Snow Day

SNOW DAY!!!!

First for those of you at the R.S. Preisthood social I posted a playlist with "The Gift" which was our song.

This morning when Steve woke up it had started to snow. It was just barely sticking so he headed to school. I also took Katrina and Amanda to school and dropped them off, but by then the snow was sticking to the ground and I was glad to see that Katrina's school was doing a minimum day. by 10 I was looking at the roads getting worse and knowing there were no snowplows and that our little city was totally unprepared for snow I was debating as to whether or not I should pull the girls out of school and just get them home. About 5 minutes later Katrina's school had called and said to come get her they were calling it a snow day. Liz went to get her and Savannah while I headed to the preschool to pick up Amanda and 3 other kids from the ward. By now the roads had about 6 or 7 inches and because it was wet snow we were fine. Steve's school let out early and the kids had a blast playing in the snow with him. These pictures were taken about 2 in the afternoon and it continued to pile up until sometime after 10 (that's when we went to bed)

It was hilarious watching Amanda and Katrina trying to walk through the snow that came up so high on them.

At first Amanda was afraid to go out in the snow But after getting all bundled up she was the first to throw a snowball and get a snowball fight going. In the above picture she had just gotten her dad and you can kind of see the smug smile on her face. She was so proud of herself!

Katrina standing in the snow getting ready to do her snow angel. The snow was deep enough that we had to pull her out because she couldn't get up.


Lizzy had no intention of getting anywhere near the snow but I snapped this picture after sticking her hand in the wagon full of snow. She thought it was funny but would not let me do it again.

One thing that I love about the snow is the peacefulness that comes during a snow storm. Everything is so quiet and clean and beautiful, I love that we are stuck inside and we get to spend some fun family time together without interruption from the outside world. Here's wishing you all a wonderful day.

Earthquake!

You would think that living in California you would get used to an occasional little tremble. Last night Steve and I were watching a movie when we felt the trembling begin. It only lasted a couple of seconds but it was very much discernible. We later found that there was a 5.5 earthquake about 50 miles from where we are. Because of the distance we hardly felt anything but it still makes my stomach churn and it definitely makes me look around the bedrooms where my children are sleeping to see if anything on the walls could fall and hurt them if the big one were to happen. As much as it turns my stomach I am grateful for LITTLE reminders to assess our situation and get prepared. Later as we were getting ready for bed I noticed that the grandfather clock was still reading 8:22 and it was wound. Steve and I realized that the shaking from the earthquake must have disrupted its rhythm and stopped the clock.

A little of this and that.

Well a lot has been going on around here so here is just a brief overview. 2 weeks ago Steve and I began our own little business and so far we have made a whopping 37.00 dollars with more on the way I am sure. We are really excited about this opportunity in our lives.

We spent the last week in Utah with family and had a ball running back and forth between family. The kids loved seeing all their cousins and especially liked that there was ALWAYS a cousin to play with. Amanda even asked why we don't live there too. When I explained that daddy doesn't have a job in Utah she innocently replied " I have a job mom... I can make the bed and pick up my toys and" I had to laugh at the simplicity of it and told her that daddy needed a job teaching that would pay him money. Needless to say we all had a good time. We were even lucky enough to miss the traffic both coming and going :)

While we were in Utah Elizabeth had to fall asleep on our bed with pillows around her and she did really good. So when we came back we let her decide whether or not to sleep in the crib or the toddler bed. She chose the bed and it looks like we will be taking down the crib for the last time. It amazes me that she is getting so big and I am enjoying every moment of the journey.

Well that's it in a nutshell, we hope you are all well and that you had a great Holiday as well. Love to all!!!

Exfuze!

I am totally excited about a new product and I haven't even tried it yet. It is a new nutritional supplement called Seven Plus. I have some coming in the mail and am so excited to try it. As many of you know I have been looking for something to help supplement my body but everything is so expensive to even try. This one they are so confident you will like it that they are offering a 7 day challenge in which they want you to take the product (for free) for 7 days and see if it makes you feel any better. Mine is on its way and I thought that maybe some of you would like to try it also. It is supposed to be better than Mona Vie. It has 7 extracts from 7 of the most powerful fruits in the world. Gogi, Noni, Gac,Fucodian, Seabucthorn, acai, mangostien and then it also has aloe and pomegranate. Everyone says it tastes good too. So if you want to try it go to my brothers website and order a free bottle http://borrowman.iexfuze.net/ to try. I am signed up to sell it but will not contact anyone unless you tell me you are interested in purchasing it or signing up to sell it yourself. The bottles retail for 45 dollars each or if you have them direct shipped to your home you get them for 35 dollars each. So that is the only sales pitch you will hear from me. I will post when we are having a meeting so that if anyone is interested they may attend and learn more about what makes this product so amazing.

