Updates, updates...

Yes, yes I am aware that I haven't posted a blog in like 2 months...well, I'm a busy woman. Here is what I've been doing....

**Got a shed installed in the backyard. Hallelujah! It's 8 feet by 10 feet and has plenty of room. As I started moving lots of thing from the garage and rattled off a list of items to soon be moved out there my loving husband said, "So basically you wanted a second garage?" Well duh! Who doesn't? Here is the view from my back door....

Here is the view of the inside....notice how unfilled it is. I'm working on that....

***Once the shed was up, it was time to organize the garage...still working on that, but it looks much better than before. The main reason for orgainizing the garage (aside from the fact that I am crazy anal like that) was to get the Christmas decorations out from under the stairs so I would have a home for my food storage.

**Ta-Da! I finally made it over to the cannery and got some food storage. Don't get too excited. I didn't actually can anything by myself (that will come later) I just picked up 18 of the starter kits. I'm now well on my way toward a year supply....

Here are the lovely boxes (with the contents totally rearranged into their appropriate food groups and relabeled, 'cause that's how I roll) under the stairs....

I tell you, it is the greatest feeling to have all that food, what exactly I'll do with it I'm not quite sure, but there is time to figure that all out later.

***On to the next item of busy business. A couple weeks ago, I purchased 80 lbs of chicken breasts because it was $1.49 a lb. So I stood at my kitchen island from 10am to 2pm cutting up chicken. We freezer packed half of it and the other 40 lbs I canned....yep, you read that right....I CANNED CHICKEN! We ended up with 38 pint jars. It is so wonderful! And it was so easy! I vowed will buy an extra box of chicken every time and can it.

Here is a pic of the shelf in the back of the closet with my chicken....the bottom 3 boxes and 1 lonely jar that didn't fit. Maybe I'll make soup with him so he isn't so lonely.

Those of you who are super observant may have noticed another box above the chicken in the previous pic. That would be the 13 quarts of grape juice I canned. (Thanks Melissa for the grapes, you're great!) That was another 2 days of work.

Plus I've been working Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings from 9am-12pm. This last month, I decided to cut back on my hours and will only be working Tuesday and Friday mornings, occasionally filling in where needed. Work is going good. I have 7-10 kids on Tuesdays and 13-17 on Fridays. So basically I get paid to be with my kids, let them socialize with other kids, play with toys I didn't have to buy or store, and watch 3 hours of the Disney channel (we don't have cable, so that is a treat.) all to make a few extra bucks...nice gig, eh?

But what keeps me the busiest are little people like this....

Sometimes, this child is wears me out! The teenage years (even though she is only 12 1/2) are in full swing. The sassing is at full-tilt! The room is a mess! And it's a miracle if she get laundry from the dryer into the drawers without drama! But she also is becoming quite the great helper with the boys and is quite anxious to cook....nice for me! She is loving mutual and is becoming a great little flute player.

This little man finally started Kindergarten (he'd been waiting for like 2 years waiting for all the other kids to catch up). That is his pic from the 1st day of school. Since we put him into a special magnet school, we have to provide his transportation. I have to take him the 8 miles out to school each day, but luckily we carpool home with 2 families from the ward and I only have to pick up Monday afternoons and every other Wednesday. It's not too bad, it just breaks up the day so it's hard to get much done. But he is loving school, especially engineering and library. His teacher is awesome! He is testing amazing and no surprise here, but his reading is so advanced she gave up on all the Kindergarten lessons and got books from the 1st grade teacher for him to read while the other kids are doing their lessons. He is such a smart little kid!


Don't let that adorable grin fool you...this boy is a beast! I took this picture the other morning when I came downstairs and noticed he found the markers. He is into EVERYTHING and keeps me on my toes. He misses his best, best friend (Logan) while he is at school, but makes up for it by playing with his best friend, the next door neighbor boy, as often as he can. There is nothing this child will not climb, nothing he will not color on and no key he will not try to unlock the movie cabinet! But he probably gives the best hugs and has the greatest smile ever!


Sweet baby Ray turned 18 months old! He is officially in Nursery. Lucky for us, his teacher is my best friend so he loves going, even though he has fallen asleep both weeks he has been in there. Owen is trying to pull him over to the dark and bad decision making side, while I struggle to get him to be all sweet and lovey. He also is getting into everything, especially the pantry! Currently we are dealing with separation anxiety, so I can't go anywhere without him...my treadmill and the gym is starting to miss me. When all 4 of his molars finally break through (yep, all 4 at once) perhaps life will return to normal.

