snyder family fun

2011-07-15T15:21:00.003-06:00

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seasons of joy

One day, baby

2011-06-28T14:25:00.001-06:00

Soon enough sweetie you will be able to run and play with the big kids.

Towels

2011-06-27T12:39:00.004-06:00

It seems like in the summer I have more laundry. At first I could not figure out why, and then I saw all the towels I was washing. From going to the pool once a week, to playing at the splash pad at the park, I was washing a ton. And my poor dryer was working over time. So to help save on electricity and save my dryer I have started hanging my towels outside to dry. It works great, most of the time. There was that one day when it rained and my almost dry towels weren't dry anymore. Steve said they were summer rain washed.

Fun with duct tape

2011-06-25T19:46:00.004-06:00

A wallet, a baby gate or a shark trap, there are so many things you can do with duct tape. Let's just say Andy has been having lots of fun this week. It must be a guy thing.

Saturday Fun

2011-06-25T14:33:00.003-06:00

Andy and Ellyn had a cookie and lemonade stand today. They did pretty good, maybe we should start charging rent.

2011-06-22T10:48:00.002-06:00

Kelsey is ready for the pool! She loves to "swim", but also loves to just hang out with mom.

boys and girls

2011-04-11T15:03:00.002-06:00

What started out as a science project, turned into a study on the differences in boys and girls. To me that has been one of the most interesting things about having a boy and two girls. Seeing just how different they are.

For science we are studying the skeletal system and for our project the kids had to make little guys (or girls) out of clay. The first figure had no "bones", we had to see what would happen to us if God had not given us our bones. The next step was to add our bones (toothpicks) and see if this was better for our guys. The kids had fun playing with the clay, making their guys and seeing the results.

After it was all said and done they wanted to just play with the clay. So I let them and they had a little more fun.

Andy's guy...

Poor guy, he needs some bones...

Ellyn's girl, with bones...Much better

Ellyn's free time with clay. What a cute picture. Such a girl...

And yes here is Andy's...What is a mom to do? Just enjoy having a boy I guess.

march 5, 2011

2011-03-14T15:52:00.003-06:00

Happy Half Birthday Kelsey Anne!

It is hard to believe you are now 6 months old. It seems like just yesterday that we were brining you home from the hospital. We laid you down on your blanket in the living room and the kids just sat there and looked at you. We had waited for what seemed like forever for you to arrive, and we didn't know what to expect. And there you were, just as cute as can be. The kids just looked at you, and then at us. They both said " She doesn't do much does she?"

But boy (girl) do you do much now. You are a rolley polley, you love to sit in your walker (although you can't walk in it yet, you can't even reach the floor), you love to play with spoons, love your bro-bro and sissy. You are learning so much these days. Like how to eat cereal and how to eat your socks!

What a blessing you are to our family. We love you little Kelsey Anne.

For her half birthday party, Ellyn made her this cute crown.

letters

2011-03-07T09:53:00.003-07:00

fkjdl jriwjrkhe 5e983w4pi3iroewiroq

oh letters, how we have missed you. did you know that you can't do much on a computer without a keyboard? well, here in the snyder house we have found out how much you can do. about a week ago our keyboard died. we could use the mouse to get around on some websites that had been bookmarked, and andy was the only one who could get on facebook because he was the last one on and it saved his info. i tried a friends keyboard and that didn't work. with the advice of my husband's aunt we called a cousin who is a computer guy. and he gave me some tips and, it didn't work. but later that day the "new" keyboard just started working. don't know why, don't care why. all we care is it is working. jason (steve's cousin who may have reached super hero status) was able to help us out with other computer issues.

something new...

2011-02-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

you would think that after being married for what seems like forever (is that a good thing or bad thing that it seems that long? i think a good thing), you would think that we know all there is to know about each other. that there is nothing new under the sun...well not so boys and girls.

our running joke is that we learn one new thing about each other each month. and so far that is pretty right on.

the first time it happened we were at carl's jr and i got some fry sauce for me and Andy (this was before kelsey anne and ellyn) and steve asked where his was? i told him he didn't like fry sauce so i didn't get him any. he said that he did. and i asked for how long? and he said for always! well, what do you know? that was our first new thing of the month. it seems that he comes from a long line of fry sauce likers (snyder's call it gunk, if that is how you spell it.)

this is how we keep things new, fresh in our marriage. learning about fry sauce and such.

oh, for those of you who are not from utah and don't know what fry sauce is, it is just ketchup and mayo. simple and good.

oh mom cat

2011-02-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

how can i do my Bible study with THIS in my way? why is it that cats want to be right in the middle of everything?

baking fun

2011-02-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

while in dickson i got to see my dad in all his baking glory. and boy does that man bake. one of the many things that i loved was his french bread. it was the best! and it seemed super easy. so for one night i decided we needed to have french bread with dinner. now i knew that it needed 40 minutes to rise after it had mixed in the bread maker and it was to cook for 22 minutes. i thought i had it all calculated just right so it would come out just in time for dinner. what could be better than fresh french bread? well, i forgot to factor in the mixing time...one hour and nineteen minutes!!! that put my timing off just a little. well, it will be ok i thought. we can just have it as an after dinner snack. one other thing i forgot to factor in was our power going out. yikes! as we were eating a storm blew in and the power went out. not a big deal i thought. then i remembered the bread was in the oven. steve said i should just leave the door shut and wait. the power did come back on not too much later. i then turned the oven back on and started to cook. it had stayed pretty hot in there so i was very hopeful. and would you believe it turned out great. perfect i thought. but if you ask ellyn she will tell you that great papa's (my dad), his bread is still much better. thank you for your support ell.

fun with kitty

2011-02-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

i think kelsey likes mom cat. but not too sure mom cat feels the same way.

sew much fun

2011-02-21T18:02:00.002-07:00

For Christmas this year I received a sewing machine from my in-laws. I had been thinking I wanted one for a while and what do you know? Santa came through! I had learned to sew when I was really little. My mom did a lot of sewing and I learned some from her, but that was many moons ago. And this machine is very different from my mom's one. It does all kinds of crazy stitches. It even does button holes. We had our very first lesson on my new machine. I learned how to do all kinds of fun things. Now I am looking for my first project. I have a few in mind. I am going to keep it simple and see how it goes.

My first project! I did a bunch of different kinds of stitches. The kids think I should frame it, I just might. My mom would be so proud.

Thanks Kathy for teaching and picking up where my mom has left off. I love you mom!

journaling fun

2011-02-12T07:19:00.004-07:00

this great book "wreck this journal" was given to andy by a dear friend of my mom's. it is good to have a son that likes to journal as much as my mom and i do. i do have some issues with this book. the point of the book is to let the kids explore their creative sides, to color outside the lines. i want andy to take care of this book. but that is not the idea. for example one page says you have to take it into the shower?!?! you have to draw different size lines, put something sticky on a page (gum, what else), one page andy had to rip out, put it in his pants pocket and then let it go through the was, then tape it back in the book. this book was written just for him i think.

pizza fun

2011-02-09T11:38:00.004-07:00

saturday night is now officially pizza night!

i tried my hand at making my own pizza dough,

and guess what?

it worked

it was super easy

it was a success!

i had a veggie pizza.

the kids had pepperoni.

steve had a meat-lovers one.

oh mom cat

2011-02-08T15:30:00.003-07:00

not too sure about this cat of ours. the other day i caught her licking steve's work boots.

mmmm, maybe she needs food?

or a therapist.