The LA Temple

This was sent to me by a ward member and I wanted to share it with all of you who I don't have e-mail for. So Jill I hope you don't mind.
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This was written by a dear sister in our Stake. She was Kara's seminary teacher for 2 years, she is awesome........I know you will enjoy reading her story about the LA temple today and what happened on Thursday!My dear family, brothers and sisters, friends and leaders:My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His tender mercies and mighty miracles in our behalf. I just have to share this with you. As most of you know, I am a Temple ordinance worker and work the morning shift in the LA Temple every Saturday. Today, I had the privilege of translating sister Martz-the new assistant Matron's-message during our devotional.She started like this "The prophet Joseph Smith said that no unhallowed hand would be able to stop this Work from progressing. These past few weeks when mobs have combined and armies have gathered against the saints, the Lord has protected His house". She went on to say that those, like her, who were inside the Temple when mobs were surrounding it, did not realize how scary and terrifying this looked on TV to the rest of us, because inside the House of the Lord all was calm and there was peace abundant. After Proposition 8 passed,the Temple began receiving threatening calls and mail from those opposing it.They were warned that more than 5000 people would come to the Temple and burn it to the ground, and stop Its work. The first Thursday when the mob came,the new LA Temple President called the Salt Lake City Temple Offices for instructions. He was instructed to call the local police and to insure the safety of those attending the Temple by closing the gates. The assistant Matron said today, that it was a tender mercy from the Lord that the mob chose that Thursday to come since they had only one person coming to receive his own endowment that day, which he received in time to leave before trouble started. The LAPD and the FBI responded quickly to the Temple Presidency's summons and patrolled the grounds and kept the mob from entering the same. Most of them had never been there before and expressed their surprise at how beautiful and peaceful all around was. They were invited to come back during the Christmas season to see the lights and they promised they would. On Thursday, November13th, sister Campbell, a secretary in the Temple, was opening the mail and upon opening a large manila envelope found inside a smaller one. When she opened this one, a white powder flew all around her desk. She thought this could be related to the demonstrators and feared the worst-ANTRAX. She contacted the President, who in turn called the Salt Lake City Temple office again for instructions. The FBI, the LAPD, and even the SWAT teams were once again in the grounds to investigate, and the Temple once again had to close from around11:30 AM to 5PM. They closed the gates and were instructed to keep all the people there wherever they were found at the time. Those in the parking lot had to remain in the parking lot. Those entering the Temple had to remain in the first floor and those already upstairs were taken to the Celestial Room. Then,the miracles began to happen: A brother serving as a recorder that day is a Microbiologist by profession and used to deal with hazardous substances everyday. He was the first to say the white powder in the envelope was only talc,and put every one at ease. Then the sister coordinator upstairs was impressed to call upstairs to the sealing area, and said "They said we can't go down but no one said we can't go up, and I have many people in the Celestial room with their ceremonial clothes on ready to work. Could they do some sealings?" As it happened, there were four sealers present that day and they ran four sealing sessions non stop while the Temple was closed. Downstairs, someone else thought to invite those in the Lobby to do some initiatory, which they promptly did for all those hours too, brothers and sisters alike. Among those waiting in the parking lot there was a large group of young men and women with their leaders who had come to do Baptisms for the dead, and who waited patiently all those hours and decided when the Temple was reopened to go ahead and fulfill their assignment instead of driving back home. The Temple reopened in time for the 5:30 PM session. The next day when recording the ordinances, they discovered that they had performed 2000 sacred ordinances on Thursday,only one less than the day before when three stakes had been visiting the Temple. Once again the assistant matron reminded us of the words of the prophet Joseph Smith, "No unhallowed hand can stop the Work from progressing...".But, this is not all, a prophecy was fulfilled also. When the new LA Temple President was set apart by President Uchdorft of the First Presidency, he received a blessing and these words were pronounced: " The time has come for the LA Temple to come out of obscurity and become an Ensign for Righteousness to the world under your presidency." The pictures of the Temple have been shown on TV, newspapers and the internet, not only in this country but worldwide.People of other faiths have called and sent letters to the Temple thanking the Church for defending marriage and protecting the family, and commenting how impressed they are by how beautiful and majestic the Temple looks . One minister of an African American church, who by his own admission had harbored ill feelings against the Mormons before said " I am impressed by your integrity and Christ like behavior, and even if I am not ready to consider you my brothers and sisters in Christ, we can be first cousins!". I asked the assistant matron if I could share her comments and she said to go ahead. I can only add my own testimony that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has the power and authority of God on earth. God Lives and Jesus, His only Begotten Son and our Savior is coming soon to redeem His people. I am grateful to know this and I pray we stand firm, steadfast and immobile while the prophecies of the signs before His Coming are fulfilled. "Be not afraid, only believe" He has said, and also " What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." I testify that this is true and testify it in the Holy Name of Whom I strive to serve, even Jesus Christ.Be faithful and safe is my humble prayer. Your sister in Christ, Patricia H.Arnazzi

