King Kronicles

A Newborn.....

2012-01-31T11:20:00.002-07:00

Well people, I am starting to believe I have the lung capacity of a newborn. I have been trying really hard to do something about my health (*cough*weight*cough*) and so I have been trying to use the things around me to help out with getting my body healthier. I have been walking on the treadmill, doing push-ups, planks and I even have been working a little on arm exercises whenever I am sitting. I was thinking about something I could do to help streghthen my legs a little more than just walk/jogging on the treadmill and I thought about stuff they do on the Biggest Loser which they do a lot of stairs, easy enough right, I have stairs right in my very own home, YAY me!!! 14 is the number of stairs I have, you know, not to many, not to little, just right. I figured I could do 50 reps of going up and down the stairs No Problem, sounds a little "under-achiever" if I do say so myself, phssh, I got this is the bag!! I seriously could not have been more W.R.O.N.G., as if my ego hasn't suffered a lot lately as it is, I only did 7 reps, yes you read it right 7 measley times of going up and down.......my heart hurts, my ego is shattered and my lungs I swear are filling up with blood as I am writing this because I over worked them, pathetic :( I am thinking there is only one explanation for this and it is not that I need to exercise more.....it must be that my lungs are the size of a newborns, I would google my symptons but the last time I did that I found out I had leprosy, so before I go to the dr. with my ailments, could all of you go do some stairs and let me know that I am not a loser, that I am just one of you, and that maybe with a little more hard work I can make my goal of being more Healthy a reality.........please!!!

The Wrong Way

2012-01-23T21:47:00.001-07:00

So as I was driving home from work tonight, on the slushy, crappy, snowy roads, it conjured up a long lost forgotten memory, and so I must share;

Scott and I had been married only a week or so and with me being a ~~country~~ small city girl, I was slowly learning how to navigate my way through Salt Lake, I however did not like to drive anywhere by myself, in the dark or without being told in "countryfied" directions; ie. go down the street turn left at the blue house, past the field of cows, turn right at the big rock....you get it right, and Scott being the newly married, wanting to keep his new bride happy, was soooo good at helping me even though he got (still gets) frustrated with my being seriously directionally challenged. Scott at this time was working out by the Airport and since we only had one car it was my responsibility to make sure he was picked up from work if I needed to use the car while he was away. Oh the days before Cell phones, I know most of you cannot even remember such a time and my kids ask me if grew up with the dinosaurs, since I was around BEFORE cells, Ipods, internet, and such. But I just tell them, No, your grandparents grew up with the dinosaurs so I am way Modern :) On this particular night I headed off to pick up Scott at around 11:30 pm, his shift ended at midnight and I wanted to give myself a little cushion. I remember seeing all the signs that pointed me in the right direction and I was getting so excited to show Scott just how big I was and that I could find places on my own (now remember this is even before GPS), I only had one more exit to take and then I would be at the International Center by the Airport, but somehow I missed seeing that exit, as I was driving I thought that I had gone to far but I couldn't remember exactly, so I kept driving hoping that I would recognize something that either told me I was still on the right road or that I had gone too far, now looking back and remembering this, I realized that I didn't know what was past that exit because I had never been past, so everything should have looked foreign, but it was dark and I knew I wouldn't be able to tell if it was familiar or not. I found myself alone, in the dark, on the wrong road and scared because I didn't know where to go from there. I was getting so stressed because it was well past midnight and I started getting a migraine from the thoughts of disappointing my husband and feeling completely stupid that I couldn't find where I needed to be even though I had been there multiple times. I pulled over to the side of the road and prayed, I prayed hard that I would be able to get to home safely and that my headache would stay at bay long enough to get me back home, I also prayed that Scott would find a way home and that he wouldn't be mad at me when he did. When I was done with my prayer I remembered "oh yeah, Scott works by the airport" the airport is all lit up so it was very easy to navigate my way back towards it, and once I made it back there I was able to finally see the signs that would take me back to the safety of my apartment and Scott. I finally got home around 1 ish and Scott was not there but I had the feeling that he was okay and that he would soon be home, he came bursting through the door about 15 min. later, frantic and happy that I was home, he then asked what had happened and I just commenced to crying, I was so grateful that he was home, I was happy that he wasn't mad and I was so thankful that the Lord had answered my prayers and brought us both back home safely. I think the really funny part in all this is that the wrong turn I made actually had me heading out to Tooele, maybe subconsciously I was already heading home I just didn't know it then...... I hate to admit it but I am still so directionally challenged but thankfully for Scott's sanity, I now have a cell phone, with a car charger :), I have a GPS system in my van and on my phone and I have 17 years of living out here under my belt, so I can drive anywhere with confidence, okay maybe that was too strong a word, but I am getting better!!! And I have driven across the country with my Mom and Sister, so I think I am pretty awesome!!! I am pretty lucky that my husband has stuck with me and is very mindful on my "one" flaw and I love it when my Dad is giving me directions, using words like east and west, Scott is right behind him saying, left and right and turn by the big rock. I so Love him!!!

Home Lunch....

2012-01-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

I am having a raging debate, mostly with myself, about the pros and cons of home lunch. Most everyday this school year, Zachary has been taking a home lunch which he gets up and makes himself, my job in this whole thing is to make sure he has what he needs and never run out. But this week he has taken it to a whole new level, let me explain; his lunch consists of:

PB & J sandwich (PB has to be a certain brand, jam has to be my freezer strawberry jam and his white bread is that cheap sandwich bread, that makes me shudder each time I put it in my cart.)

Chips (doesn't matter what kind as long as there is an extensive selection)

Grapes (he doesn't care how much they cost in the winter)

Capri Sun

There really isn't much to complain about there except for the fact that he is so specific and I can rarely get him to see that substitutions are okay, oh and did I mention that at promptly 7:45 am every morning he calls Zane to verify the lunch plans and they pack their lunches while on the phone with each other, so keep in mind I am making sure that not only 1 but 2 kids are satisfied with their lunch requirements, and I always have to keep spares of everything on the off chance that Zane's Mom has run out of something and she does the same for Zach.

So this past week as I have been weighing the cost of groceries vs. school lunch, Zach kindly reminded me that he has a field trip on Thurs. which of course requires a Lunchable (I refuse to let them eat them any other time), and also since Zane's mom has now purhased Twinkies for Zane's lunch I had to get them too, so for his lunch tomorrow he will pack his ~~disgusting~~ lunchable, chips, a twinkie and a Kool-aid Jammer (they were cheaper than Capri-Sun), so as I am buying this stuff keeping in mind that I am also trying so hard to eat better and healthier I find myself thinking, "what in the heck kind of lunch is this, there is absolutely no nutritional value in it whatsoever, yet I am buying this stuff and then I am saying to my son, go ahead pack the lunch that is suppose to sustain you through school hours and have a great day!!! I feel like a great mom!!!

Despite my knowledge of good vs. evil foods, I have to say that for whatever reason his making his own lunch empowers him and so for that reason and that reason alone, I will still continue to let him pack his lunches and hopefully my buying a box of twinkies doesn't come back to bite me in the butt!!!

(I really must love them!!!)

the Big 1-0

2012-01-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

3 of my 4 kids have now entered double digits.....................................aughhhhhh!!!

Okay well he did actually have his birthday in Nov. but hey, I am a mom and a busy mom at that so sometimes you have to celebrate the birthday in Nov. and then blog about it in Jan.

I usually let my kids decide what they want their birthday cake to be but this year for Zach I decided for him, only because my idea was so super fantastic and I knew he would love it!!! Zach is such an artist, he loves to draw, color, paint and doodle, so I thought it would be so fun to have him decorate his own cake!! I rolled out some white fondant for him and then let him use some edible markers to color his cake with. And although the markers were really hard to work with he still had fun and his cake turned out cute!!!

I love that he had to sign his cake!!

One year older and wiser too, Happy Birthday..to you!!

(what a bunch of posers!!)

A Birthday Girl!!

2012-01-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

You have to fight for the right to

PaRtY!!!

Or at least turn "12" so you can have an awesome party!!!

What could be better than lots of girls, getting their hair done, nails done, playing games, playing Just Dance on the Wii, giggling uncontrollably at nothing, making their own cupcakes, watching the series ending of Wizards of Waverly Place and then giggling more.............Nothing!!!

I asked Kennadee how she thought her party had gone and with the biggest, brightest smile she said, "Best. party. EVER!!! And I think that says it all...............well except for maybe these:

(Apples to Apples Jr. one of K's faves)

Our Stylists, McKenna H., Bailey M. & Elysa M., they were awesome and so fun to have there, Kennadee did not want her haircut until after her party because she wanted Elysa to do it!!!

She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake Cake AND cupcakes to decorate, the cake was Delish!!

she was Dared to put her face in her cupcake and hard to believe but she did it!!!

Yay, she finally got her I-pod, she asked for it for Christmas and when she didn't get it she said, "Well good thing my birthday is soon, so I have another chance!!!"

Kennadee is such a JOY to have as a daughter, I love seeing her grow up and even though she is small in stature she is huge in love and kindness. I love everything about this young woman and I cannot wait for all the wonderful things that are just around the corner for her. It seems so hard to believe that it has been 12 years since the Dr. placed this little girl in my arms, and I feel so lucky that I get to be her Mom.

CHRISTmas Season!!!

2011-12-28T22:33:00.002-07:00

When contemplating what I wanted to do for the annual Christmas blog entry, I thought just doing the normal update of my family would be sufficient, but needless to say I have had the hardest time writing it, call it writers block or whatever, but I have started this entry about 12 times (maybe more). So here I go again and hopefully this will be the winner..............

I have been thinking a lot about being a Christlike example and when I think about it, the one thing that comes to mind is very personal, yet something that I have wanted to write down and save for my kids to read later. So this entry is going to focus on the very meaning of being Christlike and the wonderful person I chose to marry.