As for me, I was released from Nursery (the week before Baby started) and became the Relief Society Meeting Coordinator (aka the person who plans enrichment). Got any good ideas, I would love to hear them!

I should probably stop there and get to sleep. Tomorrow I'm off to can applesauce and Friday we will do apple pie filling...Wish me luck.

Home Improvements

This post has been long delayed, sorry my life is just busy. (Yes, mom...I'm finally posting it.)

So, for those of you who didn't know, by husband took all the kids and traveled to Arizona for almost 2 weeks and left me home alone. Oh, it was wonderful! I decided since I wouldn't need to clean the house a million times a day, cook numerous meals and change diapers that I would have the time and energy to do some projects. Not to mention that with little people out of the house, I could delve into the projects that wouldn't fare well with them here.

So about a week before my husband left, I sat down and made a list of all the things I wanted to get done while they were gone....it was a sheet of college ruled paper filled front and back. I didn't get all of my projects done (partly because he came home a day early and partly because I had started the House of Night series and couldn't put it down.) but I got the most important ones accomplished.

I took "before" pics, but to be honest, I have no idea where they went. I'm thinking my husband transfered them onto the main computer and erased the memory card. So sorry, you get no "before" pics. Maybe one day I will find them and post them, but by then you won't care. Plus my whole house was painted with a color I loving call "Oatmeal" just imagine all the now colorful walls to be uncolorful...

First and foremost....the Living Room needed color. My loving "interior decorator" and neighbor Andrea and I spend many a day conversing about the painting of the room and selecting the perfect color. We decided again a maroon color fearing the room would look too busy. Blue was obviously out because of the couches, so we settled on a nice "Milk Chocolatey Brown." Once I got the room painted, I enlisted Brian, my BIL, to put his handyman skills to work. We put together this beadboard and molding frame-thing. Then I hung my family pics on it....still working on what is going in those dead spaces, but it looks good. Notice the adorable red and white pillow my mother sewed while she was here. I also spray painted my curtain rod white and got new maroon curtains. (and yes, spray paint is now my new BFF). I need to finish a tray for the coffee table, get pics in the photo album and figure out what I'm putting on the end table.

Here is a shot of the "peninsula". I painted the arch over and the wall beneath. And left the columns that "oatmeal" color. Ignore all that stuff on the the peninsula...school just started and I'm working crazy hours so I haven't got to cleaning.

A shot of the walkway arch which also got painted.

The kitchen. Here is my new buffet. I still need to paint it black and get some hardware to replace that ugly 80's gold junk. There is my wall art I ingeniously assembled from stuff around the house. They are still a work in progress...I've got ribbons and pins and word-art to add. I forgot to get a shot of the awesome damask curtains mom and I did. (And I'm to lazy to get up and do it...another post when I finish the kitchen.) Now I just need to stencil the walls, add a few pops of color, and finish the tray for the island. Oh, the vinyl says "Holding you, I hold everything." My kids sure make that saying true.

Ah, the laundry room.
I figure I spend enough time in here that I should liven it up. I decided on a lilac-y purple. Mom sewed the curtains. I made some wall hanging with inspiring quotes for this wall.

The wall hangings on this wall say "Believe," "Hope," and "Endure". I've got a friend who is going to cut vinyl that says "All things" to hang underneath. I also have her cutting "Loads of Love" to hang above my washer and dryer. (Ignore all the junk on the counter...that's on the to-do list.)

Here is the kid's bathroom. Painted a nice minty green. I totally love it!

Here is the other wall of the bathroom. Notice how the pics pop off the wall.


Ah, the family room and the surprise purchase. While Brian and I were trying to move my old entertainment center (the one I hated, BTW), he commented that it probably would not survive. At that point I decided to ask forgiveness instead of permission and get something else. Along came my "$35-delivered-to-my-house thrift store find," a nice little dresser. Sure it needs new hardware and a little TLC, but at that price it doesn't get much better. Also notice my new painting. For my birthday, Steven got me this lovely picture of the Savior. "Gentle Healer" I believe it is called. I'm just trying to find the perfect accent pieces to go on the sides. But I'm in no hurry....

So there you go. Lots of fun, messy, time consuming projects out of the way. Now there are just some little things here and there to do. Slowly, yet surely. But I'm certainly loving the way things are coming together.

And sorry that the pics suck, but it gives you a small idea how things turned out....You know if you really hate the picture quality you could just pop in for a visit and I'll gladly give you a tour.

