates are always a hit with the little boys. The games were a hit with the girls (and boys) and the pizza was a hit with the "older boys."

So dear Fisher Family...

Adieu, Adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu (insert image of the chain of actions that go along with the song here) Doo doodleloo doo doo doo doo, doo doodleloo doo doo

We love you. We'll miss you. Come back and visit!

Halloween Recap

2009-11-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

Halloween isn't that big of a deal around here (at least to me and Kenny...although, that's really quite interesting considering my mom and grandma went all out when I was a kid.) Rylen would disagree...but since he has a costume on everyday of the year it's just a matter of changing costumes for him, and of course, the older kids definitely love the candy, so.... trick or treating was not even an option. Honestly, for not being that into Halloween, I think we (Kenny and I) did pretty good this year...we even managed to get everyone a pumpkin to paint this year. I'm not a pumpkin carver...can't stand the pumpkin guts....ewwwww :P

We dressed everyone up (aside from Jackson who decided he was too cool to trick or treat this year, and decided to go to a party instead...and Kenny and I...I fell short of my grand intentions to have costumes ready for myself and Kenny, but never fear, I've got a perfect idea for next year!) and headed out early to take advantage of the warm sun.

Rylen ran from house to house. He always managed to stay one step ahead of us. And when we finished trick or treating I think he had just as much fun handing out our candy to the kids that came to our house. Breven and Ashlynn took everything in stride, and thought they were all grown up when we let them stay out trick or treating a little bit longer with JUST their friends. (I love that our neighborhood is safe enough that we can let the kids do that!) Bright, on the other hand, was not too fond of the whole costume thing. Actually, that's putting it mildly! He did however, LOVE the reward of trick or treating and he's been in the candy bucket ever since. In fact I woke up to sticky Bright smooches the next morning because someone forgot to put the candy bucket away the night before. Bright is a lollipop monster!

(alligator head off....)

(alligator head on...)

(everything is good with a lollipop in hand!)

A Sigh of Relief

2009-10-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Pfewfffffff...................that's me heaving a huge sigh of relief.

(I'm not sure that does my relief adequate justice, but how else do you express the sheer joy of completing a hectic, crazy, mostly chaotic, and simply exhausting football season??)

We made it!Yesterday marked the last football game of the season.Jackson's team played an undefeated AF team...that continues to remain undefeated. It wasn't the most ideal game to end the season with. It was cold. Rainy. They lost. Jackson didn't get to play as much as he wanted to or was expecting. (He was one of only 4 kids at practice everyday last week and the coach told those 4 boys that they would pretty much be able to do whatever they wanted to do in the game...it didn't quite work out like that. Actually, that's how most of the season played out, but I guess that's water under the bridge...We're done.) I feel like a kid on summer vacation. What a relief!

Jackson definitely improved over last year. He's a little older. Maybe a little wiser. He knows the game a little better. He's become a better tackler. Jackson mostly played on defense this year, and towards the end of the season, he became a starter on the line. He's quick. In practice he was fast enough that they couldn't find anyone to block him, so he would sack the QB. The other teams we played were a little bit tougher, but he did a good job. The mom in me also has to comment about his great sportsmanship. He's a great team player! On a team where everyone seemed to be out for themselves, Jackson showed great character by encouraging his teammates both in practice and on the playing field! I was impressed. Oh, and after all of my yelling, he also improved his hustle on and off the field! I'm not sure if he'll play again next year because this year was trying (in so many different ways) to say the least, but he toughed out the season, and he'll be better for it.

Just for fun, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of the support squad that we haul to each game. All the kids have been troopers throughout the season. Ashlynn, Rylen, and Bright (and mom and dad of course) have been stalwart Thunder fans (for both boys) through heat, cold, wind, and rain. Way to go fan club!!

Ok...so, maybe we weren't always the most attentive fans, but we did our best!!

4 B's

2009-10-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Breven.....happy-go-lucky 8 year old kid

Ball Game...football game to be exact! Actually, the last football game of the season. A game that was changed at the last minute so we weren't sure if Breven would even get to play in it. Luckily things worked out. Breven played. Breven had an interception, some key defensive tackles, and 2 touchdowns. The team won! It was the perfect ending to the season! And to put the cherry on top of it all, Grandpa Keven, Grandma Marlene, Brandon, Grandpa Tony, Grandma Robby, Kirsten, Steve, Isaiah, Caleb, Ellie, and all of us were there to watch and cheer on the sidelines!

Baptism! After the football game, we sped back to the Church to take care of the most important matter of the day...Breven's baptism. Breven's been preparing for this day for months now. In fact he passed his Articles of Faith off a few weeks ago (as if to prove that he was now ready to take the next step!) The baptismal service was great! Thanks to Sis. Moody and Bro. Barker for staying late and allowing us to switch things up at the last minute in order to accommodate all of the activities of the day. (Obviously, a baptism is far more important than a football game, but it made Breven's day to be able to have the best of both worlds, so to speak!)

Steve gave a great (last minute) talk on baptism. Kenny baptized Breven. Grandpa Tony and Grandpa Keven were the witnesses. Brandon gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost...funny enough, Brandon happened to ask Breven if the water was warm for his baptism because Brandon was going to compare the warm water to the warm feeling that you get when you feel the Holy Ghost. Unfortunately, Breven replied, "....um, sort of" which being translated means, "Heck no, I was the last baptism of the day...it was cold." Sorry to ruin the metaphor Brandon! Kenny then confirmed Breven with the help of: Grandpa Keven, Brandon, Great-Grandpa Ken, Grandpa Tony, Steve, Michael, David Peterson, Ao Pauga, and Jason Barker. I always get a little chuckle out of seeing what the kids do after they're confirmed and they have a circle of Priesthood holders standing all around them, so I'll admit I had to laugh as I watched Breven stand up with a confused look on his face and wonder why everyone was still standing there. Thanks to David for taking the initiative to take him around the circle for handshakes and hugs!

The afternoon ended with a yummy family lunch, and a HUGE sigh of relief from mom and dad!

What's the answer to this equation:

Breven + Ball Game + Baptism =

The Best Day Ever...Breven Style!

Despite some chaotic last minute changes, rushing from one thing to the next, and a few minor mishaps including misplacing a cell phone, coming home to an alarm going off, a broken roaster and cold meatballs, we had a great day! More importantly, Breven had a great day! He wears his football uniform and carries his brand new scriptures with pride!

(Thanks to everyone who helped make it such a great day for Brev! We love you!)

Catching Up...Installment 2

2009-10-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Speaking of birthdays that I failed to mention....

Breven turned 8 years old earlier this month!

eight!!!

Despite an incredibly hectic schedule for the last few weeks, we managed to slow down for a few minutes...long enough for Breven open a few presents and devour a rather large bowl of cake and ice cream.

Breven's birthday is particularly fun since his birthday and cousin Isaiah's birthday are only 1 day apart...and they always fall on conference weekend. It is always an added bonus to be able to celebrate with family...and do it in our pj's Sunday morning, afternoon, and evening!!

Catching Up...Installment 1

2009-10-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Thankfully this installment will not be very long, but I must rectify a wrong committed last month:

I failed to post of Kenny's birthday, so, just to tell the whole world...

Hooray for Sept. 18th!

It brought the wonderful guy I'm thankful to call my husband into the world!

Love you dear!!

(Wish I could find the picture of him in the tutu, but I suppose this will do)

My "Yeah" Man

2009-09-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Bright has just started talking. His vocabulary is small...a few different animal sounds, mama, daddy, dog-gy, ba-by, duck (actually, that's truck not duck, but that's how it sounds), binkie, and my all time favorite...YEAH! Aside from Breven who was a vocabulary king when he was a year old, Bright's pretty much on pace with the rest of the kids as far as talking goes...except for one thing. One of the first words each of the other kids learned was "no." Not Bright. That word is not in his vocabulary. He's a "Yeah" man!! (I guess I must be doing something right.)

We were in the living room the other day. I was folding clothes from my continually growing mountain of laundry. Bright was doing what he does best...get into trouble. Actually, he had a drum stick, and was whacking my piano. Big No-No! I looked at him and told him to cut it out. He looked at me, smiled, and then turned around and resumed whacking the piano. Again I told him to stop. Again he looked at me with his big blue eyes, smiled, and returned to his previous mischief. Then I got serious..."Brighty, STOP!" followed up with a, "Do you want a spank?" (there are consequences to every action you know!) Bright stopped what he was doing, looked at me, and with a great big smile on his face answered, "Yeah!" Then he walked over to me and turned around. What am I supposed to do with that?? I gave him a soft little swat on his rear after which he turned around, flashed me another big grin, and gave me a big "moowah" (his version of a smooch.) What a funny kid! My little yes man!

