The Ralston 5

Boosting for Stacey!

2009-09-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

Everyone go check out Stacey's blog, http://mypileofbooks.blogspot.com she's got a great giveaway going on for 2 ARC books. They look pretty good. I am excited! Go check it out already. :P

Curious...

2009-08-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

I saw this quiz and I was curious to see what it would say as I already know what I'm having. Go figure it would be right.

New background with new info

2009-08-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

I was going to find a background to fit my news, but I really like this background. So the news will just be news. ;)

In case you didn't know I'm pregnant. I'm almost 19 wks. And I found out yesterday that I'm having another Boy.

Happy Fourth!!

2009-07-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope we all can have a fun filled day. And enjoy time with family and friends. And let us remember the importance of this day, and keep it in our hearts always.

We're goin' on a Treasure Hunt!

2009-06-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Brina and her kids came over and we had the kids go on a treasure hunt. So I thought as a welcome back to the blogging world I would share our day with you. :)

We started in the living room. With Rees reading the first clue: Treasure Hunt Time Can you find your way to the treasure? Start by looking where Logan rests his head.

So off to Logan's bed, and Caden got to read the next clue: Look where Aunt Torri keeps all her books.

From my bookshelf they got the clue: Now go see what is cooking in your little house.

And the clue from the playhouse said: See if Wall-E can tell you where to go next.

Wall-E told them to: Check out Sirus's little patch. Logan led the way.

From our little garden they got: Where does Mommy's frog sleep? And from my room they got: Let us go check out where Victoria gets her pretties in her hair. The bathroom yielded this clue: You might want to Runner to this clue.

Once we all got free of Runner we went to: Look at my computer.

The computer told us: See what the milk can tell you.

From the fridge we were told: Go where Victoria keeps her clothes. After Sirus snatched the clue out of his sister's closet the were off with the next clue: Does the frog have a yummy cookie treat for you? To acompany the two cookies was this clue: This cannot be all the treasure, better go where the clothes get clean. In the washing machine they found cookies! And another clue!? This last note said: Now to dry your stuff and get more Treasure!! And they got to play with their toys, and eat cookies! We had a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoyed it with us. ;-)

Yay!!

2008-12-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

My house feels more like a house today. For today I now have furniture. :D I no longer have to lay on the bed or sit on the toilet to be able to sit in my house! We have a house full of stuff, instead of boxes and junk! I'm now out of my own little funk. But pictures will have to wait cuz I haven't a way to share them off of my phone on to the puter.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you are all having a good time and are spending this wonderful holiday with your family. I just wanted to thank my Mom and Dad for being such wonderful examples to me. For building family traditions that I hold so dear. I am greatful that each holiday season we go over the Real reason for Christmas, I miss dressing up and playing out the nativity scene, though I am glad that even with how big our family has gotten we can still read and share the tradition of reading the nativity story. It really helps it feel more like Christmas, it gives me a chance to have a more spiritual evening conected with Christmas that I don't always get since it makes Scott uncomfortable. So I just wanted to thank you Mom for still doing the nativity story, even when it is hard cuz of cranky kids. I also wanted to thank you for giving us Dad's journal, it really means a lot to all of us, to have something so personal of Dad's. Thank you for not giving up, for finishing our gifts. You are a Great Treasure, and I Love You!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tag!

2008-12-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

My Christmas Tag, before Christmas at least it isn't after.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? For Christmas always wrapping paper.

2. Real Tree or Artifical? Both, my memories as a kid it was always artifical, and since I've been married it has mostly been real. As long as they look good either will work for me, it's the feeling that comes with decorating and looking at it that is important to me.

3. When do you put the tree up? Usually the beginning of December, though there has been a few years that we didn't think we'd get one. We were very fortunate one year and Sister Paulsen was giving out trees to families in third ward who didn't have a lot of money and they had one extra tree and she thought of us. So two days before christmas I got a nice tall real tree when I was sure I wouldn't get one.

4. What day do you take the tree down? I wait as long as I can. Maybe a week into the new year. When Scott is tired of having needles all over the house, or the tree taking up room. It makes me sad to take it down

.

