Secret Device!

How is it that my boys know when I've just cleaned something, they get pulled to that exact spot or location and do serious damage to it? Maybe this isn't just my kids, I'm almost certain it's not. Maybe children are implanted with a small secret device that turns on only after a mom or dad have cleaned (I mean deep, deep cleaned!) an area up.

Yesterday, there was some watermelon spilled on the floor so I mopped it up. After I had mopped it I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed my kitchen floor till it shined like the Crystler building. About an hour later I walk towards the kitchen and I notice there is Sprite all over the floor! AWWW!

This morning I vacuumed the living room/dining room area real well. I even took off the attachments and was getting every tiny spot you can imagine. It looked great. I walked into the office checked my e-mail for about 10 minutes walked back to the living room and Brig's had dumped 1/2 a box of chocolate Rice Kripy's all over the floor. Stepped and smashed everywhere. AWWW!

Why do I deep clean? Why should I clean at all? I guess the better question is WHO IS PUTTING THESE SECRET DEVISES INTO OUR CHILDREN??? Maybe it's our parents, payback! :)

tis the season!

Oh man, I just remembered some of my favorite things about summertime. Yeah, yeah there's the warm weather, sunshine, pools, boating, tan, outside....But here are some of my extra special favorite things about summertime.

Corn on the cob! YUM!
Watermelon! Double YUM!
Fresh strawberries! Yum, Yum, Yum!
Last but defiantly not least fresh strawberry pie (with whipped cream!)

We've been buying strawberries for several weeks now. We eat them whole, cut up with a dash of sugar on them, or dipped in chocolate.

These last 2 weeks I've bought 4 watermelons. We just can't stop eating them. 1 was so-so, but the others were great! It's always a guessing game on choosing the perfect watermelon. Now that I am thinking of it, we just finished the last one off yesterday. I need to make a watermelon run soon! :)

For dinner tonight we ate corn on the cob with our meal, YUMMY. All my boys and I really enjoy corn. Usually I just put them in a pot of boiling water. But, sometimes I put a little butter on it wrap it in foil and cook it on the BBQ. 2 years ago when I had braces, it was a nightmare. I couldn't eat it very well. I had to cut it off the cob. Just not the same....

I have called Marie Callendar's a couple times to see if they have fresh strawberry pies yet. Nope. They say not until June. WHAT? Don't they know I can't wait that long? :) Oh, man those pies are goooood!

What are YOUR favorite things about summertime??

PINK!

OK. For the past few years, I have really started to love the color PINK! There are so many boy things and boys games, boy colors, boy, boy, boy, oh boy! All over my home. So here is a list of the PINK things I have. Yes, some are pretty random!

Here is what is in my bathroom:
PINK toothbrush
PINK Lufa
PINK flowers
PINK vinyl sign that states, "Once a princess, always a princess"
PINK robe
PINK towels
PINK candles
PINK razor
PINK soap
PINK Ralph Lauren travel case
PINK face lotion (Oil of Olay)
PINK nail file
PINK deodorant (Soft & Dry)
PINK retainer case
PINK bubble bath
PINK bottle of shaving cream

Bedroom:
PINK mat on my night stand
PINK flower
PINK vase
PINK chap stick
PINK clothes (I am buying more and more lately!)

Office:
PINK flowers
PINK post-its
PINK thank you cards
PINK pens
PINK scissors
PINK business cards

Kitchen/Dining Room:
PINK Kitchenaid mixer
PINK bowls
PINK can opener
PINK flowers on the table
PINK Soap
PINK colander
PINK spatula
PINK tongs
PINK measuring cups
PINK measuring spoons
PINK cutting knife

Other:
PINK wallet
PINK gardening mat
PINK shovel
PINK gardening tools

Girls Night In!

