Life at the Nelsonranch

December 2010

2011-01-15T20:57:00.004-07:00

We had a good December. I wanted to do more activities to feel the Christmas Spirit. One of the first things we did was go to the Nativity at the Provo Tabernacle on the first weekend in December. My brother Mike called and asked us if we wanted to go with them about five minutes before we left the house. So we decided to meet there. There were sheep, a miniature donkey and cow and a camel! The little ones sure liked petting the animals that one might have seen in the stable. We went inside and watched a presentation about the Savior's birth. It was beautiful. We really enjoyed the night and came home to drink hot chocolate, eat treats and have fun with my brother's family. Sadly, not too much later the Provo Tabernacle burned so badly it is now just a husk of a building. We were very grateful to get this last opportunity to be in the building.

I was able to finish up two more stockings with the help of a good friend in Pleasant Grove. When I first had the opportunity to make them I figured I would only need eight. At the time that was one extra for the amount of family members. Well, we now have ten which meant I needed 2 more. Luckily Karen saves every scrap of fabric and there was just enough to match the original stockings. It felt great to have these completed.

We attended a wonderful family Christmas party and enjoyed everyone's company but sorely missed those who weren't able to be there.

We also went to a work party where we were able to have pizza and play laser tag and a game of bowling. The kids really enjoyed that, even the littlest ones.

Christmas Eve we had a great time eating yummy treats, acting out the Christmas story, going to the cemetery to leave a candle and opening up new pajamas. We also opened up the last present from the 24 days of Christmas my sister Alison put together. Many of the days in December we would tell a Christmas story, sing a song and open a gift. The kids really looked forward to that time.

Christmas day was nice to be together and enjoy the excitement from the children. We went to Grandmas for dinner. I will never bring punch again as it cause too much stress. : ) Michaela and I played our flutes together and we listened to John play his cello. We had a fun break from school and are enjoying the new year.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-12T22:42:00.007-07:00

We took a trip up to Washington this year for Thanksgiving to visit Paul's family. The trip up there was pretty decent. We had farmed the three oldest kids over to Uncle Jerry and they rode up in his van. We must have brought the snow with us because there was a decent snowstorm which had the Washingtonians in a dither.
We enjoyed a nice visit at Grandma's house playing games, watching movies and eating yummy treats. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle David's house and had amazing food provide by Aunt Claire. We went up to Fort Worden on a very chilly day, but had great fun exploring the bunkers and walking the beach in the blustery bone-chilling breeze.
We had to extend our trip by one day because of the snowstorm in Id but we had a great time and it was fun to see the family.

August

2010-08-29T20:21:00.003-07:00

I have to say entering the month of August, it got a bit more crazy 'round here.

Michaela and Trey attended Marching Band Camp for two weeks. Bryce, Isaac, Tessa and Ronny went to 2 sessions of swimming classes. We started soccer season for Trey, Bryce, Isaac and Tessa. School started last Tuesday and I got called to be in Primary as second counselor (over Cub Scouts).

I haven't been to see the horses very often although I had good intentions of having my colt green broke this year. Guess we shall see if that happens. . .

Paul and the kids went up to their cousins and went wave running. Hopefully there isn't too big of a bill attached to that activity, heh.

Ronny will be starting Kindergarten in another week. He seems really excited. I am hoping he is not like Trey who said on the 3rd day of school that he didn't like it so much and he'd rather stay home.

I am looking forward to some quieter afternoons when the lil' boys are napping: )

oh Mama!

2010-06-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

just calculated that we have changed 40,000 diapers since becoming parents. . .

2010-05-09T09:43:00.001-07:00

We've had some fun things going on at the Nelsonranch. Bryce, Isaac and Tessa enjoyed basketball and Spring soccer. Most of the soccer games were freezing cold though. Isaac was excited to sign up for baseball because then he would be playing three sports!!
Bryce has moved up to 11 yr old scouts and received his Arrow of Light for cub scouts. I will miss having him in Webelos.
Trey made the percussion line at Timpview and will be playing cymbals. He seems pretty excited about that.
It seems really crazy that school is almost out and that we have lived here in Provo for almost a year. It seems longer. Maybe because everything is so familiar and the people here are great.
The horses have shoes on and I am looking forward to wearing them out this summer. Any of you who are able are more then welcome to come ride with us- just give me a jingle.

Random mumblings

2010-04-04T21:21:00.003-07:00

It has been a looong winter. Thankfully, I haven't thought about it until the last few weeks. But now I am ready for it to be sunny and warm, so that we can do more things outside and Michaela and I can go ride the horses and go to the park and get sunburned and chase the little boys out of the street and swat a million flies because the door was left open and plant a garden so the dogs can rip it up and mow the grass!!!

We've just been surviving. We had a few birthday parties in the last couple months. Danny and Alex got WALL-E's from Grandma N and PJ's from Grandma A and lots of cars from Grandpa A and Patti.

We are looking forward to Spring Break- hoping we do some fun things together.

Trey and Michaela have had some band concerts. Trey is totally hyped about percussion. He plays the piano everyday.

Bryce is doing an after-school program building robots with a group. He and his cousin Ryan are on the same soccer team. Isaac cheered when he was signed up for baseball while he was playing basketball and soccer (Paul finally has his all-around sports kid).

Tess is loving school and passed off her third grade words list (she is in 1st grade still :P)

Ronny continues to torment the lil boys and vie for mum's time.

Sledding time!!

2010-01-05T09:42:00.003-07:00

I am shocked! It has actually snowed in Provo enough to go sledding a couple times. I hear this much snow has been a bit unusual though, we must have brought it from Elk Ridge:D

Christmas 2009

2010-01-05T09:19:00.004-07:00

We had an enjoyable Holiday time, relaxing from school, work and the regular routine. Paul and I went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert with Natalie Cole as guest singer. Mike and Lauren came with us (after a practice run the week before-lol). It was beautiful!
We were able to walk through Temple square and see the lights.

We enjoyed our ward Christmas party and Danny proved to be the bravest in the family going to sit on Santa's lap.
We made Christmas cookies for the neighbors and decorated a gingerbread house. Paul took the kids to a movie. The kids enjoyed bonding together as I finished up the shopping. We had a great Christmas Eve get-together at Mike and Lauren's. We ate yummy food, opened some presents and enjoyed a rendition of the Christmas story by all the little ones. Too bad Paul missed that, as he was rounding up our lost dogs from the police station:/
We had a nice Christmas morning, opening gifts and eating some tasty sausage casserole and buttermilk pancakes. Later that day, all of the family came for dinner. More good food!! Danny popping in a DVD!

Finally to conclude the wonderful Holidays, we had everyone over for New Year's Eve where we played fun games, laugh to Brian Regen and you guessed it. . .ate more yummy food! We yelled in the new year and sang a beautiful version of Happy Birthday to my sis, Rebecca. Good times!

Twin tornadoes

2010-01-05T08:48:00.004-07:00

Danny & Alex

So, my sister Sarah, says to me: "Which one is more of a troublemaker?" I replied that they don't really get into much. . . and then after a bit I said, "Okay, maybe Danny."
I must have been feeling a little delusional after all the Christmas candy!
The next day this is what I enjoyed.

Trip to WA

2009-12-02T10:12:00.006-07:00

Michaela and I decided to stay home from the annual trip to WA state for Thanksgiving, but since there was a cameraman on duty I can document the trip a bit.

(During my week off, Michaela and I went to ride the horses FIVE times and I was able to sit on Comet for a bit twice. We also had fun hanging out with each other doing miscellaneous things).

While in WA, Paul and the kids enjoyed Thanksgiving at Grandma's, going to a few museums, the park, the beach and seeing some live reindeer (again).

I couldn't resist posting this cute kid
Alex and Danny were sure this was real food and were trying to eat it.

How would you like to sleep here?!?

Hmm- a navy shipman- I always knew he wanted to be in the military. . .
"Ka- BOOOM"
Umm- the boys are "panking" this poor statue . . . some one gave them a bit of encouragement
- sigh-

Ronnie passed out on the way home

Isaac is leading the boys in an entertaining version of "Popcorn"

Grandma Myrtle Tingey Andrews Johnson

2009-10-06T08:39:00.004-07:00

My grandmother passed away this morning around 4:30 AM. She was a strong woman all the way to the end. This picture was taken a month ago when we all went to see her. We will miss her. She is a great woman and I am thankful that she was my grandmother. I will miss all the stories she told about Mike and I. Love you forever Grammy!

Summer flew by faster than a zephyr

2009-08-24T06:33:00.005-07:00

I guess August has been pretty busy. Summer wrapped up rather quickly with the start of soccer practice, band camp, registering at three schools, preparing for school and sending the kiddos off to school.

Tessa is now officially going to school full time. She is in first grade this year. Isaac and Bryce apparently got their mug in the newspaper. The article was about how budget cuts in the schools were affecting bus transportation. The bus wasn't going to pick my kids up here, (and I was going to drive them to another school instead) but some moms threw down and we have a bus after all.
Tessa, Isaac, Bryce, and Trey are playing on the rec. soccer teams. Michaela is playing on the freshman soccer team at school. Tessa scrums right in there with girls two head's taller.

I didn't think I take an Isaac incarnate picture but. . .. . .here is Danny after he got into Michaela's make-up. I have a picture of Isaac after he got into Grandma's lipstick at about the same age.

So three weeks after we moved here, I thought to myself: "I need to tell Mic and Trey to quit feeding Ginger so much. She's getting fat!" Well. . .it wasn't long before I realized Ginger was pregnant. . .again! The roving Alaskan Malamute couldnt stay out of her pen in Elk Ridge and well, the rest is history. Last night Ginger had six puppies.
Any takers??

Day at the park and Ronnie's couple stings

2009-08-03T21:23:00.007-07:00

We took a little trip to an old favorite place- Rock canyon park. We had fun playing on the slides, rolling down the big hill, and soaking up the sun. Tess and Ronnie found a little snake. It was fun listening to their little squeals as they tried to capture the beast.
I got this picture right as my batteries died. I was trying to get the boys to look at me but they were watching another vehicle pull into the park.

We visited the Dodson's on Sun evening. While we were there, Ronnie found some new friends, a yellow jacket nest. He got 7 stings. His poor little hand is swollen from the stinger that had gotten left in his skin. He has been fairly tough only waking up last night crying because it hurt.
It's pretty crazy that summer is winding down and we are starting to prepare for school. Michaela is attending Band camp at the school for the next two weeks. I can't believe I am a band parent. . .I am so excited for her and I hope she enjoys the opportunity to be a part of such an awesome group.

