Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Chores, Chores and the things kids come up with!

Today at chore time I told Gabe to go feed Belle,


Sophie to go feed
Hank


and Mary to feed

Tater.
I rarely get any grumbling about the outside chores ( a whole other story on inside ones!), but today Sophie was a little whiny. But after a few stern warnings and the reminder that I have to feed people and animals all the time even when I am tired, off she went! I just happened to glance outside a few minutes ago and this is what I find.

The food in the water dish and the water in his food dish! I don't think four dogs could eat that much food! I of course got the explanation, "mom if I feed him lots today, maybe he won't be hungry tomorrow!" Hah! I wish it worked like that!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Random Happenings and a small Rant!

Things have been pretty laid back here for the most part. We are in the process of slowly getting the outside of our house painted. The kids are just busy being kids. They spend most of their time playing outside in the sprinkler since we have decided on no pool this year. When they get sick of being outside, they spend most of their time playing rodeo. Gabe and Sophie are usually the bucking horses and Mary and Sara are the cowboys. Though it usually ends in a fight, that Mary does not want to be a cowboy she wants to be a "princess pony" and then the fight is on. Occassionally she will talk Sara into playing with her but not often.
A few weeks ago we had Hadleigh's dedication. It was a nice Sunday spent at church with a potluck. That afternoon the whole family went to the College National Finals Rodeo. She is me and Stephens first niece and first Godchild so it was exciting all around and we were honored that Heidi picked us for such an important role!

And now for my small rant. Today we left to go to town about 10 am. We had tons of errands to run, and needed to pick Hadleigh up. Well after we got Hadleigh I realized that I had forgotten to get Diapers and Pull Ups. So rather then having to come back to town this week I decided that I should probably just go get it. So off to Walmart we went. Now keep in mind that I avoid Walmart at all costs, we rarely ever go there because it takes forever to get anything done and normally I am all for paying a little more for some decent customer service, including hauling all of my groceries to the car. But for diapers and some other select things it is MUCH cheaper to get it there. So we get there, I put Hadleigh on the top of the cart in her seat, Sara in the basket part, and Mary didn't want to walk either because supposedly her little legs were tired, so she went in the back with Sara with the understanding that they would not fight or Mary would have to walk. We made it all the way into the store before the fighting began, because Sara's feet were, heaven forbid, touching Mary's. So after explaining to Mary that the cart was small and there really was no way to avoid Sara touching her and two warnings, I pulled Mary out the cart, put her on the ground in front of me, told her to hold on the the cart and walk nice. End of story. So we had gotten the dog food by this point and were headed to check out, all the while Mary is walking and crying that Sara is, "a little baby." That is pretty much the ulitmate insult from Mary by the way. I am really trying not to lose it, so I decide to just ignore her for the time being, since she is only 3 and tired and hungry, when this lady strolls right up to me, with her newborn baby in her cart and says to me, "My kid will never act like that, I would be so embarrassed, she needs a spanking! What is her problem?"

I looked at her and said,"Well she is three, tired and hungry and by the way just a tip from parenting 101 never ever say, 'My kid won't ever do that.' "

Really now in retrospect I probably shouldn't have been so rude, but seriously any parent who has children knows that at some point they will have a bad day just like we do!

Well that is my big rant for the day, and I am glad to say I will not have to attempt walmart or go to the store for at least a week or two!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Rain, rain go away!

It has been rainy and dreary here for days now! We are very ready to see some sun shine soon, so the kids can go outside and play and we can finish painting the outside of our house. There are have been some very long days in our house this week, which lead to today's big treat.....a movie on moms bed! I know it may not sound like much, but unless they are bleeding or deathly ill, mom and dads room is off limits. After the initial bickering, (I want to lay there!, Mom, she's touching my feet with her feet!)everyone got settled in all cozy for an entertaining two hours of Peter Pan. Little did they know that I actually had an alternative motive, and yes it succeeded three out of four fast asleep! Unfortunately, my the batteries in my camera are dead and no double A battery is to be found!

Summer vacation has been great so far, other then the rain and a nasty cold that some of us can't seem to kick. We resumed going to bible study at my parents on Tuesday nights, Belle is growing quickly and Gabriel has figured out that he can run much faster then he thought. She gets quite excited to see her pellets coming in the coffee can!

We switched Sara to her big girl bed, which has gone very easily compared to some of my other ones. So a word of advice, if you are a mother considering this, do it when they are sick and have no energy to fight you and want to sleep. It was a very successful strategy for us.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Summer Vacation Begins!

Today is officially the first day of summer vacation. This is very exciting since I am so incredibly sick of driving in circles all day!! Now I only have to drive to Tae Kwon Do twice a week and it is mid morning, much nicer then rushing home, trying to get dinner cooked, homework done, baths and bedtime. But summer vacation is also slightly terrifying as any mother knows. Some days there will be endless whining of " mom I'm bored", with me replying "would you like me to find something for you to do?" Yes now I will have time to clean my house since I will be home for more then a two hour stretch of time, but there will also be people living in it all day so it is kind of a catch 22 :) So the other night we had the "family meeting" to lay out the summer rules.

