Eventful few months

Well, we have had an eventful few months. First, back on Nov. 20th, we flew half way across the world. Yup, the entire Stiber family and Grandma and Grandpa flew 14 hours to Sydney Australia for family vacation We were there until Dec. 2nd. So, this is the first year since I've been married that I missed black friday, and I think that is why I was so not into the Christmas spirit this year. Never again. From now on, Target will have me sleeping outside on Thanksgiving night!

Then once we got back, it was school event after school event. Noah had the Christmas Tree lighting for the city where his class sang, Ari and Aiden both had Christmas band concerts, and all three kids had plays. Plus, Jason had a dr. appt in San Diego again (looks like the new year will bring another knee surgery for him!) Then I was in charge of both Noah's and Ari's class Christmas parties, and helped with the others. And in the middle of that, Noah's birthday. I can't believe he is seven already! Growing up way too fast. Once school was out, I finally decided to finish my Christmas shopping and decorate. Then Christmas came and went. Now it is just fun and family time for another few days before the kids go back to school next Monday.

Oh, and in the middle of all the Christmas chaos, I took y test to get my tax license. So as soon as the kids go back to school. I will be working at my Dad's office a few days a week. Next year, once JBelle is in school all day, I will be able to put more hours in, but for now, I'll be working Tuesday mornings and all day on Friday, minus a few hour break to come home, see the kids and eat dinner with the family. (Jason has Fridays off the month of Jan and Feb, so he is on daddy duty!). Well, that is all for now. Hope everyone had a fun, safe, and Happy Christmas (that is what they say in Oz!)

Name this baby.....

Who is this baby? He isn't a baby anymore!

Going Private Tomorrow (Friday)

We will be making our blog private tomorrow morning. That is Friday, AKA NEW MOON DAY! So, please email me and let me know you want to read our blog so I can add you to our list. An invitation will be sent, so please accept it and feel free to come and see our blog!

Recipes

So, I have started to try new things....as far as food goes. And I am really liking it. I can't take credit for any of the following recipes, but I can tell you, I am a picky eater (I guess I can't say I WONDER WHERE MY BOYS GET IT FROM) and I LOVE ALL these recipes. So here goes:

Spicy Albondigas Soup (This tastes like La Casita's if you ask me!)

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients-

Meatballs:

2 lbs. ground beef

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup uncooked white rice

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Soup:

10 cups chicken broth

4 carrots, sliced

1/2 lg. onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes w/ green chile peppers

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (7 oz) can diced green chiles, drained

1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

4-5 Potatoes, diced (this is something I added to the recipe that I fond. It tastes better with potatoes!)

DIRECTIONS-

1. Combine all ingredients for meatballs in large bowl. Mix well.

2. Bring chicken broth to boil over medium heat in a large pot/kettle (I usually start this first, then mix the meatball stuff while it is heating up)

3. Form beef mixture into 1 inch meatballs, using about 1 1/2 tablespoons of meat per ball. Turn the heat down under the broth to a simmer and drop the meatballs into the broth. Simmer the meatballs in the broth for about 20 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through.

***I usually make the meatballs, then I start preparing the rest of the ingredients. By the time I'm done peeling and chopping and opening cans and measuring stuff out, the meatballs are usually cooked.

4. Stir in the carrots, onion, celery, canned diced tomatoes with green chiles, tomato sauce, canned chiles, cilantro, garlic powder, oregano, and cumin. Simmer the soup for an hour to cook the veggies and blend the favors. ***I usually like to cook it for more like 2 hours to let the veggies get nice and soft, especially the potatoes.

This soup is SO good. I usually can't stand celery, or onions, but in this soup, they all just taste like the soup! I make a big batch like this and then I have it for the next few days, unless people find out and come take it all!

This next recipe is from Elder VW's Mom.....THANKS! WE LOVE IT!!

Poppy Seed Chicken

2 cups of cooked diced chicken (I just boil boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then dice)

mix equal parts of Cream of Chicken Soup to Sour Cream (I use a family size can & lg. Sour Cream)

3 sleeves of Ritz Crackers, crushed (easiest way is to crush in the sleeves, then open)

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

1 cube of butter, melted

***Mix the crackers, poppy seeds, and butter together.

Layer in 9x13 pan: Chicken, the soup and sour cream mixture, top with cracker mix. Put in oven at 350 fr 30 minutes or until hot. Serve over white rice!