Come to think of it....I could handle having a few more "yeah" men (or a girl) around the house. FOUR, to be exact!

Author's note: I realize there are actually 5 more people in the family, but I was only counting the kids. I already consider Kenny to be a "yes" man. (He learned that early on in our marriage!)

And the Thunder Rolls....

2009-09-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

Wow...life is certainly hectic these days. I thought things would slow down once school started. I figured with only 2 at home, I'd certainly be able to catch up on everything. I could finally get on top of the laundry, and the cleaning, and the laundry, and my projects...oh, did I mention laundry?? Riiiiiight!? (read this with some sarcastic inflection please!)

"So," you ask, "...why are you so busy?" One word... FOOTBALL!

It's a good thing we limited ourselves to only football this season. Ashlynn would have loved to do something too, but with daily practices and weekly games for the boys it's all I can do to stay on top of what we're already supposed to be doing. There's only so much time in the day. However, all my chaos aside, the boys are loving football (and I guess that's what really counts right?)

It has been a fun season thus far for both boys. The teams are excited to associate themselves with our brand new highschool, and as such are know as the Westlake Thunder. Threatening huh?? And while we may not be on a roll yet, each team has definitely improved from last year.

Jackson is playing on the 7A team. He has a new coach this year, and they've got an interesting playbook. They run the ball alot!! Not much passing...but when they block well, they actually move the ball. Thus far this year the team has scored 5 or 6 touchdowns...which is 5 or 6 touchdowns better than last year! AND...they officially won their first game. From what I heard, they played pretty well. Unfortunately for me, I'm usually on taxi duty, which means I have to drop Jackson off for his games and hustle to get Breven back for his own practice, so I don't get to watch much of Jackson. Hopefully I'll get to stay for a game in the near future.

Jackson is playing mostly on defense. His blocking, and tackling has greatly improved from last year. He's not afraid to go up and hit someone anymore. He had some good open field tackles in his last game. Occasionally he goes in as a receiver for the offense, but thus far he hasn't seen a lot of action on that side of the ball. He's also punting again this year...which makes him happy.

Breven is actually playing on the 3rd grade team this year. We decided to move him up a year which has turned out to be a really good decision. He has some great coaches, and the team has improved leaps and bounds over last year. They still haven't won a game...but they're definitely getting better. They just look so small compared to the other teams. Size is not our forte! Breven is playing quarterback again this year. His coach keeps telling me that he's such a smart kid...which I suppose he has to be to be able to keep track of all of their plays. He's one of the only 2 graders I know that could call his own plays if he had to (31 fake 28 boot Z strike....uh, yeah, something like that!)

Brev had a minor accident a couple of weeks ago...a helmet to the knee incident, which left him sidelined for most of the game. However, with no true back-up QB, he sucked it up and went back in in the 4th quarter to try to help his team out. That's Breven...he's pretty tough. As if a reward for toughing it out the previous week, Breven scored the team's first touchdown this season at the next game. He had a great game...both on offense and defense. Made a great throw that was caught for a 1st down, and then made some touchdown saving tackles on the other side of the ball.

(Photographers Note: This is Breven during the touchdown run...I was unable to capture the actual moment because I was too busy cheering!)

The boys are having a good time, working hard, and coming home tired each and every night. Ashlynn actually enjoys getting to go to the games (she's turning into quite a little football fanatic, and even asked her dad to teach her how to throw a perfect spiral ball) and Rylen and Bright enjoy going to the games because they're usually played somewhere with a playground. I guess you call that a win-win situation. So, on the bright side of things, we're staying busy. And on the not so bright side of things...don't try to catch us until after about 8pm each night, cause we're staying busy!!

Not Your Typical School Pics

2009-08-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

I hate school pictures.

They're too much money, and they never turn out right.

So, for the last couple of years I have boycotted them!

Fortunately for me, we have a more than viable option...

I've got a talented cousin that will put up with my not-so-cooperative family, and indulge me in my quest for that perfect picture....

Bright refused to have anything to do with David or the camera until Kenny started throwing him his "dog-gy."

Rylen's at that awkward picture taking stage...we either get a goofy smile or a frown UNLESS he's got a superhero costume on...then everything becomes much more natural!

Breven never has to try very hard in his pictures. He always manages to get a picture that is "just him" and perfect.

It's all about the hair & accessories for Ashlynn...she had to take a few pictures with her new haircut and glasses!

Would you say this is GQ or "just chillin'?" Whatever it is, Dave managed to get some good shots of Jackson too!

Not wanting to be left out of the fun, we had Dave take a few shots of us!

And finally...

the family pics!

Admittedly, Bright and Rylen look a little goofy in both shots, but that's kind of how it is. Trying to get 5 kids to cooperate with you and put a smile on for the camera is a daunting task!

But the creme de la creme...the shot you can't live without...

Everybody has got to have one of these...right???

Now for the hard part...choosing which to make prints of to put on my wall. Any suggestions?

If you can't get enough of us, you can check us out on www.dspphotography.com/balser

Thanks Dave, Ashley, & Elsie for putting up with us!

Reminiscing

2009-08-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Normally, sending the kids off to school after summer vacation has me jumping for joy. I've never even shed a tear at a kindergarten boo-hoo breakfast. Today, however, even though I'm more than ready for another school year to begin, I'm a little bit melancholy. I find myself reminiscing about my little baby who could pull the best "bitter beer" face. I 'spose it was a little inappropriate to ask a baby to pull a face associated with beer...but it was really cute. I find myself reminiscing about a little 2 year old sitting in the pool in the front yard with a piece of grass in his mouth, hands clasped behind his head, crossing his legs just like his daddy, and telling me to come on in because the water is "perpect!" I find myself thinking about my little sunbeam that could be heard, above anyone else, singing the songs during the primary program. I find myself picturing a hesitant 5 year old, with his Harry Potter like glasses on walking into his kindergarten class for the first time. I can see him standing with his dad the day of his baptism. I find myself reminiscing about his little league baseball games, junior jazz basketball games, gymnastics competitions...and a badly broken elbow, and I realize that my baby (he'll kill me for saying that) is growing up. I sent him off to junior high today (on a bus!) He seemed very calm, cool, and collected....anxious to begin this new stage of his life...Teenagerhood!

We tell them to grow up, and before we know it they've grown up, gotten on a bus, and headed for junior high. What's a mom to do?? Maybe I'll make some chocolate chip cookies...you're never too old for those!

And just in case you're wondering, I'm sending the other 2 off to school tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll be back to my old self. I might even have to post my favorite back-to-school commerical again just to prove it!

An Unexpected Visitor

2009-08-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not really a nature enthusiast. Now, don't get me wrong, I like pretty flowers, a nice hike on a mountain trail is great, and I love watching a sunset just like everyone else, but that's about the extent of my nature loving. Actually, now that I think of it, I'm not as opposed to nature as I am to nature's lil' (and big) critters. I'll watch them on Animal Planet and Discovery, and every living thing definitely has it's place...but it's place is not MY home. (And don't give me the "...but they were here first" line)

Anyhoo...

Thus far this summer we've had grasshoppers galore, a snake (I think we scarred a neighbor boy for life when we killed it instead of catching it), wasps wasps wasps, some black widows, and our most recent unexpected visitor...

(no I'm not talking about Bright, I'm actually referring to the frog)

Kenny was working down in the basement the other day, and found this little guy in window well. The kids, aside from Rylen, loved him (and really, of all of the lil' critters thus far this summer, I've liked him the best.) Rylen wouldn't touch him (there's a boy after his mother's heart!)

Ashlynn and Breven fought over what to name him, and Bright was absolutely fascinated with him. He kept calling him doggy and growling at him; we'll have to work on our animal recognition and sounds. Ultimately, we found him a nice shady spot in the garden under our gigantic broccoli leaves and let him go.

FYI: Before I was born, my dad was intent upon naming me Kermit (yes, like the frog) if I was a boy. Well, I came out as me and ruined his plan. Apparently even before birth I was aware of my dislike of lil' critters...enough to thwart all my dad's best laid plans!! (Insert evil laugh!)

Viva Las Vegas

2009-08-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

FLASHBACK:

We always used to take a family vacation when I was a kid. Usually our destination was...Provo (don't laugh)...we always used to come for BYU gymnastics camp, or Idaho Falls to visit family, but I do remember trips to Arizona, Disneyland, and Hawaii. We always did something over the summer!

