BYU Homecoming

Lance and I just got back from a really short, but fun filled weekend in Utah with the Snyder family.  Lance's family has the tradition of meeting up in Provo during BYU's Homecoming and having event after event. Seriously, the weekend was packed full of different things.  Lance and I left early on friday morning and drove up.  My parents were so kind as to stay at our home and watch our children.  Everyone told us that going without kids was the way to go so we thought we would give it a try and boy were they right.  It was so relaxing. I didn't have to hear kids screaming in the car, clean up barf from my two boys who get sick without fail almost every time, and worrying about what time it was and who was ready for a nap. 
We got into Provo around noon. Lance had a buisness meeting and so he dropped me off at a strip mall and I went shopping.  It was the first time in a really long time I got to go shopping just for me.  So I went crazy and I had a great time.
We had a fun pizza party, games, and late night conversations.  Then Saturday morning we went to Mapleton where Lance's Aunt and Uncle Clifton live. It is really beautiful there.  Before the meeting I took a few pictures of my in-laws.  They were wanting their family pictures taken so here is a little preview of those.  Lesa and Sharlene, dad will be bringing the cd of all the pictures back to Utah this weekend. They sure turned out cute. It was so much fun to be with you all!!!
                                The Snyder family (Paul, Lesa, Heidi, Kaylee, Emma and baby Janae)

The Knotts Family (Tommy, Sharlene, Cali, TJ, Parker and Tessa)

The tradition is to all meet for breakfast and then there is a devotional for the adults only. Grandma and Grandpa Ray usually make assignments about who they would like to speak. This year my mother and father-in-law were asked to speak about how we can build our firm foundations on Christ. I am pretty sure this was the first year I have ever sat through the entire meeting. Usually I have a child to chase after or another one that is too fussy to stay downstairs. I really enjoyed it. Thanks to my in-laws for your inspiring words.
Then after the meeting is over, we all head to Glen Canyon Park. It is up the Provo Canyon and it is absolutely beautiful this time of year. All the leaves are changing colors and starting to cover the ground. Lunch is and has always been provided.  The boys usually play football and the girls all sit and chat. It is quite fun to catch up with all the family members we don't see on a regular basis.  Then we all go the BYU game.  This year I am guessing there were probably 60-70 of us that went to the game.  I must say that the majority of the crowd was overrun by all the college aged cousins. It was so fun to see them interact with each other. They are truly best friends with each other.
Then the most amazing part~ all the cousins helping pull Grandma Ray all the way up in her wheelchair. Unbelievable. I had to take a picture of it.

 Lance and I were able to stay up until the 3rd quarter. We had to drive back home Saturday night to relieve grandma from babysitting duties and be back in time for our ward Sunday.

It has been a long time since I had one on one time with Lance.  Seems like this job has been a constant and it is hard to find time to even sit and talk.  So I thank Lance for the fun time we had.  Let's do that again sometime!



Our front door

Friends and Worms

This is how my boys spent their afternoon........

What is that on the floor by their feet you ask? Well I will show you......

Yes worms.  It rained all morning long and what happens when it rains? All the worms come to surface. So my boys got the brillant idea to go worm hunting with their little next door neighbor friend Tyler. They collected all the worms they could find and pilled them right in front of our home. Isn't that lovely? Wanna know the gross part? Andrew would just sit there in front of them and swish them around with is fingers. He said he liked the way they "tickled his fingers." Gross or not gross? I was really grossed out, but you know what they say "Boys will be boys." And today I let them play.

BYU-Idado

My sister-n-law came to Boise over Conference weekend from BYU-Idaho.  It was so much fun having her back in our home.  We have been spoiled this summer with all the many times we have had Lance's family stay with us. It has been a lot of fun and my boys have loved every minute of it. They call her Uncle Camille.  Seems like they are calling all their aunts, besides my sister Rachel, uncle.
Camille didn't have a ride back to school so I offered to drive her and our friend Janet back up to Rexburg.  We left Sunday evening after the last session of conference and an amazing pre-Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house.  My brother-in-law Jason caught a ride with us too so he could buy a motorcycle from a guy in Rexburg also. So it worked out for everyone.
I was really excited to go back. It has been almost 12 years since I graduated Ricks College.  I was excited to see how much it has changed and how much  new growth there is.  I can't believe the change.  Once we got into town my memory of how to get around came back and we drove by all my old houses and apartments I stayed in.  It brought back a lot of really fun memories. I had a blast at school. Ricks College was by far the best experience compared to BYU Provo. Sorry BYU Provo fans.  This has nothing on you.
This first house down below was where I lived for the first year and a half I was there.  Yes, was and still is called the Sugar House.  Named after the daughter of the Phillipino Couple who lived in the upstairs house. Our front door was that little while door off to the right side.  Kind of creepy but it was the best place. I learned so much here. Met the most incredible friends. Fell in love for the first time, got engaged, experienced my first huge broken heart and just had some plain crazy times.