Yesterday at a community BBQ one of my good friends, Shalene, said let's go out tonight, girls night out! Sounded fun. We started talking with other friends and one of them, JORI, hadn't seen twilight yet!! WHAT? There are weirdo's out there that haven't seen the movie yet?!? :)
So we changed out plans from going out to staying in and watched it at my house. I didn't take any pic's, bummer. But it sure was fun!
We had 8 of us girlie's there and Scott sat in the back. He loves the movie too! We ate snacks and watch a great movie! Thanks GF for bringing the bread, yummy. And sorry everyone that I made you taste a funky dip. I'm glad the other one turned out and the carmel popcorn was pretty good too! Another one of my good friends, Rebekkah, hadn't seen the movie either! I can't believe I have 2 friends who haven't read the books or seen the movie!! :)
After the movie we watched the deleted scenes and planned when all of us will be going to the next movie New Moon.
Thanks everyone who came, it was fun and we'll have to do it again soon!



Hey Summer...You would of been invited, and I know you would of come! Miss you GF!!

Much Love

The other day we took little Coop in to get a bath, hair cut and his nails trimmed. He was only gone 3 hours or so. When we; Gavin, Brigham and myself, came to pick him up the cutest thing happened! Brig's became so excited when Cooper came out. He started flapping his arms up and down, legs kicking all over the place, and almost screaming "Pu-pu". I put little Coop in the cart right next to Brig. Brig became hugging and kissing Cooper all over the place. Cooper seemed excited to see us too, but Brigham was like a kid in the candy store. It was so dang cute. He truly has a lot of love for our newest addition.

My 6th baby is a.........

Oh my goodness. It was like I was going to Disneyland this morning! I fell asleep just fine last night but in the early am I was just too excited to sleep! My ultrasound was at 9:15 this morning, nice and early. I didn't feel one way or the other, but I was confident I was having another boy because, well, you know. I have 5 of them!

I told the technician to stop in that area and see if I can figure it out. Before the tech froze the shot, I saw a cute litte......penis. A BOY! my 6th BOY! Oh, my! This is so exciting. I just laughed, and smiled and was thrilled to add another to this handsome group.

Lots of people have been asking if I feel a little sad that it's not a girl. And honestly, I don't. Here's why. I grew up without a father. Sure, I wish I had one, but I have no idea what that would be like. Kinda like having a girl. Sure I want one, but I don't really know what I'm missing because I've never had one. Does that make sense? And also, this isn't my last. :)

new moon and lots of hotties!

As most teenage girls know, the next Twilight movie comes out later this year. I'm sure it will be just as glorious as the first one. Except, sadly, this one will have less of brooding Edward and more of moody werewolves. Speaking of which, the fine folks at People Magazine posted this photo of The Pack on their site a few days ago:

Why, hello.

I have already been planning a girl trip to the theatre on opening night.

Who's with me?

Baby, it's hot out there!

The other day my friend, Shalene, and I decided to take our kids to the San Tan mall and play in the water fountains. My kids call it the geysers. Any who, the kids put their swimming suits on and we spent 2 glorious hours chillin'. Shalene and I rapped under the shade while we watched our kiddy's play in the water. And yes, we did gossip just a little! :) Hee, hee! But don't worry, it wasn't about YOU!!
Brig's was so excited when the water was real low. He'd waddle over to it and look at it, put his hand in it and then boom. The water would spray up strong and high and get him right in the face. He would panic a little, look for me, and then he'd smile and giggle. It was real cute. The boys all had a fun time. They were even cold after!

My New Hair Doo

Hey gals! I just got a new fresh hair cut that I have been wanting and needing for sometime now. I always like shorter hair in the summer with some highlights. My friend in the ward, Yolanda did this adorable creation. I told her I just wanted it short. She even straightened it for me and did a great job.

Here is the before.

Here is the after.

I went to the boys school to pick them up and they didn't recognize me. Will gave me a double take. Tyler was staring for several seconds then finally relized it was me, and Jackson looked away, looked back at me, and then looked at me again. I opened the classroom door so he could get a better peek and his eye balls almost came out of his head! It was funny. Even the teacher's gave me a double take. Of course it looks different being so short. But it also is straight which makes me look like a whole new person. I love it! Thanks Yolanda!!

Have to....

What do YOU have to do every day? (Yeah, yeah, eat, sleep, potty, snug a bug with the kiddos, clean the house) What is something maybe strange or something that you're addicted to that you have to do everyday?