Scott had to do something this year that I hope to not repeat for a very, very, very long time. He had to say good-bye to his father. I hope Scott won't mind me talking about this on here for all to read, especially since I will not let him proof-read my posts and he usually doesn't get a say in what I post, so forgive me honey if this is to personal. Scott and his Dad were not really in a good place at the time we learned of his sickness, and sadly it was not for lack of trying. Scott's Dad was an alcoholic, and it was hard for me to watch Scott try and try and try again to help his Dad only to be refused or let down because of a relapse. It finally came to the point where the only relationship Scott had with his Dad was the check he (and his brothers) sent every month to pay for his apartment room and other neccessities that kept Tom from being homeless. I don't want to go into much more detail but their relationship was basically non-existent for about a year before his passing but in saying this I know it brought great comfort to Scott knowing that Tom lived really close to his brothers and his brothers would check up on him and invite him over for Sunday Football. It was late Mon. evening in early March 2011 when Scott got the call from his brother saying that he was taking their Dad to the ER, because something was wrong. I called the hospital the next day to find out how Tom was doing and from what they could tell me I knew it wasn't good. I asked Scott to tell me what exactly the Dr. had said to his brother when they took him in and that is when I found out he had Scirosis of the Liver and the level at which he was at was extremely critical, Scott had chosen not to go to the hospital and I was very concerned that it would be to late when he finally went, so I did some research online (I know, I know but it was the only thing I could do at the time), and it made me even more nervous that waiting was the wrong thing to do, Scott just wanted to wait and see. I have always felt like I had to walk on pins and needles concerning matters with his Dad and it was hard for me to see time slipping away, I felt the pressure but I think Scott was a little in denial about how critical his Dad really was. Thurs. that same week I went into work and to my relief Scott asked if I would go to the hospital with him to visit his Dad, we went to the IHC hospital on Redwood and 56th So. and the only thing I can say is that when we first saw Tom it was shocking, here was a man who was only 55 yet looked 85, his scirosis was so bad that he had a very hard time communicating and really had to think about anything you asked him. But the more miraculous thing that happened was Scott, I saw a man who had been so hurt by his Dad's alcoholism, look into the eyes of this man and it was as if nothing else mattered but making him better. Scott went into a "doing" mode, if there was something that needed to be done for his dad, whether it be paperwork, legal stuff, making sure he had his glasses, comforting him, watching tv with him or just reminiscing about hunting and fishing, Scott was right there. I think the most precious moment for me came as we were leaving and Scott looked at his Dad and said "I Love you Dad!" I knew it took a lot for him to say it, especially not knowing if his Dad understood him and not knowing if it would even matter to his Dad. Scott called his Grandma and Uncle Mike who live in Mesquite, NV and told them that they should come up and visit and so they came and spent the weekend up in SL, to our surprise Tom seemed to be doing so much better and the time that Grandma and Mike got to spend with him was really wonderful. Tom was doing so good in fact that the hospital was ready to talk about releasing him but only to a facility that provided nursing care 24 hrs. a day, because even at his very best he would never be able to live without constant nursing care. Scott and his brothers searched until they found a sutible place for their father to go after they released him from the hospital. He was released midday Mar. 22, Scott was not able to visit that day or on the 23rd but thrus. the 24th we went together to see his Dad, as we went into the room the nurse was with him and she began talking to us about some concerns she was having and it seemed that Tom was not doing so well, in fact it seemed like he had gone backwards, as we were visiting him, he asked if Scott would put him back in his bed because he was cold, Scott is really not a nurturer but as I watched him put his Dad in bed careful to make sure that he was comfortable, and covering him up with the blanket and then making sure that everything he needed was in arms legth, I got goosebumps! The sweetest thing and the thing that to this day brings tears to my eyes is when Tom asked for some water and Scott poured him a glass and seeing how weak and shakey Tom was, Scott didn't think twice nor ask me to step in as he helped his Dad take a sip of water, I wish that that exact moment could have been recorded so my kids could see and know how incredible their father is, they are far to young to grasp the whole reality of what took place in those precious few weeks. That was the last time we would visit Tom there, we no sooner had arrived back at work then we got a call saying Tom had gone from bad to worse and they were sending his to St. Marks Hospital and that we needed to get there as quick as we could. Long story short we told Scott's brothers to meet us there and with the sons who meant the world to him surrounding him, Tom departed this life. I cannot even begin to describe what it is like when you are with someone who is dying, there is almost a paulpible reverence. I knew then just like I know now, Scott was a Christlike example, he saw the poor and he gave, he saw the sick and he tried to heal, he saw the weary and he carried, he saw the broken hearted and he loved, he held the hand of his father as he passed promising to take care of those who still lived, he let go of hurt and anger and replaced it with kindness and compassion, there has never been a time I have felt so priviledged to be a part of something as I was in watching my husband grow as a person. I hope in this Christmas Season you all have a little time to reflect on the Christlike examples that filled your life this year, and be grateful for the experiences to learn and grow closer to our Savior. We love you all and are so grateful for each and everyone of you and the example you are to us. Merry Christmas and May your New Year be filled with the love of our Savior Jesus Christ.

With Love,
Scott and Melanie
Bradley, Kennadee, Zachary and Lainee

The 4K that nearly killed me!

2011-12-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

I was working on getting Christmas Cards out today and I came across the cards that came in our mail today and right there just waiting for me to open, was a card from my Grandma and Grandpa Harvey (my moms, mom and dad), inside the card was another card, a thank you card, on which Grandma started it by writing "Melly", that simple word just brings the biggest, goofiest, smile and the warmest sensation of love to me, she is the only person on this earth who calls me that (or I should say who is allowed to get away with calling me that!!). She just sent a cute little thank you for our help with putting together our Harvey family reunion. Reading her note made me think back to that family reunion and how we Merkley's all came together and put on one heck of a reunion!!! But there was 1 thing that we did that nearly took me out, literally!!!

My brother Matt, who is a beast, was put in charge of doing a family fun 4K (nobody is fessing up to me as to who put him in charge), he mapped it out, ran it first to make sure it was what he wanted and then showed everybody the way to go on the day of the race. I had to be coaxed into participating because I am not a runner, Cassie did you read that, I am not a runner. I can walk, I can even walk fast, but something happens to me when I run and my body rebels. But I found some buddies and off I went, I can't remember how many participants we had but it was a pretty good size group, I want to say around 35-40 but I could be wrong. My sweet Grandma decided that she would give it a try as well, so when I expressed concern for her being able to complete it, being that it was on dirt road and Matt had said there were some steep places, she just waved off my concern and said she will walk it until she thought she couldn't do it anymore and then she would turn around and come back, besides she was walking with Aunt Pam and Aunt Dawn, so all was good. I started out by running, which didn't last very long but hey at least I was doing it, the first little bit was fine but then we started on a down hill slope which slope does not descibe it very well, it was steep, I kept slipping and had to just settle for slowly walking with my peeps which consisted of Sienna, Ian, Hunter and Big Aiden (not to be confused with little Aiden), Kennadee, Morgan and Makayla, all of these kids were 13 and under, I was just happy I was keeping up with them :) Just about the time I was beginning to wonder if we were even on the right path, we saw Justin just ahead of us, and thankfully soon after found the path that was supposed to lead us back to the top of the mountain. Through this narrow path in the forest, I found myself gulping for air, each time I passed a spot that even remotely looked like it could be a place to rest I took advantage, and I found myself acting like a child that had been cooped up in a car for hours upon hours and hollering to Kennadee, "Are we there yet?, can you see the end?, how much farther??????" The only thing that kept me going was the fact that it was shorter to continue rather than turning back. We didn't ever really run into anybody else and only caught the voices of those that were behind us every once in a while. The best moment came when Kennadee announced she could see the end, we had reached the top of the moutain and were now headed back to the finish line, which sadly enough was still about 1/4 mile. As we came out of the forest into the clearing, I was just near the passing out stage, I was slowly trudging along when I saw my boys (who had already completed the 4K) riding a bike towards me, when they got within ear shot they started cheering me on, saying "c'mon mom, you can do it!, just a little farther, mom!, you are almost there!" Their chants lifted what little energy I had and propelled me to at least walk/jog. Justin had passed me a while ago and I was finally catching back up to him with just a little over 20 yards to go, when Bradley said "Mom, this is it, you are almost done, just sprint to the finish, do it Mom!!!" And with that I was off, I passed Justin who immediately put it in gear himself as we were coming to the end, neck and neck, I gave one more short burst of energy (or Justin let up a little) and I took the lead and finished the 4K, still alive, still breathing (although barely), and excited beyond belief that I did it!!! About 20 min. passed and we were still cheering on people as they came back, when I saw my Grandma, and she was jogging! I smiled and thought to myself "only grandma", she is such a wonder to behold sometimes, I felt a little chastized at the thought that I had to be talked into this and grumbled most of the way, and couldn't wait for it to be over so I could sit back and relax (after I strangled Matt) and here was my 70+ grandma with a smile on her face and excitement in her step and I could just imagine that she sang her way through the hard trails and danced up the mountain just because she was surrounded by her family. I love her and I feel honored to be named after such a great woman, and I hope I will live up to that name, and be the kind of example to others as she is to me!! I love being her Melly!!!

As for a couple other stats from the race: Bradley finished 1st (what a stud), Sophie finished 4th (she ran the whole thing all by herself, which I thought was pretty cool), Scott finished 5th or 6th (??), I can't remember any places after Scott, but Zachary finished shortly after Scott, I finished a little under 1 hr., Kennadee shortly after me and then Lainee came in about 15 min. after that and to her credit she walked the whole thing with Cassie in her flip-flops (I didn't know she was coming or I would have made sure she had proper footwear, but this is Lainee and flip-flops in the summer months are just molded to her feet!!)

Oh and don't worry Matt, I have forgiven you, it took a couple of months but you can now sleep without keeping one eye open ;p

Lainee turns Six

2011-12-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

Do you know what I love, I love making cakes for my kids' birthdays, sometimes they turn out great and sometimes, well, it's the thought that counts............!!! This year for Lainee's b-day I asked her what she wanted for her cake and she said "I really, really, really want the strawberry cake you made for my 4th b-day." Hip, Hip hooray I already knew what to do and maybe I could improve it a little. So excited was I for this cake that I didn't even stress about it, that should have been my first clue :s The girls had been out at their Grandma and Pappy's house and they came home the night before her 6th b-day. Lainee promptly walks in says hi and then proceeds to tell me what she wants her cake to be, ummmmm what?? She decided that she wanted a cat cake, I am sure it had nothing to do with the fact that she spent the weekend loving on "her" cat (which she keeps at Grandma's house). So being the kind, wonderful, never stressing, most loving mom that I am, I said "you bet, if a cat cake is what you want than a cat cake is what you will get!!" And thus began the internet search for an idea, followed by a late night baking and a feverish run to the store the next day to finish getting the accessories for our most beautiful kitty cat cake! My Sister Kari and her kids came over to help us celebrate and it is a good thing she did because I needed her help putting the finishing touches on!!

This is the finished product!!! Pretty darn cute!!

I would say she is pretty pleased with it!!

Katie, Kayla, Kennadee, Lainee, Lexi and Brina!!

Did I mention it was an ice cream cake, filled with Kit Kat Ice Cream!!

*cat shirt*

^cat pajamas^

{a bike (hopefully not to run over any cats)}

Her birthday was a great day and we are lucky to have Little Lainee in our family, she brings lots of laughs, lots of giggles, lots of love and most of all lots of messes (and one day I know we will miss those messes)!!!

Making up is so much fun...

2011-12-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

The trouble with doing something wrong is that you usually have to right the wrong, and sometimes it is just to daunting of a task to make up the wrong, but I am going to attempt to right my wrong and hopefully be forgiven of my grievous sin.