 This is where I spent my last year.  The Normandy Apartments. Mine was the very top floor all the way to the right.  That year was interesting. The best part was the friends I made with my roommates and the roommates who lived all the way down at the other end. It was a great place and I learned a lot too. It was a huge upgrade from Sugar House.

They aren't much. Not very fancy, but I didn't need fancy. Some of the best memories that I have were spent in these two places. Thanks to everyone who made it such a great place to call home.

Everything I remember is pretty much there.  It has either gotten a huge makeover, remodeled, condemned, or added onto. Plus there is a new temple that sits right on top of the hill so no matter where you are in Rexburg you can see it. It was beautiful.  At night it just lit up the whole sky.
So I stayed with Camille in her little apartment.  She lives in Royal Crest.  It is still there and it looks the exact same since I was there many years ago. I am sure they are still using the same couches, carpet and curtains.  It was fun to step in and be a college student for a small moment.  She has some really cute roommates and they all seem to be pretty good friends.  Capri, Camille's cousin let me sleep on her bed that night and I had the hardest time falling asleep, for a number of reasons, there was so much noise, no fans, and it was blasted hot.  But once I got past the loud noise, it became my noise maker and it put me to sleep. I got a good nights rest and the next day I toured around on campus.  It was beautiful.  It's changed so much.  Here is what I saw.....
     This is the Spori Building.  This is the art building. The original building burnt down to the ground about 10 years ago.  They replaced it and it is beautiful but not quite like the original.

This is the Manwarning Center or the MC building.  Here is the main building for everything. Resturants, book store, bowling alley, you name it. Completely different. I didn't even recognize it.  It is very large inside. Very pretty building and it will connect to this next building which is.......

The new Conference center they are building right next door.  It is literally right across the street to where my sister-in-law Camille lives too. It will be extremely large when it is done.  They are going to eventually have all the buildings connected with breeze ways. What a brillant idea since winter lasts about 8 months out of the year here.

Up on top of the Campus towards the intermeral fields sits this beautiful temple....

My brother-in-law Jason was telling us some interesting things about this temple. He got to tour it while it was still under construction when my sister and he were still going to school there.  I guess all the wood inside the temple comes from Africa and the chandelier in the Celestial Room comes from Romania (I think that is what he said) It was from somewhere over there.  Anyways, amazing stuff to hear when you hear about how far it travels just to be there. 

Then on Monday Camille went to her classes while I toured around a little bit on my own. It was so much fun. I felt like a college student. It was nice to be carfree and on my own. Then when Camille got down with her classes we drove into Idaho Falls to go shopping. We went crazy and stocked Camille's closet and cupboards up with all the fun things she needed.

Thanks Camille! It was so much fun to be with you. Let's do that again sometime really soon!!!!  Then I drove home later that afternoon just in time to put my sweet boys to bed.  It was a great trip. I didn't realize how much I missed that place. I recommend BYU-Idaho (It will always be Ricks College to me)!

Pumpkins

We love this time of year.  I can't believe that October is already here. Yesterday after dinner we took our boys to our annual trip to Jeremy's Pumpkin Patch.

  It is just down the road from our home and we have gone there ever since I can remember.  They have the best pumpkins for the cheapest price.  There is always lots to see and do there also.  Our boys loved it again this year.  This was Owen's first experience there and we was obssessed with this cat that moved on the rooftop.  We let them each pick out their own pumpkins, some cornstalks to put by our front door and some smaller stuff that goes inside.  We had a nice little evening out with our kids. I apologize for all the pictures of Owen. He was the only one willing to cooperate with the camera.

Halloween is just around the corner. Now all we need to do is find some costumes.

Where have I been?

It has been almost a week since I last posted.  Where have I been? That is a good question. Where have I been? I have been keeping myself pretty busy.  Here is an idea of what my daily schedule looks like....

