The Luke Family

Christmas 2011

2012-01-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas was great this year spending time with family. Once again we got to speak to Ammon through skype. He's doing great...loving his mission...feeling nervous about coming home in a couple of months. We were able to get a family picture once again around the computer. I love that even though he is thousands of miles away from us, we are still able to get a picture of the WHOLE family!

I also was able to make many of the presents this year, including pajamas for Hyrum and the grandkids. Can you believe that all of these pajamas cost me less than $13 total?!

And, of course, there needs to be a silly picture also.

We also had fun looking at Christmas lights. In fact, we may have started a new tradition. The kids dressed in their pajamas, we made popcorn and hot chocolate (with lids), and gave them each one of these...

(source)

Then we piled into the Mini Van Express(s) and drove around to see the lights. I checked with the local paper beforehand to get a list of must-see light shows. It was a lot of fun and the kids were especially excited to get their round trip ticket punched!

And then there were the ever popular graham cracker houses!

I had the ~~hardest~~ funnest time trying to get a picture of Isaac!

Finally!!

Olivia didn't actually make a graham cracker house....she just ate one!

And, sorry to Shailey! She made a house, but in all the fun of trying to get a picture of Isaac, I didn't remember to get a picture of her!

Hyrum's Baptism

2011-11-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

Hyrum is eight years old already and was baptized with his friend, Dylan, on Friday night. It was a great baptism. He was soooo excited! The family all pitched in with Dad doing the baptism and confirmation, Moroni and Grandpa Mel being witnesses, McKay giving a prayer, and Mom giving a talk on the Holy Ghost. It was a very special evening. Afterwards, Hyrum was so excited that he got baptized that he was telling everyone...even the clerk at the store. The conversation went something like this:

Hyrum to the clerk: "Guess what, I'm eight years old and I got baptized tonight!"
Clerk: "Why would you want to do that?"
Hyrum: "So I could get the Gift of the Holy Ghost!"

He had a similar conversation with the person at the ticket office of the movie theater. He's a missionary already! Speaking of missionaries, through the magic of photoshop, Ammon was able to attend the baptism also!

The boys enjoy doing a pose they call "The Barney Stinson." Silly boys!

Mega Man

2011-10-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

This year Hyrum wanted to be Mega Man for Halloween. I had the perfect colored stretch lycra material already in my stash. I picked up the rest of the supplies at a thrift store. I used a basketball for the helmet. It worked perfect because it was soft and pliable and I was able to cut the shape with scissors. I used a football for the mega blaster. These were both covered with the lycra and glued in place with the glue gun. I cut a hole at one end of the football and wedged a flashlight in it. It serves two purposes. One, to use as a handle to hold the blaster, and two, as a cool light-up power source. I covered the lens with transparent red tape. The boots were made using thick plastic/foam placemats. They were also covered with the fabric. Hyrum LOVES it so I'd say it was a success!

Fifty Mile Hike

2011-10-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

So Dad and the boys survived their second fifty mile hike this summer. Dad wasn't able to make it for all of it (on account he was spending time camping with Hyrum and I) but, he was able to be there for the toughest day! A seventeen mile hike on rough terrain and little water supply! I guess it was pretty grueling. Moroni and McKay did great and really made a fashion statement along the way. In their words..."We've been rockin' these bad boys all week!" See for yourselves...

I'm glad I wasn't there to witness McKay standing on this cliff with VERY steep sheer drop offs on both sides...SCARY!

...remember the 60's?

2011-09-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Man, our far-out friends, Warner, LeAnn, and Carol all turned 60 this summer. To celebrate, they threw a party at the Mitchell's pad. We thought it would be groovy to dress the part. A trip to Value Village, and a few evenings of sewing turned a moo-moo, pillowcase, shower curtain rings, two t-shirts, and pants into these mod outfits. RIGHT-ON!

I was lucky to find some bright green strappy sandals with chunky heels at Value Village the same day!

This was the groovy inspiration that blew my mind, baby!

A Week of Firsts!

2011-08-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

Is there anything this kid can't do? First off, he learned to operate the excavator....

Then we went camping at Diamond Lake and he caught his first Rainbow trout on Uncle Rick's fishing boat. He pulled in three on the first day. Then, on the second day, he pulled in two—including one that measured 17 1/2"!!

What a whopper!!

(Of course, he was hoping to catch a Barred Knifejaw because they sell on Animal Crossing for 5000 bells!)

And while he was at it, he learned to be captain of the fishing boat! Thanks Uncle Rick for taking us out in your boat!

Posing with Dad to show off the haul from the first day...

Next on the list was to become a Junior Ranger for Crater Lake National Park.

He studied hard...

Had all the right answers...

And earned his patch from Ranger Brian....

Pretty cool, don't you think?

Notice the "Master Sword" tucked into the back of his t-shirt? No self respecting ranger goes anywhere without one! (He would bring his sword on our walk to the restroom to "protect" me. One time a car came along. He said, "Watch out, Mom! I've got to stay alert for those!" What kind of a seven year-old uses the term "stay alert!?")

And last, but not least, on his week of firsts...the crowning event...drum roll please....

He learned how to ride his bike!! His dad worked with him a lot before he had to leave and meet up with the boys on their fifty-miler. He pretty much had it, and could go about 50 feet without his dad holding on, but wasn't completely confident. It took a lot of convincing to get him to practice. One conversation went something like this...

Hyrum: Mom, who's the boss, you or Dad? Because Dad says I can't play video games until I ride my bike...and I don't think Dad should boss me around like that? (He was hoping that I was the boss and could boss Dad around!)

Mom: Dad's not bossing you around, he just knows you'll have fun once you learn to ride your bike. Its fun to ride a bike. Once you learn how, you'll love it.

Hyrum: How do you know I'll love it? I don't think it will be fun. I'm okay with not riding a bike.

Mom: You know, to be a missionary, you'll have to learn to ride a bike.

Hyrum: No I won't. I can be a walking missionary.

Anyway, this went on and on. But, finally....

SUCCESS!!
And, BTW, as soon as he learned to ride his bike he said, "Okay, I was wrong, it is fun to ride a bike!" And from that moment on, he announced to EVERYONE that went by our campsite that he could ride his bike! All in all, I'd say it was a pretty eventful week!

Jammin'!

2011-06-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

The other day I went into the band room to find this....it was pretty sweet!

Then, they changed venues and opted for ukeleles on the stairs....

Nothing more fun than a brother's jam session!

Hyrum's Craziness Repeat

2011-06-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

So I played around a little bit on iMovie and came up with this...enjoy!

GREASE!

2011-06-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Springfield High School Kaleidoscope choir performed songs from Grease at the spring concert. McKay chose to, and had fun, dressing as the nerd. They had lots of fun putting the numbers together and performing them.

Summer Nights

Greased Lightning

Sandy

Hand Jive

We Go Together

Hyrum Craziness!

2011-06-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Who says it has to be a nice day to jump on the trampoline? Hyrum proves otherwise! Although, he had to completely change his clothes (because they were SOAKED!) and he had to have a big cup of hot chocolate when he came in!

I'm a Soccer Grandma, I guess!