5. Do you like eggnog? Surprisingly yes. Though it took until about 2 or 3 years ago for me to make myself try it.

6. Favorite gift recieved as a child? My teddy bear Pickles, from my Grandma Ratliff, the year I was four, I think.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Scott, he doesn't like getting things, so I always have to pay attention to what he says year round, then I just have to hope that I guessed right cuz he'll always say, You didn't need to get me that, so I'm not really ever sure he likes it.

8. Who is the easiest person to buy for? Brina, always have an idea for her.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, at least one, maybe another. Though I can't remember and I haven't been able to go look for it to put it out.

10. Mail or email christmas cards? Cards, mail them definitely. Christmas letters, either way.

11. Worst Christmas gift ever recieved? Don't know that I've ever gotten one of those, what does it look like?

12. Favorite Christmas movie? I don't have one, though my favorite Christmas book is The Forgotten Carols.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Um... I panic about half way through November, then do the shopping in December, unless I have had an idea for a while. Or if I'm making something for someone.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope, never.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Do I have to pick one? Roast Beef, fudge, orange bowknots, hot chocolate, and Candy canes when we used to all sit down and play Hero Quest.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, I love sitting in the dark enjoying the peacfulness of looking at the tree with it's lights all aglow. Makes me happy.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night, then O Come All Ye Faithful

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay Home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yep sure can, but I hum to do it.

20. Angel or star on the top of the tree? Star

21. Open presents on Christmas eve or morning? morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? That people get so bent out of shape over spending money on presents, when people get carried away with the commercial part of christmas and forget about the important stuff.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like just about anything. Though I am partial to the way Mom does her tree, and i tend to do the same thing.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Christmas Eve is our big dinner and it is Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding, and gravy.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Besides the house that we get; knitting needles, the harmony wood ones that I like.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

My House!

2008-12-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

My house is now MY house! Escrow closed yesterday. Yay!

House Update!

2008-12-09T10:29:00.001-08:00

So yesterday we spent like an hour and a half signing enough papers to have cut down 3 trees. But on the plus side, they told us the earliest escrow will close is Friday the 12th or the latest on Monday the 15th! So like a week sooner than we thought it would close. So yay!

Crazy Eights

2008-12-04T23:30:00.000-08:00

8 things I am passionate about:

1. Scott

2. my kids

3. Family

4. Family spending time together.

5. Church

6. Reading

7. Music, that makes me feel good.

8. Life

8 words or phrases I use often:

1. I Love You, Honey!

2. I Love You!

3. SIRUS!

4. Logan, NO!

5. Victoria put him DOWN!

6. I'll be back in a few minutes.

7. Are you ok?

8. Thanks!

8 things I want to do before I die/on my wish list:

1. See the Northern Lights

2. Go see some castles

3. Watch my kids grow up; See them go on missions if they want to

4. Go into the temple with Scott, and then have my kids sealed to me.

5. See them get married

6. Meet my grandchildren

7. Be there for my family, to be able to help whenever needed

8. To have Scott and I celebrate our 50th anniversary together, and know there will still be more, either in this life or the next.

8 things I've learned in the past/from my past:

1. Things Change. No matter if I want them to or not.

2. Parenting is funny until it happens to you, then it's hard.

3. Sometimes Friendshipes don't last, but they last as long as they are needed.

4. Just because something looks to be better, doesn't mean it is better for you right now.

5. Don't go to bed mad, it just makes you cranky in the morning.

6. Family is there for you no matter what, because they love you.

7. Something that was once embarassing really doesn't matter anymore, if it is even remembered.

8. You can never truely fit in anywhere until you except yourself for who you really are.

8 things I currently want or need:

1. To have Escrow close

2. To get out of Mom's house, before Christmas.

3. More patience to deal with my kids.

4. A nice complete set of Harmony Wood Knitting Needles

5. To be good at something

6. to feel important,significant

7. To be able to get the things the kids want and need

8. To be able to thank Scott properly for all that he does for me, to let him know how much he truely means to me.

8 Places I want to see/visit:

1. Scottish Castles

2. The Lincoln Memorial

3. The Great Wall of China

4. Scott's family in Oregon

5. Wherever Tommy and his family is

6. Wyoming to visit with Shan

7. The Moon

8. Heaven

8 favorite restaurants:

