Becca Eric Robby Rylan Amelia and Benjamin

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

My little Bride of Frankenstein!

She looks great, doesn't she?

Glow stick men

Ben didn't want to dress up. He stayed in with me to help hand out candy...

And play the iPad :)

This gives a lot better look at the stick figures... Don't mind the dorky laughing in the background! :)

Harvest Time (by Eric)

2011-05-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Well its time to see what the garden has done..

And the results of this attempt to figure out how to garden well...

There was over a pound of carrots.

The peppers have also produced about a pound so far.

Becca thinks the taste is off a bit. We are wondering if despite of the size if they hadn't completely matured yet.

Then we checked the potatoes...

I have never grown potatoes before it was kind of cool to dig one up and see how it works.

Given the smaller size I figure it was too soon, so I left the other two alone..

Live and learn I guess.

The cherry and grape tomatoes are riping a few at a time.

Becca and the kids all say they are yummy.

They eat them all before I get a chance.

The bigger tomatoes are cracking before they mature. So they get tossed

I am adjusting the water to see if I can save the up and coming fruit. We will see how that goes.

More Gardening (Eric)

2011-04-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well the garden is going good.

Here we have the tomatoes. They are really taking off.

You can see some of the growing fruit here. In a couple of weeks we should be able to tell you how it tastes.

Next we have carrots

And then the potatoes

And then the peppers

The pictures don't show you that they smell like pepper already which is cool

Here is a closer up view of the growing peppers.

Unfortunately the squash, and onions didn't seem to take. With that failure, I then tried sprouting them first. But on the one day we went really hot I left them covered up and they cooked.

Sigh...

Lets see if the third time is the charm..

Of course I am not doing this alone. I have some help.

Robby and Rylan doing some weeding by the carrots

Then there is Ben... Clearly the happiest worker

I mean... Water and dirt = mud what is not to like?

Right?

Then we have the strays... Don't know why some one left two little kittens on our doorstep.

Not really a big fan of them...

But they are willing to work in the garden

See!

No weeds were they tread.

Now to the bad news. Apparently the Gnome gained a taste for gravity challenging stunts.

Personally I think he read too many Douglas Adams books.

That is not how you learn how to fly.

He was not the 6 million dollar Gnome though.

After his fourth attempt I lacked the tools and the technology to rebuild him.

So instead of being better, faster, stronger. He is now garbage.

But every garden needs a Gnome.

So Becca went and bought me a new one.

(yes she is supportive of my little insanities)

Of course I could not let him roam around naked, because the neighbors might call the police.

So one paint job later...

He now monitors the water supply to the garden

Hair cuttin!

2011-04-06T14:59:00.001-07:00

I found a lock of blonde curls on the floor... with the explanation "I didn't have anything to put in my backpack." This is the first time that she has cut her own hair. Now we just have some really short bangs!

Garden (By Eric)

2011-03-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah... yeah... yeah. I know this is Becca's blog, but I am posting here anyway. A few weeks ago I spent my Saturday in a gardening class. Inspired by the class, I decided to try once again to get a garden going. So now nearly two weeks later it is set up and ready.

20 feet by 5 feet

With the help of the kids its been dug up, weeded, fertilized and planted. They helped plant carrots, onions, cilantro, and zucchini seeds.

The White PVC pipe is the watering system

The watering system is on a timer. It takes about a minute to water the garden. When the summer heat kicks in we will boost the number of watering times.

We expect the seed to sprout in about a week. Once they do we will transplant Tomatoes, Peppers, and watermelons, which started off in a more controlled environment. (The future locations are marked with the stakes in the first picture.

Waiting for Transplant

When shopping for the remaining plants Amelia talked us into getting her some flowers. So we will be moving them over to a pot soon.

In the background you might notice wood stacked against the wall. That is for the trellis I will be building over the next week. This will be the support system so the tomatoes, and other plants can have support to grow up off the ground.

