The Headleys House

It's Snowing!

2012-01-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing for hours!

These are some pretty big fluffy flakes just falling from the sky.

Our Newest Bike Rider

2012-01-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

Given the right opportunity, Victoria rode her bike for the first time

without help like she had been doing it for years.

Our street in Phoenix always had so many cars and obstacles on it that
Victoria had a hard time getting enough open space to work on bike riding.

And it always seemed to hot to take her to the park to try there.

The thought of sweating and
helping her stay upright just didn't sound too appealing.

So, I took the training wheels off and we carried her bike across the field

to give it a try in the library parking lot.

Before I even got a chance to steady her bike for her

she just got on and started pedaling.

"I guess you don't need my help".

She is very proud of herself and all smiles!

Happy Birthday Kaleb!

2012-01-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Apple Boy is 12!

Usually Kaleb will choose an apple over cake, ice cream, cookies.....

you name it.

But today is special.

Kaleb chose a lemonade cake from

here for his birthday cake this year.

It was a monster of a cake with twelve flaming curly cue candles.

The cream cheese frosting toned down the zip of the lemons just right.

We never do school on Birthdays. Just one of the many perks to Homeschooling.

We went ice skating with our new Homeschool group.

We actually know people now and are making friends pretty quick.

We watched a movie watched it rain AND snow.

I love the weather here.

This kid has some long legs and a skinny waist.

He does own one pair of pants that are a 32 inch length.

I always ask him if his ankles are cold and he says "no".

Atleast we know that his pants won't always look like this. It drives me crazy though.

I make him change if we are to be seen in public.

It doesn't seem to bother him.

You should see his PJ's.

Happy New Year??

2011-12-31T16:23:00.000-08:00

YEAH

WHATEVER!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T04:54:00.000-08:00

Victoria, as some of you know

is our wild child!

I feel like her beautiful name is being worn out, we yell it so much.

I have to stay 10 steps ahead of her on a daily basis.

And then you mix in the excitement of Christmas

quickly approaching and you have a mixture of

sweetness and disaster!

Pickles and Ice Cream!

That's what she is.

For the past several weeks some would say she has been

out of control,

a bundle of anticipation,

hell bent on wheels.

We kept reminding her to pull it together or she was going to get

COAL in her stocking.

Victoria would respond as she would put her hand to her forehead,

shaking her head,

"I know, I am just so happy, I have a hard time obeying,

I try to have self control!"

Well, I think someone taller than me assisted Santa with his

list of naughty children.

Victoria got coal in her stocking.......again!

Her response?

" Usually I get a whole bag!

I only got ONE this year!"

I think she thought she was improving.

Speaking of staying 10 steps ahead of Victoria........

Before we left Phoenix, Kirk and I had discussed Christmas

and what our budget was going to be.

We came up with a dollar amount and decided that we would spend it on

one gift per kiddo.

As we were wrapping their individual gift, I realized that

Victoria's was the biggest.

Knowing her, I didn't want her to guess what her gift was.

At the time I was thinking that she would only have one gift under the tree and being a little kid

I didn't want any dissappointments.

At the time I had no idea what was being sent by

Nana&Poppa,

Uncle Josh & Aunt Jolie!

I wrote on the tag that it was Henry's gift.

Of course she spotted it and immediately looked to see who's it was.

"Wow Henry, I wonder what you are getting in that big present?!

Every once in a while I would see her "chatting" with Henry about his

present and asking him if he wanted her to help him open it.

To her surprise it was her present

and a new horse(from Target) for her American Girl dolls!

And Henry?

He got a Squeeky Toy!

Though HE thought it was Priceless!

We spent the day lounging around and playing.

Baby Jesus has been so good to us this Christmas.

He is with us every step of the way

on this difficult journey that our family is in.

We wouldn't be surviving right now if he weren't with us.

I know some day we will look back on our situation and just be even more

amazed than we already are as to how we have survived these past four years
since Kirk lost his job. And then me losing mine almost a year ago.

Things have been horribly tough but I have recently read

" It isn't what you get at the end of a journey,
it is who you are at the end of that journey."

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T04:55:00.000-08:00

I know that Christmas is so much more about the birth of Christ.

But

I can't not think about Christmas and Cookies

all in the same thought.

The birth of our Savior and

Sugar Cookies.

They are both sweet and save me from life's predicaments.

Well, we have spent our first Christmas in our new home,

with our new church

and the same traditions.

But the traditions have been so much more fun with

crisp temperatures, snow on the ground, new surroundings

and a new outlook on life.

My friend Kelly had done this with her daughter and sounded like a great idea.

So we had to make one too.

I wasn't sure if Victoria's foot was going to actually fit on a dinner plate

but it did. She kept asking me

"you want me to step on the plate.......with paint?"

It turned out adorable.

Long ago we started decorating gingerbread men on Christmas Eve.

We have all looked forward to it......that is if I correctly planned ahead.

Though I do make a few stipulations.

1. Don't squeeze the icing out the top of the bag and make it all goopy.

That drives me insane and will make me into a "wicked Mommy".

2. Don't hog the icing. I'm not making more so you have to share.

3. Don't decorate more than your share of cookies.

I know I sound pretty bad.

Don't do this, don't do that.

BUT, there is so much laughter that goes on at the table

I don't think anyone actually hears that.

They are probably just saying

Alright Already, let me at it!

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

We are learning what it means to live in the

Cache Valley.

We woke up to ice crystals all over the trees.

It is absolutely beautiful!

This is the street that our church is on.

At the very end of the street you can just barely see the old railroad station.

This cat was taking its dear sweet time sauntering across the street.

And then it stopped in the opposing lane and watched us drive by.

You gotta wonder what cats are thinking.

We are loving it here.

This is right outside of the church steps.

We know that God has a plan for us.

He is taking care of us in the midst of what should be the worst time

of our lives without jobs.

By the way, the highs today were a whole 23 degrees!

Makes me wonder what tonight will drop to.

Christmas Spirit

2011-12-18T16:52:00.000-08:00

I has been years since I have actually looked forward to the

Christmas Season.

Our situation in Phoenix was so depressing

it felt hopeless.

Our house was cramped.

And the thought of "decorating"

would make my skin crawl.

This year, we should be hopeless in our situation

BUT

I am so excited about Christmas.

We managed to scrounge up enough money for one gift

for each of our children.

You would think the kids would be depressed over that....

only getting one gift for Christmas.

Not our children.

They are happy to be living in our new home.

Christmas is exciting this year.

I didn't have the heart to throw out the little pumpkins that

Kathy grew in her garden......and I had to throw out my candles before we moved.

They would have melted just loading them into the moving truck.

So I painted them white, sprinkled a little glitter and plopped them

on top of my candle holders.

I love candles and the light they give off.

I am so excited to have window sills.

The cats and I.

We have lived without window sills for 17 years.

You really don't think about how much you would miss a window sill until

you don't have one.

Well, Christmas is quickly approaching.

The kids did get to do some shopping for eachother because

their Nana and Poppa sent them money

to shop for them.

But really, this year?

We see God's hand in everything we do,

in everything that happens.

He has planted us in a place where we will grow

in our Faith,

have Peace and Joy

continue to Love and be Loved.

To think that Jesus came

as a sweet little baby, with sweet baby smells

to save all of us.

Christmas Book and Craft

2011-12-18T16:30:00.000-08:00

The Biggest Best Snowman

by Margery Cuyler

is a cute story about a little girl who is told that she is too small

to do just about anything.

That is until her and her little forest friends

build an enormous snowman and

show her mom and her funky dressed sisters what they did.

I hated it when I was a kid and I was told, you can't do that,

you're too little.

I think that is probably why I have always let my kids try things

and use scissors when they were two.

(They never cut themselves by the way)

If I have to make a decision that really is because one of the

kids is too young or small, I try to think up some other reason

so I don't have to shatter their dream because

they are too little to do it.

This idea for the snowman started with a mini pringles can that Victoria had.

We were both looking at the can as to what

we could make out of it.

And then I cut these wierd leg ties off the dog sweater and instantly

saw a snowman scarf.

Victoria is liking that she can use the cool temp glue gun

if she is careful.

My baby isn't a baby anymore.

Adorable!

Christmas Book and Craft

2011-12-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

by Laura Numeroff

illustrated by Felicia Bond

should be on your list to read to your little one.

Heck, even your big kids will like this story.

It reminds me of a little kids mind and the chain of thoughts

that it takes as he or she is visually

stimulated in life.

Victoria made these adorable mice from walnuts.

It was the intention that she was making ornaments to give to people
but then it became a family of mice with one black mouse.

It became a whole story in itself.

Kind of like the story of the mouse in the book.

So, needless to say she kept all of her mice and has decorated
the house with all 20 of them.

A Christmas book and a craft

2011-12-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

We read "B is for Bethlehem" by Isabel Wilner
and illustrated by Elisa Kleven.

I really like this book mostly for the illustrations.

The artist used every color to depict the

Christmas story.

Victoria and I glued a paper chain.

I think that every child needs the experience of gluing a paper chain.
I remember doing some when I was little and helping each of my children do one.
It is funny how you either like making a paper chain or you don't.
You either get a good glue stick that actually sticks the paper
together or you don't and have to resort to a stapler.
Fortunately we had two really good sticky glue sticks.

It is kind of a childhood right of passage.

I think Sammy even enjoyed getting in on the festivities.

Sewing Project

2011-12-14T16:01:00.000-08:00

This is Victoria's sewing project.

She came to me with the fabric and said that she wanted to stitch a christmas tree to hang on her door.

I drew out the pattern on a piece of paper and showed her once how to work the cross stitch. She picked it up quickly and was done lickety split.

I did have to fix a couple knots on the back.

She learned that the back is just as important as the front.

I always hated that lesson.

She was pretty proud of herself and couldn't wait to show her Dad.

I am proud of her too. She really stuck with it and finished the whole idea.

I also loved that she found everything she needed in a few plastic boxes.

Spud Gun OoohHah!

2011-12-14T15:28:00.000-08:00

Every boys dream.

To build a Potato Gun.

All you need is PVC, glue, a striker, cheap hair spray and of course

a potatoe.

I had no idea this thing could be so cool!

The boys built it as a projectile project for Scouts. Our fingers were really cold trying to twist the striker at a speed that would ignite the hair spray. I always knew that hair spray was flammable but this was totally awesome. And the FWOOP sound of the potatoe that was shot out of the cannon was just as exciting. I can't wait for the boys to show my Dad this.

This is neat!

Happy December

2011-12-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Victoria and I made these little advent cups with what we had on hand.

I put a little strip of paper in each one of something for her to do each day.

So far she has told her Dad something that she loves about him and

helped her brother with his chores.

I think they turned out pretty cute.

I got the idea here .

We used wrapping paper instead of scrapbook paper.

I am actually surprised that I could find supplies.

We got rid of so much before the move.

So..........Happy December!

Word of the Day

2011-12-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

Jared has way too much fun learning vocabulary words.

This book called Vocabulary Cartoons by Sam, Max and Bryan Burchers,

is a great way to learn vocabulary words.

Quick and easy because the pictures stick in your memory easier.

Jared comes to me frequently to show me a picture with the word.

This one in particular said that it reminds him of Kaleb.

I had to agree.

This one reminded him of Sam when he ate the apple pie.

He definately was the culprit.

O Come All Ye Wakeful

2011-12-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

O Come All Ye Wakeful
sing to: O Come All Ye Faithful

O come all ye wakeful
Find a nice location
A warm knee, a settee
Relax in the sun
Sleep on your sweater
Though your coat is better

Refrain: O let us yawn and snore some
Keeping one eye open
O let us yawn and snore some
Ou-r reward

O come and be gracious
Your bed is so spacious
O choose well and snooze well
And don't make a fuss
Sofa and armchair
Cover them with shed hair

Refrain

O sleep where you're able
Bookshelf or a table
A good nap on broad lap
Will serve just as well
Life has such meaning
Paws in air and dreaming

Refrain

They look all cozy and cute with their little eyes tightly shut.

All cuddled together.

