Ben & Shera Family

The goings on

2010-06-14T11:53:00.001-07:00

Obviously I haven't posted lately which would cause some to believe that I've been incredibly busy. Mostly true. Another reason for no posting is no pictures. Yes, my camera is broken, again. Anyway, I can still tell you what's going on. Nathan and Kristalyn have been doing soccer MWF mornings. Katie did not like the fact that she couldn't go on the field too but has since enjoyed having mommy all to herself. Kate is also potty training. She's been doing pretty darn well too, if I say so myself! She's also getting better at singing "Twinkle, Twinkle."

Nathan gave his first talk in primary yesterday. It was about the Holy Ghost and he did a fantastic job. I also got the job I wanted. I am now the music teacher at Northeast Elementary (the school Nathan's going to). Things seem to be working out really well for us.

Finally, we are super excited to see family NEXT WEEK!!!! YAY!!!!!!!

April update

2010-04-30T15:55:00.001-07:00

Well this month has been fun (and expensive). The biggest event was going to Seattle for Kyle's wedding. Ben and I were able to go up Friday morning and come home Sunday. It was a quick trip but tons of fun and a great time with the adults of the Jemmett family. The first thing we did (even before getting our stuff to the hotel) was go ride the "Duck" with Capt. Phlip Dover (yes that's a pseudoname). He was a RIOT! We sang loud, annoying songs at the top of our lungs while driving around and learning some weird facts about Seattle (like the pier that burned down three times before they finally built a fire station right next door). Anyway, here's the Jemmett/Kindred clan on the Duck.
The Duck tours start right across the street from the Space Needle park and the Rock n Roll/Space Science museum (I don't really know what it's called). Bit of info: the Space Science museum has a lot of the authentic Star Trek stuff in it (mom you'd love it, though I didn't actually go in). Anyway, we all took pics with the needle.

We passed by the Needle about five times on our tour. It always seemed to be in the background of our pics.

Now for the real event of the weekend: the wedding. This is my new sister Aja (pronounced Asia). Isn't she just adorable???? I find it interesting that all of the Jemmett boys (light haired boys I might add) chose Brunettes.

Here are the brothers doing what brothers do. At least they have fun!

Here are the Jemmett women (minus mom).

The boys got really into the car decorating. Aja's brothers didn't know people actually did this kind of stuff (my guess is that it's not really worth it in Seattle because all the decorations get washed off before anyone can see it). Anyway, her brothers got REALLY into it. One of them came up with the idea of severing the head off of the luau pig and puting it on the windsheild. Gross, but kinda funny.

After the rain washed all the words off the car the boys went back out and put the reception decorations on the car instead. Here's the addition to the pig.

All in all it was a fun, quick, and tiring weekend. Now for my last little funny story which is not in any way connected to the wedding. Ben took the kids to the library while I went to work. He let Katie choose the books and did not censor them at all before bringing them home. A few days later we finally got around to reading them at bedtime. I read one book then turned to the second one:

Yes, that says "Daddy, PAPA, and Me" and yes it is about a baby being brought up by gay fathers. I read the title without really thinking and opened the book, then realized what I said. I looked at Ben and asked him if he knew he was bringing homosexual propaganda into our home. He took the book out of my hands, read it to himself, then shook his head as he left the room taking the book with him to put it back in the library bag. Nathan was sad he didn't get his second story and I was laughing at Ben's little mishap. I read it and really there's nothing bad in it; just a story about all the things a kid does with his daddy and papa, though the illustrations really make the men look gay by their facial expressions, postures, etc. I thought it was funny.

Happy Birthdays!

2010-04-08T18:26:00.001-07:00

A lot has happened since my last post. We had Easter, two birthdays, and a LOT of silliness. First on the picture show is a very tired Katie after church one day. I literally found her resting her head (and her eyes at the time) on her sandwich. She just opened her eyes when I shot the pic. Next, Kristalyn was posing for the camera. This was taken on her birthday right before opening presents. Ben was telling her what to do for the camera and this was the cutest one!