2011-05-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, if Kim is a soccer mom, then I must be a soccer grandma! I love these kids and am longing for the day when we live closer! But, for now, I am thankful for the technology that keeps us close.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T22:31:00.000-07:00

Below is the heart-shaped card that I got from Hyrum on Sunday.

I know it's dark and hard to read, so I will translate...

"Mom, I love how you make me top ramen every day."

"Thank you for not being LAZY."

"Thanks for not being LAME."

Then he drew several Link characters, including a master sword!

You gotta' love him!

He's a Reading Machine!

2011-05-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hyrum received a certificate of achievement today at school for reading. I credit it to reading scriptures. Instead of reading words like "Run, Spot, Run," he's reading words like commandments, inheritance, genealogy, obedience, wilderness, Jerusalem, etc. Now, you just don't get those words in your typical first grade book!

And the victory bow...

It's Mating Season on Mossy Rocks!

2011-04-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's mating season for the turkeys and this is becoming quite the pick up joint! Can't you just hear the three tom's on the hill?

Tom #1..."Wow, check out the feathers on that hen!"

Tom #2..."I don't know, I'm kind of a beak guy myself."

Tom #3..."Me...I like the legs. Those are some pretty good lookin' drumsticks!"

(Click on the picture to see them better.)

And check out this guy....he's really struttin' his stuff!

Our friend has been feeding the turkeys and now there's about 40 of them that come around. In about a month or so, we should get some good pictures of the cute little poults (which is turkey talk for chicks!) Did you know that a turkey has exceptional eyesight in the day, but not very good at night...and, they can run up to 25 mph, and fly up to 55 mph? Don't you feel smart now that you've been educated about wild turkeys?

Springfield High School Talent Show

2011-04-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

This happened just before Spring Break, but I just now got the video. (My batteries went dead during the performance, so I had to get a copy from the school, of which, I think the cameraman was a little distracted in the beginning!) Anyway, McKay auditioned and was one of the twelve chosen to perform that night. He sang an original song he wrote about Pikachu. He actually wrote the song the night before auditions. Where does he get this from?! He also made his own costume to look like Ash Ketchum. He sewed his own shirt, without a pattern, and made all the other props and accessories. Enjoy...

And the winner is....

Easter Fun!

2011-04-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Ben's two little nieces came over, which made it more fun for Hyrum. It was a beautiful day and they had lots of fun.

As you can see, this was a fairly easy egg hunt!

I know these are weeds, put they are kind of pretty!

And they're off!!

Some eggs were even hidden under the trampoline.

Hyrum was quite the gentleman and even retrieved some of the eggs for the girls.

This is usually where we hear one of Hyrum's signature sayings...

"Uh, people, could I get a little help here!" (Seriously, he says this quite often!)

It's a good thing all those weeds are growing well in the flower beds.

Otherwise, is would have been hard to hide the eggs!

Hyrum + Camera = Silliness!

2011-04-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old pictures today when I came across these pictures taken by Hyrum at age six. You might ask, "What does a six year-old take pictures of?" Well, let me show you...

Three pictures of the floor. (I guess that stain on the carpet was pretty cool!)

Four pictures of the bed.

One picture of the remote (of which has mysteriously vanished....haven't seen it anywhere!)

One picture of the contact lens case.

One picture of the lightbulb.

Six pictures of the spinning ceiling fan.

Forty-seven pictures of the TV show you were watching!

Yep, that's right, forty-seven!

One picture of your hand.

One awesome picture of your eyeball....really close-up!

And seven really goofy pictures of your face!

Serving in Brazil

2011-04-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ammon was able to get on the blog the other day and told me we were past due for a post on him....and he's right! I always figured that since I forward his weekly emails to a group of people, that everyone knows how he's doing. But then I realized that not everyone gets the emails, so here goes....

He just passed his year mark, I can't believe how fast the time is going!

As goes tradition, he burned a shirt.

He has spent time as a district leader and a trainer....

working his companion hard, uh, maybe too hard!

He spends A LOT of time walking....no bikes or cars on this mission!

He loves getting mail and packages!

The Brazilians are "crazy for pancakes,"
so he cooks for them whenever he can.

He has endured all kinds of weather...it's pretty unpredictable.

And, he's getting pretty good at speaking Portuguese!

McKay and Madison

2011-03-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

McKay and his friend, Madison, performed at the spring choir concert. They sang "Lucky" by Jason Mraz. I think they did an awesome job!

Talent Show Fun!

2011-03-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

Tonight was our ward's annual talent show. Monty was part of the "Creswell Boys." McKay did a Sinatra number on the ukelele, and an original song he wrote about Pikachu...what a variety! And Hyrum showed off his dance moves to Short Skirt, Long Jacket, a.k.a the theme song from Chuck. (Note: This dancing has become a Monday night, 8pm ritual in our house!)

Family Picture 2010

2011-01-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

Who would of thought we could get a family picture this year with Ammon in Brazil serving his mission? Well, miracles do happen! We were able to Skype with him on Christmas day and we gathered around the computer for a family photo. It was great! We enjoyed spending time with all our kids and grandkids throughout the Christmas season. I feel truly blessed!

One more reason to love Oregon rain!

2010-11-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

I know its crazy, but I'm lovin' that the rains are here in Oregon. We actually had a good storm just before we left for California. We had to go out to the property to check on something and were so excited to see that the pond had filled with water and that the creeks were running. I was bummed I didn't have my camera at the time. But, not to worry, the rains continued and the pond and creeks are even more full now. So, this time out to the property I brought my camera. And, as an added bonus....a rainbow!!

California and Grandkids!

2010-11-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

We just returned from a wonderful week in California visiting Kim, Danny, and the kids. It was a frugal vacation since we stayed with Kim and Danny, fixed our meals there, and earned free tickets to Disneyland by participating in the Give a Day, Get a Day volunteer drive that Disney sponsored earlier this year. So really, it was just the cost of gas! We were there in time to celebrate Halloween by attending their stake's trunk-or-treat activity. We decorated our trunk in a pirate theme, played the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack from our van speakers, and dressed as pirates. It was a lot of fun. It actually took a whole extra suitcase (and a big one at that) to pack all of our costumes, plus we brought decorations for the trunk. We spent time visiting Monty's former mission area in Van Nuys, stopped at the LA temple visitors center, spent a day at Zuma beach, and went to Disneyland. Monty actually served in the Camarillo ward that Kim and Danny live in. Their current bishop was just a boy when he was there as a missionary. In fact, when their bishop found out he was coming to visit, he requested that he bring his magic trick that he used to do on his mission to show to the primary kids. The bishop was going to talk to the kids about how a good example can influence others. He said that Elder Luke was a good example to him as a missionary and really got him motivated to serve a mission. Its wonderful to see the fruits of a mission even twenty five years later!

TRUNK-OR-TREAT

Cinderella, Rosetta, and Finn the Human

Super Saiyan Goten

A pirate and Mario

Luigi and "chubby baby Olivia"

Aargh! A couple of pirates!

There be two more pirates handing out candy!

The pirates treasure trove.

HOLLYWOOD

LA TEMPLE

ZUMA BEACH IN MALIBU

DISNEYLAND

THE LEGO STORE, DOWNTOWN DISNEY

Goodbye Ark!