And Last, but certainly not least......

GERMAN PANCAKES (Elder Poulsen's Mom gave me this recipe!)

1 cube butter

Put in 9x13 pan and let melt in oven. (I usually put the butter in the pan and place in oven, turn on to pre-heat and while its heating up, it will melt the butter just perfectly!)

Preheat oven to 425.

In blender, blend the following while oven is heating (and butter is melting)

6 eggs

1 Cup Flour

1 Cup milk

1 teaspoon Salt

When oven is heated and butter is melted, take pan out. Pour in the ingredients from blender. Place bake in oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Pancakes will bubble up. you know its done when the batter pulls away from sides and butter is almost all gone off top (but not completely). Take out of oven and let sit for a few minutes. (It will start to fall a bit). Serve with whatever you like. Different members of our family like different stuff on it. Some of our favs are syrup (of course), Nutella *My personal favorite*, and strawberry jam (or preserves).

I hope you all enjoy. Leave me a comment letting me know if you try any of these and what you think. Otherwise, I won't bother posting any more recipes!

First Day of School

It's that time again. School time. And now I am proud to say I have four kids in school. Aiden is in fifth, Ari is in third, Noah is in second, and Jinelle is in Kinder. 


Ari all dressed....well, not quite. Shoes still need to be put on. but close enough....But still adorable! And smart!
Look at my big girl. And I was a good mommy and put hotpants under her dress so no little boys could see her panties! Isn't she just too cute. THE CUTEST KIDERKID!!!
Noah is getting big. He is the youngest, smartest, 2nd grader in all the district. And no, I'm not biased at all. Oh and he's the cutest 2nd grader too!
Aiden is so grown up. Now in fifth grade. Only one more year of elementary school for him after this year.

Jinelle wasn't even scared at all. She was the first student in and she was very happy. AND I DID NOT CRY!!! When we picked her up, she said she missed us.....but she missed her Daddy more cuz she hangs out with me all the time. (And then I almost cried!) 

Today, Jinelle informed me that she did not need me to walk her in and I could just drop her off, cuz she is big enough. I said no, its ok, I want to walk you in, and I did! 

Now I have a few hours each morning free to catch up on housework, run errands, and help in the classes. It is a nice break but I miss having my kids around. (But I will have LaLa a few days a week starting soon! YEAH!!!!)

Beach trip and OH MY Gosh. NOT ALREADY!!!

So, I know its a little late, but better late than never. A few weeks ago, we went to the beach with Jason's family. We had a blast. Here are a few pics from right before we left. I forgot to take pics all day until the end. SORRY! So, here are a few fun pics. Jason has this thing of burying our kids heads. Then he let them do it to him.
Above: Noah's head buried.

Above: Aiden with his head buried.

Above: Ari with her head buried.


Above: Jinelle with her head buried.Above: Jason with his head buried!


Now here's the OH MY GOSH NOT ALREADY part. We went to Ruby's on the Pier. (It's kinda my thing. I go and sit and everyone plays all day long and all I ask for is that I pick dinner. I love Ruby's and we don't have one near us, so this is my usual beach trip choice. Well, during dinner, this little boy kept staring at Jinelle. She was smiling back and being cute like she always is. Well, he came up to her and she stood up and said hi. (He was younger than her, probably about 3 1/2 if I'd have to guess. Well, next thing we know, HE TRIES TO KISS HER! He gets so close but she keeps backing up! He was going to kiss her. But she backed up and put her hands up! We all starting laughing so hard! It was funny. Desi was like, uh oh! Its starting! I just got a glimpse of the future and I didn't like it. No little boys kissin gmy baby for a LONG time!