Are you dying to know what I did wrong???

Everytime I talk to my mom, or mother-in-law, my sisters, sisters-in-law or some of my extended family and friends, I usually get asked the question; "When are you going to update your blog?" Well here is my answer, "Since I have been so lax this year and not doing a good job of keeping you informed of all the happenings in our family, I am going to try and save face by posting a lot this month, I am hoping to get you all caught up on the fun, funny, not-so-fun, and dysfunctional side of my family!"

So sit back, relax and realize that this Christmas Season will be filled with all sorts of "Kings"!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

2011-10-26T11:50:00.000-06:00

So it's my beautiful Mothers Anniversary today, why is it just her Anniversary do you ask???

Let me Answer with this:

Happy 30th Anniversary of your 29th Birthday!!!!

My mom is sooooo loving me right now, I can feel it!

I have been wondering how to honor my mother on her special day, and my normal is to go on and on about what a wonderful, incredible person she is, how she is the most patient, loving, selfless, giving and forgiving person that I know, and how I would be so happy to be 1/10th of the Mother she is to my children and she was to me. But in thinking back about past birthdays I could not get this story out of my head so it must be that I must share...............

When my mom was celebrating the 11th Anniversary of her 29th birthday, my Dad took her out to dinner with Aunt Pam and Uncle Ken and some of our neighbor's from our Roosevelt Days, so thus my big brother Justin was left to manage all us "little" children (why my mom ever left him in charge is still a mystery to me, anywho) I remember all of us being downstairs I am going to say peacefully watching TV because after all that is what my mom wants to hear right. When all of a sudden we heard a noise upstairs, I remember all of us older kids trying to quiet the little kids down so we could hear what we just knew was a burglar in our home, we were trying to listen so we knew where this burglar was and what they might be stealing. Justin being the "babysitter" decided that he would protect us all and snuck upstairs and grabbed one of my Dad's knives from the kitchen drawer, now for some of those who may not know my Dad was, is and will always be a butcher, so needless to say we always had BIG and SHARP butcher knives. Once Justin came back downstairs with the knife we formulated a plan to go and make sure that this burglar left our home. So Justin, Matt, Me and I am pretty sure Kari (but it could have been Erin because she was more likely to be braver than Kari) went upstairs, and room by room we searched for our burglar. You can just imagine Justin and Matt being the big heroes and sneaking into the bedrooms and searching behind each door for our burglar, picture with my please....sneak, sneak, sneak (looking at each other and mouthing) you go that way, grabbing doors and with a quick humph and a HI-YA, yep that was us protecting our home!!! So after every door, closet and room was thoroughly checked and cleared we started to head back to the basement when I happened to look on the Kitchen Table only to notice something was not right, as I got closer I saw the very thing that must have been the burglars reason for entering our home, what was it; a cake. Someone in the neighborhood had brought over a cake, I am sure that they must have knocked and knocked they may have even rang the doorbell, and I will never know why us children who always behaved so well when my parents were gone couldn't hear them, until they walked in and put it on our kitchen table. Well Mom I am glad for you that we all survived our harrowing night of the Birthday Burglar!!! :)

Happy Birthday Mom, I really do Love you!!!

(even though you did leave Justin in charge)

Word Puzzle

2011-10-20T19:27:00.000-06:00

So can you read this:

HiGis

The girls came into work with me for a little bit today and Lainee immediately grabbed the whiteboard markers and starts wiriting things on Scott's whiteboard. As she started writing we both look up and saw that she wrote an H, and then the i, "Hi" when she added the Gis, I thought she was just writing random letters, Scott on the otherhand asked her what she spelled and she says in her oh so cute voice, "Hi Guys!!!!!" So totally funny, Love 1st grade phonetics!!!

A new laughable line of Lainee's and a hopeful boy with a homeless brother.

2011-10-11T14:50:00.000-06:00

So yesterday I was walking into the Grocery Store with shoeless Lainee in tow, and you know the times when your kids are talking and you are "uh-huh"ing and "yes"ing to them but really you are going through the gocery list in your mind because your forgot your paper grocery list at home. Well needless to say it came to that point in the conversation where I was like "what???, what is she talking about and I was completely stupified at what she was telling me." So I asked her to repeat herself, only I came up with a comepletely clever and wonderful way of asking so it seemed as if I was really listening to the whole conversation!! She then began her story again, and just to speed it up a little she was telling me that Justin Bieber had gone to this girl's house because she said she was in love with him. So I looked at Lainee a little confused and said, "I thought Justin was with Selena Gomez?" "Mmmmoooooommmm", she said with an exasperated lilt, "They broke up, it has been all over the news, how did you not know this....." "Well my little 6 year old sweetie, who goes to bed at 8:30 well before the news, I guess I am just behind the times!" At this point in time I notice that there was a man walking beside us who heard this whole conversation, he just started laughing, and walked down the aisle next to the one we were heading down (I am sure to save me the embarassment of having to explain to him why I did not know this little factoid)!!! Gotta love Lainee!!!

Also last night Scott and I were talking to the kids and we were telling them that over the course of the next few months we would be changing their sleeping arrangements, largely due to the fact that Bradley and Zachary either are friends and want to talk and talk and laugh all night or they are enemies and want to fight and argue and punch each other all night, so we are going to be doing some remodeling and hopefully when all is said and done we will live in a house of peace and tranquility where all the inhabitants talk nicely to each other, use good manners, always keep their bedrooms nice and tidy, and most importantly go to bed when they are suppose to!!!! Hey, it will happen you just watch!!! Okay so fast forward to after dinner and a little before bed time, I walk into the boys' bedroom and I see Zachary with a basket of stuff and 3 drawers worth of treasures (*cough* crap *cough*) being sorted and carefully organized back into the drawers they just came out of. So I asked him what he was doing, he didn't even look up at me or acknowledge that I was standing there, he just simply pointed at his treasures and said "I am going through my stuff and throwing away all the garbage and re-organzing my drawers, and putting my p.j.'s away." "Oh," I said. "What is this basket for?" "That is Bradley's stuff, I am moving him out!!!" I kinda laughed because of the finality in which he spoke was funny. So I had to re-iterate the fact that it was going to take more than a day, or week, or maybe even month, for us to be ready enough for Bradley to actually "move" out to his own room. "Don't worry mom, I know, I am just going to be prepared for it whenever it happens!" Well okay then, that's that, I guess, I really hope Bradley doesn't mind being homeless for a while because I have a feeling that Zachary will have him all packed and ready to leave the nest by tonight! :)

Journals

2011-09-25T19:58:00.000-06:00

I love Journals, but if you ask me if I keep one the answer would be no, well not in the generic way anyway, I think through my Scrapbooking and Blogging I am doing my best to let people see me as well as capture moments that in the future we can look back on and say "oh yeah, I remember that", but through the years my absolute most favorite journals are that of my kids, the kind that at the end of the school year they bring home and you get to read all the things that mattered to them throughout their school year. This being said I was cleaning up today and came across one of those said journals that I was not even aware existed and even though there are not many entries I found myself enthralled with this kids writing skills and the little things that he found interesting in 3rd grade. I know I have mentioned before how Zachary has a big heart but he is very reluctant to share it, and when I get glimpses of his true self I cherish them all the more, that being said there is one entry that I just had to share, it just made my night!!!

Zach's Journal Entry
4/29/2011

things to do before I die!
-have a party
-go to collage
-get maried in the temple!
-have three kids
-make a pinyata
-invent something with Zane.
-be an acitect
-live in Arizona
-learn how to drive
-get a library card
-be rich
-learn Japanese
-learn Spanish
-learn German
-see lemony snickets grave
-make another pinyata
-have a sallery
-get a pet Dog named Cosmo
-win the lottry
-make a crayon
-fix my watch

If you don't know Zachary very well this sums him up perfectly, as I am typing this I find myself tearing up because I love him so much, he is such a complex person to some people but the few of us that really know him can't help but light up everytime we are with him because he makes the world a little brighter, He is on the path to greatness and I thank my Heavenly Father daily for this little man who is still not too big to show his mom he loves her!!

A TEEN!!!

2011-09-21T12:39:00.000-06:00

So today is Bradley's birthday and how old is he you may wonder:

Thirteen, that means he is officially a teenager (run, scream, cry, that is what I did this morning) and I am not very happy about it, It has literally flown by, I remember when he was young and sometimes I would look at him and wonder what he would look like when he was older, I remember when he was learning how to talk and wondering what our conversations would be like when he was older, also when he was in school and learning to read I wondered whether he would love books like me and want to read constantly, I wondered if he would need braces or glasses or if he would play a sport or be in drama or choir or band. And now it seems like it all just happened at lightning speed, he is an incredibly handsome young man, I love the randomness of talking with him and he comes up with such out of the blue things to talk about, he doesn't particularly love to read (but I am still holding out hope), he most likely will not need braces and his smile is awesome, he has good eye-sight like his Dad, he is a mean soccer player and is playing on a team that ranges from 12-17 year olds and is doing fantastic, he wants to play football; mostly because he went to his first High School Football game with his friends and thought it was cool. I think he would be awesome in drama because he has always been very dramatic, but he doesn't like to preform in front of people (again holding out hope for this one), he loves to belt out on Glee Karaoke with me and he did take piano for 5 years but now wants to do something like the school newspaper. All these things that I wondered while he was younger now I get to see, I also get see the wonderful man he is becoming, his kind heart, his compassionate soul and his hands ready to serve. Although these last 13 years have flown by I am grateful for every last one of them, But most importantly I am grateful to be Bradley's Mom, he may already be asserting his "teen" ways and thinks I don't know anything and everything I do is horrible and mean, but I know deep down (sometimes really, really deep) that he loves his family and that he is who he is today because of the things we have taught him and the love we have shown him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY B-RAD!!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

I guess we will keep you after all!!!

What the........

2011-08-12T11:41:00.000-06:00

Seriously

This came in the mail a few days ago and I just sat there dumb-founded, how much money do you need to spend at Cabelas in a year in order to qualify to have them send you their catalog in HARDBACK!?!?

Scott, you have some explaining to do....

Angel Kisses

2011-08-06T22:33:00.000-06:00

I was school shopping yesterday with Bradley and got one of the cutest calls, I saw that it was my sister Erin and as soon as I said "Hello", I not only heard my sister but I could hear this cute little voice saying, "Hi, hi, hi" This voice belonging to my little niece Alesa can always bring a smile to my face, She was so excited to be talking that she would hardly let Erin and I talk, it brought back all the memories I had of her sweetness when Zachary and I went to Maryland in April of this year to help Erin and Andrew after they had their 2nd child, Baby Van.

