Dear Family and Friends,
Since most of our Christmas Cards went out with the Blog address I felt that I needed to do a Christmas Letter, or a Year in Review if you will. I feel that the years are just flying by and that the kids are on fast forward, it just seems impossible that they are as grown as they are, it hardly seems real that the end of the year is near.
Bradley is now 11 and in the 5th Grade, Bradley finds it funny that he is now almost as tall as his mom and likes to remind me of that fact often. Bradley is a very busy guy lately he is involved in Scouts, having just earned his Arrow of Light, piano, comp. soccer and his latest endeavor of song-writing. He also passed Hunter's Safety this year and has found a passion in shooting and hunting (much to his Dad's delight).
Kennadee will be 10 on the 29th of this month and she is in the 4th grade. Kennadee is really coming into her own this year, I can see a change in her from the little girl, to little woman, she is also in Piano and recently at her recital she played both her pieces without much fear, which for those who know her well know what a struggle it is for her to do things in front of large crowds. She is in comp. dance and her team has done really well this year. Kennadee also loves going to Activity Days and is a great friend to all her know her.
Zachary just turned 8 in Nov. and is in the 2nd Grade. With just turning 8, Zachary was recently baptized and he is now going to Scouts and will be receiving his Bobcat award this month. Lots of fun things have going on for Zacky, he started piano this year and has been doing fantastic, he also has been taking Karate and just earned his white belt.
Lainee is now four and being "Home-Schooled" by Mom, Lainee is probably the most seasoned traveler of our Family and this year her travels took her took Maryland with Mom, we were able to go spend some time with her Aunt Erin and Uncle Dru and their brand new baby Alesa in March (we did also spend time with Aunt Taci, who took her to D.C. for some touring). She also started Dance this year and was moved from show team to comp. team quickly. She is a joy to have around and constantly says the funniest things.
Scott is keeping busy with Laser Stop and his calling in the Elder's Quorum Presidency, and in between all that he enjoys Hunting and taking the boys shooting and the occasional golfing, he also got his motorcycle license and has enjoyed some riding with friends.
I have been kept busy with the 4 kids and Sophie and my calling in the Primary Presidency, but on my down time I really enjoy scrapbooking and reading and spending time on Facebook (yes a guilty pleasure) and keeping up on this blog.
Our Family has enjoyed many, many adventures this year, as well as mine and Lainee's trip to Maryland, the kids get to spend a "Week with NO parents" at their Grandma and Pappy's house in Neola, and while they were there, I went to New York for "girl's week" with my sisters and mom (and Aunt Pam and Jeanne), we also got to spend a week exploring nature's beauty in Yellowstone Nat'l Park, and traveled down to Southern Utah to Hole-in-the-Rock and Captial Reef.
We have been so incredibly blessed this year and feel the loving guidance of our Heavenly Father in all our endeavors. We are so grateful for the Savior and for his Atonement, and we are so excited to be able to spend the Holdays reflecting on our Savior's birth and we hope to share our love of him with you our Family and Friends, we hope that his spirit will be with you this Season and the year to come.
With Love to you ALL,
Scott and Melanie
Bradley, Kennadee, Zachary and Lainee
and Sophie
Friday, December 11, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Chapter 42: CTR
Saturday was such a wonderful day, Zachary had turned 8 in Nov. and he decided that he would like to be baptized and so on Sat. the 5th of Dec. he was able to have his Dad baptize and Confirm him. It was so neat to watch as our little boy seemed to grow right before us, he really took his baptism seriously. He came to me about a month ago and said that he really thought he needed a suit, so I went and got him out of school one day and we went to lunch and then went to JC Penney and bought him a suit, it took him some time to decide on the perfect suit for his important day, but he was able to find a good one. On Sat. as I was making my bed, he came rushing into my room and as excited as can be he said Mom, Mom, today I become a member of the church, and I said Yes, you do, he then asked if it was hard to do to which I kind of laughed and said No, I don't think it is hard at all.
Scott took Zachary early to the church so they could get ready and by the time we got there they were dressed in white and ready for the baptism, I just have to say that Zachary looked like he was beaming (which is very rare for him) you could tell how excited he was just by looking at him. As they called his name for him to go to the font with his Dad he didn't even hesitate (I was singing praises to God at this time, any who were at Kennadee's Baptism will know why) and he entered the waters where Scott took him by the hand and preformed the ordinance, I felt the spirit so strongly as he came up out of the water, testifying of the truthfullness of the gospel.
We then got to witness the Baptism of Zane who many know that he and Zacky seriously think they are twins and they are as close as brothers, how wonderful for them to be able to share this day together!!!! 
As Zachary entered the room to be confirmed I had to wipe a tear away, he had a countenance about him that just made me excited, his confidence and sureness in himself was so very evident, I don't know if it was the suit that made him appear that way or just the simple fact that he could feel the spirit too, but I know that I will never forget the day of his baptism, and I know that he will not either, we are so very happy for Zachary and we know that his life will always be blessed because of his decision to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Scott took Zachary early to the church so they could get ready and by the time we got there they were dressed in white and ready for the baptism, I just have to say that Zachary looked like he was beaming (which is very rare for him) you could tell how excited he was just by looking at him. As they called his name for him to go to the font with his Dad he didn't even hesitate (I was singing praises to God at this time, any who were at Kennadee's Baptism will know why) and he entered the waters where Scott took him by the hand and preformed the ordinance, I felt the spirit so strongly as he came up out of the water, testifying of the truthfullness of the gospel.
We then got to witness the Baptism of Zane who many know that he and Zacky seriously think they are twins and they are as close as brothers, how wonderful for them to be able to share this day together!!!! 
As Zachary entered the room to be confirmed I had to wipe a tear away, he had a countenance about him that just made me excited, his confidence and sureness in himself was so very evident, I don't know if it was the suit that made him appear that way or just the simple fact that he could feel the spirit too, but I know that I will never forget the day of his baptism, and I know that he will not either, we are so very happy for Zachary and we know that his life will always be blessed because of his decision to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Chapter 41: Merkley-isms
YOU MIGHT BE A MERKLEY IF:
-you use phrases like "the older 4" "Galen and Erin" and the "the younger 4"
-your mom remembers things based on who she was pregnant with or who was the baby.
-it takes all 10 fingers to count you and your siblings
-you bring your own place to sleep to go visit the family
-you think having Thanksgiving at a church is "normal"
-your kids have to know whether you are talking about Aunt Erin, Uncle Aaron or Cousin Aaron.
-your assignment for Thanksgiving is 10 pounds of potatoes and there are at least 2 others with the same assignment, and you still worry if that is enough.
-you have to introduce yourself at dinner to your own family!
-where 2 families = 18 kids
-your Dad still has trouble remembering which kid you are Jus...Matt...Mel...Kar...Ga..Eri...Taci...Kate...Loga...CAMI!!!!!
Here are just a few Merkley-isms I am sure there are many, many more but for now just enjoy some of the pictures from our larger than life family Thanksgiving, Thanks to all you Merkley's who make gatherings fun and entertaining!!!!!
