4th of July

(Yes, I'm aware that it is the 12th of July....Remember, we are pretending that this post was done on the 4th...Use your imagination people!)

Our Independence Day was wonderful. We started out the day at church and heard some great testimonies about the importance of the Freedom we have in this country. I love singing the patriotic songs and feeling the spirit bear witness of how utterly blessed I am to live in this country.

We then came home, ate lunch and put the kids down for naps. I got my food items ready and napped myself. I woke up and found Steven and the kids playing outside. Kim and Logan were taking turns playing Lassoball (AKA Red-neck Horseshoes) against Steven. I have to say the kids are getting better and better. Owen kept stealing the balls and running off. Notice the peach tree in the background, it was only hit once or twice....my garden wasn't so lucky.


Notice in the background (off to the right) the edge of my garden. The poor romaine lettuce and broccoli got the brunt of the attack, but held their own. Guess our players will need to perfect their aim some more.


Here is Logan between games and playing with his bucket. Probably off to dig up something from my garden. (I don't have to worry about too many little pests...just a couple 2 legged ones armed with shovels.)
Here is Mr. Happy Baby. Evan was content to sit on mommy's lap and laugh while everyone else played. Check out that grin. He is just so adorable and don't worry, we pinch those cheeks all the time. It is just too hard to resist.


After a yummy BBQ dinner (hot dogs for the kiddos and super yummy, marianted and grilled pork for mom and dad) we tried to get some pics of the kids in their Red, White and Blue shirts. Fortunately, I made red jello, so it blended into Owen's shirt and kinda fits the pattern of Logan's. Here are all four kids. Such a cute little, uncooperative bunch.


Here is Kim. She hates getting her picture taken...or at least she claims to.


Logan all posed with his fake grin with his flag. (Thanks to Michaels for our super cheap swords with fabric attached.)
Owen very proud to show off his flag. He didn't want to sit still and get his picture taken. He wanted to run around and hit stuff (and even people) with his flag.


Precious little Evan. He was the best one for his pictures. Just layed there and looked cute. Not too hard a job for such a wonderful little boy like him.

Sorry there aren't any pics of our super awesome (haha) firework display. First, we are mean parents and make our kids go to bed early. (We were going to let them stay up until 9, but they were super cranky from getting up at 6am and needed to get to bed.) Second, we lit off fireworks at 8:30pm while it was still pretty light outside. (Yep, it gets dark at 10pm here, because we are so far north. I consider it one of the few sucky things about living Idaho.) Third, I was way too lazy to go back inside and get the camera. I told Steven to, but he didn't feel like it either.

So there you have it. Lots of good food and games. Some fireworks for the kiddies. And some pondering on the Freedom that we are blessed enough to have. All in all, a wonderful holiday.

Oh, what a wonderful morning

Here was my morning...

Owen woke up yelling to be let out of his room at 5:50am. (He can't open the door, so we just shut it to at night to prevent midnight wandering and early morning destruction.) Steven, my wonderful husband, go up and told him to go back to sleep (I'm sure much more lovingly then I would have seeing as I was up at 4:30 with Evan).
Logan comes out of Evan's room (we are trying a trial separation of the older two to see if more sleep ensues, not working so far) while Steven is coming back into the room. Steven tells him to go back to bed.
Steven gets ready for work and comes to wake me up at 6:15am. (I have requested this torture so I have time to exercise and shower before the boys get up...yes, you can laugh at me now.)

I drag myself out of bed, put on my workout clothes and start my Yoga Booty Ballet DVD.
Yes, I love it. (And ballet is awesome exercise. Got me down to a size 4 in 2003. But that could also be partially attributed to also working 2 full time jobs, going to school part time and being a single mom.)

Back to my story...so at 6:27, Logan (pretending to be sleepy eyed like he just woke up) comes into my room. I have to stop my DVD and tell him it is too early to be up and to go back to bed. To which he replies, there isn't a clock in Evan's room (he is suppost to stay in his room until 7am). To which I reply that I will come and get him when it is time to get up.
Restart my DVD, finish my workout and go shower. Glance at the clock, see it is only 6:45 and decide to fold laundry that has been sitting in a basket in my room since Friday.