6-7 am. ~ workout
7-8 am  ~ get kids breakfast and get kids ready for school
8-9 am ~ get myself ready
8:45 am ~ take Keaton to school
9-11:30 am ~ clean the house and whatever needs to be done around the house.
                      ( on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Andrew has preschool and I watch Benson while he is in 
                        school)
11:40 ~ we pick up Keaton from school
12 noon ~ we have lunch, put Owen down for his nap and the other boys have quite time.
2 p,m. ~ playtime with friends. Usually the neighbors. We took down a link in the fence so they can run
              back and forth between houses.
4 pm. ~ think about dinner. Oh, I do not enjoy this part
5-6 pm. ~ dinner and all the fun clean up that comes with it
6-6:30 p.m. ~ bathe kids and put Owen to bed
7-8 p.m. ~ quite time with the boys
8 p.m. ~ boys in bed and the rest of the evening is doing whatever ( usually includes games with Eldon &
              Shelli, watching The Office, and other things.)
11 p.m.~ lights out for me. I should be going to bed either but that iswhen my mind shuts down.

So there you have it.  Most days are like this and some days are different but in general it is the same.
I have been trying hard to do better with this challenge that I have entered. A friend asked me what it requires and here you have it......

~ drink 48 oz. water daily
~ excersice for 45 minutes daily
~ 2 servings of fruit and vegetables
~ No sugar
~ No alcohol or soda
~ No unhealthy snacks (these are snacks you can find in a gas station)
~ No eating after 8 p,m.
~ write in journal/blog
~ 15 mintues of reading
~ personal goal ( I set new ones each week)

It has been quite easy and each week you can pick one that you want to skip out on.  Most of the time it is eating sugar. I will find time for sugar. Although going for almost 3 weeks with almost no sugar has been hard on my tummy. I can really feel it and it makes me feel like bluuuuhhhhh!  Last night after Lance and I helped John and Carrie unload their uhaul we came back home and Eldon and Shelli already had the Settler's of Catan board game set up and ready. So we broke a few rules last night. We ate after 8 pm, we had sugar and it was unhealthy food.  And boy did I feel it when I went to bed. I felt all that crappy food just sitting in my stomach. It was hard for me to fall asleep.  So I woke up this morning and worked it all off. I feel better.
I was telling Lance last night that I have not been losing weight like I did my first week doing this challenge. Maybe I am where I need to be and all I am doing now is toning my body. I can feel it and see it so something is working.
So there you have it. That is where I have been. I feel happy. I have more energy now than I have had in a long time. It is about time I get my life in order. It feels good.

The terrible two's?

I think the "terrible two" stage has hit our home earlier than expected.  Owen as of lately has been screaming, bitting, pulling hair, scratching and just miserable.  What happened to my cute, little loveable Owen?  Honestly, I dread waking up in the mornings because I know I have to deal with it.  Seems like there is no release either.  I don't blame anyone for not wanting to take him, because well, he is a hard boy to be around right now.  I don't recall having a toddler this hard before.  Here is what we are facing......
~ screaming when someone doesn't give him what he wants.  How does a 17 month old possibly know what he wants?
~ he is constantly scratching, pulling hair and just runing after kids and tormenting them.  I never thought I would say this but my son is a bully. HELP!
~ he also is not sleeping well.  Last night he was up 6 times and today's nap was only 1 hour.  We somehow have gotten off our routine and need to get back on.  Life is really crazy right now.  I am praying it will slow down here pretty fast.
Please tell me this is a stage that will pass.  I am crossing my fingers that teething has some part in all of this.  He is a very one track minded boy. When he doesn't get what he is after, watch out!

I have been without my car for the past 2-3 days and it has been a struggle for me to get where I need to be.  Lance has had to use my car because his brother Eldon has had to use his truck for work.  So this morning my mom came and got us at 8:30 a.m. before I had to take Keaton to school at 9:15 p.m. and then I had to stop by and get our corn so we could freeze it.  Which by the way was much easier than I thought. We bagged almost 20 bags of corn, between my sister and I. It will be great to have in the freezer.
So I dropped Keaton off at 9 a.m.. Owen and I watched with Keaton as all the crazy kids ran around the playground. Keaton does not like to play on the equipment in the mornings. I am not sure why but he will just sit and watch with me until the bell rings.  Then we went and got 9 dozen ears of corn.  My sister Rachel and I met up at my mom's house to cut and bag the corn. It didn't take too long either.  I was glad that it didn't take up my whole day.
Now it is 8:19 p.m.  Two of my three children are already asleep. Owen had to cry himself to sleep because he would not got down.  Keaton goes right down once his head hits his pillow and Andrew has already been down 3 times telling me that he does not want to go to bed. I am sitting here very frustrated and very mad.  Mad at myself for being a hard mom.  I am mad at myself because I didn't get my excerise in today.  I am mad at myself because I have been off rountine.
This challenge has been going ok.  I find myself alittle behind of motivation. I need to find it again.  I need to get back on track and I need to just slow down.
So here's to a better night hopefully. Wish us luck!