School Helper

2011-02-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

what a cute little helper. with that smile it makes even math seem not as hard.

eeewww

2011-02-07T12:37:00.003-07:00

one of the many fun things we do in our homeschool group is the annual dissection! this was the year of the frog. usually andy gets into the cutting and poking of the dead animal, but not this year. it was all i could do to get him to pretend to cut into if for a "blog moment" photo. ellyn was having nothing to do with the yucky frog either. so, it was me and the frog. it was kind of cool, still pretty icky. our good friend mike b. really got into the whole frog thing. we had to keep running over and seeing what was going on at his table. he and his kids were having a blast. we are looking forward to next year, well i am any way.

traveling fun

2011-02-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

this trip to tennessee was my first time flying with an infant. i was a little nervous, not too sure what to expect. i didn't want to be "that lady with the baby" on the plane. you know the one, the baby that never stops crying and makes a one hour flight seem like two weeks? well kelsey did great! she slept most flights and then was very happy (like always) when she was awake. when we were leaving nashville our gate was by the play area. yep, a play area in an airport. it was so cool. i think the idea is to wear the kids out so they sleep on the planes, but it could have the opposite effect, get them all wound up.

while mom's away...

2011-02-06T13:46:00.002-07:00

the boys will play...

steve and andy went to get hot wings and

yummy desserts.

photos by steve

fingers!

2011-02-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

kelsey loves her fingers!

"tiny"

2011-02-04T15:00:00.002-07:00

on our trip we got to meet the newest member of the Jacobson house hold. "tiny", is not so tiny orange kitty that my dad had adopted. he showed up on the back deck and was hungry, so of course my dad took pity on him and let him move in with the other kitties. sadie and katey were not as thrilled as my dad was. tiny started out very tiny, he could fit in the palm of my dad's hand. needless to say he has grown a bit. he is now 36 inches long and weighs a whopping 20 pounds. he is not fat like katey (mom's black cat) he is sold cat. and a lot of fun too. he loved hanging out with us and he let the kids play with him.

as most people who are owned by cats know, you can't tell a cat where to go or not to go. tiny likes the top of the bookshelf and the baby seat. he also likes the top of the scratching post and on top of dad's desk. do you see a pattern here?

he was also a good sport and let kelsey pet him.

one month

2011-02-03T16:50:00.004-07:00

It has been just about a month since my mom passed away. She died in her sleep on January 4th, surrounded by the things she loved. Her cats, books and my dad.

As we were going through the house we kept finding one of her other favorite things; pens, markers and highlighters. There was a cup in the kitchen, the living room, her office, in her night stand and in the bathroom.

More Crafting and Gifting Fun

2011-01-04T16:02:00.002-07:00

For my parents this year I came up with what I thought was a great idea. I got to use my now new favorite craft product, Mod Podge! I made a shadow box that holds my very first pair of ballet shoes. Once this idea came to me I couldn't wait to get it made. I want to thank my many crafting friends and family for teaching me how to Mod Podge. I was able to tap into the long lost creative side of me and have fun doing this.

I started with Mod Podge...

Found this fun shadow box (Hobby Lobby! My new favorite store. Hard to believe that just a few months ago I had never heard of this amazing store.)

Dug out the old shoes, because of the organized storage room was able to find them right away...

Picked out the paper...

And there is the finished project. Like most things in my life I thought it would take hours, or perhaps day to finish this...I took less than an hour.

It is pretty cool to see these displayed. I hope my parents enjoy it as much I as did making it. To me when I look at those shoes I see all the years of classes, rehearsals, friends made, blood (point shoes!), sweat and tears. But I wouldn't trade those years for anything. That was a huge part of my life, a life that seems like a lifetime ago. I am going to make for me a shadow box that has my first costume and first pair of point shoes.

Gifting fun

2011-01-01T14:08:00.003-07:00

For Christmas this year we gave Steve's mom a "Grandma Box". It was full of games, crafts and coloring things. The kind of things that every grandma needs at her house. It was fun to get everything together. We also included a "post grandma day recovery bag" that was filled with lotion, bubble bath and some chocolate. I wanted to give her a special card that explained what the box was for, and her is what it said...

What could be more precious than a Grandma's special love?

She always seems to know the things that we are fondest of.

She's always ready with a smile

Or a loving word of praise,

Her laughter always brightens up the cloudiest of days

She has an understanding heart that encourages and cheers.

The love she gives so freely grows deeper with the years.

Her wisdom and devotion are blessings from above-

Nothing could be more precious than a Grandma's special love.

Here is a special present for you this Christmas day

A box full of fun and games to play

And when the day is all done

Open the bag and take a look

Grab a yummy hot drink and maybe a book

For grandma's day is over she is ready for a nap

Let's giver her some space so she doesn't snap!

Christmas at Grandma Snyder's

2010-12-31T13:31:00.002-07:00

Before...

After...

During...

Hope your Christmas was filled with Laughter,

wonderful Surprises,

time with Family,

and Sillyness,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.

Christmas Day Fun

2010-12-31T12:51:00.004-07:00

5:30 am Kids wake up (that is great for them, last year it was 4am!)

5:31 am Open presents

5:35 am Done opening presents

5:40 am Ready to go to grandma's to open more presents, too bad mom and dad aren't ready to go yet. And breakfast is not until 7:15. That did give the kids more time to play with what they had gotten from us and Santa.

Kelsey and Andy, we tried to put Kelsey in her stocking but she didn't fit. Needed a bigger stocking.

Dad's not awake yet, Ellyn is too awake.

Looks like fun!

Can you guess what the kids got for Christmas? Not sure why I have a picture of Steve and not Andy using Andy's camera.

Christmas Eve Fun

2010-12-27T10:25:00.002-07:00

When you get married you have to find a way to merge the two family traditions. Some are easier to do than others. One tradition that I had growing up was we opened up our gifts on Christmas Eve. I found out after I had grown up that the reason we did this was because my parents wanted to sleep in. I wanted to keep some of this tradition alive, and we have found a way to do that. On Christmas Eve morning we let the kids open one gift. Then later in the day after we had gone to dinner and been down to see the Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork, we let the kids open a few more gifts. It makes them enjoy it more, I think. On Christmas day it is just too over whelming to do everything at once, and they seem to remember what they have gotten if we break it up. This year the gifts they loved were for Andy a new book (got to love a kid who loves to get books!) and for Ell was a How to draw Spongebob book. After gifts it was time to settle down (right) and get to sleep. Santa had to wait for the kids to fall asleep so he could bring the rest of Christmas by. He was pretty tired by the time he had left the gifts. I have to say it was a great Christmas Eve this year. I even got a gift from Santa! I think Santa just couldn't wait for Christmas Day. I got a new wedding ring! Mine had broken a few years ago and we just hadn't gotten around to getting it fixed. So, Steve got me a new one. I was so surprised. He is just full of surprises this year.

MomCat seems to think one of these is for her. This has been her favorite place to sleep. Don't know if she likes the smell of the tree or if she thinks she is outside.

Ready, set...go!

A new cd!

A new DVD!

Ornament Fun

2010-12-20T09:10:00.002-07:00

This is our second year for the ladies at our church to have an ornament making activity. This was my first year to attend. It was so much fun. We had the fun plain balls to start with and then had tons of ribbon, glitter and all kinds of things that sparkle to add to it.

MomCat and her baby

2010-12-19T14:24:00.002-07:00

Ellyn had left her Cabbage Patch doll laying out in the living room, and we walked in to find MomCat snuggling with it. Later in the day she left, and then went back to it. And even the next day she was sleeping with it. I guess everyone just loves a Cabbage Patch Doll. I remember when I got my Cabbage Patch Doll. That was the best Christmas present! Maybe that is what we should get MomCat.

Crafting Fun

2010-12-18T15:37:00.002-07:00

It is always fun doing crafts, but it is so much more fun doing crafts with friends! Good friends, good ideas and great fellowship. Thanks Genia for letting us invade your house, you are a great hostess.