Trey's adventures and a game o' Jenga

2009-07-27T20:26:00.003-07:00

Trey set off into the great outdoors this morning. He left with his old scout troop to do a "50" miler back-country back-packing trip. He won't be back until Saturday and his mom already misses him. Last week he was at Lake Powell with his new scout troop. He had a great time learning to water-ski and wake-board. He was able to cross the wake once but not enough for a merit badge. Hopefully, he will be able to practice more some time. He also lamented that it was hot at night and hard to sleep.
I am hoping he has a great time on the hike and doesn't loose too much weight-heh.

I had to get this picture in the blog. Ronnie was so careful when it was his turn to go. Sadly, he was the last one to go because the leaning tower of Pisa leaned too far and gravity took over. There were no tears- just relieved giggles.

Library Card!!!

2009-07-27T18:16:00.004-07:00

I can officially go to the Provo City Library now! The best library in the County! So. . .I take Tess and Ronnie with me to do some errands and after we pick up several cans of curry paste of varying flavors, we head over to the stately historic building that houses the mass of books waiting to be devoured intellectually. As we walk up the stairs, goosebumps rise. . .j/k. So I fill out the form and take it to the nice lady at the desk. She gives me the card and orients me in all the protocol. I ask for a map and head over to my favorite section. One of the biggest factors of my excitement is being able to walk through the doors and get whichever book I want, since it's such a big library, it'll be available, right?? Observe as euphoric feelings dissipated dramatically: The book I wanted to get was not there- sigh. . .I guess I am on planet earth after all. . . So I guess putting books on hold is the trick- go internet! One neato thing is that you can self-check your books and scan 3 books at a time- so cool. Off to put that book on hold. . .

An update- can you believe it? Don't fall asleep. . .

2009-07-19T14:11:00.003-07:00

We are starting to settle in pretty well in our new home. There haven't been anymore bee stings, the boxes are diminishing and it is almost fun to go clean the building since its only 3 minutes away. I am enjoying less space to clean and a cozier feel.
A few people have come by to welcome us and a friend from where we used to live came by and brought some goodies and a warm visit. If I can make it to the back of the garage, I may go ride this week with my good friend, Cheryl. I have no complaints about this home although the dishwasher needs to clean better- both of them:D.
We went to the Payson City pool for FHE a few weeks back. It was fun. Everyone swam and I waded and took pictures. Michaela is using my swimming suit atm. . . Is that just weird?? to have your daughter already sharing clothes with you? The outting got a little expensive when we had to buy plastic pants for both the twin boys at $7.oo each. It was that or go to Wal-Mart, a 25 min round trip with two year olds in tow (I try not to take them anywhere).
Tessa celebrated her 6th birthday. Her mom was lame and didn't get the promised party going as we were working on moving during that same time:/ But in a better note, Michaela made her a baked Alaska ice cream cake. It was yummy but melted quickly! I can't believe she is getting so big.

Moved in but lost amongst the boxes

2009-07-14T07:00:00.003-07:00

Well, we made it through another move.
And I sure hope it's a LONG time before we need to move again.

There are boxes everywhere. Never do I realize how much garbage I keep but when its moving time. Yes, moving is great because you can dejunkify and organize but there is still too much stuff: Easter baskets, scrapbooks, halloween costumes, books, more books and yet even more books, boxes of clothes 5 sizes too big for the next available kid, but I can't get rid of it cause she might just use the stuff. . .how about all the computer parts. . .camping gear used once a year. . .food storage !!!
I suppose the best way to get rid off stuff is do what the pioneers did and have a weight allowance on the wagons- time to move to Jackson County!

I am soo grateful for my brothers- both blood and in-laws. We really couldn't have made it without those guys with the big guns. We sure love ya!

Time to go get the much anticipated library card-yipppeeee

I brought the dogs to the new home yesterday. We will be keeping them in the back portion of the lot here where it slopes upward to the highway. The backyard is completely fenced in but in order to keep the lawn nice we will be putting in a fence to keep the dogs off of it.
The sprinklers have been running everyday, so the grass is a bit mushy and has little puddles in which the wasps come to drink. Danny and Alex were out back with Michaela and Trey who were playing with the dogs. Not too much later, Michaela brings Danny in with three wasps stings. Out comes the baking soda. . .
Later, after playing a game of "Fox and the pies" I go to tie up Ginger and Alex who was following me gets stung about 5 times by a ground dwelling bumblebee looking thing. More baking soda. . .
I might be needing some epi-pens as the future looks full of baking soda poultices.

Pictures will be coming soon- when I find the box I tossed it in. . .sigh

Limbo no more

2009-06-28T16:19:00.002-07:00

So the past few months have felt like limbo. We knew that we couldn't stay where we are at as sad at it would be to leave. The economy has reeked it's whirlwind upon us. And sadly all our hopes and plans have diminished. We were on the house hunt hoping to find something to fit our financial goals. But it was long and slow.
Paul wanted to be able to rent out the home to BYU students but choices were slim and getting it to work out was slimmer. So when Paul found a home listed on Criagslist for rent we jumped on it. The price was 1/2 of what we are paying now and it has the room we need for our big family. It is also close to work and we will be in the school boundaries we wanted.
It will be sad to leave a gorgeous area and good people but hopefully we will be able to get our feet under ourselves again soon.
I feel like there are things to look forward to again.

Trip to the Grotto

2009-06-24T08:23:00.006-07:00

We took a lil' trip up to the grotto in Payson Canyon. It was a beautiful day! It is a pretty short hike so very doable for kids with short legs. We packed some sandwiches and brought the two dogs as well. The kids played in the icy water when we got there. A birds nest was perched on the back wall of the cliff. Trey, Bryce and Isaac braved the steep climb to the top of the falls and peered down at the rest of the family. Another family came in behind us with another dog. Ginger seemed to not like this dog AT ALL!! So I fought to keep her from eating this poor cute little bassett hound looking thing. I looked over at Paul to see him talking to the owner. When we got back to the truck, I found out it was one of Paul's bosses!
On our way out, Twix nudged Ronnie off one of the walkway's in her excitement to go. He took a nice tumble into the stream. Luckily, he was mostly scared and not too hurt.
The boys getting their feet wet.
Michaela and her favorite pal: Twix
Tess freezing her feet off
Ronnie staring with amazement at his totally awesome brothers.
Trey, Bryce and Isaac conquer the falls.
Isaac gave me these pretty flowers.
Here is the same spot I took a picture the last time we were at the grotto in Oct 2008.

2009-04-16T10:09:00.010-07:00

Hey all- I uploaded my pictures to my computer finally so I suppose I have stories to tell again. Haven't really wanted to share anything lately but I am back I suppose.
The picture on the left is Nutmeg and her one kitten she had about a month ago. The other kitties are Jerry and Vicki's bunch. They are nephews and nieces to our kitten. They got to spend the weekend with us when the Nelson's came down to our house for General Conference. The kids had a blast playing with them. We had a great time with the Nelson's eating, sleeping, playing games and enjoying the company.

This is a funny picture I took of Ronnie. We had just talked about how the kids liked to play midgey mode and pull themselves into their shirt. I went to make a phone call and Grandma went to give Tess a piano lesson. I looked up about 5 minutes later and Ronnie was fast asleep on the chair. This was at 3:45PM. About two minutes later, he lost balance and toppled onto the floor. I raced over and picked him up. He didn't even cry. I asked him if he wanted to go sleep on the couch or his bed and he vanished. He went to his bed and didn't wake up until morning!

I wanted to post a recent pictures of the boys. They are getting so big and talking so much. They are little rascals getting into everything and making 3 times the mess. It is so cute to watch them. They feed off
each other in a way none of my other kids did. Yummiliciousness! Beware when they are both sick though. . .

We had a family recital last weekend. It was fun to be with more family. Everyone did a great job. Grandma sure is working hard with all the grand kids. I wanted to post Michaela's and Trey's performance.

I took this last picture today. I was hoping Spring was here but we still are getting snow. I am grateful for the moisture, but i am sure ready for warm weather!Here ends my post hoping its not the last for another few months. . .

Lil' moments

2009-01-21T10:11:00.003-07:00

I was making dinner last night and hadn't seen Alex for a bit. Danny was happily eating his chimichanga and corn. Still no Alex. It was time to look for him. I walked out of the kitchen and heard him in the bathroom crying. He'd shut the door and couldn't get out. The boys love to shut doors, so this was not an uncommon occurrence. The next moment was, though. I opened the door to the bathroom and banged right into an open drawer. The door would only open about an inch. Hmm, what to do. I ask Alex to shut the drawer but I was worried this phrase was not quite something he understood yet. He tried to shut the door to the bathroom. I was starting to get a bit panicky. I wanted to bash the door down. Could I get the window open? How would I get Alexander out? I was contemplating call the fire department for a few moments. All this time Tessa was trying to sweet talk Alex into shutting the drawer. He tried a few times but it must have been jammed a bit. I went and got a untensil from the kitchen and tried to slide the drawer shut with it through the crack in the door. Finally Alex got up enough gumption and shut the drawer himself. I opened the door and gave that sweet little boy a whole bunch of kisses!!! Sigh. . .

Christmas at the Nelson's

2009-01-07T21:42:00.003-07:00

We had a very nice Christmas Holiday. We went to the Spanish Fork Christmas Light display with the family. It was fabulous. Afterwards we had treats and played cards.

Christmas Day the kids finally were able to drag mom and dad out of bed at 8:15AM. It was most fun to see the excitement in the kids as they opened presents.

Here are the stockings I made a few years ago. I even made one extra, but now that the twins are here, I need two more. . .

I took this picture of the puppies tonight. They are growing soo fast. We found out today that their father is 100% Alaskan Malmute. Whew! We are planning on keeping one. Choices, choices!

This is the view out back. It just keeps snowing! Beautiful, but lots to shovel.

Pictures of the puppies

2008-12-27T23:20:00.002-07:00

The puppies eyes are just starting to open. They are almost two weeks old. Their names are Buck, Buttercup, Muffin, Sparkle, Cloudy and something (can't remember). We are enjoying them, all but cleaning up poop.

The happy and the sad

2008-12-17T20:37:00.003-07:00

Ginger had her puppies on Sunday night. She had seven puppies, but the first was born dead. I think he drowned because it took too long for him to be born. I tried to resuscitate him but no luck. When the next puppy was born, I almost cried to see a squirming body. The next pup born took quite a while and I went to bed afterward as it was past 1 AM. Michaela informed us the next day that there were six puppies. They are very cute. Ginger is a great mother. The puppies are already little roley-polies. When I get my camera out of the cold van, I will take some pictures. . .
That was the mostly happy news. Nutmeg on the other hand lost both her kittens. They were still-born. Nutmeg had trouble birthing the first and I had to help her by pulling it out. This was after an undetermined amount of labor as I woke up to the kids saying she was giving birth. I went to watch how she was doing and realized too late that something was wrong. It was a sad day.
Nutter seems to have weathered the situation well, though.