2010-11-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

After years of resting in the middle of the field, the ark "sailed" closer to the dumpster and is now no more! Moroni decided to film its voyage via the tractor. It was slow sailing, but she made it in one piece. Although, she's not in one piece any longer. The excavator tore her apart, and the tractor scooped her up and placed her in the dumpster. She was pretty much the last of the "stuff" that has left the property in a dumpster. I think we filled six 30 yard dumpsters over the summer....spending nearly $4000 in dump fees!

Homemade grape juice...love it!

2010-11-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

Every year at this time I am so grateful for the Mother's Day present I received years ago...a custom designed and built grape arbor by my wonderful husband. Thanks dear!! Over the years our family has enjoyed many quarts of homemade grape juice. Sure, its easier to just go and buy frozen concentrate from the store, but it doesn't compare to the real stuff. It's the best!

Picked fresh from the vine.

I love the color they turn as they are steamed!

I love to see my shelves filled with quarts of this good stuff!

Happy Birthday McKay!

2010-11-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

McKay recently turned sixteen and celebrated with friends, family, and an All-American chocolate cake from Costco...his favorite

Homecoming

2010-10-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

McKay went to homecoming on Saturday night with his friend, Kristina. She bought a dress and then made it more modest by making a blouse to wear underneath it. McKay and I went shopping and bought the same fabric for his tie and coordinating fabric for his vest. McKay wanted to sew it all himself, but we ran out of time. He did cut out everything and sewed most of the tie. Don't they look cute?!

Happy Birthday, Hyrum!

2010-10-04T12:23:00.001-07:00

Hryum turned 7 on Friday! He's been counting down the days for about a month. He even made a birthday list, of which, totaled about $350! What can I say? He wants what his teenaged brothers have...well, at least some of the things. In case you are not fluent in first grade writing, I will interpret...A Nintendo DS, an iPod touch, Super Mario Galaxy video game, Dragonball Z Kai for the PS2, and a Link movie. Fortunately, he was extremely happy with the gifts he did receive, even though they were not on "the list." And a special thanks to all of his "friends" (ages 15-18) who helped celebrate with him!

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks!

2010-10-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

I guess this will forever be known as the summer of the rocks! Here are the latest rock projects. Eventually these raised planter beds will be full of plants...can't wait for that! There are three all together, although I'm only showing one. The other raised area is in the fork of the road. Once completed, we will move the grain planter in place and plant around it....maybe even in it! While I lift most of my rocks by hand, Monty lifts his with excavator as you can see from the videos. Granted, his rocks are a little bit bigger than mine!!

The Creek

2010-09-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

If some of you thought the pond had a lot of rocks around the edges, check out the creek. These pictures are taken from the bridge and the rocks go all the way to the blue barrel (at that point the creek wanders onto the neighbors property.) And just to win all the pity I possibly can from each of you, each rock was picked up in the field, placed in the tractor bucket, dumped in the creek bed, picked up again to be put in place, usually set aside because it wasn't the right rock for the spot, picked up again, put in place (sometimes with success, sometimes, not), and on and on and on! Are you feeling the sore muscles yet? Maybe someday I'll count the rocks...just for fun! Of course, if I do, I will have to double or triple the number to be more in line with how many rocks were actually picked up! We also narrowed the creek a bit, so extra loads of dirt from other parts of the property had to be brought in and packed behind the rocks to create a new bank. It took quite a while to accomplish. I think when the grass starts to grow and we get some trees and plants put in place, it should look pretty good. Oh yea, and maybe water flowing in the creek!! Anyway, I'm onto my next rock project...making raised planting beds around some of the established trees to the east of the creek. I don't know, maybe I'm just tired, but the rocks I'm using now are different than the ones in the field, and I really think they're heavier rocks! I'll post those pics when I'm finished. Oh, and just to be fair to Monty, he has had more than his fair share of hard (and dangerous) work on the property. When I'm down playing with rocks, he's up making roads on the bulldozer, clearing trees, stumps, and blackberry bushes, moving huge rocks that make mine look like pebbles, and hanging out in the poison oak!

The Pond

2010-09-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

On the north side of the bridge is a small waterfall. We thought it would be nice to have it flow into a pond. So, we intentionally placed the culverts higher than the original creek so that it would back up and create the pond that we wanted. Since there is no shortage of rocks on the property, lots of rocks, I lined the bank with them. As soon as I get more pictures, I'll post the rock-lined creek. Let me tell you, I have lifted more rocks this summer than ever before. Who says you need to work out at a gym!!

The rock-lined pond taken from the bridge.

The moss-covered, tree root water fall.

It's really pretty cool when the water is flowing.

Big Toys!

2010-09-05T20:25:00.001-07:00

We rented a cat, crawler, or bulldozer, if you prefer, to do some heavy duty work on the property. We cleared a lot of brush and hawthorn trees from the property. Monty was able to create several roads for the quads around the perimeter and throughout the property. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of him on the beast, and he did all the scary work! I stayed on level ground, too afraid to do anything else. Moroni spent hours on the thing and did work on flat and sloped areas. Monty did the most daring things, making roads where there were none, removing stumps, clearing rocks, etc. We were able to discover some really neat areas of the property that we had never been able to access before. I'll try to post pictures of those at a different time.

It's a good thing that dozers have hand controls so that six year-olds can operate them!

Building a Bridge

2010-09-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

We have a seasonal creek, actually a few seasonal creeks, on the property. Several of them have simple concrete culverts over them, but this is the main one you cross over so we wanted to make it special. With no shortage of rocks on the property, and I mean lots of rocks, we decided to build a rock bridge. Five days, 4000 pounds of mortar mix ( that's two tons people!), lots of water to drink (since the weather was in the mid to high 90's all week), and some help from each of the family members and Bro. Hatch, who is an experienced stone mason and just so happened to need the work, and we end up with a fun bridge that will hopefully give us years of enjoyment. Eventually, we will plant some trees and shrubs around it, but that's for another time!

This is where we started once Monty and McKay put in the culverts and the gravel trucks brought in the gravel.

Monty and Bro. Hatch worked the first day scraping away the extra gravel with the excavator, setting up a plumb line, and placing the first stones.

This is how far we got at the end of the second day.

Day three was spent on the other side.

We decided to put some sort of cap on top of the rocks to make them look more finished. We spent day four finishing the caps on the first side, then going to work on the second side with more stones.

On day five, everyone one had the "blessing" of working, including Hyrum!

Monty mixing up one of the many batches of mortar mix. We used over 50 sacks of mortar mix...80 lbs. each. Thanks Grandpa Mel for the use of the cement mixer and generator!

Placing the capstones on the second wall. That was a LONG day!

Of course, with the hot weather, one of the coolest places was inside the culvert.

Hyrum had fun in there, too!

If you had to be in the sun, a hat was essential. Hyrum is sporting his 50¢ garage sale hat. So cool!

At the end of day five...mission accomplished!

Go Bananas!!