A Visit from the Darts

2011-12-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

We had our first Phoenix visitors

The Dart Family.

It was so good to see them. It felt surreal that they were in our new home and in our new town.

Rachelle and Jared took Victoria and Kaleb to the park.

While they were there they came upon this piece of ice in the shape of a heart.

Jared told me about it the next day. Next thing I know he is standing in front of me, ears and nose reddened with freezing arms in a short sleeve t-shirt.

He had run over to the playground to retrieve it.

I am surprised that he found it.

I felt it was quite appropriate that they discovered this heart.

It reflects our natural love for the Dart family.

We have a bond with them that will never be broken.

It was so thoughtful of them to drive up from Salt Lake City to see us.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

We spent our first Thanksgiving in our new home extremely grateful for our Lord's blessings on our family.

We also spent this special day with my cousins Kathy, Troy and Rich.

The last holiday that I spent with my cousins was when I was 3, Rich would have been 6 and Kathy would have been 7. We had a great time. They arrived Wed. night while there was still snow on the ground.

We promptly ran out of butter and flour, so Kathy and I made a mad dash with all the other shoppers to the market to pick up a few things. It was so fun preparing for our Thanksgiving meal together.

Kathy had made the comment that it is kind of hard sometimes cooking in someone elses kitchen.

I said...... I know, this is someone elses kitchen for me too!

We had so much fun just hanging out with eachother reminescing about old times and making new memories.

Jared has a knack of being involved with something disasterous without intending for anything to happen. Well, he picked up the bottle of sparkling cider on the counter and was going to pretend to drink out of the bottle when the top blew off, hit the ceiling and proceeded to spew a fountain of cider straight up in the air, all over the floor. We all looked at him like, What Did You Do?

What he did was harmless but because it involved JARED, anything goes. I have no idea how this happens but he is like an accident waiting to happen. Anything that could break, pop, crack, or explode is at risk in his presence. We all had a good laugh with some "voltage" as Kathy called it. You know, the thing you do when you see your kid making a complete mess of your clean floor. We all got over that pretty quick. We decided that Jared was just makin' memories.

After we ate way too much we walked down the street and around the corner to see the movie "In Time". It was very invigorating walking in the crisp air with snow still on the ground. We had a major snow ball fight as we headed down the street. There is always fun involved with anything that Rich is doing. We all just have a blast messing around.

To top off our Thanksgiving we stayed up until midnight to stand in line for Kolh's Black Friday sale. Kathy, Rich, Kirk, Daphne and I had a pretty good time standing in line for almost two hours to pay. We thought we were nuts but enjoyed each others company. I loved every minute of it.

We got home at 3 a.m. to catch a couple winks before heading to the mall this morning at 6:30. Kathy and I were the only crazy ones in the bunch to make it back out in the morning.

We all enjoyed being together. I kept looking at us all feeling like I needed to pinch myself.

Are we really here?

Yep! We are and lovin' every minute!

Crazy Snow

2011-11-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

We had the greatest snow storm all day yesterday.

We kept expecting it to stop but it snowed for 12 hours!

It looks like a Winter Wonderland.

We were lovin' every minute of it.

So there were a few things that we discovered that
we needed to equipt ourselves in this type of weather.

We have been told that Logan gets "crazy snow".
I think we need to prepare ourselves.

First, almost all of us have boots and gloves.
So that is first on the list to fulfill when the budget allows.

Second, we need to replace and add to our snow shovel that was left behind
by the previous tenant.

I think it would go faster if we had more than
one shovel and maybe they should be a little stronger.

This one is pretty flimsy. The neighbor across the street just broke one of his this morning.
So supposedly they don't last very long. I guess it depends on the kind you have.

The third thing we did was visit Discount Tire in town and asked them to fix us up with some decent snow tires for the van. Remember, we've heard Logan gets

"CRAZY SNOW".

We've been seeing this new snow tread on various trucks around town. They didn't cost much more than your basic snow tire. I think these will work out just fine!

We will definately not be getting stuck in the snow this winter!

Our First Snow!

2011-11-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

We set out Friday for Ogden, just an hour away.

Kirk had a resume for some freelance that he wanted to give an architectural firm.

We only made it a mile from our destination when the van completely quit.

Somehow we made it to the shoulder......an extremely narrow one, and called our insurance company for a tow. I had to laugh when the young man on the other end asked if I had any passengers with me.

Yes, there are 6 of us ..........and.........two dogs!

The guy said Oookaayyy, I might need to call you a taxi as well.

Well, the tow truck was just big enough for us and the two dogs to cram into the cab. We were all practically sitting on top of eachother.

In the mean time I had called my dear ol' Dad for a diagnosis.

My hands were a little trembly due to the spot that we were stopped at. There were huge trucks whizzing past us shaking the van. I was really nervous but didn't want the kids to pick up on it.

Really, I just wanted to burst into tears but decided to just "suck it up" instead.

So when I heard my Dad's voice I nearly lost it. I was a little choked but managed to keept it together.

Everything ended up being fine. We were towed to "Kirk's Auto Care". Can't beat a name like that.

It was a dirty air flow sensor from the ding dong at Jiffy Lube who didn't seat the air filter properly in Sept!

These were honest guys with a family fun business.

What a relief!

On the way back over the hill from Ogden to Logan, it poured rain.

Then it completely switched. It was a more silent rain and Victoria said it looked like we were on Space Mountain at Disneyland. In pitch black we were driving into a snow flurry. The way the flakes were coming at us, and the way the headlights hit the flakes, it was like we were in a tunnel of lights.

It was really cool but was making me car sick! Uugh!

Right about then my cousin Kathy called to say it was snowing at her house in Malad.

I had to tell her that we weren't home and that we were driving thru the pass and that it was snowing!

We are loving the weather.

We woke to 2 inches of snow this morning and the boys and Victoria have been outside for the past 3 hours playing in it with the young girl next door, Emily. They seem to be having a blast and haven't called it quits yet even though I am sure they will come in drenched.

The dogs were estatic when they saw the snow.

They loved ice cubes when we lived in Phoenix.

I think they saw each flake of snow as an ice cube. They spent all their time eating snow this morning. It was pretty funny to watch.

I just heard that Victoria found a piece of cardboard and is trying to slide on the front lawn.

We are definately from Arizona.

I wonder if it is obvious?

Victoria was out before the sun was shining through.

They used up all the snow in our yard so they continued their snow ball fight with Emily next door, who is 12, in her yard. Last I saw they were busy in the front yards and

Victoria was in the back of Kirk's truck getting handfulls to throw.

She may be 7 but can hold her own with the older kids.

It makes me so happy that they are able to safely spend so much time outside just playing with a neighbor.

Things are different here, and I am so thankful that we followed the Spirit with this move.

Baking?

2011-11-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

I know what you are thinking.

You have time to bake?

No, I didn't. But when a certain little someone has been living in a world of chaos since our home was broken into at the end of July, I couldn't put her off any longer.

So Sat. morning while the boys were having a garage sale in 32 degree weather, Victoria and I were snug as a bug baking pumpkin cookies in front of the oven.

She had borrowed a book from the library

(did I mention that the library is out the back gate across the alfalfa field?)

that had these cookies in them.

She wouldn't let anyone eat one until Aunt Carol came for her visit.

It was killing her waiting. She kept asking when Aunt Carol would be coming.

And then I think they were gone in less than an hour.

It was a small batch.

Later that night we met up with Kathy and all of her kids, and my Aunt and cousin Rich at The Green Canyon Corn Maze just down the street from us that was 20 acres.

I made Victoria promise that she wouldn't say a word about going home because it was a haunted maze that particular night. She had begged to come.

We had a great time. It was pitch black outside and people in horrible masks kept jumping out from no where or following you down the aisle to where it lead I don't know.

My cousin Rich kept running up ahead and then hiding and jumping out at us to scare us. Or he would be walking along and literally throw himself into the corn field and dissappear among the stalks.

It was really funny. I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time.

I would have been completely lost but Kirk had a map of the maze.
It was bigger than what they provided at the booth.
And then I heard him tell someone that he had taken their google map and
photoshopped it so he could see it better. The reason for that was because he and the boys had already done the maze earlier in the week with the Boy Scout troop and they were completely lost
and kept running in circles.
The scariest thing that messed with your mind was the freaky guy that had a chain saw.

I think that is what sent Kaleb over the edge. He then wanted to leave and pretty much held onto my arm and kept his eyes shut the remainder of the time.

Now, Victoria? She would just keep walking straight and saying

You know you're not real.......

I will have to steal a picture of the group shot Kathy has before we went in.

We had so much fun.

Halloween

2011-11-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

All during us moving, Victoria kept saying that she wanted to be a Jedi.

I kept saying, ookaaayy. Not really sure if I could pull it off. Like I really have time to drag out my sewing machine and sew her a Jedi costume.

NOT!

Okay, I saw the challenge and managed to piece one together. Once I got working on it, it didn't really take that long. Though I did finish it just hours before she needed it.

And Kaleb, well, we drug out whatever we could find to make him a Rodeo Clown again.

I had to search through two stores for white make up. Kirk did the rest with paint.

Whew. Got through that one.

Daphne got a new coat from Nana for her birthday so she was a musher.

And Jared, well, he has been blessing us with an attitude so his Dad and I blessed him with a shirt we saw on clearance of the Grouch.

If I had time on my hands......I would have made him a trash can for him to wear around him.

He told me that, that would be pushing it.

Darn, I thought it was a great idea.

Being in a new neighborhood we weren't sure what to expect.

There were so many kids we almost ran out of candy.

We had fun walking around the neighborhood and enjoying the weather.

The first thing the kids noticed is that they weren't sweating in their costumes. Especially Kaleb who had his face painted.

Girl's Birthday

2011-11-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

Just 4 days after we moved to Logan, we celebrated Victoria's 7th birthday

and just 5 days after that we celebrated Daphne's 19th birthday.

Between unpacking and trying desperately to find some sort of normalcy, whatever that is, we drove into Logan Canyon to catch a final glimpse of the Fall colors.

It felt like being in Wonderland.

It was beautiful.

That night we had heard that there was a Pumpkin Walk just East of where we are living and it started that night. AND.....it's free.

Yeah, what the heck, lets go. It's free. Probably cute for the kids. The little one. Yeah, we can do that.

We had heard that there was a place to park and that they shuttle you up in buses.

Okay. We all pile into the van in the dark. Victoria is preparing for a drive so she grabs her brand new pillow pet!

We barely drive around the corner from our house and we see people parking in the school parking lot and a bus with people lined up to get in.

Okay, so we laugh at that one that the whole even takes place just walking distance from our house.

So we take the van back to the house and walk to the corner and board a bus.

Daphne thought it was fun to ride on a public bus and wanted our friend Suzan to know that we did it. She's from Jersey. (I think that is supposed to explain it all).

We get there and there is this huge line with tons of families standing in the cold waiting to see this

Pumpkin Walk.

We are still not quite sure what it is all about, but we are at the park, people watching.....

We couldn't believe our eyes.

These aren't just pumpkins.

The theme was My Favorite Things, and the artists who were just families, schools, individuals, amateurs and professionals created these scenes using pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.

They were so unbelieveably realistic.

We had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it.

I think Calvin and Hobbes was our favorite.

Especially the snowman scene.

The back drops were really well painted.

It was so nice to see quality work.

Yeah, you could make the statement that these people have way too much time on their hands. But, I think it is more that these people who participated are very creative and talented people who had an idea and went with it.

Hmmm. Sounds like my family.

There was this one scene of Gilligans Island.

The faces were amazing.

Here's the Skipper.

I love this last picture.

It is really a blackmail picture for Jared.

I talked him into it. He didn't want to. I had to wait for him to FINALLY put his head up to the HOLE!

He wasn't cooperating.

I love it still. I think it fits their personalities very well.

Our Personal Plumber

2011-11-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

I called my cousin Rich just 2 1/2 hours away in Payson, Utah to let him know that we made it!

I started talking with him about the possibility of putting a gas line from the boiler for the dryer that was okayed by the owners.

He said that he would come this very afternoon to do it!

What a guy!