-you use phrases like "the older 4" "Galen and Erin" and the "the younger 4"
-your mom remembers things based on who she was pregnant with or who was the baby.
-it takes all 10 fingers to count you and your siblings
-you bring your own place to sleep to go visit the family
-you think having Thanksgiving at a church is "normal"
-your kids have to know whether you are talking about Aunt Erin, Uncle Aaron or Cousin Aaron.
-your assignment for Thanksgiving is 10 pounds of potatoes and there are at least 2 others with the same assignment, and you still worry if that is enough.
-you have to introduce yourself at dinner to your own family!
-where 2 families = 18 kids
-your Dad still has trouble remembering which kid you are Jus...Matt...Mel...Kar...Ga..Eri...Taci...Kate...Loga...CAMI!!!!!
Here are just a few Merkley-isms I am sure there are many, many more but for now just enjoy some of the pictures from our larger than life family Thanksgiving, Thanks to all you Merkley's who make gatherings fun and entertaining!!!!!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Chapter 40: Possibilities
So yesterday Bradley calls me from school and this is how our conversation went;
"Mom"
"Yes Bradley"
"Before you say no, I just want you to know that this is our last chance"
"Last chance for what?"
"Zac and I have to go to the recording studio, to finish up our song for the talent show."
(at this point I am beginning to wonder if my meds have been making me a little more loopy than usual)
"Mom, Mom, so is that okay!"
(giggling)"The Recording Studio?"
"Yeah it is at Zach's guitar teachers house and we just have a few things to finish up and then we are going to do our homework and I will be home, what time do you want me home?"
"Well, I guess if that is what you need to do, by all means go finish at the recording studio and then after you are done with your homework come home, just try to make it by five!"
So then to top it all off, this morning he wakes up and he is furiously writing on this sheet of paper and after a while he is like "YES", and then he asks if I want to hear the song he just wrote------am I dreaming, did I wake up yet, what is going on and who is this boy that can only think of recording studios and song lyrics. Well I think I will just go with the flow who knows maybe there will be a musician in our family afterall!!!!!!
"Mom"
"Yes Bradley"
"Before you say no, I just want you to know that this is our last chance"
"Last chance for what?"
"Zac and I have to go to the recording studio, to finish up our song for the talent show."
(at this point I am beginning to wonder if my meds have been making me a little more loopy than usual)
"Mom, Mom, so is that okay!"
(giggling)"The Recording Studio?"
"Yeah it is at Zach's guitar teachers house and we just have a few things to finish up and then we are going to do our homework and I will be home, what time do you want me home?"
"Well, I guess if that is what you need to do, by all means go finish at the recording studio and then after you are done with your homework come home, just try to make it by five!"
So then to top it all off, this morning he wakes up and he is furiously writing on this sheet of paper and after a while he is like "YES", and then he asks if I want to hear the song he just wrote------am I dreaming, did I wake up yet, what is going on and who is this boy that can only think of recording studios and song lyrics. Well I think I will just go with the flow who knows maybe there will be a musician in our family afterall!!!!!!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Chapter 39: Omedeto Gozaimasu
Happy, Happy Birthday Zacky dear,
Happy Days will come to you all year.
If I wish then it would be,
A Happy, Happy Birthday to you from Me!!!
******ISN'T IT GREAT TO BE EIGHT*********
(sadly this is when my camera's battery died so I had my sister Taci take the rest of the pictures, but I wasn't able to get those pics. But to explain his cake he wanted a karate cake and since he just earned his white belt (see chap. 38) I decided to make his cake look like his Gi (his karate uniform) with his white belt, it was the first time I had used fondant and I was really excited how it turned out as well as seeing how happy Zacky was about his cake.)
Happy Days will come to you all year.
If I wish then it would be,
A Happy, Happy Birthday to you from Me!!!
******ISN'T IT GREAT TO BE EIGHT*********
(sadly this is when my camera's battery died so I had my sister Taci take the rest of the pictures, but I wasn't able to get those pics. But to explain his cake he wanted a karate cake and since he just earned his white belt (see chap. 38) I decided to make his cake look like his Gi (his karate uniform) with his white belt, it was the first time I had used fondant and I was really excited how it turned out as well as seeing how happy Zacky was about his cake.)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Chapter 38: Onegai Shimasu
His eyes are taking in his surroundings, his pulse is beating faster and faster and his thoughts are only on one thing "I'm going to do it, this is it, today is my day." Sensei enters the room and all falls quiet, respect is permeating from his eyes as he looks and spots Senseis' black belt, one day, he thinks to himself, one day.
Sensei looks over the group and asks the initiates to kneel on the mat and start their Seiza Meditation. Kneeling he closes his eyes and begins to feel the rise and fall of his chest, in, out, in, out. Sensei rises and again all eyes are on him, the Karate 12th Kyu Review had now begun.
Zachary has been in Karate now for almost a year and the time came when his instructor (Sensei) felt he could review for his white belt. He was very excited and very nervous at the same time, he had been working so hard and had been talking about earning his white belt for some time. The review itself was nearly heartstopping for me, when someone who is teaching you child says "Now remember parents your child may be hit or bumped or bruised" you tend to be on guard. Zachary did an outstanding job in defending himself and it at times seemed like I was a part of a video game, I would try to duck the punch or move to the left, move to the right or jump out of the way, and the last part of the review when Sensei really comes after them and makes them "fight" (for lack of a better term) I really, really had a hard time just sitting in my seat and watching, but he did it, he showed off all the things he has learned in this past year and he really proved that he deserved his white belt. What a day for him to treasure!!!!
Sensei looks over the group and asks the initiates to kneel on the mat and start their Seiza Meditation. Kneeling he closes his eyes and begins to feel the rise and fall of his chest, in, out, in, out. Sensei rises and again all eyes are on him, the Karate 12th Kyu Review had now begun.
Zachary has been in Karate now for almost a year and the time came when his instructor (Sensei) felt he could review for his white belt. He was very excited and very nervous at the same time, he had been working so hard and had been talking about earning his white belt for some time. The review itself was nearly heartstopping for me, when someone who is teaching you child says "Now remember parents your child may be hit or bumped or bruised" you tend to be on guard. Zachary did an outstanding job in defending himself and it at times seemed like I was a part of a video game, I would try to duck the punch or move to the left, move to the right or jump out of the way, and the last part of the review when Sensei really comes after them and makes them "fight" (for lack of a better term) I really, really had a hard time just sitting in my seat and watching, but he did it, he showed off all the things he has learned in this past year and he really proved that he deserved his white belt. What a day for him to treasure!!!!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Chapter 37: HUH?!?!?!?!?
So this morning I can hear Lainee in her room, she is tossing and turning and sighing, so I go say "Lainee, what is the matter?" to which she replies while sighing "I just can't sleep anymore!" So I tell her "then just get up, it is morning anyway." "OHHHHH!!! good, I didn't know that!" I just kind of look at her thinking, how in the world could she not know that it is morning, it is already bright in her room!
HUH?!?!?!?!?