It is nice to know that the Lord watches out for us and it is also amazing to watch his tender mercies be poured out upon his people at this time.

Katrinas Birthday/ Prop 8

With Proposition 8 still undecided I feel a calm that no matter what the results I did what I felt was morally right. Steve's cousin Jeff had a interesting thought that maybe this was just our Zions camp.... and this was just a test to see who would follow the prophet. Who knows, I just know that I am glad it is over!

In other news it is Katrina's 6th birthday today and she loves it. She is milking it. Yesterday she came with us to the store and thought that since it was her birthday she could put anything in the cart that she wanted for her big day. She strutted around the store like she was so big and got all the necessary food and treats for a great birthday. We had to stop her when she wanted to start picking all the regular food as well, we just didn't think we wanted just snacks to live off of :) The camera was out of battery this morning so I am charging it now and will post pictures later.

She loves her gifts and wore the new shirt and shoes from Grandma and Grandpa Lang to school and she spent almost an hour with her art easel from Grandma and Grandpa Borrowman, making drawings this morning before school. (I will take some pictures of these as well mom)

Halloween Photos

This was round one of our costumes. Katrina was a horse and Amanda was Cinderella. They dressed like this for the ward trunk or treat Girl Scouts and Preschool. Katrina dressed as Emma Smith for school since they had to be a historical person and dress up and recite 5 facts about the person they chose. I didn't get pictures of that one because she was crying too hard. I guess my outgoing talkative daughter has stage fright who would have guessed?

Friday after our traditional chili dinner we went to get into our costumes and lo and behold they wanted to be something different. I guess they were tired of their other costumes from dressing up all week!

Lizzy was Lumpy the elephant from Winnie the pooh. She kept pulling the top part of her costume off and would then laugh herself silly. She thought it was the funnest game to have us put it on and then pull it off as fast as she could. Here I caught her laughing after she thought she had pulled it all the way off. What a cutie!

Amanda really surprised us when she pulled out this Dumbo costume and put it on. Since she is obsessed with Cinderella we were more than happy to oblige her in this request.

Katrina pulled out this dress up and found the wig to go with it. We had to work on the wig for about 20 minutes getting it all combed out but it looked much better when we were done. She loves to pose for the camera.

All in all it was a fun Halloween and I must say that I am glad it is all over :)

6th File 6th picture

I usually ignore tags because I just don't want to sit down and take the time but this one intrigued me so here it is. What is in my sixth picture folder and then what is the sixth picture? Well here it is ... we were trying to build a gingerbread house last year

when it all started falling apart. Steve made a great face for the camera never thinking anyone would ever see it. Whats in your sixth folder sixth picture spot? I can't wait to see so I tag you all :)

I know can you believe it 3 posts in as many days. Amanda started preschool again today and she loved it. Of course when asked what her favorite part was it was eating..... and playing. I guess that is an improvement from last year where her only favorite thing was eating. She too is growing up way to fast and is still my little mother. She tries to dress Lizzy and if she sees me laying down assumes that I am not feeling well and brings me a blanket and strokes my face. Yesterday I laid down to watch a cartoon with her and she paused the T.V. so that I could go to sleep without the noise. After about 15 seconds she leaned right into my face to ask me if I was asleep yet... of course I pretended to be so she could turn her show back on. I thought it was pretty perceptive for a 3 year old. I didn't get a picture of her this morning so here is a sweet one from Sunday.