2010-08-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

So while Monty and I have been working hard at building a rock bridge on the property (an upcoming post) this is what the boys are doing with their spare time. Who cares about chores when you can make really cool banana suits out of old foam pads. They have been wearing them to various places, including the grocery store where they stood by the real bananas and held a sign, "Please don't eat my babies!" Moroni made a sign that said, "Need $$ my wife split." It's nice to see they are making good use of their summer vacation!

To boldly go where no man has gone before....

2010-07-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm pretty sure that some man, or someone, has gone here before, but not for a LONG time. We figured it would be a good spot for a road up to the barn/guest house that we want to build.

So one full day with Monty on the excavator, and me on the tractor and this is what you get!

A wonderful new road. It's amazing what you can do with heavy equipment in one day! Eventually there will be gravel on the road and some natural landscaping that will compliment the seasonal creek that is to the left.

Work, work, work!

2010-06-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

We spent all of last week working hard on the road. Our ward had a priesthood camp out at the property this past weekend and we needed to get the road in for them to access the camping area. We also spent time knocking down what I refer to as "devil trees." Actually, I think they are hawthorns, but they are horribly thorny and everywhere! I knock them down with the tractor and haul them to a burn pile. Long, hard days! Sometimes we ask ourselves, "What we're we thinking?!!" I'm sure one day we will look back on all of this and be grateful for the property, but WOW it's a lot of work. I don't know how the pioneers did it without the big heavy equipment that we get to use.

WOW! No driver's permit, but boy can he drive a steam roller!

Dad had fun on it also!

Too much sun so Dad decided to wear a straw hat.

McKay thinks he looks like Twinkie the Kid.

What do you think?

Knocking down trees...

...scooping them up...

...and dumping them in the burn pile! Gotta love the tractor!

Mission Life, Part 2

2010-06-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

Apparently, Ammon sent some pictures to us, and some pictures to Becca. (Not enough internet time to send all to both.) So, we have exchanged pictures and now we have him doing his laundry. Looks like fun!

Wash cycle.

Rinse cycle.

Prep for the dry cycle. Just a note: He lives in a second story apartment.

Where are the guardrails?!!

Dry cycle...as long as it doesn't rain.

Alternate dry cycle...when it does rain!

Successfully clean!

Mission Life

2010-06-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

We were excited to get actual pictures from Ammon in the mission field. In case you didn't know, Ammon is serving in Brazil in the Porto Alegre North Mission. He is loving the experience and learning the Portuguese language. We are so thankful that he has chosen to serve a mission and we, as a family, enjoy the blessings as a result of that choice. He is keeping a positive attitude and has set a goal to never discouraged while he is on his mission. Right now he is in a small town called Montenegro. The ward is small and they don't really have a youth group, but he and his companion are working on changing that.

Not sure what the green stuff is....we'll have to ask him about it.

He and his companion were making some kind of dessert.

Elder Cummock from Tennessee. He is at the end of his mission,

and Ammon is the first American companion he has had.

I like how they made the dessert in a plastic shoe box container.

Missionary creativity!

Seminary Graduation and Awards

2010-06-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Another milestone....Moroni graduated from seminary! He had a few (okay, about 30) make-ups to do from a previous year, but was determined to finish them in time to graduate. It was crunch time, but he made it! We are so proud of him.

McKay also did awesome with seminary, earning the Stake President's Award. He had to read 200 days, complete the Book of Mormon, memorize all 25 scripture masteries, and memorize the first presidency and the apostles. It was also crunch time for him the last couple of days. He knocked off 13 scriptures masteries in two days! We are proud of him also.

Hyrum, the Man!

2010-06-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Hyrum was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Needless to say, we were pretty devastated. Hyrum, though, has handled everything remarkably well! He doesn't ever complain about getting shots, and he insists on testing his own blood sugars. I am amazed on how well he has accepted this life changing event. Every morning when he gets up, we ask, "How are you doing this morning?" And he ALWAYS responds, "I'm doing great!" We think he is pretty great!

Eagle Board of Review

2010-06-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Moroni passed his Eagle board of review! Now we just have to get word from nationals so he can officially hold his court of honor. Yahoo!

Springtime on the Property!

2010-05-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

When we first saw the property it was the middle of winter and everything was pretty ghostly and barren. Now that spring is here, it is so much fun to discover all the beauty that it has to offer. At first, I wanted to plant some wildflowers up on the mossy rocks, or Rocky Ridge, as we call it. But, no need for that! Mother Nature did it for me...

Monty has been busy playing with his new toy. Well, actually working hard at putting in the road. He loves the excavator and has gotten pretty good with it!

I've been having fun with my new toy, a woodchipping, brush eating monster.

Any guesses as to how long it will take me to get rid of this pile of cedar? I know, a little bit of fuel and a match, and it would be gone before you know it. But, it does make a good mulch for all the nature trails that I have envisioned!

The Tradition Continues...

2010-05-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

It all started when Kara wanted to bring little brother McKay to school for show and tell when he was just a baby....

Then, McKay brought little brother Hyrum to school for show and tell when he was a baby (notice the yellow "visitor" tag on him?)...

Then, Uncle Hyrum brought his niece, Olivia (known to Hyrum as "Chubby Baby Olivia"), to school for show and tell...

After the student shares their special something, the class can then ask questions or offer compliments. The dialog went something like this:

Hyrum: Victoria.

Victoria: I like her because she's soft.

Hyrum: Thank you.

Hyrum: Jakob.

Jakob: I like her because she's chubby.

Hyrum: Thank you.

Hyrum: Mercy.

Mercy: I like her because she's cute.

Hyrum: Thank you.

It continued on through the rest of the class with everyone offering a compliment. It was awfully cute. McKay was a hit when he was a baby, Hyrum was hit when he was there, and Olivia was a big hit in Hyrum's class. Maybe someday Olivia will be able to carry on the tradition!

Building another house....kind of!

2010-04-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to have a dollhouse. So with the grandkids staying with us this week while mom and dad are in Hawaii, I decided its now or never. I figured it might be easier to start with a bookshelf and just convert it. So after a few days of neglecting my big house, this is the small house I came up with...

This is what I started with.

This is what I ended up with.

Dollar store picture frames were used as the exterior windows. I replaced the glass with plexiglass. The roof shingles are strips of fun foam cut to look like shingles.

Kind of a birds-eye view of the house.

The family room, or game room, complete with rock fireplace. I built the frame for the fireplace out of MDF, then covered it in small stones. I used tile grout for the mortar. The mantel is a chunk of wood that I distressed and stained. The hearth is a rough piece of cedar painted to look like stone.

The bedroom, complete with a family photo on the wall and braided hot pad as a rug.

The bathroom, still in need of a few more fixtures. The tiles are 3/4" squares of fun foam glued in place.

The kitchen with a cast iron stove, "stainless steel" sink, "granite" counter tops, and fun foam tiles on the floor.

The dining room with the bamboo hot pad as an area rug.

Looking through the window into the kitchen.

A close-up of the cast iron stove with a freshly baked apple pie cooling on top! Can't you just smell it?

Every house needs a sewing area.

What house would be complete without an upright piano and grandfather clock?

And the best part of the house? My sweet granddaughter, Shailey, who is soooo excited to have a house to play with.

Popcorn popping on the Fuji apple tree!