He really made life so much easier. I was looking at laundry mats until we could get the dryer hooked up.

I didn't need to because we had

Snappy Plumbing to the rescue!

My cousins are great people.

Unpacking

2011-11-04T05:36:00.000-07:00

Monday, October 17th.

I decided to run to the grocery store before everyone was up to grab something for breakfast and lunch. I knew that Kim and Kyle were coming with the truck sometime late that morning.

I got a call when I was at the checkout.

Hi Pam.

Hi Kim, how are you?

Good. What are you doing?

Just getting stuff at the store for us to eat today. What are you doing?

About to pull up to your front door.

Oh My Gosh! I will be right there! It will only take me a minute!

You never know how the neighbors will react when someone new pulls up into the neighborhood.

It is one thing to pull up in a U Haul. It is another thing to pull up with a Big Rig.

Our new neighbor Chris walked out his front door to go to work and (thankfully we weren't blocking his driveway) said that

You know this is Peterbilt country?

Kim... Well, it's a Volvo and it rides real nice.

Chris.... So who drives this thing?

I point at Kim. Thinking that I can push "all" the blame on my big sister. It's her fault.

Chris.... I dig chicks who drive.

Come to find out he made a living driving trucks and drove a Peterbilt.

Kim hadn't heard his comment about chicks driving. I laughed. He is a really nice guy along with his wife PJ and daughter Emily.

It took us just as long to unpack this thing than it did packing it.

We were all so tired and loopy.

We all moved slower but worked just as hard.

All the kids were awesome pitching in. Though I did find Victoria in a corner playing with Legos that had been packed away for almost two months.

My cousin Kathy, her husband Troy and their youngest son Blue drove 45 minutes from Malad, Idaho to help us unpack. They came just at the right time. We had pretty much had enough but didn't really know it until they arrived. It gave us that last Ummph to finish.

Blue jumped right in and had the fridge out of the truck with the help of Jared and Kyle.

It was awesome to just stand there and watch these young men doing it. And not me!

Once again, the ramp that my Dad built was perfect and yes Mom, you probably could launch a rocket off it.

My Dad has these really cool clamps that he uses in welding.

I was really surprised that he entrusted these clamps with us to use to clamp the ramp to the truck.

Jared was holding one and you could just see the gears working in his head...... like.....hmmmm, what could I use this for,.......It looks like something you could measure Kaleb's head with.......hhmmmm.

Kaleb sure puts up with a lot from his big brother!

This was the first time that Kathy and Kim saw eachother in 20 years!

It was great. I got a chance to be around Kim for the longest time in many years with this move.
Just another blessing!

And I get to live near my cousin Kathy after all these years.

We used to be really close when we were really little. They spent the week with us at our house while their Mother went to work. I loved it.

One last picture of the cousins before Kim and Kyle have to head to Wyoming to pick up a load and then back down to Phoenix by the end of the week. It was great that Kim could cooridinate the use of the truck and have Kyle ride with her for the week while Kyle was on Fall break.

Just another blessing in this move!

Thanks Kim, we could not have done this move without you!

Love ya!
Day 2 of our new life!

A Sunday Drive

2011-11-04T04:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 16th was quite a day.

In the old days, folks would set out in their jalopy for a brief Sunday drive that probably only took them 5 miles round trip.

Well, our Sunday drive began before the sun was up and ended after the sun was down.

It was estimated to be 742 miles and a 12 hour drive.

HA.

I don't think Mapquest knows about lunch and bathroom breaks,

not to mention spilled soda,

tired eyes,

and panting dogs.

Kirk drove his truck with both boys, Victoria, and both the dogs. (Heee heee)

(I figured after me driving the long haul twice when we went looking for a place to live, that the kids would have so much more fun with DAD than in the boring van with Mom and Daphne and the two kitties and don't forget the hermit crabs that I tried to pawn off on Kyle before we left.
He didn't want them. Oh well.

I had the most peculiar feeling leaving our home of 17 years.

It felt like we were just going on a long trip, only I didn't have to worry about locking up our valuables. Everything of value traveled in our two vehicles.

My sister and Kyle was traveling just a couple hours ahead of us on the road. We kept in touch with the cell phones asking along the way.... so where are you now, or did you see the...........

Daphne took this picture out the window.

We couldn't believe how pretty the hills were.

I had never seen such a vibrant yellow during this time of year.

Daphne took this one out the windshield.

When I was a kid I remember crossing the state line and thinking that I should be able to see a "line" or something. But no, it just looked the same as the other side.

We were so tired driving, we had to make quite a few stops just to close our eyes.

We found one spot at a trail head in the middle of no where. There were quite a few cars parked so we figured it was pretty safe to just stop there.

Kirk and I napped with our windows open...because it was still warm, while the kids just sat there with the dogs either talking quietly or reading.

My back and neck were so stiff from the previous weeks that my hands were numb.

Did I say we were tired. I didn't see these pictures until after our drive. Sammy and Henry rode in Kaleb and Victoria's lap. They look a little crammed. Aah it's good for them.

Spoiled Rotton Dogs.

Kaleb had moved into the van with Daphne and I. I could barely see him because he was way in the back and I had left the middle seats at my cousins in Idaho so we could pack valuables in the van.
Sammy makes a good pillow for poor Victoria. Henry was sitting on the floor with his head resting on the seat.

Kirk took this himself. I don't know what is more cute, the distant stare of Victoria riding along bored out of her mind or Sammy resting his chin on the back of Kirk's seat while sitting in Victoria's lap.

Mattie and Toby did amazingly well. I felt they were told old at the age of 15 to drug them for the trip so they did it "cold turkey".

They only howled for the first 3 hours and then when they figured that their situation wasn't changing I think they just gave up. So they bumped along in their individual carriers set on top the ice chests facing eachother and where they can see out the front.

They actually did quite well with "Cat Woman" (Daphne) sitting where she can talk to them to keep them calm.

Who knows how the hermit crabs did. Every once in a while we would hear one of their shells crash into the glass making a clunk sound. So we knew that they were crawling around their tank.

They probably thought there was a 14 hour earthquake or something. I told them that they were going on an adventure.

It's funny, after 8 hours we pretty much have no pictures. We were all so tired.

At one point we stopped in Ogden, just 1 hour away to gas up to make it the last leg of the trip.

It was dark, extremely windy, raining and so cold that Kirk and I were instantly shivering uncontrollably the minute we stepped out the door. The kids didn't believe us that it was that cold but were not willing to get out to test it. I think it had dropped down to 20 degrees with a wind chill probably making it below zero! Atleast it felt like it.

We arrived in our new home atleast for the next year, tired, sore, and a little cold.

Victoria made it to the top of the stairs and crashed with her pillow.

Out like a light!

Day 1 of our new life.

Moving Day

2011-11-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

October 15th, 2011

The day we have been waiting for.

The day it all happens.

A day of sadness and total excitement.

The first day of the rest of our lives!

Our little home of 17 years.

There are so many memories that are embedded within the walls of this house.

Memories that we will just have to bring with us.

On the flip side...I am so happy to not have to fix another thing on this house!

I am so happy to MOVE ON!!!

We are so blessed. My sister Kim drives for Knight Transportation.

She arrived early Sat. morning to help us load all of our worldly posessions into her truck. She offered to drive it to our new home in Logan, Utah.

I don't really know how we would have done it without her.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw her turn the corner onto our street.

It brought tears to my eyes. It was pretty cool to see her coming down the street in this enormous diesel truck. The very sister I grew up with and played Barbies with when we were little.

My sister, the truck driver.

My Mom brought breakfast and lunch for all of our workers.

We had homeschool and church friends and neighbors help us load the truck.

The kids later told us that moving day was a great day and a lot of fun.

There was quite a bit of laughter, playing and kidding around that took place.

I had everything boxed to try to make it easier for all our helpers.

We couldn't have done it without them.

It was so hot. We took two lunch breaks and drank quite a bit of water with the temperatures in the high 90's to low 100's.

Something that is pretty much going to be a thing in the past....hot and sweaty.

Everything fit... from the refridgerator to the potter's wheel.

One of the delimmas that came with using my sister's truck was the fact that it came without a ramp.

She just backs up to loading docks and never needs a ramp.

After some thought, Kirk and my Dad collaborated and my Dad built a ramp, that my Mom said

"you can launch a rocket off it".

My Dad, the tool and die maker.

That ramp was so sturdy.

We ran up and down it all day with boxes and furniture and it never shook!

Thanks Dad.

Before moving day Kirk was sure that it would only take about 3 hours to load the trailer.

HA...it literally took 7 1/2 hours.

Unbelieveable I know!

It was hot and everything needed to be stacked and secured.

The BFF girls!

Or should I say crazy. They found plenty to do while we loaded the trailer.

We were exhausted that night.

We all slept in our living room that night on the floor and watched the Pirates of the Carribean on my laptop.

I think I fell asleep after the first 15 minutes.

We had a big day ahead of us driving 14 hours north with two cats in carriers and two dogs.

Kim and Kyle left ahead of us and will meet us in Logan on Monday morning sometime.

God's hands are in this move.

I can't wait to see what he has planned for the rest of our lives.

One Day Away

2011-10-14T05:13:00.000-07:00

We are just one day away from packing the truck to move.

After 17 years of living in our home we are moving out.

I almost cried when I set our phone number to be disconnected after we leave.

We moved in when Daphne was just two years old. The house felt huge after living in a condo.

Now, after three more children who are growing taller than the parents and two dogs, our sweet little home feels mighty cramped. The rooms feel spacious with only the mattresses on the floor.

I have suggested to just get rid of it all (jokingly) and live a simple life with no real furniture or belongings.
That didn't go over too well.

Though we have currently rid ourselves of anything that isn't being used.
Dave Ramsey would be so proud of us.

I guess we are on to new adventures.

Wish us luck, we are going to need it.

We Can Do It!

2011-10-08T04:50:00.000-07:00

I have always loved this picture of Rosie the Riveter.

I don't necessarily like the whole Womans Lib movement but I do believe in the rights of women.

My parents raised strong women. Plus I think genetically it was passed down through my mother.

We have been known to "hold our own".

This world needs strong men and women who are humble and compassionate.

I was feeling the effects of this whole "Move to Logan", and thought of this picture as I was organizing and packing. Moving takes so much organization and planning.

I am a good planner and yes..I know...a Control Freak with a capital "CF".

I think that was yelled at me this week as I was unpacking something to make it fit better in a different box.

Go ahead, I can handle it. The fans did fit better when I re-packed the box...you have to admit it.

Anyway, I have used every single skill I have to make this move with the exception of CPR.

I don't plan on using that one.

So with a little elbow grease and buckets of Faith,

WE CAN DO IT!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillippians 4:13

First Presbyterian Church of Logan

2011-10-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

This church is old and beautiful.

It was established in the mid 1800's.

I can only imagine what it will look like with snow drifts piled on the steps.

This just might be our new church.

It has a choir, a bell choir and a children's choir.

They have a good youth group and lots of kids in middle and elementary school.

A Great Weekend!

2011-10-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Corn Shucking Party!

My cousin Rich and my Aunt Carol came up for the weekend.

It was great being surrounded by so much family.

It was time for the corn to be harvested. So we set up an assembly line.

We all had our jobs.

Some shucked the corn, Rich cut it off the cob with a knife.

Then we had to blanche it, bag it and freeze it.

It was fun.

The same weekend we watched a lawn mower race at the Scarecrow Festival at Malad Fairgrounds.

It was hysterical. Some of these guys really got into souping up their ride on lawnmower and rode it like a dirt bike.

Everyday, Victoria watches to see how Kathy wears her beautiful long hair

so she can wear hers the same way.

It is really cute.

Kathy braided Victoria's hair in a rope braid the other day so that is her latest desire of the day.

While at the fair grounds, Rich and Kathy went for a helicopter ride.

Rich is just short a few hours to having his helicopter pilot license.

It was so nice to see brother and sister do something together.

They flew over Kathy's house. You can see the garden and our van. It isn't just anybody who has an aerial view of their home.

It has been fun spending time with my cousins.