Summer time

Well, I guess I have been slacking, but with good reason. I have been super busy with home stuff lately. And with the kids out for summer, I don't have much time to sit and blog. But in two weeks, all four of my little ones will be in school! That's right! I will be kid free for a few hours a day, minus the days I babysit Lala. I don't know what I will do wth my free time, but I will be enjoying it, that's for sure! I am looking forward to this school year. Noah is scheduled to be in a great teacher's class (Ari's teacher last year) and she is really excited to have him. She said she can't wait to have child that she is going to have to challenge all the time. (Noah is extremely bright and needs to be challenged. He has almost all his multiplication facts memorized and can read anything! Its amazing!) Jinelle is scheduled to go into the best Kindergarten Class in the UNIVERSE! All three of my older kids had Ms. Carr, and now Jinelle will have her. It does mean a little extra work for me, cuz Ms. carr is at the kids' old school. So two schools that both start at the same time is going to take some juggling, but luckily I have great friends who are willing to help to make it possible! Aiden is going to be in a great 5th grade class. I am excited but a little apprehensive about it. I have heard that his teacher's idea of GATE students means double the homework. But no fear....I will not let that happen. (My feeling: Don't punish my son with additional homework just cuz he is exceptionally bright! If anything, he should be getting less homework cuz he is ahead of the regular class! But like last year, I will take care of the problems as they come along. ) Ari is still up in the air. I am hoping (and praying) she gets a teacher that I am trying to get to come to our school from a different school. If she gets this specific teacher, I will be SO EXCITED! He is awesome! (and next year, Noah will have him if he is at our school! He's like Ms. Carr, I want all my kids to have him!) Her principal was hoping to have a pre-GATE class (they don't start GATE until 4th grade, but kids who show GATE qualities are put into a class together and it is pre-GATE) but with all the budget cuts, that can no longer happen. It would have been great, but Ari will be great anyways. Her teacher last year (Noah's new teacher) said are was her best student ever and that her life would be so easy if she had a class full of Ari's! Well, enough bragging.......ok.....there is never enough bragging when it comes to my own kids....but I'll stop......for now!!
So, Jason and I are doing great as well. Jason just went back to work a few weeks back after a four week vacation. It was so nice to have him home! We had a family reunion that we went to that was fun (besides the worrying about house stuff while I was away. When I was busy adn not thinking about house stuff, I had fun!) But after the week, I was ready to be done with the family and back to just us again. The plan is to have another family vacation/reunion in 2012 at Lake Havasu, but I don't think we will be going to that one, if it happens. If we do go, we will be staying at my parent's River House, not on a houseboat with 50 other people. I already called dibs on the house just in case! But we'll see if it even happens.
Well, I guess that is all for now. I will try to update this more often. Hope everyone else had a great summer as well!
PS If anyone has pics of my family from the past 2 years, please e-mail (or snail mail) them to me. I am really missing the pics we cannot replace and would like to hav e few from the past 2 years that I cannot replace. Especially from kids birthdays, holidays and Ari's baptism!

Move over kids, its teen time!

For those of you who know me, I have been in the Primary at church for the past ten years. Basically I got married, had Aiden and since then, I've been in Primary with the kids. Well, last week I was released from Primary. It was a happy and sad day for me. I loved being in Primary with my friends and I got to see my kids, but I also needed a break. I really did not enjoy my last calling so I wasn't heart broken about the calling....just the kids. But now I am the 16 & 17 year old Sunday School teacher. I have to admit, i was nervous at first. I have been with little kids for so long. But, thanks to advice from Haley, I came prepared with candy for bribery! Yeah, I know that candy is a good way to get kids to actually come to class. I really enjoyed it and I think the kids did too. It is kind of wierd though. I have a few kids that I taught in Primary 10 tens ago now. They are all great kids and I hope I can continue to teach them in a way that will helpall of us learn and grow. I will keep you updated on it as I go......1 week down and many more to go! Next week's lesson is Word of Wisdom, so food is a given!

Aiden

Aiden has been a bit more brave than normal. First of all, this past week we went to the Lake. While there, Aiden was all excited to kneeboard again. He insisted on being the first one out on the kneeboard on day one. By Monday (We were there from Friday to Monday) he was totally showing off. He kept being super silly on the kneeboard and he had a blast. He also skied for the first time this year and of course, was on the inflatables all the time. He is really starting to get braver in the water and loves to swim. Hopefully, when we go out with the Bodle's he'll learn how to wakeboard as well. Then in October, he gets to go get Scuba certified. He has already started his classes and as soon as he turns ten, he's off to Florida with Grandma and Grandpa to get certified! I'm so jealous! maybe someday I will go too!