PRESENT TIME:

It's been a fairly quiet summer thus far.

Nothing too exciting.

No big adventures.

I kind of feel bad. I mean who wants to go back to school and answer the "what did you do over the summer?" question with, "ummm, nothing really."

Luckily, Grandma Robby and Grandpa Tony swooped in and saved my children from complete and utter boredom this summer....a little adventure in Las Vegas. (Gr. Robby and Gr. Tony had wanted to take everyone to Hawaii last summer, but that didn't quite work out, so we decided to do a quick trip to Vegas with them this year.)

I normally have a pretty good handle on my kids.

They do a decent job at behaving themselves... for the most part...so traipsing about in public (FYI - The dictionary should have 2 definitions of public. The normal version of "public" and the Las Vegas Strip version of public...meaning more cars, more people, more noise. Luckily, most of my kids have been there before, so they knew what to expect, and for the one who hasn't (Bright) he was pretty much confined to his stroller, but since he was mesmerized by all of the lights and sounds it didn't really bother him. is not usually a big deal.) Besides, I have that "don't you dare do that or else!" look down (I've been practicing for over a decade now!) and the kids all pretty much know when enough is enough. Regardless, I would never have even attempted this little adventure on my own (we had to leave Kenny at home...summer in the boat business

means no summer vacations!) however, with grandma & grandpa, Kirsten and Michael, and Denice & her kiddo's, we headed on down to Vegas for a little summer adventure and memory making!

Day 1 of the trip was mostly driving. We took a few different cars since there were quite a few of us, and we (meaning our family) had to leave a little later than everybody else. We caught up to everyone in Cedar City though, so we weren't too far behind. Rylen cracked me up on the way down. I was pointing the red rock cliffs out to Rylen as we drove, and he matter-of-factly informed me that they were red because they were sunburned.

As for the trip itself, we all had a great time.

My sister and BIL had a time share down there, so we got to stay in the comforts of home...away from home. The condo had a swimming pool...good thing, cause you know that "get into a hot car" feeling that you get in the summer...well, that was the cool temp. in Vegas for the week. It was beyond hot, and coming from me you know that's hot because I don't even get warm until it's over 85 degrees!

Day 2 thru 4 of the trip consisted of a whole lot of walking (to various attractions on the strip) and swimming.

Highlights of the trip included:

The Shark Reef

We've done it before, but they enjoyed it so much the last time that we had to do it again...besides, Breven and Rylen are pretty into sharks...and Bright is into pretty much anything that has to do with water.

The Tram (between the hotels)

Is it sad when your kids consider the tram between hotels an attraction/ride??? It wasn't Lagoon, but the kids enjoyed it all the same.

The Midway at Circus Circus

This was one of my favorite things when I was a kid, and I guess the old adage is true... "The more things change, the more they stay the same." The games have gotten a little bit more expensive, but who doesn't have fun shooting a water gun at a clown's mouth, or trying to whack chickens into a pot?? The kids loved it! Luckily, we had two things going for us that day. 1. There were so many of us, that if we played one of the smaller games, we were virtually the only ones who could play, and thus guaranteed a win, and 2. Jackson. Jackson seemed to win every game he played (although I will brag and say that Bright and I beat him in the first game!) Jackson was very kind and shared all of his winnings with his siblings and cousins! He was the hero of the

evening!

The Water Show at the Bellagio

I personally didn't get to experience this one (I opted to take Grandpa, and the little kids home to bed) but from what I hear everyone had a great time....and the water show was pretty good too. Apparently Jackson was quite the comedian. He pulled out all of the stops...meaning, he told every potty humor joke he could think of (it looks like he learned something at scout camp after all) and had Grandma, Denice, Kir, and all the kiddies "peeing their pants!" (Yes, that's a direct quote!) Glad I could supply them with some cheap entertainment!

Swimming

We haven't done a lot of swimming this summer, but that all changed once we got to Vegas. The kids could have lived at the pool. They may have all been fish in a former life. The last day that we were there, Rylen discovered that he could touch the bottom of the hot tub so he could swim in the hot tub without his lifejacket. He was pretty proud of himself. Breven, Ashlynn, and Jackson had fun diving for all those toys that sink to the bottom of the pool, and Bright enjoyed dangling his feet in the water. I enjoyed the fact that it wore the kids out! A few hours swimming meant a good night's sleep!

But the best part of the trip by far was getting to spend time with Grandma & Grandpa, Kir, Denice, and the cousins! Rylen bugs me on a daily basis to go and play with Caleb and Isaiah, so it was truly heaven for him to be able to spend 5 whole days with them.

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for wanting to spend time with us, for spoiling us with lots of fun stuff, and for giving the kids something to write about when they go back to school!

Holy 4 Year Old Batman!!

2009-07-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

Our resident superhero recently had a birthday!

Another year older!

We went swimming the other day. Normally I make him wear a lifejacket because unless the pool is filled with warm bath water I don't want to get in...however, after his birthday Rylen politely informed me that "4 year olds don't wear lifejackets." Unfortunately for him, this 4 year old will continue to wear a lifejacket until he can swim, because this mommy is still not getting in!!

Another year wiser!

(or maybe I should say, wise-cracker)

Rylen's Favorite Joke: Why did the chicken cross the playground??

Answer: To get to the other slide!!

...And Fully Equipped to Save the World

(or at least our house)

From grasshoppers, evil supervillians, and all injustices dished out by older siblings!

Our little superhero seems so grown up now.

He loves listening to and watching his Ipod.

He loves swimming, and riding his bike.

He loves playing with his cousins.

He loves telling jokes.

And of course...he loves dressing up!

We celebrated Rylen...er, Batboy's birthday with a party at the batcave. There was plenty of slip and sliding, BBQ, and cake to go around. Thanks to Grammie Evie, Grandma Robby, Grandpa Tony, Kirsten, and The Fisher Family for coming out to party with us!

It's Always Fun When Grammie Comes...

2009-07-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Wow...it's been a whirlwind couple of weeks at our house.

Family visiting; Birthdays; Vacations!

It all seems to happen at once.

And while the last couple of weeks have been crazy...it's been a good crazy!

We've had lots of fun!

So, here's the first installment of updates...

Grammie Evie came to visit with us for a few days after attending the Shakespear Festival in Cedar City. We all had a great time miniature golfing at Boondocks for FHE...except for possibly Bright who was confined to his stroller for most of the fun.

The kids are always up for a round of golf. Breven got a hole in one on the very first hole. Jackson had fun spinning the wheel and following the directions for each of his shots. Ashlynn loved the last hole...where she also got a hole in one, and Rylen...well, he was Rylen. He terrorized most of the other Boondocks patrons as he ran from hole to hole swinging his golf club wildly...but, yes, he also had fun!

We also got to go take Grammie to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House.

It's beautiful...of course, and I think the kids enjoyed seeing a "new" temple...not to mention the cookies at the reception center afterwards! Unfortunately, Kenny had to work the morning that we went, so he's missing from our little pic here, but hey, someone has to support all of our fun!

Grandpa Bob said that Grammie Evie came to visit to do her grammie job and spoil the kids. She definitely accomplished that! Rylen was especially pleased because her visit came during his birthday, so in his mind, the visit was just for him!! He absolutely loved going shopping with Grammie to pick out his birthday present!

Thanks to all the California fam for sharing Grammie with us for a few days, and thanks to Grammie for visiting with us! Hope to see you again...SOON!!

For Time and Eternity

2009-07-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

Proposal...................................................................1

(Isn't it so Kenny to propose in front of a crowd of 3000+)

Months of Engagement..........................................4

Years of Marriage...................................................14

Children...................................................................5

Spending time and all eternity with the man of my dreams..............

priceless!

On July 6th we quietly celebrated our 14th anniversary. Nothing big....just lunch and ice cream with the kids in tow, capped off by an evening of painting the basement. Sound horrible? Quite the opposite in fact. We got to spend time together, and time with our kids, and in truth it epitomizes our marriage....two people, in love, working towards a common goal and having fun doing it! The newspaper headline in the first pic reads "Cougar Gymnast Gets Gold" ....personally, I think I got a whole lot more than that!!

A "Bright" Idea

2009-07-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

A little over a year ago I made a phone call to Kenny wondering where he was andtold him that if he didn't hurry he would miss the birth of his new baby. He made it with about an hour to spare...but only because the doctor was dawdling!

A little over a year ago I remember staring into the face of our new baby and wondering what his name was. It only took one look into his eyes to know that he would be our "Bright."

A little over a year ago I remember looking into the chair beside my bed to see Kenny (with a days worth of scruffy hair) and Bright all snuggled up taking a snooze together.

