One year older....

 

 

I love these pictures of Tyler trying to blow out his candles on his birthday cake!  It perfectly shows his personality and the way he acts with his friends.  Nate was trying to blow out the candles before Tyler could so he ended up holding Nate back with his foot while he did it.
Tyler turned 14 last week.  He wanted to go to a wrestling tournament on his birthday so we celebrated a day late.  He wanted to have Nate over for elk steaks and twice baked potatoes with pumpkin cheesecake.  Tyler is a good, crazy, funny, athletic kid who loves to wrestle and play football and is always teasing someone, either me, his dad, sisters or friends.  He makes life so much more fun!

 

 

*For the recipe for this delicious pumpkin cheesecake, go here.

The Top Of The Hill

Joe turned 40 years old this year!  I always thought it would be fun to throw a big party for his 40th birthday for him but he insisted he didn't want a big party or anything, which is very uncharacteristic for him.  We had a soccer game in the morning and a football game in the early evening and a few other things throughout the day so it would have been kind of tricky to get something going anyway.
I hope he had a good birthday.  He is an my favorite person in the world.  He lives his life trying to do everything he can for our family.  He loves to help and serve others, he is funny and loves to joke.  He is tough but he also has a soft side which I love.  I feel so blessed to have him in my life.
We went for a little bike ride in the morning and my parents came to town and took us out to dinner before the football game. The kids and I made a candy gram for him and he got a new socket set. 

 He wanted a layered cherry chip cake with cream cheese frosting.  I couldn't resist putting 40 candles on it!

 

He was able to finish the day off by watching Tyler play football, one if his favorite things to do.  He likes to go to practice after he gets off work and help out.  He loves the boys and they seem to really like him there.  He likes to tease and joke around with them and they do the same with him.  Before the game I guess he told them that he wanted the score to be 40-0 because he was turning 40.  They won the game.  Guess what the score was?  40-0!

 

 

 

A pirate, a princess, a witch and

a LOT of pumpkins!
When we first started planting a garden about 15 years ago, we would plant pumpkin seeds but we would never get very many pumpkins and the ones we did get were really small and then we would get those nasty squash bugs that are so hard to kill so we decided to not grow pumpkins anymore.  That, and it was fun to go as a family to the pumpkin patch.
This year, though, we went to our local nursery in the spring and they had this little free activity where the kids planted some seeds in some containers to take home and grow.  One of the seeds that Braelynn planted was a pumpkin seed.  That little seed took off and grew into a little plant.  When it was time to plant our garden Braelynn made sure that we didn't forget to plant her pumpkin plant and I made sure to have her plant it on the very edge of the garden where I didn't think the little plant would grow very well.
Well, bad karma came back to me and that little plant grew into this HUGE pumpkin plant that just grew and grew.  It produced about a dozen big pumpkins and a handful of little pumpkins.  It choked out my cucumbers (my very favorite garden vegetable) and eventually killed my pepper plants. 
Since it is tradition that we go to the pumpkin patch we still wanted to go and take a hay ride or something but we could never get everyone's schedule together at the same time that they had the hay rides going on.  It makes me sad to think we didn't get to do that this year, especially since next year will be the last year that Veronica will be living at home.  These kids are just growing too fast!
We did get to carve pumpkins and we had a fun Halloween.
Veronica didn't have to dress up this year for anything and went to a movie party at her friends house but she let me take her picture!

Tyler had football practice and then went with his friends to the haunted woods.  It was fun to hear about the three macho boys who got so scared and then made a pact with each other not to tell anyone else that they were so scared.  It still makes me laugh when I think about it!

Samantha is a ball girl for the SUU volleyball team and they had a game Halloween night but she was able to go trick or treating for a little bit.  She had a little bit (ok, a lot) of drama surrounding her costume last minute but she ended up being this cute pirate that we had the stuff for around the house and in the Halloween tote.

Brenna wanted to be a mean witch with her face painted.