Aiden is also extremely musically talented. He started playing the clarinet in late September. he quickly caught on and was asked to join the Advance Band in January. This usually happens after about a year of playing. Then, just a week later, he was asked to join the District All-Star band, which I blogged about before. He got to perform at Knotts Berry Farm and had a great time. Well, we went to his Final performance for the year on Thursday for his school. It was actually for the three elementary schools that are the closest, and it was actually a beginning band concert. But because Aiden is technically supposed to be in Beginning band, they invited him to join them. His band teacher asked about five kids that were in sixth grade and All-Star members to join the beginning band to help out. We are so super proud of him. He did great, including a solo that was really good. His teacher also had all the kids stand up and introduce the instruments together, but then he had just Aiden stand and said that he is the ONE FOURTH GRADE CLARINET PLAYER who was moved up to Advance and All-Star band and how proud he was of him. It is a huge accomplishment to be able to play that well. We are truly proud of our little fiery one. He only has two days left of school and then he'll be in the fifth grade. Wow! How time flies!

Aiden performed at Knott's

Aiden is very musically talented. He was asked to join the district All-Star Band in February. This is a huge accomplishment because he only began playing the clarinet in October. Usually it takes at least a year, sometimes longer, for the kids to move out of beginning band and up to Advanced and only about 50 in the entire district go onto All-Stars. But he is so gifted, they asked him to try out and he made it. On top of the four concerts they had at the schools, he got to perform at Knott's Berry Farm. We totally had the most people there. Some parents just sent their kids, some just the parents went, but we took a lot of peeps. Our entire family of six went, along with Grandma, Grandpa, Oma, Darryl, Alex, Desi and Manny (for a total of 13 people). We are so proud of Aiden's accomplishments and can't wait to go again next year and the next and the next! Here are a few pics from the day. If you get a chance, ask the kids about all the rides they went on! It was empty so we go tto go on a lot of rides. We even cheated a little and made wood wedges for Noah's shoes. He was 1/2 inch too short, so we helped him out a bit! Ari was the bravest. She went on everything she was able to. (She's 2 inches too short for Silver Bullet still!) She even went on Xcellerator two times and Supreme Scream!Noah in his own car
Ari with Alex...It's tradition. Alex has to ride this ride with one of my kids.....
Aiden and Jinelle
The always fun Air Mail ride! The kids love this silly little ride!
The kids with Snoopy!
Aiden up on stage performing. He was great!

Ari got Baptized!

I had the MOST wonderful Mother's Day present in the world. Ari got baptized! Mother's Day was her 8th birthday, so we baptized her on her actual birthday. She was super excited. We had a great day with tons of family and friends who came to show Ari how much they care about her. I know it was a sacrifice for a lot of people since it was Mother's day, but they gave it up to be there for her. After the baptism, we went back to our house for a yummy dinner! We had Poppy Seed Chicken. It was an all around great day! Here are a few pics from the special day!

Ari and Mommy
Daddy Kissing his little girl
Daddy and Ari
Elder VW, Ari, Elder Poulsen


Grandma, Ari, and GrandpaUncle Alex, Ari, Aunt Desi, and Aunt Steffi
Noah, Ari, Jinelle, and Aiden

My pretty little Princess
Morgan, Ari, Pam and EmmaOma, Ari, and Papa D....


Ari (blurry, sorry) with her Layer cakeClose up of the clake

Ari with Kasey's familyAri kissing her Uncle Matt
Ari with the Stokes Family.

There are about a hundred pics, but I don't want to bore you all, so this will have to do for now. If you want to see anything else, comment me or look at my face book. I put a bunch on there!