A little over a year ago I remember my mom and all of the kids piling into the little hospital room for their first glance at the newest member of our family. It was the first time mom had been here to see any of our newborn babies. The kids all took a turn holding him, and Rylen was just in awe of his new little brother.

A little over a year ago I remember loading Bright into our car (consequently, it was the same car that we brought Jackson home in) and bringing him home to our house and our family!

The year has gone by fast. They grow up so quickly. It's almost not fair!

But it's been such a fun year!

Bright has grown like a weed....or perhaps, string bean. He's more affectionately known as our little menace. He leaves behind a pathway of destruction in each room that he goes through. He's daddy's boy...except when he's tired, and then no one's better than mama! He's a fruit monster. He loves being outside, and he holds his own with his brothers and sister. If he wants something he'll let you know, and if he doesn't want something you better watch out cause it will come right back at ya! His favorite word is "hi"...we've skipped the dada and mama thing. He is a master stairclimber, and he's got the best pouty lip in the world!! His tantrums are earth shattering, but his big smile and bright eyes can melt your heart!

We celebrated his first birthday with a little family party the other night.

Cake

Ice Cream

and a few presents!

Happy Birthday Bright!

Keepin us in Stitches!

2009-07-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Rylen is a funny kid! He quite regularly has Kenny and I guffawing over something he has said (as you can tell by the "Kid's say the Darndest Things Sidebar...most are Rylen"isms".)

Yesterday, however, I think we were both in stitches...figuratively, and literally.

Monday night we went over to a friend's house for FHE. It was a lot of fun. The only casualty of the night occurred when Rylen fell on the edge of the trampoline. Jackson brought him inside with tears streaming down his face and blood streaming down his knee. Fortunately for Rylen, the house was filled with a bunch of scouts (OLD and young) that administered first aid, and he chilled on the couch for the rest of the evening.

So...here's the difference between mom and dad:

(although this mom is probably not as sympathetic as most moms)

Mom looks at it and thinks: "Hmmm, that's a pretty deep cut, you'll probably need some stitches."

Dad looks at it and says: "Nice!! That's a good one, but you're tough. We'll stick some super glue on it tomorrow and it will be good as new!!"

Rylen somehow managed to survive the night...all bandaged up (actually...it may have been his dream come true...to be allowed to rummage through the bandaid cupboard and use as many bandaids as he wanted!) but when I looked at it in the morning I still thought it looked like it needed stitches, so since Breven had an appt. for a physical that afternoon anyhow, I dragged Rylen along, and off we went to visit Dr. Mike. All day long Rylen would tell whomever would listen that he had a DEEP cut beneath all the bandages and that he needed to have stitches. In fact he was quite stoic about the whole ordeal...until Dr. Mike gave him an injection of lidocaine to numb up his knee for the stitches. That's when the screaming started. I tried to warn him that stitches might not be as "fun" to get as he imagined, but of course, being 3 years old, Rylen didn't translate "getting stitches" into needles and blood...it was just a cool thing that boys got. Luckily, Rylen made it through the remainder of the stitches relatively unscathed, aside from a few minor meltdowns at the sight of the pinprick of blood every time Dr. Mike pulled a stitch through.

Now, I'm sure this sounds kind of callous on my part as mother, but the whole thing really had me in stitches. Rylen's response to everything was hilarious...first, the tough boy telling everyone about his deep cut and what he was going to get, then the look in his eyes as Dr. Mike gave him the injections and his little lip quivering at the sight of blood, and now his pride as he shows off his BYU blue stitches...3 to be exact...because he's 3 years old!! What a kid!

Just as a side note: Our conversation last night at the dinner table turned into a "who's had the most stitches" contest with Kenny pulling out all the stops to share the stories of his many escapades with Aunt Shelly that resulted in his own war wounds. Despite his best efforts to sway the votes, I believe that I won the contest!

Oh, and yes....Kenny is very disappointed because he didn't get to try out his cool super glue trick!

Final Update...

2009-06-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

We lost.

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Our little Braves played their hearts out, but in the end they were out-gunned.

Well, not even out-gunned really. Every one of the kids swung at the ball. Most of them hit it at least once. The other team had some really good fielding, but they only hit a few balls. Mostly they got walked onto the bases. Once they got on base, they were guaranteed a run because they just stole the rest of the bases...and then home. Warning: I might sound like a poor loser here (I'm not really. It is what it is...but I just have to gripe for a second.) I consider it poor sportsmanship to continue stealing bases and running up the score when you're already way out ahead of the other team. I know baseball is about scoring runs, and I wouldn't have expected the other coaches/team to let us win, but this is little league. There is no need to intentionally run up the score. It's poor sportsmanship on the part of the coaches to encourage their kids to do that. Maybe that's just me, but it really takes the fun out of playing. In our final game of the regular season, we actually were up by several runs. The kids loved it and would have kept running and scoring, but our coaches held them back. No stealing...only scoring on legitimate hits/plays. That's sportsmanship...not giving up the win, but not rubbing it in their faces!

Ok...I'm off my soapbox now.

So...we lost. The seasons done, but they went down swinging! Good job Braves!

Updating the Update

2009-06-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

So...since Ashlynn's team has only won 2 games all season long, I figured our run in a single elimination playoff tournament would be short lived.

I was wrong. (O me of little faith!)

They played their first tourny game tonight and thumped the other team. It's taken them an entire season, but it seems as though they've finally figured out how to play ball. Go figure! (And although I was rather hoping for the season to be over, I'll keep cheering our little underdogs on...cause it's kinda fun to win!)

So keep your fingers crossed, knock on wood, listen to Desperado (that's for you D)...just send a little luck our way. Go Braves!

Baseball Update

2009-06-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

With baseball season winding down, here's a quick update on the season:

Jackson's team (The Indians) won the regular season. They were looking good by the time the season ended, and things looked good going into the tournament, HOWEVER, they had a 2 week break right before the tourny, and couldn't quite get their rhythm back. Jackson was starting pitcher for most games. He did pretty good. Uncle Brandon gave him a few pointers, and he's definitely improving. He just needs to become more consistent. They played the last game of their season this morning...and despite looking awesome in the first inning of the game (2 homeruns to bring in 5 runs) they lost by 1 due to a game winning homerun in the final inning by the other team. The boys were a little disappointed, but it was a good game. If everyone returns next year they'll be one heck'uv a team.

Ashlynn's team (The Braves) played their final game of the regular season today, and I'm happy to announce that Ashlynn finally swung the bat! We've been buggin' her all season long to just take the bat off her shoulder. Today, not only did she swing the bat, but she got an "in-the-park" homerun! (Meaning she hit a line drive past first, but because she was so fast the other team didn't field the ball until she was almost on 3rd...they overthrew their 3rd baseman, and Ashlynn ran home.) Kenny was just giddy with excitement! Our little Braves ended up winning the game by 3 runs (a big accomplishment considering this is only the 2nd game they've won all season!) They start their tournament on Monday...who knows, maybe they'll decide to swing the bat again, and we'll make it out of the first round. Regardless, Ashlynn has had fun, and already has high hopes to be able to pitch next season.

So, you ask, whatever are you going to do for the rest of the summer? Sit by the pool drinking lemonade and eating ice cream?? I wish...nope, we're moving on to football!

Describing Ashlynn

2009-06-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

I should've done this post 2 weeks ago.

I would've done this post 2 weeks ago if I could've figured out what to write...

Nah, that's just an excuse...

Really, I've just been trying to put off the inevitable. It makes me feel old to now have 2 children in double digits. (My only consolation is that Kenny will always be older than me. *thanks dear...I love you!*) So, without further ado, I'll announce our resident 10 year old...

AKA: Ashlynn Chloe Balser

(Peep)

10 Things that Decribe Ashlynn

Drama Queen

(Need I say more about this one??)

Athlete

(gymnastics, baseball, 50 meter dash...)

Girly Girl

(hair, make-up, jewelery, dresses...)

Tomboy

(bikes, bruises, brawls (don't mess with her, she can hold her own!), bandaids...)

Big Sister

(or, much to the boys dismay, 2nd mother)

Little Sister

(in age (to Jackson)...and size!)

Center of Attention

(does not know the meaning of the word "shy")

Artsy-Craftsy/creative Genius

(drawing, jewelery-making...she's always up to create something!)

Avid Reader

(one hand always has a book in it...)

*This is such a newly aquired hobby that you'll just have to imagine a pic here*

Silly

(don't even get me started...)