Anybody want a cute little lab/malumute?? So cute. . . Check back for pics:)

Thanksgiving at Grandma's

2008-11-30T20:48:00.009-07:00

We took a bold (or insane) step and decided to go to Washington State for the Thanksgiving holiday. We missed last year because the babies were so young and I was still nursing. So we packed up our bags and hit the road. We left on Friday right after school. We drove to Boise and spent the night in a motel. The kids went swimming before we left the next morning. We drove the next day until we made it to Bremerton at 8:30PM. It was a very loooong trip. The little boys had not built up a tolerance to numb rear-ends and tingling feet, so they cried from stir-craziness. It's OK when one is crying because I can hold one, but when both are crying and we are tired of the drive, it's bad news. We made it in one piece though, barely.
We stayed at Grandma's house and enjoyed seeing lots of family. We saw Annaliese and Addie. We so enjoyed watching her smile and coo. We saw Diane and Ryan momentarily before they left back to UT. We enjoyed the presence of Orson before he left to go back to WA State. We got to know Anthony a bit more and wanted to hire him as a replacement chef at the Nelsonranch. We soo enjoyed playing cards with Penny and soaking in her exuberance for life. We drove over to see Arielle, Dave and Grayson. Grayson is getting so big and has such a happy personality. It was great fun to hang out and be with the sis-in-laws.

We went to Illahee park and walked on the dock checking out the sea-life. There were people there crabbing.

It was a beautiful day. You could see Mt Rainer from the beach. We played on the big artillery guns and the playground.

We went to visit Paul's friend Sean Olmstead who owns a nursery in Silverdale.

They had a couple reindeer there and a building that was decorated beautifully inside with Christmas lights.

They turned on the snow machine when we were there. (It makes you sneeze though)
We also went out to Fort Wordon.

This was a military base in the early 1900's that protected the Puget Sound from invading ships.

A sign posted on the trails to the batteries said to watch out for aggressive coyotes and to keep an eye on your little ones.

Tessa wielded a stick after we read that sign. It is an amazing view of the ocean there. The kids taunted the waves, racing away as the water rolled up the beach.

We played racketball with Dave and Claire and tried our first sushi in the form of California rolls. Can't say I will do that again. . .
We went to Dave and Claire's house for Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed the company of Claire's family and CJ, Kenneth, and Dominick. The food was incredible!!
We left to go home to UT on Friday.

We barely caught the ferry to Seattle and played a game of "Cover your Assets" our favorite card game. We then went over to the gingerbread house display that was soo not what we were expecting.

The line was too long and the display was too small. We stopped at the Curiousity shop for old times sake. Next we drove to see Grandpa Nelson's gravesite.

Paul hadn't been back to see it since his dad died. Then it was off to see Ken and Rosy. We stopped in for a quick visit. They fed us and entertained us graciously. We needed to put some more miles behind us so we left for Baker OR.
When we woke the next morning (let me just note how lovely it is to try and get 10 people to sleep at 12:30 AM) the kids went swimming again and then we went over to the house my dad lived in when he was first born. I wished that I had gone over to the cemetary to track down some ancestors. We then drove to Ogden and stopped to see Grandpa Andrews, Patti and Great-Grandma Johnson. We had delicious burritos and they loaded us down with some yummy food. It was wonderful to see my Grandmother. She is now 94! We finally made it home at 9:30 PM and we all raced in to see if Nutty had her kittens.
Nope, not yet.
If you are reading this still and are awake, I am amazed.

Little Moments passed-up

2008-11-19T10:46:00.006-07:00

Arrgh! I am kicking myself. There was a little rascally twiners moment that I chose to miss documenting: I kept calling Alex to get dressed and there were no pattering of little feet. Then Danny went missing and it was quiet. Finally I quit cleaning to track them down. I heard little noises coming from the kitchen. (Alex and Danny are now able to reach up to the counter and pull things off.) Alex had happened to grab the sugar container and dumped about a cup full on the floor. The boys were happily taking care of the mess, one mouthful at a time. After I was almost done cleaning them up, I thought it would have been a good memory. I wished I had stopped and taken a moment to capture it on camera. I must be growing more tolerant, to think this way. When Isaac did this same thing (but really the size of a mini sugar dune), I was not a happy camper. Maybe, by the time I am a grandma, no matter what the grandkids do, it will be precious, right?

News Alert. . . Nutmeg is pregnant. This was planned. We wanted one last set of kitties. Due in two weeks or so. Anyone want a cute little Nutter kitty?
News Alert. . . Ginger is pregnant, too. Not Planned! Possible Lab/Malmute/Wolf mutts. Due in a month?

Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T21:47:00.007-07:00

We had lots of fun this Halloween. We went to our Ward Fall Festival/Trunk-o-treat, enjoying the company, games and candy fest. On Thursday night, we carved pumpkins. I believe I scaped out 6 pumpkins, sigh.Friday we raced to the kids school parade and back home to prepare for the evening festivities.

Bryce carved some wolves howling
Michaela carved the spiderweb
Ronnie, Isaac and Danny's pumpkin
Danny and Alex pose while the kids go off to gather the loot

Trey's pumpkin commandeered by his mother when he didn't want to carve it himself. It's supposed to be a haunted house, but I carved it as fast as I could. . .

Alex putting up with his mum trapping him in the giant Rubix cube

Grotto Get-away

2008-10-18T19:59:00.003-07:00

A couple weeks ago we took a quick trip to the Grotto up Payson canyon. This hike is about 25 minutes tops off the main road. I never knew such a cool place existed so near and I've lived here 15 years. We need to do more adventuring to find these neat places.

The hike was uphill toward the end of the trail and crossed a stream a few times. There were narrow wooden bridges that gave access to the other side. Ginger helped pull the stroller up the trail. We took the stroller over one and then ditched it as the trail got harder to maneuver.

The is a water fall that comes over the edge into a cavern. The water was icy. Night was falling quickly, so picture taking was limited.

We had a little picnic of peanut butter and raspberry-peach jam. We walked back to the van in the twilight. It was a fun little jaunt.

A few more noteworthy moments

2008-10-18T18:10:00.004-07:00

When we went to the cabin this summer, I took this picture while the babies were taking a bath.

Another cute twin moment. The boys follow each other around, show concern if the other is crying by patting their back and mimic each other's noises.

Isaac turned seven a few weeks ago. He enjoyed the swords but they lasted about 10 mins.

We took a trip to Southridge Farms to pick out pumpkins. It was an amazingly beautiful and pleasant day. We took a hay ride to the patch, picked out pumpkins and bought some yummy apple juice and fudge.

Soccer Fall 2008

2008-10-18T10:23:00.004-07:00

Michaela, Trey, Bryce and Isaac all participated in city league soccer this fall. A great time was had by all. Michaela and Trey were on the same team. They were coached by Steve Sorenson and were able to play with kids from our old ward. They played well, both scoring goals and going to the tournament. It was tough because the top two teams had some VERY good players. The teams seemed a little too stacked. They really need to have the coaches pick their teams at a try-out. Trey improved greatly this year with some amazing foot work. Michaela shined by becoming much more aggressive. Bryce had a great time. It is funny to think not a few years ago, Bryce had more fun playing with the grass than playing soccer. No longer is this the case. He made a goal this year!!
Grandma came to spectate on Isaac's b-day
Isaac actually got out on the field this year. He improved greatly as the season progressed. He even almost had a goal or two.

Promised Pictures

2008-10-18T09:10:00.005-07:00

When we left Springlake, the animals stayed on our land there. We are in the process of sub-dividing the land into two parcels and are trying to sell the home. I sold all our chickens to a happy woman in Lakeshore. I actually miss them. If Elk Ridge passes an ordinance to allow chickens, I will get some more. There is nothing like farm fresh eggs and a flock of birds that follow you around, cheerily waiting for hand-outs. The goats get fed every day still and some how one has always escaped the confines of their luxary pen.
The horses are growing their winter coats, now. Somehow they already get a flake of hay a day. Their whinny's of greeting are such great persuasion. I miss having them in the backyard.

Ronnie got into Michaela's lip gloss and had a great time painting himself while he was supposed to be napping. Evidence of his crime will always be remembered on his pillow case. He had a runny nose and his throat clogged up from whatever was in it. He ended up barfing on Sarah's front porch because he had junk in his throat from the reaction. He is all fine now. But it makes me wonder what they put in that stuff.
Here is a few pictures of the amazing view we get to enjoy daily.
The day finally came when I decided it was time for the baby curls to go. It might have been the nursery lady mistaking Alex for a girl. . .Anyhow, Grandma was very sad, but I was glad they looked more like little men.
before - Alex and Danny
after - Danny and Alex

This doe had twins. I think it amazing. And that we share this great gift. They come eat the plums and peaches here at our house. We probably see deer every day.

Back in Business

2008-10-18T08:24:00.008-07:00

We are back!! We decided to get Cricket internet. It is only $40 and no contract. It seems fast enough so I am attempting to upload some pictures. It will take a bit to get caught up on our goings on.

We went to a ward swimming party at the new Payson pool. It was chilly. The boys weren't quite sure about the whole getting wet and feeling cold thing. The other kids had a blast and they were kicking Paul and the older boys out so they could finish closing up-lol.

Here is a picture of Bryce and Isaac's first day of school. Isaac is in first grade so he gets to spend the entire day at school. He thinks it is great to eat lunch at school and transitioned into a full day quite easily. Bryce is a great example for Isaac. I drove the kids to school for the first week to their new school in Elk Ridge.

We moved over to Elk Ridge on the 23rd of August. We had many helpers and it was amazing how fast things went. When we moved our water barrels we counted five black widows. They no longer grace this planet. . .

It is INCREDIBLE that I sent my 5th child off to Kindergarten this year. Tessa was so excited. She was very brave and was helped by her big brothers to navigate to her classroom. She did a great job riding the bus and is a pro at it now.
We went to a fun get-together at Seth and Brooke's. We ate yummy food, enjoyed good company and played a little football. It was definitely feeling like fall with the crisp air.

Mike tossing up his girlie.
Isaac the ever daring soul.

Let's play ball, Dad!

Smelling the Black-eyed's

Update

2008-09-10T21:03:00.003-07:00

After leaving a message at the Bus Shop and talking to the bus driver, it turns out Tessa's stop is now permanent (the stop closest to our house) and she can now walk home from the bus without me having to go outside to wave at the bus driver to let her know I am home. Soooo, Tessa's ordeal was just a character building experience.
I just have to say I really have been spoiled by fast internet. Our current internet access, Paul's cell, only gives us 230 K, so I feel like I am in the dark ages. I spend so much time trying to upload pictures on KSL to try and sell stuff that I can not even fathom the time and frustration it would take to upload pictures on this blog. So pictures will still have to wait, even though I have a few gems I want to post. Like the little boys new hair cuts. Think Ronnie and you know what they look like. And then there were some deer in the backyard, a mother doe and her TWINS. And also a beautiful double rainbow on the face of Mt Loafer. The picture didn't turn out as well as I thought because Ronnie likes to leave smudges on my camera lens after he steals a few shots. *sigh*
We are looking at different options for cell and internet options. If anyone has any good ideas please post. Which cell service is the best, cheapest, etc?