2010-04-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

We planted a Fuji apple tree several years ago and have lovingly taken care of it over time. But, for some reason it only produces every other year. So, today "I looked out the window and what did I see? Blossoms blossoming on my neighbor's apple tree!" I wondered what my tree was doing. One glance outside and I was so excited I had to grab my camera. (new camera, not quite sure how to use it, good time to experiment) I was just going to take pictures of the blossoms, but then realized that the bees were just busy, busy, busy! Not to rush through spring or summer, but I look forward to fall when we get to feast on fresh apples and apple juice!

Check out the pollen load on this guy...definitely a busy bee! Thanks to him and his buddies we should have lots of juicy apples in the fall!

Tea Party Celebration!

2010-04-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Recently, Monty has been attending the 9/12 group for Lane County. They are group that follows Glenn Beck's 9 principles and 12 values campaign. He has enjoyed meeting other people who share his ideals and thoughts on government. On tax day they sponsored a Tea Party in downtown Eugene at the former Federal Building. It was quite successful with over a thousand people in attendance. The boys scouts had the opportunity to sell hot dogs as a fundraiser and also perform the flag ceremony. The boys had fun and the troop earned a good chunk of money. We played the National Anthem for the event (right after the Pledge of Allegiance) and thought it would be fun to play the recording of our daughter Kim singing. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and (I know I'm probably bragging, but...) her voice sounded so beautiful as it played over the loud speakers. After much head scratching, I learned how to include a copy for your listening pleasure. Have a great day...and may God bless America!

Are these good looking guys or what?!

2010-04-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ever since Jesse changed his name to Moroni, I've been wanting to take pictures of Dad and the boys and add these scriptures to them. Finally, on the day before Ammon was leaving, and only about 30 minutes before he was to be set apart as a missionary, we snapped a bunch of pictures...very quickly! It was quite the trick to get Hyrum to cooperate. He loves to close his eyes in pictures, but we got a few.

"Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Monty, yea, and even the other sons of Monty, yea, McKay and Hyrum, for they were all men of God." Alma 48:17-18

"Now these sons of Monty had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God." Alma 17:2-3

Haircuts!

2010-04-05T15:43:00.001-07:00

So Kara took the plunge and got her hair cut. It's really short in the back with more length around her face. I think it looks really cute! Hyrum was in much need of a haircut. Of course, it doesn't matter how short it is, it always sticks up in the back like Dennis the Menace! Anyway, Moroni didn't think I should cut it because he liked it longer. Hyrum had his opinion as well..."Mom, your cutting off my style!" In my opinion, I think he has great style even with shorter hair!

On My Honor

2010-03-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

Whew!! In a mad rush before he turns 18 on Easter Sunday, Moroni finished his last five merit badges (all required) and was awarded them at the court of honor tonight. (Isn't the scout motto "Be Prepared"?...maybe it should be "Don't Proscrastinate!") McKay, was also awarded three required merit badges and earned the rank of Life scout. Now he can start turning his attention toward Eagle. Of course, I had to get a picture of buddies Zach and Hyrum...future scouts. Yes, we'll just get McKay to the Eagle rank and the whole cub scout, day camps, pinewood derbies, pack meetings, den meetings, webelos, etc, etc, starts all over again!

Four Wheelin'

2010-03-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pictures riding quads out on the property. Dad added a nice grab bar for Hyrum so he has a place to hold onto when they go four wheelin'. The first time he went riding he kept shouting, "I'm having the best time! This is the best time of my whole life!" He loved it.

Creative Lawn Mowing!

2010-03-31T20:59:00.000-07:00

McKay was asked to mow the lawn the other day. Being the creative person that he is, he mowed his name in the tall grass and then climbed out our bedroom window onto the roof to take a picture. I wasn't home at the time and didn't even know he did it until I imported the camera pictures onto the computer! The picture kind of cuts part of the "M" off, but you get the idea.

Let your fingers do the walking?

2010-03-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

I know the phrase is "let your fingers do the walking," but today we let our feet do the running! The scouts participated in a fundraiser today. And, when I say "scouts" I use the term loosely. It was scout McKay and scout Moroni, Monty, Bro. Shaw, myself, and scout-to-be Hyrum. Who ever said you can make about $12 an hour delivering phone books needs to take that back! Let's do the math:

$160 divided by 32 man (and woman and child) hours = $5 per hour

And, it's not finished! Since it was Saturday, most of the businesses were closed and you need to get a name or signature to leave the book with them. Another round of deliveries will have to be made on another day. But, at least it was a beautiful day and I'm sure the money will come in handy for future scouting fun!

I love, love, love this juice!

2010-03-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is a random post, but I have to say I love this juice! It reminds me of fall before last when we had so many fuji apples on our tree. We bought a juicer and made fresh apple juice. It was so good! This tastes just like it. It is so good! It's a little on the pricey side and the kids could scarf it down in a matter of minutes if I don't guard it. I have been buying it and hiding it in the back of the fridge so they don't spot it right away...you know, behind all the old stuff that really should be thrown away...one of the reasons why I don't clean the fridge as often as I should! Okay, who am I kidding, I don't clean it because it's not fun! Anyway, the juice is great...try it sometime!

Disneyland...here we come!

2010-03-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to get in on the Disney Give a Day, Get a Day program. Our volunteer project was to make play dough for the Relief Nursery. I just printed the vouchers out this morning. We plan on going to see Kim, Danny and the kids in the summertime and spending a day at Disneyland. We can't wait!

The Property

2010-03-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we just bought 100 acres of land up by Fall Creek. We plan on dividing it and selling off 10 acre parcels with the hope of building a house up there some day on one of the parcels. It's going to be a lot of work! The property has many beautiful areas, but also a lot of "stuff" that will need to be hauled away. We have brush to clear and roads to put in. We are seriously thinking of getting a tractor to help with the work. We bought some quads to get around the property and they have been a lifesaver! Kara went up with us yesterday and helped clear a road so that we could explore more of the property. We are tired, sore, and scratched from the blackberry bushes, but excited to get out and work the land!

One of the first spots we discovered when exploring the property. It's this cool fallen tree and large, moss covered rock...perfect for a picnic. There is a small stream nearby.

This stream runs through the field.

As I said previously, there is some "stuff" to remove. I call this Noah's Ark. It seems that the floods abated and it came to rest here in the middle of the field!

One of our favorite areas...the mossy rocks. It covers a large area and there are several moss covered rocks that just crop up out the landscape. I plan on spreading wildflower seeds all around this area, along with planting several bulbs that will pop up randomly in the spring. We've already seen deer and elk grazing in this area.

Another small creek that runs on the property. This one has several small waterfalls along the way.

The view from the top!

Ammon at the Temple

2010-03-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

When Ammon went to the temple for the first time in December, it was an eventful day. It just so happened to snow on the way up to Portland unexpectedly. We made it just fine since we had to get up there early. But, unfortunately, everyone else got caught in the snow (and horrible traffic.) Grandma and Grandpa Thompson decided early on not to even attempt the drive. Kim, Danny, Kara, and (nursing) baby Olivia had to turn around and head home. Bishop and Sister Ennis persevered and finally made it safely to the temple. What was supposed to be a 4:00 session turned into an 8:00 session. It was a long day, but well worth it. You would think that with waiting four hours, we would have taken some pictures, but sadly, no. So the following picture is of Ammon and us on our last time with Ammon at the temple before his mission.