Then after the kids have gone to school and I am folding some laundry on my bed, she is in the bathroom, and she soon is telling me how she needs more TP, she shows me how much she has and I tell her that, that amount should be plenty, she doesn't need anymore than that. So she starts to argue her case and I finally give in (after a few minutes) and go to get her some more TP and as I am putting it on the roll holder she looks up at me and says (completely seriously I might add) "WOW! Mom, how did you know I needed some more TP?" I thought she was trying to tease me so I said "Moms just know these things, it is like a super power." and to which she says "That is sooooo cool." So after she washes her hands, she comes out with this completely amazed look on her face and she says "Mom, I still cannot believe that you knew I needed some toilet paper."
HUH?!?!?!?!?!?
Well, at least if she ends up at Knollwood, she will be with family :)
HUH?!?!?!?!?
Then after the kids have gone to school and I am folding some laundry on my bed, she is in the bathroom, and she soon is telling me how she needs more TP, she shows me how much she has and I tell her that, that amount should be plenty, she doesn't need anymore than that. So she starts to argue her case and I finally give in (after a few minutes) and go to get her some more TP and as I am putting it on the roll holder she looks up at me and says (completely seriously I might add) "WOW! Mom, how did you know I needed some more TP?" I thought she was trying to tease me so I said "Moms just know these things, it is like a super power." and to which she says "That is sooooo cool." So after she washes her hands, she comes out with this completely amazed look on her face and she says "Mom, I still cannot believe that you knew I needed some toilet paper."
HUH?!?!?!?!?!?
Well, at least if she ends up at Knollwood, she will be with family :)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Chapter 36: Things that go BUMP in the night!!
I loved, loved that Halloween fell on a Sat. this year, it just seemed to be such a relaxing and fun day. Scott and Bradley headed off for a day of Rabbit Hunting and the rest of us just hung out (well, someone had to make sure her room got cleaned or she would miss out on Trick-or-treating, bet you can't guess who!) We danced to the tunes of monster mash, Adams Family, and thriller, while we got the house and all the candy ready for the ghouls that were coming tonight!!! We also watched some halloween shows to get in the right frame of mind for "Fright Night".
As the day was winding down the kids were getting antsy, "Is it time yet?, how much longer?, can I just put on my costume?" this is what I was beginning to hear, to which I would respond, "not yet, 3 hours, and let's wait a little longer!" Zachary had been waiting for a couple of weeks to carve his pumpkin (sad, but true, he is the only one who got a pumpkin this year) so rather than wait for Scott I decided to take on the task myself, as you can see from the picture above he decided on a non-traditional jack-o-latern, but what can we say other than it is so Zachary!!!
Finally the time came to don the costumes, take pictures, find our bags, eat our dinner of "Terrifying Twice Baked Mummies", and then set off to have a spooky good time Trick-or-Treating.
Hope you all had a Frightenly Fun Halloween!!!!
Love, Pink Lady, Lady Bug, Karate Kid and Hunter (and thanks to our cousin Katie aka Asian Princess, for coming with us!)
As the day was winding down the kids were getting antsy, "Is it time yet?, how much longer?, can I just put on my costume?" this is what I was beginning to hear, to which I would respond, "not yet, 3 hours, and let's wait a little longer!" Zachary had been waiting for a couple of weeks to carve his pumpkin (sad, but true, he is the only one who got a pumpkin this year) so rather than wait for Scott I decided to take on the task myself, as you can see from the picture above he decided on a non-traditional jack-o-latern, but what can we say other than it is so Zachary!!!
Finally the time came to don the costumes, take pictures, find our bags, eat our dinner of "Terrifying Twice Baked Mummies", and then set off to have a spooky good time Trick-or-Treating.
Hope you all had a Frightenly Fun Halloween!!!!
Love, Pink Lady, Lady Bug, Karate Kid and Hunter (and thanks to our cousin Katie aka Asian Princess, for coming with us!)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Chapter 35: Eleven
So I am only 1 mo. and 10 days late in this post, but for those who really know me I pretty much count this as "right on time: ;)
So my little man has turned 11 and although this number was not as hard to swallow as 10 (for me anyway) it still means that he is growing up and starting to be able to do "man" things like, graduate from hunter safety and take a week off from school to go hunting with his dad,
while all of this in and of itself is reason enough to party, Bradley's B-day fell on the Mon. before the hunt, so we loaded up the kids and went to the mountains. .
We invited both sets of Grandparents up to have dutch-oven dinner with us and then to celebrate Bradley turning 11. Grandma Merkley made his cake it was Red Devil's Food cake with van. frosting and cinnamon sprinkles, oh yeah it was yummy After Bradley had opened his presents, his Brother and Sisters had an extra special treat for just him!!!!!!
(this pretty much made their day!!!!!)
***HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU - BRADLEY***
So my little man has turned 11 and although this number was not as hard to swallow as 10 (for me anyway) it still means that he is growing up and starting to be able to do "man" things like, graduate from hunter safety and take a week off from school to go hunting with his dad,
while all of this in and of itself is reason enough to party, Bradley's B-day fell on the Mon. before the hunt, so we loaded up the kids and went to the mountains. .
We invited both sets of Grandparents up to have dutch-oven dinner with us and then to celebrate Bradley turning 11. Grandma Merkley made his cake it was Red Devil's Food cake with van. frosting and cinnamon sprinkles, oh yeah it was yummy After Bradley had opened his presents, his Brother and Sisters had an extra special treat for just him!!!!!! 
(this pretty much made their day!!!!!)
***HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU - BRADLEY***
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Chapter 34: PMDD
Hello......My Name is Melanie and I have PMDD (Past Midnight Defecit Disorder)
Okay so it is now 1:18 am and I am still awake, not just slightly but wide awake, I got my computer out because as I was lying here contemplating how utterly sad I was that I was not asleep, I got the giggles. I started thinking of how my mind would not shut up and how I could literally be thinking about how much milk we have in the fridge to one minute later my mind had evolved and somehow I was now trying to come up with an easier method of helping Kennadee with her math homework. So I may regret this in the morning but hey, if I have to stay up and be miserable, someone may as well get some amusement out of it!!!!!!
1:24 a.m. - I kind of feel like I need to turn on a camera, this feels like a Blair Witch moment. Reminds me that Lainee and I saw a blanket that had the Wicked Witch of the West's face on it from the Wizard of Oz and she totally wanted it, Yeah right, and besides that she was totally not wicked DUN No one mourns the Wicked.
1:36 a.m. - Do you know how hard it is to type in the dark, here is my text without the use of backspace - oh crap Scott just rolled around, ssssssjjjhhhhhhh, giggle, giggle I serioudlsy do now wait that work d sou see I can't do it I promise I am not drounk atlthought it may seem like it.
1:39 - I think my experiment may have gone seriously wrong because now I am even more awake and I am pretty sure Scott is mad at me, which makes me want to laugh even more, it reminds me of the time my sisters and I would sneak and play phase 10 at night and just put a towel at the bottom of the door so our parents would think we were asleep with the "lights off" if they looked downstairs. Huh - I wonder if I could put all 10 phases in order right now, 2 sets of three, 1 set of = Ha just kidding, but that did remind me that I most likely have 5 sets of dirty laundry to catch up on and 2 sets of dishes to wash in the morning. *sigh*
1:54 - Why isn't someone here to sing me to sleep - AHHHHHH - I could just imagine Donny Osmond (did you know he is on Dancing with the Stars) singing to me, for some reason I have "Joseph" in my head, Thanks Kari!!!!