Today's stream of conscience

2008-09-08T21:56:00.004-07:00

Kinda funny: The picture at the top of this blog is a view of Mt Loafer from my favorite campground, BlackHawk up the Nebo loop. We now live on the other side of that same mountain and get to see its beautiful majestic face every day.

Since we live up on the side of this hill, we have the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with many deer (who love our peaches) and I hear there are mountain lions that roam the streets every so often. At least in the winter, their tracks are seen. Hmmmmmm. I've traded a busy road for stealthy kitty's on steroids. Time to break out the air rifle.

Sadly, we had a death today. A beautiful limish green bird flew into our living room window this morning. Thwank. It made the glass vibrate and startled Bryce. Poor little bird.

Tessa was taken back to school after the bus driver waited for an adult to come out of the house and, well, that adult was late. Sadly, the adult did not hear the air horn 100 yards away because the sound was muffled by distance, brick, insulation, sheet rock and paint (and a couple of yaking kiddos and a radio). Consequently, Tess had to endure the 15 min bus ride back to school and had to wait in the front office until said adult realized after waiting 15 minutes outside on the driveway with 3 other little munchies, that the bus was a no show and she should go call someone. Disconnecting the home phone because we have no internet didn't help the communicado either or leaving the cell phone inside, or waiting so long for the bus to arrive when it was already gone. Now you have to realize that said adult has already endured quite an arsenal of late buses in her resume of life so. . .cut me some slack:P
Tess was a bit weepy but bounced back by the time we got home. Aunty Sar and Daddio got some phone calls that gave a nice jolt of worry. But all is now well. . .except that the bus driver now wants to change the bus stop back over a few streets- 3 times as far. Oh yay! Now said frazzled adult now has to load up 3 other little munchies and drive to the bus stop. *pulls hair out* Didn't I already have to deal with this last year?!?!?!?!?

Ok I am good now.

Whew. . .

2008-08-28T21:24:00.002-07:00

I won't be posting pictures for a while because the internet is not as accessible and very slow. I have a couple cute pictures of the kids first day of school but you will just have to imagine what they look like. And imagine what our new house looks like. And imagine the amazing view outside the back of our house. Sadly my writing skills cannot transmit the thousand words it would take to describe the scene.
We made it over to Elk Ridge thanks to some very generous bodies who risked pulled muscles and back pain for days afterwards, following a rigorous work-out lifting refrigerators and washing machines. Truly we are grateful.
We are all settled in and are getting into a routine. Tessa is in Kindergarten now so it's just the baby boys and Ronnie for a few hours in the morning. Quite odd I have to say. I think I will be quite sorry when I send the last ones off to school.
We are excited to meet new people but hope to stay in touch with all our friends of gold.
Michaela, Trey, Bryce and Isaac are all playing soccer. Mic and Trey are on the same team. I have watched all of them play this year. They have greatly improved and Isaac is actually out on the field kicking the ball. It will be great fun to watch them all.
Well, that's all from over here. Until next time.

Off to a new adventure

2008-08-16T22:17:00.002-07:00

The Ranch is moving to Elkridge.

Stop! I said Stop! No gasps or shaking heads from you, I say. Do not feel sorry or pity. This is what is next for our family. Paul and I both believe it is the best thing to do for our family.
Pro's: Michaela and Trey will still be at the same JR High
We will fit in this new house much better
We will not be on a busy road (big concern with the twinners walking now)
The kids will go to a high school that is new when the time comes
The kids will be able to ride bikes around the neighborhood
Automatic dishwasher
Various other pro's
Con's: We will miss our friends at church
Horses won't be in backyard
Bigger house to clean

Pro's by far outweigh the con's.
We have started to move our trash heaps over to the new house. Hopefully this process will go smoothly. I hope the kids are resilient enough to transition to a new school and house at the same time. I'll get some pictures in the upcoming week to post. . .

Yippee

2008-08-03T19:42:00.004-07:00

(before)

After three weeks, the cabinets are done. I figured they took 23+ hours and cost about 175 dollares. That must mean I paid myself 100 dollares an hour because the bid we got was to refinish the cabinets for 2200 dollares. How is that Bec, for saving a few?

Now lest you think we are crazy fools because now our kitchen looks too blanco, the next step is to paint the kitchen a color called Arabian sands which is Behr paint and hopefully put in a new counter top which would be dark, as in probably black. The kicker would be stainless steel appliances but it aint happening on our watch.

Fire!

2008-08-03T19:17:00.004-07:00

Springlake is not an unknown town anymore. I think most of UT now knows of its existence after Friday's fire.
Friday afternoon, I went outside to sit on the bench and read while the babies scampered around me. I heard sirens and saw fire vehicles turn into Springlake. It was then I noticed the billowing smoke rising into the air south-east of our house. (view from driveway)

At first I thought it was a house on fire, then I figured it was more as a helicopter arrived and water tanker trucks started coming too. About twenty or more emergency vehicles later, I figured it must be something big. I watched for the next couple hours, hoping no one was hurt, as the fire raced up the mountainside. Paul came home and took the kids to watch the helicopters dip into Springlake to take water buckets to dump on the flames. An air tanker dropped several loads of fire-retardant on the northern burning slopes. We watched for a while until the sherrif came and told all spectators to leave the area around the lake.
We left the kids to go to Home Depot. As we left, the fire seemed to take off from the evening breeze. It dropped low into the foothills by houses and we worried about the people that lived there. It was dark when we came home from HD and the flames were frightningly spectacular. It was very beautiful in a monstrous way. The firefighters are still fighting this fire today with it 50% contained. I believe it is up the canyon right now. I am grateful no one was hurt and no homes were lost. It is scary that it happened so close to our home.

A little peek into my soul

2008-07-27T20:34:00.005-07:00

After I bought Romy, I toyed with the idea of breeding her. She has great bloodlines and a great temperament, as well as other good qualities. I waited for a few years after I purchased her to breed her, wanting my personal life to be less hectic (ie no tiny babies). After we bought the Ranch, there was a free space in the schedule and so I bred her to a nice palomino stud. I enjoyed dreaming of all the free time I would have to enjoy my horses. Then I did something stupid. I told God I was bored. . .
I found out I was pregnant in September '06. Not too much later, I called the doctor crying because I was bleeding. He had me schedule an ultrasound. To my utter amazement, not only was I still pregnant, but there were two. TWO pepperoni's. All my planning flew out the window. During the ensuing months, I tried to imagine how I would witness the birth of my foal (one of my greatest desires) knowing that my due date and my horses due date were about the same time.
Life continued. I got bigger. My mare got bigger. She ate, slept, drank and relaxed. I ate, drank, chased six kids, didn't sleep so well and got HUGE. I was put on modified bed rest starting my 28th week. Since I wasn't going to be able to do anything during that time, I made sure everything was taken care of beforehand, including cleaning the entire living room and shopping for another car-seat a few days before the deadline. I remember walking around babyrus thinking how much it hurt- not like the other babies of mine.
Needless to say, I must have been doing too much and my body started going into labor. Thankfully, my mother was at my house that Sunday night, helping out. Paul and I left for the hospital and the rest is history. Two cute little baby boys were born in the wee hours of the morning, eleven weeks too early. I remember leaving the hospital when I was checked out two days later, thinking: will I bring these little babies home? Paul and I were afraid.
I spent the next ten weeks going to the hospital once a day, pumping every three to four hours, trying to take care of my other wee ones and sometimes thinking about my little mare. At least, I thought, I won't be lugging a pregnant body down to the barnyard to foal watch. During this time, I pleaded with the Lord that my boys would be OK. I also asked God if it would be alright to see Romy's baby born. I wasn't sure if he heard me but I hoped I would be able to.
The last couple days before the boys came home were very busy. I was going to the hospital twice a day and would soon stay at the hospital two nights in a row. Bryce was also baptized the day before the boys came home. Oh, and Romy still hadn't foaled out. She was two weeks over her due date.
I would go out to check on her after I came home from the hospital and watch her for about half an hour before I would give up to try and get some sleep before the next pumping. I got to where I just told myself to expect a baby in the morning (the majority of foals are born during the night- a storm and full moon help too).
I spent the night at the hospital on Sat to practice taking care of the baby boys by myself. I had to give them their meds, keep an eye on their monitors and hook up oxygen for nursing, as well as change diapers and record vitals. I didn't sleep well that night. The next day I brought them home. This was a great relief to me but also stressful. I think I looked at my horse that day from the window. Nope, no foal.
Monday came. I juggled babies and kids and tried to start a routine with the new little ones. The babies happened to be sleeping and I was talking to Aunt Julia- Paul's aunt. I happened to be looking out the sliding glass door, watching my kids in the pasture, when suddenly, I became distracted from my phone call. Romy was acting funny. She was laying down! It was only 7 PM. I got off the phone and went to have a look. Lo and behold, my mare was in labor! We gathered the family together, called a few friends and went to watch this amazing moment.
A big colt was born about 45 minutes later.
Now the reason I wanted to share this story is because I believe this was a tender mercy given to me from the Lord. The miracle of the story is that Romy gave birth during the day when the boys were sleeping, it was warm and light out, and I was able to share it with my family and friends and I didn't miss it!! I also must mention how incredibly my little boys are doing. They are so healthy.
I still am trying to figure out why it is that God gave me this moment. I think the biggest thing I learned from this is that God knows us each intimately. He knows our hopes and dreams. He has given me a memory to lean on when I have doubts and difficult moments. I know of a surety that he loves ME. I hope that the intent of this story is conveyed to you the reader and that it gives you a sense of hope. I also pray that each of you will know how much the Lord loves you.
Now if I could always remember that feeling!

Change in the Wind?

2008-07-27T19:23:00.003-07:00

So, I have been hesitating about posting anything recently. It has been a interesting month. We decided the best thing to do financially (because of the nasty housing market) is put our properties up for sale and hope that we come out on top. We are working on fixing up this house. We redid the master shower and I am working on refinishing the kitchen cabinets. I have washed and sanded, filled holes, primed and sanded and put on on coat of paint. I am going to put a brown glaze on them to antique them and finish with a laquer coat. So I guess I am a little more then half way done. I will post finished pictures. A big thanks goes out to Sean for the shower, new doors and patching.