Last year a few weeks after Halloween we had to go to Mesquite Nevada for Tyler's football game.  The girls and I went to Smiths to kill time for the hour that they were warming up before the game started.  We walked by the clearance section on the way into the store and saw this beautiful dress that Braelynn fell in love with.  It was $8, complete with gloves, and the skirt underneath that make the dress poof out.

School Time

I love summer vacation and always enjoy it while it is here but then about a week before school starts, when you can start to feel the excitement in the air, I look forward to starting a routine again and having a little more structure to our lives. 
This year I never felt that excitement and, honestly, felt that way for the first two full weeks of school.  I love my job at the school and was excited to start work again but the busy afternoons and evenings, homework, spelling words, just filled my soul with dread and anxiety.  I missed the long cool evenings of summer, having an afternoon to hang with friends or go swimming or just whatever.  Now it's back to bed times and a schedule.  The first few weeks were awful but its ok now.  Homework is getting done faster and everyone is settling in just fine. 

Veronica is a Junior and working hard to get all her college courses done as well as her high school credits so next year she can graduate with her high school diploma as well as her associates degree.  Even with that she maintains a GPA high enough to be in the honor society and enjoy her extra curricular activities.

Tyler is in 8th grade, still says he hates school but I don't believe it!  He is taking honor classes and is in the honor society as well.  He wouldn't take a decent picture so he gets the one with his sisters.

Samantha is in 7th grade and loves having more options on which classes to take and took some different ones so that she can see what she likes to do. She also keeps her GPA high enough to be in the honor society.

Braelynn and Brenna are in 2nd grade.  I kept them together in the same class again this year.  It just makes life so much easier.  After talking to them and last years teacher, we decided it was ok for them to be together still.  They play with different friends are recess and don't seem to compete academically. Their teacher this year is open about the fact that she had a hard time telling them apart and one day they inadvertently wore similar shirts and she teased them about not being allowed to do that so sometimes they ask me to do their hair the same and find clothes that are similar just to try to trick her.  Lets hope they  get it out of their system before they are old enough for it to be a problem!

Brenna

 Braelynn

Annie

Samantha had the opportunity to play an orphan in our community theater's production of Annie in February.  It was kind of a big deal to us, it was the first time she has ever tried out for a play and we sort of didn't give her a choice but to try out.  She did awesome, she was one of the few orphans (besides Annie) that had some speaking parts and a little solo.  She seemed to enjoy it, always coming home from rehearsals happy and singing.

 

bottom row, 2nd from left

 2nd from right

 3rd from left

 Since that kind of stuff (singing and dancing and acting) is very much not one of my talents it was really fun and exciting to watch her be so amazing at it!

Pre-teen

Samantha turned 12 this summer.  Its hard to believe that she is old enough to go to Young Women's and will be going into 7th grade, her second year of middle school. She invited a few friends to go swimming and then come over for Navaho tacos and cheesecake cupcakes.
Sam is so much fun to be around, loves to help out anyone who needs help, is a really good babysitter (the kids love her) and is a good friend and is full of spunk and personality.  She loves to play the piano, run, and play soccer.  She can (and does)  fall asleep everywhere!

She had a little bit of excitement on her birthday, we had the biggest amount of rainfall we have had since 1967, receiving over 2 inches of rain in about 2 hours. It caused some flooding and power outages for a few hours.  If any of you know Sam, you know she just loves stuff like that.  For example, she got her braces put on on Valentines day of this year, got them adjusted for the first time on April Fools Day and adjusted on Brenna and Braelynn's birthday.    It was completely coincidence but for her it was a huge deal and she still talks about it.

We hope you had a happy birthday, Samantha!