1. Home Town Buffet

2. Texas Cattle Co.

3. Marie Calender's, for the pie

4. Tokyo House

5. Olive Garden

6. Outback

7. Red Lobster, sometimes

8. Home with family is always the BEST

8 TV shows I can't live without/am sad to miss:

1. Bones

2. NCIS

3. Knight Rider

4. Heros

5. The Mentalist

6. CSI, all of them

7. Firefly

8. Charmed

8 things that happened yesterday:

1. Woke Victoria up for school.

2. Took pictures of Victoria getting used to Uncle Tevan again.

3. Took Victoria to school.

4. Watched my little boys play with my big boys.

5. Picked Victoria up from school.

6. Watched Transformers with Mom, Taron, and Tevan.

7. All afternoon and evening had family all over to visit with Uncle Tevan.

8. Did bedtime stuff with kids, and got to bed way to late. :)

8 things I look forward to:

1. Moving into my new home.

2. Going into the temple for the first time, as an adult.

3. Christmas, when the family will all be around.

4. The day that it doesn't rip my heart out to leave Sirus crying for me at school.

5. My kids growing up as good, strong, kind people

6. The day Scott joins the church. Whenever it happens.

7. Getting sealed to my family.

8. When I get to see Mom and Dad dance again!

8 things I love about the fall:

1. the crisp smell in the air

2. the smells of the spices/ things baking

3. the holidays, that means the family is coming home to visit

4. the changing colors

5. getting to witness the change of season

6. the comfy snuggly clothes.

7. the smells of fireplaces.

8. warm fuzzy socks!

8 things I need to work on!

1. Understanding others

2. Orginization

3. Keeping my housework up

4. Learning to cook, so that it's edible.

5. Patience with my kids

6. Patience with Scott

7. Getting to church every week.

8. Not letting my feelings get hurt very easily.

Halloween Pics!

2008-12-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

It has taken awhile for my pictures to want to load, but I finally got them done.

Victoria was a witch with purple hair, the costume was mine first, but still cute.
Sirus was a Green Pumpkin. Green NOT Orange. It came out pretty cute. And he was happy! Last year a good part of the time he was grumpy.

Logan was a monster. I gave him spots and spikes in hopes that people wouldn't think he was a dragon or a dinosaur. Most people got it. Oh we also gave him purple hair that we spiked a bit. :P

And Daddy was a Tree. :D Well, it was his hunting stuff, but he might as well get some use out of it.

I was a Enchanted Princess.

And Professor Mcgonagall made an appearance.

We had a lot of fun, and the kids were cute, what more can you ask for. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a good day, and enjoys the time with family.

Moments

2008-11-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

What are happiest moments? Meeting Scott, him becoming my boyfriend, getting married, having each baby in my arms. Getting to have a new house where we fit. And when it happens getting to Move in to our new home.

What is my saddist moment? 2007 was a hard year, both Dad and my MIL Sherry dying a few months apart. Having to hold Victoria just about every night as she sobbed because she missed her Grandma. Seeing my in-laws having a harder time coping with their loss because they had no gospel to help them. Struggling with the fact that I wasn't going to see Dad hold Logan for a very long time.

What is my scariest moment? It may seem an odd moment to some but I'd have to say when my best friend of 13yrs. told me she didn't want to be my friend anymore. She was going through a rough patch and had been doing drugs. When it happened my world crashed around me, and while I was out rollerblading trying to make sense of why; I nearly got creamed by a truck. I sobbed for a whole day, and I didn't eat for a week. I didn't really recover until I talked to another friend and he helped me see things in a different light. And I am happy to say that she and I are still friends, though not as close as we had been.

What is an embarrassing moment? It may not be my most embarrassing moment but it is like a double dose. I have a friend who would go out of his way to say something that he knew would make me blush just so that he could point out that the back of my neck and the tops of my ears get red too. So then I would blush more and he'd laugh more, etc, etc.