Easter.... Well, it's a wonderful holiday with two things that I aboslutely HATE: the mess kids make with chocolate, and the mess they make with that fake grass! But they were so cute I had to snap a pic.

Look at this mug. This girl is definitely satisfied!

For our Relief Society dinner I was put in charge of the October table. Rather than try to fit 6 women's schedules into a planning night and an arranging night I just decided to go it alone. I don't think I did too bad! I made our table a pumpkin patch with a big cake and a few orange candles with leaves glued on.

I was super impressed with the cake. And it was so easy too!

Lately Nathan has been "COLD!" I found him on the couch like this after breakfast one morning.

Here is Kristalyn's haul for her birthday. She loves her presents so much! Thank you Grandmas!

After singing happy birthday to Katie, Ben leaned in to give her a kiss. She's the most kissable little two year old in the world!

This was my girls' birthday cake. I made this one for a mini-party at playgroup.

Katie's friend couldn't wait to eat some cake. She dug in before we even sang the song.

Katie was so excited to get her boxes from her grandmas. So were Nathan and Kristalyn. Lyn keeps thinking it's all for her then getting mad at mom when I tell her these toys are Katie's not hers.

All in all it's been a good few weeks. We've had strange weather but at least two good days each week to go play at the park. After Kyle's wedding we won't really have anything exciting to look forward to for a while. Oh well, sometimes it's nice to have nothing planned and just go with the flow....

Tofu!

2010-02-28T19:50:00.001-08:00

So I was putting Nathan to bed (the girls were already in theirs) and instead of a song he wanted to play "This Little Piggy." I did the first foot normal (market, roast beef, wee wee wee) and he laughed and had a great time. But for the second foot I always try to make up new rhymes as a fun learning thing for him. To substitute a different food for "roast beef" I've been saying some of Nathan's favorite foods like "bacon" and "ham 'n' cheese" but I was a little leary of our piggies being cannibals so tonight I tried really hard to think of some non-pig food and the first thing that popped in my head was tofu! So I said "this little piggy had tofu," then stopped as I realized what I said, turned to Nathan and said "get it 'toe'-fu?" We could barely finish the rhyme because we were both laughing SO hard. I know it was really silly and not really THAT funny but to a 5-y/o it's HILARIOUS!!! We laughed until we cried, then laughed some more.

It was a good night.

A post with pics!

2010-02-25T18:50:00.001-08:00

Lots of pictures, not much time so here goes: First, I was pretty crafty the last two weeks. I made some blackout curtains for Ben so he can sleep during the day (they work wonderfully!). Then I decided to do cute curtains for the girls. I loved these two fabrics together and the girls love them too. Nathan requested Cars curtains (no surprise there). I had to do some finangling because I didn't think about which way the cars were printed on the fabric. The curtains are barely long enough for his window but they work and he loves them.

Next project: Katie's tutu and matching hair thing. She's adorable and she loves it.

My little dancer!

The kids love the camera and especially being silly for the camera.

We did a photo shoot after dinner one night. Nathan thought it would be fun to give Lyn a big kiss.

Lyn paid him back.

We had oreos for our dessert (same night). You can't really see it but she has chocolate cookie residue all over her teeth and mouth.

More silly pictures. I was trying for something nice that I could frame but all I ever get is sillies.

Nathan has become quite the little photographer. I think I'll be getting him his own camera (birthday maybe) so he doesn't break mine. He took this one and some of the others below. (Mama's can be silly too)

Aunt Leslie came to babysit one night and the kids loved her scarf.

The rest of these are pics Nathan took.

He's obsessed with feet pictures.

My Music!

2010-02-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family! I finally recorded all of my songs. HOORAY!!! They're not the best recordings in the world but it was fairly simple and free so I went with it. Anyway, here's the link: http://web.me.com/piperjy/Family_Pages/Sheras_Music/Sheras_Music.html
A big thanks to my dad for uploading all of it to his mobile me account (or whatever it's called). Another big thanks to my wonderful hubby who stayed up way late so I could get it done.