Eagle Scout Project

2010-03-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well the time is fast approaching and Moroni is finishing up the last few merit badges so that he can be awarded the Eagle. He just finished dry walling, taping, texturing, priming, and painting the new nurse's station at Camp Alpine for his project.

The "before" picture

Hanging the dry wall

Taping the seams

Texturing the ceiling...I'm sure no one goofed off during this process :-)

Q. How many scouts does it take to spray the texture?

A. One to spray...

...and eight to watch!

Painting...thank goodness for an airless sprayer!

The finishing touches

Quality control

The finished project!

He's at the MTC!

2010-03-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ammon arrived at the Brazil MTC this past Wednesday. We are so excited to have a missionary in the field again! We know it will be a great blessing to him, our family, and to those that will receive the gospel through him. It was so hard to say goodbye at the airport, knowing that it would be two years before we would see him again. He flew straight to Brazil. It was comforting to receive the following letter:

Dear Parents,

We are happy to send the good news that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil MTC. What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they come through the front door of the MTC for the first time. We promise to take good care of your missionary.

They now have companions and are settled into their rooms. They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study. The branch presidents and their wives, will soon give them a second greeting. These couples are rewarded in their callings through the love they always develop as they embrace and watch over the missionaries.

The MTC has a full time live-in physician to care for their health needs. He is assisted by his able wife. We are also happy to report that the Cafeteria food is abundant and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple. This will be either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on individual assignments.

Your very important young person is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. We hope you will be encouraged and comforted by this quote by President Lorenzo Snow: “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder [sister] when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children.”

Please accept our love,

President Donald L Clark and Sister Zaza Clark

SHS Talent Show

2010-03-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

McKay performed at the school talent show tonight and did an awesome job. This is a song he wrote called "Dark Blue Blanket." It's about stargazing. Check it out!

Fun with PhotoShop!

2009-11-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to place us in front of some more authentic backgrounds. You can check out some of the originals further down on the blog. The first picture below was actually taken in front of a piano with Monty's foot on the piano bench. It worked pretty good to have his foot up on the bumper as if we were leaning on the car.

First School Picture

2009-10-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

So this is Hyrum's first official school picture. Obviously, he didn't hear the boys tell him that Dad pays out $3.00 if you show your teeth! Oh well, it's typical Hyrum...that's why we love him so!

Harvest Carnival

2009-10-31T12:06:00.000-07:00

Last night was the ward harvest carnival. We had a chili cook-off, kid's games by the YM and YW, and trunk or treating in the parking lot. It was well attended and lots of fun. As always, we had fun dressing up in costume....

On the lam from the coppers!

Monty "The Saint" Luke with his Jazz Baby.

Puttin' on the Ritz.

Wind Waker Link

Ammon, who said he dressed as a lazy teenager who doesn't do anything. And, Moroni, dressed as a pirate, helping with the Malachi's Tithing Toss game. BTW, McKay was Luke Skywalker, but unfortunately, no pictures :-(

The Wandering Children of Israel cookie walk (because it always seemed like they were going in circles!)

The Lion's Den bean bag toss.

Jonah and the Whale fishing game.

911 Emergency...Just Kidding!

2009-10-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

So I was working in the kitchen a couple of days ago when Hyrum hands me the phone and says, "It's 911." I get on the phone and the emergency person on the other end wants to know if everything is okay since they have received a couple of calls from our residence. I apologize, telling her that Hyrum must have learned about 911 at school that afternoon. About 15 minutes later, a police officer shows up at our house, just checking to be sure there is no actual emergency. We decide to have Hyrum come to the door so that the very nice police officer could talk to him personally. Hyrum listened to his wise counsel and then replied, "I have a Wii!" Of which the officer replied in a semi-whisper, "So do I!" Anyway, at least we know that Hyrum can call for an emergency, if needed. I just hope its not because his older brothers are picking on him!

Slippery Trampoline!

2009-09-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a huge hailstorm this afternoon. It lasted quite awhile and covered the trampoline. Hyrum had fun "jumping" on the trampoline when it was over.

Hyrum's First Day of School!

2009-09-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hyrum's first day of school was a success! He goes in the afternoon, which is probably a blessing since he's not a morning person. He likes his teacher and seems to enjoy learning. Although, he wonders why he has to go to school evvverrry day!

First Day

Being typical Hyrum!

Getting picked up after school by Ammon

Diggin' in the Dirt!

2009-05-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

I finally came to the realistic conclusion that an underground sprinkler system is something we might never get around to. So, I decided to go ahead and do a little landscaping in the front yard. After a lot of hard work I think it is mostly done...maybe a few more plants in a couple of spots. Anyway, its amazing how a few plants and some fresh bark makes you feel so good! I love the sound of our water feature when we sit out on the front porch. Grandpa is enjoying it also. He likes to sit on the front porch after he goes for a walk.

Talent in the Family!

2009-05-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

The boys performed at the ward talent show Friday night. Jesse sang a song called "Cliff Diving" by a group called +44. Mckay sang two songs that he wrote himself called "Everyday," and "Go Away."

I think they did a great job!

Mission Organization!

2009-02-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, this might not be the most exciting post, but I have been organizing my office lately (among other areas of the house) and I thought I would post a few pictures of the progress.

"Sewing Area"

The cute little "suitcase" acts like a recharging station for my phone and PDA. I picked it up at a secondhand store for a few dollars.

Finally, some organization to the sewing drawers ( I have two of them.)

I found these shallow wooden trays at Value Village for 99¢ each. I added some wooden dividers to the one on the right to hold my bobbins.

One of my four cupboards.

On the top shelf are some Snapware containers I got from Wal-Mart to hold all of my greeting cards. I love them!

I picked up this wooden thing at Value Village and sprayed it black.

On the same visit, I found plastic cups that fit perfectly. The whole unit spins around.

I already had this rack that I use for 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

I got it when a store was going out of business.

I've had fun collecting various jars from secondhand stores to house various items. The one with the metal lid is fun. When you pull up on the lid, the pens come up with it. I think it usually holds straws. Only $4!

My scissor racks were from the same store close-out.

The spice racks were from a secondhand store and sprayed black.

I finally broke done and bought spice jars at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, only to finally find the plastic ones that I had in storage a few days later. Now that I'm organized, that won't happen again...hopefully!

One of the cupboards above the sewing area. The drawer units are handy for holding all sorts of stuff. The boxes I covered myself with secondhand wallpaper. I added ribbon trim around the top and bookplates to label each box. These boxes actually have cardboard inserts that divide each box into six sections. It makes it really handy for extension cords and other cables.

More boxes covered with a different wallpaper (I ran out of the first roll.)

I ended up covering 19 boxes altogether. They cost me about $1.25 each to make.

I know, these jars are clear and you can easily see what's inside them, but I thought the tags added to the look!

The shelf above the sewing area.

I love having a place for everything!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2009-02-16T21:11:00.000-08:00

That was Then!