1:56 - ALERT, ALERT, Okay so Scott is really tossing and turning so now I am starting to feel a little guilty, I really don't know what is the matter after all isn't the constant click, click, clicking of a Laptop soothing - no, huh?????
Fast Forward to this morning - Okay people so for all of you who have been razzing me about updating my blog "THIS" is what you get, enjoy!!!!!
Okay so it is now 1:18 am and I am still awake, not just slightly but wide awake, I got my computer out because as I was lying here contemplating how utterly sad I was that I was not asleep, I got the giggles. I started thinking of how my mind would not shut up and how I could literally be thinking about how much milk we have in the fridge to one minute later my mind had evolved and somehow I was now trying to come up with an easier method of helping Kennadee with her math homework. So I may regret this in the morning but hey, if I have to stay up and be miserable, someone may as well get some amusement out of it!!!!!!
1:24 a.m. - I kind of feel like I need to turn on a camera, this feels like a Blair Witch moment. Reminds me that Lainee and I saw a blanket that had the Wicked Witch of the West's face on it from the Wizard of Oz and she totally wanted it, Yeah right, and besides that she was totally not wicked DUN No one mourns the Wicked.
1:36 a.m. - Do you know how hard it is to type in the dark, here is my text without the use of backspace - oh crap Scott just rolled around, ssssssjjjhhhhhhh, giggle, giggle I serioudlsy do now wait that work d sou see I can't do it I promise I am not drounk atlthought it may seem like it.
1:39 - I think my experiment may have gone seriously wrong because now I am even more awake and I am pretty sure Scott is mad at me, which makes me want to laugh even more, it reminds me of the time my sisters and I would sneak and play phase 10 at night and just put a towel at the bottom of the door so our parents would think we were asleep with the "lights off" if they looked downstairs. Huh - I wonder if I could put all 10 phases in order right now, 2 sets of three, 1 set of = Ha just kidding, but that did remind me that I most likely have 5 sets of dirty laundry to catch up on and 2 sets of dishes to wash in the morning. *sigh*
1:54 - Why isn't someone here to sing me to sleep - AHHHHHH - I could just imagine Donny Osmond (did you know he is on Dancing with the Stars) singing to me, for some reason I have "Joseph" in my head, Thanks Kari!!!!
1:56 - ALERT, ALERT, Okay so Scott is really tossing and turning so now I am starting to feel a little guilty, I really don't know what is the matter after all isn't the constant click, click, clicking of a Laptop soothing - no, huh?????
Fast Forward to this morning - Okay people so for all of you who have been razzing me about updating my blog "THIS" is what you get, enjoy!!!!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Chapter 33: Dance
During the summer Lainee was begging me to go to dance, so I told her that once school started we would sign her up with the same studio as Kennadee. Last week was actually her first class but I forgot to take my camera and she ended up not being in that class anyway so it didn't matter. One of the teachers came up to me and after seeing Lainee dance last week and said that she thought Lainee was already ready to be on the competetive team and asked if I wanted to just start her out there instead of waiting a year, so the biggest benefit to having her on the competition team was that she would go to dance right before Kennadee did on Wed. so that would cut out a day of driving across town for me seeing that Kennadee has dance on Mon. and Wed. and Lainee would have had to go on Tues. if not on competetive, so I moved her and if you are wondering what my feelings on competitions are I would just like to refer you to Chapter 4 in the "King Kronicles" and now I have 2. Double the hair, double the make-up, double the cost and double the trouble, but you know what for all my complaining I really do love to see the girls perform and to have fun with the stunts they get to do, so I will just grin and bear it. Lainee was a little hesitant to start this day but once they got into the dance itself it was like no one else was in the room and she just wanted to please her teacher and dance, dance, dance. I love listening to the teachers give the instructions of what to do it sounds a little like this "A ten Hut" girls "slap" teahcers "ready position, POSE, and bounce, bounce, bounce, I'm so cool, whatever, pose, jump one, two, shoulders, what?, stars and wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. I get a kick out of watching all these little 4 and 5 year olds responding to these commands on cue. After they dance for a while it is time to tumble and this is one of Lainee's favorite things to do, she is so proud of herself when she does a summersault all on her own and she is really trying to be able to do a cartwheel by herself, but her favorite is the back flip which she does with the help of her teacher, hence the pictures, she can't wait to be able to do all of it by herself with out anybody's help. But when you ask Lainee what her most favorite part of dance is she will most likely say "the gum you get when we are all done!!" well what can you expect she is only 4 after all!!! 
Monday, August 31, 2009
Chapter 32: Almost famous!!!
Girls just wanna have fun!
This is mine and Lainee's theme song, since we have alot of time that we get to spend together. Well today was just one of those days, that I want to be able to remember because although it may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, it's days like these that make me really, truly appreciate that I get to be a stay at home mom and that I have the priveledge of having these little moments to treasure.
So after a pretty much routine morning of getting the older kids off to school, I was loading the dishwasher and clearing off the cupboards when my little Lainee hollers in from the front room "Mom, will you put High School Musical 3 on T.V. for me?" my response to this most awesome request, "You bet Lainee!" so I put it in and go about finishing up the kitchen, when again from the front room I hear her say "But Mom, don't you want to come and sit on the couch with me and watch it?" well of course how can you say no, so I hurried to finish the kitchen and put in a batch of Laundry and sat down to watch (but mostly to sing loudly) HSM3, and of course anytime one of us got up we had to pause the movie so we wouldn't miss a thing and then when it ended once Lainee wanted to start all over (ahhhh!!! Heaven, who wouldn't love to just sit and oogle over Zac and Corbin!) Sadly though about half way through the movie we did have to take a shopping break (mostly because we had nothing to eat for lunch) so while I finished getting myself ready for the day so did Lainee, including lotioning our legs which she gave my legs a good dose and then proceeded to pound on them as if I were at the spa (and no I didn't even teach her that, but for the future I think I will instruct her on how to do good pedicures), so with flip-flops flipping and sun glasses shading off we went to the store. As I was opening Lainee's door she looks at me and with complete and total honesty she says "MOM, what am I going to do if people think I am famous!!!" I kind of chuckled saying "Oh! uh-well why would people think you are famous Lainee?" and then doing her little side hip thing and pointing to her hair she states as if I am totally blind "Because of my hair", so I smile and say "Well if the crowd starts mobbing us I will just grab you and run to the car." and that seemed to be good enough! Ahhhhh, what did I ever do before I had kids to entertain me. Oh and the "hair-do" was a headband with a big flower on it, so if you run into a short blonde with a flower in her hair, don't rush at her to get an autograph or anything, she just wants to be treated like any normal little 4 year old.
This is mine and Lainee's theme song, since we have alot of time that we get to spend together. Well today was just one of those days, that I want to be able to remember because although it may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, it's days like these that make me really, truly appreciate that I get to be a stay at home mom and that I have the priveledge of having these little moments to treasure.