As for our family, we're doing great. Ben's been working the night shift for the last 2 weeks and has handled it fairly well. It snowed here this morning (4 inches!) but it's mostly gone now. I'll upload pics with funny stories next time (hopefully sooner than a month) because naptime is now over and the kiddos want snacks NOW! I hope you enjoy the music!

Merry Christmas (in January...)

2010-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm a total slacker but at least I'm actually telling you all about our first Christmas on our own (even if it is a month late)! First off, we were invited to the home of one of the families in our ward for Christmas Eve. They had all of their family there so it was almost like being at home (just with a bunch of strangers). We went on a Polar Express train ride (using 4-wheelers and wagons) while reading christmas stories and singing Christmas songs. It was freezing cold but we had fun. We got back inside and listened to (and enacted) the Christmas story as told in Luke. Kristalyn and Nathan were both shepherds.
Didn't they do an excellent job?

Then it was Christmas day. Each of the kids got one present from mom and dad and a few others from our secret santas (big thanks to whoever that was), grandparents, and Aunt Krista.

Lyn got a doll that is almost as big as she is. Within the first 5 minutes she'd already amputated a leg and broke the rubber band that was supposed to hold it on better. It still works but it keeps falling off now at random times.

Katie liked the doll too. (Yes the doll came with two outfits).
Nathan's Christmas list was about as long as my arm. What he really wanted was a Buzz Lightyear and an airplane. So I got a Buzz with collapsible wings, kind of like two in one. He loves it!

Every time I take Katie into Walmart and we pass by the toys she always spots the babies. Then she'll yell as loud as she can "Baby Baby Baby!!!!" So, I got her a baby. It even cries (curse myself for that one).

This is our Christmas dinner. Basically, a dinner like any other night except I actually made funeral potatoes. We had extra of those for nearly two weeks because we got so sick of them.

Here's the unwrapping of Krista's gifts. They showed up on our doorstep the day after Christmas. Lynn loves her new bracelet (even wore it to church yesterday w/o playing with it too much).

See that green putty on the floor by his knee? It's noise putty. Don't let 1.5 year olds play with that stuff. Katie loved playing with it and never remembered to put the lid back on. I was scrubbing Nathan's laundry for an hour before I could even put it in the washer. And we also have a permanent green spot on his bedroom floor. Thanks Kate!

Katie's favorite toy from this lot was the slinky. She played with it all day and still screams when brother or sister try to take it from her.

Now, fast forward to last week. We had a BLIZZARD! The kids got to use their snow gear for the second time. The snow was 8 inches deep by noon and drifting. Schools were cancelled and we had fun. We even built a snowman in the likeness of Princess Leah (she got knocked down within a few hours).

This is how deep it got. Sure it doesn't look like that much compared to Rexburg, but for New Mexico? Definite snow day.

The next day schools were cancelled again, though it was barely snowing at all; it couldn't even be called a skiff. Oh well, double snowdays are okay by me.

Christmas song

2009-12-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Here's the song I started writing in January and finished in August. It's called the Light of Christmas. I did make a few mistakes but didn't have time to make another recording so just grin and bear it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ol7eAVfL8k

2009-12-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well, to start, here's Ben's graduation pics. Doesn't he look handsome?Each cadet chose someone special to pin their badges on for the first time. Lucky me I'm Ben's special person!

Getting the diploma...I'm so proud!

The kids were so tired (and hungry) by the time the ceremony was over it was a miracle that we lasted long enough for a piece of cake! After that it was home, babysitter, home again, then mom & dad went out to dinner with the other Jemmett adults.

The day before Christmas Eve we actually had snow again! The kids ate breakfast then went straight outside to play and throw snowballs at the fence.