I know, I know...some of these words kind of contradict one another...but, these words describe our Ashlynn to a "T." She's all of these things (and more) rolled up into one fiesty little ball of Ashlynn-ness, And we wouldn't have it any other way! (except some days...*sigh*)

Ashlynn celebrated her b-day with parties galore. (What was I thinking?) First, a small family get together with aunts, uncles, and cousins, and then a birthday bash with friends. There was pizza and cake eating, movie watching, dance dance revolutionizing, gift opening, and cute-bag making. What more could a 10 year old want??

Time Flies...

2009-06-08T13:33:00.001-07:00

Every year at the beginning of the new school year I do a post that has something to do with it being the "most wonderful time of the year." What then would I consider the end of the school year to be???

Whatever it (the end of school) happens to be...it's here...or, rather, was here a week and a half ago.

Breven has officially completed 1st grade. He enjoyed being in Mrs. Taylor's class this year. I'm told that he was a very helpful attendance-taker, and despite the fact that he's too smart for his own good, he managed to stay out of too much trouble! He excelled in reading and math, and like all good Balser boys...loved P.E.. Of course, school lunch was one of the highlights of the year too. (This growing boy is eating me out of house and home!)

Ashlynn successfully completed 4th grade. She loved being in Mrs. Harper's class. She especially loved the fun parties that Mrs. Harper threw! As is par for the course, Ashlynn's favorite part of school was her friends, but she also managed to develop a few new interests and talents throughout the year. After years of fighting us about reading, finally discovered the world of books. WooHoo! She is now our resident bookworm. She also joined the choir this year, and was even selected to sing a solo during one of their songs at the end of the year concert. She sang, "Reflections" from Mulan, and did a great job.

Jackson is no longer the big fish is the little pond. We're throwing him to the sharks! He has officially graduated (or to be politically correct..."been promoted"...I was told they're not allowed to have 6th grade graduation anymore; it is now 6th grade promotion) from 6th grade. When did Kenny and I become old enough to have a kid in junior high?? Jackson enjoyed being in Mr. Rasband's class...especially sincet he didn't have any homework all year long. Zero!! (He's in for a rude awakening next year!) He also enjoyed serving as a student rep. on the safety council, and he received the National Fitness Award. As reward for a great 6th grade year he gets to become a little fish in an ocean of junior high teenagers!

So...we survived the last week of school, and now I think it's the kids turn to be singing about the most wonderful time of the year. They've kicked summer into high gear. They're ready for pool parties, bike adventures, boat adventures, late nights, and everything else that summer brings with it. I hope I'm ready!!

Partial to Preschool

2009-05-25T17:25:00.001-07:00

I've never sent any of my kids to preschool...that is, until this year. I joined with a few other mom's when Ashlynn was 4 to do a little preschool with the kids. It was nice...on the weeks that I wasn't the one having preschool at my house. (Actually it was pretty fun. I'm not sure that Ashlynn actually learned anything though because she still couldn't do her ABC's by the time kindergarten rolled around...she was just stubborn and refused to learn them.) It's not that I was against preschool, I just never saw the need for my kids to attend.

This year, however, a family member offered to let Rylen attend her preschool class, so I thought, why not?? When I brought the idea up to Rylen (last August) he refused, saying that he just wanted to stay home and be with me. How nice of him to think of me! I signed him up anyhow just wanting him to try it. Grandma Robby bribed him with a new pair of "preschool" shoes...ie. shoes only to be worn if he went to preschool, and somehow we managed to convince him to give preschool a try. After about a week of "trying" preschool, he did a 180, and he hasn't looked back since.

He has had a blast this year, and learned a ton. He enjoyed fieldtrips to The Pumpkin Patch, Cabelas, and the Dinosaur Museum (among others.) He can count forward and backward, say and recognize most of his ABC's, and even say the entire Pledge of Allegiance. He has loved singing songs and reading stories with Miss Karen, making fun crafts, and playing with his new friends. I think his days of wanting to stay home with mom are a thing of the past.

Anyway, Rylen's preschool graduation ceremony (although he's just graduating from the 3 year old class to the 4 year old class) was last weekend. Miss Karen (and her whole family...it's a family affair) did a fabulous job with the whole shebang!! The kids looked adorable in their caps and gowns. They sang a number of songs, and Rylen knew all the words to each song...The Alphabet Song, The Days of the Week Song, The Baby Bumblebee Song, and You Are My Sunshine. (One of these days I'll figure out how to transfer my video onto the computer so that I can put up some video of the event, but for now, pictures will have to do.) It was a cute program, and a fun evening!

Ironically, the only thing that Rylen didn't enjoy was the candy cannon....not because it wasn't cool, but just because he didn't run out and get the candy fast enough. DRAMA!! Oh well...he'll just be all practiced up for next year.

All in all, I'd say we had a successful first time preschool experience. Thanks for everything Miss Karen. Can't wait till next year!!!

The Sandlot - Balser Style

2009-05-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Sandlot has got to be one of the best baseball movies ever...and, well, it's baseball season at the Balser household, so obviously there are a few memorable quotes from the flick that apply:

The "Pickle"

- Mom getting caught in the middle while trying to run between two ball games.

"Man, this is baseball. You gotta stop thinking. Just have fun."

-Kenny's words of advice to the kids...usually yelled some time in the 3rd inning of the game!

"You play ball like a girl!"

- Well, technically, she is a girl! Ashlynn was extremely jealous that the boys got to play ball last year and she didn't, so she traded in her leotard and grips for a bat and a glove this year. She's one of two girls on her team, and although she hasn't had a lot of pracice at the game, she's doing pretty good. She usually plays right field or 3rd base. She seems to have a good understanding of where the play should be made...so much so, that she's quite often the one telling everyone else where to throw the ball. She's yet to connect with a pitch, but that should come with a little BP. At the very least, she seems to be having fun!

"You're killing me Smalls"

-This is what Kenny mutters under his breath as he watches Ashlynn at bat. It kills him that she would rather watch the ball than swing at it!!!

"You call that pitching? This is baseball! Not tennis!"

- Jackson has moved up from little league to the Pony League. That's right...he's playing with the big boys now! He doesn't get to play as much as he did last year because he's one of the younger boys, but when he does play, he plays hard! He plays shortstop, and pitcher. (Thus the quote.) According to Jackson, his pitches are not the fastest, but they are pretty consistent!?? His coaches and Kenny are working on his technique with him, so he should improve as the season goes on. As for batting, he's had a few good hits, but because the fielding is so much better in this league. it forces Jackson to move his tail just to get on base! (It's good for him!)

"PLAY BALL! Hurry up, batter. This better be a short game, I gotta get home for lunch."

- This is what mom and all the rest of the kiddies are yelling when we're in the first inning of a double header!! Actually...I'm just happy to get to sit in the sunshine this year...with my cherry coke. Bright's happy to crawl all over the park and eat the dirt and rocks. Rylen is having a great time as King of the Playground, and although Breven would much rather be playing than watching, he enjoys taking his own ball and glove to the game to throw with whoever will throw with him. (We opted not to put Breven in the machine pitch league. He would have been bored with it, and I couldn't handle another practice or sitting through a machine pitch game. He thinks he's pretty cool though when he throws a ball with Jackson before practice and Jackson's teammates tell him he has a good arm...just wait till he's old enough for little league!)

Play ball!!!

When Mama's Happy...

2009-05-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

About 10 years ago, Kenny committed one of the biggest faux-pas of our marriage...He disregarded Mother's day. Notice I did not say "forgot" Mother's Day. I said "disregarded." Oops. Poor fella's been trying to make up for it ever since...and I must say, he was incredibly thoughtful this year!

Monday night, Kenny came home from work and handed

me a gift certificate for a day at the spa. He kicked me out the door at 9 am Tuesday morning and sent me over to the spa to enjoy a day of pampering...massage, facial, pedicure, highlights. And then to top it all off, I didn't even have to cook dinner when I came home! Kenny did his

homework! He took care of everything, and it was a fabulous day!!!

Sunday was another great day. We slept in. The kids gave me some really cute Mother's Day stuff that they made at school. (I think Rylen was the most excited about his gift...he made me a little heart necklace at preschool. He asked me Sunday morning if I was going to wear it to church. "Would you like me to wear it to church?" I asked. "Yes mom, because it will make you look sooooo beautiful." he replied. How can you argue with that?? And just as a little side note, it seems that Rylen's gift was multifunctional...necklace, beautifier, AND teething ring. Yep, Bright quite enjoyed my gift too.) Kenny and the kids took care of lunch, and there was even time for a nap! WooHoo! Can we have Mother's Day every month???