• I have to stretch everyday. Yeah, sometimes it's 5 minutes and other days it's 25 minutes.
• I have to check my e-mail and log onto facebook everyday. E-mail for my business and facebook for fun! :)
• I don't have to do this, I just end up doing this everyday, calling my mom. There is always something happening in our family or one of the boys says something hilarious that I have to share with my mom.
• I have to water my garden everyday.
• Review puppy training tricks with Coop.

What is something you have to do at least once a week? (Yeah, yeah, church, school, work, chores, shopping what else?)

• A family activity of some kind.
• Take a nice long tubby time with candles, bubbles and a good book.

Man, mine are kind of boring. Please share something weird about YOU!!

NO training wheels!

Tyler just got a new bike last week and has been riding it all over the place, as often as he can. Just like cute Gavin. I've been wanting to take off those darn training wheels, just never seemed to have enough time. Honestly, I think it's Scott's responsibility to do that with the boys, but he is so super busy. (like always!) On Saturday, after the boys returned from their Father and Sons outing, we headed to the park. The entire walk to the park I talked to him about maybe there would be some falling, it's not easy, takes time to learn, blah, blah, blah. I brought my tools and took off the training wheels with ease and Tyler was ready to go! We started on the grass and I held the back of his seat. He was off and I was running behind him thinking oh, my he's got this the first try! I didn't let go though....Second attempt, still on the grass just in case of a fall, i let go running right behind him. Third attempt on the side walk and he zooms so far ahead of me I can't catch up. Tyler continues to cruse all over the sidewalk loop into the street, over the speed bumps, back around to the sidewalk, and stops. Like he's been doing this for years. What a cool kid he is!

I immediately called over Jackson so he could give it a try. He too picked it up on the second or third try. But you could tell he was just way to big for Tyler's bike. So Jack tried it out on Will's bike. Again, he got it and did really well. Now Jack is going to save his money, like Tyler did, to buy himself a new bike.

Father and Sons Outing

On Friday all the boys headed out of town to a camping site near Payson, AZ for their annual Father and Sons outing. They left around 10am to get there and help set things up. Here are some of the pictures from their very fun trip.

Scott said there were about 30 dads and many, many children. Everyone got along, no one was lost or hurt and everyone said they'll need to do this again soon.

The only negative thing, I heard, was is was VERY cold. They could see snow where they were camping. None of the boys slept very well because they kept waking up shivering. They did have to leaver early because Scott had another activity he was in charge of here on campus. I am glad they had this time to share together.

Camps and Fundraising

My boys go to Santa Barbara every summer to hang out with their Nana ans Papa, but also to attend the many, many camps offered there. (Way more than here in AZ!)
We usually are accepted for some sort of a scholarship deal with Scott still in school, so we can have the kids attend several different types.
This year will is doing: The Triathlon camp. The Kids Triathlon, Art camp located at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Zoo camp (with all 4 boys!!), Cub Scout Camp, and a camp held at the Museum of Natural History. He's done others like Safety Town, golf camp, and sports camp before.
Jackson will be attending some with Will and some with Tyler. His camps are Zoo camp, Art camp, Triathlon camp, Dino camp at the Museum of natural history.
Tyler is doing: Zoo camp, Safety Town, and Dino camp.
Gavin will be doing just zoo camp.
Sounds fun! And it's always fun planning their activities!
Well, the only camp that doesn't offer a scholarship of some kind is the Cub Scout Camp. The boys do a fundraising on their own earlier in the year. Well, of course my boys are not there to participate in that. So we came up with our own idea. We did it last year and was successful so we're doing it again. The boys typed out a letter of what they're planning on doing. We wrote out a list of people we'd ask and the boys took it from there. They knocked on the door, introduced themselves and ask if they would help them in their fundraising to attend camp. The boys are collecting aluminum cans, and plastic bottles. (Water or juice ones). We smashed all this down as best we can and take it to California to the recycling department. The boys get 5 cents on most of the items! Last year Will raised almost $80.00 worth which was awesome! Scott and I paid the rest. This year we're trying to raise more because Jackson is attending! It's been a fun project to do with the boys. It's been a great learning opportunity for them as well.
If YOU live in the area and would like to help, let us know We can stopped by your house for a pick-up anytime! :)

One week down...