One of my gifts this year was a set of bells that you can actually play songs with. The kids didn't care about playing in any order but we did get through Twinkle, Twinkle. They just liked the headache-producing noise it made.

Sorry it's sideways, I forgot to fix it. Lyn liked the stockings so much she had to wear them.

Opening presents at Uncle Kurt's house...

After presents, games, and all of the above the kids were all tuckered out but we didn't want them to go to bed just to wake them up an hour later to go home so they watched a movie.

On Saturday we went swimming at the aquatic center which has a water slide. On my first run down I had Kristalyn with me and we laid back the whole time down the slide. It was going so fast at the bottom that the water pulled me under so my butt was bumping against the bottom of the pool and I was trying to keep Kristalyn above water. I was under so long the lifeguard nearly jumped in after me but I got up before she did. On the second run I tried sitting up so I could get my feet under me easier. Well, you cannot sit up on this slide. Going around the third turn I got flipped over so I was laying on my stomach on top of Lyn. I tried using my elbows to flip over again but that only gave me a bruise. Then I tried my feet. However, I didn't know we were going into a new turn so my right foot smacked on the ledge of the slide right where it angles up to prevent people from falling out. Here are the results of that error:

see the bump on the inside of my arch?

and the bruise that came on three days later...

Lucky me it was not broken but it still hurts.
Finally, Katie had some cute hair that I had to show off.

Along with the after-hair-do hair-do.

New Song

2009-11-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

Here's another quickie. I posted a new song on YouTube called "Hopeless." The message of the song is really to bring hope and I think that's a message that should be spread around, especially at this time. If you like it, please share it. Let hope find people far and wide (and close to home too). Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhGbVQB-ECg

Quickie

2009-11-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. This is just a quickie post letting you know that my newest song is on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p8WQc-Wnzc
The song is titled "Hopeless" and is actually meant to bring hope. I must admit I'm not thrilled with this video and plan to re-record as soon as my voice is completely non-scratchy. I still had a bit of a sore throat when I recorded this but it was okay enough. Also, my remote didn't work as it was supposed to (operator error maybe...) so the last minute or two is empty landscape and random noises as I cleaned up. I hope you enjoy it!

Winter art and early Christmas!

2009-11-11T09:38:00.001-08:00

Well, we've had an interesting couple of weeks. The kids finally got over their colds a week ago only to get sick again today! So once again I find myself unable to work and feeling helpless in a house full of sickness. But amidst all of that, we still have had fun. I found our old Incredibles stickers and put them out for the kids to have fun with. They had a bit too much fun in my opinion; yes, that is the TV in Nathan's room and it still has stickers on it today (this happened about two weeks ago). Close-up:

Last Friday evening I decided the kids needed some good craft time. I'd been working for two days and they needed mom to do something fun with them. So I found this project on that blog I posted about below and we did it! We started out by making our own watercolor paint (not that hard actually).

After it was made we let it dry overnight (we'd made the paint Thursday night). Then I got out our painter's tape and we started making our trees.

Once our trees were on we painted over the tape with our watercolors. The kids had a blast, got water everywhere, and I had to have towels ready for the mass of colored water.

Then we let them dry.

Here's each artist's finished product the next morning.

Right after we were done with painting and started heading upstairs for jammies and bed, there came a knock on the door. We had gotten a big box full of early Christmas from grandma and grandpa Piper. The kids were so excited that we stayed up an extra hour unwrapping and trying stuff on.

Nathan didn't realize there were two zippers to unzip (it's one of those 4-in-1 coats) and got stuck until mom helped him out.

We had a great night together and the kids love their trees and new snow-gear. They came downstairs the next morning all dressed for the snow (snowpants and all) and were sad to find that it was going to be 70 degrees that day. I think that six (or 10) inches we got was a major fluke but I'm glad we are now prepared if it happens again.