In other news as I watch the country go through the this financial turmoil, I am thankful for a living Prophet who leads and guides us. We have been warned for years to get prepared! Although I am not as fully prepared as I would like (none of us ever are) I feel grateful for what we do have. This has been a time for cutting back and for learning again to live within our means while still putting a little aside for a rainy day. I am thankful that I have a husband who balances me! I am the one to put everything we have towards paying off debt and he gently reminds me that we need to save as well (even if we are paying more in interest then we are earning :)). Although times are tough we are blessed to have income that is stable and that in and of itself is something to be thankful for.

I don't know what will happen if marriage is no longer defined as a man and a woman but I do know that again a living prophet is telling us to take a stand and make our voices heard and to do everything we can to ensure that marriage as we know it does not change. For me that is enough! I think of all the warnings that came from the prophets in Book of Mormon and Bible times and what happened when the people were too proud to listen, and I know that regardless of the outcome I want to be able to stand before God and to be able to say that I followed the council that he gave the Prophet. Everything else will come and go but I want to be obedient even if I don't see the end from the beginning I know God lives and that we have a living Prophet Thomas S Monson and I WILL follow his council whatever it may be!

My baby is growing up. Yesterday after I had everyone ready for church I put in a movie to entertain the kids while I got ready. When I came out Lizzy was sitting on top of the table in a puddle of milk and breakfast cereal. As you can see she was pleased as punch at what she had accomplished. She now knows that the when the camera comes out she should smile and let me have some beautiful smiles that I couldn't help sharing! She is communicating with us so much more and is on the verge of potty training. She hates to have a messy diaper and will take it off or get us a diaper as soon as it is slightly wet.
She tries and has accomplished going poo in the potty because she hates those diapers most of all.
Isn't she the cutest thing ever! :) I hate that she is growing up so fast and I try to treasure every moment as it will probably be the last.

We have a new Dishwasher...

Her name is Katrina. This week as part of Katrinas homework she was assigned the job of washing the dishes. (Don't you just love homework ;)) Any way she decided that today was the day to complete that task and she loved it. When she got done she even asked if she could do it every night. Duh... of course she can. I can't believe my baby is big enough to handle the dishes. I guess it is time to give her more complex chores so she can feel this sense of accomplishment everyday. I took several pictures as she did the dishes before and after dinner. I also had to add this grumpy picture so you can see that she is not always all smiles. She sometimes reminds me of a hormonal teenager rather then my 5 year old daughter, the way she bounces from tears to laughter and from happy to angry at the touch of a button.

Purging my thoughts on Marriage

For those of you living outside of California we are still fighting to get Proposition 8 passed. We want marriage to be defined as between a man and a woman. I am terrified of what our world is coming to. What is happening to my freedom to believe as I choose and to be able to teach my children those values without fear. As I listen to a living Prophet and his Apostle's tell us that we need to do everything we can to preserve the sanctity of marriage. I am overcome by the power and force of what I feel. I feel that if we do not win here the rest of the nation will follow and my children will grow up in a different world then I know now. Did you know that if same sex marriage is legalized it will be taught to our children in school under the guise of "Diversity" just as it is in Massachusetts? Did you know that Church's could be penalized for teaching that only marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God (where does my right to teach and believe as I choose go then)? Or that we could lose our tax exempt status because we will not allow same sex marriages to be preformed in our buildings. I hope and pray that we will have enough voter support to stop this once and for all in California (also Florida and Arizona currently have it on their ballots as well). Pray for us and pray that peoples hearts will be softened and that they will realize what is going on here.
On a personal note, just because I do not believe in same sex marriage does not mean I do not love and cherish those within my own family who live this lifestyle. On the contrary I love them dearly and although I do not condone their lifestyle they are indeed children of God who are loved by him despite the lifestyle they choose to live. Let them live as they choose, and let me live as I choose. A Vote against traditional marriage only gives them the title of Marriage as opposed to Legal Union. The rights that will be lost our mine and that I simply cannot stand for. Let God be your guide and get out and vote next month and lets make our voices heard.