Alesa has this way of loving you with her whole being, she wants nothing more than to just be near you and tell you everything that pops into her little mind, she has a thirst for life and enjoys it to the fullest, she is at that age where everything she does and everything she says is so cute and funny!! (I can say that because I am the aunt and not the parent:) Zachary and I got to MD after Alesa was asleep and so we had to settle for just seeing Van, I know hard huh, cuddling and smelling a newborn is as close to heaven as I think you can get and Baby Van was such a darling, it took no time at all for Zachary and I to fall in love with that little guy. But nothing could have prepared us for the absolute cuteness of Alesa's excitement of seeing her Yacky the next morning, she was beyond excited and as soon as our bedroom door was open she zoomed in, crazy hair and all and was jumping on Yacky's bed and singing about how Yacky was here and then she climbed up on my bed and was telling me all about her "dam-ma" (grandma) jammies, my mom had made her some PJ's and sent them to her for her birthday and she was so excited to show them off. She was also soooo excited to show off her little brother Van, so showed us where he slept, his blankets, his diapers, his binky, you know all the neccessities. Ahhhhh, I love those two!!

I think one of the best things about being a parent is seeing relationships form and friendship grow, for some reason Alesa really attached herself to Zachary (Yacky) when we went to MD last summer, and then when Erin and Andrew came out for Christmas they just had a ball with each other, and their love for each other just continued to grow this week, Some of my favorites were having Alesa "teach" Yacky stuff, like how to eat a popsicle or kick a ball or color with chalk and he just being patient and learning from her. Also having Alesa put Yacky to bed (with her routine); get a 1 monkey, put on a blanket, read a book, and kiss forehead, both cheeks, nose, chin and lips then say night, night!! He would just lay there with an "I can't believe I am doing this, I am not a baby" look on his face but he went along with it because he cares about her so much. I think one of the things Zachary loved the most was listening to how Alesa pronounced his name and when she would "whistle" for him, she would cup her hand to her mouth and yell "whoo, whoooooo, Yaaaccckkyyy whoo, who" seriously cutest thing ever. My favorite Yacky/Alesa moment though was one morning I was sitting outside with the two of them and Zachary was sitting beside me and I noticed he had a few freckles on his nose, as I was telling him about my discovery Alesa came over to see what we were discussing, she was looking at the freckles and I asked her if she knew what they were, when she said "No", I told her that they were "angel kisses", so she immediately bent over and kissed Zachary right on the tip of his nose after Zachary looked over and said in the sweetest voice, "Well; now I have one more." Oh my Gosh I could have cried, it was such a tender moment, I reached right over and hugged him so tight I am sure he thought I had gone mad, but for Zachary the boy who never puts his emotions on his sleeve, I love the fact that this little girl can bring out this very sensitive, very hidden part of his personality. He has one of the biggest hearts I know, but he keeps it locked up and hidden, so when I get to see this side of him, I cherish it all the more. Thank you Baby Van for being born so Yacky and Aunt Menie could come and visit you and Thank you Alesa for being a great hostess!!! We love you all!!!

(Road Trip 2010 in Ocean City, MD - Zachary is feeding Alesa applesauce and she is playing with his belly button, blossoming of a beautiful friendship.)

(Baltimore Aquarium - Awesome place, and Alesa looooveees fishies)

(Alesa putting Yacky down for a nap!!!)

(Ohhhh, cute picture alert!!!)

(Alesa and Yacky playing some B-ball, I am pretty sure there is a story about how that ball came to be at the Wheeler residence and I am almost certain that Taci was involved, hummmm.............)

(The two of them were watching a movie and Alesa stood there and rubbed Zachary's hair for about 15 min. or longer, it was sooooo super cute!!!)

(Look he is saying "I love you Aunt Melanie, you are my FAVORITE!!!)

(Giving Van some Love and it looks like Van is trying to give it back, hahaha!!!)

('Lesa Lovin' now that is some good stuff!!!)

AMIGOS!!!

2011-07-22T09:13:00.001-06:00

Sadly this will most likely be my last post about Mexico :(

But you know that I have TONS more pictures, so if you want to get the full effect, just come on over and I can go picture by picture, moment by moment, and sing and dance too!!! (okay I won't dance)

Melanie and Misty :)

Scott and Ray; they have been friends since pre-school, they really are more like brothers than friends and I think it is really neat that their friendship has been able to endure all these years!!!

Super heroes!!!

I love the wave in the background!!! Don't they look awesome though!!!

Going on vacation with friends is the way to do it!!! I loved every minute of this vacation, we played, we laughed, we cried (mostly from laughter), we shared stories and created memories (only enough memories to last us til the next vacation, wink, wink;)

Thanks Ray and Misty for making our vacation a blast, can't wait til next year!!!

Just as a p.s. don't my legs look awesome and seriously toned!!!

Cassie - again you should be proud of me!!!

Laughable Lines from Lainee

2011-07-19T19:07:00.000-06:00

I interrupt this vacation to bring you a little humor:

Sat. Scott took the kids to the pool for our Stake Swim Day (I had a migraine), and after they got home I asked Lainee what she had for lunch she said "a chicken foot!" ewwwwww. (I am pretty sure she meant chicken leg............hopefully, anyway!!!)

On Sun. Scott was helping in Lainee's primary class and they were talking about being a missionary now, and how they could invite friends or neighbors to church, Lainee leans over to Scott and says "Well Brina and Melanie Hammer already come to church." (both of whom are our next door neighbors), so guess she's covered :)

As Lainee has Sophie in a headlock and is lying on top of her, poor Sophie is yelping and trying to wriggle her way out from underneath her, Lainee looks up at me and says "I don't understand why she isn't enjoying this??", hummmmmmmmmmm, I have no idea why she wouldn't just love to be squished and held down!!!

So Lainee comes to me and asks if she can have the money that is on Scott's bedside table, I tell her that she needs to ask her Dad. When Scott gets home she proceeds to ask him if she can have his money and says "I will pay you back!!" and then as she is walking away finishes quietly with a "someday!", a little while later Scott reminds Lainee that she still owes Bradley a penny to which she replies all proud of herself, "No I don't, I just stole a penny from Kenndee *giggle*!!"

Lainee was also telling me today that Scott had to help during Singing time yesterday, she was telling me that he had to blow up a balloon during a song and that the better they sang the bigger the balloon got. So naturally I asked her what song she was singing to which she replied "the pirate song!!" ummmm, what?!?!? I don't think there is a pirate song in the children's songbook. But our songleader is a very devout Pirates of the Caribbean and Cap'n Jack lover sooooooo, I asked Lainee to sing a little of the song she learned, so she did; Piiiirrraaatttteeee children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked!!! Oh gosh did I ever get a laugh out of that, she seemed a little confused so I explained to her that it didn't say pirate it said Pioneer children walked and walked, she just looked up at me seemed to contemplate that for a minute and then said "Yeah, that does make more sense!"

Hope you have a good laugh with these..................until next time!!!

INCREIBLE (means incredible in spanish)

2011-07-19T12:57:00.000-06:00

Who wants to see more Mexico pics????

ME!!!!

WHO looks Scared of the fishies????

Ocean Trampoline!!!

Very hard to even stand up!!

Did I mention very hard :)

Ummmm........ almost giving up, just more fun to laugh!!!

Hey we got up, steady now....

Not so steady :(

The boys had to join us to "show" us girls how it's done!!!

It's all good if you can grab onto someone so they hold you up!!!

Scott is making it look easy, but believe me he was having just as much trouble as me!!

This is the safest spot!!!

Ray getting ready to dive in!

Scott's dive!!!

Sooooo much fun, but sooooo much work just trying to stand up, I don't think we actually "jumped" on the trampoline, there were some kids that came over to help us out as well (sad), but on a good note, I got a serious ab workout due to laughing so hard. I think I will stick to my version of a water trampoline aka sprinkler under a sturdy trampoline!!!

Dinner at the Italian Restaurant

The one thing I disliked the most was that our cameras had to acclimate everytime we went outside or in because of the intense humidity, so this picture would have been way awesome if not for the foggy camera :( but you can all imagine how beautiful it is right??? :)

MAGNIFICO!!!

2011-07-18T11:41:00.000-06:00

More Pics YAY!!!

Another Ocean View, incredible huh!!!

Home sweet Home!!!

Scott said I look like MaryAnn from Gilligan's Island??

Havin' fun

Lookin' good ;)

(.......handcarts???)

Ray attempting to climb the tree to get us some coconuts............um not climbing high enough!!!

Hey we got some anyway!!!

(the coconut milk inside was about 90* but it was still nice to have a fresh coconut, and we sure look cute drinking them!!!)

Mel and Misty

Natural Ocean Pool
How cool is that pic, Scott took it!!!

The 4 of us :)

Gilligan and Mary Ann *giggle* ;)

What a beautiful Day!!!

Fantastico!!!

2011-07-12T18:09:00.000-06:00

YAY!!! I Love trips down memory lane!!!

Us in the Ocean, aren't we cute!!!!

(this is how clear the water was........beautiful!!!)

Seriously Mesmerizing!!!

Scott helping me with my life jacket :)

Our Catamaran ride, I could have stayed in the ocean all day, I have never seen such beautiful, clear water it was truly a wonder to behold!!!

Water Aerobics...........
with 24 hr. Room Service and non stop Pina-Colada (virgin) drinks, this was a must!!!
(Cassie are you proud of me?)

Massages on the beach, seriously a MUST, it was so incredibly awesome to be getting a massage and listening to the waves crashing just a few feet from you, the wind in the Palm trees and the birds soaring above you, so relaxing and heavenly!!!

Scott and Melanie - Misty and Ray

This is just a sampling of our first day, I was so overwhelmed with the beauty of it all I literally could have just sat and watched the ocean forever, we were in Paradise and it was so fun to be completely spoiled and pampered, I love going on Vacation with Scott, we get to re-connect and actually have a conversation that is not interupted multiple times, and we get to be the kids and do what we want to do, when we want and how we want!!!