Sweet 16

16.  A junior in high school.  Driving.  Wow, how did that happen?
I wanted to do something different for Veronica's 16th birthday so we threw a surprise party for her.    It was originally going to be outside, with lawn games and a fire to roast starburst, marshmallows and hot dogs. A smores bar with different kinds of chocolate, marshmallows, etc.  But we were in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures over 100 and cooling down to only about 85 degrees and no change forecasted so instead we did a float bar. 
Think rootbeer float, cherry coke float  (cherry coke, ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry), creamsicle float (orange soda, whipped cream and ice cream), strawberry and cream float, etc.  There was popcorn, kettle corn, and other kinds of goodies.
I had decorations all planned out in my head for outside.  I rounded up extra chairs, tables, and outdoor games.  I borrowed a projector so they could watch a movie outside.  Red, white and blue decorations made and hidden while she was away at youth conference for a day.  Cute labels made identifying all the food,  it was going to be perfect.
About 2 hours before the party the wind started to blow and it started to rain so we moved it all indoors.  It wasn't the same but it still looked good and she was surprised!  It is fun to have her friends come over.  She is blessed to have a good group of friends.  It makes high school (and life in general) that much better. 
She is a talented violinist, she is driven to accomplish the goals that she sets for herself and has a firm desire to stay true to the things that she knows is right.  She is on track to graduate from high school at age 17 with an associates degree.
I hope she had an awesome birthday and felt extra special on her birthday!

I can't seem to find all the pictures of her party.  Sad.

A Little Jaunt

Or maybe a long hike.  For scout camp this year our scout troop decided to do a 5 day (technically 6 days, leaving Monday, returning Saturday), 50 mile hike.  The boys and leaders were required to carry everything they needed for the entire time, including bedding and food.  Leading up to it Tyler and Joe were really excited but for about a week before they started getting a little nervous.

They both agreed it was the hardest thing they have ever done but also the most rewarding.  The families were able to meet them up the mountain on Wednesday to provide a nice dinner and participate in a fireside.  We were able to get a small glimpse of the spiritual experiences they were able to have throughout the week.  Amazing.  And it was nice to hug my husband, although he didn't smell the best!

Tradition?

Braelynn decided to cut her hair for Locks of Love and donated 10 inches.  It was a decision that shocked me!  She loved her long hair and I really thought she never would cut it.  She decided to cut it just in time for school to start, which makes her even more excited to go to school and see her friends! 
                                                                          Before:

After:

 

Hidden Messages

I came across this picture and thought it would be fun to post.  One Sunday morning Tyler was teasing his sisters relentlessly (like normal). 
Brenna,  who has recently been becoming a little comedian, wanted to show me something she had made.  I came out and saw this message:

 Tyler is a butt

She is not allowed to say that word so I had to hide a smile, gently reprimand her, and send her out of the room so I could sneak in a picture. 



Birthday Girls

My cute twins turned 7 this week! 
One thing about those two, they work really well together.  In our family the birthday person gets to choose what dinner they want to eat on their birthday.  In the past they have wanted the same thing but this year Brenna wanted pizza and Braelynn wanted pancakes.  So we had pancakes for breakfast and pizza for dinner.  I always make two different cakes for them, but since they were having a party a different day than their birthday Braelynn chose to have her cake for the party (pajama pants cake) and Brenna have hers on their birthday (present cake).
It was fun to watch them opening presents during their party.  Some (ok, a lot) of their friends can't tell them apart and would hand them a present with the wrong name. They would look at the tag and then at each other and say "switch!"
They chose to have a pajama party this year.  For party favors the girls all decorated their own pillowcases, which all the girls seemed to love and the invitations were little paper pajama pants with a ribbon for the drawstring bow.  There ended up being 13 girls including Brenna and Braelynn.  It was so fun to see the girls all playing and having fun!

 Roller Skates!!!

Glad it's over!

Sometimes when life gets really busy (like even busier than usual) Joe and I console ourselves by reminding each other that someday we will be old with not much going on, wishing we had something to do.  The sole reason I am writing this post is so that when we look back we can remember "the good ole days".