Kids are getting big

Well this week, Ari lost one but two top teeth! She lost one at home and one at school. She really was excited to lose one ay school cuz they give the kids a little treasure box to take it home in. Now today, Aiden wakes me up (the one morning I can sleep in) to tell me his top tooth is about to fall out. Well, it hasn't dallen out yet, but probably will today. He has been wiggling it like crazy. He can't let Ari beat him by two teeth for long. He has only lost three on bottom and one on top so far. And Ari has lost two on top and four on bottom. So, even when he loses his other top tooth, he is still behind Ari by one bottom tooth. And Noah, well Noah will be lucky to lose a tooth in the next few years. When we went to the dentist he said he had a lose tooth. The dentist told us he didn't have the heart to tell him that his roots are still pretty set and that it will most likely be a few years. Like his older brother, Noah probably won't lose a tooth until at least third grade! Once Aiden loses his tooth, I will post pics of both kids. But on to other things.....
Ari is gone today too. She went to Disneyland with her other family. Her 2nd mom and dad asked for their visitation rights to take her. (It's a big joke for those who don't know. Ari lives at Jessalyn's house any chance she can, so Derek and Heather are now her second mom and dad. At school this year, they told people that they were sisters and I'm supposed to be Jessa's second mom or something silly. So now Heather and Derek ask for visitations when jessa wants Ari over). Last night the two girls sang in the Ward Talent Show. They were really good. Ari loves to sing and thinks she will go on American Idol when she turns sixteen. She's almost half way there! On Mother's Day, Ari will turn eight! She is totally excited. She is going to be baptized that night at 5 pm. She just picked out her program stuff and we have her dress. All I need to get is some little things, and we'll be ready. She is having a party right after at our house for everyone who comes. We will have dinner and birthday cake. She also is having a party on this Friday for her friends. Pizza and a movie. Pretty simple I hope.
Aiden also performed in the Talent Show. He played his clarinet with a friend, Mikayla Tully. They were really good. They are in All-Star Band together at school. This is quite an accomplishment for Aiden. Usually, you hav eto play for a year or two before joining All-Star band, but after only 3 months, his teacher asked for him to try out and he made it. he is truly musically talented. he can play almost anything and can learn songs by reading music, so simply listneing to the song and then repeating it. He is excited because on May 8th, he gets to perform at Knott's Berry Farm. We are all going down there! We will take pics nad maybe a video to post if I can!
Noah is also doing well. He is the smartest little booger ever. That little boy is too smart for his own good. He has been telling his first grade class how to solve their math with Multiplication! It's easy, he says. (Multiplication is a third grade standard, but AIden showed him it once, and now he can do any problem in his little head). He is the same with reading. Put a book in front of him, and he will read it and tell you what he read. He comprehends easily and he reads extremely high levels. He also is super sporty. He just started soccer again. We put him in Spring socccer for something else to do Last week, he scored five goals. We;ll see if he tops it today. He loves to play sports and he's good at everything he tries.
Jinelle is excited that I signed her up for kindergarten next year. Every time we pass the school, se announces that that's her school. She is going to go back to the kids old school for a year, so she can have the same teacher the otehr three had for kindergarten. I figure, three kids left way above kinder level, with just one left, might as well not screw her up by having a different teacher! It's not like I have a life anyways. I can handle kids at two schools for a year. THen the following year, she'll transfer to Cypress. She is almost done with her letter recognition. She gets a little mixed up sometimes, but other times, she does it just fine. I think she is testing my patience more than I'm testing her knowledge!

Easter

We had a great Easter this year. We of course, had matching outfits for the kids. I happened to have a sweater the same color, so it worked out well.
Aiden got a finger snowboard and some books, as well as candy. Isn't he getting so grown up?!?!
Ari got a Jonas Brothers Tshirt and books, and CANDY. She is going to marry Kevin Jonas....
Noah got books, a finger snowboard, and CANDY!!! He looked so cute!
Jinelle got three tag book and CANDY! She loved her new dress and wants me to stop blogging and load her new books on her tag pen.

Easter was a lot of fun. We got up early, showered and went to church. Then right after church we went to my mom's so I could start the dinner.....but when we got over there, we noticed the keys were not in the car like I thought. Luckily, Jason got a window open and put Noah through a window and he opened the door. (Ari was freaking out thinking that the neighbors would think that we were robbers breaking in, but they know us, so it was kinda funny!) We started the YUMMY dinner, and left to change at home. We had Alex come take pics and then changed. We then picked up our missionaries.......Elder Van Wagoner and Elder Poulsen. (Elder VW is my future cousin-in-law! Not really, but we like to be hopeful!) They came back to my mom's with us and hung out until dinner was ready. Then we all had dinner. There was us, my parents, Grandma, Grandpa, Kasey and her fam, our Elders and my mom'e Elders (They called Elder VW and were jealous cuz they didn't have a dinner appt. so we told them they could come too.) We stayed for a while and then headed home, dropping of fthe elders on the way, and went to Oma's for a quick visit. Then we came home and went to bed. Overall, we had a great time!