What is an exciting moment? When after Dad died I got to have a dream/vision where he got to come and visit with us as Dad, without HD, and ALL of us, including Tevan, as a family got to play games, have dinner, visit with him one last time, and say Good Bye properly. We knew he was gone, and we knew we were given this blessing to say good bye. I woke up with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. And I was happy all day.

Polka Dots!

2008-11-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

Sirus was just talking to me, telling me I was Gorgeous. Which made me smile. Then he looked at me and exclaimed, "Mommy you have polka dots!!" Which left all of us laughing, so he got mad and said,"That's not funny!" He is such a hoot, I love kids.

World Walkers wordle

2008-11-16T15:14:00.000-08:00

Thank you MFA for giving a link to Wordle. It is fun to mess around with. This one is from a dream I had the other night.

More House Pics

2008-11-05T14:35:00.001-08:00

Mostly I just am gonna post some pictures of my house though they are by now outdated. The hard floor is complete and the carpet should be laid, just the baseboard really is left. Though unfortunately we are far from having the paperwork all done.
The back fill. So now the kids can get in and out of the house. And we have our yard back.

The boys's blue room. Victoria's room is purple. I have a picture of it on my phone, just not sure how to get it on here.

Our pretty lamenant floor that looks like tile, goes in the two living rooms and hallway.
Logan watched Daddy laying the floor and decided he was going to help. Such a Smarty!

7 Facts Tag

2008-11-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

1. I've never wanted my driver's license. The idea of putting people in harms way terrifies me. I rode my bike in jr. high and rollerbladed EVERYWHERE in high school. I didn't even try for my license until I was pregnant with Sirus, my second, who is 3 & 1/2.

2. The only thing I've ever wanted to be when I grew up besides being a Mom was to be an EMT/lifeguard. It's a good thing I am the first cuz the other is Never gonna happen.

3. In high school when I found out that Speed Skating was an Olympic sport I wanted to do that, I thought that would be pretty cool. Something that envolved skates but NOT jumps and tricks sounded like my kind of sport.

4. I am absolutely completely terrified of all things fluttery, Moths are the worst, but birds aren't good either. I can tolerate butterflies because they are pretty. And grasshoppers...shudder.... they fly and JUMP.

5. I have a birthmark on my thigh in the shape of a butterfly. And when I was younger I always thought it was cool cuz I had my own version of a "tatoo" without the pain or guilt.

6. My favorite subjects in school were Math and Construction, and Stage Craft. Though I also enjoyed Autoshop and P.E.

7. I am ONE of the most unflexible people in the world, though some of my brothers are up there with me. I can't touch my toes. When doing the sit 'n' reach in school I can barely grab the handle without bending my knees.

Sorry this is so late. I am trying to catch up on posts.

Six Questions

2008-10-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

I got this sent to me by a friend and thought that it would make a good tag. So I tag Brina, Aimee, Stacey, Mom, Linda, and Verity.

1) Six places that I go to over and over: Gateway,head start, Mom's house, my house, Walmart, church
2) Six people who e-mail me regularly: Brina, Aimee, Tevan, Serena, Verity, knit picks
3) Six of my favorite places to eat: At home, The Lodge, Texas Cattle Co., Sizzler, Home Town Buffet, Olive Garden
4) Six places I would rather be right now: In bed, with family, on vacation, Barnes & Noble, in the mountains, with Dad and Sherry
5) Six people I think will respond: hopefully the six people I tagged. :)
6) Six TV shows I watch: Bones, Knight Rider, NCIS, CSIs, The Mentalist, Numbers

Answer the questions and Remember to have fun.

Fall Is

2008-10-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share some pictures and thoughts about the season. This afternoon I was taking a nap in my old room, hiding from kids, and the window was open blowing in the breeze and smells of fall. Anyway when my kids found me and woke me up, I was laying there and this poem came to me.

Fall Is

Fall is...

changing...

golden hues...

leaf jumping...

chilly walks...

blowing breezes...

warming jackets...

crisp nights...

many leaves...

spices baking...

Victoria's Favorite...

Fall.

When Victoria saw me posting this she said, "Hey that's when we played in the leaves in Fall. It's Fall when the leaves fall down."