Muey Bien

2011-07-01T11:46:00.001-06:00

There is nothing good about waking up in the morning at 4:30 am, unless of course you are headed to the airport to board a plane heading to MEXICO!!!!! It is so exciting to be heading off and starting the vacation that you have been planning, preparing and waiting for, that is it is exciting until the moment you enter the airport only to see the security line 10 x's longer than you have ever seen it and find yourself going into panic mode, trying to calm yourself with words of comfort; "we will make it, look at how fast the line is moving (insert sarcasm here), I think I can see the end of the line (in my binoculars)." So our flight was at 7:10 am and usually they close the doors to the plane 10 min. before take off, thankfully for us they extended the time and we got there with literally 1 min. to spare, so all was well panic staved off.................................well right up until the time the pilot came over the PA to announce that there was something wrong with the airplane and that we would be delayed 20 min. - 1 hour. So far NOT so good :( We had a layover in Phoenix, AZ that was exactly 1 hour and the bad part of that situation was that if we didn't make our next connecting flight we would have to wait to fly to Cancun until the next day, shortening our vacation by a whole day----PANIC!!! Our flight finally took off from SL and on our way to AZ our stewardess let everybody know that our plane was going to be waiting for us (and 10 other people that were trying to make that connection), so once again we found ourselves wiping our brows with a "whew" close-call. I really think that airports should make exceptions when you find yourself running late or cutting it close for connecting flights, I feel they should just open the doors and let you use the slide, it would be way more convienent for all involved, right!!! We then make it to our next gate out-of-breath, needing to use the restrooms, hungry and thirsty, ready to board the plane willing to sacrifice our comfort in order to just be on our way to our destination, when upon checking in at the gate they inform us that this plane has an issue and we will be delayed 1-2 hours..............my heart sank, but my bladder was doing the happy dance!!! Really I shouldn't complain because I would never want to be flying in something that was not safe, but come on I am on Vacation, things like this are only suppose to happen to people who have nothing better to do than spend their time in the airport ;) After all our fiasco's with planes we finally land in Mexico and at a pretty decent time despite everything so our last obstacle is just going through customs, shouldn't be hard right; wrong. The line for that was outrageous too, and lucky for us they had 2 people manning their station (again sarcasm), about the time that we were feeling pretty good about how much further we had to go they finally brought in more workers and the best part was that we got an awesome lady who literally just said "Hi, welcome to Mexico" and then stamped our passports and off we went. Even though our day started early and seemed long and chaotic, it all seemed worth it once we entered our resort and saw what was waiting for us there!!!

Stay tuned for more of our "Heaven on Earth" vacation!!!

Bloom where you are planted

2011-06-30T14:55:00.000-06:00

17 years ago I entered the Salt Lake City Temple a young girl who was naive in many ways about the world and what it held, only to join myself with a boy who had stolen my heart, swept me off my feet and made me feel like nothing was impossible as long as we were together.

In the time that Scott and I have shared we have had many learning experiences, some speed bumps, some small hills to climb and some Mountains so steep that you literally pray everyday to just have enough energy to get to the top so you can coast down the other side. In these years I have learned a few things about Love, myself, Scott and the things that really matter. I used to think that Love was it, it was all you ever needed, well that and a good sense of humor. But Love is just the seed you plant for your marriage to grow and it is within the roots of your seed wherein your marriage blooms.

Respect - I have a profoundly deep respect for Scott as a husband, father, son, grandson, brother (in-law), friend, priesthood holder, business owner and so many other ways.

Friendship - When Scott and I were dating I knew I had something special because of the deep connection we shared, one thing for sure is that no matter how long we have been together we never run out of things to talk about.

Listening - No matter who is talking if there isn't someone willing to listen all you are doing is blowing hot air.

Commitment - Whether it is a big commitment (house) or a small one (what to make for dinner) we both are learning to be comfortable with our choices, even when we make bad ones, we learn, we grow, we move on.

Fighting - I know, I know, this should not be a root in any marriage, but really when you think about it, it is essential to know how to fight fair. Scott and I have our "disagreements" but we have always been really good about working through, keeping to the facts and sometimes even daring to admit we were wrong *gasp*.

Protection - Is there nothing better in this world than to feel safe, in our marriage we have had to learn how to protect our family, our values, our hearts, our feelings, ourselves and each others self-worth. Even with Scott as my husband I don't need his vault of guns to feel safe, I just need his arms wrapped tightly around me.

Sense of Humor - Sometimes all you can do is laugh because if your not laughing your crying, and you all know Scott so you can imagine how important this is for me ;)

Over the course of the 17 years we have shared there have been many more roots to our marriage, and I am very fortunate to have a good foundation in which to continue to build our relationship on. So until next year ---Happy Anniversary to you Scott, thanks for being the protector of my heart, for keeping me grounded and for still being the one I dream with!---

There is nothing better..................

2011-06-29T20:31:00.000-06:00

THAN MY KIDS!!!!!

So Scott and I took off for a week to go have some fun and sun in Mexico and believe me when I say IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE!!! (Look for a post about that soon, I have to get some pics from our friends)

But man I have not seen my kids since the 19th when my Mom and Dad took them home with them, I know the kids have been having so much fun and I am sure that they even barely notice that we are not there but I miss them sooooooooooo much. I miss their faces, their smiles, their voices, their laughs, their quirky sayings, and yes even their fighting ( I know crazy huh!), I can barely talk to them on the phone right now without crying and longing to see them and hug them. I am so lucky in the fact that my Mother-in-law and Scott's step-dad aka Grandma and Pappy will take the kids for a week every summer they call it "Week with no Parents", I feel the kids are so lucky in so many ways because of this tradition. It all started with Scott's Grandma King, she would take Scott and his brothers every summer for a period of time and Scott has so many memories of the time he was able to share with her and his Grandfather (before he passed away), when Robin became a Grandma she wanted to help out and do some of the same things that had meant so much to her when she herself was in the throughs of motherhood, so thus Week with no Parents was a tradition she upheld. I know the kids probably don't really grasp the full impact of this time spent with their Grandparents but I do and I know that one day they will look back with great fondness for the relationships that were formed and the special moments that they shared with the wonderful people they have as Grandparents. They have been able to spend alot of time with both sets of Grandparents on this trip and I have enjoyed listening to all their tales of the never-ending fun they have had. Thank you, thank you Dad and Mom and Robin and Everett for being ever so willing to take on an extra 4 kids, well really 5 since I will claim Katie too. I don't know how to convey how much I appreciate all you do for them, I am very spoiled to have such wonderful parents and in-laws!!!

Now.................please; GIVE THEM BACK!!!

My three obsessions 03-13-11

2011-03-14T17:40:00.000-06:00

                  Here are my 3 obsessions this week:

                                         #1

I watched the movie "The Last Song" a lot while I was sick and I fell in love with the song that Ronnie (Miley Cyrus) plays at her Dad's funeral. So I got online and searched for the sheet music, Voila, found it..................or did I??? While the sheet music I found was called "Ronnie's Song" or "Steve's Theme" it isn't what I wanted. It is in some sense the same song, but not the same rendition of the song, if that makes any sense. So I have been obsessed with finding the sheet music for her rendition and I am failing miserably, so if any of you out there know where it can be found, PLEASE, put me out of my misery.

                                           #2

The Scale - So you know when you are sick and can't hold anything down, your first thought is usually "YAY!!! I am going to lose weight!" (that is if you are a woman), and some of you already know that I was steadily losing weight before my illness, but sadly in this case for whatever reason, my body just literally shut down and therefore I was getting on the scale 3-4 times a day, a DAY people, because I was so nervous that if I wasn't losing any, that I would eventually gain some back since my diet consisted of alot of crackers, white bread and of course, ice cream! (I just re-read what I wrote and it totally sounds like I am pregnant, but NO people there are no more babies coming!!) So anyway back to my point, since feeling better I still find myself on the scale alot mostly because I fear that all that food will somehow come back to bite me, probably in the butt :(

                                         #3

You know all those little things that somehow always get put off 'til tomorrow, like for instance cleaning "the junk drawer", the top of your fridge, the top of the washer and dryer. I know you know what I am talking about and I know that you have already named 3 of your own places, well I have been trying to tackle those one at a time, and so you may be asking yourself "what about this makes this an obsession?", well I will tell you, it is because when I think of the project I want to do for the day, I am constantly thinking about it all. day. long...so why don't I just do it in the morning and get it over with, well because then my name wouldn't be Melanie, I live for procrastination and I do it well. Maybe one day you will see me all organized and put together but for now, I am just glad that I actually think of these little things!!!

Chapter 89: ZACH (ary)

2011-03-08T13:13:00.001-07:00

So my little Z man came home from school and pulled from his backpack a certificate and this is what it said;

LYNX OF THE MONTH

March 2011

Name: Zachary K.

Reason for Honor: Zach obeys all class rules and is a

great example to all the students in his class.

I can always count on Zach!!

Love, Ms. Braithwaite

so cool, I love when others appreciate that I have good kids, it helps me think that maybe, just maybe something is sticking. The first thing I noticed this year in school, is the fact that Zachary was no longer to be, for whatever reason he signs all his papers just Zach, his teacher does the same thing and when I questioned her about it, she said that she just assumed that must be what we called him since that is what he started writing :( I don't know why this is such a big deal to me, I don't care if he is called Zach, I often find myself calling him by that name, but for some reason he will always be Zachary to me.

Some fun facts of Zach:

- Is always the first one up in the mornings
- Likes breakfast immediately (I have really loved the fact that he can cook himself simple meals)

- Will always play a key or two on the piano when he passes it

- When he finds a song that he really loves to play, he does. all. day. long......

(song of choice this week the "Star Wars" theme song, which happens to be Zane's piano piece, go figure.)

- his bladder is now trained to never be full when at school, but suddenly almost explodes upon his arrival home, it's that whole block that gets him everytime!!!

- is the most creative kid, ever. You can give him anything and he will turn it into something. I sometimes wonder if Phineas and Ferb is actually based on him...?

- has a big heart, but is very reluctant to show that side of him to anyone.

- is eerily similar to his best friend Zane.

- Hopes to go to BYU one day.

- and although he is sometimes (okay always) loud and rambuctious (at home, apparently never at school), I absolutely and totally LOVE that kid.

My 3 Obsessions 03-06-11

2011-03-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am officially BACK!!!!

Now I don't know if this is good news for any of you, but I am sooooo excited to be blogging again!!!

#1 - GSA

I am obsessed with how little I am obsessed with the Girl Scout cookies that are in my house right now as we speak............I don't know if it is because I am still reeling from the effects of being sick or maybe my body has decided that it doesn't need a cookie to feel good about itself, so take that Samoas!!!

#2 - Celery

I am obsessed with Celery this week, my vegetable of choice right now!!! I especially love it paired with the Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb Cheese Wedge, so crispy, crunchy, and yummy!!! They have been so crunchy in fact that Scott has given me the evil eye during shows because it sounds like I am crunching on a piece of ice with my mouth open wide and into a microphone. :)

#3 - Baths

(okay for some dumb reason this is not letting me change the color and size of the font so just imagine please that this is blue. :)

There is something to be said about having a nice long soak in a hot bath. I have almost made it a daily ritual now, using the steam to help with my sinuses and the heat for all my other problems, the biggest problem with taking a bath is that my kids don't seem to understand the need to just relax and soak, they want to talk or tell me very, very long winded stories, or in Lainee's case she just props herself up on the side of the tub and gives me a run-down of whatever is on her mind, clothes, school, walking, what she had for breakfast, why I say "it's not on sale", shoes, books, why she sleeps with Kennadee, why her feet are cold, the list could go on and on forever, you can test her if you want but don't say I didn't warn you. I do actually like to hear the kids' stories and such most of the time, and I try hard to stay patient through it all, but I do have to say that I relish alone time as well.