Honeymoon, February 1990

This is Now!

19th Anniversary, February 2009

Monty and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary on valentine's Day. We enjoyed a weekend at the coast cabin and had lots of fun! The weather was great and it was very relaxing. I had been working on a scrapbook of our wedding and honeymoon pictures to surprise Monty. When Hyrum saw the pictures of our wedding he asked, "Who's that?" I told him it was mom and dad. He replied, "Well, that's you (mom), but (pointing to dad), that's someone else and you're going to marry him, and dad is going to say, no way, you can't marry my life." (He calls a wife, "life" for some reason.) Anyway, it was pretty funny. I think I have finally convinced him that it is dad in the pictures and not some stranger. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful husband and am so thankful that he is my eternal companion! Life is great!!

Ammon's Band Concert

2009-01-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

This is Ammon's latest, and last, high school band concert. This featured four drummers on four different drums, hence the name "Four for Four." It was a university level piece and I think they did an excellent job! Eli and Isaac should enjoy it, as its over five minutes of pure drumming!

Hyrum's Latest Antics

2009-01-21T23:30:00.000-08:00

1. Well, the other day while I was gone, Hyrum decided he was old enough to cook frozen mac and cheese in the microwave. By the time Jesse discovered the burnt smell and smoke billowing out of the microwave, there was still 42 minutes on the timer! There was a completely black lump of something resembling the shape of mac and cheese in the middle of the microwave. Needless to say, our house has smelled bad for a few days now, and continues to smell every time we use the microwave. (Imagine the smell of burnt popcorn x10!) The inside is stained yellow. I have had to do some research on the internet to solve the dilemma. Its not back to normal yet, but it is getting better. By the way, non-acetone fingernail polish remover works pretty good at getting the yellow stains off.

2. Hyrum needed some help a couple of days ago, but I didn't have my glasses readily available. I finally found them and Hyrum told me that I needed to wear my glasses when my eyes "get cranky!"

3. The same night as we were watching one of his TV shows, he laid his head on my lap. Apparently, I made some sort of noise. He said, "Mom, why do you make a noise when I push hard on your stomach?" I asked what kind of noise. He proceeded to make a sigh/grunt. It was pretty funny. I told him it was because sometimes it hurt when he pushed hard. He told me it didn't hurt him.

4. He's a better driver than Grandpa...at least on Mario Kart.

5. At the dinner table last night, he was crying over something. I asked him if he wanted to say prayer. He responded, "No, because I'm crying." (Insert pathetic crying sounds here.) Grandpa looked at him and started smiling. Hyrum starts laughing, which makes Grandpa laugh. You would think all would be well, but instantly he's back to his pathetic crying. He's so dramatic!

It's Snowing!

2008-12-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

It's cold, cold, cold! But the kids are having fun. They finally went to school today, after having snow days Monday and Tuesday. Most likely they will be out on Thursday and Friday also. Talk about a long Christmas Break!

The Annual Christmas Parade

2008-12-11T16:04:00.001-08:00

This is for Shailey, Eli, and Isaac. See if you can spot Uncle Ammon on the drums. I'll give you a hint: he carries four drums!

I Love Christmas!

2008-12-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year! It always brings back fond childhood memories of family time, decorations, traditions, and presents! Let's face it, as a kid, presents were a BIG part of Christmas! I only hope that I can create fond childhood memories for my children to cherish over the years. I love to decorate the house for Christmas. It always brings a wonderful spirit into the home. I'm including some pictures of decorations, along with pictures of our family room update, mainly for Kim to see since she is down in California.

The Front Porch

The Front Door

An old sled brought over from Ontario, OR

while Mom and Dad served their mission

The Front Table

The Living Room Fireplace

The Christus

Living Room Tree Ornaments

Formal Dining Room Centerpiece

Lighted Vases in the Family Room

The Wise Men

The Christmas Village

Ornaments on the Family Room Tree

The updated Family Room

Updated table with paint and architectural detail

The Game Room Snowman Tree

The Tree Top

An additional ornament this year made by Hyrum

The stockings made from second-hand sweaters

and vintage button accessories

Pillow covers made from second-hand sweaters

My Sister's a Missionary!

2008-12-07T22:33:00.000-08:00

Hyrum was assigned to give a talk about missionary work for the children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation. We recorded him giving the talk at home and sent it to Kara so she could enjoy it, too.

Hyrum and His Brain

2008-10-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

The other day Hyrum came into me and said, "My brain is telling me to play video games." I said, "Well, my brain is telling me that you don't need to play video games." Then he said, "My brain is telling your brain to tell my brain to play video games." I said, "Why don't you go and ask Dad to see what his brain says." He left,

but didn't go and talk to Dad. I guess

he already knew what Dad's brain was going to say!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-28T20:33:00.001-07:00

Last night was combined FHE with Brad's family. We went to Herrick's farm and rode the tractor-pulled wagon out to the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun and it was such a nice fall day. We bought 63 lbs. of pumpkins which we will carve later.

Ammon chasing Hyrum through the hay maze...can you

spot Hyrum's head?

The hay ride

Ammon just chillin' on the hay ride

Mom and Dad enjoying the ride

Now this is what we came here for!

The Harvest Festival

2008-10-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last friday we enjoyed the ward's harvest festival. We filled up on chili and cornbread. It was fun to dress up in costumes. This year, Hyrum was a pirate, McKay was Hans Solo, Jesse was a teenager spending time with his girlfriend :-), Ammon showed up briefly, and Monty and I were from Medieval times. It was fun. Most of the costumes were made by repurposing second hand finds. Monty's "leather" breastplate was made from two leather-like jackets. One already had little studs on it that added to the look. I also added some interesting silver pieces I took off of an old sword sheath that was kicking around the house. His chain mail was some nifty bargain fabric from JoAnn's. The main part of my dress was from value village. I dyed it, which made the embroidery really pop out. I added the dark green fabric and sleeve trim. I made a hat with veil to match. McKay's outfit was pieced together from value village. He made the gun himself. Hyrum's shirt was a ladies blouse that I altered to make smaller. When I ironed it, the iron was too hot and it burned a hole in the sleeve cuff. Of well, it just added to the look of a priate! His boots were snow boots covered by the sleeves of one of the jackets used for Monty's costume. They fit perfectly over the boots like they were made for them! His hair is actually t-shirt fabric ripped into strips. It naturally curls and looks like dreadlocks. I stitched it onto the scarve. His vest was cut from a second hand shirt. We also got the hat, scarf, and sword from a second hand store. Even though its a lot of work, I like putting costumes together.

The pirate (complete with dreadlocks) and the knight

The pirate and the fair maiden

The fair maiden with her knight

Hans Solo (with a gun he made himself)

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission!

2008-06-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

We're so excited to be sending out our first missionary! Kara is preparing everyday through study, prayer, and following the mission rules of going to bed by 10:30pm and getting up at 6:30am. We've been shopping for clothes and shoes. We plan on dropping her off at the MTC on our way home from Disneyland in August. Its all pretty exciting!

Skateboarders!

2008-05-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

McKay loves to skateboard and is now teaching Hyrum...check it out!

Apparently....the squirrel did it!