So after a pretty much routine morning of getting the older kids off to school, I was loading the dishwasher and clearing off the cupboards when my little Lainee hollers in from the front room "Mom, will you put High School Musical 3 on T.V. for me?" my response to this most awesome request, "You bet Lainee!" so I put it in and go about finishing up the kitchen, when again from the front room I hear her say "But Mom, don't you want to come and sit on the couch with me and watch it?" well of course how can you say no, so I hurried to finish the kitchen and put in a batch of Laundry and sat down to watch (but mostly to sing loudly) HSM3, and of course anytime one of us got up we had to pause the movie so we wouldn't miss a thing and then when it ended once Lainee wanted to start all over (ahhhh!!! Heaven, who wouldn't love to just sit and oogle over Zac and Corbin!) Sadly though about half way through the movie we did have to take a shopping break (mostly because we had nothing to eat for lunch) so while I finished getting myself ready for the day so did Lainee, including lotioning our legs which she gave my legs a good dose and then proceeded to pound on them as if I were at the spa (and no I didn't even teach her that, but for the future I think I will instruct her on how to do good pedicures), so with flip-flops flipping and sun glasses shading off we went to the store. As I was opening Lainee's door she looks at me and with complete and total honesty she says "MOM, what am I going to do if people think I am famous!!!" I kind of chuckled saying "Oh! uh-well why would people think you are famous Lainee?" and then doing her little side hip thing and pointing to her hair she states as if I am totally blind "Because of my hair", so I smile and say "Well if the crowd starts mobbing us I will just grab you and run to the car." and that seemed to be good enough! Ahhhhh, what did I ever do before I had kids to entertain me. Oh and the "hair-do" was a headband with a big flower on it, so if you run into a short blonde with a flower in her hair, don't rush at her to get an autograph or anything, she just wants to be treated like any normal little 4 year old.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Chapter 31: Sniffle, Sniffle, Cry, Cry, Cry.....
School Bag in hand, they leave home in the early morning, waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile. I watch them go with a surge of that well-known sadness, and I just have to sit down for a while. The feeling that I'm losing them forever and without really entering their world. I'm glad whenever I can share their laughter, my funny little ones. Slipping through my fingers all the time, I try to capture every minute, the feeling in it, Slipping through my fingers all the time, do I really see what's in their mind? Each time I think I'm close to knowing they keep on growing, slipping through my fingers all the time.
I just happened to be watching Mamma Mia sometime last week and Bradley walked in when she is singing this song to her daughter, so he said "Mom, why don't you ever sing that song to us?" Well as I pondered on it, and thought about it, all I could come up with is that, really that isn't the song I would choose, the song I really feel in my heart the first few weeks of school is..............
It's the most wonderful time of the year, with the school bell a-ringing, and mom always telling me, "be of good cheer", it's the most wonderful time of the year. It's the hap-happiest season of all, with your pencils a writing and school lunch your biting, and friends who are near. It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Maybe in a few years when all my kids are in school and I have many, many moments to ponder, who knows I will probably be sitting at home singing of them slipping through my fingers *sigh* okay maybe not, but it's the thought that counts, right, right, anybody. Okay fine, at least enjoy their pictures from the first day of school!
I just happened to be watching Mamma Mia sometime last week and Bradley walked in when she is singing this song to her daughter, so he said "Mom, why don't you ever sing that song to us?" Well as I pondered on it, and thought about it, all I could come up with is that, really that isn't the song I would choose, the song I really feel in my heart the first few weeks of school is..............
It's the most wonderful time of the year, with the school bell a-ringing, and mom always telling me, "be of good cheer", it's the most wonderful time of the year. It's the hap-happiest season of all, with your pencils a writing and school lunch your biting, and friends who are near. It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Maybe in a few years when all my kids are in school and I have many, many moments to ponder, who knows I will probably be sitting at home singing of them slipping through my fingers *sigh* okay maybe not, but it's the thought that counts, right, right, anybody. Okay fine, at least enjoy their pictures from the first day of school!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Chapter 30: I am the "Queen"
Okay so Kari has declared herself the coupon Queen but I think I may have taken the title from her today!!!! I have been seriously coupon shopping now for a few months and I have been so excited to see my grocery bill go down but my intake of groceries explode, I have been getting some really good deals and not spending very much money to get my every day groceries and also see a huge growth in my food storage. Today I went to Albertson's because I got some double coupons in the newspaper from them and decided that I would use them before they expired, below you will see a picture of all the groceries I was able to get, I made 4 seperate purchases and here my totals: $8.70, $2.97, $19.10 and $1.03 for a grand total of $31.80, but wait, if you think that is the final total, you would be wrong, the suspense is going to kill you isn't it:)
Here is the list of groceries I purchased:
4 Colgate Toothpaste
2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese
4 Easy Mac
8 Boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats
2 CPK Pizza's
8 large boxes of Jello
2 Kraft Cheese Singles
2 Kraft Cheese Bricks
1 block Velveeta Cheese
4 (6 pack) Jello Pudding
4 Candy Bars
1 Bag Green Grapes
so with this purchase I also got 2-$20 rebate offers that I need to mail in and I have one $5.00 coupon that I can use next time I go to Albertson's, so if you are not good at math or you just gave up, remember I told you that I paid $31.80 today, but with my mail in rebates and my $5.00 coupon, Albertson's actually paid me $13.20 to go shopping and get all those groceries, not bad for a day's work. So the challenge is on (mainly to Kari) to try and take my crown away (anyone that has an old crown laying around I really could use it:), but for those few who do accept this challenge, may your eyes be sharp, may your ears be tuned (to the sound of sales), may your legs be swift, and may your purse be light!!!! Good couponing to all!!!
Here is the list of groceries I purchased:
4 Colgate Toothpaste
2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese
4 Easy Mac
8 Boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats
2 CPK Pizza's
8 large boxes of Jello
2 Kraft Cheese Singles
2 Kraft Cheese Bricks
1 block Velveeta Cheese
4 (6 pack) Jello Pudding
4 Candy Bars
1 Bag Green Grapes
so with this purchase I also got 2-$20 rebate offers that I need to mail in and I have one $5.00 coupon that I can use next time I go to Albertson's, so if you are not good at math or you just gave up, remember I told you that I paid $31.80 today, but with my mail in rebates and my $5.00 coupon, Albertson's actually paid me $13.20 to go shopping and get all those groceries, not bad for a day's work. So the challenge is on (mainly to Kari) to try and take my crown away (anyone that has an old crown laying around I really could use it:), but for those few who do accept this challenge, may your eyes be sharp, may your ears be tuned (to the sound of sales), may your legs be swift, and may your purse be light!!!! Good couponing to all!!!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Chapter 29: Oh the things they do and say.......