Jason's Surprise Party

On Saturday, I gave Jason a Surprise party. I was so jazzed because he really didn't figure it out! I told him that we were going to my mom's to celebrate my Grandpa's birthday. This is the only way I could think of doing it without him figuring it out. (For those who don't know, Jason figures everything out. He figures out every present, every secret, EVERYTHING!) We did it two weeks early, so that threw him off. We had a great time with family and friends. But the best part of all was that he was actually surprised! It was great! Thanks to those who came and shared this special day with him. It's not every day that you get to turn 30! (My mom even found "Over the Hill" golf balls to decorate the cake with! Nice touch! One is already on display with Jason's collection of Golf Balls!)

Spring Break Week

Pre spring break, Ari and Aiden were in a school play. It was California Missions and More, a musical based on California History. Ari had a main part, she was Johnson, the director's assistant. She had a solo and was basically on the stage the entire play, minus one scene. She even got her own mic that was a headset one. Aiden was supposed to only play Joseph de'Galvez, the spanish visitor-general of mexico. He did this part, which he had a solo for, but then a boy dropped out a week before the play and Aiden took over his part of James Marshall which he also had a solo for. AND the boy playing Father Serra would not sing by himself and so Aiden sang with him as well, just off stage with a mic.
They both did great. They are looking forward to next year and being in Drama again. I, personally, think they were the best! I even have video to prove how well they did! maybe one day Jason will put it on the computer for me and I can youtube it or something.
NOW ON TO SPRING BREAK!
Well, we had a busy spring break week. Jason was also off, so we had tons of family time. On Saturday, we went to the park adn played. On Monday, We went to the Hesperia Zoo for a PRIVATE TOUR! (It so pays to be friends with the owners! We even got to go into the restricted wild animal section!) On Tuesday, Ari and Noah went snowboarding for the first time. They did great. Noah was crazy as usual and would point his board straight down and just take off down the mountain, while Jason was still trying to strap his own board on. Ari also did great, just a little more cautious. Aiden and Jinelle stayed home with me and we hung out at home and finished Aiden's Mission Scrapbook (which he got an 'A' on!).
Wednesday, the kids all had eye appts (Boys still have "eyes like eagles" and Ari's Left eye is still a little near sighted, just not enough to correct yet! Jinelle still has a few more letters to learn, or not mix up, before we take her in).
On Thursday, we went hiking and off-roading in my Suburban. Yes, I was scared, but it was fine. (We really need a car that is 4x4 before we go again!).
We even got pulled over by a NICE CHP officer. But no worries. No ticket! :) It was just due to Noah sitting too far forward in his seat and he was concerned for his safety.
On Friday, I took the kids to Build-A-Bear in the morning. Aiden made a black dog, Ari made a HSM Bear, Noah made a scruffy dog, and Jinelle made a Unicorn for herself and a Heart monkey for Emily's birthday (She already had a heart monkey and wanted Emily to have a matching one.). Then that night, we went to the drive-in to see Monsters Vs Aliens and Hotel For Dogs. We also, of course, stopped in at the Barstow Del Taco for Tacos! (If anyone is traveling on the 15 freeway through Barstow, you should stop at any of their Del Tacos. They ACTUALLY PUT MEAT AND CHEESE IN THE TACOS!!!) Then on Saturday, we went to Emily's Birthday party. Every day we seemed to have something to do. Kids had a blast, but we are all glad we are back to our everyday routines!
Once the kids returned to school, Jason took Jinelle up to the snow to learn to snowboard. She loved it. She was pretty good. We even got a few little videos of her snowboarding. Maybe next year we can take them again!

Haley is coming

I just found out that my cousin Haley is coming to stay with me for a week and a half. She lives in Oregon and is coming down to SUNNY California to soak up some sun and have some fun. She is seventeen and the kids love to play with her. We are excited to go pick her up and have her with us for a while.
On a side note, we are missing Jason. He is on a Man-get-a-way with a few friends. They are snowboarding in Mammoth for a few days. He's coming home in time for the kids play though, which is just around the corner.

Pay it Forward

Lucky you!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1 - I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (Though I may ask so questions during the process.
2 - What I create will be just for you.
3 - It'll be done this year (might take a little while).
4 - You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article (probably not because I really don't do those things but hey I might try :)
5 - I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Good luck!