2008-03-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

Poor Hyrum. He got sick at church so I had to take him home early. He spent most of the day on the couch with a fever and a bowl nearby (if you know what I mean.) When we talked about him being sick he offered this explanation:

Apparently, there was a squirrel with a coconut. When the squirrel dropped the coconut it cracked open and there was water in it. Hyrum supposedly drank the water and it "dunked" (not sure about that definition!) him in the stomach and made him sick. And if that wasn't enough, he woke up this morning feeling much better because, according to him, he "spit out the beaver." (Translated, that means his fever was gone.)

Anyway, I'm not sure what world he lives in, but it's a happy one! Even when he was sick and was asked, "How are you doing?" His response was, "I'm doing great!"

Spirit Week at SMS

2008-03-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

McKay is really getting into spirit week at school. Monday was wacky hair day and, as you can see from the photo, it was pretty wacky. Jesse helped him put tacky glue in his hair the night before in the style of a faux hawk. He slept in it that night and was already to go as soon as he woke up. Yesterday was business day (McKay dressed in a suit) which, coincidentally, doubled for wearing church clothes to school for the mini-mission this week. Today is "decade" day. McKay wore Dad's letterman's jacket and deck shoes to represent the eighties.

Band Concerts

2008-03-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

"The Drumline"

2008-03-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

The boys just had their spring concerts. McKay likes playing the bass guitar, but I think he would like more "jazzy" parts. If you really want to hear his musical abilities, check out McKay's original music to the left. (He actually had a recording studio check out his myspace profile and contact him as an "artist of interest" in looking for new talent to sign!) Ammon and Jesse are in drumline and band. Ammon also does jazz band. This video is of the drumline. I was excited to get both boys in the picture at the same time so that I didn't have to go back and forth and miss either one of their parts. Jesse does a great job on the mallets and drums (even a snazzy little hand clapping) and Ammon has some pretty sweet flicks of the drum stick!

"I Got Rhythm"

He Loves to Swim!

2008-03-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hyrum has just finished up his second session of swim lessons. On the last day of swim class they get to play in the pool—going down the slide, jumping off the diving board into the deep end, etc. He absolutely loves swimming and asks everyday if it is a swimming day.

Check out those muscles!

Youth Snow Trip

2008-03-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

The boys and mom had fun on the youth snow trip. It was a beautiful day at Hoodoo. We spent the day tubing (even mom went a few times), sledding, snowball fighting, and snowman building. The slopes got a lot faster as the day went on. It was great fun!

Jesse and Eric waiting to toss a few snowballs at unsuspecting passersby.

McKay tossing a snowball.

Ammon, Becca, and the snowman.

Everybody Wants to Drive

2008-03-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, with Ammon and Kara vying for driving time, I guess Hyrum wanted in on the action also. He got a box the other day and turned it into a car. I have to say I thought it was pretty creative!

Safety First! This is an overhead view of the seat belt.

Good thing he drew a door on the outside so that he could get in and out!

Holding on to the "steering wheel"!

What a driver!

Silly Hyrum

2008-03-15T14:57:00.001-07:00

The other night for Family Night, Hyrum was asked what opening song he would like for us to sing. He chose the "Zelda" song...no words, just "instrumental." Here is a video of what it was like. Imagine all of us joining in as we prepared for Family Night!

Also, the other day he came into the office and handed me a sword and said, "Watch...and Learn." He then proceeded to show me several moves which I was to duplicate. Of course, I didn't do them exactly right and he let me know!

Snow Angel

2008-01-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

2008-01-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to a blanket of snow! It was beautiful outside (and warm and toasty inside!) We got ready for church and had fun slipping and sliding on the way there. Of course, Dad likes to add to the slipping and sliding! The bishopric decided to only have Sacrament meeting. As soon as we got home, the kids were digging through the snow clothes and heading outside. We are trying to have a "reverent" snow day, which has included a "reverent" snowball fight in the church parking lot with the Ennis family. Poor Sister Ennis, she got nailed in the back of the head by Ammon. She got him back, though, by coming into the van and putting snow down his neck!

In the beginning...

2008-01-26T16:28:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at a "blog" and it is quite the learning experience. I suppose in time I will get the hang of it. But for now, I feel like I don't know what the heck I'm doing!

As for a family update...Kara has a boyfriend, so we see very little of her these days. She has a cell phone now and has already logged in hundreds, maybe over a thousand text messages. Maybe I'm old, but I just don't understand the whole concept of wanting to text people. Isn't it just easier to pick up the phone and talk? Maybe its just me and the idea of trying see the little buttons and hope that I'm pushing the right ones (since I can never find a pair of glasses to wear!) I'm always thankful that when I dial someone on my cell phone that the number appears on the screen (large enough for me to see it) before I press "send." Anyway, she is having fun with everything. I'm having fun handing her the bills for her dentist appointment, eye exam, etc. Its nice when they can help to pay their own way!

Ammon is busy with pep band and playing the drums for the upcoming musical (by the way, he says it takes up way too much time and will not be volunteering his services next year!) He is hoping to get an after school job when the musical is done.

Jesse just finished a mad dash to get in all his missing assignments before the end of the semester. We're happy that he made such a valiant effort. He has taken on the responsibility of getting Hyrum asleep at night. Its pretty cute to see them asleep on the bed together, although Jesse says he moves around way too much during the night!

McKay worked hard with Dad and earned enough money to buy yet another guitar. (The count is now at four!) He has written and recorded a couple of songs on GarageBand. If you want to hear them, go to:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?useaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=315097995

He did everything himself! He is also quite the skateboarder and has spent countless hours learning different tricks.

The other night, Hyrum sat at the dinner table and there wasn't a place setting in front of him (the place setting was actually in front of the seat next to him) he says, and I quote, "Hey guys! Somethings wrong here!" We realized the problem and quickly scooted the place setting over in front of him. All was well. He is also into saying the family prayer at night (although, he says they need to be "small"). As he was getting ready to say the prayer the other night, Dad was still talking about the scriptures we had just read. He leaned over to Dad and put his finger on Dad's lips and said "Shhhh." Dad quickly stopped talking and Hyrum said a "small" prayer. He keeps us laughing daily.

Monty is enjoying the extra time and lower stress since he was released as Bishop. We quickly memorized the new Bishop's phone number and now direct all necessary phone calls happily to him! (Actually, Monty enjoyed his time serving as Bishop and would have continued to serve faithfully if the Lord needed him to.) He has been working to get the work shop put together. Its going to be a nice shop where I'm sure McKay and I will also spend much time. Work has been a little slower, but is beginning to pick back up. He has enjoyed the time off (even though that time has been spent working on the house.)

I am looking forward to next week being finals week, which means no early-morning seminary to prepare for. I still love teaching seminary (its been 10 years now) but, I also love the breaks. I plan on getting a bunch done around the house next week. Its also time to start planning girls camp and we have a Laurel Retreat/Camp Overnighter planned for next Friday night at our house. I will probably have to get rid of the boys for the night since we will be invaded by about 20+ teen aged girls!

Life is good! Even though it is cold and rainy outside and the "band" is over here practicing right now (which means it ain't quiet in our house) I can't complain and am richly blessed!