So with the new school year fast approaching, all moms know what is to be done; buy new pencils, crayons, notebooks, shoes, shirts, socks, hair accessories, pants, socks, and underwear. Yes, I know I mentioned socks twice but hey when your kids go through them like mine do you need to buy twice as many. From the time that Bradley started pre-school I have tried to make back to school shopping an event that they will look forward to and also one that they will remember and hopefully have some "good" memories when they are older. On Wednesday it was the girls turn, we picked up the Patty's and headed off for our day of shopping til we dropped (and we literally did), what I learned about the girls is that; Lainee "loves, loves, loves" everything, and she "needs it" because "it is so adorable", one of the things I have always said is that I would never have a baby of the family, because they are always so spoiled and they always get more than the older ones, and although technically she didn't get everything she wanted, she did get more than she needed because after all she is the baby of my family. Kennadee loves trying on clothes, I wish I could do more to emphasize the word loves, I really thought that we were going to have to camp overnight at Old Navy so Kennadee and Makayla could finish trying on everything, I did have to giggle though as I am watching them in the dressing room, they would go in, you could see a whilrwind of activity for a long time and then they would suddenly appear and you would notice that they had only changed a shirt or that they had just layered a tank top over the top, it made you wonder what in the heck they were doing with all those clothes flying around. But to sum up my shopping experience with the girls you will have to imagine with me please 4 little girls, they all just purchased matching sunglasses (because they were 2.99 on clearance) they are talking and giggling as they go to the double doors leading to outside world, the older girls are in the lead with the younger girls mimicking their stride, the doors open, with purses on shoulder and bags in hand, and a gentle breeze blowing to keep their hair out of their faces, they exude confidence as they walk down the sidewalk to our next destination where once again they will leave their cares behind because after all there are other clothes that need to be tried on!!!
Thursday was Boy's day, now let me give you a little background on my boys, they are only jeans and T-shirt kind of boys, but the jeans have to fit just so and the shirts have to hang just right and the coloring of both cannot be to bold nor the pattern to odd and forget about button up or collared shirts (seriously, come on), so I usually take them and make them try on everything and then persist to ask them over and over and over again, "will you still like this tomorrow, next week, next month, how about in January", I have learned the hard, pricey way that in order to avoid fighting with them every day, I have to let them pick out what they want and only interject my opinion when cost, or just plain bad taste is involved. So this year having just been with the girls, I knew what stores had the best prices for their usual jeans and T-shirt, we were off to a good start and then a store that I had not been to in a while caught my eye, so I asked the boys if they wanted to go there, being boys they said they didn't care, I am telling you right now, in that very store a miracle occurred, had I not been there and witnessed it I would never have believed it. Although Bradley is very picky about his clothes he does like the plaid shorts (after I spent 45 min. talking him into them) and so he found a pair that he liked and a shirt to go with it and then as he was looking over some other clothes he pointed to a button up collared shirt and was like "hey mom, what do you think of this shirt" before I spoke I had to take a deep breath and stifle my sob (10 years I have been trying to get this boy to see the other side of clothes, 10 years) so playing it cool, I was like "yeah, it has a good color you could wear it this way or you could roll up the sleeves for a more fall look, you should try it on and see if you like it." and then a little while later BAM he hit me with another one, this time a long sleeved collared shirt with stripes, oh yeah I said it stripes and he was like "Mom, could I layer this with the other shirt", can you hear the angels singing, because I could, and then I saw the coolest thing ever, right before he came out of the dressing room he fixed his hair, now for some of you this may be nothing but for me I wanted to shout it from the rooftop "MY son finally cares about how he looks!!!!" I just think this may be a turning point, he may actually start brushing his teeth without constant reminders or maybe when he showers he will use soap and shampoo the first time and not have to suffer through a cold repeat shower, who knows what all this entails, the possibilities are endless (oh and just so you know I don't think I will let him read this blog, so try and keep this under wraps), so you would think this is the end of the tale but alas it is not, so we move on and he again finds some shirts that he likes and something must have rubbed off on Zacky because he to was trying things that are not in their "norm" and then not only that but when they were tying on clothes (in between bouts of take downs) they were actually telling one another if the shirt they picked looked good on them or if they needed maybe a different color or size. I know, I know, I about passed out from the shock of it all too. Well after I recovered and we finished our shopping, the boys took me to dinner, opening the doors, acting grown up, being very polite, and sitting in their seat the whole time, and not one fight, seriously how many miracles can occur in one day, I think this must have been a record. So now that the school shopping is done and another year of memories is stored, I will bid you farewell with the promise of pictures to come and another story yet to share about Bradley asking me about dating........................
Thursday was Boy's day, now let me give you a little background on my boys, they are only jeans and T-shirt kind of boys, but the jeans have to fit just so and the shirts have to hang just right and the coloring of both cannot be to bold nor the pattern to odd and forget about button up or collared shirts (seriously, come on), so I usually take them and make them try on everything and then persist to ask them over and over and over again, "will you still like this tomorrow, next week, next month, how about in January", I have learned the hard, pricey way that in order to avoid fighting with them every day, I have to let them pick out what they want and only interject my opinion when cost, or just plain bad taste is involved. So this year having just been with the girls, I knew what stores had the best prices for their usual jeans and T-shirt, we were off to a good start and then a store that I had not been to in a while caught my eye, so I asked the boys if they wanted to go there, being boys they said they didn't care, I am telling you right now, in that very store a miracle occurred, had I not been there and witnessed it I would never have believed it. Although Bradley is very picky about his clothes he does like the plaid shorts (after I spent 45 min. talking him into them) and so he found a pair that he liked and a shirt to go with it and then as he was looking over some other clothes he pointed to a button up collared shirt and was like "hey mom, what do you think of this shirt" before I spoke I had to take a deep breath and stifle my sob (10 years I have been trying to get this boy to see the other side of clothes, 10 years) so playing it cool, I was like "yeah, it has a good color you could wear it this way or you could roll up the sleeves for a more fall look, you should try it on and see if you like it." and then a little while later BAM he hit me with another one, this time a long sleeved collared shirt with stripes, oh yeah I said it stripes and he was like "Mom, could I layer this with the other shirt", can you hear the angels singing, because I could, and then I saw the coolest thing ever, right before he came out of the dressing room he fixed his hair, now for some of you this may be nothing but for me I wanted to shout it from the rooftop "MY son finally cares about how he looks!!!!" I just think this may be a turning point, he may actually start brushing his teeth without constant reminders or maybe when he showers he will use soap and shampoo the first time and not have to suffer through a cold repeat shower, who knows what all this entails, the possibilities are endless (oh and just so you know I don't think I will let him read this blog, so try and keep this under wraps), so you would think this is the end of the tale but alas it is not, so we move on and he again finds some shirts that he likes and something must have rubbed off on Zacky because he to was trying things that are not in their "norm" and then not only that but when they were tying on clothes (in between bouts of take downs) they were actually telling one another if the shirt they picked looked good on them or if they needed maybe a different color or size. I know, I know, I about passed out from the shock of it all too. Well after I recovered and we finished our shopping, the boys took me to dinner, opening the doors, acting grown up, being very polite, and sitting in their seat the whole time, and not one fight, seriously how many miracles can occur in one day, I think this must have been a record. So now that the school shopping is done and another year of memories is stored, I will bid you farewell with the promise of pictures to come and another story yet to share about Bradley asking me about dating........................
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Yellowstone (Day 5)
Our vacation was now winding down, but we still had a few fun things to see.