More jumblings

2008-07-02T07:49:00.003-07:00

It is finally hot. It is supposed to be 102 degrees on the 4th of July. Summer has been good so far. We have been watching the Lost series and we rented Pirates of the Caribbean. We haven't yet had a water fight, but these nest few days are looking promising. The dog ruined our 4 square ball so that is kaboshed for a while. On a positive note, I bought a Halti for Ginger and jogged with her yesterday. She was almost bearable as a jogging partner-until two dogs ran out to greet us as we were turning back onto the hwy from the lake. I almost lost her, as she was franticly spinning and almost backed herself out of the Halti.
Yesterday, Michaela found another one of our chickens dead. I think she must have fallen off the shelf in the hen house during a particularly intense dream and didn't wake up before she hit the ground. There seemed to be no fowl play. . . unless one of her compadres thought she was laying better and was jealous and pushed her off. We shall never know.
We sold Rootbeer and gained another castrated male pygmy named Licorice and a female named Oreo. Autumn is in the process of weaning her babies- she is in forced separation.
Both the little boys are now walking. Danny started on May 26 and Alex started about three weeks later. Alex is more tentative. Danny walks like a pro now. It is so fun to see them walk around together. Soon it will be running-ack!
Stay tuned in for the next update of the extremely exciting goings-on at the Ranch.

Cute now, trouble later

2008-06-19T15:13:00.004-07:00

Summer fun

2008-06-18T15:08:00.003-07:00

Okay, here is a little update post.
we got a hen that had six unhatched eggs 'attached" to her. All but one egg hatched. They will be top hat chickens. They are soo fun and lots less work with a mummy to take care of them.
Sad story alert: We lost a chicken. She was a giant black and a good layer. She was pretty good natured. Snowflake must have known she was easy pickings. We found her body picked clean on top of the loft in the barn. That cat is asking for trouble!

We went to Jumpin'Jacks in Springville last night with our ward. It was so fun. Ronnie was a crazy little monster going on the biggest slide there about a million times. It is about a story high and you slide down to a bump that launches you into the air where you proceed to free fall the rest of the way down. Fun stuff. Needless to say, Ronnie has no concept of lines and slithered past everyone to make it down a million times. It was fun to watch him, even as he got scolded numerous times.

My Little Oasis

2008-06-18T12:42:00.004-07:00

Have you ever felt like you are floating? That's how I felt after riding Romy bareback. I don't remember the last time I did this with her. Since I have been so busy and the thought of expending energy to rastle another being has been so intimidating, I haven't ridden my horses but three times this year. Awful!
Having a bit of motivation (Rebecca's Laurels coming to ride tonight), I went out this morning to draw a bit of excess energy out of the horse's systems. I had forgotten the halters up in the van (see next story) so I grabbed Shadow's bridle, the longe line and the longe whip. I proceeded to catch Shadow, whilst the baby curiously investigated the goings on. After he was listening satisfactorily, I told Trey to get up top and gave him a mini lesson. He even trotted bareback! What a great job Trey and Shadow did.
Sooo, then I told Trey to give me a leg up and I proceeded to ride. Well. What a stinker horse he can be. He wanted no part of riding. Just give him food up to his belly and he is a happy camper. He tried to rear!!! Since I didn't have a saddle on there was no way I was getting in a fight, so I asked him a few more things, not pushing him too much and calmly got off. (meanwhile, Romy and Junior are tearing around the pasture) I figured there was no hope catching Romy, but they all settled down and I caught her easily at the gate.
I bridled Romy with Shadow's gear~thanks chum~ and proceeded to work Romy. She listened right from the start and I tried to get some walk to canter to walk transitions. She did fairly well for never really doing those. Then I bravly got on top. She was wonderful. Even when Comet kept whinnying at her. We did circles to the left and right at the walk and trot with good connection and giving. Her trot is seriously heaven.
So now I am floating from exhilaration at accomplishing a good ride and expending positive energy. I need to remember the good feelings I get from this type of work-out!

On to story number two: So last night, six horses escaped from their pens onto the highway. On this hwy, people drive 60 mph. I have nightmares of my horses escaping onto this roadway. Since we have lived here two years a horse has been hit by a car. So as I was driving Michaela to a meeting I saw these horses running down the road.
After I dropped her off, I drove back home and checked the escapees location. They were still on the loose closer to my home now. I grabbed my halters and drove back toward them and by now they were in the neighbors yard. A man stopped and helped catch these rogues. There was a sad looking, ribby mare with a foal on her side which we caught first pretty easily. The others tore deeper into the property. We slowly worked our way over to them. They pranced merrily back toward the road but luckily there were two guys that blocked their way with some mechanical Mules.
We secured them with a belt, bungee cord and the rest of my halter and ropes. We paraded back down the highway to their home. I prayed that the baby didn't skitter out into the oncoming traffic. After we figured out who went where, they were placed back into their haphazard pens. I hope this doesn't happen again, a least not for a while. But I can only hope as the owners didn't seem to worried. . .

2008-06-12T10:39:00.002-07:00

Well, we are officially into summertime freedom. It still feels like spring as the weather has been stormy and cool. I am okay with that. My grass is growing!
All the kids have jumped into summer chores very easily. Michalea says she has 16 "jobs" to do every day. I told her prayers and scriptures aren't a job really. So she changed her phrasing to things to do on her list. I thought that was cute. Anyways, she is done by 12 noon usually and is free for the rest of the day. Freedom after chores is something I wanted the kids to know about. When I as growing up, I didn't ever feel like I was free to go play. It seemed as though there was always something else I had to do.
We also pick out of the reward bucket on Friday if they did all their jobs for the week. We have had fun so far. I tell you what, though. I can barely keep up with the dishes generated-lol!

Real Horse Power

2008-05-27T16:43:00.002-07:00

Smokeyz Red Flame

Sheznoromeo leading the herd

Dancing

Stretching the legs

Special thanks goes to the photographer: Seth , my awesome bro!

All Growed Up!

2008-05-22T14:39:00.003-07:00

Today was Kindergarten Graduation!! Isaac sure has grown up since the beginning of school. He now knows all his letters, about 40 sight words, and got to level C in home reading. He is a smart kid and enjoys learning new things. He has also become quite responsible, taking care of his chorse and watching out for his little brothers. He is just starting to talk at school with his friends and talk to his teacher (stinkin' shy bug!). He will be a great 1st grader. Isaac- YOU ROCK!

Twins!

2008-05-04T15:05:00.004-07:00

Michaela went out to feed the goat and much to her surprise- there were three goats instead of just Autumn. Needless to say, we were late to church as we all had to go take a look. No. It was no immaculate conception. Michaela sent Autumn to a honeymoon vacation with George the billy goat during the month of December. We were not sure if she ever got pregnant. Michaela had calculated that Autumn would give birth around the end of May, so we weren't even checking her yet. I just thought she was fat and "healthy" looking. Well, here are the pictures. You should come see them in person. They are soo cute and tiny! The lighter one is a girl and the brown one is a boy. As yet they are unnamed.

Cabin Days

2008-04-27T15:14:00.001-07:00

We went up to our cabin over Spring Break. we stayed for three nights. It was so nice.

We hiked up Memorial Hill. I had the pleasure of "walking" Ginger. She would have dragged me the whole way up, but I am trying to teach her how to walk on a leash. Too bad I was so busy last year that I couldn't train her and now she is very strong. After I could breathe again, I took some pictures at the top.

Seth and Brooke and Grandma came up for a night. The next day we went on a hike down the Interlaken trail. It was a nice hike to Dutch Canyon. On the way back, Ronnie was tired and walked very slowly. Seth helped carry his load- Samuel in the back packer- and traded off with Ronnie and Alex. You are one strong brother, Seth-o.

Alex fell asleep on Michaela's shoulders. . . Paul and the kids attempted to ambush us, but they forgot to wear camouflage as their movements were easily spotted. We took the short cut having exhausted our strength carrying little ones. Maybe next time.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

2008-04-27T15:04:00.003-07:00

This video is yum! I am enjoying these boys so much. The interaction I get to observe with two babies is so fascinating. It makes up for the times when they both are tired, crying and want their mommy, who only has two arms (that get tired).

Ridin' the Ponies

2008-04-10T11:52:00.005-07:00

It has been a long time since we have all gotten up o the horses because of the babies and a long winter. We braved the chilliness and squeezed in a ride in between conference. Michaela helped get the horse ready by grooming them and longing Romy. She did a great job with Romy's energy. These pictures were taken after she rode. She was taking care of the babies at this point.

Michaela and I took a spin around the lake. Paul and I also went out to the lake. At one point, Romy thought she knew the way home better than I and was spinning and rearing up. I convinced her I knew otherwise and we proceeded on our way. It was very nice to get to ride!

Romy has such a smooth trot, all the kids were able to sit the trot on her. I got a nice work-out running next to Romy who was a great sport about it.

Giggle-fest

2008-03-30T18:10:00.003-07:00

Michaela was taking care of the lil' uns while Paul and I went out for a quick bite to eat. While we were gone, she took this video. . .

Yuck!

2008-03-28T19:48:00.004-07:00

Gross story alert!

proceed with caution!

On Monday night, I fell asleep with my earrings in and it wasn't until a few hours into the next day that I realized one was missing- only after I saw a back to an earring on the floor of my bedroom. I figured it was in my bed somewhere and didn't go looking for it because I got side tracked with busy life stuff. I had totally forgotten about it until last night when I was changing Daniel's poopy diaper- which was a total blow-out. Alex was fussing and climbing all over while I was trying to get Daniel un-dressed with a big poop glob on his back. It was then that I glanced into the diaper and saw something silvery. I knew in an instant what it was. I called for Paul to come help even as I am repeatedly saying "No Way!". It turns out, I was right.

Here is a nice picture of a poopified earring, etched by stomach acid. It now resembles more of a gold earring than its silver twin.

PS- I washed it quite thoroughly. I may yet wear it because of the character it possesses having endured such a rigorous journey.

Favorite recent photos

2008-03-15T09:03:00.004-07:00

Danny and Alex pull to a stand anywhere now. They haven't quite starting cruising yet but enjoy walking when holding your hands. The lack of compliance to recent code for the balusters makes my stomach churn. Hopefully, the boys don't get too ambitious and crawl through them.

Ronnie fell asleep reading this book. He only got to the first page before succumbing to Mr. Sandman. So cute!!

This was the boys first foray into the great outdoors. They had previously been held prisoners in their parents arms or the stroller. Unfortunately, this is bad news for their pant legs. Many a hole will begin to appear. (Danny already ruined the socks he had been wearing) btw- Danny is in the blue.

Tessa is playing with Maddie. I think she wants to hold her like she does the boys but Maddie is a bit more independent now. Paul was really enjoying snuggling with Daniel. He held him for a while after he had fallen asleep.

The boys love to play on the piano. They pull themselves up on the chair and then reach over to play like the big kids do.