I love them. They are a lot of fun.

School still in session!

2011-10-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

In spite of everything that is going on in our lives,

we have managed to still start our school year.

Even Daphne has two online classes that she has been keeping up with.

I am really proud of the kids dedication to maintaining some sort of a school schedule

no matter what it might be.

It has it's challenges. Everyone has their own box of books along with whatever supply one might need. Nothing like traveling around town with a box of chemistry supplies or a tub of math blocks in the back of the van.

All five of us are staying in Blue's room. We fit really well. Victoria's hair was met with the first rays of sunshine of the morning. Her hair sizzled in the sunshine.

We each had a place to sleep. Our bags fit perfectly under the beds.

Zeus would sneak up the stairs and hang out with us during school time. Victoria was trying to write and he kept gnawing on her pencil eraser. He is so cute. I had to keep reminding the boys to not wrestle with him so hard. He is so tiny compared to our dogs. It is funny though how he keeps coming back for more. He never gets enough of play time.

Victoria calls this "Outside School".

The weather is obviously beautiful.

Otherwise we would not have been outside doing our school work.

It is so peaceful and quiet...listening to the crickets and the hens.

We accomplish quite a bit outside until a breeze kicks up or a grasshopper jumps onto your book.

A nice break from the heat of the desert.

In Search for a Rental...

2011-09-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

While the kids and I are trying to find a house to rent that will accept pets,

we are staying in Malad, Idaho with my cousin Kathy and her family.

The five of us fit in Blue's room with a queen, a double, a daybed and two cots. It is actually pretty roomy. Thank you Blue for moving into Sundi's old room.

The first day we were there it poured rain and stormed all night.

It was awesome!

In the midst of house hunting we rode one of Kathy's neighbors horse.

When you live in the country, the neighbor lives down the street and around the corner.

I hadn't been on a horse in 20+ years. It was amazeing.

These horses were funny to watch.

The horse Daphne was riding, named Joe, was walking around the alfalfa field.

I think his pasture mates were becoming envious of the possibility of having a nibble of that grass.

They wanted to make sure that they didn't miss out on anything, just in case they might get some too.

The horse on the far left was the mother to the dark one in the middle.

She looked like her hair was bleached.

Thank you Kathy for making arrangements for us to ride a horse.

It was fun.

Jared was back at the house getting accustomed to the thought of what was going on in our lives.

He hates not knowing what is next.

With our Heavenly Father, you never know what is next!

We're on the Move!

2011-09-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe but on Sept. 15th 2011 the kids and I left Phoenix with it's 100+ temp and traveled up to Utah to begin our quest for a new home in Logan, Utah.

Our first stop was at my cousin Rich's house in Payson, Utah after an 11 1/2 hour drive.

We had a great visit. He showed Kaleb how to catch grasshoppers by their back legs. Rich was flicking grasshoppers at Daphne and into her hair. It was hysterical because she just laughed. If one of her siblings were to have done it you would have thought blood was to be drawn.

Rich can pretty much get away with anything with Daphne.

The next stop was at my Aunt Carol's new place with the Shillig family in....

I can't remember the name of the town.

Anyway, she has a really nice room over the garage with her own bathroom.

It is really nice and has a wonderful view because the house sits up on the side of a hill.

Everytime I look at Aunt Carol I see bits and pieces of my Dad.

I think they have the same eyes and some similar mannerisms.

I hope they can get together soon and visit. It would be good for both of them.

Brother and Sister.

Two Men and a Truck

2011-09-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

We have been blessed by a friend of ours passing down boxes to us.

Quite a few of them were never used. How awesome to have clean boxes.

To Kaleb it means a blank canvas.

I was laying in bed one morning staring at the stack of boxes in our bedroom and noticed that some of the men in the truck were different than others.

I later caught Kaleb with a sharpie hard at work.

I didn't really have to guess or catch who had used their creative skills to enhance the label.

It is always pretty obvious as to who's doodle it was.

I found these through out the house.

The guys on the right look like little Amish men.

Then you have a little chemist and a magician.

I think the guy on the right has an afro.

A welder with a freaked out driver!

The next guys are brushing their teeth. I guess they are multi-taskers.

Then you have the men actually using a "map". I was very impressed.

I like the flat tire.

Farmers and musicians...

I want to know what the dynamite would be used for.
The driver on the right is holding the steering wheel that came loose.

Drivers with their cup of "Joe".

Drivers with hamburgers and fries.

I think these last guys are priests.

I loved finding these little doodles. Kaleb makes me smile.

No More Braces!

2011-09-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

Before....

and After...

No More Braces...here comes popcorn, corn on the cob, jelly beans and gum...

Jared is finally done with braces after 3 years...not bad...and bucko bucks later!

It was worth every cent. I will have to find a before picture. You will be amazed.

We had several people ask if we got his braces taken off because we were moving!

NO...you don't do those kinds of things when you invest almost $7000 out of your own pocket!

Please people...

It was actually time to take them off. Another one of those "God things" that is all in his timing.

Beautiful smile, handsome kid

Sun + Flower

2011-09-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

I had copied this clever little worksheet on Compound Art out of a library book.

I started to talk to Victoria through the first one explaining that

the rain cloud + a cute bow = a rainbow.

So I start to explain the next one to her and she is really sure of herself that she could probably do the next one on her own. She's pretty smart so she really was sure of herself that she could figure it out. Okay, here goes. I said Sun + Flower .......before I could even say the word "equals", Victoria blurted out really loud "Means DEAD!"
We all laughed hysterically knowing that almost everything we try to grow really struggles to survive in this heat.
I said "no silly, look at it again.... Sun+ Flower EQUA:LS...and Victoria responds with..."it means dead Mom, haven't you seen my tomato plant lately?!"
I have to admit that it is pretty crispy and we have pretty much given up on the poor thing. I explained to her that Sun + Flower equals "Sunflower"...get it?
With a huge smile on her face and a look of "AHH HAA" she said OOOOHHHHH!

Our Lives in a Nutshell

2011-08-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

In July we took a family vacation. The first one in a while and much needed. Life was bliss and perfect in every way. Our family and Nana and Poppa and our nephew Kyle headed for California for a long weekend at Disneyland. First stop...the beach!

It was almost painful feeling how much we miss the beach, the sand, the waves....

Next...we spent the next three days at Disneyland. It was awesome.

Daphne drove Poppa around. I remember doing that as a little girl. It brought back memories.

Can't go to Disneyland without visiting Pooh Bear and Tigger.

We went to having fun to this....

Our home was broken into while we were gone. They pretty much cleaned us out. They even checked the toy cash register. The thiefs left a huge mess. Before we left for Disneyland we had decided to move to Logan, Utah at the end of the school year. Well...now we are doing this...

Packing!
We have decided to move now.
Why not.
We don't want to live in our neighborhood any more... So we are packing. We don't have jobs here and we don't have jobs there, so what's the difference.

God has an incredible plan for our family. He has been unfolding it in fast forward though. A little hard to keep up with. We are excited to be starting a new chapter in our lives but sad to leave friends and family behind. We will have to post the updates!

The Phoenix Haboob

2011-07-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering what a Haboob is.

Here it is.

July 5, 2011 we had our first big "Haboob" of the year. It is a desert term for "dust storm". One would think that these only happen in the Sahara Desert.

Now you know it happens in Phoenix.

Water Rockets

2011-07-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

We thought we would spend some family time shooting off the water rocket at the park the other night. Yeah, it was still 100 degrees out at dusk but it was worth it.

This water rocket we have had for probably 12 years. It is made from PVC, a tire valve, a bike pump and a 2 liter bottle with water.

I came across it in the garage the other day and decided it was time to pull it out again and have a little fun.

I kept trying to get an actual picture of the bottle leaving it's resting position and kept missing it. One second it is there and the next it is gone leaving behind a stream of water.

I did finally get one. It looks like Kaleb is going to be hit in the face with it but I assure you that he is a couple feet away. It only "looks" like that.

Jared has always found time to attempt to wrestle his Dad to the ground. Now that he is actually taller than Kirk he "thinks" he might be able to do it.

Kirk still out weighs him so it will be a long time before he can pull his Dad over.

You can just barely see the bottle flying out of the picture.

It was a little hard for Victoria to pump an endless amount of air into a Squirt bottle. She was funny to watch because she was trying every single kind of technique to force the lever down.

I love this picture. Catching an empty plastic bottle falling from about 50 ft in the air is like trying to catch a feather floating right in front of you.

AAwwww....he missed!

I love this time of day.

Aarrgh!!!

Flash Back!

2011-07-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

My cousin Kathy posted this picture of us on her blog so I swiped it.

I remember this day, (I think we were at Redondo Beach, Calif.) because I didn't really want to wear the same thing that my sister was wearing and I didn't want my hair in two pony tails. I wanted it down like Kathy's and my mother said "no, it will get tangled if you leave it down." So up it went. Kind of reminds me of every Sunday morning that Victoria protests and insists on her "One Pony Tail MOM".

I remember that I had bought one of those black velvet posters that you color in with markers. I think Kathy and Kim got one too. I remember having to walk around the pier with that ocean breeze blowing and my poster was like a sail ready to fly to new places.

I pointed out to Victoria Aunt Kathy, Auntie Kim, and Uncle Rich. And she chimed in pointing to me adding "Daphne". I think the glasses and the hair make her think that.

We always had good times when we were together.

I never felt singled out and the youngest when we were together. They always included me in and didn't ditch me like the other cousins would do.

I love them.
I would give anything to be at the ocean right now.

A Mud Storm

2011-07-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Victoria informed me that the storm we had the other night was a Mud Storm...not a Dust Storm or a Rain Storm! Noooo.....it was a Mud Storm and this is the proof!

Only in AZ can you have a Dust Storm as thick as fog and rain at the same time.

It makes the dirtiest mess. Everything is coated with dust. The streets, the side walks. Everyones car...except our neighbor who doesn't have anything better than to wash his car every single morning! No kidding. Usually your vehicle looks out of place if it is the only one that looks like you went mud womping on the way to the grocery store. But our neighbors car looked out of place being the only polished vehicle in a 20 mile radius.

And don't bother washing it because there is more to come. They even closed the airport due to NO visibility. Living in the desert is definately interesting.

4th of July

2011-07-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

Man it's HOOOOTTT!!!

So what do you do on the Fourth of July when it is 110+ degrees. You swim hoping that it will actually cool you off.

The water was a little refreshing at 84 degrees. Pretty close to bath water but still worth the swim.

It was nice visiting with Nana and Poppa and Auntie Kim. We don't get much of that so it was nice just hanging out and floating in the pool dodging water bombs, squirt guns, canonball splashes and underwater torpedoes. We would be talking and someone would grab an ankle and yank you off balance.

The cousins had a great time goofing around. Some of the things that the boys were doing was a little wierd.

They would line up on the diving board and take turns diving in, or do cannonballs. There were usually waves at the other end of the pool where the adults were hanging out.

I love watching the kids swim and jump in. They burn themselves out to the point of exhaustion.

Gardening in PJ's

2011-07-05T06:36:00.000-07:00

Somehow I missed these pictures of when we helped Kathy plant the rest of her garden!

We started after dinner so Victoria is already in her PJ's.

I love it when the day is winding down and the sun casts long shadows.

It is beautiful.

Pumpkin the cat loved laying in between the rows. Zeus was supervising to make sure that Kaleb's row was straight. I would have never imagined that my cousin Kathy and my youngest daughter would be planting seeds together. They pretty much even have their hair the same way. Long and beautiful.

I love how Kathy includes my kids and engages them into doing things.

The kids were very excited to help plant seeds. I think the pets were too.

By the time we got home Kathy called to say that the corn had already grown an inch above the ground and that the onions were a little above that.

It was so peaceful. The most exciting part was that the air temperature was very comfortable.

It was beautiful.

The grass IS greener on the other side!

2011-07-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

I surprised my cousin Kathy.

She was putting together a surprise party for Troy's 50th birthday.

I thought I would surprise her and just show up. But then I started thinking that it would be more fun if we could plan ahead and have something to look forward to.