Anyway, as is par for the course, we were late in sending our love to our own mother's/grandmothers. Kenny and I feel blessed to have such wonderful mom's...and the kids definitely have fabulous grandma's. We are so thankful for their support, advice, concern, example, and most of all, love. We want them to know how much we love them!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! We love you!

HAPPY

2009-04-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am obviously behind the eight ball in posting this, but that seems to be how life is lately... I always seem to be a day late and a dollar short these days!

The "word of the week" during our Easter and Spring break was HAPPY! The kids (except possibly Rylen) were happy to have a week off of school. They were even HAPPIER when Grandma Robby and Grandpa Tony came to visit and spoil them. All the Easter treats definitely made them happy. Bright was more than happy to sample everything out of the Easter baskets! A week spent playing with cousins was a happy break from doing chores. Sleepovers with those same cousins made all of us happy (with the exception of Denice and Steve, who ended up being the hosts of the blessed event!...you guy are braver than we are!) Breven was happy to get to play video games again. Rylen was happy to be a superhero all week long! Kenny and I were happy to have a couple of days of peace and quiet! Jackson was happy to spend a couple of days with his long lost, best buddy in the world, Morgan. Ashlynn was happy to watch High School Musical 3 all day long!All in all, a week of movies, McDonalds, playing from sun up to sun down, and staying up late was enough to leave all of us happy...and dreading the following week when we were playing catch up as a result of all our happiness!

Bass-ackwards

2009-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Jackson is a really good big brother (for the most part.) He always has been. From the day we brought Ashlynn home from the hospital he was the first one up in the middle of the night informing us that the baby was hungry. Now, quite often you can find him playing with Rylen or Bright...chasing them, playing games with them, doing whatever they want to do.

Now, despite the fact that Jackson is such a SUPER brother, he is still only human. He makes the occasional mistake. This time we managed to capture it on film (so to speak)...lest he try to deny the incident ever occurred. Let me paint a picture for you: I was busy doing a project the other night. Jackson was taking care of Bright for me. Bright was being a PILL!! Jackson didn't know what to do with him. Realizing that it had been a while since the last diaper change, I told Jackson that Bright probably needed to be changed. Now, this is normally not something that Jackson would do. Usually Jackson bounce passes Bright off to Ashlynn at this point, but, to Jackson's credit, he decided to tackle the diaper on his own. A few minutes later Jackson came downstairs with Bright in tow...changed and happy. Hooray! Another diaper changer in the house...or so I thought. Later that same evening, Kenny took Bright upstairs to get him ready for bed. Not more than thirty seconds later he came back down asking who had changed Bright last. "Jackson" I replied, "Why?"
Here's why.....

Yes folks...the diaper is on BACKWARDS!!
Here, let me get a close up for you...

Now, granted, Bright's a little SquIrMy when you try to change him, but how Jackson got the diaper on him backwards is a mystery to me.
Apparently we'll need to invest in that babysitting course afterall.

My, What a Difference a Few Days Make

2009-03-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is what it looked like outside this morning....

Only a few days ago (ok, technically, a week) the weeds were starting to grow in the flowerbed, the grass was starting to turn green, and the kids were doing this...

Notice the attire in these pictures.... no coats, short sleeve shirts, shorts!!! Most importantly and probably most obviously, there is NO SNOW!!

OK...I'm bringing out the big guns now. It's time for everyone to go buy a big suburban. We could do with a little global warming around here!
Let's call for a vote on it.

I make a motion that we ban any more of this:

And move on to more seasonable weather like this:

until at least November 2009.

All in favor, say "aye!"

Family Night Funnies

2009-03-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

Jackson gave our lesson for family night last night. It was entitled, Bury our Weapons - Show our Kindness, and it talked about how the words we use can sometimes be as hurtful as a weapon. He talked about the Anti-Nephi Lehi's, told a short story, then had us go around the room and say nice things about each other, and the concluding activity was to write some of the mean words/phrases that we say on some paper swords and bury them in the garbage can (just like the Anti-Nephi Lehi's.) He did a really good job, and the kids enjoyed coming up with silly names (to go along with the mean names) to bury in the garbage can. As they sat at the table eating their dessert (that Ashlynn made) they would throw names out and ask Kenny and I for our opinion...Stupid (yep, bury it!), Idiot (yep, get rid of that one too), Knuckleheadmcspazatron (ummm...you can keep that one), Retard (gone!)...you get the picture. Well as they were throwing out words Ashlynn decided on one and asked how us how to spell it.

Ashlynn - "Oh, I've got one....how do you spell weirdo?"
Mom - "A - S - H - L - Y - N - N" (come on now...who would have passed up an opportunity like that? She walked right into that one!)
Ashlynn - "Huh??...(after a few seconds)...Hey!!"
Dad - "That's right Peep...yo' momma just threw you under the BUS!"
Boys - "Ahhhhh.....Ha Ha Ha"

Poor Ashlynn! I suppose we were picking on her...on the other hand, it was just to good of an opportunity to pass up!

I think we might have to have this lesson again next week!

The Precious Things of Life

2009-03-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

I was reminded this week of the truly precious things of life...my family, my faith. The husband of one of Kenny's cousins' passed away suddenly at the beginning of the week. I can only imagine the heartache that their family is going through and my heart aches for their loss. Sometimes we take for granted the time we have with our family because it seems like they are always there. I feel truly blessed to have my husband and children and to know that we can be together throughout eternity.

This song (Come to Jesus by Kenneth Cope, originally by Chris Rice) has come to mind all week long. The first time I heard it was a few weeks before my grandma passed away. The latter part of the song always brings tears to my eyes because I can picture her "flying to Jesus." It goes through all the stages of life and reminds me that Christ is there for us through joy and sorrow. He rejoices with us at our successes. He suffers with us through our trials. He is there to heal us; to lift us; to comfort us; and to welcome us home with open arms.
*Be sure to pause the music on the sidebar at the bottom of the page before you start the video.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Andrea and her family.

(I also heard another song last night at our RS enrichment meeting that reminded me of the comfort that Christ offers. I won't post it here, but it's on my mombles blog.)

Oops

2009-02-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

PLUS

EQUALS

Such was the scene at our house this evening. Ashlynn was dutifully doing her chores, but ran out of dishwasher tablets to use in the dishwasher. I told her to use the DISHWASHER LIQUID under the sink. She decided that the dishwasher liquid and the DISH SOAP were the same thing. I didn't realize the mistake until I came into the kitchen to make dinner and found myself swimming in bubbles. (Not literally, but the bubbles were covering a good portion of the floor and spewing out of the dishwasher on all sides.) Needless to say, I was a little annoyed with Ashlynn for making such a silly mistake and giving me an extra mess to clean up, but after a few minutes, an apology, and a hug, I just had to chuckle. It reminded me of my freshman and sophmore year at BYU when we'd flood the dishwasher on purpose. We found it was the most efficient way to clean the kitchen floor for cleaning checks. (I would post a picture but all evidence has been conveniently disposed of to preserve the innocence of all involved parties.)

Spring

2009-02-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

Spring???
Yoohoo!
Where are you?
I'm waiting patiently...
Or at least I have been waiting patiently.
But now I'm tired of waiting.
Where are you?

I'm probably asking for too much. After all, it is only February. But I'm tired of winter. And snow. And cold. And coats, hat's, and gloves. And winter sniffles. And bad roads. And...well, you get the picture.

So, I'm ready!
I'm ready for blooming flowers.
I'm ready for birdies chirping.
I'm ready for sunshine and warmth.
I'm ready for bike riding, and playgrounds, and baseball!
I'm ready!

Mother nature gave us a small glimpse of warm weather over the weekend and the kids took full advantage of it. We had a little babysitting swap with Denice and Steve so that we could go to the temple and the kids ran wild in the backyard! WILD!

I'm hoping the beautiful weather will last, but I'm thinking it was only a teaser! Mom said it's snowing again in Canada, so I'm sure it's on it's way here, but I'll keep my fingers crossed (and my arms, legs, toes...anything it takes) that spring is on the way.

Here's a quick glance (especially for G. Robby and G. Tony...but also for anyone that wants to watch) of the weekend escapades, and a reminder that hopefully spring is not too far away!

I Love To See The Temple

2009-02-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

Last night we had the opportunity to go to the Draper Temple open house....all of us! What a great family activity.