We started this day by heading down to the West Thumb Geyser Basin, where the famous Fishing Cone is located, the story goes; there were some explorers fishing in the Lake and one guy dropped his fish in this cone shaped pool of water and when he pulled it back out the fish was cooked, the kids enjoyed the story and sad to say when we finally found the fishing cone it was under water, but we had to take our picture by it anyway, hence the family picture up above. We then took a ride through Gull Point Drive and had some fun walking along the shoreline of the Lake. 
We then stopped at the LeHardy Rapids and saw some Pelicans trying to find their lunch. We found another of our favorite spots at the Mud Volcano, where we got to experience the "Dragon's Cave", 
it was awesome to hear it hissing and roaring and to see it spewing steam, I can see why they gave it such a name. As we were making our final loop down the mountainside, we found that we were not the only ones on the path, there were 4 Buffalo that had decided they would take a tour as well, lucky for us, they decided to take a short cut and headed a different direction. Our last stop was to see the Upper Falls Overlook,
which is located at the top of the Falls, it was a little unnerving to have the kids so close to a powerful waterfall, so we made sure not to linger, after all my mom had warned us not to lose any kids on our trip!!!
We then finished our travels for the day by walking across fishing bridge, where we stopped and watch a beaver cut down a weed and swim back to his home with it in his mouth.
Our Family Vacation to Yellowstone was such a wonderful experience, from all the wild animals we saw to the power of nature we experienced,
a trip well worth taking and a great memory maker. Hope you all have enjoyed sharing a little bit of our vacation and as for our license plate game, we found 46.5, I say .5 because Kennadee and Zachary were positive they found a Hawaii plate but it was not confirmed by Scott or I, so we counted it as a half, we also missed Delaware, Conneticut and Vermont, not to shabby if I do say so myself.
We started this day by heading down to the West Thumb Geyser Basin, where the famous Fishing Cone is located, the story goes; there were some explorers fishing in the Lake and one guy dropped his fish in this cone shaped pool of water and when he pulled it back out the fish was cooked, the kids enjoyed the story and sad to say when we finally found the fishing cone it was under water, but we had to take our picture by it anyway, hence the family picture up above. We then took a ride through Gull Point Drive and had some fun walking along the shoreline of the Lake. 
We then stopped at the LeHardy Rapids and saw some Pelicans trying to find their lunch. We found another of our favorite spots at the Mud Volcano, where we got to experience the "Dragon's Cave", 
it was awesome to hear it hissing and roaring and to see it spewing steam, I can see why they gave it such a name. As we were making our final loop down the mountainside, we found that we were not the only ones on the path, there were 4 Buffalo that had decided they would take a tour as well, lucky for us, they decided to take a short cut and headed a different direction. Our last stop was to see the Upper Falls Overlook,
which is located at the top of the Falls, it was a little unnerving to have the kids so close to a powerful waterfall, so we made sure not to linger, after all my mom had warned us not to lose any kids on our trip!!!
We then finished our travels for the day by walking across fishing bridge, where we stopped and watch a beaver cut down a weed and swim back to his home with it in his mouth.
Our Family Vacation to Yellowstone was such a wonderful experience, from all the wild animals we saw to the power of nature we experienced,
a trip well worth taking and a great memory maker. Hope you all have enjoyed sharing a little bit of our vacation and as for our license plate game, we found 46.5, I say .5 because Kennadee and Zachary were positive they found a Hawaii plate but it was not confirmed by Scott or I, so we counted it as a half, we also missed Delaware, Conneticut and Vermont, not to shabby if I do say so myself.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Yellowstone (Day 4)
Well Good News everybody, today's post is not about Yellowstone, it is about Jackson Hole :). Roughly 15 years ago a boy asked a girl to marry him, she said "no" and then realized he was serious and then said "YES", so the boy and girl got married and decided to spend their honeymoon in a place called Jackson Hole, now fast forward fifteen years, where the now man and woman have come back with their 4 children to have some fun visiting the place where it all began ;) (hey Taci, that wink, wink, is just for you!)
Since there was lots of construction on our way to Jackson Hole we didn't arrive until close to lunch time, so we hurried to the Visitor's Center and made our plans for the day. We ate lunch at a park where there were lots of geese (I think that is what they were) and let's just say lot's of geese droppings, so I was glad when lunch was done and we could move on. Bradley knew that they had a Ripley's believe it or not Museum
there and so we went to see if we could beleve it or not. It actually was really fun to see and read some of the unbelievable and freakish things people have or have done, I think the boys favorites were the wierd facts of some of the outlaws like Billy the Kid, and I am sure the girls favorite was the story of the woman who killed a Bear with a frying pan, and of course Scott and my favorite was the Love Throne the "King's" got to sit upon,
and no it wasn't in the bathroom. After the Museum we just did alot of sightseeing and wandering the streets of Jackson, we stopped by the Million Dollar Saloon, a Moose Christmas shop and another fun store, that I can't remember the name of but it is where Lainee latched onto her pink "cowgal" hat, which she looks absolutely adorable in.
We ate dinner at the Teton Steakhouse and then went to the Town Square to catch sight of the Western Shoot-out, which had everyone laughing and plugging their ears, cause the guns were so loud.
I loved the time we just got to meander through the town and remember the time spent there oh so many years ago, and now to make some new memories with our kids. Oh and just as a side note, on our way back into Yellowstone as we were passing the Tetons we did come upon a Grizzly Bear that was just off the road, he was so big and close, he was just on the other side of a construction embankment so we couldn't great really great pictures, and then when we were a little closer to home, coming down the middle of the road was a coyote, so Scott decided he would try out his coyote call, and I'll be danged if it didn't work on the poor guy,
he kept turning and looking at us, after that excitement the kids just wanted to drive around and see what else we could find in the roads but we decided that it was better to get some sleep so we wouldn't run anything over.
Since there was lots of construction on our way to Jackson Hole we didn't arrive until close to lunch time, so we hurried to the Visitor's Center and made our plans for the day. We ate lunch at a park where there were lots of geese (I think that is what they were) and let's just say lot's of geese droppings, so I was glad when lunch was done and we could move on. Bradley knew that they had a Ripley's believe it or not Museum
there and so we went to see if we could beleve it or not. It actually was really fun to see and read some of the unbelievable and freakish things people have or have done, I think the boys favorites were the wierd facts of some of the outlaws like Billy the Kid, and I am sure the girls favorite was the story of the woman who killed a Bear with a frying pan, and of course Scott and my favorite was the Love Throne the "King's" got to sit upon,
and no it wasn't in the bathroom. After the Museum we just did alot of sightseeing and wandering the streets of Jackson, we stopped by the Million Dollar Saloon, a Moose Christmas shop and another fun store, that I can't remember the name of but it is where Lainee latched onto her pink "cowgal" hat, which she looks absolutely adorable in.
We ate dinner at the Teton Steakhouse and then went to the Town Square to catch sight of the Western Shoot-out, which had everyone laughing and plugging their ears, cause the guns were so loud.