Update for family

We are alive and well. I think I mentioned that Steve was released from the Bishopric. He was immediately put in as the ward Mission leader and then the bishop proceeded to call me as a ward missionary to serve under Steve. I will miss being in primary but thoroughly enjoyed being able to sit through Sunday school and Relief Society and to just enjoy the lesson. We are well and the girls are growing up quickly. Katrina started 1st grade and loves being back in school. She is really trying to be good and will often remind me that "I am being a good girl today, HUH Mom" She usually says this right before she asks for something. Amanda cannot wait for her preschool to start in a couple of weeks and is bored at home without Katrina. She has a really hard time when we drop her off because she misses her so much. She is starting to make a little more sense when she talks as she is now trying to make the correct sounds for her words it is really cute to hear her say her L words as she has had a hard time getting her tongue to do what she wants it to. We are doing some exercises (games) with her to strengthen her tongue and she is super cute when she says things like LLLLizzy or yeLLLLow she really tries hard to get that letter in and you can see she is proud of herself when she does it. Lizzy is growing so fast and she is walking around and is in to everything. She constantly wants a bottle and will not take a sippy cut except at meals. Does anyone have any tips for getting rid of the bottle? Steve and I are fine and especially enjoy the weekends when he is home. Hope all of you are well.

When the Lord closes a door he always opens a window!

Just so you all know I get to do both. Thanks to a dear friend I will be going to the cannery in 2 weeks and will be able to go help on prop 8 on Saturday like the prophet has asked. For those of you who live outside of California on Sunday we received word that after the first presidency had finished there weekly meeting in the Temple they had decided that all fifth Sunday lessons were to be on prop 8 and its importance and what we may face if it passes. Sunday morning lessons were canceled accross the state and new plans were immediately made to teach about the importance of marriage between a man and a woman. Although I did not attend the meeting because I was teaching primary I was moved by what I heard from Steve as well as others who were in attendance. So for those of you who thought I was great for wanting to do both I know you would have felt the same if you knew the prophet was calling on you to raise "the title of liberty" in our day and to stand up and fight for what is right. I know there will be terrible consequences if this passes. So please if there are any of you out there that can join in this fight and help this proposition pass I urge you to do all you can.

Confusion

I have been jumping around and reading everyones blogs and right now I am feeling so torn as to what I should be doing on Saturday. Our ward is meeting for a couple of hours to pass out flyer's about prop 8. I had planned on continuing with my original plans of going to the cannery for a couple of reasons that I felt were pretty legit. First food storage is important but not nearly as pressing as fighting prop 8, so that was quickly dropped from the list of reasons to go. Second we are fellow shipping a woman in our ward and she has agreed to come with me and learn a little more about following the prophet and preparing for hard times (which she is currently dealing with). OK so that is pretty legit but is it enough? Last and probably the most convincing for me is that fact that Elizabeth is allergic to milk and soy milk and everything else we have tried except for the powdered milk from the cannery. Because it is so expensive to can I only do enough for about 4 months and then I go again. So I need to get milk and they will not sell it to me in bulk right now because of the high demand for food. I have enough for another 4 or 5 weeks but cannot get another appointment for 3 months. I know that fighting this proposition is important! I feel like I am being torn between following the prophet and providing for my child and I feel like I lose either way. Any suggestions?

Making bread

I am ever amazed at how much fun children can have doing things that we consider work. This week in church we were challenged to live off of our food storage for the week and then next Sunday we would discuss it in our combined 5th Sunday meeting. Since Steve and I have been working on our food storage ever since we got married we were up to the challenge and have been incorporating beans, rice, dehydrated carrots and celery and the like into our daily meals. Because lets face it most of us have enough in our pantry's to survive for a week without changing our diets much. The one thing I did put off was bread, we had 2 full loafs of bread when the week started. However incorporating all of the above meant several nights of soup which of course you have to have bread and butter with. Well today I took the bull by the horns and made bread. My girls LOVED it, especially the kneading part. They were amazed by how much bigger the bread got as it rose and when I was shaping the loaves I gave them each a piece of dough to work with, they made the rolls when we were done. I am so glad we have children to help keep our lives fun and to remind us to look for the good in things and to enjoy the journey we are on. As for the food storage challenge I am glad we are prepared but I think I want to add some fun things to our storage as well, you know chocolate chips and nuts for cookies :) Some things I am grateful to have added to our storage are: Extra tortillas, shredded cheese, butter, and meats that we keep in the freezer. Things I will miss if we ever have to really live off of our storage.... Ice cream and fresh fruits and veggies.

These other pictures of the girls I took after the fact because I didn't think about posting until later, and lets face it who wants to get out the camera when you are covered in bread dough!