Wedding Pics

I know it's been a while since I promised wedding pics. I've been busy/working/lazy/sick. I had some great memories looking through our pics. It was such a wonderful day...I wish I remembered it with more detail. I just remember the warm, glowy feeling it gave (and still does give) me....Here they are enjoy!

This one is my all time favorite. It was one of the first ones taken and I could have been perfectly happy stopping here....plus then I wouldn't have gotten all sunburnt.
My sexy hubby. Doesn't he look all GQ?

Here I am in my dress. 6 years, 3 kids and 20 lbs ago...
Since watching Say yes to the dress, I wish I could wear it again. Semi-unfortunately it is now professionally cleaned and preserved in a box I can look at it, but not wear it. I told Steven I might just have to buy one at a thrift store for those occasional urges. I'm a dork...oh well.


The fountain and lush landscaping at the Oakland temple. Check out those clouds....it was sprinkling on the way to the temple and I almost started crying, but the weather was perfect...not a drop while we were there.


Check out all that beautiful landscaping and the temple in the background...this is the opposite side of the temple grounds from the last pic.

I remember saying to Steven about this point, "Think we will be done soon? My face is getting tired from all this smiling..." Standing on one of the bridges...Those palm trees look awesome at Christmas all decked out with lights.

The wedding cake. My mom and grandma made this fondant creation...their very first one. I know you can't see it too well, it has our initials "SRT" and little hearts. Don't tell my mom I told you this, but there were only 2 pics taken of the cake, this one and one of us cutting it...because the layers shifted in driving it over to the church and my mom and grandma touched it up and said to the photographer to take a picture only from this view so you couldn't see the leaning or cracks in the fondant. (Oh, dang...my mom reads this blog....Mom the cake looked perfect! Promise! I was/am totally thrilled with how it turned out!)

Okay, you talked me into it...Here is the other pic. Notice the slight leaning...To be perfectly honest, I didn't notice a thing was wrong until someone told me. And it didn't look bad at all...the master cakemakers covered it up perfectly.

Our first dance.


My lovely flowers. Rory, a lady in my family's ward does flowers....like gorgeous arrangements and on a budget. She is a miracle worker. This was my temple/tossing bouquet.


A couple in black and white. Check out the view of Oakland in the background. This one is from the observation deck of the temple.

Ah, kissing...I really like this one too.


The wedding party...My bro-in-law Matt, Steven's brothers Adam, David and Aaron, my best friends Jacosa and Jessica, and my sisters Nicole and Melissa...Once again, check out those awesome flowers. And yes I know I'm sitting weird...I had a corset on and had to remain fairly straight up. The thing that kills me is how young everyone looks...


I hope you enjoyed that little trip down memory lane with me.

THE END.

Slacker

It's been a while since I've posted...I'm such a slacker and rather busy. So catch up is in order. What has happened since I last posted....(Warning. This post is kinda long...)

**Kim went to Girl's Camp from June 14th - 17th and had a blast. It was stake camp this year. The theme was testimonies. She said that she had lots of fun. No pics, because she was so NOT taking my digital camera. We sent along a point-and-shoot camera. One day the pics will get developed.

**On the 15th, Logan celebrated his 5th birthday. It is amazing how the time is just flying by. He will be starting Kindergarten in August and I can't believe it. He is so ready! My 1st born boy is just so amazing to me. He is genuinely a happy kid. Doesn't this pic just say it all...


Isn't that cheesy grin to die for. Every time I tell him to smile, I get that. He is so eager about everything in life. He is so eager to learn. He has been reading and spelling for a couple years now. He is learning his math facts and putting using them in practical applications. For his birthday, he got 5 one dollar bills from the Birds. (To which he commented, "Mom, I think Melissa sent me $5 because I turned 5 today.") He counted each as he folded it and put it in his new piggy bank (Also from the Birds.) He got some more money from Grandma Ray and quickly added the two sums together to announce his grand total. He loves to dance. He loves to laugh. He loves to sort laundry. He loves to read. He loves to cuddle up on my lap and snuggle with me. He loves to make up songs and stories. He walks around the house with the mini-Children's Songbook singing Primary songs for hours on end. He loves the computer, especially the educational games. I don't know if that child will ever get tired of learning...such a wonderful blessing.

Here he is cheesing for the camera. (Not sure what gang sign he is throwing out, but if he's the ring leader I wouldn't mind joining.)