Really, I just couldn't contain myself.

So I called her up and said I had something exciting to tell her.

Her first thought was that I got a job.

No. I wish. But no.

Then she said

You're coming to see me!

Yes!

We were like giddy girls counting down to the day we would see eachother.

Jared was still at Scout camp and Kirk was finishing up a mural job, so Daphne, Kaleb, Victoria and I drove 11 hours to Utah to cousin Rich's house and then another 3 to Malad, Idaho where Kathy lives.

We went through a culture shock.

There was snow on the mountains still, green grass, flowers on the hillside, and cooler temperatures.

We were at Kathy's for a whole 5 days and walked every day.

It was awesome!

Rich's dog Duke went for a walk with us the first night. The kids rode their bikes. Kathy and I pulled Victoria along by the handle bars and had to keep reminding her not to put on her brakes. We walked almost four miles that night. The alfalfa was beautiful and green. We discovered at this time that Victoria was extremely allergic to the greenery. Extremely is such a mild word for what she went through. She couldn't open her eyes by day 3 and the pharmacy is closed on Sundays. She did so much better when we got some medicine into her. She would walk around with a cold washcloth to put on her eyes. Uncle Troy was coaching her on rinsing her eyes with water which really helped too. She was quite the trooper.

We had a great time visiting with Kathy's kids and Troy's family. It was nice seeing Aunt Carol. She has always been my favorite aunt. We played a super loooooooong game of Uno. I think we went through 7 decks of cards! We were starting to help eachother just so we could end the game. It was hysterical. We learned a new game called Nertz. Wind and Sundi were winning every single game. They were really good at it. Especialy Wind.

If you ask the kids what was one of their most favorite part of the visit...they really enjoyed being outside and it not being blazing hot and the animals. The goat Zak was pretty funny to watch. He would see Victoria come out from around the house and he would stand up on the fence and wait to see what she was going to feed him next. Kaleb got the experience of collecting warm eggs from under a fluffy chicken.

We drove up to Power House next to a river for a BBQ. We thought we had thought out what we needed to cook hamburgers and hot dogs. Kathy had made delicious potatoe salad. We hadn't brought a grill for the fire. So we were busy planning out how we could cook hamburgers. Once the fire was lit and ready we went to get the hamburgers and discovered that we had forgotton to bring them. Pretty funny. We rolled with the punches that evening and still enjoyed our time together in the outdoors. It was absolutely beautiful.

The kids love having family. Kathy's youngest son Blue just graduated from High School too. He is two months older than Daphne.

The hills were covered in these sunflowers. I think Kathy said they were South Dakota dwarf sunflowers.

It was fun having a campfire. We marshed marshmallows for smores. Another reason why Kathy and I walked every day. We could eat whatever we wanted. It was great.

Troy had accidently thrown a couple sticks that Daphne had put aside to carve into the fire. Oops.

These were a some of the flowers that kathy had planted by her door. It fascinated me how they weren't burnt to a crisp. I feel like we live on the moon sometimes with all the rock around. Kathy's whole yard and the fields around it had green grass and beautiful flowers flourishing.

Jumping on a trampoline in the country is a way different experience than jumping in our backyard. I was apprehensive to jump too much because I didn't want Victoria to fly off into the field. Our tramp has a netting that surrounds it.

Victoria sent me on a guilt trip once again that she wants to ride horses like her friend Hannah. She knows that Daphne has taken lessons in the past too which doesn't help the situation. So anyway, Kathy heard and asked if she would like to ride Dragon Fly even though she hasn't been riden in YEARS! She had the cutest pony saddle for her. Dragon Fly did very well. She wasn't too sure at first but Victoria was the perfect size. And Daphne did an awesome job of saddling her up. Victoria had a smile of pure satisfaction and content.

We visited the reservoir in town and saw who could throw a rock the farthest. Of course Blue threw the farthest. I don't think I could even get it anywhere near what he did. It was fun to just sit there and watch the kids and talk. We were sitting on the hill above the bank and Zeus would go to lay down to cool his belly and pratically throw his body down on the ground. He would slide several inches on his belly. It was funny and cute.

Daphne brought Sundi, Kathy and Aunt Carol homemade soap from a friend at Farmers Market. And the kids painted rocks to leave around Kathy's house. Just a little piece of us to leave behind.

More pictures of special memories. I can't wait to live closer to Kathy. We share so many similarities. I think those Thomas genes came through on both of us.

We decided to spend a few extra days in Utah with my cousin Rich and his kids. We laughed so much. Daphne teases him excessively which he dishes right back. They got into a water fight at Payson Lake. Daphne had thrown a cup of water on him and missed. So she refilled and nailed him pretty good. Well, Rich had a better cup. He picked up the water jug filled with ice and water and waited for her to come back and got her head to toe. We laughed so hard I was crying. Now if Kirk would have done that there would have been hail and brimstone flying. But Uncle Rich can do it. He was always fun as a kid and he is still alot of fun. We played at the park in Payson several times, watched a few movies from the Redbox and shared some great family time.

Rich's dog Duke is an awesome dog. He just loves attention and getting some good rub downs. There was one afternoon I was sitting in the backyard talking to Kirk on the phone. Duke was laying his head in my lap getting rubbed and enjoying every minute of it. He got this look like he had an idea. I watched him jump up into the planters between boulders and dig a hole. Well, I thought a hole. Actually he was digging up some furry animal thing and freaked me out because he was proudly bringing it to me to show like....

Look what I have

Wanna see it?

Uugghhh Yuck. I did everything but scream. I ran into the house and he looked at me a little heart broken. I actually felt bad like I hurt his feelings. It was a piece of deer and its fur. I heard he came home one day with an entire leg of a deer. I am a city girl. Our dogs don't come home with things like that.

Well, we had a great trip. It was hard driving the whole way myself. We missed Kirk and Jared but we all enjoyed our time away as well as Kirk and Jared enjoying peace and quiet.

We are ready to make the move out of Arizona.

It is time to move on.

Start over. Or again.

Party, Party, Party

2011-07-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

We had a weekend of Graduation parties to attend. It was fun but exhausting.

It was great visiting with everyone.

Daphne's Graduation! May 27th, 2011

2011-07-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

These are just a couple of cute little crazy girls enjoying themselves.

Oh, this is so late on being posted!

But....better late then never!

Daphne has graduated at the head of her class. Heehee. I can say that since she was Homeschooled for 14 years. Wow...what a journey. 14 years.

Would I do it again? You bet. In fact, we have 12 more years to go.

One down......three to go!

Okay, enough of that. Daphne's Graduation was wonderful. There was a lot of cheering and clapping. We even broke a few tears here and there.

Daphne and her friends Susanna and Emily

We are so proud of her. The ceremony consisted of 150 graduates that came from all over Arizona and who a part of Arizona Families for Home Educators. We feel so blessed to feel supported by our state to include a real graduation ceremony for Homeschoolers. The two student speakers were incredible. They displayed more speaking ability and charisma than some professors at a college graduation that we had recently attended. AZ Congressman Trent Franks spoke of the commitment and sacrifices that we make to homeschool our children and all the benefits that go with it. It was such a relief to have the support and encouragement that so many of us need to continue. It cracked me up when he spoke of a list of about 50 things that explained that "You know you are a homeschooler when...". I wish I could remember them all. The only one that comes to mind is "You know you are a homeschooler when the fuzz on rotten fruit in the fridge is actually a science experiment".

Daphne and her art teacher Larry, Daphne and Pastor Phil and Abby

The Askins family, Paul, Dana, Erin and Simon with Daphne. Simon fell asleep.

They came from New Mexico to see Daphne graduate.

Daphne and her Poppa, Daphne and her Momma or Torturer,

Daphne and all her grandparents, Daphne and her cousin Kyle.

It was very exciting to actually be at this point in all of our lives. I am mostly excited for Daphne. She has plans to major in Art and will be attending College full time in the Fall.

We are very proud of her.

Long ago when we were choosing Daphne's name before she was born, we did the "graduation" test. You know the test...right?
"Daphne...Lynn...Headley"
Well, I am happy to say that it passed the test way back in 1992.
It sounded awesome in 2011!

It's Official

2011-06-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's official, Daphne has screened her first design on her new silk screen press. When Daphne and I went to California for a silk screen class, my parents invested in Daphne's business by blessing her with a 6 screen silk screening press. We are so excited to have stepped up in the world considering how we have been doing it. Daphne and I have encountered a lot of trial and error. We were thinking that we could easily do a single color like what we have done before. But, nooo.....we decided to do something that we haven't done before. We did a rainbow smear and loved it. The shirts turned out awesome. We are going to be printing some really cool shirts. We have quite a few designs that are ready to be burned onto screens. The hardest part is preparing the screens to have the designs burned onto them. You have to carefully and evenly coat a liquid onto the screens and dry them in complete darkness and flat. So we have converted the garage into a dark room. The space is very cramped but you've got to start somewhere.

Rainy Picnic

2011-06-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

The Scudders and the Headleys decided to have a picnic in the middle of the week. We thought it would be great to meet at the park and just hang out and bar-b-que some hot dogs. It was hysterical because it literally poured rain. Here we have had absolutely NO rain for months and it rains on the only day that we decide to have a picnic. The kids were soaked to their bones. Other parents were yelling for their children to run for cover and left the park dissappointed that their visit was cut short. Our kids were running around wild with not a single care in the world about getting wet. It was awesome. Not only was it a complete change in the norm that we all so desperately needed but we were awesome parents for allowing our children the freedom to make the choice to stay out in the rain.

Jared's Confirmation

2011-05-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

When we started attending All Saints Lutheran Church, Jared was in the beginning of the 7th grade. Just in time to start Confirmation class. He had already been baptized twice, once as a baby and submersed as a tween. So starting Confirmation wasn't really part of a goal that any of us had at the time. Well, this class really turned out to be a significant goal for Jared and our family. This class stuck together for three years and completed their spiritual guidance to be Confirmed. They had lock-ins and retreats to solidify the relationships they were building and taught them everything there was to know about the Lutheran faith. Jared has watched more movies about Martin Luther than expected. I think he is the most "Lutheran" than any of us. I have grown to love the faith and the people. I like the structure and the people. Yeah, did I mention the people. They are different. Our family fits really well here. I hope and pray that Jared will soon recognize God's hand in his life everyday and that he really is beside him spiritually to love and bless him always. These are all abstract ideas to a young person. I am so thankful for him to received such an instruction as this Confirmation class. Pastor Phil once told us when the kids were really little. The Bible stand for " Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth". Isn't that what we all need? To read our Bibles and keep God close to us? Accepting his guidance and love for us? ...... P.S. The young lady in the bottom right hand corner, the cute girl with the glasses...Lane...I think they like eachother.... shhh! don't tell.

Susanna's College Graduation

2011-05-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Our homeschooled family friend Susanna graduated from Paradise Valley Community College with two Associate degrees in two years and with Honors. We are so proud of her. She was one of the student speakers and pretty much blew everyone out of the auditorium with her speaking ability. We wouldn't expect any less with her. She is off to Germany with NAU this next year and down to Tucson for a research Chemistry work study project for the summer. Busy girl. We are all going to miss her. Especially Daphne. Susanna has been an awesome friend to Daphne. Much like a big sister but without the sibling rivalry. It has been a blessing to watch our children grow up together. Kaleb was 5 months old when we started a Co-op with the Darts. Lots of fun memories. They are like family.