While folding laundry (and loving it...yes, I'm weird, but it's like meditation....just like pulling weeds from my garden is...no, I'm not being sarcastic, I really do like both of those chores, just ask my husband...I was pulling weeds in the rain last night. I finally came in when the lightning and thunder were striking pretty close to the house.) Sorry for the tangent, back to....While folding laundry, Logan comes into my room again. I look at the clock 6:55...I tell him he still has 10 minutes (hey, I wanted to finish with laundry and make my bed while I was at it) and to go back.
To which he responds with, "I'm just really sad that dad had to go to work."

Me: "That is sad, but you need to GO BACK TO BED. I will get you when it is 7."
He groans and slams the door shut. Luckily, he didn't wake up Evan.

I finish the laundry and get it in the basket to put away when Owen is awake. I go to make the bed and remember that Evan peed out of his diaper (on daddy's watch, while I was pulling weeds) on my duvet and it needs to be washed. So I take the comforter out of the duvet and take it into the laundry room to wash.

While I'm getting the machine ready for a load (Evan's clothes to be precise...baby clothes to fold today....sigh) Logan comes out AGAIN. I call him into the laundry room and we have a talk about him listening to mommy. Goes something like this:
Me: Logan, what did mommy tell you?

L: To go back to bed.

Me: So why are you out of bed?

L: Because there isn't a clock in Evan's room.
Me: I know there isn't, that is why I told you that I would come get you at 7.

L: But I don't know what time it is.

Me: I know you don't. Daddy is getting a clock today for you. But you need to listen to mommy when she tells you something.

L: But I did listen to you.
Me: No, you didn't. Mommy told you to go back to sleep and you have come out of the room 2 times since then. And Daddy even told you earlier to go back to sleep and you didn't listen.

L: But I'm just sad that daddy had to go to work today.

Me: I know you are sad, but you still need to listen to mommy. Remember what Jesus tells us...to listen to your mommy and daddy. Don't you want to be like Jesus?

L: Yes. I will listen to you tomorrow.
Me: (Ever so doubtful, but knowing that husband is picking up alarm clock today) I'm sure you will. I love you, Logan. You know that right?

L: Yes. I love you too, mommy.

I know you are judging me for playing the Jesus card. But sometimes you gotta make a kid think. And since he really is "Trying to be like Jesus" as his favorite bedtime song goes, a woman's gotta to do, what a woman's gotta do......
PS. Neelie, 1 down...2 more to go. Get ready!

Logan's 4th Birthday

My little man turned 4! That time has gone way too fast! He is learning and growing everyday!

Jumping! One of his favorite activities. He jumps off everything...his bed, the couch, the stairs...you name it, he will probably jump off it.

So for Logan's Birthday, Nikki decided they wanted to do something different. They wanted to take Logan out to eat for his birthday and then over to the dollar store to pick out a present. Awesome idea...Logan loved it. Monday night, they went to....


And of course, at the INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES, Logan ordered a hamburger. He gobbled down the whole thing. At the dollar store, he was a bit like his mother, indecisive. I guess he went through a huge list of items he wanted (including, but not limited to a spiderman ball, flowers and rubber snake) before settling on 2 Word World books. (That is one of his favorite shows. And he can read both of them all by himself.)

When they came back, we had some cake and sang happy birthday. Check out the awesome cake (Baked by mommy and decorated by daddy.) and the huge, cheesy grin on his face. Notice Katelyn standing on the chair in the background. (Just wanted to point out it was Katelyn and that I don't in fact dress Owen in girl's clothing.)

After cake it was off to bed.

Tuesday, June 15th, the real celebration was to commence.
Logan got to wear his "Birthday Boy, Baseball" shirt that I found on the Kohl's clearance rack 2 days previously...man I'm awesome. We basically bummed around the house all day waiting for daddy to get home. We let Logan decide where he wanted to go out to eat. (Tradition in our family, the birthday person gets to decide.) Where did we go you ask...

Which worked out pretty good since Tuesday is 1/2 price happy meals. This dinner was good for our budget. And pretty yummy. (Yes, I did work at McD's for a few years and will still eat there. I think I'm addicted to their burgers and nuggets.)