**Next up, on the 17th of June Steven and I enjoyed out 6th wedding anniversary. Wow, how has time flown. I'd post a wedding pic, but they are upstairs on the other computer and I'd hate to wake Steven up...maybe I'll remember tomorrow because I have some really cute ones.

Just to show what a wonderful man I'm married to...guess what we had planned for our anniversary....You'll never guess, so I'll just tell you. We were going to go to the church cannery and can 26 cases worth of food. Exactly what you'd like to do on our anniversary, right? I think not, but I have wanted to go for months and wanted to go with Steven so he could help. With him already having the day off work I floated the idea of going then, fully anticipating he would balk. Instead, he agreed to go because he knew it was something I really wanted to do and he didn't care so long as he got to spend time with me. Isn't that just awesome...now you see a little of the reason I married him. Turns out, they were doing inventory that day, so after driving all the way over there they were closed. Oh well, we will just go another day. (Hopefully soon...)

To complete my wonderful day, he let me relax and watch "Glee" and "Yes to the Dress" on Netflix as he cooked us the greatest dinner from scratch....Beef Wellington, Twice Baked Potatoes, Honey-glazed Carrots and Green Beans, Fried Zucchini and Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries with Strawberry Sorbet for dessert. It was delicious! I couldn't ask for a greater man to spend Eternity with....I really couldn't!

**June 20th, we flew my mom into town. She watched our kids while Steven and I took a little vacation getaway (the one we had planned for our 5th anniversary until a surprise baby decided to show up and nix that plan). After much debate, we decided to go over to Twin Falls. Not too far, some stuff to do and a temple in town to take advantage of...well, except the temple was closed for cleaning the whole time we were there...Oh well, we still had lots of fun checking out antique shops and the planetarium and going mini golfing.

Here we are at the Twin Falls temple. We figured we would probably get some sort of blessings for making an attempt to attend the temple. The grounds were beautiful of course, and it was nice to reflect on the day we got married.


For something to do, we decided to "hike" to Shoshone Falls. Um...wasn't a hike at all. At first we ended up on the wrong side of the falls...thanks google maps...but it was pretty all the same. The view from the North side of the falls.


Here we are with the river leading up to the falls it the background. Don't we look happy!?! We really, really are!


Here we are on the South side of the falls. (The touristy side.) If you follow where my finger is pointing, that's about were we were for that last pic...see how much google maps sucks sometimes...But it was kinda fun seeing the falls from a different view.


Ah, the view of the south side of the falls. We spent some time reading the plaques (which I enjoyed, Steven probably just tolerated it for my sake) and talked about the wonder that is this awesome Earth we live on...The trip was fun and a chance to relax, slow down and enjoy some life without the constant demands of kids....something we haven't had in our whole marriage. (Remember, Kim was 6 when we got married and if you can do math, you probably figured out that Logan was born 2 days shy of our 1st wedding anniversary.)

I think we realized just how much we love each other, our kids and well....our lives. It was wonderful...and a big thanks to Grandma Andersen for holding down the fort. Mom stayed a few more days and helped me with some sewing projects around the house (pics to come soon) and we had lots of fun chatting and shopping.

So far this summer has been great! Looking forward to more fun to come.

ARGH!!!

I bet you thought I was going to whine about how sucky my life is....well, I could, but I'll refrain for the time being...

Instead check out these handsome young men living out their deepest desires....to be a pirate.

They are so dang adorable running around and yelling "ARGH!" I think I've even heard a "Walk the plank." They've even got Evan joining in with "AAAAAAGGGG". Too dang adorable.

After a few days of sword fighting at the park with sticks and pretending to be pirates, I decided they needed to dress the part. Thanks to the dollar tree (and my fabric stash) these young men have an eye patch, a hook hand, bandanna and telescope. Now to get the foam swords out of the closet and they will be ready for some major looting and plundering.

We got in!!!

I just got off the phone with the elementary school we have been trying to get Logan admitted to and we are in! Currently we are set for PM kindergarten, but they have me on the waiting list in case an AM spot opens. (Which I think would be best for me personally...)

Since we realized Logan would be starting Kindergarten shortly (about a year and a half ago), Steven and I have been trying to decide what to do. You see, Logan isn't your typical kindergartner. He reads at about a 1st grade reading level. He already knows lots of addition and subtraction facts (in fact, dad has started in on multiplication because Logan just soaks it up.) He would be so bored in a "typical" class.