Cook A Doodle Doo

2011-05-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

I guess we have been a little preoccupied with rounding up school and graduation that I have quite a few posts with pictures in them and not completed. In May, Victoria and I read this really cute book Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. It is hysterical because the pot bellied pig totally reminded us of our dog Sammy. The rooster is the grandson to The Little Red Hen and he wants to bake Strawberry Shortcake. And of course the cat, the dog and the goose don't want to help. So his friends the pig, an iguana, and a tortoise decide they want to help him. Things get a little crazy when the iguana is a little "too" helpful (hmmm sounds like a certain 6 year old I know) and the pot bellied pig finally gets a chance to do "his job". We read it several times in a row and then had to read it again to Dad to see if he made a connection between the pig and Sammy. He did. I think our shortcake looks just like the picture in the book. And it was very delicious. Check out the book from the library and see for yourself how adorable this book is. Okay, I have to tell you, the pig just wants to help and then decides for himself that he will be the taster. So he keeps asking if he can taste it yet and they keep telling him to wait. He was a very patient pig until the iguana is overly helpful and accidently dumped the entire shortcake, strawberries and all onto the floor where the pig finally got to taste it. The pig was so excited that he ate it all off the floor and was completely satisfied that he finally got to do his job as the "taster". Really cute. It is our family to a "T'. Victoria, usually in haste will swing her plate around with food on it and not be holding onto whatever is on there, food will usually fly through the air and Sammy will be right there to inhale it in a single microsecond. He finally got what he wanted. So now we call Sammy The Taster. Because he is usually under my feet looking straight up ready to catch any minescuel fleck of food that may tumble in his direction while I am cooking. He usually cashes in on the jackpot hanging out with Victoria though.

Pinkalicious!

2011-05-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

The women's gym that my Mom works at had a Pinkalicious Party for little girls and their mothers on Mother's Day weekend.
They needed cupcakes so I made these cupcakes just like the cupcakes in the story.

This is the cutest story. It is about a little girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink. The only remedy is to eat green vegetables. Victoria thought it was a good thing she likes vegetables and salad so she wouldn't ever turn pink. Though I do remember the kids turning orange as babies from eating carrots and sweet potatoes.Victoria had a great time. She made a pretty glittery crown and made a princess wand. It was nice spending the time with her one on one. She even got to spend a little time with Nana behind the desk and even go grocery shopping with her.

Easter...a little late.

2011-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

I love Easter. We celebrated Jesus' Resurrection...squeezed Easter bunnies and ate jelly beans, dyed Easter eggs,Kirk and Daphne playing hand bells at all three services,had a pancake breakfast at church, and smashed a finger in the back door of the van. Victoria and I managed to make it to Urgent Care and back, all before Kirk and Daphne even knew we were gone. Her finger looked a little crooked but it wasn't broken. What a relief knowing that since Jared had to actually unlatch the door to get her finger out. I don't know who was upset more...the smasher or the smashee.
Needless to say, no broken bones and Easter celebration continued on without a hitch.A little emotionally drained from the door incident but a quick recovery.
And a big brother gave special treatment to a little sister all day.That was priceless!We did manage to corral the kids long enough to get a picture. My nephew Kyle is in the back between Daphne and Jared. There are advantages to being the youngest of four much bigger than you kids.The boys did a great job of hiding eggs for Victoria and Kaleb to find. Though we are still finding some here and there as they fall out of the tree weeks later.These are hysterical.Kaleb, Victoria and I made chickie cake pops. First we couldn't get them to stay on the sticks without falling all the way through. So we axed the stick idea.I would just get one pretty smooth and Victoria would stick her fingers into the chocolate trying to put the beak and feet in place.Either way they turned out pretty cute. They tasted great.No complaints there.It is one of those projects that you have to try again. I am sure that next time they will turn out better. I am the only one who felt this way. Everyone else thought they were cute.

Yeah...right.

Curse or Blessing?

2011-05-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today is just not a good day. Actually, it is just not a good year. Well, really, it just hasn't been a good past two years. Life is hard and I am getting really tired of it. So...anyway, enough of my sniveling. I will tell you why I feel this way today. Today is Kirk's and my 20th wedding anniversary. Woo hoo. We should celebrate you say. Well...we aren't taking a cruise, exchanging gifts or going to dinner. We don't have the money anyway. But the real reason it wouldn't be happening is we have the flu. And on top of that Kirk has Shingles...eeewwww! Just when he thought he couldn't get chicken pox again. So miserable is at the top of his list right now. And mine because we both can't be sick at the same time. So...I dropped Daphne off at her class at the college and came around the corner to this! This is the most flowers this Jacaranda has ever had. Isn't it beautiful? The freeze really did a number on it and we were so relieved that it bounced back but we never thought it would have gotton this many blossoms. Most people don't like trees like this in their yard because of this.
Tiny sticks and purple flowers all over the place. So if you just don't look down and look up instead, you get an eyeful of God's beautiful creation. Hmmm. So how can one apply this to our lives? Yeah I know, look for the blessings in our lives they are all around...yeah, yeah. It makes me mad and I don't want to hear it. But...on my own and in my time, I will look around and see this....
Thank you Lord for the roof over our heads, food on the table and clothes on our backs.

Oh yeah, and I will let you know if the two little kids get chicken pox since the two big kids have already had them.

Nurses from John C. Lincoln

2011-04-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

These are some of the greatest nurses that I have ever worked with. We all worked in the Birthing Center at John C. Lincoln together. The two on the left, Sharon and Ruth worked with me in the nursery and the two on the right, Gayla and Deb worked in post-partum couplet care. We are a bunch of hard working team players when it came to running our department. And we always had fun doing it no matter how hard something was.

We went to a hospital job fair not too far from our last hospital. The three of us nursery nurses managed to get some time to talk with the director of Maternal Child health. It was awesome because it was pretty much an interview with all three of us. It is totally a "God Thing" that she met with us because she didn't have time but changed her mind when she saw us on a hospital tour. There are a quite a few openings in the nursery and we have a pretty good shot at getting them. The nursery was huge compared to what we are used to. Not to mention beautiful. And the babies of course. I didn't realize how depressed I have been feeling since getting layed off. I almost got teary eyed when we passed a radiant warmer bed and there wasn't even a baby on it. I knew I loved working with the babies but I didn't realize I would miss it this much.

So now it is all in God's hands as to whether or not we all get a job there or not. I will have to keep you posted.

Afterwards we spent the next two and a half hours at Sweet Tomatoes having lunch and talking. I really missed them and was so happy to be around them.

They are wonderful women.

Kirk needs a Barn

2011-04-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have heard for the past twenty five years from Kirk that he needs a barn for the big projects that he does. At first I would be like, yeah right. Just move that and that in the garage and you will have plenty of room. Okay, now that he has constructed a blue tent on our front lawn to shield himself from the wind so he can air brush is an indication that yes, we really do need more space.Whenever someone is looking for him we just say he is on the front lawn painting his monkeys. Or "Oh he is out front with the monkeys".

I am so glad we don't have a home owners association. Our neighbors are always interested in what he is doing. You never know what he will be working on next. Right now these monkeys are for an indoor amusement park called Jambo Place. Our doctor friend from Africa bought a space that is right next to our house. Once Kirk found out he practically convinced the guy that Kirk could really theme out this place. So the monkeys will be battling the pirates (we had pirates on the lawn too) in the laser tag area. He even ordered paint that glowed in black light. So cool. The kids and I were thinking of more ways to use the paint if any is left over after the project. Victoria has already decided that she can't wait to try it out when it opens. The cool thing about these projects that Kirk does is that we hang out and bring him lunch and dinner at times so we see this stuff as it goes in before opening day. This one will be fun to see how it all comes together. He will have all the walls to do aside from the laser tag.

This picture is a little blurry because of the lighting. Looks cool though.

Puzzle

2011-04-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

The other day Kaleb was looking for something to do. He pulled out a puzzle that I knew would take way too much time to put together and is really hard. I sent him back to the garage to find a puzzle that might not take too much time to do since I knew it would end up on the kitchen table until it was completely put together. He came back with a puzzle that Daphne and I got at the thrift store for $2. My kind of deal. You just run the risk of missing pieces.

Everyone became involved with this puzzle. Not quite what we need right now. It became a large distraction with it not only taking up a huge amount of space on our table. It was really hard not to work on it during meals. We spent quite a few late nights sitting at the table working on it. Quite a few times someone would call for something and you would hear the "puzzle" response of ... "just a minute". That was always the first indication that the puzzle was being worked on. We were saving this particular one for summer but was welcomed with a break here and there and some late nights. It only had two missing pieces which is the most that we have ever encountered.

It was a very pretty puzzle. Lots of beautiful colors. Great way to bring the family closer together especially when it's 10 at night and we are all needing to go to bed and we all keep agreeing to go after this next piece. And then you get the excitement of getting a piece in so you work on the next piece and it just keeps going from there. So I guess it didn't matter what puzzle Kaleb chose to put together. The very thing I was trying to avoid happened anyway. So really what did it matter? I guess it was intended to happen whether I wanted it to or not.

Jellyfish!

2011-04-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

Victoria has been learning about the ocean and became very focused on Jellyfish. She had a really hard time understanding that jellyfish don't have brains, eyes, or a nervous system but can sting and eat. She and Kaleb constructed these little jellyfish from pudding cups to hang in the entry way to the kitchen. They really wanted to hang them completely across the opening but I didn't want to have to walk through streamers every single time I entered the kitchen. So they had to leave an opening.

I found this idea to paint jellyfish here at Deep Space Sparkle; Art Lessons for Kids. We really liked this project. We used liquid watercolors. We had splatters all over the place. Even Sammy had some blue and yellow splots on him. What's art without getting messy.

Kaleb's Waffle

2011-03-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

Kaleb made waffles on Saturday morning....We don't know how he did it but all of the waffles came out this way. We thought the first was a fluke but then he mastered his technique and created these really cool, crispy, Grand Canyon like waffles. They were really good. And probably only half the Weight Watchers points since they were only half filled. Thank you Kaleb! The first one he overflowed when he dropped the lid...batter oozed everywhere. I felt pretty proud of myself that I didn't become a crazed woman, foaming at the mouth over spilt milk.I was pure calm as Kaleb is running in circles trying to figure out what to do about all of the batter spilling out the sides. Maybe it was because he was frantic I didn't need to be. Whew. Kind of nice to have someone else freaking out over something for once. He wouldn't believe me that it was okay for the waffle iron to look as if it was a 10 month old, who doesn't want to eat its peas. And that it was easier to clean up when it was baked on rather than just batter. Either way I told Kaleb that someday he would make his future wife proud that he knows how to cook. Now if I can just get Jared to stop setting off that smoke alarm.

New Outfits

2011-03-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Daphne has been working on her own designs for doll clothes. If you can master a small scale you can master a much larger scale. She has all of the basics down for following a pattern. She designed Kaya a new outfit, altered a couple patterns, and sewed this all on her own. It turned out great. I am glad that she enjoys sewing as much as I do.

I finished the little red skirt and top for Victoria's doll Molly. It was really easy to do too with great results. I love it when I have only a half an hour to do something for myself and am able to whip out something really cute in the end.

What?!

2011-03-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

I never know what I will find on the camera when I download pictures. I have no idea who took this one. I do know it was NOT Kaleb. I was fascinated by this picture of Kaleb. Even though his neck looks like a lizard that has been starved...his eyes are open! I think we now have exactly two pictures of Kaleb with his eyes open wide enough to see his pupils. Amazeing!

A New Design

2011-02-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

I needed some down time last weekend and decided to work on an assignment that Daphne got from a class that she is involved with. I took a cute top that looks great on Daphne and a cute pair of capri pants that look great on Victoria and decided to make an outfit just like it for the American Girl Dolls. It was fun. It was a great stress reliever. Which my mother said would have stressed her out just trying to figure out what fabric and thread to use.

My attitude was so much better afterwards.

I think it turned out cute. The flowered fabric I have had stashed away for about 15 years. It barely made a dent in the stash. It was fun. Now I am working on a flowered top with a pleated skirt for "Molly". I just have to dig for some red fabric.

100 Days of School

2011-02-26T12:52:00.000-08:00

There are so many fun things to do when you are in Kindergarten.

I love this age. There are so many "firsts".

Learning feels new to Victoria even though she has been learning

and doing school for quite a few years now.

There are so many accomplishments and achieving milestones.

Victoria feels like a "big kid". Which is very important to her...to be a big kid.

It is hard sometimes to help her be satisfied being a little kid who can do big kid things.

Well, we celebrated 100 days of school...a little late due to my work schedule

and over a week of a house full of sickies.