Beautimous Bonk

2008-10-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well Logee was being Logee, and climbed up on Dad's chair the preceded to fall off of Dad's chair and land on his head. As horrible as it looks it didn't slow him down at all. And it certainly didn't keep him from climbing on anything else either.

Well, I finally got some footage of my little monster playing the piano and I thought I would share. Enjoy.

Again and again

2008-09-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes no matter what you do you do it wrong. Then you try to fix it and everything gets worse. And no matter how hard you try to fix things it's just not good enough. The kid, the car, the clothes, just messed it all up. Try not to make him mad and mad is what I make him. Simply put, failed yet again. Bravo.

Sunday Afternoon

2008-09-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

We spent our Sunday afternoon making a 'Sunday Game' as Victoria says. Though for a game to fit that description to her you just have to play the game on Sunday. So I thought it would be a good idea to have actual 'Sunday Games' or maybe more church oriented games. So Mom went and found a game in an old Friends magazine, while I worked on creating a game. So anyway we picked 24 primary songs that the kids might know, might listen to, and that are fun to do. And then we found a small picture to go with that was fun to look at so that they could pick songs from the pictures. I don't know if it will be a hit or not, but my kids aren't as fond of Primary Songs as I am and I was hoping that this might change their minds.

Mostly we just used the LDS clip art, though originally I was going to draw the pictures. Mom saved me a lot of time by thinking up the clip art. Though for a few there weren't any pictures so I googled some images. The few that are shown here are Popcorn Popping, Once There was a Snowman, Little Purple Pansies, The Golden Plates, The Wise Man and the Foolish Man, and Hinges. As you might have guessed we couldn't find a good hinge in the LDS clip art, but when I googled it I got Optamus, and Mom and I both thought it was pretty funny. :) We also figured that we could 'upgrade' or add songs as they got older, and their attention spans lengthened. Anywho it was a fun afternoon for Mom and I even if the kids didn't have fun.

Ode to my Hubby!

2008-09-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

1. Where did you first meet? At our friend Tommy's house. Though at the time he was engaged to someone else who had a little girl named Becca. The only things that stuck that very first time I saw him were that he was holding a baby seat and he had a nice, kind smile.

2. How long did you date before you got married? 364 days. We would have gotten married a year later, but it was a Sunday so we did it the day before instead.

3. How long have you been married? 8 years, and still some days it feels like it just happened.

4. What does he do that surprises you? Besides loving me for me, he'll bring me flowers. Out of the blue for no reason other than to make me smile. He does it a lot, but it still surprises me.

5. What is your favorite feature about him? His smile, always his smile. *Alert* cheesy line coming. Though on the night we started going out I actually told him that 'He had beautiful eyes.' We were sitting outside at night and there was thunder and lightning everywhere around us and it was making the green of his eyes change, from emerald green, to a yellow green, to a darker forrest green.

6. What is your favorite quality about him? He is utterly generous. He always wants to help family out even when we really can't. Once he told me he wished he could buy my Mom and Dad an RV so that Dad could still go camping, once it became to hard on him to go.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Gorgeous

8. What is his favorite color? I don't think he has a favorite. Though he likes this silvery blue satin color, hard to describe, but we tried to match it in the colors from our wedding.

9. What is his favorite food? Um to be honest I don't think my hubby is big on favorites, he likes too much of anything to have to choose. Um here are some... ham hock and beans, corned beef and cabbage, steak, fish, though not salmon unless it is sushi, shrimp, any of his Mom's recipes.

10. What is his favorite sport? Hunting, though maybe I should say that it is his current favorite hobby. He doesn't sport/trophy hunt, but hunting is usually considered a sport. To watch I would say football, I think.

11. Who said "I love You" first? I think I did. Actually I think it was the night of our first kiss. But I'm not 100% sure. But the important part is that he Loves me back!

12. When and where was your first kiss? As for when, I think it was within the first month that we started dating, as for where, we were target shooting out in the desert with friends. And I was leaning against Tommy's bronco and Scott came over and leaned against me and kissed me, and left me feeling a bit dazed with a goofy grin on my face.