The kids and I met Kenny at work last night...which, for the kids, is a treat in and of itself. They love to go up to the "boat store." When Kenny was finally able to escape from work we headed up to the temple. For those of you who have not had the chance to go to the open house yet this is how it was supposed to work: Get your tickets; Park at a stake center down the road from the temple; Watch a video about the temple in the stake center; Get on a bus that takes you up to the temple; Tour the temple; Go to the reception center (at the stake center across the street from the temple) for treats; Go home! Our night went a little differently. After we picked up Kenny, I wanted to drive directly up to the temple to take a few pictures before the sun went down. I wasn't sure if we would be able to get onto the temple grounds without being on the bus but we decided to try anyhow. As luck would have it, the parking attendants let us drive into the temple parking lot. When we got out to take a picture another parking attendant came running over to us. I quickly explained that we just wanted to take a quick picture and then we would go back down to the stake center to wait for the buses. He assured us that we were fine where we were and was just coming over to check and see if we needed help (since we were in the handicapped lot) and offered to take a picture of us.

As we were loading back into the car he asked us if we had tickets for a session. We told him that we were heading back down to the stake center right then to wait for our turn and then he offered to just take us in through the "special" entrance. He said he knew how hard it was to wait in the line at the stake center with several kids. What luck!!...maybe it was inspiration because I don't think Bright would have lasted through the wait. We all enjoyed the temple tour for different reasons. Ashlynn was the most intrigued with the temple. She asked lots of questions and made several observations. Jackson was fascinated by the baptismal font. (I think he's excited to be able to do baptisms there.) Breven liked the temple movie, and Rylen liked the cookies at the reception center after the tour. Bright was a pill! Kenny enjoyed talking about the special rooms in the temple with the kids and I enjoyed being at the temple together as a family. I realize that the temple has not been dedicated yet, but it is a special feeling to be in the temple with your whole family. Mom. Dad. Kids. Everyone! That's what Heavenly Father intended!

When we finished at the temple we took the kids for ice cream at JCW's. All in all, it was a great night!

(you'll notice Rylen's not in this pic...he was too absorbed in the ice cream.)

Inchworm

2009-02-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

I've never been very fond of bugs, but now my home is inhabited by a rollie pollie bug and an inchworm (and I really don't mind.) That's right folks, Bright has now become mobile. He's not what you would call "speedy" but he manages to get around and I'm sure he'll speed up soon enough. (I'll get my running shoes ready.)

This doesn't look like far, but if you think in term of body length, it's like he's just run a mile. Phewff!!! AND when inchworming along isn't fast enough, he just rolls....and rolls, and rolls, and rolls. More often than not, he's rolling off of something. The couch. The bed. You'd think he would learn. You'd think I would learn. Obviously not!

Not everyone is happy about Bright's new found mobility however. Rylen is now finding out what "sharing" truly is. (Oh, the joys of younger siblings!) I'm sure the two of them will have fun chasing after each other in the years to come.

As for me, I guess I'll have to get a gate!

...and Grandpa Tony, we're ready for you to come visit and fine tune the crawling skills!

New Idea

2009-02-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

OK...so my new year's resolution's are pretty simple: Improve myself, and Improve my family. (I know these goals sound really vague, but I wanted to give myself a lot of leeway...flexibility so to speak...to be able to accomplish these goals in whatever way I choose and not feel like a failure.)

Anyway, with that said I've come up with a way to accomplish the goal and my own check system to keep me working on it. I've decided that after several months of blogging, that this is something that I actually quite enjoy doing. I've started a few other blogs and I seem to do them for a little bit and then fizzle out, so I've decided to combine a few different blogs that I was already doing into a new creation and see where it goes. It will be a blog that has some random thoughts from me, but also things to learn, things to do, places to go, ideas, yadda yadda yadda. I figure if I'm putting it out in front of everyone then hopefully I'll keep working on it...and thereby accomplish my new year's resolutions.

If you're interested, you can find me at Mombles. (Weird name I know, but just humor me.) This blog will of course still hold all our family stuff. The other one is just kind of a "me" blog! Come visit me and keep me on course!

Heaven

2009-01-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

Kenny and I made a deal when Jackson was born. We started out with both of us getting up in the middle of the night for various things...feedings, diaper change, random cries, etc...but after a few nights I knew it wouldn't work. It took longer to wake Kenny up to get the baby or change the baby than it did for me to do it all myself, and so we struck up a deal that went something like this: The night duties belonged to me for the first year, night time duties from that point forward then fell on Kenny (daddy, I had a bad dream...waiting up for the kids to get home from dates, etc...that's his job.) The deal has carried on through each of our children and has worked quite well thus far.

I've learned (from our previous 4 children) not to expect my babies to sleep through the night until they're about a year old. Not that they're bad sleepers, but that's just how it goes. They're never up for long in the middle of the night. They're just up...for whatever reason (hungry, cold, hot, need comfort, etc.) and I'm o.k. with that. With that said, however, I thought I would write a quick post on the sheer elation I felt this morning when I woke up and realized that I wasn't up once last night. Bright slept the entire night. Rylen didn't come into our room to snuggle. (Despite that fact that the older kids are all trained to get dad in the middle of the night, I'm a light sleeper, so I wake up regardless.) NOTHING!!

1 whole night's sleep...without interruption! Pure HEAVEN!! I'll take it for what it's worth! I really don't EXPECT it to happen again tonight...but one could always hope!

A Healthy Dose of Humble Pie

2009-01-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

A situation came up last week that I thought would be one of those tough life lessons for my kid...well it ended up being a life lesson for me. A healthy dose of humility!

So, I've already mentioned that the kids got iPods for Christmas. What I didn't mention was that the minute the ipods were unwrapped, Kenny and I laid out the RULES for them...including that they were never to leave the house unless they were just being used in the car. We thought our rules were pretty simple. Self explanatory really. Never in a million years would we have imagined that the one to have the hardest time with the rule would be our oldest.

Jackson took his iPod to young men's last week. (That was his first mistake.) When I went to pick him up, he kept us waiting while he dashed off to get "something" he forgot in the church. After several minutes of looking in the church, he came back to the car with a sickly look on his face. "Mom, we need to go home and get a flashlight." he choked out weakly. "Why?" I asked. "I accidentally brought my iPod to young mens with me and now I can't find it." was his reply. (They had been playing hide and go seek outside for most of the night.) BUSTED! After saying a few things I probably shouldn't have, I brought him home to get a flashlight and then took him back to the church to search...to no avail. Dejected...and empty handed, he came home to a barrage of questions from Kenny and I. (Here comes his second mistake) Did you really just accidentally take your iPod to YM's? No. What were you doing with it? Where did you put it? Etc. Etc. Basically in addition to breaking the rule of taking the iPod, he lied about why he took it, then lied about lying (when he was already caught), and on top of all of that his iPod was still gone. Sometimes life stinks! Anyway, so somewhere in our conversation Jackson said something to the effect of, "I know my iPod is not stolen." "Oh really," I replied, "...and who told you that?" "God." he said. "God?? You prayed about it?? I think maybe you should pray again." came my sharp reply. (I'm thinking to myself that now I'll get to have that conversation about how sometimes we hear the answers that we want to hear when we pray, instead of listening for the real answer...yadda yadda yadda.) Well, after more searching, and no results, Jackson gave up for the night. I spoke with Jackson again the next day after school discussing responsibility, disobedience, lying...and most importantly not using God as an excuse to "knowing" that his iPod was not stolen, and then I sent him back over to the church for one last look. One of his friends met him there to help look, and about an hour later they both walked in our door with huge smiles on their faces, and triumphantly produced the LOST iPod. Unfortunately for Jackson, due to the other mistakes he made, he is grounded (for quite a while)...but I guess it doesn't sting quite as much since he did recover his beloved iPod.

Now, for my piece of humble pie...I feel like a schmuck! I did not handle the situation very well. I lost my temper. I said a few choice things that won't repeat. And on top of all of that, I called Jackson out on praying...well, not praying per se, but I did say that I didn't think the answer that he got was correct. Guess that shows what I know huh? Well, all I can say is that I learned a valuable lesson last week, and hopefully my heaping teaspoon of humility will help me handle the situation better next time. Ughhh!

Christmas Pics

2009-01-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

This is for anyone bored or crazy enough to sit through a bunch of our family Christmas pics. Enjoy!

Catch-Up!!

2009-01-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

OK...so we're only 5 days into 2009 and I'm already playing catch-up...not so good, but I'll do my best not to let it reflect on the rest of my year!!