Michaela playin Ball

2008-03-15T08:45:00.001-07:00

Michaela played Basketball with the rec team. Her dad coached her team to boot. She had a great time and learned much. Her team ended regular season play with a perfect record. Her team went to tournament playing teams from Spanish Fork. They ended up third place with the two Spanish Fork teams 1 & 2 (They had a 6' 2" girl on the #2 team!!).

Here she is getting a pass and makes the shot right afterwards.

Here she is shooting a foul shot.

Michaela trying for a rebound. These pictures are from a church ball game. Michaela played a whole bunch of games in two weeks juggling church ball and rec ball.

Pay It Forward

2008-03-03T13:28:00.002-07:00

I am unabashedly plagiarizing my sis-in-laws post about this (well, maybe quotations will make it OK and I'll just look lazy):

"You all know the concept behind “Pay it forward”, right? My [sister-in-law Lauren] had this on her blog and it's already been paid forward a bunch of times. I don’t know where it started, but I wanted to be a part of it. What you do is pay it forward with other fellow bloggers. I will send a gift to the first three people who add a comment and want to participate- then those three people have to send a gift to three more people. Make sense? The gift can be anything from a couple recipes compiled to a handmade craft, or even a sweet treat. You really can do anything as long as it fits in the mail. Then if you participate, you have to put it on your blog and try to get three others to pay it forward. Would you like to try it??

P.S. I already got my gift and I love it!"

So, any takers??

Tribute to the One'ers

2008-02-27T08:48:00.003-07:00

Wow, our little boys have just turned one year old!

The time went very fast, yet it seems like a long time. Their time in the NICU just seems like a bad dream but we are so thankful to all the people there that helped our little ones make it out of the hospital. We are so thankful to have these precious boys in our family. They bring such happiness!Alex and Danny now weigh over 19 lbs. They are crawling everywhere. They eat bananas, apple chunks, crackers, cheese, gerber graduate dinners, bread and cheerios. They also like cheese sandwiches and pizza. They will eat anything they can get their hands on. If I am eating something, they watch my mouth, waiting for me to share.

Alex and Danny love to play with each other. They follow each other around and laugh at each other. Now that Alex is crawling, he doesn't cry in frustration as much. This morning he even rolled over from back to front for the first time ever unassisted. They want to crawl off the bed, having no fear of heights. They both are learning to pull up to a stand. I feel like a jungle jim when I am on the floor playing with them because they just crawl and climb all over me- hair makes a good handle, as well.

They both jabber and sometimes if the other one is crying, the first baby will talk to him as if to tell him its okay. They both love the other kids and the dog and cat. These boys make life so fun!
We sure love you two little boys!!

Three day week-end

2008-02-20T22:29:00.006-07:00

We had the pleasure of a few family members at the cabin this week-end. It was much fun! The Doddy's spent 2 nights with us there. We had great fun eating food, playing games and playing in the snow.
I will relate a story: On Monday, we rented two snowmobiles. Paul, Jared and the older boys went over to Strawberry to sled. The rest of us held down the fort. After lunch, the rest of us headed over there as well. The Dod's went home and the rest of my kiddo's (except the babies) took turns on the snowmobiles. We had a great time. There was a big hill that we would go up to the top of, turn around and go back. It was quite steep. Finally it was time to wrap up as it was getting late (around 5:00). I wanted to go one more time and I took Mic on the back with me and Paul followed with Bryce on back. Trey stayed to watch the kids. Paul told me to go on the Ava something or other trail, so I headed out figuring it would loop around eventually. I averaged about 35 mph. When we had gone about 7 or 8 minutes, I stopped because Mic wanted me to. Paul came up behind and told me we should turn around. The trail was probably too long and the eventual end was much past our time frame. The snowmobile Paul had been on was running low on oil and he wanted me to drive it and he would follow. When I turned it on, there was no power. The drive track had seized-yikes! He decided to stay there and I took Bryce and Mic back to the truck to get some rope to pull the other sled. Mic was not happy with my speed, I was trying to get back to my sweetie before the sun went down. I zipped back to Paul and we managed to pull the sled back to our truck, after climbing some big slopes and almost tipping over. The sun was just setting and it was getting cold. Only one other family was left and we asked the dad to help us. He was very helpful getting the busted sled onto the trailer. We drove back to Midway breathing out relief and gratitudes to our Maker. The Lord always seems to pull us out of crunches.

There must be something in the air up in Midway because Danny started to crawl the last time we were there and this time Alex figured out how to crawl. Sadly, as of today they have both fallen down the stairs. Nothing like having siblings that remove barricades in front of the stairs.

This is dedicated to the one I love

2008-02-20T21:29:00.012-07:00

As I have been tagged, here is my contribution to keeping the husband questionnaire going. . . and as it is also my honey's birthday on the 21st, what better way to celebrate his life thus far!
What is his name: Paul Derrall (spelling is debatable (this is the way he says his middle name is spelled but his birth certificate may say otherwise, as well as his mother)) Nelson.

How long have you been together: over 15 years (WOW, has it been that long already?)
How long did you date: 9 LONG months
Who eats more: Depends if I am nursing twins or not- usually Paul:)
Who said I love you first: Probably me
Who is taller: Paul, by 10 inches
Who has more speeding tickets: I have zero, so it'd have to be Paul
Who is smarter: that depends on the subject
Who is more sensitive: that depends on the situation
When there is a fight, who wins: Neither of us
Who does the laundry: Me
Who does the dishes: Me
Who sleeps on the right: I do right now-lol
Who pays the bills: Paul
Who mows the lawn: Usually I do- Paul has grass allergies
Who cooks dinner: Usually I do
Who drives when you are together: Usually Paul, but I will drive at times as well.
Who is more stubborn: I am by far
Who kissed who first: Paul wins that hands down

Who asked out who first: Paul- we went to Nutty Putty Caves!!
Who proposed: Paul did at a stake dance up at BYU, afterwards we danced to "Everything I do"
Who has more siblings: Paul has seven, I have 6

Who wears the pants: Definitely the "pants" are shared

Now I have to add a disclaimer- this questionnaire in no way encompasses the amazing qualities that my husband possesses. He is such an amazing man that I feel to say I am the luckiest girl alive. I love him so much and am glad of his love, patience and understanding. And what an awesome dad!!!

I tag Raquel, Candi and Cheryl (hint hint- jump on the blogwagon quick!)

Breakin'

2008-02-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Go away, winter!

2008-02-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are in the beginning of February.

My, do I wish it was sunny and warm again. I have had it with this winter. Don't get me wrong, I am sooo very thankful for all the precipitation we have gotten, but it is hard to weather another gloomy day. I have gotten a lot of exercise re-shoveling the driveway, going to re-feed the horses and re-chasing kiddos around (and re-washing the dishes (rinse and repeat that one!)
I think we need another festival like Christmas in February: a good excuse to eat more chocolate, burn big bonfires in the fireplace, and hang with the fam.
The primary's were NOT festive, everyone is busy in their own lives, the fireplace stays cold because we are too busy to light it, and most people think the new year means eat healthy (alas, the loneliness of being a choco addict-yikes did I say that out loud. . .)

BUT there are birthdays to celebrate: Trey, Paul and Alex & Danny.

. . .My next post will be on gratitude and the benefits of thinking positively. . .
Those who like the photo essay aspect: My camera needs new batteries- no pictures available.

For those who like to read- add this to your favorites and lets get some reading done out of GOOD books!
http://www.goodreads.com/

Poppin' cheerios

2008-01-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

Watch the bouncing cheerios. Victory at last! BTW this one is Alex.

Danny attempting to crawl

2008-01-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

This is Daniel's crawling debut. From this time forward he is only getting better- watch out!!
This video clip is a crack up. Watch closely about half-way through to what Daniel does to Alex. Heh, he must be trying to get Alex crawling as well.

Week-end at the Cabin

2008-01-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

This past week-end we went up to Midway to hang at our cabin. Now before any of you go "Wow!" or "No Way!" or whichever exclamation you prefer, I figure it is our one chance to enjoy it before it gets foreclosed on (this is my doomsday fear coming out- the reality is this was a fixer upper that took too long and perchance we will have the luck of getting it refi'ed before it's too late . . . anywho)

We packed up our things and headed out. Since the electrician still hadn't hooked up the stove, we decided to cook hot dogs over the fire. We played games, read "Candy Shop War," and ate food. Alice gave a nice update on the play-off games. We snuggled up in sleeping bags and went to sleep. After a semi-long night of babies waking up and Ronnie screaming for an hour, we woke up the next morning to around 8-10 inches of snow. We were essentially snowed in. The drive way up to the cabin is steep and long. Mucho shoveling was in store.

Paul and the kids climbed up behind the cabin and went sledding while I played with the boys. We ate yummy stew for lunch and while the boys slept, I shoveled the drive- I about passed out from heat stroke. Paul called up a buddy and went to buy more food. When he got back, the shoveling was completed with Trey's help. While they were shoveling, two elk climbed past on the ridge above the cabin. I took the picture as I looked out the cabin window.

We ate dinner and had FHE. I slept beter knowing the drive was cleared and wished our van had 4-wheel drive. The next day was school but alas the kids would miss that. The weather was looking better as well.

The next morning the kids enjoyed fruity pebbles and I was happy that I had slept better. We read some more "Candy Shop War" and packed up. We drove to the sledding spot and enjoyed two hours of fun. I went down the hill a few times and wished heartily that my body was still young and flexible. Ginger enjoyed playing with Isaac's ball until she started to chase cars- back to the kennel she went. It started to snow again as we drove home.
Ours is the brown cabin on the hill- if you know of anyone who is interested. . . it's really cute.

Twenty or so head of black tail deer hung out on the hill for awhile.

PS- the chickys are laying eggs now!!

Bath-time Duo

2008-01-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

Since the boys are now sitting rather well, I decided to give them a bath together. They are so cute. They also had an audience- Tess, Ronnie and Isaac. I had to fend off Ronnie and Tess who wanted to jump in with the boys. We all got wet!

Made ya look!

2007-12-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some other photos I enjoyed so I must post them since a picture is worth 1000 words.

I have noticed the horses like to lay down after they eat their morning meal. It is always in the same location. I wonder if they get more heat of the fence there. Anyway, they don't usually all lay down at one time so it was great to get this photo. Romy was up about 10 seconds later because Ginger was with me and Romy must have felt bugged by her presence (she doesn't like the dog). I fact the photo I have of her after she got up has her pinning her ears at Ginger.

This next photo is all the cousins I was able to gather while the parents were upstairs watching the Las Vegas bowl game. This was the silly face photo.

It was sure a nail biter at the end of the game. I thought BYU had lost for sure! Wow! It was a fun night.

Maddie visits the Ranch

2007-12-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

The Nelson's were graced by the presence of their revered cousin Madison better known as Lil' chocolate M & M (at least she is now as I write because she is so sweet and yummy).
I can't wait until the boys get big enough to romp with Maddie. It'll be great. They'll teach her the finer points of wrestling and playing in the dirt.
But for now, they just enjoy contemplating her beauty.