The Callister Reunion

Well we had a great time at Grandpas farm! There was lots to keep the kids entertained but I think the highlight for them was adopting the cows. Amanda spent so much time with her cow that we could almost guarantee if she could not be found she would be there. We love it.

One of the days we got on a big school bus and headed up into the mountains for a hike. The hike was a little long for us with all the little ones so we stopped here and ate our lunch before heading back down. All in all though it was a really fun adventure. Surprisingly the highlights were the big bouncy bumps on the big yellow school bus.


This was the area between all of our sleeping areas where we could just kick back in the shade and relax.





another highlight was the 4 wheelers as they got to ride around on the farm and see everything up close and personal

A gunshot...nope just a broken window!

While driving to Idaho just before we hit Farmington UT. We heard what I thought was a gunshot. I turned around and the back window was gone. As you can imagine I panicked and quickly assessed that no one was bleeding. The loud noise I had heard was not a gunshot just our window blowing out. Lucky for us most of the window flew out instead of in. there were some chard's in the back and around Katrina but no injury. We found the local Toyota dealer and 4 hours and 500 dollars later we were back on the road.

Ali gets highlights and bangs

While Ali was here she was so excited to be going into 5th grade that everything we did revolved around that. When we went school clothes shopping she wasn't worried about what would be cutest she was worried about whether or not it made her look older. She seems to think if she looks older then nobody will notice that she is short. I had to laugh since I remember doing similar things all to no avail. We talked a lot about all the good things that come from being short rather then focusing on the negative. I like to think she listens because she knows that I really know what it is like for her. When she found out that we would be staying with the Grandma and Grandpa Borrowman on our way to Idaho I could tell that there was something that she wanted to ask but was nervous to do so. When she finally got it out she was hoping that she could get bangs cut and highlights from Aunt Kensi while we were there. I thought it was a great idea but of course told her that her mom had to agree before I would even ask. As you can see she is one very happy girl. She walked around all night flipping her hair for all to see. We love and miss you Ali!!

More to come

So I have been getting the feeling lately that some of you are expecting a post. I admit that it has been awhile but so much has been going on that I have not had one minute to myself where I could do something so leisurely as upload pictures and post. I will do a quick update while I upload photos, and then I will update in detail a little later. Since my last post we have traveled over 2000 miles to Idaho for a family reunion. On the way we were able to stop and meet the newest addition to our family, our niece Katelyn and I must say she is beautiful! Elizabeth was sick and vomiting for nearly 2 weeks and I took Ali to Vegas for her flight home. She started school last Wednesday and school is O.K. but not great. Katrina started swimming lessons for the first time and we have all been to the dentist and doctor ( me more times then I would like to count) All in all life is good, I will go into detail on all of this when I have pictures to post. ttfa

A Busy Day

Today we had a very busy day we started out by attending a stake picnic at a nearby park. Steve and Ali played Frisbee and the girls played on the toys. There were plenty of big trees so we had shade to sit under while we visited and rested. Around 12:00 we had a potluck lunch.






After lunch we headed to the mall to make one final purchase for Ali's school stuff and then made a return to another store. you know the things you realize you really don't like once you get home.
When we got home we started on the long awaited jam making project we cut and smashed all the strawberries and raspberries and then realized we didn't have the pectin. I took all 4 girls with me to the store so Steve could cut and edge the lawn and then we hurried home to finish our project.
By the time we were done we had 14 jars of jam and we even had a fairly clean kitchen. Don't we just look like we are having fun?

Another fun movie/camping night

Ali came again on Monday and the girls could not wait to show her the tent and campout again! So we settled in on Monday and Tuesday we set up the tent and the movie projector and settled in for another fun night at the Lang family outdoor theater.
Since it was just our family we moved the swing over and laid it down so the girls had their own little area to lay down that was all padded and cushy. We expected Amanda to fall asleep but she surprised us and stayed up for the whole movie.
Ali told the girls that if you pull your ears out and make a face you look like a monkey. HMM What do you think?
After the movie the girls all posed as the got ready to climb into their sleeping bags. There were lots of fun shots but I love everyones expressions here especially Lizzy as she kept acting suprised and covering her mouth.
We forgot that we were going to make shadows on the wall after the movie so everyone piled out of the tent and we played some more before heading back to the tent for some shut eye.