Well, I haven't been the greatest at scripture study with the boys as I should be. We do FHE and nightly family prayer. I usually read a short story from one of the many LDS board books, but knew it was time to read the stories straight out of the scriptures. So, every morning this week I get up and read with the boys for about 5-10 minutes before they go to school. They catch the bus at 7:30 so we sit around our FHE rug about 7:15 and read. One morning I was still sleeping and cute Will came in and woke me up! YEAH!

It's been real interesting because it seems like each day we read there is a little part of that story at least one of the boys are going through. Like this morning, all the boys are packing the car for their annual Father and Sons camp out. We were reading about Lehi moving to the wilderness, the murmuring sons, and leaving everything behind.

We read out of this Book of Mormon. Have you been this before? It's awesome! Fantastic pictures and it also highlights different words with a more simple explanation or description.

Vinyl Lettering

Most of you know my little side business of custom vinyl lettering. I love it. It's fun and easy. And now I get calls and e-mails several times a week from people I don't know that have heard about my business and want to order something! I don't advertise anymore, I don't need to! I still do parties though. Those are always fun! If you're interested let me know, you get FREE vinyl!

I have been getting a few BIG orders. Large groups of women (30-50) making 2 or 3 signs each at a time. Last month it was a dance studio and she wanted 10"x 90+". It's been a lot of work, but definitely worth it!

Here is a cute project I've done recently to my bedroom. I change my vinyl often, because it's fun!

Here are some other pictures of a vinyl order I just completed. This gal has a large wall in her home where she hangs tons of different quotes that mean something to her or a member of her family.

Check out my website at http://www.creationsbybelle.com/vinyl

The Naked Piano Player

Have you heard of that guy in New York, the Naked Guitar player? (He's not really naked, but close!) Anyways, I have one of those in my home too!

Everyday the boys practice the piano. On this particular night the boys were just about to get in the shower before bed and I asked if everyone had already practiced for the day. I guess he hadn't yet!

Sleeper!

What is up with this?! My sweet baby Brig's has been sleeping the day away, literally, for the last week or so. He normally wakes up about 7-8am. Will take his first nap at around 10am and is down for 2 hours. Then, his next nap is about 3pm. But, he stays asleep until the next morning! He obviously needs the rest. He is a growing boy. But seriously, that's a lot of sleep! And I miss him more than anything! I see him about 5 hours in the entire day? That makes me sad. What do you guys think about this sleeping baby?!?

Movie Review

It seems lately we've been seeing a lot of movies - good ones. I wanted to share my reviews with you!

SPOIL ALERT!!! I may say a few things about the movie that may spoil it for you!!! Read on, if you dare! :)




Marley & Me - Two thumbs up! It was charming, cute, heart-warming and very very sad. I grew up with a golden retriever. I also kept looking at my new little pup and wishing he'd never grow old like the energetic Marley from the movie.

Hotel For Dogs - Two thumbs up! Scott and I took the kids to the cheap theater on Good Friday and saw this little gem. All the boys enjoyed the many breeds of dogs and all the funny things the dogs could do. They giggled the whole time while chomping down popcorn.

Quantum Solace - Two thumbs up! I usually don't like those action packed, too long fight scenes, or too long car chases. They just seem totally unbelievable. I had also heard this movie was going to be pretty bad. But, I was shockingly surprised that I enjoyed it.

Slumdog Millionaire - One and a half thumbs up. Another movie I thought was going to be terrible. I was so upset when it won so many awards at the Oscars. Now, I know why. And I am glad to see that it won movie of the year. This movie is NOT a buy or a movie you'll want to see over and over again. But the message is strong and honest.

Bedtime Stories - Two thumbs up with a handful of gumballs. (That'll make sense only if you've seen the movie!) My boys say it first and they kept quoting it or telling me about some of the parts that stood out to them. So finally we all sat down with bowls of popcorn and watched it. It was very cute. Some of Adam Sandler movies are funny and others are kinda out there for me. This was a fun upbeat family movie.

Changling - One thumb up. Very deep and heart wrenching story. But way too sad for me. I don't like to watch shows where something bad happens to children, especially boys. I thought maybe he'd run away or something. Nope. Worse. The acting was pretty good. Just sad.