Ellyn loves doing crafts, and this week she really got into it. We were making Christmas gifts. Shhhh, don't tell.

Even little Nevaeh got to make a craft.

Spelling Fun

2010-12-12T20:02:00.002-07:00

Who likes to write their spelling words? Well our kids do. When they get to write them on the windows! A great suggestion for making spelling more fun.

Leave it to Ellyn to do a pretty picture.

A kids got to have some fun, right mom?

Surprise Party

2010-12-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

As I have gotten older, I have noticed that birthdays are not as much fun as they used to be. With this year being the exception. Now all husbands should take notes from my wonderful husband. This year he planned a surprise party for me! He invited some of our great friends, cooked dinner, arranged for babysitting of all the kids (i lost count after 10) and got me a great gift. I had no idea of what was going on. I was asked to leave the house, Steve told me that the kids were wanting to cook dinner for me and I needed to be out of the house for a while. He didn't have to tell me twice to leave.

When I got home I drove into the garage and saw some decorations for my birthday. When I came into the house it was pretty quiet, I did see my friend Ashley with Kelsey and I thought that it was pretty cool for Steve to invite Matt and Ashley to dinner, and then everyone jumped out and yelled surprise! And boy was I surprised.

But not as surprised as I was going to be. We had a great dinner and then it was time for gifts. I got some wonderful gifts from our friends, I am so blessed to have such great friends. And then Steve had the kids give me a small box. Inside the box was a key, and boy was I lost. Steve had to help me.

Steve " What is it?"

Me: "A key?"

Steve: " And what does a key go to?"

Me: "A car?"

Steve: "And where do we keep the cars?"

Me: "The garage?"

Steve: "And where do you need to go?"

Me: "The garage?"

When I got to the garage, there it was, my new van!! Now it is a good thing that I HATE car shopping, the last two cars we have had Steve has gone to the lot and picked them out, drove them home so I could test drive them and then went back and bought them.

This was a great birthday. Many thanks to my husband and wonderful friends who we got to share our night with. I love you all so much!

Just a bunch of crazy kids!

Gift time!

There it is!

And more crazy kids! Thanks to my bro-in-law for doing crowd control for the night. Your the best Josh.

School Helper

2010-12-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

I guess MomCat thought that Andy needed some help in school to day.

Christmas Fun

2010-12-08T11:00:00.002-07:00

Before After

Christmas has come to the Snyder house! It is always fun picking out our tree, this year it was a green one. One of my favorite parts of Christmas is putting on the ornaments. I love looking at each one and remembering where we got it. The kids got bored (we have a ton of ornaments) so I finished the tree by myself. And I was ok with that. I would tell Steve the story behind each one. I am on the hunt for Kelsey Anne's first ornament and our new family one. These are the special ones to me.

Steve did the lights this year. Normally I do them, because he doesn't put them on "the right way." Also, I think I do them because every year that he does them he puts them on the wrong way so they can't plug in. And what good are the lights if they are not lit? Well, this year he got them on, almost so they could plug in, and then he did plug them in. And wouldn't you know it, only half the tree was lit!! Poor guy, all that work for nothing. He was off to the garage to hunt down another strand, of hopefully working lights this time, and going to give it another shot. When all was said and done the tree looked great. Now I am in the Christmas mood.

Ellyn with her first ornament.

It was Andy's turn to put the tree on top.

OH so many decorations, Mom can I please be done?

Our half lit tree. I am thankful that Steve didn't leave it that way.

Mom and MomCat

2010-12-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

This is what Sunday afternoons should always be like. Me and the cat taking a nap on the couch watching football.

No laughing matter

2010-12-02T20:19:00.002-07:00

Kelsey Anne has started to laugh! Andy told me she laughs at him all the time. I was so excited to tell Steve, and he didn't see it as a big deal. I got so mad. Of course this is a big deal, our daughter's first laugh. He then proceeded to tell me that she has laughed at him before. WHAT! Then Ellyn tells me today that Kelsey laughed at her. She has yet to laugh at me. As I am thinking about this I remember something Andy said to me, he said that daddy plays with Kelsey more than I do.

mmmmm....

Isn't that how it is though with moms and dads? Moms have laundry, dishes, school work and other things to do, besides play. And dads are the fun ones. They are the ones who get down and play. But does it have to be that way? All our kids want from us is to "just play with me mom."

But how are we to do it. Do it all. The whole "to do" list and the playtime? Are we to do it all? I think that is when burn out happens. We don't have to be the super mom. We don't have to have it all and do it all. There has to be a balance. Right? But where or how do we find that balance? I don't want my kids to grow up and remember all the times mom said "Not right now, I have to do...." I want them to remember the fun, the playtime's and the family times. But once again there has to be balance. There is still house work to be done, meals to be served and laundry to do. And I can't forget about me. Me! Yes there has to be time to take care of me. If I am not getting filled up, and all I am doing is pouring out into everyone, I am going to run out of me. And that will not be good. So how do I take care of me? and the laundry and the kids?

I don't know.

But I do know, that I need to spend time with Kelsey Anne, and wait for that laugh. The laundry can wait, the dishes will still be there, but this cute little three month old will be all grown up before I know it.

Fun with Bubbles

2010-12-01T18:51:00.002-07:00

What to do on a day where it is too cold to play outside? Play with bubbles inside.

Ellyn's bubbles kept popping while she was blowing them and the soap was getting in her eye. So, being the smart girl that she is, she came up with a great solution.

Who knew that blowing bubbles was so hard?

Now that the flow is all covered in bubbles what are we going to do?

Mop, of course. And there is more than one way to mop a floor. Might as well put the kids to work today.

Oh Baby It's Cold Outside

2010-11-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

That's why I like to curl up on a nice warm vent.

Halloween Dinner

2010-11-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

Each we have a Halloween Dinner up at Steve's mom's house. The kids get to carve pumpkins and the adults get to eat lots of yummy food. One thing that was added to the dinner this year was making caramel apples. Those were way yummy.

Shower #2

2010-11-11T11:02:00.005-07:00

One more party for Baby Kelsey. This one was thrown by my wonderful mother-in-law and sis-in-laws.

Cute stroller made out of diapers, ribbon and flower for Kelsey's hair was made by Stephanie. Just in time to, we were in need of more diapers.

And as with any party at Grandma Snyders, tons of great food.

To bad Kelsey slept through the whole party.

One of the great things about being the big sis is getting presents at the shower. Once again my crafty sis-in-law Steph made some leg warmers for Kelsey and a matching pair for Ellyn.

Instead of games, the girls had planned a great craft for us to do. I had been wanting to get big letters of my girls names and hang them up in their room, but have been a little busy and hadn't gotten around to doing it. Well, I think they knew that, and for our craft we decorated letters for Kelsey and Ellyn! I loved this idea. We picked out scrapbook paper and then modge podged (attached it with fun glue) to each letter. Even the little girls helped out.

The finished project. Thanks Ladies, it was fun.

The Big 12! Yikes

2010-11-07T07:15:00.005-07:00

Can you believe it? Andy turned 12 this year. I know I can't. He is growing up so fast. This year he wanted to buy himself a new video game, so we gave him money for it. Steve got 50 balloons and blew them up and put one dollar in each one. Andy had fun popping them and then counting all his money.

Papa (Steve's Dad) made Andy this really cool big A to hold a collection of coins that he gave Andy. They are a set from the year he was born.

Mom was gone the weekend of Andy birthday and we were going to have his b'day dinner at Grandma's on Sunday, and we still needed a cake. So, Andy and Steve got to bake his cake. Wish I had been a fly on the wall to see that. The cake turned out really yummy. Good job Andy!