1. Just because you don't have school does not mean that you will not have a bedtime.
2. The TV and Xbox will only be touched by kids who have behaved themselves and taken care of any chores they are supposed to.
3. You can play outside and get as dirty as you would like, but you may not even touch your school clothes drawers unlessed mom has told you to.
4. All children under the age of 4 will have nap time, or at least quiet time everyday for at least an hour. Kids over the age of 4 have to go outside or be quiet.
5. I will feed you three times a day, and you may have a snack, but you will not snack all day long.

Yep, I am pretty sure the kids are ready to go back to school already! Today they spent the day playing school, Gabriel is pretty sure Sophia is no where near smart enough to go to Kindergarten and Sophie is pretty sure Mary doesn't listen well enough to be in pre school!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

May Madness!

May has been a very, very busy month for us! Stephen's dad was here to visit for a week, we made a trip to Worland for Stephen's cousins HS graduation, Sara's Second Birthday, a trip to Lander for one of my very best friends wedding ( Our first trip with absolutely no kids in years!), Gabriel's Kindergarten graduation, and a couple of brandings! This week we still have Sophia's Pre School Graduation, Track Day and Mary getting screened yet again for Pre School next year. We also have one more wedding to attend at the beginning of June and our niece Hadleigh's dedication too! We are all very ready for school to get out this Friday and go to a much more relaxed schedule and get some much needed R&R before we all go insane! So just thought I would share a few pic's of all our various activities this month, more to come after this week is complete!


Sara very excited about her new vacuum for her birthday! I can't believe my baby is two...a little sunburned from branding all day!

Gabriel practicing to be a "rodeo star" at branding.
The girls, hanging out in the truck at branding, well out of the way and the best view!

Stephen's whole family in Worland.
My kids and Hadleigh getting ready to go to Gabriel's graduation!



Gabriel and his best friend Jerry. It is very hard to get a nice smile out of 6 year old boys!
Me at Sink's Canyon in Lander WY before the wedding we were going to.
My very good looking husband!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A normal conversation with Gabe.....

Everyday it just amazes me what my kids come up with and what conversations we have with each other. Most of our talking is done in the van while I am trying to concentrate on driving and am not too quick on my feet with answers. Gabriel is by far the most amusing since he is old enough to try and really understand hard concepts, all the while I am having to keep answers simple enough for him to understand. So here is today's conversation on the way to karate today.


After all of his sisters are screaming at each other Gabe pipes up

Gabe: Mom how come Jesus didn't give me a baby brother like I want?

Me: Well Gabe, Jesus knows whats best for us, you are very lucky to have three little sisters.

Gabe: Maybe mom, at least I have Hank and Tater.

Gabe: Mom if God made people and he made a boy first how did there get to be so many people on planet earth?

Me: Well Adam was lonely so god made a girl named Eve and she was his wife.

Gabe: Oh so every boy has to have some girl around..... Was Adam a president?

Me: Kind of he was in charge of all the animals and the place where he lived, but not like our president.

Gabe: Did he live in America?

Me: No he lived by Isreal

Gabe: Is that by Wyoming? ( Geography is a very difficult concept for six year olds I have learned.)

Me: No we will look at a map when we get home it is across the ocean.

Gabe: Ok mom. Is Isweal by the bad guys that the marines go get across the ocean?

Me: Kind of we will look at a map when we get home.

Gabe: I KNOW mom, but I need to know if when I am a Marine if I am going to the place Adam lived.

Me: No Gabe probably not we will look at a map when we get home.

Gabe: So it is across the ocean right? Is it by Grandpa Jeff's ocean?

Me: No Gabe it is on the other side very far away.

Gabe: Does Grandpa Jeff live by the scary ocean like on the fishing show? ( Deadliest Catch just so you know)

Me: No honey that is a different ocean, we will look at the map when we get home.

Gabe: Are we going to Grandpa Jeff's ocean someday?

Me: Someday, hopefully maybe in a year or two.

Gabe: Ok how many days is that.

Me: Maybe when you are seven or eight.

Gabe: I hope we can leave my sisters at Grandma and papa's if we have to drive that far. ( sigh )

Me: I hope you all sleep the whole way, now get your Karate clothes on, its almost time to go in.

In a 10 minute drive we covered a lot of topics!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter and Miss Belle

We had a very busy and bless filled weekend! Easter was fun, with a great church service and a day spent with my family. Church service was amazing and entertaining, especially Mary who was holding her own conversation with Jesus, who was trying to help her be quiet she tells us! The day at the ranch was fun and family filled as always. Uncle James took them on a walk up on our ridge to "the fort" where he got talked into playing "castle." Oh what a good uncle indeed...always playing the king for them so that Sophie can be the queen, Gabe the guard and Mary either the Princess or Princess dog, depending on her mood. Sadly in my rush to get out the door by 7:45 Easter morning with four kids, a husband who under no circumstances could iron his own shirt, a bum calf and two dogs to feed, I forgot to take a picture of all the kids dressed up for church! O well maybe next year :)

Grandma and Papa gave the kids a bum calf this weekend, that we decided to name Belle. The kids have all assured me that yes they will feed her everyday. I can guarantee that they will but I am guessing probably not as enthusiastically as they are now in a few weeks when she is big enough to run them over when she sees her bottle coming!






Check SpellingOh and Friday, the kids found a turkey in our yard, who they promptly named Mr. Wiggles. Mr. Wiggles is now thankfully in the neighbors barn and the kids are welcome to visit him anytime!