Great Time

We had a great time in Vegas. The hotel was the best. I could have melted into the bed and to our surprise, we had a Jacuzzi tub. I guess that all rooms in the Trump have Jacuzzi Tubs. It was a nice surprise. We went and saw the Blue Man Group, and oh course, they didn't disappoint. Jason even bought us the painting that the Blue Men painted during the show. We went straight to the GiftShop and were able to buy the one and only one painted in our show. Then we took it out to the meet and greet and had them all "sign" it. The first one kissed it and put his face print on the back of the painting, and the other two thumb printed it. We also had the entire band sign it and date it for us on the back. We wanted one back in the day when we saw the first show, 9 years ago, but we didn't get it. So this time, we planned ahead. We also got stickers for our cars...so as soon as I get around to washing my car, I will be sporting a blue man group sticker on my window.
Oh, just in case you were wondering, no honeymoon baby this time....but we will keep trying!!!

Excited!!!!

I AM TOTALLY EXCITED!!! This Friday, I turn 29 years old,and then on Saturday, not only is it Valentine's Day, but our TENTH anniversary!! Yes, I said TENTH!!!! 10!!! A Decade!!!! I know. It seems like not that long, but it has been ten years since we said I do. Jason was going to surprise me and he took the entire week off of work, so we could go away, but then Jetta had puppies. Since it is way too cold to have them outside (It snowed again yesterday) the puppies and Jetta are living in the kids bathroom. Why does this matter in this posting. because, we can't leave the puppies to go away. Jetta has to be let out every few hours during the day. Then once we go to bed, she is good until morning. Well, so, anyhow....back to the anniversary. So, we can't go away as planned. I was bummed. I really REALLY wanted to go do something. (Maybe try for a "Honeymoon" baby since we never had a honeymoon ten years ago).
So, on Saturday, I was feeling sad, and I said to Jay, why can't we just go away for one night. Maybe Stephi will stay with the kids. Jetta and the puppies are a big prob. All she would have to do is put her out before she goes to bed and again in the morning. The rest, Aiden can do (Aiden's chore is to feed the dogs and he is quite good at it.). He said, ok, why didn't I think about that. Let's ask. So, we called Stephi and asked. She said she would check with Mike (her boyfriend) to make sure he didn't haev plans and get back to me. Not even ten minutes later, she called and said, ok, I can do it. I'll be up Friday after school. She gets out at 9:50 AM, so that means she will be here before noon. And the kids don't have school, so they are super excited to spend the day with her! All she asked is that we come home so they can go out on Saturday night. So, we were SO excited. Then, I called my Aunt Judi, who lives in Vegas, and she said she could get us tickets to see the Blue Man Group for half price. (We've seen them twice before and really enjoy their show!) SO NOW WE ARE SUPER EXCITED!
But wait, it gets better. So, we were planning on going up Friday when Stephi gets here, seeing the show, and then staying the night. Then in the morning, having breakfast and then head home. But then Desi and Manny came up this weekend and they offered to come over on Saturday and stay with the kids so Stephi could go with Mike and we can stay in Vegas longer. So now, we get to stay all day in Vegas if we want. We are staying at the Trump Hotel. It is a non-smoking, no casino, hotel. It is brand new, and all the reviews say that it is super quiet! (Probably from the no smoking, no casino! It is perfect for us!)
Then, I was thinking, awwww man, I won't get to go to my birthday dinner at North Woods Inn. We were supposed to go on Friday, but now we'll be in Vegas. But Jay said that when the kids get home from school on Thursday, we can go. So I get my birthday dinner a day early with my family, and then get to go away and have a fun, relaxing time with my hubby. I can't wait! It will be great! I will make sure I take my camera and post pics when we get back. I"M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!

Puppy Pics Updated

I just finished updating our puppy page. Follow the link under family and friends to their blogspot to see the new pics. They are now three weeks old and so dang adorable.

One Word

Type only ONE word answers

It's harder than you think!! Here is what you are supposed to do...and please don't spoil the fun...copy and paste into your own note, type in your answers and tag a bunch of people - including me.