Baby Shower #1

2010-11-06T08:52:00.005-06:00

One of the fun things about having a baby is the great parties. And because we didn't find out that we were having a girl our parties came after Kelsey was born. My wonderful family from church threw us a shower, and they even planned it for when my mom was out in Utah for a visit. My parents live in Tennessee now, and I never thought she would come back, didn't care for Utah that much, but all it took was a super cute grand-baby to get her here. We had so much fun at the shower, ate great cupcakes and played fun games. And don't forget about all the great presents. I am so blessed by my church family. Many thanks to each of them for all their work.

Lots of friends and family. And one of the traditional baby shower games...smell the baby food and guess what it is. I didn't win, it has been 7 years since i had a baby.

Ellyn helped open the gifts. Grandma Snyder made Kelsey burp cloths and a blanket out of super cute ballerina material.

One of Ellyn's little friends made the card with a footprint on it. I am going to frame it and hang it up in Kelsey's room.

Ellyn even got a gift. A picture frame for her and baby sister.

Ellyn, Joy, Kelsey and Grannie (Mary Ellen Jacobson)

Field Trip

2010-10-21T21:02:00.006-06:00

For our field trip this month we went to the Big Red Barn in Santaquin. They have a good size orchard that we got to take a tour of and pick fresh apples. They had a maze for the kids to run around in, and a fun hay ride. Once again our kids learned that fresh produce is so much better than store bought.

Family Fun Day

2010-10-20T14:40:00.003-06:00

For our Family Fun Day we went up the canyon to Diamond Fork Campground. I think this is our new favorite camping site. We took a walk down to the creek, they have a discovery trail for the kids there. They have signs posted and you look for bugs, plants and such. Andy enjoyed skipping rocks. Ellyn loved looking for rocks to take home. Kelsey liked being snuggled up next to mom.

"Does this stick make my butt look big?"

Oh mama!

2010-10-18T15:44:00.002-06:00

I wanted to sit down and get caught up on the blog. We have had some fun things going on around here the past 6 weeks. I have many great pictures, and fun stories. But my brain is just mush. Is it lack of sleep? (she is sleeping great, wakes up just once in the night. but i need some real uninterrupted sleep), is it being so busy; 3 kids, schooling two of them and one baby that keeps me busy? Or is it just mommy overload? I think a little of each. As moms we have so much to do, but do we have to do it all. Oh, I hope not, I don't have that much energy. This is a new season in my life, a busy one. I just have to come to terms with that and i know it will get better, at least that is what I tell myself to get me through the days. I also know that it is by the Grace of God that I get through the days, get anything done and have a good attitude (most days.) No matter how bad the day has been, or how long the night seems there is always a new day. And I some cute faces that I get to see each day.

Surprise!

2010-08-12T14:24:00.003-06:00

Making a baby announcement in the Snyder family has gotten to be pretty fun. The last two pregnancies that were announced were very clever, and I wanted to make ours fun also. One sis-in-law had made a "I'm a big sister" t-shirt for their only daughter, the other had a poem in a card to her dad that said they were going from 4 grandkids to 5.

So, after much thought this is what we came up with on how to share our surprisingly good news. It was my mom-in-laws birthday, the whole family was going to be there, including great-grandma and great-grandpa, perfect time to share to everyone.

We had some family picture taken a few months earlier and I usually give copies to Steve's mom, but I just hadn't gotten around to it. I bought two frames, one for the whole family picture and the other for the kids. The surprise was going to come when she opened one of the kids pictures. It has three spots for their pictures, but seeing as we have only 2 kids (at the time) there was one spot left for baby to come. I put in the top spot Andy, then middle Ellyn and then the bottom spot I used some really cute baby scrapbooking paper and wrote "Coming in September!" Needless to say she was a little surprised when she opened the last gift. I remember her saying something like..."WHAT? ARE YOU? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?" No one else understood because she was the only one who could see it, and then she turned the frame around and showed everyone, and then they got it.

The real adventure...

2010-08-10T10:30:00.001-06:00

When was the last time you went shoe shopping with a 7 year old girl who loves shoes?
I have to say, what an adventure it was. She must have tried on every pair of shoes in her size, and then some. I don't know what it is, if she just can't make up her mind or if she is just looking for that perfect pair of shoes. After about thirty minutes, I had been very patient letting her just look and try them on, I finally put a time limit on the whole experience.

And what do you know, she found them. The perfect pair!!

How do I look? Oh, baby you look fabulous!

Camping with dad

2010-08-09T12:46:00.002-06:00

One of the things that I was going to be missing out this summer was camping. There was no way I was going camping while being pregnant. But Steve and the kids still wanted to go. So off they went. They had so much fun, as all ways. And I had fun too, sleeping in my own bed.

Ellyn "helping" set up camp.

Got to find something to do while camping.
One hammock, a few bungee cords...ta da, instant
fun.

More fun things to do while camping.

I am not too sure if that is a trail they are on, or if they are just making their own. Snack time after the hike, pudding cups, yum.

They even made a new friend at camp.

Gotta to love playing in the water on a hot day.

Some assembly required

2010-08-03T15:06:00.002-06:00

I don't do "some assembly required", but this was easy. The instructions had pictures. I am not sure if you can see it, but these pieces will be our car seat and stroller. Just one of the last things we needed to have and then we are ready for baby. After I got the car seat ready, Ellyn went to get one of her babies to put in it. I guess we had to try it out and see if it worked.

Adventure with dad

2010-07-27T11:26:00.002-06:00

As we were leaving the park I noticed the van running funny. We had a flat tire. I had the Jack, the spare tire but no tire wrench. So I started to work the phone. My little brother, who is very handy and has helped me in situations like this before was able to bring an air compressor to me. As we started to fill up the tire we noticed the tire was fine. It was the valve stem that had come loose. I noticed that if I held the stem in one spot it stopped leaking. We had no string or duct tape but as many may know, I always carry band-aids in my wallet. We pumped up the tire, put a few band-aids on the stem and drove onto walmart. On the way I stuck my head out the door and the tire was doing fine, so we kept on driving to Discount Tire. (my fav tire store, and here's why. ..)

"No problem, we can fix that is less then 5 min".
"And I like the band-aid fix it job" said the tire man.

The cost was only $2.14 for a new valve stem, having a brother that can come help you, priceless.

#133

2010-07-23T19:26:00.004-06:00

Reason #133 how I know I am married to the best husband in the world...

The kids and I had a late night on Sunday this past week, didn't get home until 11pm. After all that partying I knew I would have to just crash for the whole next day. Thankfully Steve was home during the day on Monday and not sleeping, so I knew he could help take care of the kids. But he did more than just "take care" of the kids. He took them out to the park for lunch and an adventure (look for that in a later blog post.) I was able to rest, real rest in a quiet house. Take a nap, not have to worry about meals for any one, and all around have a down day.

What a wonderful guy I have, he knew I needed some time, and he took time out of his day off to take care of me and our family.

Thank you sweetie!

happy birthday ellyn

2010-07-14T09:45:00.002-06:00

For Ellyn's 7th birthday we had a party at Chuck E. Cheese with some friends. Ellyn got a ton of tickets and some fun prizes. I think the adults had fun too, Steve found a fun game that we all had to try and we could see that it could become very addicting.

We then had Ellyn's birthday dinner at Grandma Snyder's. Ellyn wanted to have pita pizzas and cup cakes with pink frosting.