As for the gnome.... well I got him as a white elephant gift some eight years ago. He has stood in every garden since then. When I went to get him for this one he was very sun faded and Ameila had broken the legs off. Needless to say the legs have been glued back on and I repainted the green on the coat and hat and black on the boots. Once he dries I'll touch up the beard, mushroom, grass, etc.

Bump on the head

2011-03-10T15:10:00.002-07:00

So Ben got to take a little trip to the ER yesterday. Amelia was pushing him in the stroller at a morning meeting and she tripped and Ben & the stroller did a faceplant into the pavement. He was crying but Amelia was crying even harder. Ben calmed down after a few minutes and seemed to be ok for a while. He did throw up though a little later and so I called the doctor. They told me just to take him to the hospital so they could do an x-ray or scan if they needed to, so off we went. He does have a mid concussion but all they did for us was give him a popsicle and sent us home with instructions to come back if he continued to throw up or if he were acting abnormally. All is well with him though, we haven't had any more problems!

OUCH!

Crazy Hair Days

2011-03-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to show off how gorgeous my baby boy is!

I can't believe he's one already!

2011-03-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday dear Benjamin... Happy birthday to you!

Two hands full of frosting

Really getting into it now

All done with the cake, get me out!

Opening presents with mom

Everyone is gone... Now the real fun begins, ripping the tissue paper to shreds!

Christmas Time & Trip to UT & NV

2011-03-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the Mesa Temple lights

We made a trip over the Christmas break. First we stopped in St. George to visit Grandma Bettie & Grandpa Brent. We also got to see Aunt Shanell and her family and Uncle Payden and his family.

Ben loves to climb on Grandpa Brent's exercise machine

So do Rylan & Amelia

Uncle Payden and the cousins :)

Amelia & Taylee

Then we left St. George and headed north. We spent Christmas at Uncle Jeff's house and with Grandma Lolly and Grandma & Grandpa Hunt.

Snoozing & grinning on the drive to SLC

Waiting to open presents on Christmas morning

I wonder who's excited????

Her first Barbie

Ben loooooves his new blankie, can't ya tell?

Since we were there for Christmas time, we got to spend some time with Aunt Vonalin & Uncle Tim.

Aunt Vonalin's birthday

After Christmas, we went to Grandpa Blake & Grandma Denna's house to spend New Years.

Wheelie Flats

Rylan is trying to get unstuck from the mud

Amelia got rescued from the mud by Uncle Branson

Blakey the drummer

Ry's Volleyball

2010-11-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

Rylan just finished playing his first season of volleyball at the YMCA. They played 8 games and had practices in between. He was definitely improved by the end of the season. I am a proud mom!

Halloweenie 2010

2010-11-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Vampire bat (but without her teeth)

Favorite game at the Trunk-or-Treat... the fish pond
Thanks Roatch Family for entertaining my daughter all night :)

Ry was mad that some kid was calling him Mickey Mouse

Casting a spell

Yes, he is a wizard in a Snuggie :)

What a handsome boy... love that smile

The Doctor (actually the Eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who, a British sci-fi show)

Using the Sonic Screwdriver

Sooooooo grown up... makes me a little sad

In case you don't know who the Doctor is

Random October Stuff

2010-11-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

We got to have Grama Lolly visit us for a couple of weeks... oh how I wish I had my mom around more often. Amelia especially likes to have Grama here to talk to and go for walks and play games with her.

On another note, sometimes my kids are just weirdos...

My mommy

What a little mischief monkey... I can see it in his eyes

Rylan hiding from the camera while doing his homework

Wide eyed and bushy tailed (as Gramps would say)

I love when they are laughing together...

So much better than fighting (which is what they are usually doing)

Amelia's Birthday

2010-11-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned 5 a few weeks back... I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

We had a birthday party for her at the park. We invited friends and family and we played games and had cake and opened presents. It was fun that Uncle Jeff and Aunt Erin and Grama Lolly were in town to help us celebrate. Tia Lisa brought her a "fiesta hat" and a piñata for the kids. We had lots of fun!