13. What is your favorite thing to do together? Alone together is always good. :) But I really do enjoy just going to the movies with him. Or just taking a drive somewhere.

14. How old is he? 30

15. Do you have any kids? 3 great loveable monsters! Victoria, Sirus and Logan

16. What is a hidden talent he has? He is a dreamer. It may not be a hidden talent, but I can't do it. He'll come up with these ideas, dreams, schemes and develope them, look into what he'd have to do, how it would all work, everything. Often nothing comes of it, but it's there in his mind to pull out whenever he needs a pick me up, a this could happen sort of thing. Sometimes I get frustrated because they don't happen, but sometimes they do.

17. What is his favorite type of music? He likes lots of music and all different types.

18. What do you admire the most about him? I could point out his faults or rather the things that I have a hard time with because they would be easier to list than what I admire about him, but I won't. I will say that I admire him, utterly, entirely, and wholely him. His smile, his kindness, the way he loves me, the way he loves our kids. How sometimes he seems as though he himself is a kid. Him, just him.

19. Do you think he is going to read this? Only if I read it to him so maybe he'll see it.

I am getting to being tagged kinda late, but I have been meaning to do it, it has just been taking me a while to actually sit down and do it. And the only person I am tagging is Mom. I know you don't have a blog, but I would like to hear these things about Dad anyway, unless it makes you to sad.

Yay Me!

2008-09-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

Okay so this is probably silly to most people, but I'm excited. The main reason I looked into doing a blog was so that I could share my knitted patterns with others. And keeping that in mind there is a site that I use for other patterns, that I love. It is called Knitting Pattern Central. Anyway the gal in charge of the site says she'll post free patterns on her site if you have them up on a site/blog with pictures to go with them. So I've been trying to get some stuff up to do just that. And this last week I was able to contact her and she agreed to put my stuff up. So at least 2 of my patterns are there and now there is a link to my blog from her site! So I say, "YAY ME!!!!"

Which Sports Car Are You?

2008-09-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

I liked my description and car. That was fun thanks!!

I'm a Mazda Miata!

You like to soak up the sun, but your tastes are down to earth. Everyone thinks you're cute. Life is a winding road, and you like to take the curves in stride. Let other people compete in the rat race - you're just here to enjoy the ride.

Take the http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar">Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Repeat

2008-09-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

It's not technically the first day of school (for the third time)but it feels like it. Victoria is still at Gateway and is still in the same room, but that is all that is the same. They switched her class to the half day schedule, so now she goes to school from 7:30am until 11:15am. But they are also given a new teacher, Mrs. Bisack, from Texas. I've met her and she is nice and is good with the kids. Victoria freaked out this morning about all the other kids on the playground, she didn't like them being there. She was playing hopscotch and when some kids got in line behind her she stopped playing and ran back to me. I know that this might be considered a moot point, but for the last 3 weeks it has only been her class on the playground, so like 12 kids instead of 50. She doesn't like playing with kids when she can't know all there names. She didn't want me to leave this morning, and to be honest I didn't want to leave her either. I'm not sure how she is going to do today, but I can guess what she'll say when I pick her up right after lunch. 'Momma I wanna go back, it's not over yet, it's not done!'
I'm tired of the changes not just for me, but for her. She has gotten used to things that aren't gonna stay, and it makes me sad that she won't see some of the people that she really likes anymore. For instance they had their own lunch lady that took them to recess and then to lunch, her name is Miss Chris. (She is also one of the volunteer crossing guards) But Victoria comes home talking about her every day, and how she did something to make the kids smile. Or even their teacher for the last 3 weeks, Mrs. Santiago, the kids Love her! Victoria does, she'll run around the house singing her name and talking about seeing her at school, and what she's going to tell her. It all just sucks!!! Ugh, sorry, a bit of venting, and I don't feel better.

Picture Tag

2008-09-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged. So here is my picture.

I do believe that this was the first time Logan sat in the walker, about to get something messy to eat. Why Victoria doesn't have clothes I can't remember, though it is likely that she was getting herself dressed and we had yet to fix the situation.