The cousins enjoying the cup cakes (minus one Jordan Lucy who is living in Colorado right now.) You can see why I think we are having a girl, Andy is the only boy out of all the cousins.

keep her cool and happy

2010-07-06T10:37:00.002-06:00

what do you do with a 7 1/2 month pregnant lady in the summer?
take her some where she can cool off and relax.
that is just what my wonderful family did for me this past week. we packed our bags and headed to Mesquite for a few days. our days were spent swimming, eating, swimming, eating, and more swimming. and when i got too hot, i headed up to the room to cool off and take a nap. steve was so great with the kids. he swam with them, played "monkey in the middle" in the pool, and even took us all to see Toy Story 3. great movie, but not sure whose idea it was to take the already emotionally unstable pregnant lady to a tear tearjerker movie, i must have cried for the last 45 minutes of the movie. steve was even patient with me when we had to make extra potty stops on the road. a fun time was had by all!

Joy and Ellyn in the pool, the only way to spend the summer days.

A wonderful pool at the Casablanca in Mesquite, this is why we always stay there.

Ellyn on the water slide. Last year she was too afraid to go down by herself, so I went with her. Finaly on the last day she went down all by herself with her little life jacket. This year she was too big for the life jacket, but I told her she could do it. She could touch the bottom of the pool when she came out of the slide, but it was still a no go. Then dad told her he would wait for her at the bottom and catch her, after that we couldn't get her off the slide.Steve and Andy getting some sun. Thankfully this trip no one got sunburned.

2010-06-20T15:17:00.000-06:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dads that Rock!

battleship anyone?

2010-06-20T09:34:00.000-06:00

mom cat was pretty excited for our $.25 find at a neighbor's yard sale.

hiking with dad, andy and uncle josh

2010-06-17T09:15:00.000-06:00

what is there that is fun for the boys to do today? leave the girls behind and take to the hills. steve took his brother josh and andy up payson canyon and went for a fun hike.

josh and andy

andy and dad

can you see it? they found a little friend along the way.

good thing they each have a hiking stick. looks like a steep hike.

early morning thoughts by steve

2010-06-16T09:00:00.001-06:00

As one day ends another begins. As I pull into the garage one day has ended( I work graves) as I tip toe into the house around 6am another begins. My mind is racing. What will I cook for breakfast today? The raspberries and blackberries look good. What will I do to stay awake today? Oh yea I have to take Ell's bed apart. Just because my day has started or never ended doesn't mean the family's has. Here I am waiting for the official start of the day.

"Dad I'm hungry."

The day has begun.

silly andy

2010-06-09T10:48:00.001-06:00

Sometimes to get into the growing mood you need to see things from the plants point of view.

thanks dad

2010-06-07T10:27:00.002-06:00

what to do on a hot summer day?
get dad to set up the slip and slide for our kids and some neighbor kids.

all lined up and waiting their turn.

breakfast by dad

2010-06-06T08:34:00.002-06:00

when dad makes breakfast, he really makes breakfast. today was french toast, bacon, strawberries and caramel greek yogurt. it was a hit. the only thing mom didn't like about it, was the cooking bacon made the whole house smell like bacon. even the cat smelled like bacon. but it was wort it to have a yummy breakfast.

boring life= boring blog?

2010-06-05T10:34:00.003-06:00

i have been having blogging block. i haven't had any good ideas on which to blog about. i will blame it on pregnancy brain. i don't know if our life just isn't that interesting, or all i am thinking on and doing is getting ready for baby.

in light of this block, i will have a guest blogger...my wonderful husband. look for his photos and funny comments coming soon.

mom cat and her basket

2010-05-14T15:00:00.002-06:00

why do cats love baskets? why do they take them over, without even asking?

this is mom cat's basket. it was my school work basket, but she claimed it.

now she gets to sit in the window while we school, take naps in the sun and make strange noises at the birds.

what a fat cat she is, she fills every inch of the basket up.

oh, how we love our mom cat. but with a face like that, how could you not love it. unless you are crazy like my husband. but mom cat doesn't give up. just this morning steve was in bed watching tv and she went to join him. i found the two of them napping to the sound of some fishing show.

the girls

2010-05-11T15:56:00.001-06:00

every night ellyn gives me and hug good night and her baby a hug good night.

one day she said that she wished i had buttons on my belly so she could put in what she wants..."be a girl" is what she programed on my belly.

sprouts!

2010-04-30T13:17:00.000-06:00

yeah!!

books, books, and more books

2010-04-27T16:05:00.010-06:00

if you were to ask me what i am reading now, be ready for a long winded answer. i have picked up a bad habit from my mom, it is that i can't read just one book at a time. i always have at least 2 or 5 going at once. i mean, i never know what kind of mood i might be in so i have to have something ready. the other habit i have is that i can't sit down with a book without a highlighter. i have read many a good quotes in a great many a book and i want to remember them, so i highlight and dog-ear the pages. it is great fun to go back and read those same books much later and see what spoke to me while i was reading. and to see what is speaking to me now.

i do take very seriously what i read. i like to read a variety (at least i think) of books. i also love to get recommendations from friends and getting a great deal on the bargain shelf of my favorite local bookstore (Gift of Grace in Springville!) so, here is what i am reading now. how about you...

Keep a Quiet Heart by Elizabeth Elliot, a great devotional book. It has short chapters perfect for a morning quiet time. This is one of my mom's favorite authors. I have learned of many good authors and know what to look for when I hit the used bookstores.

A must read for each pregnancy. It has been seven years for me since I was pregnant, even though not much has changed, I have forgotten a lot.

The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy
I found this book when I was pregnant the first time around and love it. It is the book that tells you everything your doctors don't tell you about pregnancy. This is my third time reading it.

It seems as if my life revolves around food. My favorite channel is the Food Network, I just bought a new cookbook, and am in love with pie. I thought this would be just what I needed to help me eat better.

Baby Wise
Once again the third time reading this. A great book, it helped us with our other kids getting them on a schedule and sleeping better. The authors also have written some great parenting books.

The Gates of Zion
Gotta have a fiction. Picked up this based on a recommendation of a good reader friend. I am loving it. It is about Israel just after WW2.

I Married Adventure by Luci Swindoll
Found this one on the bargain table. Didn't know the book, but knew the author. I have read some of her other books and they were great. What I am learning right now from her book is to be happy where God has me. And enjoy this adventure. The perfect book for this season of my life. It is teaching me not to wait until things are better to enjoy life, but to have fun with this time. It was a God thing I found this book, I believe He does that for us. Brings books into our lives to teach us things. I have had several times when I have been sharing a struggle with a friend and they say, "I have the perfect book for you to read!" And it usually is. This is why I take my ready very seriously.

2010-04-25T09:25:00.000-06:00

The first of the baby items is all set up. Ellyn had to put a stuffed animal in the bed since we don't have the baby yet. I am trying to enjoy this time more. I think the getting ready is so much fun, but it just makes me more ready to have our baby here. It seems we have so much to do, so many things to get and the time is going so fast.

Last night Steve and I were talking and he informed me that I have a time line of when I can deliver, based on his work availability. He wants to take a few days off and there are certain days that will work best for him. I told him, good luck with that!

2010-04-24T09:22:00.000-06:00

All ready for summer dinner on the deck.

it's a...baby!

2010-04-19T19:57:00.002-06:00

today we had our ultrasound. and it is a baby, just one, which is good. we don't know if it is a girl or a boy. we do know that all is well. as the doctor said, baby has all it's parts. we do know that it is a very active baby. but, i could have told him that. baby wouldn't cooperate with the dr. when the dr would need to see the heart, baby would flip. when he needed him to turn, baby would just sit there. i think this kid is going to fit in nicely with our kids.

i am still trying to understand something about pregnancy, why do some women just love it? to me it is just a means to an end. i am here to tell you i am ready to get this show on the road. let's have a baby already! my life gets put on hold for nearly 10 months, i am sick as a dog and so tired that i have to rest after walking up our stairs. pregnancies are very hard on my body, labor and delivery are another story. if i could have pregnancies like my deliveries, we might have more kids. but i don't. i really can't do much while i am pregnant. i also have very easy recoveries. i think it is because i have felt so lousy for 10 months that anything seems better to what it was.

i also just love being a mom. i think i do better as a mom, then a pregnant lady. i am now 20 weeks, which means i am half way there. in the home stretch. i can see the light at the end of the tunnel. i am so done.

tonight as i was tucking ellyn in bed she gave me a hug and gave my belly a hug and said "good night baby. i hope you are a girl."