Amelia and Tia Lisa with the fiesta hat

Aunt Erin & Uncle Jeff

Being silly

Robby looks like he is having so much fun

Frosting is yummy

Cubs and Hail

2010-11-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

Rylan got his Wolf rank advancement in Cub Scouts. We are so proud. He really likes going to Cub Scouts and has lots of fun with the other boys.

Pinning mom

The blood sucking helicopter cheer

About a month ago, the Phoenix area got a crazy hail storm. If you live here, you already know that. :) I don't think I have seen anything like it since I have lived here for the last 21 years.

Amelia was hiding inside. It was loud and she was scared.

Lost Pictures

2010-11-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

I need to catch up a little here.

So something weird happened to my camera. For some strange reason, a bunch of pictures that I took suddenly disappeared off my camera, while some remained.

All my pictures from the beginning of school, Rylan's birthday, and about half the pictures from the Princess Ball vanished into thin air, while the rest were fine. Maybe my camera is haunted. Since my pictures were gone, I kind of lost my blogging momentum, but I will try and update a few things.

Rob & Ry started school in August. Rob is in 6th grade and Ry is in 3rd. Rylan actually has the same teacher that Rob had in 1st grade and we love her! Robby is on the yearbook committee as the Organizations Editor. The 6th grade kids are responsible for the entire design, sales, promotions and pretty much everything. He is having a great time.

For Rylan's birthday in September, he wanted to play laser tag. So we invited Uncle Marlo, Aunt Brenda and cousin Brent over. Marlo and Eric took all the boys to play laser tag. When they got back we grilled cheeeeeseburgers (Ry's favorite) and had cake and ice cream. It was lots o' fun... but no pics. :(

Our Stake had a Princess Ball for all the girls and their Prince Charmings (dads, uncles, grandpas, friends). We took a whole bunch of pictures outside and some in the house. All the outside pictures went bye-bye, but we still have some from in the house. They got to dance and had a lot of fun. According to Eric, she is a pretty enthusiastic dancer and watches too much Dancing with the Stars, because she kept trying to do fancy moves like slide under his legs and he was having a hard time keeping up with her... that's my girl!

Amelia and her Prince Charming Daddy!

My little Princess

Beautiful blue eyes

The back of her dress has a glittery butterfly, she loves that!

MRI's and Graham Crackers

2010-08-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

We got the official word from the doctor today. Benjamin's MRI is normal. Looks like he just takes after the rest of us and has a large cranium to accommodate all those brains. We are going back to the doctor at the end of the month to measure his head again and to make sure he is staying on his growth curve. He is developing perfectly normally, so I have no doubts that everything is ok.

Ben's new favorite snack is graham crackers

More goes on his lap than in his mouth

He also loves listening to Robby's music compositions

The MRI Experience

2010-08-06T18:56:00.002-07:00

Ben had his MRI this morning. It went fine. Although he wasn't too fond of it because they had to strap him down and he was all wrapped up like a mummy so he couldn't wiggle very much. Then they wedged his head in with rolled up towels. I stayed in the room with him the whole time and helped hold him down so he couldn't move his head around. I don't know if any of you have had an MRI but it is really noisy. Lots of loud humming, buzzing and banging sounds. The noise startled him and actually held his attention for a minute or two at the very beginning. Then I think it kind of scared him. He screamed the entire time... poor baby! I just stood there in a semi-crouched position with my arms stretched into the tube trying not to cry, because it is so hard seeing my baby scared and crying and not being able to pick him up. I think it was only about 20 minutes long, but it seemed like forever. As soon as it was over, I picked him up and he was so sweaty and had lots of big tear stains but he was back to his normal smiley self after just a few seconds... checking out his surroundings and flirting with all the hospital workers. :)

We don't have the results yet. I was told that the MRI would be read by a radiologist today and then the report sent to our Pediatrician's office... so we are just waiting for a call from them. I guess Monday. I will update everyone then.