Tagged

2008-09-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

Your age:

Grandma's Name: Gwendolyn

Favorite Object: Words. I'd like to explain. I love the words that come together to form stories, poems and music. And the words I speak to my family to let them know I Love them.

The caption reads: If you really want to touch someone, send them a letter.

Where you live:

Doing right now:

Past Love:

Favorite Animal(s):

Favorite Place:

Want to go:

Bad Habit:College:

Favorite Color:

Where you were born:

Nickname: First Job:

Favorite Food:

Name:

A Ghost Town in Italy.
A Castle.

These cool gate things that I've always liked, my name too, who knew?!

And this whole cool valley!

This was very neat, thanks!!

Busy Busy Weekend

2008-09-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post an update on my house. Well, on the trench that I helped dig. Three days and it was all done but half of the front. It was kind of a lot of hard work, but I enjoyed myself. I wasn't very fast at it but it made me feel good that I could do something to help.

Also there was the forman in charge of the dig, just to make sure we were doing it right.

First Day of School......Again

2008-08-26T10:07:00.001-07:00

So Victoria started school last week at Faller with Caden in her class and she loved it! Then at the end of the first week we were told that she had to be transfered to Gateway. I cried when they told me and Victoria cried when I told her. She kept asking why she had to leave her best friend and then she would start to cry again. I took her to see Gateway and when she saw it she asked if this was 1st grade school, and where was Rees. So I had to explain again that Rees and Caden weren't going to be there with her, so she cried again. Though she liked her playground. It has 8 swings instead of 4. Her playground equipment is under a canopy so she can stay in the shade, there is a place to play with bikes and scooters, and skitters, and there is grass. So that was pretty neat. And she seemed to like her class room. Come monday (yesterday) she wouldn't let me leave when I took her to school. And since it was the first day of their transfer the teacher said the parents could stay for a while. I stayed for an hour, but Mom and my boys were waiting in the car so it wasn't really a good idea. The whole class is made up of the kids that got transfered from Faller. So they go the full day because that is how our kids were doing it at Faller, but apparently that is causing issues for Gateway. Because Gateway's kindergartner classes are half day and Gateway doesn't do buses except for the transfered kids. The bus thing doesn't really matter to me I won't stick a 4 yr. old on a bus without me so even though Faller said they would supply transportation for our kids I'm not going to do it. Plus the new teacher told us yesterday that Victoria might not stay there because of the half day/full day conflict they may make her class into a half day, but I want her in a full day so she might end up back at Faller. The whole thing is rather dumb and I wish they had figured all of this out before they had to truck the kids back and forth. But it just irritates me because they gave us, the parents, the choice of full or half days when they talked to us about having to be transfered, and we voted for full days, and now they might change it anyway. ugh. We wouild be happy if she got put back at Faller, we have it in the notes to put her back in Mrs. Crow's class with Caden if possible. But the biggest issue right now seems to be if she will stay anywhere long enough to learn anything. I think given a chance Victoria will be able to get used to things and be okay at Gateway, it will just take longer because at Faller she had what she needed to "leave Mom" and that was Caden. So once she finds someone or something to take her mind off of leaving me she'll do a lot better. Sirus started head start yesterday as well. Though I am not completely sure how he is doing. He feel asleep before his day was over so I had to go and get him. Hopefully today is a better success. Though I'm still not sure how okay I am with having both of them gone part of the day. Though it is nice to have time with only me and Logan for a few hours. I am most definitely one of 'those' Moms that burst into tears when her kids head to school each day.

First Days of School

2008-08-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

Victoria's first week of school went good. She was going to Faller and she had Caden in her class. Simply put she Loved it! Sirus was a little lost without her, said she was missing when we went somewhere and she wasn't there. But otherwise not a bad week. We did so well we decided to do it all again. Really!? The week ended on a sad note for me at least. Faller had an over abundence of kindergartners, 21 in fact. And due to some rotten luck Victoria was in the group that got transfered to Gateway, so tomorrow we get to do this all again. Victoria was excited when we got to show her, her playground and classroom. But she was not okay when she realized that Caden and Rees weren't there too. She thought she was getting to go to the 1st grade school, and that she would see Rees. And whenever she thought about not being with Caden she burts into tears, and sobs "why are they taking my best friend away!! Caden is in my class." So we have been having a bit of rollercoaster emotions this week. Hopefully everything settles and some good comes of being across town for school.