It was fun preparing for the day. She counted and grouped so many "things". Kaleb was constantly finding more things to count. She counted pom poms, glass rocks, pebbles, shells, fishy crackers, pretzels, fruit loops (which we discovered doesn't mesh well with her already active personality).

It was fun watching her weigh the items to see which ones weighed more,

or how many bags would equal the weight of a few others.

The gears were working and she was very proud of herself and her discoveries.

She also discovered that 100 piece puzzles really aren't as hard

as they once were. Now she is putting puzzles together right and left.

Everytime I turn around there is a completed puzzle on the table

in the midst of the school books.

I remember when the other kids discovered the same thing.

It is hard to believe that my baby is at that same milestone.

Jared helped me hide garage sale stickers numbered one to one hundred on them all around the house. We couldn't find number 98 for about three days.

Of course it was in a very obvious place that we had looked several times on the book case. I thought for sure that he hid it in some abnormal remote place of the world.

With Jared you never know.

Well, it took her half the day to find 99 of the stickers and place them on a hundred numbers chart in their proper place. Great learning activity. Kept her busy.

We discovered this book "The Wolf's Chicken Stew". The wolf decides to try to fatten up a chicken by making her 100 pancakes, 100 donuts, and a 100 pound cake. When he decided it was time to snatch his fat chicken he discovered that she had 100 chicks who ate all the goodies. They loved him for making all the goodies so he befriended them.

It was really cute.

Kirk helped Victoria make 99 little pancakes and 1 huge pancake to make 100.

The boys had not a single problem helping eat all those pancakes. They loved that they were bite sized. No cutting needed.

Blue and Gold Dinner

2011-02-22T12:55:00.000-08:00

Kaleb has been Lone Scouting for quite a few years. He just recently joined a den for the next couple months before moving into Jared's Boy Scout Troop.

So he had his first Blue and Gold dinner.

That was very interesting. I could write a book but I won't.

Anyway, they had a Dad and Son cake baking contest. I loved that I didn't have to do any part of it. How awesome is that. Kaleb wanted to make his dragon cake again (I think theirs turned out better than the one I made) but the theme was "Innovations". They were also to make a Lego creation of some invention of some sort. Well, the first Outdoor Bar-B-Que was a little bit of a stretch. Not very technical. But it was darn creative and cute.

I don't think the judges "got it" but everyone else thought it was the best cake. You could barely tell what the other cakes were. They probably thought a professional made it. But then again they don't know our family. A bunch of creative over-achievers.

I thought the Bar-B-Que was an excellent addition to the cake.

Very creative.Kaleb led us all in the flag ceremony and

the pledge of allegiance "Under God"! thank you very much! He also received his arrow of light award and a cool arrow that the Dad's wrapped with colored thread. Jared kind of left that out of the picture.

So I will have to get it later.

It turned out pretty neat.

Tye-dyed Fort

2011-02-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

Jared helped Victoria and Kaleb build a really cool fort in the living room between the couch and the piano with a king size sheet. It was the most sturdy fort built in a really long time. It was up for two days before they decided to sleep in it. I even found Jared hiding in it reading his Biology book.

The night that Kaleb and Victoria slept in it only lasted to 3 a.m. I awoke to Kaleb and Victoria standing beside our bed telling me that he was stung by a bug in the fort. Kirk and I immediately thought of a scorpion so we jumped out of bed and got flashlights and turned all the lights on in the living room while I inspected Kaleb's ankle where this scorpion supposedly stung him. I didn't see a red spot even though he said that it hurt and burned and itched. Hmmm, okay.... we sent them to bed while Kirk and I began searching their fort. Okay, there was so much "stuff" in there how were we to ever find this scorpion. Last time Kirk was stung we searched for an hour and found it 2 days later. So the chances of finding this thing was looking pretty slim. We had to remove each stuffed animal, blanket, nerf gun and shake it completely and put it in a pile. We realized that there were two nerf guns right where Kaleb's feet would have been and decided that he probably bumped a sharp piece of plastic poking his ankle making him think that a bug stung him in his sleep. This coming from the very boy that still freaks out over knives and getting his nails trimmed. And if you really want to see a drama production just try to remove a splinter from his hand. So after a half hour we gave up and concluded in the morning that since there was no mark on his ankle and that he actually fell asleep minutes after sending him to bed, that it was safe to say it was a false alarm. Whew. I hate scorpions.

Veggie Tales

2011-02-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is the funniest audio CD of 80's music.

Victoria has found this several times at the library and has forced her siblings to obsesively listen to it. It is actually pretty well done.

Instead of Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cindy Lauper, it is "Gourds" just want to have fun with Jerry the gourd singing.

I think the best one is Larry the cucumber singing Everybody Have Fun Tonight. He sings "everybody wang chung tonight" and then says he doesn't even know what "wang chung" is. He says it is a "combination between Kung Fu, chow mein and fried rice".

It cracks me up that our youngest daughter is rocking out to the same songs I listened to in high school... just veggie style!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-18T19:33:00.000-08:00

I love the thought of Valentine's Day, a day to let your loved ones know that you... love them. Ours are never romantic in any way. There are no rose petals scattered on the bed or candles lit. Not when there are two dogs who get wound up and start wrestling when you try to hug your husband. It isn't going to happen when there are 6 people in a 1500 sq foot living space including storage. Heck, I can't even close myself in the closet for alone time without being found, what makes one think that Kirk and I can have a conversation let alone a complete thought without the background ambiance of nerf wars with machine gun fire or screaming in a single breath as to why so and so feels "wronged". I love my family. No matter how loud they get.

So for us Valentine's day is a visual display of true realistic love. The kind of love that you give and get unconditionally. The kind of love that sacrifices and endures. A love that forgives no matter what.

Our morning was kept busy sorting candy hearts. We read a book from Church that was about St. Valentine's life and how the whole valentine card came about. I appliqued the ladybug on Victoria's shirt. I had seen a similar shirt in a window at Gymboree and guessed that it would be way too expensive to even set foot in the store and look at the price tag so we made our own. It even has glittery spots. Oooh. This was delivered to our front door sent by Kirk's youngest brothers family, Josh, Jolie, Justin and Paige. We have never received anything like it and loved every bit of it. It was so cute and clever how the pineapple flowers were made. It tasted amazeing especially the chocolate covered strawberries. The kids were counting out the slices so everyone had a fair share. Don't tell, but I snuck a couple extra pieces when no one was looking. I couldn't resist, the melon was so juicy. What better way to enjoy life...through comfort food. Chicken pot pie can make any day awesome. Especially with store bought biscuits. I felt my family deserved something sweet too so we ate homemade brownies for dessert.

Kaleidoscope

2011-02-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

I found this really neat kaleidoscope project that took up a single piece of tag board here. The project used the kids names in both English and written in Arabic. We had Dad make us a perfectly accurate triangular template on the computer. Because you know, it has to be done right. We couldn't just use a ruler like the rest of the population. SO anyway, the kids added their name somewhere if they wanted to along with their design on one piece and copied it eight times. They got new markers for Christmas so this was a perfect project to display the array of beautiful colors. It was fun. Of course Daphne took the assignment to a higher level.I don't even think I would have come up with what she did. This was a great assignment because it was achieveable by all age levels. I even got to help. Coloring is very relaxing. I am sure that you can figure out who's who. The completed circle is 22 in across.

Happy birthday Jared!

2011-02-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

Jared is 15!!!

I love this picture of him.

It is hard sometimes to catch him

genuinely smiling.

I love it!

He is a really great kid. He is growing into a really nice young man. I can't wait to see who he becomes. When he was little his favorite thing to say was

"God don't make junk".

His favorite song that he would sing over and over again was... "stand on the rock, for the word of God" and he would stomp his foot down on the ground like he was stomping a rock.

He would laugh hysterically over a

"blue footed booby".

It just struck him funny and would end up making all of us laugh with him.

When he was a toddler in the church nursery he would step on the crawling babies backs and push them to the ground like little bugs to watch them get back up on all fours to crawl again. ( I didn't know about that one for quite a while. ) He pretty much made us unwelcome in a Mommy's group because he loved to make dirt clouds by scuffing his feet. I guess the other Mothers didn't like that their children getting dirty. I couldn't make him stop. He was deeply facinated by the rising dust in the air. I learned to tolerate dirt. Now he is a clean, responsible, dependable guy who people enjoy being around. He doesn't have a dust cloud hanging around him anymore but if something is going to fall off the counter or break I can guarantee you that he is pretty close by with that look of "how the heck did that happen...I wasn't even near it!"

Arctic Animals

2011-02-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

It started off that only Victoria was going to make little arctic animals with styrofoam balls and pipe cleaners. Then Kaleb came in to see what we were doing and he was inspired. Then Daphne came out to see what was going on so she sat down and made a snowy owl. Then Jared...was hungry so he stopped by on the way to the kitchen and was inspired as well by these little creatures. I think he made an arctic fox which Sammy later chewed to bits. Darn dog! I am always so happy when all four of my kids come together and share their time with eachother. It is hard sometimes to actually think up something that will interest the wide range of ages. I didn't even have to try. It just happened and I am so thankful that they had an opportunity to just be together. I loved sitting back and watching them work, chat and laugh. I was pretty pleased that all of them were engaged with a simple craft that brought them together.

Arctic Exploration

2011-02-16T19:03:00.000-08:00

I love Kindergarten.

Victoria has been learning about the Arctic and the difference

between the Arctic and Antarctica.
She did a lapbook on Polar Bears and read one of our all time favorite story

The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett.

It is pretty much the story of Goldilocks but with Polar Bears.

In her lapbook she made a comparison between the two books using a venn diagram.

We did an experiment using vegetable shortening where you coat a ziplock bag with it and then cover it with another bag. You then put your hand into the "blubber" bag and stick it into ice water to see how long you can tolerate the freezing water. It was worth seeing the look on her face when she discovered why arctic animals have a layer of blubber under their fur.

We had to put all of this left over styrofoam to good use so Jared helped Victoria build an Arctic habitat complete with a penguin slide and seal blow holes...or what ever you call them.

The Pizza Man

2011-02-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

A Victoria Creation.

Help Yourself

2011-01-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, what shall I do today? Printing?... Nah.

Phonics?...ummm uh uh.

Dot to Dot?... maybe.

Math?...Yeah.

Coloring?...okay.

Driving my brother insane?...Definately.

Happy Birthday Kaleb!

2011-01-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

Kaleb is 11 in the year 2011! How cool is that?! I remember being pregnant with him and people attempting to freak me out with the Y2K scare saying that I could be giving birth in the dark with no electricity. Obviously that didn't happen and we had a beautiful little boy. Well, he put in his order for a dragon cake that he saw on the Family Fun website. I had to work the day before so his big sister baked the cake for me to shape and frost. It turned out to be a really cute cake for a very special boy.

This could very well be THE only picture with Kaleb with his eyes open! Anytime anyone has tried to take his picture they always try to get him to smile with his eyes open. We never tried because from the time he was a tiny baby, his eyes squinted into cresent moons when he smiled or laughed.

This is the big sister tormenting her little brother. Those two are like oil and water in public. I know different. Behind the curtain of life they love eachother and are very much alike. They can't fool their Mama. Happy Birthday my smiley boy. Kaleb is as sweet as they get.

Snow Day

2011-01-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

The Headley Men

Flagstaff was hit with some awesome snow over the last week of Dec and the New Year.

We were in absolutely no mood to "ring" in the new year in any way but the thought of hanging out in the snow for a day sounded pretty fun.

Needless to say it was literally freezing. We didn't last very long.

I think our blood is a little thin living in Phoenix.

The snow was so powdery and sticky. It was really pretty.

Usually by the time we get to Flagstaff the snow is iced over.

Victoria and Kaleb were about the only ones who were really light enough to slide down the hill. It was still fun trying.

It was so peaceful getting away. I had a horrible headache when I started the day that went away being out side in the crisp air. Well, we had a great family day that I will cherish forever. The dogs had a blast. Sammy enjoyed getting into our well hidden lunch bag and helped himself to cheese and crackers. We even had a crate on top of it and he still made it in through a zipper and velcro! So he had a nice hearty snack before hitting the slopes doggy style.