Tess and Ron love their cousin as well and enjoyed showing off when the camera was pulled out. These were some of my favorite shots. We sure loved having the ML's and M&M here. It was too short a time as always. Until next time. . .

Christmas!

2007-12-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Christmas Day. The kids let us sleep until 9:00 AM, not a second longer. Trey fed the horses, dog and cat for everyone. This is a picture of everyone in their new PJ's. After opening presents, we ate bacon, eggs and toast. We had a lazy afternoon enjoying Christmas. Then we loaded up the van and went to the Andrews house. We ate yummy food, told stories and took a fabulous picture of the entire family- sans Grandpa, taking care of great Grandma and Kim, who was ill.

Hangin with the Fam!

2007-12-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

I went to Sar's house on Wednesday and I had to get a picture- cause we were all wearing green! (except Alex)

I love this picture!

The cousins all got together and made bracelets and nativity wall hangings. It was fun to be together. We missed the Pickett parents who were celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary!!

Danny and Alexander have about mastered sitting up- woot!

Mid-December

2007-12-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

We all have been having a great time enjoying the Christmas season. We put up our tree this past week. It is an Alpine fir, though a bit scrawny, it has an old-fashioned feel to it. There were some minor problems trying to keep it upright. I was 20 minutes late picking Michaela up from volleyball because the fully decorated tree decided it liked laying down better than standing up straight. It's all good now after a bit of jimmy-rigging. The tree this year got a fashion overhaul- it now sports white blinkers instead of colored. I am liking the tree but somehow the pictures I have taken don't seem to capture it's charm. Probably cause the cute kid is the charm stealer.
We decorated a gingerbread house, as well. I cheated. Royally! I bought a kit and shaved about three or more hours off the usual time it takes to make a gingerbread house from scratch. Although it is satisfying to make your own creation, it just didn't fit into the babies nap schedule. And it's less tiring. So far, the house has survived taking a header off the lamp table and is slowly becoming bare as Ronnie sneaks bites.
Jerry and kids came to visit us today. The kids had a great time sledding, playing computer, playing horses and watching movies. They brought Clove (check out past blog about kittens) back for a visit. She has grown up! The big boys fed the horses and we had lots of pizza, drank hot chocolate and cookies and opened some early gifts. It was great fun!
Yesterday we went to Michaela's Christmas concert. Isaac, Alexander and Ronnie attended. The music was great. Isaac endured the "long" concert well. It is sure weird to see my daughter up on the stage playing the flute. It seems like I was there yesterday. Hearing "Sleigh Ride" was absolutely trippy! Sadly, I was in a huge rush and couldn't grab the camera. . .
Alex and Daniel are eating solids very well now. They are in the 2nd stage of foods. Tessa fed both of the boys yesterday while I cleaned up Isaac's "chicken and noodle soup" floor decorations. It is much colder than a week ago when we built a huge snowman, had a snow ball fight and made snow angels at 8:30 PM. It is nice to go out and feed the horses their dinner and hear them whinny hello- or is it really: "finally, your here to give me my food!"But my favorite thing about the cold, dark winter is Stevens hot chocolate and a fire burning in its place, snuggling up to my honey and cuddling a little biscuit!I had to add this last photo of Gramps snuggling with Alex after he fell asleep.

Christmas dreams come true!

2007-12-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

This poem was written by my brother Mike at my request. I ask him to help inspire my family to contribute to getting airline tickets for my sister Alison's family so we could be all together for Christmas. I had to post it because it is awesome!

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the Connecticut valley
not a Caldwell-Andrews was stiring cause they weren't "in da house".
Talia's stockings and such had been packed with great care,
knowing she soon would be near Rachel's little mare.
Malachi was nestled alongside his sister so snug, while visions of seeing family his heart strings did tug.
And Brooke in her 'kerchief, and Seth singing a rap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap.
When out on the concourse there arose such a clatter,
it appeared the Caldwell-Andrews had lost their luggage, no matter.
We sprang from our stances with nary a dry eye lash,
Tore over to greet them and with a hug we did mash.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
Gave the boys a reason to play football just so,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear on this date,
But all those Nelson kids, could it really be eight.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it was our dad, the real St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his nog he did down,
and he whistled and shouted, and said give me another round.
Now Dadder! now, Mommer! now, and Johner and Rebecitzen!
On Rachet! on Michid!, on Saraer and Sethitzen!
To the bottom of the bank account and savings we go.
Lets start the bidding and see if it's so
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When us Andrews meet with such a chance, we mount to the sky,
So up the the Pickett's and Dodson's we go,
With a house full of family and memories not to forego.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the chicken house roof
The prancing and pawing of Isaac Cole Nelson.
As I drew in my hand and turning around,
What did Ronnie flush? It made such a sound.
He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot,
It was pimp uncle John all tarnished in soot (or was that axle grease)
A bundle of toys he flung on his back.
Most of them handmade with a drill press that's a fact.
Ron's eyes how they twinkled his dimples how merry,
to be back in Utah with his wife's family so scary.
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry
He'd just been burned on a real nice "hail mary".
Brandon's little mouth was drawn like a bow
"Hey guys I'm in college now if ya didn't know"
The core of an apple John held tight in his hand,
"It's whole fruits and veggies I really demand."
He was chubby and plump a right jolly old kid,
but that was before the junk food was hid.
A wink of her eye and a hug from Miss Al,
Soon gave us to know that she was our pal.
She spoke not a word but went straights to her siblings,
And filled all their stockings with gourmet type chitlins.
And laying a finger aside of her nose,
she said seeing this family is like drinking from a fire hose.
They sprang to their flight when the new year was finished,
But the memories never in this world would diminish.
But we heard them exclaim as they flew out of sight,
Happy Christmas to all, we sure love you alright.

Winter Wonderland

2007-12-02T21:51:00.001-07:00

We had a blast when this storm came in. The kids were up on Saturday morning going through the box of mittens and boots. Paul and I went to Wally's to get a couple sleds. Isaac played outside all day long in the snow.
For some reason, Christmas seems to be in the air when it snows. I made homemade hot chocolate and cheesy broccoli soup for dinner. It was so yummy.
The horses are looking a bit chilled. Comet still hasn't figured out how to walk around the fence through the gate to get the food. If Romy and Shadow have made it over to the food, he tries to walk through the fence to get to them.

Michaela is telling the kids the finer points of sledding.
Tessa had a blast!
Michaela helps Isaac in the saucer.

Thanksgiving!

2007-12-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving we stayed in Utah with my side of the family. I missed seeing the Nelson clan but did NOT miss the 13 hour road trip, especially thinking about taking two babies. It was awesome to have both my parents at Thanksgiving. It has been years since that has happened.
Here is Daniel and Grandpa. We had so much food! Brooke's parents made some yummy sweet potatoes and cranberry salad. There was fruit and vegetable patters, turkey and ham and the fixings and lots of pies. Sarah's pie and Rebecca's cheesecake were delicious.
Here the kids are enjoying some fun on the trampoline. We missed Mike and Lauren and Maddie and the Caldwell-Andrews clan. It would be great to have the entire family here for Christmas. . .
We enjoyed being with the family. The food was great. But as I was thinking the night before about what I was grateful for, I thought about all the angels up at the NICU and the people that serve their communities while we eat Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you to all of you that keep us safe and take care of those with special needs. We love you!

A fabulous Indian summer!

2007-11-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen the chickens lately, here they are 3 months old.

I told Isaac he should rake the leaves into a pile and jump in them. He and Ronnie had so much fun for about 45 minutes playing in the leaves. I buried Isaac a few times and Ginger ran over and started digging Isaac out. So cute!

This is a huge bonfire we had. We burned all the orchand punings left from the previous owner. This is about 6 feet across. At times the fire was over 6 feet high.

I made Trey eat a sandwich before he could have his Halloween candy by the fire:P It was very toasty.
Today the temperature was in the sixties. It was so beautiful. I think God has given me a few more warm days because much of my summer was spent indoors with my babies. Comet was gelded today. He was a super patient. All went well and he is now an "it."

All about Daniel- WARNING: graphic photos!

2007-11-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken at the office visit 5 weeks before surgery.

The red "X" was my mark. The doctor put on the purple dash and then drew in the eyelid crease and dashed around the cyst.

The doctor had to scrape the tissue around the cyst to get it out. It was pertinant not to tear the cyst as those cells would cause scar tissue.

This picture shows the cyst attached to a stalk of vessels. The other half of the cyst was behind this through the bone. The picture below shows Daniel's eye one week later. It is soo amazing how fast little ones heal!

Rice Cereal = Yummy!! (and Danny's eye surgery)

2007-11-01T16:26:00.001-07:00

I have been feeding the boy's rice cereal for about a week. Daniel has excelled in this category, inhaling it as quickly as I can scoop it out. Alex took a bit longer, starting with dribbling the cereal all out to learning to push the food back to swallow it. He now is doing a fine job. I don't think I have ever gone through a box of the rice cereal this fast, if at all. I was always to eager to move on to apples and bananas. (no, he's not asleep- the flash kept making him shut his eyes)
I thought this picture was the epitome of Alexander. Hot stuff!
This is a picture of Daniel's eye after his surgery to remove a dermoid cyst. He was an excellent patient, weathering the forced starvation from 2:30 AM until 9:15 AM when his surgery was completed. Dr. Cook took out a cyst the size of a Mentos on steroids. He took pictures of the cyst during the operation. Perhaps I will post one, hmmmm. There was half a "BB" size cyst growing into his eye socket. It is quite fortunate this was done early as to prevent further complications!

Halloween Fun!

2007-11-01T16:23:00.001-07:00

Halloween is not one of my more adored holidays. In fact, I get down right irritable about spending money over a pagan celebration. Trying not to think about coming up with costumes for each of the kids, I decided we would do something new. So, we went to the Southridge Farms pumpkin patch. We rode the tractor pulled wagon down to the pumpkin patch and each of the kids picked out their own pumpkin. The babies were quite content as I discreetly (I hope) fed them both on the wagon ride.
The boys enjoyed getting up on the tractor.
We enjoyed some delicious fudge, apple butter, cameo apples and cider. So yummy! I hear we missed the best part- the ice cream. We will have to return for that!
It was nice to take a few days to carve the pumpkins. I am tired of cramming in all the festivities into 24 hours.
The happy punpkin famoowe.
The kids posed for a pre-loot picture. Trey was already gone with a friend.
Tessa's loot.
Trey running past in the annual school parade.

Rainy day at the Zoo

2007-10-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, the kids had no school so we decided to head up to SLC. There was a break in the clouds and we quickly made our way to the zoo to use up our year pass. Seth and Brooke (8.5+ months pregnant) met us there. We saw the white alligator which is one of about 15 in captivity from the same clutch. Since these abberations are not natural, they will not be bred.