Plus the elementary schools in our area suck. Don't get me wrong...Kim had great teachers, but the administration just sucked. The principal (from what I'm told) is just "serving her time" until she can get a cushy job. When we had to contact them about a boy in Kim's class that should have been allowed in the classroom, we didn't get much help. And when I inquired about testing for admittance to the challenge program at the middle school I was given totally wrong information and I'm still peeved about that. So as you can see, I just couldn't go through that all over again.

We thought about homeschooling. Which would have been ideal because we could go at his pace and cover things that really interested him in depth. But I just feel there is such an important social aspect to school that I couldn't imagine doing without. He would miss out on so much. I think of middle school and high school sports. I think of prom and school clubs. Not to mention, working in a group environment you learn problem solving skills that could be transferred to the workplace.

But my main fear...Logan is such an easy going kid and not hard to get along with, but he is happy in his own little world and doesn't go searching for friends...I feared that if he was homeschooled, he would socially awkward. That weird kid that doesn't understand what is going on in the world. Not quite understanding how to get along with other people on different levels. Not knowing about the new "in" thing...even if he doesn't get to buy one, at least he would know about it.

So after much discussion and some prayer, we looked into our options and discovered this magnet school. With a math and science based approach. Perfect for our little engineer. We submitted our application and crossed our fingers (while formulating a back-up plan.) So imagine my dismay when we got a letter saying we didn't make it in from the lottery and we on the waiting list. I mourned a little and looked harder at my back-up plan.

So imagine my excitement when I got the call saying we were in. I'm so juiced! I can now plan. I know we will start school August 22nd. Now I just need to find out if we are AM or PM for sure and talk to my boss about arranging my work schedule. Worse case scenario, we aren't able to work out a schedule at work and I just fill in for people...or work Saturdays...or just quit.

But at least we got in!!! All the rest will fall into place according to the plan that is meant for my family...guess we'll see what that happens to be in a few months at the latest.

Happy 1st Birthday Evan!

Here I was a year ago today....the proud mother of my 4th child. My precious 3rd little boy. My last baby. (Luckily, I'm not that fat anymore...but because I'm still "nursing" I am still fat.)


Not too happy to be away from mom. (I guess things haven't changed too much.)


A close up of that adorable, fat little, smooshie face.


Fast forward to the present day...My little man turned 1 yesterday! It has been a bittersweet occasion for me. While I'm excited that he is growing and developing, I'm sad that my last little baby isn't a baby anymore. Tell me that isn't the cutest 1 year old...I dare you!


Steven took the day off work to celebrate. The day started off with cinnamon rolls for breakfast, along with a big cup of whole milk...which he slowing liking more and more. Then off for pictures and some shopping. Then his free Iceberg birthday milkshake...sure, Steven and I are eating most of it, but he will get a little. Nikki and the kids came over for dinner, dessert and presents...

Here is Evan with the traditional 1st birthday pizza dinner.

Here is Steven's "artist interpretation" (which means setting the camera on the table and taking pictures "lazy man" style) of Evan eating dinner. Look at that intensity...


Here is Evan mad that the pizza is gone and dad is taking way too long decorating his cake...So he decided to play with the table cloth.


Ah, finally the cake is here. He didn't waste any time before diggin' in...


Remember the other boys and their 1st birthday candle? (Logan touched the flame, burnt himself and cried. Owen touched the flame, didn't care and moved onto the cake.) Evan dug into the cake covering his fingers in frosting and then used them to extinguish the candle. Such a smart little boy!


Double fistin' the cake...first the right....


Then the left...


Then a good smooshin' handful...


The cake is now gone...what do you have for me now?


Oh, yeah...the red velvet cake ice cream (yes, Neelie...you heard me right.) OH...so delicious! Highly recommend it. Blue Bunny brand.


On to the fun part...opening presents. Here he is unwrapping the race car from mom and dad.


Then the "wheelie" cars from Logan and Owen. Notice the ramp box in the back...surely the best toy of the day since all the kids were climbing over each other to play with it. (Don't say anything, it might embarrass her, but I even caught Kim playing with it earlier today.)


Here are all the kids crowding around the birthday boy wanting to hand him presents or help open them. (John, Logan, Owen and Evan are checking out the cars...Katelyn looking at her present a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD...which BTW, we watched last night and AGAIN today.)


Here is Evan enjoying his present from Kimmy. A Squeaker, I mean Rattle...don't ask.

Thanks for all the presents. Thanks to the Richardsons for coming over and celebrating with with us. (Plus watching my little bedlam-ities, so Steven and I could step out for a little while during nap time.) It was a wonderful day for all!

Happy Birthday my Sweet Baby Boy!