From Monday to Saturday we did this:
*11 soccer games (because of some silly tournament that I think was totally ridiculous to have in a recreational league), none of which overlapped times. That translates into about 16 hours spent at the soccer fields,
*2 doctor/orthodontics appointments,
*1 band concert,
*1 orchestra concert,
*1 piano recital,
*2 birthdays (ok, that's kind of cheating because it's kind of two birthdays in one, but it still includes 2 birthday cakes, etc.),
*1 school birthday celebration attend
*1 birthday party which involved 13 7-year old girls,
*1 day hike for scouts (Joe and Tyler)
*1 all-day school trip (Veronica, state orchestra),
* young men's, young women's, activity days, 4-H activity, 3 early morning orchestra practices, 3 after school drivers ed, 2 wrestling practices, piano and violin lessons,
*1 garden tilled and planted
*1 after school end of year activity (Veronica)

Keep in mind that Joe is working nights, Monday through Thursday, and leaves at 5:00 pm.  That means I am the sole driver to get kids where they need to be and still have the usual activities: work (only 4 hours a day, but still), cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping,  exercise, primary stuff, reading, homework and music practices to nag about oversee, errands,  and laundry.  Add in a few extras this week:  Birthday party invitations made and delivered, birthday games planned and ready, treats bought and/or made for 3 soccer games, school birthday celebration, and 4-h activity, dessert and rice to cook for ym/yw activity, babysit friends' baby and toddler, buy plants, seeds etc. for garden,  and soccer team mom duties to accomplish.

We had 5 crock pot dinners in 6 days and didn't sit down as a family for dinner (which is a high-priority item for me) the whole week.
Last night as I was in the middle of Brenna and Braelynn's birthday party, I realized it was almost the end of "the week" and that I had done it, it was almost over!
And now...5 more days until school is out!  yahooooooooo!

Love the Bug

Braelynn has been bit...by the reading bug!  I think reading is a necessary tool in anyone's life, and always worked really hard to make my kids fluent readers.  

Veronica was a piece of cake and read at 4 years old.  In fact, if she got in trouble I would sometimes take away her book.  It was the only thing that worked.  I know, bad parenting!

Tyler hated to read until...about a year or two ago.  Imagine my delight after years of MAKING him sit down and read EVERY DAY, suffering through years of complaining and whining whenever it was time to read, not allowing television until he got his 20 minutes of reading in, when he came to me and told me about a book he liked and (more recently after walking into his room and seeing him reading a book on his own).
Note to parents that have children that are struggling with reading.  Be patient.  Make sure they read every day.  They will get it.  Tyler always had low reading score until he reached middle school.   Now he is reading two grade levels ahead.

Samantha never had a "moment" when she just loved to read but has gradually and steadily gotten better at reading and enjoyed it more as the years went by.

Brenna and Braelynn entered first grade a little behind in their reading.  Their teacher assigned them (us) extra reading to do every night.  So in addition to homework, spelling words, running 5 kids around to various activities, etc.  I would spend between 50-60 minutes reading each night between the two of them, sometimes a little more if there was a long story to read. They have both made huge progress, by the way!
One day last week, it kind of clicked with Braelynn.  She found the confidence in herself, had enough knowledge on how to do it, and found a love of reading.  She spent about 20 minutes going through the shelf on the bookcase that has chapter books and stacked them up in her room ready to read them.  I made a special trip to the library to get some books that I knew were on her level and that she would love.  Junie B Jones, anyone?

Why does that make me so happy?  One, because that means I only have to find time to read with Brenna.  Two, because even though I don't get much time to read anymore, I love to read and love to see my kids have a love for reading.  Three, because it makes my heart happy to watch my kids learn anything new.  That is one of the reasons why we are on this earth, to learn.  It also is good for kids to see that hard work eventually pays off.

Now, go read your kids a book!