Fun kid's craft blog

2009-11-04T09:25:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone! I just wanted to post a blog I found on another blog (i know, it's that same ol' senario, friend of a friend...). It has really fun craft ideas for kids. I'm following it now and I think I'm going to have the kids do the winter tree silhouette painting. It looks fun! Heres the address:
http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/

Have fun!

Crafts, Flu, and Halloween

2009-11-03T07:43:00.000-08:00

We had some good fun this Halloween. Kristalyn's playschool had a costume party, creepy lunch, and crafts for the whole family. They made hand print spiders, and picture frames.

Nathan got sick the day before Halloween so he wasn't able to go trick-or-treating (I took him to three houses and he was done). He was so excited to be a cowboy, and he barely got to use the costume. Katie was sick too. I did take Lyn to the tri-ward trunk-or-treat. They did face painting, a dinner (tacos, original huh?) then the trunk-or-treating. She got enough candy there for all of us!

Funny story: she wanted to be a kitty cat for halloween. So I dressed her up, painted the nose and whiskers on her face, then went to put her socks and shoes on. Well, she doesn't have black socks, so I grabbed Nathan's black church socks. She threw the biggest fit because they weren't "her socks"! So then I told her that if she wanted to get her candy she had to put the socks on. She said "No! I want to be a ballerina!" So I dug through her dress-up box and found what she needed to be a ballerina. I washed her face, curled her hair, then went to put her white shoes on. She said she didn't want her white shoes, she wants to be a cat! I put her shoes on her anyway, put her in the car, and she cried the whole way to the church. When we got there and saw other kids dressed up she was fine. As for the butterfly on her face, she didn't want that either until the other little girls said they wanted one too. I swear this girl thinks she's a teenager!

On the morning of Halloween I made Monster Muffins. Basically, they're plain ol' apple cinnamon muffins with green food coloring. The kids thought they were fun.

I found Katie asleep on the couch like this (because she was sick) just after breakfast. It was so sad and yet cute at the same time.

This is the "too much candy" face. Nathan's been obsessed with taking pictures lately. He thinks he needs his own camera.

Of course, Katie really likes the candy too. She and Nathan are still sick but mending.

Snow already!

2009-10-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

When we woke up this morning it was to a fresh coat of fluffy white. Since then it has continued to snow and we now have about 5 inches covering the ground. It doesn't look like it will let up any time soon. I can only see about 1/8 mile. We are officially having a blizzard in northern NM! The wind made it swirl up to our door and it's covering my spider-pumpkin. Here are some pics.

2009-10-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Nathan, Kurt and I went duck hunting after work today. This was a special trip because it was Nathans first hunting tip with dad. As I was walking with Nathan across the field to the river, I told Kurt how excited I was to be hunting with my son, and that I had had dreams about it. Except, this trip was not going to be like my dreams. We get set up and no more the 5 minutes later here come some ducks flying over. We shoot and two go down. Kurt and I start running over to them as fast as can because they are in the current and going down river fast. I start into the water and before I knew it I was up to my waist I got within 5 feet of the ducks and they dove into the water. I stopped and down I went. I lost my footing, my waders filled up with water my head went under as well my gun. I regain control only after feeling like I was about to drown. We get back to the blind and wait for the next ducks. All the while answering my son relentless questions of why I was all wet. How embarrassing! Just then Kurt shoots a duck it lands on the other side of the river. He goes over to get, on the way back he falls in the river and is all wet. I turn around to see Nathan Peeing his pants so now all three of us are wet. I told him if we are in the woods he can drop his pants anywhere and go if he needs to go. He looks at me and says “OH!” I can’t but help laugh so; we agreed to call it night. So here we are, all three of us half naked in Kurt’s truck riding home. The first hunting trip with my son turned out to be wonderful bust, full of memories that I will never forget.

Video Time!!!

2009-10-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

For those on the "Jemmett Blob" I accidentally posted this on that site before I realized I clicked on the wrong "new post" button. Oh well, the cousins can have a good laugh too. For the rest of you, here is our latest:

On Sunday (yesterday) I was really sick (I couldn't speak). So Katie stayed home with me while the others went to church. When they got back, she'd already had her nap so we had fun with the camera while the other two kids slept. These five videos were all taken within 30 minutes and Katie was being exceptionally cute! You'll love them.