Logan got to play in the playplace for a while and then he played some fooseball and air hockey with dad and it was time to come home. We had some leftover cake and then opened presents.

Just some of the haul!

Very happy about showing me the money. (Also a great present idea.)

Daddy and Evan watching Logan read a card. (Yes, he reads. And rather well.)

Owen wanting his pic taken as Logan opens presents.

Excited for his new Darth Vader Light Saber.
(He is obessed with Star Wars. Want to be "Luke Skywalker, Jedi" for Halloween.)

Checking out the PJ's and Soap kit from the Birds.

(And yes, he wore those PJs to bed that night.)Such a great day for the Birthday Boy! Thanks for all the presents! He was excited about each and every one. And thanks for all those rolling in...

PS. Grandma Andersen...we have watched "Pistachio" many, many times. I think it was definitely worth the money you spent on it.

Evan's Blessing

Here is the sweet little man in his precious tux that Grandma Andersen made for him. Also a shout out to Andrea (my wonderful florist neighbor) for his adorable boutonniere.


Evan's blessing went well. Steven's mom, Rena, flew up for the occasion and to visit the family on Memorial Day. Oh, it was nice to have a ready-made and willing babysitter in the house. I was able to get some much needed projects and cleaning done. Not to mention the older 2 boys loved spending the afternoon across the street at the park with Grandma. (On the 2 days it wasn't raining or cloudy while she was here.) Here she is pictured on the left. My parents on the right. (If you don't know the two people in the middle...who are you and why are you reading my blog? No really...I would like to know.)


My parents and little brother came out the Friday night before the blessing and left the Monday after so we were able to hang out all day Saturday and Sunday. As tradition goes, Dad took us all out for dinner to celebrate Nikki, Brian and Logan's birthdays. After much deliberation we decided to go to:

I don't think anyone was disappointed with the choice. If you have never been to Cracker Barrel you are missing out. They have good, down-home, Grandma-cooking-with-lard food. Mom bought Logan and Kim the peg games they have at the store. Kim enjoys playing the game. Logan and Owen like putting the pegs in and pulling them out. (Owen also got a little dinosaur. Once he figured out how it works he was delighted to watch it go and growl at it.)

Sunday morning we all made it to church early. I even had time to set up the Primary room and get things organized because I was conducting. In typical Steven fashion, the blessing was short and sweet. We came home from church. Talked, played and ate the day away. Luckily, Mom and Dad were able to stay until the next morning and we were able to talk into the evening before they headed over to the Richardson's house for some sleep.

Here are the men that were in the circle. (Uncle Brian, Daddy, Evan of course, and Grandpa Andersen. Not pictured, Bishop Reynolds.) What a nice looking bunch of men. Thanks for being worthy and willing to help with the blessing.

Here is our family....Once again....getting a good pic of 6 people is way to hard. We will need to see a professional soon. And yes, I did plan that everyone would match, but not too matchy. And thank you Steven for changing your tie...(The one he originally had on didn't match. I had to whine a bit, but he finally broke down. Perhaps because I suggested I would change it for him, but more likely because Kim picked a dress that matched and he didn't want to be the lone man out.)

Here are my parents with 2/3 of their grandchildren. All 4 of my kids and Nikki's 2. Just missing Melissa's 2. Don't worry...we will get one of those this summer in Cali.


And last, but not least, my cute little brother holding his newest nephew. Aren't they adorable!?! (Girls, he is only 16 and needs to serve a mission, then I can give you his number.)

All in all, there was lots of fun, good food and lots of family. Can't wait to get together again and see all those Cali's we missed.....Melissa and Co, Sharon and Crystal.

Hole in the Wall

(We are all pretending that I posted this May 21st when it happened.)
Sometimes things just don't go as you would like.
It was a typical Friday...I was doing laundry.

(Keep in mind my laundry room is upstairs and I have to go up and down to switch over every load. At least all my bedrooms are upstairs so the only thing that needs to be carried back down are dish towels and such.)

I was sitting on the couch and all of a sudden out of no-where my Living Christ picture falls off the wall...
I think, Weird, but it is hanging on the wall below the laundry room and maybe the banging around up there just knocked it off. I was feeding the baby and not too concerned so I left it alone.