I loved the time we just got to meander through the town and remember the time spent there oh so many years ago, and now to make some new memories with our kids. Oh and just as a side note, on our way back into Yellowstone as we were passing the Tetons we did come upon a Grizzly Bear that was just off the road, he was so big and close, he was just on the other side of a construction embankment so we couldn't great really great pictures, and then when we were a little closer to home, coming down the middle of the road was a coyote, so Scott decided he would try out his coyote call, and I'll be danged if it didn't work on the poor guy,
he kept turning and looking at us, after that excitement the kids just wanted to drive around and see what else we could find in the roads but we decided that it was better to get some sleep so we wouldn't run anything over.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Yellowstone (Day 3)
So for those of you that are following our family blog and are saying to yourself at this very moment, "holy crap, how long did they stay in Yellowstone", just remember one thing, the biggest reason I do a blog is so that I (me, myself and I) can remember what happened on our vacation, so that when I go to scrapbook our trip I can actually know in what order we did things and remember the names of such places. So enduldge me for a while, as I record yet another day in Yellowstone.
Monday morning came and with it came a little patch of sun, so we gathered the kids, packed our lunch and headed off to see the famed "Old Faithful",
we must have arrived just after one of the eruptions, so we were able to find pretty good seats. As we were sitting waiting for the show, we kept looking to the sky, because it looked like there was a storm brewin', we also met a family sitting behind us that was from Orem (and come to find out they are Ute fans, huh???), so just as Old Faithful was starting to sputter and spit, sure enough here came the rain, and of course here came the wind, just so happens that the wind was blowing our direction and so not only were we getting rained upon, but we were also having all the steam and other stuff that blows out of geysers soaking us as well. After Old Faithful blew, we ran for cover in the visitor's center, we did not have to wait long and as soon as the sun peeked out again we headed for the jaunt around Old Faithful, called the Geyser Basin, we got to see some really neat geysers up close and had a few erupt just as we were going by. Little did we know however that the best geysers were coming up.
We took a little drive off the beaten path called the Firehole Lake Drive, where we found the White Dome Geyser which was by far the coolest geyser, it sprayed only 30-40 ft. in the air but we were so close and there were only 3 other families that we had to share the area with. After that we went over to Fountain Paint pot where we got to see the Mudpots
and if you haven't ever seen boiling mud, let me tell you it is awesome, they were a definate favorite, especially with Zacky
(I think mostly because he was the first to spot "boiling mud", but who knows), we ended our day at the Artist's Paint Pot (yes it is different from Fountain) and I loved that some of the pictures I took of the kids actually look like they are sitting in front of a fake background, again just a beautiful day and a perfect sunset to compliment the landscape.
Monday morning came and with it came a little patch of sun, so we gathered the kids, packed our lunch and headed off to see the famed "Old Faithful",
we must have arrived just after one of the eruptions, so we were able to find pretty good seats. As we were sitting waiting for the show, we kept looking to the sky, because it looked like there was a storm brewin', we also met a family sitting behind us that was from Orem (and come to find out they are Ute fans, huh???), so just as Old Faithful was starting to sputter and spit, sure enough here came the rain, and of course here came the wind, just so happens that the wind was blowing our direction and so not only were we getting rained upon, but we were also having all the steam and other stuff that blows out of geysers soaking us as well. After Old Faithful blew, we ran for cover in the visitor's center, we did not have to wait long and as soon as the sun peeked out again we headed for the jaunt around Old Faithful, called the Geyser Basin, we got to see some really neat geysers up close and had a few erupt just as we were going by. Little did we know however that the best geysers were coming up.
We took a little drive off the beaten path called the Firehole Lake Drive, where we found the White Dome Geyser which was by far the coolest geyser, it sprayed only 30-40 ft. in the air but we were so close and there were only 3 other families that we had to share the area with. After that we went over to Fountain Paint pot where we got to see the Mudpots
and if you haven't ever seen boiling mud, let me tell you it is awesome, they were a definate favorite, especially with Zacky
(I think mostly because he was the first to spot "boiling mud", but who knows), we ended our day at the Artist's Paint Pot (yes it is different from Fountain) and I loved that some of the pictures I took of the kids actually look like they are sitting in front of a fake background, again just a beautiful day and a perfect sunset to compliment the landscape.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Yellowstone (Day 2)
Day 2 dawned still early, but not so bright, there was a storm moving in and boy could you feel it in the air. We got up and headed northward again, we figured we would complete the north loop this day. We started out at the Tower-Roosevelt junction where we left off yesterday, and drove to the petrified tree, where we got caught in a downpour which turned into a hailstorm, as we were waiting we saw these 2hikers that were trying to find shelter from the storm, we told them we didn't have much room, but would be gald to squish, and so we ended up giving them a ride back to their car at the Roosevelt Lodge, they where very appreciative and we were very glad for the lesson of kindness this provided for our kids.
By the time we got done with our little detour, the clouds had cleared and the trails were dried up enough that we stopped by Lava Creek and had our lunch and played in the water a little, where Zacky and Bradley tried to catch a fish bare handed (they just couldn't quite reach far enough, so alas the fish eluded them). From there we went on a 1 mi. hike to the Wraith Falls and Undine Falls, which again were truly magnificent. 
Just as we were finishing our hikes it started to rain a little again so we headed for Mammoth Springs and the Albright Visitors Center, still raining so we went to the store and had some ice cream and wrote some postcards, still raining so we went and parked the truck in front of the Travertines, where Scott and I took a nap and the kids waited out the storm watching a movie. When the storm finally let up we were able to explore Mammoth Springs and I think this spot was one of our favorites, we loved the deep springs of blue water, the ridges of crust left by the minerals in the waters,
and the mists that surrounded us, making the scenery breathtaking. After Mammoth Springs we were able to drive through the Hoo Doos, visit the top of Rustic Falls and then just before dark we made it to the Roaring Mountain (which may have been falling asleep, hence no roaring).
So a busy and eventful 2nd day in Yellowstone. Oh! I will be taking bets on how many state license plates we found.
By the time we got done with our little detour, the clouds had cleared and the trails were dried up enough that we stopped by Lava Creek and had our lunch and played in the water a little, where Zacky and Bradley tried to catch a fish bare handed (they just couldn't quite reach far enough, so alas the fish eluded them). From there we went on a 1 mi. hike to the Wraith Falls and Undine Falls, which again were truly magnificent. 
Just as we were finishing our hikes it started to rain a little again so we headed for Mammoth Springs and the Albright Visitors Center, still raining so we went to the store and had some ice cream and wrote some postcards, still raining so we went and parked the truck in front of the Travertines, where Scott and I took a nap and the kids waited out the storm watching a movie. When the storm finally let up we were able to explore Mammoth Springs and I think this spot was one of our favorites, we loved the deep springs of blue water, the ridges of crust left by the minerals in the waters,
and the mists that surrounded us, making the scenery breathtaking. After Mammoth Springs we were able to drive through the Hoo Doos, visit the top of Rustic Falls and then just before dark we made it to the Roaring Mountain (which may have been falling asleep, hence no roaring).
So a busy and eventful 2nd day in Yellowstone. Oh! I will be taking bets on how many state license plates we found.
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