Sew much fun

2010-04-16T16:16:00.000-06:00

wish i could say this was my original idea, but it wasn't. i saw this on a blog and had to try it. well, had to have my mother in law try it. i don't even own a sewing machine, but i knew she would be able to help me out. and i am glad to say it was pretty easy and i love the way it turned out. i am having a hard time buying maternity close, but who doesn't. (if you didn't please tell me where you got your cute clothes.) i can find pants ok, but am having a hard time with shirts. i am short and all the maternity shirts are long, oh so long and they make me look even shorter. i also don't like the "tent" look. you know what i am talking about. i had seen this type of shirt at a store, but didn't want to pay that much for one shirt so i headed over to the ladies department and bought a normal shirt just two sizes larger, and then sewed an elastic in the side seam. i should be able to wear it for a while, i am hoping anyway not to get that big that fast.

the before shirt

sorry kathy, you made it into the blog. thanks for your sewing skills.the after shirt. love the gathers on the side.

2010-04-15T16:05:00.000-06:00

don't let that cute face fool you...
behind those blue eyes and freckle nose beats the heart of a...
well, a six year old little girl who loves her cat and love to bug her bother more.

A little garden fun

2010-04-14T15:19:00.007-06:00

We had pretty good luck last year with our garden. Tons of tomatoes, quite a few cucumbers and two really tall sunflowers. I had decided not to have a garden this year, too much to do I thought. But then I went to a gardening for small areas class with a friend of mine and became inspired and motivated! I went home and took a look at my little square foot garden, cleaned it out, stirred the dirt a bit and was ready to go. We already have our strawberry plant growing. I am going to use a topsy turvy tomato planter for our tomatoes and have everything else in our little box. We have some seeds started inside and some stronger ones are in the ground. After a little bit of reading and researching on the square foot garden I hope to grow plenty of fresh veggies for this season.

grow, grow oh please grow!

2010-04-08T17:48:00.004-06:00

If pictures are worth a thousand words, then this one says it all about my pregnancy. Kids pulling on me, everyone needing me, housework calling and mom is just plain tired.

Family Fun Day

2010-04-07T14:05:00.005-06:00

The kids just finished their chapter in science on Insects. And they loved it, even Ellyn, who normally doesn't like science. So, for our Family Fun Day we went to the Bean Museum at BYU. They had so much fun. I had printed off some scavenger hunt pages and we were in teams, boys vs the girls. Not sure who won but I know that Andy had the most fun. It was great to see him reading his paper and looking for the answers. When he couldn't find what he was looking for he had to ask one of the workers and they told him just what he needed to know. This was our first Family Fun Day in quite some time, and it was good to be out doing fun things together again. The goal is to have a Family Fun Day each week. I hope we can keep it up.

Ready for some fun at the Museum.

This was Andy's favorite thing there, the Liger.

EEWWW big bugs.

Cool snake, Ellyn wouldn't even go near it (neither would Steve.)

Andy working on his scavenger hunt page.

Ellyn and her page.

Thanks for the help dad! And the fun day.

Oh my toe!

2010-03-29T09:01:00.004-06:00

Have you seen these feet? They belong to my wonderful husband. Every once in a while Steve will ask me to give him a foot rub, and well, he knows I have trouble just being in the same room as his feet. They are just weird. I guess weird is not the technical term, weird bunions is more like it. He has has them for as long as I have known him, and they have not bothered him, until recently. So, he decided to have them taken care of. Well, at least one for now.

Day one after surgery, not much to see. He was a little nervous about having the surgery. Right before he was to go in everyone started telling him how painful it was. After 2 days he had to start putting weight on his foot and that was a little scary because he didn't know how much it would hurt. But he is a trooper. Didn't take much pain meds, they made him too sick, didn't need that much anyway.

After about 2 weeks he had to go back to have the dressing changed and make sure it was healing ok. Yuck!

I guess you could say it looks better. It is still hard to tell the shape of his foot because of the swelling, but I think it is better. Not sure if he is going to have the other one done or not.

15 weeks and counting

2010-03-18T15:41:00.001-06:00

car seats
diapers
strollers
bibs
high chairs
nothing like starting all over again!

Cat's in the Cradle....

2010-01-05T16:21:00.002-07:00

Mom Cat has a new place to nap.

I am sure Papa didn't think she would be the one sleeping in there, but that is a cat for you.

Christmas Morning

2010-01-02T15:10:00.007-07:00

3:45 am...awaken by excited children
4:00.......children sent back to bed by tired mother
5:00........children allowed to get up
5:01........begin opening family presents
5:03........finished
7:00........over the river and through the woods, to grandma's house we go for breakfast, presents and family fun

steve tried to make waffles, with as much waffle mix as he put in the waffle maker i think he was trying to make all of them at once. papa did a much better job on the bacon, not too crunch for a me and ellyn.

pretty room, with many presents for kids of all ages, soon to be a pretty messy room with oohing and aahhing over the perfect gift.

a hand made gift from papa, a cradle for the girls.

even little kinley loves her new toy, a remote of her very own.

a new golf club for the boys, don't ask me what kind it is.

michelle always camera ready

merry christmas to all, and too all a good night (or nap)

2010-01-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

We tried a new Snyder tradition this year. And I think it worked out quite well. On Christmas Day we always head up to Steve's mom's house for breakfast, but that always presented a problem. A very quick Christmas morning at home, not enough time to play with new toys and rushing out the door.

This year we opened presents on Christmas Eve, and it was great. We saved a few family gifts and stockings for Christmas morning, but everything else was opened. One thing that I like was being able to clean up a little before bed, normally we would rush out of the house and leave wrapping paper, bows and boxes strung everywhere. But this year I got the whole family to help clean and then we went out to dinner. Yes, we had Christmas dinner at Sizzler. Another tradition I think we should have.

The kids separated the gifts, and then we took turns opening them.

Oh, what could it be?

Thank you mom! It is what I ALWAYS wanted.

Books for Joy!

Now I have to explain this tradition. This is something I have picked up from the Snyders. They will sometimes give a "pre-gift gift." And that is something that has to do with your real gift, but not so much as you can figure out what it is. One year Steve's parents gave us a dryer (we had bought a washer but was in need of a dryer), so our pre-gift gift was a box of wet socks. As you can imagine we were very confused. And then they showed us our real gift. Well, for Steve this year I did the pre-gift gift; a box with dirt, rocks and flowers. Can you guess what his real gift is? A gift card to Home Depot. He always loves working in the yard in the spring and has to buy some type of dirt and pretty flowers. I was very proud of myself.

The gift card, the real gift!

Seriously, that's it?

Dad trying to get kids to bed. Mom Cat might have better luck.

The kids slept out by the tree this year. I remember doing that so I could catch Santa, but I never did. This year the kids almost did. I am going to have to rethink this tradition.

Ellyn's Gift from Grannie and Great Papa

2009-12-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

For Ellyn this year, her theme was cooking. She has been helping me in the kitchen a ton and loves it. So, Grannie and Great Papa sent her a set of cooking utensils, her own set of towels and hot pads, a timer and a recipe holder.

I don't think she knew what it was when she opened it. Daddy had to explain what it was, and what the things were used for.

Once she understood she love it. She was ready to go cook!

First thing she made was sugar cookies,

with a little help from mom.