Where is your cell phone.................... pocket
Your hair.......................................pony
Your father....................................working
Your favorite thing.............................Brownies!
Your dream last night.........................funky
Your favorite drink............................Rootbeer
Your dream/goal...............................Babies
The room you are in...........................Kitchen
Your fear.......................................infertility
Where do you want to be in 6 years........home
Muffins...........................................chocolate
One of your wish list items...................Baby
Where you grew up............................Hesperia
The last thing you did..........................Blogspot
What are you wearing.........................Clothing
Your TV..........................................SpongeBob
Your pets........................................Puppies!
Your computer..................................stupid
Your life..........................................busy
Your mood.......................................sick
Missing someone...............................no
Your car.........................................Suburban
Favorite store..................................Target
Your summer....................................Cruise
Your favorite color.............................Purple
When is the last time you laughed...........today
Last time you cried............................Saturday
Three people who email me..................Christina, Amy, Terri
Three of my favorite foods..................Brownies, Taquitos, MEAT
Three places I would rather be right now... Hawaii, Germany, Australia
Three people I think will respond........... Kasey, Jillian, Melanie

Extreme Makeover

We were lucky enough to be able to go out and volunteer at an Extreme Makeover Home Edition that is taking place in the High Desert. They are not only building the Alquist family a new home, but an Animal sanctuary and a Learning Center. The family runs Forever Wild, an animal rescue. We were helping in the VIP tent. Due to rain, they were behind schedule, so only those who were pros that had jobs to complete were allowed in the house, sancuary, and learning center. So, we helped where we were needed. Then they said, that due to the rain, the free Concert by Billy Ray Cyrus had to be moved, and they forgot to arrange food for the band. So, we all put our resources togetehr and somebody got Domingo's to donate food, but they couldn't deliver. SOOOOOO.....Kasey and I said, we'll do it!!!So, we pick up the food from Domingos.....and there was not enough, plus they wouldn't give us the tortillas to put their fajita mix in. So, we stopped at Staters and Kasey ran in and bought tortillas and salsa (which they also wouldn't give) and I ran into La Casita, the best Mexican Restaurant EVER! They made a call to their owner and said they could and would help us out. So, we headed over to Boulder Creek Ranch in Hesperia where the concert was taking place, with our VIP badges and EMHE shirts on, and delivered the food we had to them....we walk in and who is sitting there, playing his guitar... BILLY RAY CYRUS!!! Right there, like five feet away, smiling at us so we just jeep carrying in food and 150 bottles of water that my dad had donated. We finished bringing in all the stuff, then went to sit outside on the patio to wait for a call from La Casita. Then the owner came out and asked if we got to meet him. We said no, so he took us inside and introduced us. Billy shook our hands and thanked us for bringing him food. Then he signed our shirts and took a pic with us!
We hung out for a little and he was singing in the lodge while we waited. Then he left for a sound check. La Casita arrived and we helped them get all set up. We were going to leave before they got there, but the only driveway in was totally blocked with cars trying to get into the free concert.So we stayed. The La Casita ladies and men were super nice. They just got new shirts and gave me one. I love their food. I would eat there every day if I could! The pic above is the La Casita owner and one of their workers in the kitchen. Below is Billy Ray Cyrus' band enjoying the food. The guy in teh black shirt with curly hair with his back to the camera getting ready to take a bite is Miley's drummer. She wasn't there, but he was!
This is Stacey. He is Billy Ray's Drummer. HE was super nice. He was just sitting and talking to us and was so friendly. He was telling us who everyone is and just super nice.

This is The La Casita Girls with Stacey. They were super nice to come and provide food for the band at the last minute. So, we were just snapping away at pics and all of a sudden, a fireman runs in and says, everybody out, the building is on fire. The owner was like, no its just the fireplace. And he said, NO, everybody out. The building is really on fire. So we grab the little kids that were there (La Casita's kids and the owners grandkids) and everybody runs out. We are stnading there and the chimney is super smokey and sparks are coming out of it.

Next thing you see if fire spuing out the top of the chimney. The fire is in the attic and the chimney.They send us all to the tent where everyone who was waiting to see the concert was, then they evacuate us to the parking lot, in the rain.
The entire lodge, which was absolutely beautiful, was a total loss. I feel so sorry for the Hasting Family who own the place. They had this there out of the goodness of their hearts, and now their beautiful lodge is gone. It was so scary though. There was propane heaters all along the outside on the balcony and they started exploding. They had everyone else leave, but our car, along with about six others, was parked on the other side, right outside the burning lodge. So, we were stuck, out in the parking lot, in the rain and wind, freezing and worried. Then finally they got the fire lines all laid and they were able to take quads over and the security guys got our cars and brought them to us. We left, knowing that the poor family must be devastated. They were supposed to have the wrap=up party at tehir place tonight for the crew and the family. They are the nicest family. Now we'll see who steps up to help them rebuild! Hopefully EMHE and ABC won't drop the ball and will help out!