First, Katie turned into Superbaby, then stumbled around a bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVT3lCDRVxY

Next, she made silly noises while playing the couch-face game (Marla, don't worry, she does this all the time and she's okay).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqkuy88FIN4

Third, Ben wanted to show you all how smart she is so he asked her what different animals say and her responses are great. Watch closely for what "mommy says."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiKrgn44yxM

Fourth, she had some random fun with daddy. I wouldn't have put this one in except the ending is hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwiaS2eX9W8

Finally, I think she watches mommy and daddy answer too many phone calls because she has this one down! Watch out for more couch-face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZgMYDbzCug

I hope you all enjoy these videos. I can certainly watch them over and over... Have fun!

Lyn's arm etc.

2009-10-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

Kristalyn's arm is broken. Well, not the arm itself, but her elbow (if you hold your arm in an L-shape at shoulder height, it's the bone on top).

Nathan came downstairs one morning before breakfast (already in his jacket because it was "so cold") and showed me his spider. I was so proud of his artistic talent I had to show it off to all of you.

Finally, on Saturday, as part of Ben's birthday we went to the "Big-Boy Toy Convention." There were all sorts of things; RV's, Campers, 4-wheelers, motorbikes, football, even bikini-clad girls doing sumo. Anyway, on our way toward the car after walking around Nathan found this bike, got on it, looked all around while "riding" and said, "Mommy, it's just my size!" Unfortunately, mommy didn't have an extra $3000 to buy him a "big-boy toy."

One last thing: I'm starting to record my songs via camcorder. I've done one so far and it is on YouTube at this address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRYV-9JKqnM

This is the song I wrote for Ben for our anniversary this year. I've got a new one that I'll record and post soon.

FYI

2009-10-01T07:55:00.001-07:00

Just a little info on our life. We still live in the centipede-infested apartment (though I am grateful for the cheap rent in a good neighborhood). Nathan and Kristalyn are still singing Happy Birthday throughout the house. Katie still barks at everything she sees. Life is good.

However, Kristalyn has a little problem with her arm. She fell off the top bunk of Nathan's new bed. At first we didn't think anything was wrong, she hardly cried at all! The next day, I picked her up from the babysitter's after work and she was really whiney and her arm was swollen but not bruised. I took her into an urgent care place where they took x-rays and found that no bones were broken. They tried popping it back in place three times and failed, all while she was screaming in pain. Since that didn't work we were told to watch it and if it didnt' get better by Monday (three days ago) to take her in to an Orthopedic Surgeon. Her appointment is today. I'll post again later (with pictures) and tell you "the rest of the story..."

catch up

2009-09-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about the condiment, I'm commenting on my own slacker status. Anyway, here's a recap of what we've done since last post. Ben's parents came to visit us over Labor Day and we went to Chaco canyon.

Nathan also had a birthday on Sunday. We had his party on Monday. He was so excited all weekend to have people come to the park and eat his birthday "train cake." Then about an hour before it was to start he lays down and says he doesn't feel good. Well, we went to the park anyway to have the party. Nathan just laid down on the blanket all through guests arriving, dinner, gift giving and everything until I said the magic words: TRAIN CAKE!!!! After that he was his normal, bubbly, excited-about-everything self. Katie was not well that night though. Both she and Nathan had fevers, though hers was worse. Here's the train cake.

Today I finally got fed up with the sticky goo left over from the duct tape that we tried to use to make Katie's high-chair hold up until she's done with it. So I took the cushions off, measured them then went to Hobby Lobby. I found some vinyl fabric that matches my kitchen decor quite nicely and came home to make it. Here it is 2 hours later put back together. The best part is that it looks brand new and I only spent $3 to do it! Oh, and I have enough to cover the seat of the chair two more times (which is really the only part that gets nasty).