The rain started to pour down right as we walked through the gate to leave. Seth and I ran with an umbrella to get the van-I still got SOAKED!

Michaela pushed Tess and Ronnie all over the zoo. They are checking out some monkeys here.
Bryce just needs to grow longer arms-lol.

Happy Birthday, Michaela!

2007-10-21T20:19:00.001-07:00

Michaela turned 13 today. 'Tis utterly amazing to have a certified teenager. We had a great time with Paul's aunt Julia, Diane and Ryan and Grandma Andrews.
Some photos were taken of the kiddos after church today. I thought these two pictures were especially sweet.

First snowfall

2007-10-21T14:31:00.001-07:00

We woke up this morning to 3 inches of snow. The kids were busily attiring themselves in warm, fluffy winter wear in order to taste the first bit of snow- for some- literally. Yes, it is a few weeks early, but it has been fun to play in before it melts.

Seven months!

2007-09-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, it always seems weird to think of these boys as old as they are. The universe seems out of alignment some how. I think more in terms of them being 4 1/2 months old. They are both over 15 lbs now, holding their heads up, grabbing tightly, reaching for toys and enjoying people and the commotion we cause here at home. We moved them into Ronnie's room in hopes that they sleep longer during the night. It worked at least one night- Danny slept 8 hours! We sure love these boys and are soo grateful for their health and the opportunity we have to have them in our home.

More happenings

2007-09-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, soccer has finished up. The kids sure had a fun time playing this year. Bryce improved greatly, no longer imagining ants are formidable warriors trekking throught the dirt, but giving the ball some good kicks toward the goal. Trey's and Michaela's teams both went to the tournament and ended up 3rd place. The games were quite intense. Now it is flag football time.

Isaac turned 6 years old. We had a fun birthday party for him. It is hard to believe is is growing up so fast. He is enjoying kindergarten- most of the time. He is a great helper and loves his little brother, Ronnie.

Speaking of. . .we had to capture this cute sleeping postition that we found Ronnie in.

Michaela playing soccer

2007-09-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

I took a little break from the chaos and went to watch Michaela's soccer game. It was a hard fought game. They were tied near the end but the other team sneaked in a late goal. It was intense!

Mike, Lauren and cute lil' Maddie

2007-09-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

We always love it when the twins get-together!!!

Isaac's first day

2007-09-01T19:50:00.001-07:00

Cute twins!

2007-09-01T19:46:00.001-07:00

The Horses

2007-09-01T19:33:00.001-07:00

A menagerie of photos

2007-08-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

These two are pictures I took playing with my camera

This photo is one Bryce took after pack meeting while we were waiting for Trey and Michaela's soccer games to finish.

This is Danny being held by his Pops

Trey and Bryce on their first day of school waiting for the bus.

Bryce received his Bobcat and Wolf (except his Wolf isn't finished. . .yet (a little mis-communicado ( but will be very soon!)))

Both Grandma's come to play

2007-08-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

Last getaway before school started: Sandy Beach

2007-08-25T17:14:00.001-07:00

We decided to squeeze in one last fling before school started the next day. We all piled into the BB (burgandy beast) and set off on our adventure. We arrived within 15 minutes at the southeast corner of Utah lake. It was a pleasant evening! The lil' wee ones slept in the vehicle while we scampered in the waves(?) I think Ginger had the most fun. She blasted around bounding through the water thoroughly enjoying herself. Ronnie followed Gingy in excitement, managing to drink a bunch of tasty water. I shot pictures from Paul's cell phone (I forgot the other camera, sadly) and peeked in on the boys intermittently. When it was time to go the kids ran down the beach to dry off. Ginger christened the van with an extremely wet and dirty body. The mosquitoes attacked us on our way out leaving Michaela with 30 bites. We finished the evening with ice cream.

The boys are growing up!

2007-08-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Danny and Alex will be six months old tomorrow. I can't believe how time has flown by. I had to find an old picture to compare the growth of these sweet little miracles.

Alex is now 14 lbs 2 oz and Daniel is 14 lbs 14 oz. They both laugh huge belly laughs and are pushing up when on their bellies.

Danny is on the left and Alex is on the right.

Ronnie!

2007-08-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

Alex and Danny- moments after they smiled. . . and assorted topics

2007-08-14T09:58:00.001-07:00

Try as I might, my camera is too slow and I am not exciting enough to continue smiling at, so here is a semi cheery picture of the boys. We are excited to announce that we now have a vehicle that will allow our entire gaggle to ride together. Paul picked up the van in California and drove it home.
And here is another Ronnie toothpaste moment- the last time he decorated our toilet with Crest Nature Expressions Citrus Clean Mint. This adornment is just the Original.

Fun Visitors at the Nelsonranch

2007-08-14T09:46:00.001-07:00

David and Lena Dalley stopped by with their beautiful girls on Saturday. We played with the animals and caught up on life's adventures.Aunt Cecily and Aunt Mary came to visit on Friday. We had a blast!

GreatBIGFamily Get-together

2007-08-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

We had a great time visiting our extended family. It is so wonderful to be around so much family. Thanks for all those who came and organized this memorable moment!

Nothin' like some chickies to make a real farm!

2007-08-09T21:47:00.001-07:00

After a bunch of people talking up chickens I finally got up the gumption to try them out. We got about 12 different varieties. They came through the USPS via airmail from Texas- Ideal Poultry if you want some. . .They are all still alive. The lady at the post office called at 6:30Am and woke my up. I didn't know it was the post office so I went back to sleep. They called again 20 mins later but I had put the phone in the kitchen (let me sleep!!). When they called again at 9 AM, I think they were a bit sick of them (Come get them, they are noisy- lol) So we brought them home, went to swimming lessons (Paul got them a drink while we were gone) and then set up their temporary home in a swimming pool. They drank a bunch and started eating. They chirped more at first but are quieting down. When they sleep, they just flop down on the ground. They are cute little buggers- I am thinking its all down hill from here though.

Much nothing to ado

2007-07-28T12:37:00.001-07:00

This will be stream of conscience blogging. . . read at your own risk.
Alex and Danny had the Welcome Baby nurse come again to help with their development. Alex weighs 12 lbs 10 oz and Danny weighs 13 lbs 12oz. (i was squeezing them into the last of the size one diapers!) They are doing well socially- smiling and cooing a lot. They love people and don't like being left alone on their backs looking at the ceiling. They already want to be where the action is sitting on someone lap! They are tracking well when they look at people's faces but still aren't interested in toys. I can tell that they can see me from across the room and they calm to the sound of my voice. They react when they hear sounds and changes in light. They are starting to grasp and suck on their hands. They need more help with strengthening their neck muscles which means tummy time. Alex seemed to do better when I lifted up his head- I am not sure he knows he can use those muscles. Danny does a little better. They are eating very well and sleep regularly from 10:30 PM until 5:30ish in the morning.
Of course I do not go to sleep then because I need to get a little free time then.

Ronnie had a intestinal bug so he was waking up crying three nights in a row. . . ack- not good. I still haven't caught back up yet. Ronnie is saying more words. He still uses more grunting and pointing and one word sentences for the most part. He went to the doctor and got some shots. The nurse said to watch the juices and milk because he is in the 75th percentile for the BMI. Well, first of all I think this is a joke because he needs a little buffer just in case he has his stomach bugs and loses weight ( which he just had happen, again!!!!) and Ronnie is not chunky anyways for his age!?!
Tess and Isaac went for a checkup also. I told them they wouldn't need shots (they were leary about going). Turns out they both got shots after all! I felt awful. There is a new requirement to get 2 Varicella shots now. Tess on the other hand was fine on the BMI (Its my opine that she's a little waif- we even have a song that we sing about Tessa Lou, who knew how she grew? She doesn't eat much. (she must be sneaking it under the table) Tess is growing up. She loves to kiss the babies and hold them and touch them and tickle them and talk to them right up close to their faces. They don't always appreciate her attention. She likes to ride her new bike and color, color, color.
Isaac is excited for Kindergarten to start. He is the first one to finish his jobs everyday. He also likes playing on the computer again. The kids get 2 hours on the computer or 2 hours on the TV or one of each after they have their jobs done by 12PM. They are all doing an awesome job filling in their job charts. Isaac is loving his new bike riding ability and we have gone biking around Springlake. He also dirt bikes through the pastures. I have changed two flat tires and put a chain back on.
Bryce is cruising through his Wolf requirements and pretty much only has ones left he needs to do with his den. Bryce is enjoying the outdoors, jogging around the lake and pasture, riding his bike, playing with Ginger. He is taking piano lessons with Grandma now.
Trey and Michaela found a baby bird at the Springville track. It seemed to have no mother. . .so they brought it home and tried to feed it. It stayed alive for a few days and then it couldn't handle the loving anymore. Trey is now a Tenderfoot scout. He just finished all that he needs for Faith in God (except talk to Deacons leader) yesterday. He loves his baby brothers and is a great helper. He is great with computers, fixing up the network when needed. He is making some new Age of Mythology maps and likes to play Higher Ground with me. Oh and he read the Harry Potter book in two days and has been reading the Shannara series.
Michaela had a great time at Girls Camp. They went to a campground up Spanish Fork Canyon. Paul went one night to keep the bears away. She and Paul are going to get some moles removed in a couple weeks. Michaela is doing well on the flute getting a nice sound. She and Trey are getting lessons from Grammy too. Mic just purchased an ant farm. She can't wait to get some black and red ants and see how they interact.
Stop reading! Stop now! Our life is too boring to be of any interest to you. Go read someone else's blog.
I am sooo loving our new dog. She is very sweet and licks you to death. We finished stringing the electric fence through the orchard so the horses can eat that grass down. Shadow and the colt were racing around the orchard running up and down the hill down into the barn area. I think he was just enjoying himself. The colt must be making him feel young again. We still have two kitty's left. We may have to turn them into mouser's. We are going to order chicks in the next couple days. This should add some excitement back into our lives. Okay, you can still read more if you think that is interesting :P.
We are finally getting our yard green again except there is a bunch of crabgrass everywhere. I am really wishing I had done a garden this year, but we have some fruit: plums, peaches and lots of apples. We just have to pick through the worm holes.
That should about make up for not posting much lately. Remember, I told you not to read this boring stuff.

Danny and Alex

2007-07-15T21:16:00.001-07:00

"Autumn" the goat

2007-07-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

New addition!

2007-07-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Sparkley Gingersnap has come to live at our home. She is a 2 1/2 month yellow lab. She has a mellow disposition which is a change from Gemini. Both Ronnie and Tessa are not afraid of her which also is a change. I am very excited to have her around. She will be so fun for the kids and a great buddy.