Chapter 88: In sickness and in health??

2011-03-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

So much has gone on lately and I have really wanted to get on the blog and update it, but somehow the days and weeks just slip by and I find myself with not one post in the year 2011, so sad :(

But today was a turning point when I noticed that my sister Kari updated her blog, now really how sad is that, she has done 2 posts this year alone and she is one who NEVER updates, so I was spurred into action to at least say something.............................?

This past couple of weeks have been really rough (to say the very least), and trying to muddle through has been somewhat of an agonizing feat. But through everything that I have had to deal with I have grown a new level of respect and love for the one person who had to take on a few (or twenty) new roles, the role of:

- care - giver
- nurse
- teacher
- listener
- homework checker
- laundress (my personal fave)
- Primary President
- dishwasher
- meal planner
- short order cook,

and that is just to name of few, but Scott can now say he has "done it all", with the exception of the almost daily carpooling (hey he needs a few faults, right), I have been sick and most days barely able to manage a shower, but everyday he has gone to work (dealing with some stressfull issues there as well) and then came home to a house full of chaos, he usually asks me what I thought we could do for dinner and once I give him a run down on what is available he cooks, feeds, clears and cleans the kitchen, he has even gone to the grocery store for more than just milk and bread, when I handed him my grocery list he had to take a deep breath and I know he was wondering how long this trip was going to take him, I just think he should feel lucky I didn't have the energy to clip coupons because I think that would have sent him over the edge. When I am at my worst, having no energy, sleep deprived and barely holding on, I am so thankful that he will just come and sit with me and hold my hand or talk, just having him near is one of the best medications I can have (mostly because it is NOT another pill) I have been extremely blessed with Scott and I hope that he knows just how much I appreciate him. When I see him cooking Breaded Pork Chops and Pasta for dinner just because it looks sooooo good to me, know ing full well it is probably going to be a huge fat waste of time, and spending 1 whole day trying to catch up on laundry and even folding socks with the kids, putting up with my whining and complaining about how unfair it is that I have to be sick and miserable, and again just being the one thing that brings me the most comfort, I feel blessed. What an incredible man and wonderful husband he is, Maybe it is nice every once in a while to really see someone in a different light and to be reminded of just how special those we love are. Thanks honey, I really appreciate all that you have done for me lately, I hope to be able to take back a few responsibilities but if you want I will gladly let you have a few to keep as well :)

My 3 Obsessions 12-05-10

2010-12-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

My 3 obsessions this week (and really since I last posted)

#1 - Halls Cough Drops

(for someone who has not had that wonderful of winter so far, I have had to rely heavily on Halls to relieve my coughing fits, I hate that most days I can't make it more than a couple of hours without having to pop one in my mouth, but at the same time I am glad I have something to make me quit sounding like I am hacking up a lung.)

#2 - Leap Year

(Taci bought this movie recently and although I remembered seeing it once I couldn't remember what it was about so it has been on the movie channel and I recorded it, now I just can't stop watching it, I seriously think I need a vacation to Ireland. My "romantic" husband has gently reminded me that if he goes on a trip with me it is not going to be like the movie..................so I am thinking of leaving him home and trying my luck at the pubs!!!!)

#3 - Breyers Rocky Road Ice Cream

(Macey's had their Breyers on sale for 1.99, can you believe it 1.99, I know it was to wonderful to pass up, I went right out and had to purchase a couple (or 4) quarts of ice cream, thank heavens they had some of the good stuff!!!)

Chapter 87: Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

So for Thanksgiving we spent the time with Scott's family in Horrocksville, Ut (aka Neola), Grandma Ada decided that everyone should come over to her house and it turned out to be a housefull!!! Although I do have to say that there is one HUGE difference between my family and Scott's and that is the fact that when the Merkley's get together for Thanksgiving the pie ratio is like 1 pie per person, with Scott's it is more like 1 pie per 10 people (so sad) but in the spirit of gratefullness I am willing to overlook this imperfection because I do love my in-laws!!!! I am thinking that Thanksgiving is also becoming a different sort of tradition for Scott, for the last few years he finds something that must be hunted or fished. This year was no exception, that morning he and Bradley set out in hopes to catch and kill a coyote, Scott's step-dad Everett told him that they had been hearing Coyotes so they were very excited to go see what they could get, so in zero degree weather, with all their gear they set out to see if they could find a coyote. They came home empty handed and at this point I was just glad they were not sent to kill the Turkey for dinner because it would have been a bird-less dinner :) Later that day Scott took Zacky out and their luck wasn't any better, but they had a good time and I love to hear the stories from the boys about their thrilling hunting adventures with their Dad. Later that night we headed up to my Dad and Mom's to visit with family. When we got up their we found my Aunt Dawn (mom's sis) showing my mom how to crochet some adorable flowers (ssshhhh, I think some might be for Christmas), my Aunt Pam and Uncle Pam (you read it right, that is what Lainee called them she just thought that Pam was there last name :) , Uncle Bruce and Aunt Gayla (mom's bro), my brother Galen, my sister Taci, my sister Cami and her husband James and then two of my favorite people Grandpa and Grandma Harvey, we had so much fun visiting with them and planning our Black Friday Night!!!! Why some people do not love Black Friday shopping I will never know, I love the feeling of chaos and excitement when you get a good deal on stuff, I love people watching and besides NYC, this is the best way to see people and watch how they handle it all. I finally had to put my sister on cart patrol so she wouldn't have a panic attack but we still had tons of fun and after I had a sleep over with Taci at my mommy's house!!!!

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all that we are thankful for so I am going to list my top 5, just for all my fans!!!!

1. My most awesome kids, they may drive me insane daily, but I love, love, love them!!!

2. My wonderful husband, he is truly an incredible person!!!

3. Our fabulous families, I love spending time with our immediate and extended families, THANKS for the memories!!!

4. Warmth (we came home to a 42* house, but it was the warmth from a child on my lap, the warmth from the kids working together to get blankets, heaters and such that I appreciated.)

5. Ice Cream (if you know anything about me you know that this is my everlasting joy!!!)

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and that you are looking forward to the coming holidays!!!

My 3 obsessions 11-07-10

2010-11-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

So my 3 obsessions this week:

#1

Food Storage

(if anyone needs a jump start on getting your food storage going you need to read "Life as we knew it" by Susan Beth Pfeffer, I just finished the sequel to that one for book club and man it really opens your eyes to the things that really matter in life in a crisis.)

#2

Boobs

(I never asked for them, I never really wanted them, I was the girl who's mom basically had to say either you put on a bra yourself or I will do it for you, I never wanted anyone to know that I had them, but if you ask me if I wanted to have them removed I would have to say NO, and this past week I have been told of 3 different women in my community whom I know that are in different stages of battling breast cancer, one who has been putting up a good fight, one who battled it years ago and is now facing it again, and one who is waiting on the news - good or bad? What do you ask has this turned me into, a great big Boob.)

#3

Water

(so this past week I got a small stomach bug, I say small in that it only lasted 24 hours, but I was completely zapped of any energy I had or hoped to have anytime soon. All I could think of was water, I am sure that this is because I was very close to dehydration, Scott kept trying to help me out with getting me ice chips and cups of water but sadly I just couldn't keep anything down. I have always been a lover of water but never as much as when I was able to hear the chink, chink of the ice cubes being put into a nice tall glass and then hearing the cool, clear water that flowed out of the tap and into my glass to soothe the quench I never thought could quenched again.)

Chapter 86: A laugh (or two)

2010-10-26T19:10:00.000-06:00

So tonight during dinner Scott decided to tell me that he was going to be putting in for a Bear Hunt, a spring Bear hunt, but a bear hunt nonetheless. I proceeded to ask him, after I was done rolling my eyes, why he would want to do that. He said to kill a bear of course!!! I then said, what in the world would you do with it once you killed it!!! I should have known better, he quickly responded with, I would take it to the taxidermist and he would make it into a bear rug WITH the head still attached and we could use it on our bed?!?!?!?!?!? Seriously what is wrong with this man..................so I told him, well I am starting to think you want a divorce to which little Lainee quickly jumped in with "No, No, because I really like both of you!!!!"

Well I guess for now we will stay married, just because it is nice to be LIKED!!!! Stay tuned though the "debate" on where the deer head will be hanging is still waging on.

My 3 Obsessions - 10-24-10

2010-10-25T09:22:00.000-06:00

# 1

TUMS!!!!

(can I just say that I have not had heartburn this bad since I was pregnant with Kennadee, my dr. gave me something to help but it has been a very slow process and so tums have been my new BFF, and no worries for all you who hope I get pregnant, the dr. did a blood test and it came back negative *whew*)

# 2

Laundry

(I am not so sure this is as much an obsession as a necessity, but nonetheless I have not been able to get caught up on it this week, I am hoping that next week is better because if not, Zacky may fire me as his mom, since he is the one who always ends up with nothing to wear.)

# 3

Socks

(I love the fall weather mostly because of socks, just as much as I love summer for bare feet, I love putting on nice warm socks and walking around the house, I think I love them most of all for the simple fact that when I step into something sticky, wet, squishy or slimy I can just simply pull them off and replace them with another pair!!!!)

SHOUT OUT!!!!

2010-10-23T12:08:00.000-06:00

HEY I JUST WANTED TO SEND A SHOUT OUT TO MY MOST AWESOME FAMILY!!!!!

THEY CAME TO OUR SCHOOL'S HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL AND NOT ONLY DID THEY SUPPORT US BUT THEY PITCHED RIGHT IN TO HELP OUT IN THE BOOTH THAT I WAS IN CHARGE OF, REALLY I HOPE YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GUYS, IT WAS A LOT OF FUN TO HAVE YOU THERE AND I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THE HELP YOU GAVE ME LAST NIGHT!!!! LOVE YA!!!!

Chapter 85: So what would you Do???

2010-10-22T09:29:00.001-06:00

Have you ever tried to do your best to correct a mistake only to be told that it wasn't a mistake. Well this happened to me twice in one day!!!! So all of you know that I coupon and I love it, but this week for whatever reason I ran into some issues.

It started out at Walgreen's, which as a side note I really do not like shopping there, I just don't find that they have very friendly people there. But nonetheless they had some good deals on things and I went to grab just a few things. So as I am checking out the lady at the counter is scanning my coupons and then she starts having a problem with one, she kept trying to scan it and then scan another one, so on and so forth and pretty soon I am confused as to which coupons she has already used and which ones she hasn't, so she printed out a receipt to make sure that she had all the coupons on it, so I told her how many I had of each and it turns out that somehow she had scanned an extra coupon so I told her of her mistake and she said "oh well, it is to hard to correct these kinds of mistakes." to which I said we could just start over and she said "nope, it's not worth it" and then she proceeded to check me out and I was on my way.