So proud of her cookies!

And what is a cookie without frosting and sprinkles?

The finished cookie! The were super yummy.

The Box

2009-12-30T15:07:00.003-07:00

When a box arrives with the return address of Tennessee, the kids know who it is from; Grannie and Great Papa Jacobson (Joy's parents.) The box is just as much a tradition as stockings and the tree. With the blending of two families we are trying to keep some of our own family traditions alive and add our own special one. One that I had growing up was opening presents early. I think my dad just got tired of me bugging him so much that he finally gave in, either that or he was just so excited he couldn't wait until Christmas. To keep that tradition alive we let the kids open one gift a day from my parents. It helps to spread out the gift giving and then the remember who gave them what.

Now the kids are big enough to open the box on their own and sort out the presents.

I think Mom Cat is looking for her gift.

Park Day

2009-12-12T10:09:00.006-07:00

What do you do when the kids are going stir crazy in the house? Take them to the park, even on a snow day.

This is "our" park. The park behind the Spanish Fork Library. It looks a little different after a foot of snow in two days.

Snow make for some fun going down the slide. And when they fall, it doesn't hurt so much. The down side it we couldn't stay very long, it was just too cold.

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-07T11:07:00.005-07:00

To kick off the Christmas season, we headed out to get our tree. This is the year to get a flocked tree, last year was a green year.

We were in our van, so we had to put the tree in the van. It did get a little squishy for Andy. But as you can see, he didn't mind. They were both so excited to get our new tree home.

The lights are always the first to go on the tree. And normally I have them all put away nice and neat so they are not tangled up, but something must have happened last year because they were just in a pile in the storage box.

Here the kids are looking at the ornaments and picking which ones they want to hang. Ellyn always wants to hang her ornaments first. Each year the kids get a new ornament, we try to get them one that shows something fun they did or something they really liked that year. Ellyn has Dora, Diego and Princesses. But we are moving out of the Dora and Diego stage and she has been getting rid of anything that has either of them on it. So, when she found the Dora ornament she wanted to get rid of it. But, I told her no, she used to love it so it stays.This is our flocked tree skirt. I don't think you can see in the picture but there is tons of flocking on the fabric, it is from the first year we had a flocked tree, and it never came off. So, on our years with a green tree I use a different skirt.

The kids take turns each year putting the angel on the tree. This year it is Ellyn's turn. And with a little help from dad, and a chair, the angel got put in her place.

We love our tree and all the memories it holds. Steve and I each have our ornaments from when we were kids and now our kids have the start of their own collection. And when they are older and move out (hopefully) they will take their collection.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-05T15:50:00.006-07:00

With my parents living in Tennessee and having only Steve's family here holidays are easy for us. We just go where there is food! This year it was at Grandma Cannon's (Steve's grandma). There were Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and lots of good food. After lunch I (joy) took a turkey induced nap, while the cousins played cards. Then there was pie. I think the comment was made we should have started with pie, I believe that should be a new tradition.

Ellyn is ready for yummy turkey!

Uncle Steve and Aunt Michelle
Look at that yummy food.Andy and Steve.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Park Day

2009-09-09T19:32:00.004-06:00

During a recent trip to the park Andy got bored, so I gave him the camera and an assignment. Show me what the park looks like through the eyes of a 10 year old. I think he did pretty good.

Looking through the tunnel and seeing mom reading and Ellyn having a drink.Got to keep an eye on the little sister. You never know when she might sneak up on you and bug you. Good job Andy.

Wind Fest '09

2009-08-29T19:00:00.009-06:00

Wind Fest or the kite festival was this past weekend in Spanish Fork. Which only make sense because we have so much wind. I didn't know that it was always windy here in the morning until we moved here. It is ALWAYS windy in the morning until 11am. Almost on the dot 11am and the wind dies down, that is unless we have a storm blowing in. Last year was the first year of the Wind Fest, Steve just happen to find out about it and took the kids and they had a blast. We had been waiting for it to come around again. This year it seemed a bit more organized, had more vendors and plenty more Family Fun Activities.

One of the coolest things was on the reservoir there was this guy riding a jet ski with another guy pulling a very large kite. It was pretty cool. He would even get the tail down so that we could touch it as it went by.

Now that is what I call a snow cone. I only got 2 for all of us, normally the kids only eat half and leave half for me and Steve. Not this time. They ate the whole thing.

Have you seen these crazy trikes? The kids loved riding them. Andy was very sad when Steve told him he would not be getting one for his birthday. (the cheapest one was $750! that was for the Ellyn size.)This was the first time for us to ride a segway. It was awesome, maybe I will get one for my birthday. (we both look great in our helmets)They also had paddle boards. Steve and Andy did those. Whoa! Steve almost fell in. I was ready with the camera to capture the blog moments. But he didn't. He did give me his phone and wallet just in case.

And we can't forget the kite making.

Not too sure who is flying the kite here.

Art Classes

2009-07-31T07:54:00.000-06:00

In Spanish Fork they have two weeks of what they call The Youth Arts Festival. They offer all kinds of classes for the kids. They have art, dance, music, theater classes. This year the kids did art classes, and had so much fun. On the last day they had an art show and we got to go and see what all the other classes had done.

Ellyn showing her flower she made and the shirt she painted in her class.

Andy showing one of his cool art projects that he did.The kids also made some cool rock faces. This group kind of looks like Sunday dinner at Grandma's house.

Andy, the golfer

2009-07-29T07:45:00.000-06:00

At the Spanish Fork Golf Course they offered lessons for kids, so we got Andy signed up! He loved it. On the last day they went out on the course and did some real golfing. While I was watching Andy during his lesson it seemed to me that he did really good. But what do I know about golf. I do know that it is really boring to watch on tv. But Andy likes it, his dad likes it and his papa likes it.

Ellyn had to do something to keep herself entertained durring the lesson, so she found a few friends and they ran up and down the hill. I don't think that is really allowed on the golf course.

Ellyn's Birthday

2009-07-25T19:43:00.006-06:00

This year for Ellyn's birthday we let her pick what she wanted to do. First on the list was to go to Jumping Jacks (it is a play place with all these fun blow up things for the kids to jump on) she wanted to take her good friend Trinity. It happens that Trin's brother is one of Andy's good friends. So they each had a friend to play with. After jumping for a while Ell wanted to go to the Pizza Buffet in Provo. I think dad helped her decide on that place, it is one of Steve's favorites.

Trinity and Ellyn, would you believe that Ell is the older one?

Having so much fun sliding and jumping.

Tanner and Andy on the sinking ship.

The next part of Ellyn's birthday was the cake. We decided that we were going to bake her cake this year instead of buying one. It was fun picking out what kind of cake she wanted, what color icing, and then getting some fun candles.

The finished cake. Good job Ellyn.

The next part of her birthday was the traditional birthday dinner. We had the family over for a BBQ at our house. Steve did the grilling, good job dear. It was so great to have everyone over to celebrate our Ellyn's birthday.

Aaliyah and Treysen. He is just the cutest baby, and such a good one also.

Party in the back yard. We are very lucky to have shade in the afternoon. We have a huge tree behind our house that we just love.

Grandma (steve's mom) always taking pictures.

Don't know if you can see it or not but in the picture with everyone in line getting food, while i was taking this picture LaShon poked her head down (she is at the end of the line) and made a silly face. I didn't even see it until after the picture was taken.

Ellyn said to me "I am six, going on seventeen. And at seventeen I can get married." Try again sweetheart.

Boys!

2009-07-07T18:17:00.002-06:00

Boys will be boys.

2009-06-28T19:01:00.004-06:00

I have wanted a garden for a while, but just never got around to doing it. So, this was our year to begin. I had decided to do a square foot garden, no weeding, easy upkeep it all sounded so great to me! I still don't know what I am doing, I keep asking those that have gardened before me many questions. But so far, so good. I am ready to eat.