Which Serenity Character are you?

2008-08-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

Your results:
You are Wash (Ship Pilot)Wash (Ship Pilot)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
75%
Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command)
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70%
Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)
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65%
Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)
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55%
Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)
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55%
Derrial Book (Shepherd)
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45%
Alliance
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40%
Inara Serra (Companion)
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30%
Jayne Cobb (Mercenary)
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30%
River (Stowaway)
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30%
A Reaver (Cannibal)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30%
You are a pilot with a good
if not silly sense of humor.
You take pride in your collection of toys.
You love your significant other.

Click here to take the "Which Serenity character are you?" quiz...

Surprise!

2008-08-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

So on Friday Scott's boss, Bernie, told his crew that everyone was working on our house for the day. Everyone wanted to know how Scott managed it because normally Bernie doesn't do anything unless he's getting money for it. But Scott was as surprised as everyone else. Apparently Teresa felt sorry for us, that it was taking so long so she asked Bernie to put the guys on it. Teresa owns Western Homes, she is Bernie's sister. So that was very exciting and here is the progress made by that day.

These are some of the views throughout my house. The first is the outside of my house, put together. The second is from my front door looking through my back door to the other side of the yard. The third is out my bathroom window. the fourth is looking out my bedroom window and looking at one of the trees I used to consider my front yard. And the last picture is looking down the length of my house from my bedroom down to the family room.

And last night I got to help Scott up on the roof making sure that it would be rain proof. It was a lot of fun. I miss doing the constructiony stuff.

Spare Time Project

2008-07-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

So this is what Scott is doing in his spare time. It would seem like it would be something that should be all the time, but work gets in the way. Especially when we can't pay them to pay him to do the job. Very frustrating. But he is doing a good job, and I Love him so much for taking this all on.

This is our house. Nice and big and a pretty color to boot. I am getting very excited again. Even though it is taking longer than I would have hoped. It will be nice when we can get into it. To bad we don't have a pretty view to go with all of those windows. That's okay, I'm just happy with what we can get!!

Rain Cooking...

2008-07-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing that we all LOVE Uncle Taron. His welcome home dinner was cooking out in the rain. Poor Mom was out in that crazy storm on Sunday cooking the tri-tip. The BBQ was in the only spot that didn't leak. Which left Mom to get dumped on. Plus the waterfall between Mom and the house, so she had to dodge around just to get back and forth. Even though we all got dumped on a bit, I still enjoyed the rain!

Anytime Anywhere

2008-07-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

I just love it when they just finally give up. Some days it doesn't matter when, how or where, they just need to nap. Maybe this was a very serious Nap Attack!

Anniversary!

2008-07-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

Just this last week Scott and I celebrated our 8th and 9th anniversaries. We've been married for 8 but been together for 9. It is weird to think that we have been together for that long. Sometimes it feels like we've been married forever, and other times like we are just starting out. We had a nice couple of evenings. On the 8th I gave him a framed photo of us with a poem I wrote along side it. And that night we went to the Lodge for dinner, while Mom watched our kids. And on Wednesday Scott's sister, Barb, watched the kids for us so we could go see a movie. We watched Hancock, it was interesting. But it was nice to be able to have some time to ourselves. When I wrote the poem I wanted the lines to portray my thoughts and feelings about each new addition, and how I was feeling in that moment.

The poem says:

Two lives intertwine
a family, a thought

Two worlds become one

a family, a start

A child, a blessing

a family small

A surprise and a joy
a family enlarged

A third that belongs
a family that grows.

First Try

2008-07-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been toying with the idea of doing a blog for a while. Though originally I wanted to only do it for my knitting stuff. Which I just started tonight as well. I thought I would join the ranks of many of my family members and try a family blog too. I like the idea of having a scrapbook online of me and my family. And I thought I might actually get something done on it if I tried it this way. I have never managed to get my butt into gear regarding scrapbooking. And maybe this is the jump start I need.