A few minutes later, I hear this weird gurgling sound. I get a little worried because I have a horrible fear of my washing machine breaking and flooding my house. (Remember the whole Thanksgiving flooding and hence reflooring upstairs episode? I think my fears are a little founded.)
I immediately turn around and see water squirting out of the wall where my picture had previously hung. AHHHHHHH! My mind is a little fuzzy here...somehow the baby was not thrown and my exposed parts were probably covered :) as I flew to the wall to investigate.
THERE IS WATER LEAKING OUT OF MY WALL. (Okay...maybe not as bad as the above pic....but still. ) I freak out. Hanging above my Living Christ picture is the beloved Christ cross-stitch. I immediatly pull it off the wall, knowing someone will die if it is ruined. I grab a chair and start inspecting the ceiling. Not wet...I run up the stairs to see if my machine has overflowed or the drain pipe has come out of the wall. Nothing looks amiss or wet upstairs...WHAT THE HECK!

I run back downstairs and look in the hole. There is water still coming out so I dab at it with a dishtowel. At least it isn't a steady stream of water. But where is it coming from. I grab my phone and call him with the excellent new that we have a water leak. While talking to my husband, I grab a box cutter and start extracting drywall...which at this time is wet.

Finally I find the problem. While drilling the hole to hang up my Living Christ pic, my husband drilled through the return water pipe for my washing machine. Luckily, my last load of laundry was finishing draining, so I just stuck my dishtowel over the hole and kept water from coming out.

When Steven comes home, he makes the hole bigger and we discover that since I was present and minimized the flow of water, it didn't get into the insulation and we only need to replace a section of the drywall. Since it was a return pipe and not pressurized, we were able to seal it with silicone gel and duck tape (the recommendation of the plumbing guy from Home Depot).
My question...who the heck puts a pipe in the middle of a freaking wall? Hello, CBH...you are idiots. Ever think someone might want to hang a pic in the middle of their wall and not hit a water pipe...I blame a man for this!!! (No, not my hubby. He was simply hanging the pic where instructed. I blame some idiot who plumbed my home and didn't think all the way through it.) Seriously, look at this pic...the pipe in the middle of the wall...what the heck!?!
But due to the fact that my family would be coming in town for Evan's blessing shortly and our to-do was already super long we weren't able to fix the hole. Instead we decided to go the white-trash route and hang a pic over it. What goes with my Christ cross-stitch? Our Article of Faith poster. Which is still hanging there to date... it's still on the to-do list.

Missing out on what is going on....

Things have been well at the Ray household, just the craziness that goes on with 6 people in a household....I frequently find myself writing blogs in my head about something I have been pondering on or something that has happened, but I just can't find the time to get on and post it or I don't have the pics I want to use on my netbook so I don't post...then I wonder, should I still post the blog even though it's like 2 weeks past due? Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't...So here is what my crazy life missed...pretend that these next few posts were done when they should have been...

Too much to do....

My parents are coming into town this weekend for Evan's blessing. As a result, I have a to-do list a mile long that I would like to accomplish before they arrive. What to hear it? Even if you don't, here goes:

• Finish mother's/father's day present.
• Finish Birdhouse cross-stitch.
• Paint 6 sports canvas' to hang in boy's room.
• Paint Kim's room.
• Birth announcements (come on...he's 1 month old)
• Clean house.
• Clean garage.
• Put up huge pile of clothes accumulating in my kitchen.
• Weed garden and plant onions.
• Weed flowerbeds and plant mother's day flowers.
• Those are just the one's off the top of my head...the actual list is downstairs and grows every day...
  

Okay, not all of these need to be done by the time they come, but since I don't know the next time they will come out I wanted some of the decorating done. Plus, I NEED to have my house clean when my mom shows up. I know she doesn't care if it is messy or not, but I require it. Just like my mom sends herself into a cleaning rampage every time we come out to visit. I think it is a disease that I inherited. I can live with it, but I think it may just kill my husband and I grow his to-do list for him. (Love you sweetie!)

Better stop blogging and get to work.