You can see in the background that we set up the playpen for Lizzy but she would have nothing to do with it and screamed when we put her in so we ended up taking out the mattress part and she slept next to mom. Amazingly she went right to sleep and so did everyone else. The best part was that we had real bathrooms and didn't have to worry about what critter might get into our garbage while we slept :)

rain + more rain = flooding

Well last nigh around 6 pm it started to rain. We pulled out the umbrellas and the girls played in the rain while Steve myself and Lizzy sat on the swing and watched. It was coming down so hard that in just a few minutes the backyard was flooded and we had a small current of water growing on our patio. After a few very loud thunder claps we headed back inside because Katrina was terrified. So instead we decided to settle down and have us a rain party. First we gathered all the flashlights in the house and set them on the kitchen table ( i told the girls that the power often goes out when it rains so we were getting them out just in case) Then we pulled out the corded phone and set it next to the cordless so we would have a phone in the event that the power did go out. Next we gathered all our blankets got an ice cream cone and settled in to watch a movie. Steve tried to go to the church for mutual but the roads were more like rivers and everyone was getting stuck so after trying several routes to get there he came home and enjoyed the night with us. Lucky for us the power stayed on and we had a ball. We even had to turn off the lights for a few minutes after the movie just to play with the flashlights before everyone went to bed.
If you want to see some pictures since I forgot to take any check out my friends blog (the Belew bunch) under my blog list.

Random Thoughts

I know I haven't posted for awhile and so much has been going on so I thought I would sum it up in just one post. Last week we went to the Borrowman reunion and had a blast we spent the days at the lake, 4 wheeling swimming, playing games, watching movies, watching the fireworks, talking and of course eating. We had a ball and were worn out by the time we came home, but loved every minute of it.

We spent the rest of this week lounging and enjoying the fact that it is summer and that the regular schedule can be so flexible. Yesterday Katrina lost her first tooth and waited excitedly for the tooth fairy to come. She was not disappointed when she woke up and found that she had a new dollar. She was however disappointed when she found out that after paying tithing she did not have enough to buy something at the dollar store. (we are giving her opportunities to earn some extra so she can have a positive experience) That's all for now

A trip to the dentist

Just about a month ago I went to the dentist for my semi annual check up and cleaning. I had been experiencing some sensitivity in one of my lower back teeth and mentioned this to the dentist. After he got the x rays back he said that the roots looked fine and that there were no cavities. He then did an oral exam and could see no problems so he took the cold water and sprayed it on the tooth OUCH to say the least I flinched from the pain. He could see that something was definitely wrong and said I needed to take some anti inflammatory for a week and come back, he was going to have to take out the existing filling to see what was going on. I came back a week later and he TRIED to numb me but after 3 full tubes of the medicine I couldn't feel anything in my tongue, lips, or cheeks but the tooth itself was very alive and well and just the slightest bit of air or water on it and I could feel intense pain. He sent me home again with another prescription for the anti inflammatory and an antibiotic for the infection in my tooth. Jump ahead to today when I go into the dentist and find out I have to have a root canal and they are doing it now. So they send me into the insurance office because there is going to be some out of pocket expenses that the insurance does not cover. My heart sinks as I wonder just how bad it is going to be. They start by telling me how much today's services are going to cost. Over $1700 dollars I wince and then wait for the bad news. She says the insurance will cover everything but 110 dollars of the Crown they will have to put on. They then said I could make payments. I am so grateful for insurance Steve has a great job with great benefits I cant imaging if i had been given this news and had to figure out how to come up with the full amount. I felt so blessed at that moment.

I then went back and got numbed again and they started digging out my tooth only to find that the nerve was being irritated because my tooth had cracked in 2 places. The dentist had a hard time with the root canal and a little over 5 hours later I left the dentist with a temp crown in place and a very very sore mouth and jaw. I thought it was kinda of interesting how quickly they offered to give me a prescription for the pain. I told them I already had some Motrin 600 from my c section and they asked if I would like 800 or vicaden. Holy cow are you kidding me if I can deal with the pain of having my stomach cut open with the 600 why in the world would i need something stronger for a little mouth pain. No wonder people get addicted so quickly to pain meds when they are so easy to get.

Any way we are looking forward to our trip to St George next week and can't wait to spend some much needed time with our families. Love you all.

Fathers Day

I just wanted to take a minute to pay tribute to the Fathers in my life.