More storms and other stuff...

2010-08-02T11:06:00.001-07:00

The river on the side of our house

We had another great storm last week. The rain was coming down so hard for about half an hour that we couldn't even see the houses across the street. The street looked like a river and the water was coming up and covering up our sidewalk. The kids thought it was a blast though.

One great thing about the rainstorms here, is that they really cool things off. There have been a few evenings (and even mornings) when it was pleasant enough to take a walk.

View of the sunset from the park on Friday night... Wow!

Friday morning we got up and decided that it would be a good day for the zoo. It was overcast and not unbearably hot, although it was a little humid. So we went to the zoo. As soon as we got there, the clouds broke up and it was HOT! We went straight for the splash pad to try and cool off a little. I figured that it wouldn't be so bad if we were wet. That didn't work out so much because we were still way hot. We hardly looked at any animals, just went from one splash pad to the other and then came home.

So Ben had his six month check up about a week and a half ago. It turns out that he has a big noggin (which is not a surprise). The surprise part is that it is big enough for the doctor to have a little concern as to what is going on inside. So we took him to have an ultrasound at Scottsdale Hospital last week on Tuesday. I was a little freaked out. The technician reviewed it with the radiologist and then told me that aside from his fluid being a little on the high side of normal, Ben basically just has a big head. I was relieved, so I spread the news that everything was fine.

Look at that perfect little noggin :)

Trying to get the monkeys on his feet

Friday afternoon, I got a phone call from my pediatrician. He told us that since Ben's ventricles are a little enlarged, they want us to go to Phoenix Children's Hospital for an MRI. So much for being relieved... now I am a little freaked out again.

Random picture of Ry being... well, Ry!

Rainy Day Adventures

2010-07-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

See the little shiny raindrops?

The rain starts... the gutters fill up... the temperature drops below 100... and all the kids in the neighborhood run outside... my kids and me included!

We got our first (little) rain of the monsoon season this evening. At least, the first when we were all awake. There has been a little rain in the middle of the night, but mostly we have just had clouds, humidity and wind.

I got a little happy with the camera today and took lots of pictures. And it looks like I need someone to help me learn how to post them into my blog, because I can't figure out how to align them how I want or get them spaced right... :)

Catching raindrops with her hand

Catching rain on her tongue

Say ahh!

Trying to hide from the camera

Checking out his first monsoon

Me looking at the rain

He's too funny!

Is that my child?

Wet kid under an umbrella

View of the sunset from our house

Getting a little darker

Posing

Sailing a pink paper boat down the gutter

They named it the SS Sassypants... after guess who!

Sad that it got soggy

I'm so proud :)

Back inside, playing in his bouncer

Super cutie! (if I say so myself)

What's that noise outside the window?

Ahh, that's what it is... my little clown!

Laughing uncontrollably

Summer Fun

2010-07-22T00:50:00.000-07:00

So the kids and I have been doing so much over the past couple of weeks. We have been to the AZ Science Center, the Phoenix Children's Museum, friends' birthday parties, Peter Piper Pizza, the movies with our cousins, swimming & sliding with friends at the Wigwam Resort and the XRKade. I have also taken Robby and Rylan to the Y with me to work out and Amelia and I got our toes glittered at my friend Audra's house.

Our matching glitter toes... yes, I am whiter than my daughter!

Without my kids, I have done Zumba, a Relief Society swim party, PTO meetings, Cub Scout committee meeting... along with just the regular day to day stuff of shopping, banking, and other fun errands. :)

I can't believe school will be back in less than 4 weeks. The summer has been flying by! We have been swimming more in the last few weeks than the last few years combined.

It also seems that I am not much of a photographer, because I don't take any pictures of the fun stuff that we do. I guess I will add that to the list of things to improve!