Music

Recently music has had more meaning to me than it has in the past.
I get the privilege to be in the room every week when these songs are sung by children who are learning how true these words are.
If you know these songs, please read them and pay attention to the words.  If you don't know them, I know without a doubt that they are true.  I know that we have a Heavenly Father who knows each of us, everything about us and that he wants to help us and is there to help us when we ask for it.  We can pray to him and he WILL hear us.  He wants us to be happy and enjoy this live (And we can!) even though it is full of trials and hard things.

For example:.

A long time ago in a beautiful place,
Children were gathered ’round Jesus.
He blessed and taught as they felt of His love.
Each saw the tears on His face.
The love that He felt for His little ones
I know He feels for me.
I did not touch Him or sit on His knee,
Yet, Jesus is real to me.

I know He lives!
I will follow faithfully.
My heart I give to Him.
I know that my Savior loves me.

Now I am here in a beautiful place,
Learning the teachings of Jesus.
Parents and teachers will help guide the way,
Lighting my path ev’ry day.
Wrapped in the arms of my Savior’s love,
I feel His gentle touch.
Living each day, I will follow His way,
Home to my Father above.
I know He lives!
I will follow faithfully.
My heart I give to Him.
I know that my Savior loves me.

or

I'm trying to be like Jesus;
I'm following in his ways.
I'm trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,

"Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught."

I'm trying to love my neighbor;
I'm learning to serve my friends.
I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.
I try to remember the lessons he taught.
Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts, saying:

"Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.

or:

If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?
Would I think of His commandments and try harder to be true?
Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously,
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

If the Savior stood beside me, would I say the things I say?
Would my words be true and kind if He were never far away?
Would I try to share the gospel? Would I speak more reverently
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

If the Savior stood beside me, would my thoughts be clean and pure?
Would His presence give me strength and hope, and courage to endure?
Would His counsel guide my actions? Would I choose more worthily
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

He is always near me, though I do not see Him there
And because He loves me dearly, I am in His watchful care
So I'll be the kind of person that I know I'd like to be
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me.

The Maiden Voyage

(Joe wanted me to name this post that)
We bought a camper a few months ago!  We have wanted one for years but it was never the right price or right time and we didn't have a vehicle that we could pull the trailer with that would fit our family.  After we bought the Yukon last year we were hoping for a trailer this year and happened to come across one that was perfect for us.
It is old but in pretty good shape.  There were a few things that needed fixing and a few things that we wanted to fix.  A few of the wants were a new floor, recovering the cushions and making curtains.  The old cushions were REALLY ugly, dirty and well worn so I took on the task of recovering them.  When it was all done I was pretty proud of myself for accomplishing it but when we went camping with our friends we saw three trailers that had cushions recovered by professionals I was so happy that it looked about the same as mine did!
I was able to get the cushions before we picked up the trailer so I could recover them and I had already ripped off the 80's wallpaper to reveal the 70's wallpaper and took down the old curtains before I took pictures so I don't have very good before pictures.  Trust me, it was UGLY!

As you can see, there are a few things that need to be done still but we are loving it!
Over Easter break we were able to take it on our first trip.  It was so fun.  Not to mention it was so much easier.  I loved having a fridge and freezer and a place to put everything.  We have always enjoyed camping so we have collected lots of camping stuff over the years and kept it all in a few camping totes but now we have drawers and cupboards!

Our first dinner!

 This is the only picture that even remotely shows how dirty it was there.  I don't mind dirt or dirty kids, it is good to get dirty sometimes but I have never seen a place where the dirt is just everywhere.  On day 2 of our camping trip Braelynn was playing with a toddler who was there and said "Wow, that baby is dirty".  Everyone laughed and I took her into our camper to look in the mirror so she could see how dirty she was, which was so much more that the baby.

Locks of Love

You might remember this http://joemariehaley.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#7025865316566232779.  Back in November, 2010 Samantha cut off 14 inches of her hair to donate to Locks of Love.  Fast forward a little over 2 years later and she did it again.  This time it was 12 inches that she cut off.
We sometimes tease her that her body puts so much energy into growing her hair that her body forgets to grow!