I must say that growing up I had the best dad in the whole world. He was always working so hard for us and yet he always took time to do fun things with his family. I remember camping trips just for the sake of camping. We would cook over the campfire, play in the stream and just sit around and talk. I never realized just how much work he would put in both before and after so that we could have these fun memories. We also had fun traditions of just going up to pine valley for a dutch oven breakfast often followed by swimming and a barbecue later that evening. Speaking of swimming dad, do you remember all the times we would go to the city pool and swim? You would take turns picking us up and throwing us into the water, or sneaking up on us while we were playing and pulling us under the water pretending you were a shark or some other monster out to get us. We had a lot of fun didn't we? I remember picnics in the yard and trips in the car, there was always something going on and someone to turn to for advise. Thank you dad you are a wonderful Father (and Grandfather), Thanks for all the wonderful memories. I love you Dad! (ten truck and trailer loads).



Next the father of my children. I think many of you know that I was a LITTLE picky when it came to dating and some of you thought that I would never marry because of this. I remember my mother telling me that I needed to remember that I needed to look for someone who had the potential for all the qualities I was looking for because no one is going to have all the qualities i was looking for YET. Well I think I proved everyone wrong when I married Steve! He is an amazing husband and takes such good care of me. He is the best father ever and the girls cant wait until he comes home at night. They love to play with him whether it is riding on his back, playing tag in the yard or being pushed in the swing they always go to dad first. I love that he loves to camp and is willing to spend so much quality time with us. I don't think he knew what he was getting into when he married someone who's father set the perfect example, but I think he fills the shoes rather well! I am pleased to be married to such a wonderful man.



This list would not be complete if I did not honor another father, my father in law. Of course I don't have any childhood memories to share but he must have done something right to raise such an amazing son. He has taken me into his family and treated me like one of his own since the very first day I met him. Dad "do you remember when" we went to Denny's for breakfast and we had that waitress with a hangover? Or "do you remember when" we went to Goofy's kitchen with the whole family? What about the time we went to chucke cheese and had mediocre pizza just so the kids could have fun. You are a great Dad and Grandad, hope you had a great day



HAPPY FATHERS DAY WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!



Just had to add this photo of Steve on Fathers day. As you can see he was honored by members of the ward with a candy lei as well as another lei that is in my opinion very manly:)

Camping and Movie Night

So in an effort to keep costs down for family activities we incorporated an idea from some friends of ours and Steve brought home his projector from school for the weekend so we could enjoy a fun outdoor movie in our back yard. He set the projector up on the kids picnic table and we used the back of the house for our screen. I popped popcorn and made some cookies and lemonade as well as grapes for the snacks and we invited the next door neighbors over. Last year I bought these little plastic popcorn holders that look like the old popcorn bags and so we pulled those out to serve the kids. I know we had more fun then when we actually go and see a movie in the theater and we built far more memories this way :) We also set up our tent for the first time ever. We bought it at the end of last summer when it was on clearance ( thank goodness we bought it then because we have outgrown our little 4 man tent and with tight finances we would not have had a tent this year). The kids had a ball checking it out and setting up. At about 8 15 we sat down to watch Nanny McPhee, it was so fun to be out in the fresh night air and enjoy each other. Amanda fell asleep in the middle of the movie and Lizzy conked out a little earlier than that. After the movie we laid on the blankets with the lights off and looked at the stars we found the big dipper but couldn't seem to locate the little dipper, guess I will have to brush up on my astronomy :) After that our friends went home and we moved everyone to the tent where we talked for a few more minutes before going to bed. We had so much fun and will definitely do it again! The best part was that it only cost us nothing because we used things that we had around the house!

P.S. if anyone wants to come down and try it with us we would welcome it :)

Katrina's kindergarten Graduation

Katrina had her Kindergarten Graduation on June 10th. The them was a luau, so of course she was excited. She kept talking about how the girls got to do the hula and the boys would get to do the Haka. We went out and got her a grass skirt, flower headband and a flower bracelet and of course a candy lei. She stole the show being the little performer that she is she also lit up when the class did a 5 second hula during one of their songs.

After the program they gave out the caps and they got their diploma's and flower lei's. She loved it and could not quit smiling!
Then the long awaited Haka. Peni is in her class and he and the other boys his age from our ward got up and did and amazing job doing the Hukka. It has been fun watching them learn and progress in their confidence at this dance as they have gotten bigger


I had to throw in this picture we took of Lizzy at the graduation her eyes and smile were so big that I just had to share.