Life hasn't been very fun lately but a day in the snow, freezing our toes off was definately stimulating. And from the looks of this next picture...pleasantly exhausting.

Giant Carrot

2011-01-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

Well, you can't really see the carrot in this picture with Kaleb...

We planted carrots in our little garden last summer and the carrots didn't really grow all that great for some reason. I think they got too hot and dried out too quickly to grow well. The zucchini did awesome but the carrots were lacking. Towards September when we realized that there really wasn't much hope in the carrots what so ever, Kaleb started pulling one here and there and gave it to our beloved bunny for a yummy snack. He always greeted Kaleb with excitement when he saw him walking up to him with a tasty orange carrot and greens. This particular carrot was like a skinny finger size when kaleb pulled it out so he stuck it back into the hole that he had just pulled it out of.

Well, he kind of forgot about it thinking that it was still too skinny. I sent him up in the back just before Christmas to clear out anything that can be pulled. He came down with this gigantic carrot! And it tasted pretty sweet too but decided to give it to Ben as a present. He was probably pretty satisfied after eating that carrot.

Lucky Bunny!

Christmas Day

2010-12-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

The first picture of Kim and I in YEARS....
and I took it myself.
All the Grandkids out of order. All the Grandkids in order...by ageAll the kids out of control!

It was hard to get them without someone blinking or looking the other way, or making a wierd face.

Pickles!

2010-12-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

Santa brought me Pickles!
Santa also brought a huge barrel of pretzels, kind of like the ones you get at Costco.

Sammy saw the pretzels and was staring at them through the container.

He started to slowly lick the outside of the container as if he would actually taste them through the plastic.

He cracks me up.

Nativity

2010-12-27T15:52:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite Christmas decoration.

Jared made this in Sunday School

when he was only 5.

For Jared to sit long enough and glue something was a huge deal. I think that is why I love it so much. And it goes along with his personality. You know, Mary glued to a 2x4... I will never forget him carrying them out the door in paper lunch sacks and handing them to me saying "here, these are for you". And off he ran. So Jared.

Christmas Cat

2010-12-27T15:38:00.000-08:00

Toby is a pretty cat...and huge. He looks a little dorky wearing a red ribbon.

Not too masculine.

But it made Daphne happy.

Atleast she didn't make him wear baby clothes like she did when they were little.

Our Children

2010-12-27T15:32:00.000-08:00

Everyone is dressed and ready for Christmas Eve service. I think that is what I love most about this time of year. The church services always sound prettier at night. Victoria and Kaleb were very involved in the Children's service with singing and being a reader. It was a noisy service and very packed. It was beautiful to see all of the parents bringing their little ones to partake with the service and just feel the Joy of Christmas ringing out. There were these two little toddler girls dancing in the aisle. It was sweet. And all the little kids dressed in their Christmas best. I have never seen so many beautiful dresses in one place. I think Victoria is determined to get our money's worth out of hers. On Christmas eve she had already worn it 4 times. It should fit her next year too.

I was very pleased to catch the two seconds of sweet faces before any shoving began.

Henry

2010-12-27T15:31:00.000-08:00

Awhhh...he actually looks cute.

Bad dog isn't supposed to be on the couch. Sneaky.

He is probably think that if he hides among the christmas pillows we won't see him.

Elf Interviews

2010-12-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

During the last week of school before Christmas I am always looking for something fun to do. So we did a creative writing project where they applied for Elf jobs in Santas Workshop. They had to write up a letter for an application, get a reference letter from someone and go through an interview. They actually took it seriously and really thought out which job they wanted to apply for and why. It was hilarious.

Jared's name was Bob Fish and he applied for Warehouse Supervisor and claimed that no child would see into Santas Workshop while he is on command. He could see all camera monitors at the same time. Past job experience was guarding nukes in Russia and working in Area 51, which he can't talk about.

Kaleb's name was Big Jim Hefty and he applied for Santas Personal Trainer. He claimed that since he could train athletes for the Olympics that he could get Santa slimmed down from a night of high cookie consumption.

Daphne's name was Lea Frost and she applied for Barn Assistant. Her experience of withstanding extreme temperatures and knowledge of reindeer would make her perfect for provinding healthy and dependable transportation for Santa on the big night.

Fall Has Arrived

2010-12-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

This is proof that Fall has finally arrived...the week of Christmas.

Hopefully Winter will find its way and give us atleast two days before Spring sprouts.

Learning to Ride a Two-Wheeler

2010-12-27T15:21:00.000-08:00

Last Spring Victoria was so close to riding a two-wheeler but then it got hot and who wants to run along side a bike in 110 degree heat. She has been speeding up and down the street on her bike with training wheels with them barely touching the ground so we took them off and headed to the park. And you can't learn to ride a bike without Daddy running along side holding onto your seat waiting for the right time to let go. She was getting a little tired here and was starting to crash a little too much. I think it may be time to quit. When Kaleb was learning, we came to the same park to practice where there was plenty of room to maneuver without hitting cars or trash barrels. He and I worked on it for quite a while and of course the only pole around he must have run into it atleast twice. The one day that Kirk took him to the park to practice, I was at work. I got a call at work from Kaleb to tell me that he did it. I wasn't there to see it! So the very next day we all went so he could show me what I missed and he rode his bike AND ran into the only pole around! Jared stole Kaleb's bike (which is actually Jared's old bike) and took off. The dogs would love nothing better than to break loose and run, run, run. The problem with that thought is that they probably wouldn't stop and have to go meet every person or dog they see.

Christmas Cookies!

2010-12-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

Daphne started making cookies while I was at work the other day which sparked a few others. You can't have Christmas without homemade cookies.

There was a time that I was all alone out in the kitchen baking away but now I have two daughters who are eager to help.

They do an excellent job.

More importantly, I have greatfully handed over the task and allowed for their own creativity in the kitchen.

The Nursery

2010-12-20T06:05:00.000-08:00

The Birthing Center where I work is closing permanently next month. I am not happy about it. Not only was it the perfect job to juggle with Homeschooling the kids but it was my perfect job to get away and take care of premies. So now I have to start all over and find a new job. One that is further away and is going to take more mental time. Blah, Blah, Blah!

Isn't this the sweetest little baby you ever saw?
I was once an adrenalin junkie taking the more difficult patients with the most machinery used to keep the child alive.
But now I just want to feed premies and newborns. And take care of the baby in C-sections and deliveries.
But now I and 99 other nurses have to leave and find jobs in an economy where there are shortages of jobs! UUGGGHHHH!
Well, God has a plan...right?

Dr. Jarman

2010-12-20T05:43:00.000-08:00

We have been seeing Dr. Jarman and his "girls" since I was pregnant with Victoria! He worked a miracle with Daphne's teeth and created and enhanced a beautiful smile. He knows he has job security when he looks at all of our kids. He even checks on the other kids to see how they are doing knowing that he is going to see us for a very long time. I always tease him that how come he doesn't drive his hummer to work or "how is that summer house coming along?". He insists that he isn't rich off of our money and that he doesn't have a summer home. Braces are so expensive and I am thankful for tax returns. And Jared's braces will be coming off very soon. Very exciting.

Dr. Jarman teases all the kids. He always asks Jared how his girlfriend is which gets Jared all frazzled because he doesn't have one. He teases Daphne extra. He usually flips her long hair back up over the chair and over her face when he finishes with her teeth. So she usually looks like Cousin It. It is pretty funny as she is digging herself out of her hair. They even share a birthday, Oct. 25th.

Winter Wonderland Festival

2010-12-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

It is that time again for Arizona's rendition of snow. Our friends had their winter festival at their church. Victoria and Hannah had fun sliding down a snow hill, jumping in a jumpy thing, pony rides and a petting zoo. Kaleb and his friend Zach hung out on the snow hill almost the entire time.

Hannah just walked up to this chicken and picked it up holding it out for Victoria to hold. She wasn't too sure if she wanted to hold it. These were the skinniest chickens I have ever felt. You could totally feel their breast bone through their feathers. They are skinny probably from getting a ton of exercise from little kids running after them trying to pick them up. The ducks kept huddling in this corner next to a pole thinking that they were hiding from all these little kids. The bunnies stayed in between the goats feet. They were all so tolerant. This is probably the only glimpse we had of Kaleb. He was off with his friend Zach all evening. These two are just down right crazy girls. Kelly and I found time to sit a moment when the girls were in line to get a balloon animal. We were both ready to go home and sleep. Our beds were calling us.

Cooking Club

2010-12-19T14:38:00.000-08:00

Only 3 were able to get together for December's Cooking Club this month. The girls baked chocolate peppermint cookies. They tasted really good. It is amazeing how loud little girls can be even when there are only three.

Tale of Despereaux

2010-12-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

Kaleb and I have been reading the Tale of Despereaux. Kaleb has a soft spot for mice and mouse stories. He was inspired to sew a mouse like Despereaux. So we found this pattern online for free. I just wish I could remember where I found it so we could give credit to it. He sewed this all by himself. He is getting pretty good at it.

Outdoor Games

2010-12-19T14:29:00.000-08:00

This gives new meaning to outdoor games.

In our house it means playing Horseopoly in the front yard on the coffee table.

I think what was really going on was the boys were supervising Victoria playing in the front yard with the two little kids a couple doors down.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

My Mom was feeling a little short around the kids at Thanksgiving.

She said either everyone was growing taller or she was shrinking.

It is probably a little bir of both.

Zeus

2010-12-13T05:49:00.001-08:00

This is my cousin Kathy's little dog Zeus.

He was trying to get these snowballs off his face by rubbing his face in snow.

It only made it worse.

He couldn't see and was doing the Stevie Wonder thing when he plays the piano.

The picture below...he had snowballs collected between his front legs

and was walking wierd.

Poor little guy. He still likes the snow though.

He is so cute and tiny.

WE WON!

2010-11-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

We are so excited! We won the Cake Pop book giveaway from The Giant Blog of Cooking, Crafting and Other Fun Activities. We can't wait for it to arrive in the mail! Stay tuned for some yummy pop treats.

A Giveaway from "The Giant Blog of Cooking, Crafting and Other Fun Activities"

2010-11-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

My cousin Kathy told me about this awesome giveaway,

This book from Bakerella

All you have to do is become a follower of

The Giant Blog of Cooking, Crafting and Other Fun Activities

here

Make sure you leave a comment at the end of the post

and share their blog on your blog, Facebook or Twitter.

If you mention that you heard about this from me we both get an extra entry into the drawing.

These sisters are celebrating their 100th post on their blog

and giving away the cute and fun book.

I would love to win it myself but if I were to I will definately share it with my cousin Kathy!

I have gotton quite a few awesome ideas from this blog for yummy treats to make. I can't wait to try a Taco Soup recipe that I just found on their blog.

So Check It Out!

Who's that Girl?!

2010-11-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

The Braces are off! Whoo Hoo! No more rubberbands! Hello Popcorn!

With a new smile, a million dollar smile (by my calculation if you add in broken brackets, an expander and gasoline) came a new look. She's not just a pretty girl. She is beautiful...as usual.

Look at those layers in her hair. Can you believe it?

This is a bag of loot that the orthodontist gave her with helium balloons attached to it.

All the yummy candy that has been on the "no-no" list for these

past 5 years.

No more cut up apples and

where's the corn on the cob?

Cute Book

2010-11-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

This is a very cute book that we borrowed from the Library. It is about a cow named Emmadine who felt like she hadn't done anything spectacular with her life that she could share with her Grandcows. So she signed up for an expedition to Antarctica with Admiral Byrd so she would have something to tell her Grandcows.

The funny part is her pig friend Georgetta knitted her an "uttermuff" to keep warm.

An "uttermuff".

I didn't know such a thing could exist until today.

It is definitely what every cow needs when they journey to Antarctica. Wouldn't want to freeze that milk now.

Rain!

2010-11-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

We had a treat after church on Sunday. Rain! In a matter of minutes Victoria planned out her next activity.

This is what happens when you live where the sun is perpetual. There are few opportunities to use

Hello Kitty rubber boots, a princess umbrella and a winter coat.