Seven Pounds -One and a half thumbs up. Great story line of giving, sacrifice and service. But also you knew from the beginning where it was heading and it ended wonderfully sad. Wonderful fore some. Sad for others. I was surprised while watching it because I heard poor reviews. I thought it was pretty dang good. But, don't forget those tissues!

I think that's all! Any movies YOU have seen that I need to see?

Easter Eve

This afternoon we decorated eggs and made a cute little Easter craft. The boys seemed to have a fun time. I bought the camo coloring kit for the eggs. The boys really liked that! It did come with a pink tablet, which I used for ALL my eggs! :)



For dinner we had chicken fajitas and cheese quesadillas. During dinner we talked about the real meaning of Easter. No bunnies, eggs, or candy. After dinner Scott read from the scriptures about the foretelling of Christ's death in the Book of Mormon by the prophet, Samuel the Lamanite. We then read about the 3 days of darkness that the Nephites experienced following the earthquakes and destruction. At this point, I blew out the candles and it was completely dark. We had the kids imagine how difficult it would be to be in complete darkness for 3 days. We then fast forwarded to the part in 3 Nephi 11 where the Nephites hear the voice of the Father introducing the Son. At this point, as the Nephites were looking up to the heavens we had the kids look up and they could see a small candle light that I was bringing in from the kitchen. We had them discuss how exciting it would be to have an end to the darkness and to have Jesus Christ appear from the heavens to teach us. In addition to the candles, Scott used the typical pictures from the Gospel Art Kit that depicted the crucifixion, Samuel the Lamanite on the wall and Christ appearing to the Nephites. It was a nice evening and a mini FHE with the family.

This was similar to an idea that we had found on Sugar Doodle.com. Feel free to look it up on their Easter ideas section.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

The Bike

A couple nights ago I look out the window while I'm cooking dinner and I see Gavin flying by on a bike. Not his small little Diego bike. This one:

I grabbed my camera and was laughing the entire time. He didn't care what color it was, it just was fast and big. We took it back to the owner and Gavin was in tears. I promised him we'd go find another big boy bike tomorrow.

Here is Gavin on his NEW bike. He loved it and won't get off of it!

Happy Birthday!

My sweet little, chubby baby is 13 months old today! I keep telling him to stop growing, stop getting so big. But, he's not listening to me! None of the boys did! :)

He's all over the place, almost running!

He LOVES bananas. Has one every morning!

He says, Mama, Dada, Nana (for a banana and for his Nana!), Muh (for more), ba ba, hi, and he says Pu pu for puppy! So darling!

He has 7 teeth.

He just learned how to climb onto the couch.

Loves tubby time.

He ate an entire Taco Bell bean burrito for lunch this afternoon.

Look at his big 'ol belly hangin' out! :)

He loves sitting in the chair and watching mom garden.

He enjoys playing his toy piano.

Brigham is a wonderful member of our family! We love him so much!!!!!!!!!

Sleeping arrangements

The boys all sleep in their own beds, most of the time. Sometimes sweet Gavin will sneak into my bed or will ask Jackson 2 to 3 times a week if he can sleep in Jackson's bed. Jack always says yes. They lay there snuggled together snoring away. It's really cute.

The other night I was so surprised when I looked in the boys I had to take some photos.


Tyler is in Gavin's bed.


Jackson is on the floor right next Tyler. The puppy is laying on Jackson almost asleep.


Gavin is sound asleep in Will's bed.



And Will is sleeping in the extra bottom bunk bed.






I am not sure what happened that night or how everyone ended up like a tornado threw them in random beds. But, they were all sleeping peacefully. And that's all that really matters, right?

Home Depot

The first Saturday of every month is Home Depot day! We have taken our boys there for years, and they just love it. They each have 3 or 4 Home Depot orange aprons, Home Depot Hats and many, many pins. For each craft the child does they receive a collectors pin that they can wear on their apron.

So you do this?

It's fun for boys and girls!

Even when we're on vacation we'll find a Home Depot and go do the activity. Will does the entire project on his own now. Jackson is almost there. Tyler and Gavin need a little more help but they still hold pieces together and hammer away. There are children's hammers and children's goggles for them to use. The boys love to wear the goggles and use the smaller hammers.

Preschool!