Benjamin is too tired for the bumbo!

Amelia is loving on her baby brother!

Over thinking it!

2010-06-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

I think my biggest problem with blogging is a little ocd issue that I have. I think so much about how to make everything perfect that it sometimes paralyzes me from getting things done that I need to do... or should I say want to do... actually, both! :)

I think about blogging all the time. And the wonderful things I could share. But as you can tell from all my many posts, I don't write EVER!

So today I did a Zumba class at the Y. It kicked my butt. I was taking a class last year before I got too pregnant and it was almost too easy. Just different instructors, but I am positive that I will be sore tomorrow.

When I got home from the gym, Amelia told me that she could tell I was a little bit skinnier... if only it were that easy! I would love to be noticeably thinner each time I went. I am sure that would keep me motivated.

Halloweenie!

2009-11-02T11:46:00.003-07:00

We had a Ward party on Friday night... so the kids got double candy this year.

On Saturday we went to Chad and Mandy's new house for pizza and treats and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun. I actually didn't walk with the kids, I stayed at the house with Tia Cris and Lisa and Georgia and handed out candy. I am too slow and big bellied to have fun walking the streets for candy! :)

Halloween weather was perfect though. The evening was absolutely gorgeous... a wonderful night for being outside!

I didn't take too many pictures, but here is what I got!

Am I actually going to do it?

2009-10-21T10:50:00.001-07:00

I am going to write again. Wow!

I read blogs from my friends and family and it seems like everyone is so on top of things... except for me of course!

So what's going on in our lives?

Amelia turned four last week! We had her birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza. Much easier on me than a party at home.

How many kids does it take to open presents? Apparently, all three of them!

Amelia and mom LOVE going to the zoo!

So strange that she is growing into a girl now. No more baby or even toddler. She has the attitude of a 14 year old. She seems hormonal and moody sometimes. Her new favorite saying when she is not happy with what I have to say is "You wuined my wife!" I can't help but laugh but I try to turn away because I don't want to encourage the snottiness. Plus, she is just too dang cute!

Rylan is in 2nd grade and he turned 8 in September. We had a birthday party at the park. Hot dogs and nachos and mini dry ice bombs and a pinata. It was a little hot but we still had a great time.

Rylan got baptized two Saturdays ago. It was such a sweet experience and I am so proud of him. He was super cute. Whenever we asked him how he was feeling, he would just give a big grin and say "good."

Robby is 10 1/2. He is loving fifth grade. Getting straight A's and perfect attendance. He also is starting band this year. He is playing the clarinet. Should be fun for him, but he won't be able to get any help around here since both Eric and I are severely lacking the musical talent area.

He really enjoys Webelos also. He is finishing up his Webelos badge and is also pretty close to getting his Arrow of Light. His goal is to earn all the activity pins before his birthday in April.

Robby can't seem to take a serious picture. I wonder which side of the family he gets that from.

Our school is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. So they celebrated with a 50s day at school and also a sock hop in the evening. Jeans and white t-shirts with rolled up sleeves are about the best we can do for 50s dress up around here, but if I say so myself, my boys are pretty handsome!

As for me, I am about 6 months pregnant now, but feel and look more like 9, due January 23rd. It is a boy, for those of you that don't already know.

Overall, we are all healthy and happy!

Worst Blogger EVER!

2009-04-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

So I signed up sometime in October, took me a couple of weeks to post, never even got Halloween pictures up then and have not been back since. How lame am I?

I just don't know how people keep up with all this stuff... must be much more together than I am. :)

Mummy Dogs

2008-11-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

So we made Yummy Mummy Dogs for Halloween dinner. Only Amelia wouldn't eat hers...

She kept saying "I love her!" She held it and hugged it and even gave it kisses.

XOXOXOXO

It took a while to convince her to take a bite. But then she really got into it and was proud to bite off the mummy's head.