2009-08-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted, but I think the wait was worth it. First, you'll see me and some of my niece/cousins' daughters acting in a play written by Ben's cousin Abby. The girls and I were modest saloon dancing girls. I just had fun dressing up.

Here's Katie all dressed up in our old-style western clothes. She was napping when the Nathan, Lyn, and I got our picture done.

Here's the rest of us. Kristalyn just wanted to dress up but not pose. I tried to get the boa around her neck but she didn't like it and asked if I could put it on her head instead.

Finally, today Ben got maced. Kurt (Ben's brother) took video of the whole shindig. This video is Ben's turn to get sprayed then try to protect himself from an attacker.

Summer Fun

2009-07-27T09:13:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to a car show here in Farmington. The city shut down main street and all the people lined their cars up along both sides. The kids had a blast walking up and down the middle of the street and looking at all the old cars. Some of the cars looked like they needed some serious fixing-up, others looked like they belonged on a used car lot (dodge neons, etc.). I thought it was funny what some people thought constitutes a classic. Anyway, Uncle Kurt bought the kids some cotton candy and this is what happened... Here are a few of the cars we looked at.

Nathan really wanted to drive this one. Then again, I don't think Ben would have minded that at all if he had the chance.

Last week I decided to fix some of my grandma's old aprons into the adjustable kind like Grandma Ruby Jemmett used to make. The kids love them and they wanted to help cook right away. Kristalyn was assigned to stir the mac n cheese.

Nathan really wanted to chop the hot dogs. Yes, that is a real knife and it is sharp, but he had a lot of fun and I was right there to help when it got too close to his fingers. He did a really good job!

After the hot dogs were chopped he wanted to do something else so he got to make juice too! He loved the part where he taste tested.

On Saturday our stake held its annual Pioneer Day party. They had all sorts of games and then food. After dinner Nathan and I went to the zip line. We stood in line for about 45 minutes then got on and rode down. Nathan loved it!

During the dinner we found out that Katie REALLY likes watermelon. I wonder how long that will last. Kristalyn used to like it, but she wouldn't touch it this time.

All in all, it's been a fun summer so far. And it's not over yet!

cool videos

2009-07-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Katie fell asleep during lunch while I was getting the other two down for naps. When Ben and I came back downstairs this is what we found.

This next video was fun. Just don't look at me. I've recently developed a bit of camera-shyness that turned into camera-awkwardness. I think the kids are hilarious with their make-shift guitars.

For my sisters

2009-07-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics I promised.

New Jersey

2009-07-10T15:17:00.001-07:00

Well, on our trip we had a lot of fun. We went to the beach, the amusement park on the Boardwalk, Whale watching (the whales didn't know they were supposed to be there), and spent time with the grandparents. Katie had some interesting hair-dos thanks to my oldest sister. There were a lot of really neat buildings and river front properties that I liked.

The whales may not have made an appearance, but the dolphins were plentiful. Only one jumped and I wasn't fast enough to get it on camera.

Nathan's drag look was thanks to his cousin who lent him her pj's when his were at grandma's house. The nights he stayed at the rental house he had nothing to wear but drag.

The kids' sleeping schedules were all messed up. Katie ended up napping on the beach. In the Minneapolis airport there was this nice play area for kids. I was grateful for that since we had one 5 hour layover and another 3 hour one there. The next group of pics I post will be for my sisters' benefit. We did a lot of camera sharing while there.

It is sad that while on the trip we all got the flu. Thankfully it was only a 24 hour bug, but still, who wants to get sick on vacation? We all got over it before leaving though, except my brother-in-law, he had it while flying. All in all, it was a good trip.

Katie Walking

2009-06-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

We had another video that showed her taking around 8 steps (which is really good for the first day of walking), but it got deleted accidentally, so this one will have to do.