Today was Gavin's FIRST day of preschool! It's a classroom at eh boys school and the children have to be 3 years old and potty trained. He was suppose to start last week, but was under the weather. So, today was his official first day. Gavin has been so excited all week long. Everyday he would ask if today's the day. We are at the school often enough that all the teachers and most of the kids know us. It was a very easy and smooth transition for him. Gavin will attend preschool just Tuesday's and Thursday's. I will usually be at the school helping on the library on those days.

Here is Gavin in the front of his new school!

He was so excited he did not want to stand in the front of the school and smile any longer. He wanted to get to class!

Finding his new cubby!

Sitting at one of the centers and playing games.

For about 10 seconds it was sad and then I was like, hallelujah!

Oh, mama!

Here are a few random thoughts for you today.

It's 90 degrees outside! What the junk? Already? Oh, mama!

Why is it so hard to find adorable boy clothes for Easter? There are like 10x as many girls clothes anywhere, everywhere. I guess it's a new plaid pastel tie....again.

Why did I wait so long to shop for some cute new Easter plates for Sunday's meal? They are out everywhere. Bummer!

Why are there so many flies? Everywhere? It's disgusting! I hate them all. I bought not one, but TWO fly swatters today at Target.

How come Facebook is so dang addicting? It's totally got me hooked.

Gavin starters Preschool tomorrow! YEAH!

Is 5 kids really a lot? Today at Target the cashier next to me was like, "Are all these yours?" with her eyes wide open and her chin practically on the floor. I quickly say, "ah, no. I found some of them outside pan handling and I felt bad for them. I brought them in to buy them some candy!" A little pause as the lady looked at me is a different weird look. "No, just kidding, they are all mine!" I said with a surety. They're adorable, I can't believe you have 5. 5 boys...blah blah blah as the lady went on. Yes lady you can count. There are 5 of them. Then Will chimes in, "and we're having another one soon!" That almost took the poor lady overboard. Is 5 really that many?

I find out in 2 1/2 weeks that I'm having another boy! YEAH!

Why do kids love hot dogs? YUCK!

We're having chicken salads for dinner tonight, I would rather order Barro's pizza!

There were a couple funny things my kids said to me today but of course I can't think of them now....

Off to puppy training!

Amazing dinner

I love to bake and cook and there are a few things that I'm really good at. I enjoy finding new recipes on Martha or the food network channel.



But, last night was an extra yummy dinner. In fact it was so simple anyone could of made it and loved it as much as my family did. And requires NO recipe! YEAH!



We had lemon peppered halibut steaks, grilled balsamic shrimp, some steamed veggies (broccoli and cauliflower) and a side salad (with tomatoes, green peppers, carrots and a little shredded mozzarella cheese). The veggies that we had on the side and in our salad were all the ones growing in my garden. As we ate the yummy dinner we talked about healthy food, items that are growing in the garden, being farmers....It was a mini FHE. It was fun and tasty with every bite!

Gardening part II

Gardening part II! Here are some more pictures of the work Scott and I have been doing all week long.

This is what it looked like before I began. Hard, hard dirt with a thick layer of tiny little rocks. it's suppose to be pretty for the landscape but I HATE them! They get into you shoe and into my house. You can hear them in my vacuum cleaner and you can't run out to the car and get something barefoot. You have to wear shoes!

After I racked the area I had to water it a bit and then I started turning over the soil. I did this 4 times before moving onto the next step. I was very surprised to see how beautiful the soil was. I didn't even have to use gypsum!

Scott helped me stake out the area. Each row must be 3' and each bed is 2.5'.

All the kids came out on Friday and helped in their own special way!

Scott is cutting some PVC piping to make covers for some of the rows. We will need to add a 30% white shade cloth to some of the areas when it starts getting too hot. (fruit will not mature if it's warmer than 95 degrees!) I also need to hang string down to help the plants grow upward.

YEAH! That part is finally complete. It was a log day. Plating will be tomorrow!

On Saturday I added the pre-plant and the weekly feed. After mixing it into the soil it was ready for some seeds and plants! I have a cherry tomato, a tomato, red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper, carrots, lettuce, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, corn, pumpkin, and watermelon!

I sure hope this works! :)