Then I was in Salt Lake at a Smith's store and again I was buying things specifically to use coupons on them and to get extra savings you had to buy so many of these certain items, so I am very careful about counting when I put things in my basket and then rechecking my math when I load things onto the conveyor belt. Well when the lady (who had a very strong accent) was telling me my total, I noticed that I had only received 1 $5.00 savings when I should have gotten 2, so I pointed it out to her and she printed out a receipt to check over things and then told me that I had only bought 19 items instead of 20, to which I responded that I was sure that I had 20, and that maybe one of the items must not have rung up, and then she kind of got defensive and was like "it is in the computer, the computer doesn't lie, it let's me know how many items you have, so it you want the discount you need to buy another item." and then she grabs one of the items and scans it again and then you could see the 2nd $5.00 discount appear. So then she made the bagger go grab the same item she just scanned, although I was trying to hurry and count and see how many I did have. When I got home and started going through the groceries, I found that I was right and that she must not have scanned one of the items. So now I am kind of mad, I was trying to do the right thing in both cases but basically got told that it didn't matter if I was right, so now I am posing the question to you - what would you do????

Road Trip USA (cont.)

2010-10-19T09:51:00.000-06:00

(I am still needing to finish our Road Trip Blogs so here is some more of our trip, and believe me, it is so fun to go through the pictures and remember the good times!!!!!!!!!)

I can hear Dora the explorer now, singing a song to her grandmother "choc-o-latte, choc-o-latte", if she only knew about Hershey, Pennsylvania!!!!!

Highlights:

- Hershey Kiss Lights

- Cassie saying "Does W. Chocolate Ave. mean West or White????"

- Little Chocolatiers

- Yummy Ice Cream

- Free Chocolate Ride (With Singing Cows!!!)

(Alesa really, really wanted the kisses on the conveyor belt, she nearly jumped out of the car!!!)

- Mr. Hershey Bar

- Create your own Candy Bar

And of course to top it all off is a trip to the LARGEST hershey candy store YUM!!!!

My 3 Obsessions - 10-17-10

2010-10-18T11:20:00.000-06:00

Well my 3 obsessions this week shall tell you alot about me and my very bad habits, but in getting this all out in the open I am hoping to have let's say a theraputic healing, maybe if I get it all out in the open I will get to know why I am so obsessed with these particular things and maybe I will be cured of my obsessions.

and then again maybe not......................

it starts with a "P"

(and no it is not Primary, but since my kids do read this YOU are going to have to do a little research. I recently read a book about this subject entititled "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop. That is the only hint I will give you, but seriously I do not know why I have an obsession with this subject, I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I met some one time and spent a little time around them when they were getting their family picture done at the same time I was getting Bradley and Kennadees' done. Don't get me wrong I in no way think it is right, but I am just curious about those that chose to live this way and everything about them

#2

I can't help it but I am a sucker for it, and sometimes the story line is just so fantastic I am rivited to the TV but then sometimes I find myself just fast forwarding through a lot of it. If you want to know here is your clue..................ABC - 1 pm - my time, I know, I know, but hey if this is my one (or one of my) sins at least I can own up to it.

#3

I won't have to give any clues regarding this obsession because I think it is awesome, I just got the Jekyll and Hyde Piano book and I am LOVING IT!!!! It has such emotion in the pieces and I can sit for hours just playing the different songs I have been learning (but don't tell Scott because I am suppose to be doing other things but I just. can't. help. myself. ssssssssshhhhhhhh!!!!!)

My 3 Obsessions - 10-10-10

2010-10-12T09:57:00.000-06:00

I know that this post is a little late but I have had an extremely busy, busy week and I think you will know why in a little bit, but first I have to say that one of my goals this week is to at least post a new entry today and tomorrow, so hopefully I will be able to accomplish this goal (and hey with this post at least I am 50% there:)

So my 3 obsessions this week are:

Primary

(I am in charge of doing the Primary Program this year and it requires alot of work when you have 135 kids in your primary.)

Primary

(I had trips to the temple, many phone conversations and many prayers in my heart this week.)

Primary

(Some of you may already know but this Sunday, I was released as the 2nd Counselor in the Primary and then called as the Primary President, I will just be honest, I am SCARED (to say the least), I feel very overwhelmed, nervous and very unsure of myself and my abilities to lead. But this last week has also taught me a very much needed lesson; I am not alone, my Heavenly Father is with me and he will help guide me so that I will accomplish the things that he needs me to in our ward. I am so grateful for this lesson and I am excited to start my journey in this new calling and I am confident that with the Sisters who I am serving with in the Presidency, we will be able to help the children of our Ward learn to love their Savior and help them gain testimonies of their own!!!)

Chapter 84: My Answering Machine

2010-10-07T18:23:00.000-06:00

bbbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppppp

Hello you have reached the office of Mother.
Please listen carefully to the following message for your menu options:

Press 1 - if you forgot your homework, library book, or lunch money, even though Mother reminded you at least 14 times to put it in your backpack.

Press 2 - if you want to complain because Mother is to strict and expects you to do your chore the right way.

Press 3 - if you want to complain because Mother "actually" makes you brush your teeth, simply because Mother is the one paying for the Dentist bill.

Press 4 - if you want an allowance but do not want to help Mother with anything to earn it.

Press 5 - if you don't care that gas is expensive and it shouldn't matter if Mother is waiting on you so she can take you to soccer, dance, piano, scouts, karate, activity days, primary activities, and any other thing that may come up at any given moment.

Press 6 - if you dislike what Mother has made for Breakfast.

Press 7 - if you dislike what Mother has made for Dinner.

Press 8 - if you think Mother is crazy in saying that "beating up your siblings is NOT an appropriate form of excercise."

Press 9 - if you think Mother is wrong at all times and in all places and about all things; past, present and future.

Press 0 - if you would like Mother to translate this message in "whinese".

Please hold while I transfer you to this extension.............

Your call is very important to us, please continue to hold.................................

your call will be answered in the order it was received, your approximate wait time is.............................5 years, 7 months, 9 days, 1 hour and 34 minutes.

If you have reached this message, and still can't get you complaint addressed, please hang up and try doing what Mother asks, without arguing, without negotiating, the way you were taught, the first time asked!!

Thank you and have a nice day!!!

My 3 Obsessions - 10-02-10

2010-10-03T22:16:00.000-06:00

Man somebody needs to post more often, it seems that this is the only post I have been doing lately. Maybe I am just starting to become old and boring...................hahaha, I make myself giggle sometimes!!!!

My 3 Obsessions this week are:

Harry Potter

(I know I posted about this earlier, but I really, really want to finish the series before the last movie comes out, because I really want to see one of the shows in the Theatre with a Big Pepsi and a Big Popcorn and maybe even some Hot Tamales!!!)

Lists

(those of you who really know me, know that I am not all that organized, I know shocker huh!!! But needless to say, I have been making lists left and right, and I have some really cute paper to make my lists, lets just hope that something on these lists actually gets crossed off.)

Sleep

(Whenever Scott is gone I just do not sleep well, I have a hard time falling asleep and then once I do finally fall asleep, I wake with every stupid little noise, I absolutely LOVE when one of my kids comes into my bedroom in the middle of the night and I don't even make them go back to their own room, because they help to keep me warm and safe!!!)

My 3 Obsessions

2010-09-27T14:10:00.000-06:00

My 3 obsessions for this week are...........

Pumpkin Choc. Chip Cookies

(I had some spice cake mix that was going to be expiring soon and so I made 2 batches of the yummy delicious cookies, the nice thing would have been for me to share with neighbors, friends, my children, but no I am pretty sure I ate most of them, and then to top it off I was having a rough day and my friend brought me a plate of, oh yes, pumpkin choc. chip cookies to be nice, and to let me know she was thinking of me!)

Soccer

(and credit due to my boys, this was even before Sat. game!!!)

My Piano

(if you ever want to know my mood, no need to ask or to even waste money on a mood ring, just simply listen to the songs I choose to play (or plunk out)!!!

Chapter 83: His Number

2010-09-27T11:10:00.000-06:00

Dear Coach of the opposing team we played on Sat.,

You have said you want the name of player #10 on our team, you state that he was unsportsmanlike, and you have said that one of your players overheard this #10 player saying "punch, kick, and do whatever to take them out."

Let me answer you this:

His name is Bradley King, he is #10 and you, my friend, are sadly mistaken. Bradley's actions both on and off the field that day were nothing but as sportmanlike as any parent, coach, or teammate can ask of anyone else. I will also say that his actions on the field stand on their own two feet. He is not a co-captain for nothing, he is a leader, he is a team player, he is an up-lifter and he is a positive influence for his teammates both at games and practice. He is a respected player both on and off the field and he earns that respect. He is also lucky enough to have a Coach who expects nothing less than outstanding sportsmanlike conduct and shows that through his actions and not just his words, he is also lucky enough to have parents who do not accept or condone words or behavior that is hurtful to others. I leave you with these parting thoughts, don't bring it, unless you can back it up, because Bradley stands far and above those who just want to tear down others.

Sincerely yours,
Melanie King
#10's mother and biggest fan

Chapter 82: twelve

2010-09-21T15:31:00.000-06:00

When my Mom turned 40 a friend of hers gave her a hand towel which had a cute saying on it about how she could use that towel to wipe off all her tears of sorrow for becoming "OLD", well Mom, I think I need that towel please, not because I am getting old, but because my kids keep getting older. I do NOT like birthdays, mine or my kids, because I really don't see it as a celebration, I see it as another year gone, another year closer to the time when they will leave the house, and this Birthday is no exception.

Bradley is 12 today, and this birthday not only marks the fact that both he and I have survived his childhood, but today marks the day where life as we know it will never be the same again. Bradley is now a Young Man, and I don't mean that just because he will now go to Young Mens, but I mean he will now start the phase in his life when he is preparing himself to leave our home. I see it as a tall playground slide, we have guided him up the slide, step by step and have been right behind him, and now it is his turn to navigate his way down with us cheering him on, until he reaches the bottom and slides out our doors into the world all on his own. I may sound a little sentimental or maybe I am just rambling for my own benefit, but I feel very sad and no where near prepared for him to be this grown up, to hold the priesthood and to be passing the sacrament.

Bradley somedays you drive me insane, but I wouldn't trade these last 12 years for anything, I love your smile, I love your laugh and I love your tender heart, Happy Birthday buddy!!!! (p.s. if you need me today, *sniff* I will be in my room *sniff, sniff* with your baby book. *sniff*)

Chapter 81: My 3 Obsessions...