December was CRAZY! Really! Let's clarify...everything, Christmas, no school, family visits, etc were great...but it was what I would classify as controlled chaos...a lot of times without the "controlled." December seemed to come and go so quickly, and now I am left playing catch up, so without further delay here are the events of December past:

Jackson turned 12. Wow! I've been thinking about this for quite some time now...mostly, when did I get old enough to have a 12 year old...but there are some definite benefits. 1. I now have a built in babysitter, so Kenny and I might get to go on a date every now and then! 2. Since you can never fill up a 12 year old's stomach, Jackson has figured out that to be fed he needs to learn how to cook. He now ventures into the kitchen every once in a while and attempts to make mac & cheese. That's as far as we've gotten, but he's got high aspirations of learning how to make a grilled cheese sandwich too...and really, mac & cheese AND a grilled cheese sandwich, what more could a 12 year old want??? 3. I now have another Priesthood holder in my house. Jackson was ordained on Dec. 28th with all 3 sets of his grandparents present, and 2 great grandparents. He collected fast offerings and passed the sacrament for the first time yesterday, and although he was a little nervous, he did well. He did have to make a stop at home on his fast offering route to put on a few more layers of clothing...in his words, "It's way stinkin' cold out there!" I'm sure there are more benefits of having a 12 year old in the house that will be made manifest as the year progresses, but for now I'll just say that we're happy that we have a happy, healthy 12 year old kid. Jackson, we love you...and yes it might seem like we pick on you...but you are 12!! (Just as a side note...I'm a bad mom. We had a small family birthday party for Jackson...didn't even bake a cake...(just put a candle into some sweet rolls)...and then an extended family birthday party where (lucky for him) Kirsten did bake a cake (it was Michael's birthday too,) but I didn't take 1 picture...SORRY. Lucky for Jackson though...because despite having only 1 candle on his sweet rolls, and 1 candle on his cake, he BLEW it...not literally. He actually missed extinguishing the candle both times! Do candle girlfriends add up???

The week before Christmas was one Christmas concert after another.

The activity day girls in our ward did "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Ashlynn played the Grinch! (I could say something here, but I'll refrain!)

The next night Ashlynn participated in the school choir concert. The kids did a really good job. Ashlynn's favorite songs were "Monotone Angel" and "Believe" from the movie Polar Express.

The following morning, Rylen had a little preschool Christmas concert. They sang some Christmas songs (Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer was priceless!) and Miss Karen helped all the kids make special presents for mom and dad. The kids loved showing off for their parents, but the most exciting thing for them was getting to have snack time with mom and dad. Miss Karen constantly amazes me with everything that she does for and with the kids. Rylen absolutely LOVES her!

We fell a little short of our goal of having a functional basement before all our guests arrived. It wasn't for lack of trying though. Kenny has done a great job. I almost feel bad that he spent most of his vacation time on our little downstairs project...almost! Thanks to Jason, Grandpa Tony, Grandpa Bob, Dan, and Tom the hard part is mostly finished. Between all of them they were able to get the drywall up in the bedroom, bathroom, and the lid of the family room, get the doors hung, and put in all of the electrical outlets. (Thankfully, Brad was able to come and get us all "electrified" before everyone arrived.)

(Yes that is me...complete with tool belt on and drywall gun in hand. I had to post this pic...just to prove that I helped too. I'll post more pictures of our progress later.)

Christmas itself was a lot of fun. Grandma Robby and Grandpa Tony arrived the weekend before Christmas and spoiled the kids with sleepovers and movies. Santa must have crash landed at our house on Christmas Eve. We told the kids that we were just going to have a small Christmas this year. I think they were pleasantly surprised when they woke up Christmas morning! I was pleasantly surprised at how excited the kids were this year to give gifts rather than just receive them. It does a mother's heart good to see genuine excitement in her child's eyes as they watch eagerly to see someone unwrap a gift that they have picked out for them and then explode with the, "I got this for you because..." after the gift is opened.

Among many other things, the kids each got ipods for Christmas. (Mom and Dad were thinking they could use them to watch movies in the car on long trips to Canada and California.) This may have been the best investment we have ever made! They get in the car; turn on a movie or their tunes, and voila! NO FIGHTING!!! I don't even hear a peep out of them (unless they're laughing at the movie or singing along with their music.) Thank-you Apple!!! Kenny also got an ipod for Christmas (to replace the one that was stolen out of his car) and Kenny surprised me with an awesome new camera. I've been complaining about our camera for a while, and hinting (not so subtley) that I wanted to get a good camera and maybe even take some photography lessons. Santa Kenny worked really hard and saved really hard (which really is hard work for him) to get me a better camera than I could have ever imagined. He really did his research, and outfitted me really well. Now I'll have my work cut out for me trying to learn how to use it, and hopefully making his "investment" payoff!

After Christmas, Kenny's entire family arrived. Grandma Evie and Grandpa Bob, Dan & Lauren, Tom, Camille & Dave, and Jessie, Toby, Logan, and Sidney. The kids had a blast with their cousins and aunts and uncles. We took a trip to the Kangaroo Zoo to let the kids run off some steam. The kids enjoyed having snowball fights and building snowmen in the backyard, and the adults enjoyed playing games. (Sorry about mao, Dave...it was just too much for my little brain to handle!)

All in all we had a great Christmas! Family, Friends, Food, Fun...what more could we ask for? (In fact Rylen is still asking when that big girl (that's you Lauren) and his friends (cousins' Logan & Toby) are going to come back.) Thanks to everyone for coming and spending time with us this Christmas. It was crazy, but we wouldn't have it any other way! Now we're just back to the craziness of normal, everyday life!

Student of the Month

2008-12-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

Breven was given the Student of the Month award for his class this month. His teacher said that not only is he a great student, but he is also very helpful to her and the other kids. She said that he always keeps her on time (how come he doesn't know how to tell time at home???) She said he is VERY deserving of this award! Way to go Brev...Keep up the good work!!

Christmas Tag

2008-12-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

I like wrapping paper...but I start to get lazy around midnight and then I turn to bags...sometimes just a box with a bow and if it's much past 1am or 2 am everyone's lucky to just have the gift thrown into a box! (I'm a late Christmas wrapper...I have good intentions, but it never happens...I guess you could say it's tradition!)
2. Real tree or artificial?: My mom always did a real tree, and although I like the smell, I hate the needles so....artificial. (It also saves a little $$ and we could all use that at Christmas time)
3. When do you put up the tree?: Usually the first or second week of December. We always try for the day after Thanksgiving, but it never happens.
4. When do you take the tree down?: After New Year's Day
5. Do you like eggnog?: YUCK!!!....nasty stuff, but Kenny and Jackson love it, so I usually buy some as a treat for them.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?: The nintendo power pad. What a blast!!!
7. Hardest person to buy for?: Don't know...if I don't have any ideas I just turn to gift cards...they work for everyone!
8. Easiest person to buy for?: Rylen and Bright...Rylen's list is about a gazillion miles long, and Bright's only 5 months, so he gets everything that mommy wants for him!
9. Do you have a nativity scene?: Yep, a few of them.
10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?: I would prefer snail mail, but I'm never on the ball enough to get them mailed out, so it usually ends up being e-mail.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?: Can't remember a bad Christmas gift. Mom and Dad always spoiled us!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?: Love those old Santa, Rudolf, and Frosty movies...ya know the ones with Bing Crosby. Home Alone (only the first one) is good too, but I cringe every time the guy steps on the nail (it's like fingernails on the chalkboard)...ewwww!!!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?: I buy things all year long.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?: Don't think so.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?: Hot chocolate and any Christmas treats. It just gives me another excuse to eat chocolate
16. Favorite Christmas tradition?: Christmas eve pj's, and Christmas morning breakfast, and a new Christmas CD every year!
17. Favorite Christmas song?: I LOVE all carols. Particularly, The Prayer (Celine Dion and Andrea Boccelli) and, I don't know if you would consider this a Christmas song but I always listen to it at Christmas...Prayer of the Children (Kurt Bestor)
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?: Stay at home...it's too hard to travel with kids AND presents. Sorry mom & dad!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?: Of course...can't you???
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?: Star...that's the kids favorite part of the tree.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?: PJ's on Christmas eve, and everything else Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?: When it's cold and there is no snow. I can handle cold as long as there is snow to go with it (not that I really like snow either, but snow always makes Christmas seem more Christmassy...although all the snow needs to disappear by Dec. 26th)...AND...craziness at the mall! (that's why I do my shopping all year, so I don't have to spend so much time there during the actual Christmas season)

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner?: When I was a kid we always used to do turkey, etc....Delicious! Lately (the past few years), we've turned to a honey-baked ham and funeral potatoes...Yummy!
24. What do you want for Christmas this year?: A finished basement (that's not asking too much is it???)
25. How many days left until Christmas?: 10!!!!