Our first growth in the garden was this cute jalapeno. I am ready for salsa.

What cute little tomatoes.

If all goes according plan we will be eating tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, cilantro and watermelon. We also have sunflowers growing for fun and strawberries for next year.

Eye See You

2009-06-25T14:08:00.005-06:00

Sandra, this is for you! A cow's eye. Guess he doesn't need lasik now.
Each year with our homeschool group we do a dissection. This year we did a cow's eye. Yuck! But I put on a brave face for the kids, and told them "This is going to be so cool!" Yuck again. Now I love to watch the surgery shows. I don't get grossed out by much, except, the eyes. Anytime I see someone coming close to cutting or doing any type of surgery on the eye the channel quickly gets changed. So, I knew this was going to be tough for me. But once I got over it, it was kind of cool. It took a lot for Andy to even touch the eye, but he did. I think he liked looking while I did the working. Last year we did a shark (which happened to be his idea) and he got all into it. He still has some teeth and eyes. Yuck, boys. We did learn alot about the eye. After we did that our leader, our brave leader had a cow's heart that she was going to dissect and let us watch. Now, that was cool.

He wouldn't even pick it up with his hands, he used a large pin.

Here they are looking at the heart.

2009-06-23T16:00:00.002-06:00

In as little as

3)
We have a new ceiling. Steve had contacted a guy who was licensed and had him come out and give us a quote on how much it would cost to fix our lovely hole. We would provide the dry wall and he would provide everything else. When he came Steve was asleep, so it was up to me. I make an executive decision. The guy had everything in his truck, including the dry wall can could fix it right then, so I told him to get to work! Now we just have to clean up, again. They did a great job, didn't make too much of a mess. But we still have a ladder, tarp and dry wall pieces in the basement. Think I could hire a maid to clean it up for me? And while they are at it finish the laundry, mop, vacuum......

To the dads in our life

2009-06-21T15:45:00.004-06:00

What could Steve and his dad be looking at? They are looking at what we had just found in our basement, where the water fall had just been flowing. We heard water running and we went running to find it flowing in the basement. And what is it you do when you don't know what to do? You call dad of course. Kathy and Ev had been out and didn't mind a stop before heading home to help us out.

And Ev's words of wisdom? "Let's cut your ceiling!" Really, is that helping to make more of a mess in my living room? Well, I guess father knows best.

At first Steve was a little hesitant to cut into the water logged ceiling, but once he got started he just kept on cutting.

Then the search was on for the leak! The looked and looked and looked some more.

Until they finally found the leaky pipe. And like any good repair man Ev returned the next day to fix our leaky pipe. Thanks dad. You see this is why we will always live by our parents. If we had been close to my parents house, you can know for sure my dad would have been right over to help us out. And just like Ev he would have helped Steve find the problem and get it fixed. We are very blessed to have some great dads in our family. So to my dad, my dad-in-law and Steve: Thanks for being such great dads!! We love you.

Oh, by the way, this is how my basement currently looks. I have to remember it could have been so much worse.

What's in your purse?

2009-06-19T16:51:00.002-06:00

Ellyn has a love of purses just like I do. Steve can always tell when the seasons are changing because that is when I get a new purse. You got to have a winter one and a summer one. Can you really use a summer purse that has cute flip flops on it in the winter, I don't think so.

Today I noticed Ellyn's new purse sitting on the counter and could tell that there was stuff in it. So I looked it in to see just what a 5 year old has to have in her purse. And for this one it is: Her play Dora phone, Her new bracelet she made in art class and a big pink bouncy ball. The must haves for an active girl on the go.

Fun with Cats

2009-06-18T14:17:00.003-06:00

George

Snowball
Smokie
Tim
Dusty
Little Bit
Tigger
Rudi
Gracie
Thomas
Miller
Jessie
Mama Cat

We (me and the kids) are cat people. That is the list of cats that have been in our family. From before I was born to our newest member of the family. We have had many cats just move in with us. We open the door and they come on in like they own the place. We have rescued some from shelters or pet stores. Our latest addition come by way of our neighbor, she was moving to California and couldn't take all her cats with her. We were talking one day and I happen to mention that we might be getting a cat, and she asked if we wanted one of hers. I was so excited! Mama Cat is the sweetest cat. She just purrs and purrs. Steve is not a big fan of cats, but Mama is a big fan of Steve. Right after we got her, the kids and I were gone to the store and Steve was sitting on the couch watching tv and here comes Mama and tried to sit on his lap. Up to this point she had not even done that with me! Last night we were watching tv in our room and she jumped up on the bed, on his side and snuggled up with him. She is doing her best to win him over.It is hard to see her, but she is mostly black with brown and a little white.

She loves her belly rubbed!The first few nights that she was with us she slept in the bathroom where her food and kitty box are. I guess Ellyn wanted her to be comfortable, so she let her use her own pillow.

Fun blogs

2009-06-09T08:54:00.004-06:00

I have been reading some blogs and will be adding them to our blog, I will also tell who they are or how I found them. This blogging thing is fun. A great way to keep in contact with our family and friends.

New Adventure 4 Me an' DE

This new blog is from Steve's Aunt Diane and Uncle Mark. They just moved to Canada and this is a great way for us to follow their adventures. Keep the posting coming ME (Mark Ellsworth) and DE (Diane Ellsworth.)

Family fun + 2

2009-06-08T12:10:00.004-06:00

On Friday we went to the Hill Air Force Base in Ogden. I thought the air show was on Friday, well as it turns out it is on Saturday. But it wasn't all for nothing we went to the Museum, and the kids didn't seem to care we missed the show.

We had two extra kids with us, Torri and Talon. They are like family so it was fun to have them. A good time was had by all.

On the way up Steve made up a game to play in the van. He would pick something and we would have to find it. Like a red truck and who ever found it first got a prize! He had picked up some candy from the gas station before we headed out.

we were wondering where this plane took off to? all that was left was the tire tracks.

A little family fun

2009-06-04T16:56:00.006-06:00

I was ready to leave.
Not sure where I was going.
But I knew I was ready.

I was just about done, with everything and everybody. I had been "doing" too much and needed to not be "doing." I told my wonderful husband that we (family) needed to get away to do something, or I was going to be getting away, and maybe in a rubber truck to a padded room.

So, the plan was to take off to Mesquite. Not too far away, but far enough. We stayed at the Casablanca. We had never stayed there and was not too sure what to expect. We had seen the pool and it looked fun. So, we tried it out. And love it. The rooms were nice, the pool great and the food even better ( i didn't have to cook it!!)

All we did this weekend was eat, watch movies (Night at the Museum, UP, and Hotel for Dogs all great) and swim. It was a great get away.

Ready for the trip. The kids have their beds made, books on hand and snacks ready.

Just a few of the things the kids did to try to pass the time while waiting for our food.

Ready for the pool.

The Pool.

In the pool.

Ellyn getting her towel ready, Steve taking pictures with his phone. Got to have something to do until the pool opens.

This is Andy's "I am grumpy because the pool is not open" face. We had to wait until 9am for them to open. That is a long time when you get up at 6am.

They had a fun water slide. Ellyn only went down twice by herself, and Andy had to be there to catch her. I went down a few times the day we were leaving, and she loved it then.

Ellyn came with everything she needed in her two suitcases. Everyone thought she looked so cute leaving the hotel.

We ran into some rain storms on the way home. It was pretty cool to see some real rain storms. These Utah rain storms are not like the ones I grew up with. When it rained, it RAINED.

The kids slept on the way home, which made for a very nice ride. Take a look at Andy's hair, that boy needs a hair cut.