Fun in Farmington

2009-06-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

We finally found some fun (and cheap) things to do here! We went rock climbing, which I thought was kind of scary considering that the rocks here are sand. Anyway, we had a lot of fun with our new neighbors, until the kids got "sooooo hungryyyyy!" I thought it was funny that there was a rock that looked like a llama! Toward the end of the climbing, Katie fell asleep in Ben's arms. She's so adorable!!! I'm going to try to post a video of Katie walking (she finally did it today). I've never done video before so we'll see how it goes.

Catch-up

2009-06-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finally got internet service. HOORAY!!!! I don't really have much to say other than we made it and are settling in nicely. Here are some birthday pics (sorry no princess party pics, I forgot to take any that day), moving pics, and other fun pics! Look closely at Nathan's face in the pic of them in the car. Those marks on his face are from his big bike wreck a few days ago. And we finally got Rudy to go swimming. He LOVED it, the lake was as warm as a bath. Enjoy.

Girls' Day!!!

2009-04-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

My two greatest friends and I went out for a day of fun! Tia, Susan, and I went out to lunch, and lots of shopping! At the end, we got into one of those photo booths and had even more fun! Tia, here's your copy of the pics. I had TONS of fun; thanks girls for the good times!

Fun, fun, fun

2009-03-25T13:17:00.001-07:00

So, as we're packing, getting ready to move, it's inevitable that the kids would find the biggest box and make a toy out of it. They played with it for 4 hours at least! I even taped them inside. They got a kick out of that!

What kind of mother would I be if I didn't play with my kids? We can have fun too!

Earlier in the month, Ben was cleaning his guns. Nathan decided he needed to do that too. It was tricky trying to describe the difference between metal and plastic and how they need different cleaning materials (the stuff Ben uses would have melted Nathan's gun).

We're moving

2009-03-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

It's true. We are moving out of our house at the end of this month. We'll spend some time (probably a month) at Ben's parents' house then, if all goes well, we'll move to New Mexico. I don't know how long we'll be there, could be a few years, could be twenty. What I do know is that we'll miss this home, this neighborhood, this ward, this town, and all the people who live here. That's all the news we have so, wish us luck in our packing and in starting a new life.

Snow!

2008-12-22T11:51:00.000-08:00

We went out to play in the snow today and I got some really cute pics to share. Rudy has more fun in the snow than the kids do! Even Katie likes it (though you can't really tell from the picture).

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

First of all, I missed Thanksgiving so I posted some pics from that weekend. Nathan and Kristalyn were holding hands while sleeping and I thought that was so cute! After Thanksgiving Dinner the Chipmunks came to open up Christmas (my cute little cousins are the chipmunks). Also, everyone needs a bathtime picture and I wanted to show off how big (and adorable) Katie is getting.

I think the most fun I've had in a long time was the Christmas Masquerade Ball here in Rexburg. Ben and I went to the BYU-I costume shop and found these. It was so much fun trying on different period dresses (even Ben had a blast)! Of course the dancing was delightful too (it's been at least 2 years since we last danced).

2008-10-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while, but I'm so used to Myspace that blogger takes too much time (in my mind) to figure out. It's probably pretty similar but oh well. So here's the news: we are full into hunting season, I finally got my Twilight books in the mail (yes I've already read them all and I'm into them the second time), Katie is trying to crawl, Kristalyn likes dressing up as a princess batgirl, and Nathan LOVES his school. We went to our Elementary School's Halloween carnival and the kids had a blast! Ben hated the crowds, I hated the lines, and the kids were all tired when we got home. Other than that, not much is happening here. We did carve our pumpkin today for FHE. He's cute. That's it! TTFN - Ta Ta For Now!

Our First Post!

2008-09-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it's not the first post ever for us on Blogger, just on this blog. Anyhoo, here we are finally. I'll try to update it often. I had to show off my picture story. Katie saw me eating an ice cream sandwich and wanted some, so I gave it to her. She didn't like it too much when it was all gone. See ya around!