2010-09-19T21:41:00.000-06:00

So I watch this show where the "host" does a segment called "3 things I am obsessed with this week." I don't know why but it always makes me laugh, I love that he doesn't care what people think of his obsessions because they are simply the things he cares about that week. So I decided it might be fun to write about the things I am obsessed with, so I can remember how wacky, crazy and kooky I really am!!!

So here goes:

My 3 obsessions this week are...........

Letters to Juliet DVD (I have already watched it 3 times and sometimes I just have it on for noise)

Cooking Light Magazine - quick baking edition (the one with the Fresh Apple Cupcakes with Almond Strueusel pictured)

Harry Potter audio book on my I-touch (I am on the 5th book, and believe me when I say that Scott will be overjoyed when this obsession is over, we might start talking normally again, instead of me needing to "pause" my book.)

2010-09-08T17:14:00.000-06:00

**********************************************************

Scott with Justin Bieber???????

Holy Cow I hope he got his autograph!!!!

(so many people comment on how much Bradley looks like Justin Bieber, and now that he is back in school, the phone calls from girls have started back up again.................I am getting that "Holy Crap what are we in for" feeling again, can't he just be little Bradley forever)

*****************************************************

Chapter 80: Can you feel the love tonight?

2010-09-08T14:01:00.000-06:00

Can you guess what we did last night???????

;)

Hakuna Mattata, what a wonderful phrase! Hakuna Matatta ain't no passin' craze.............it means no worries for the rest of your days, It's our problem frrreeeee, philosophy
Hakuna Mattata!!!!!

Scott and I, (but mostly I) decided that we would take our kids to see "The Lion King" when it came to the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake. I was soooo excited to be able to watch my kids enjoying the show, and they did not disappoint me!!!

Our night started when we were at dinner and Scott was asking the kids if they were excited to be going to see "The Lion King" to which Kennadee promptly replied!!!
"I am just excited that I got to dress up!!!!" hahaha, Well said Kennadee well said!!! After dinner we quickly headed downtown and you would have thought we were somewhere foreign the way the kids acted, they were so impressed with all the tall buildings and all the people, and it reminded them of all sorts of stories about our time in Maryland so it was fun to listen to them reminisce. After we finally got there and found our seats the kids started really getting excited, good thing we didn't have to wait long!!! As the play started, you see these tall giraffes, an enormous elephant walking in, gazelles jumping and zebras strutting around, there was soooo much to look at, that the kids' eyes were just darting from animal to animal, it was sooo cool. They also really loved that their were young kids playing Simba and Nala (in the 1st half) and were impressed with their singing and dancing. After the intermission the 2nd Act began with birds flying around your head, it was so fun to see them swoop and dive around the audience but I doubt that anyody else there was as entranced as Lainee was with them, I finally just had to quit watching the birds because she was soooo into it, even Bradley and Kennadee loved watching her. Whenever a song started that Kennadee or Bradley recognized they would lean over and say;
"Oh Mom, this is my favorite song," and then when the next recognizable song came on; "Oh wait, this is my favorite song," so needless to say they had alot of favorites through out the play Overall it was a wonderful night and I thoroughly enjoyed our night, and when Zachary woke up this morning the first thing he said was "Mom, Lion King was soooo awesome, I am glad we got to go!!!" It made it all the more precious for me.

(some of us just got tuckered out from all the excitement)

Chapter 79: The power of a dollar

2010-09-03T09:20:00.000-06:00

I think it has been said before and will be said again; that I love books, I love to read and with this love comes something I am not very good at:

Self-control (especially in book stores)

My kids know this and use it to their advantage, but never quite as "good" shall we say as Zachary yesterday!!!

Zachary, home from school comes bounding in and says "Mom, I have found this book (in the Scholastic book order) and it is only $2 dollars, so can I get it?"

Me of course being the wise one, "Well put in on your Christmas or Birthday list and we will see." (although in my head I have already bought it and he is sitting on a blanket in the frontyard with nose in book and glass of ice cold lemonade and a blue straw close by.)

"Hey Mom, how about if I pay for it, then can I get it now?" He pleads.

"Well maybe, let's talk about it later after your homework is done!"

He runs into his room, I am thinking to put his school stuff away and clean up a little, but when he comes out he says "Okay Mom, I will pay for 1/2 if you pay for the other 1/2."

"Why 1/2?" I question him.

"Because I only have 1 dollar, and the book is 2!!" he exclaims

"Okay, let me think about it and we will talk about it later." I tell him

to which he replies "Hey Mom."

"Yes"

"Can I have a dollar?"

Chapter 78: You say Goodbye and I say Hello.

2010-08-28T17:01:00.000-06:00

"Hello, hello, I don't know why you say goodbye when I say hello."

The truth of the matter is, that you don't really have a choice in saying goodbye to your carefree days of summer, but now that you are back in school, I get to say HELLO to my carefree days of the school year!!!! Welcome back my long lost friend, oh how I have missed you, although I did enjoy it while we were apart, I love the order you bring back to my household. and the semi-sanity you instill in me!

The Neighborhood Gang

B-rad now in 6th Grade and in his last year at Elem. school :(

Kenners - like totally in 5th grade cha!!

Zach (no longer Pedro) now in 3rd grade, finally reunited with Zane and their K teacher!!!

What happens when you leave us home to "plot" *evil laugh*

Lainee's first day of Kindergarten!!!!

Walking to School, she was so excited to be going!!!!

She hung-up her backpack, found her name tag and found her seat, gave me a kiss and told me I could go now *tear*.

Her first project, I love seeing her name and how proud she is when she is showing me her work, I also love that she is soooo excited about her homework and takes everything so seriously!!!

HELLO, HELLO!!!!

Chapter 77: An American Flag

2010-08-27T20:16:00.000-06:00

I know I have been lax in posting about the rest of our MD trip, and school starting but things have been a little busier than I hoped, but a conversation between Lainee and I made me pause and I had to blog about it.

But first you are going to need a little background. Mom came with me when I was driving home from MD and since we had a "little" extra time, we decided that we would swing down to Springfield, Ill. where the 16th President of the United States lived and is buried. So we went to a little museum, watched a film on Abraham Lincoln's life and then went and visited the house he raised his family in. After that we went to the Tomb where he and most of his family is buried, it was a very neat experience to be at his grave, and we were lucky to have gotten in at all, they were set to close a few minutes after we got there. As we were leaving the tomb, a caretaker was lowering the flags that were flying beside the tomb, when he saw my 3 kids (Bradley left the week before with Kari) he came over to us and asked if the kids would be willing to help take down and fold the flag.............what a privelege, I didn't even wait for the kids to answer because I knew what they would say, so Grandma and I ushered them over and this kind man helped teach and instruct them in the proper care of the flag of the United States, I could have jumped out of my skin, what an incredible opportunity for them, to be able to retire the flag at Lincoln's tomb, once in a lifetime I am betting.

So now to my Lainee story, here is the conversation we had yesterday while driving in town.

L - Mom, do you remember when we helped fold the flag at that grave?

Me - yes

L - can you believe we did that?

Me - No, it was really cool that you got to do it, huh!

L - and can you believe that it was the 'merican flag?

Me - *snort* haha oh Lainee!!!!

Anywhere we go if there is a flag flying she points to it and says "Mom, it's the 'merican flag." I guess I just took for granted that she understood why that is usually the "only" flag she sees, all others are just state flags or pack flags etc. etc. My cute little Lainee!!!

Chapter 76: My Mom says....

2010-08-25T15:17:00.000-06:00

- it's worth it!!!

- It gets easier!!!

- you learn to love them when they sleep!!!

- enjoy them while they are little, they grow to fast!!!

- learn to take the things they say with a grain of salt!!!

- one day you will miss all the mess!!!

- one day all you will have is quiet!!!

All I can say is.......................

FOR SALE:

Boy, 11 going on 95 (because he knows or has done it all), loves kids (just not any who share his same DNA), loves to talk (back), is good at listening (to music), practices piano everyday (just complains about it every waking moment), loves to do his chores (unless you give him one), is exceptional about going to bed when asked (I apparently just don't ask the right way), never raises his voice at you (again unless you share the same DNA), and is always ready to give a compliment (to Sophie)!!!!

Sound to good to be true!!!!

Don't let this opportunity pass you by, call in the next ten minutes and I will throw in a free 8 yr. old as well..................2 for the price of 1, never will you have an opportunity like this again. Don't just sit there, CALL TODAY!!!!

NO RETURNS

(I am hoping one day, I will laugh at the thought of ever wanting to sell him, or sit in the Wal-mart parking lot with him in a box labeled free................:)
okay, so I really would not sell him, but there are days (upon days) when I wish to go back to the time when he was little, and couldn't walk, or talk, and his face just lit up with excitement because I simply walked into the room, back to the days when I could just kiss his face all over and he wouldn't gag, back to the days where when I tucked him in at night he blew me kisses, and back to the days when all he needed to feel better was a band-aid, when being a Mom was cool in his eyes, not just the old bossy lady he sees now...................*sigh*

My mom says:

- I love you!!!!

and I say:

- I love you too, you are the most adorable, funny, witty, clever, talented, patient, kind, caring, amazing woman I know, and THANK YOU for everything you do for me!!!!!!!!!!

beep.........beep.............beep

2010-08-25T10:34:00.000-06:00

We interupt this blog to give you this:

YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK IF:

(I now am going to apologize if this is "you" or someone you know!!! But in all seriousness REALLY, really your shall we say drink of choice is that important that you have to strap it to the top of the car...........well you know what they say, there is no might about it, you ARE a redneck!!!)

(cont.) Pool Time

2010-08-19T17:25:00.000-06:00

The Wheeler's (meaning Erin's in-laws) were so kind in inviting us up to their home for a day at the pool and a BBQ. We had such an enjoyable day lounging at the pool, we read, sun-bathed, chatted, zipped, ate, dipped and dunked!!!!!

a big THANK YOU to the Wheeler's for letting the Merkley clan (albeit a small one :) come and enjoy the day with you!!!!

(cont.) zip-a-dee-doo-dah!!!!

2010-08-05T13:00:00.000-06:00

While we were there in Maryland, the Wheeler's (meaning Andrew's parents) were so kind and invited us up to enjoy a day at their pool, send the kids down the zip line and have a BBQ.

Both my boys were very excited about the zip line, and even Lainee was getting in on the excitment of it all, but the surprise of the day belonged to Kennadee when she decided to give it a try!!!!! I had given up on her going and had walked back to the house to help with the homemade ice cream when they called me back down because Kennadee was hooked up and on her way down. Thank you Drew, Joe and Mike the kids are still talking about how much fun it was.

(cont.) fireworks at the Capitol

2010-08-05T10:25:00.000-06:00

I know there will not be very many times (or anymore at all) that my kids will be able to say that they celebrated Independence Day in our Nation's Capitol. Sitting in a park situated between the Captiol Building and the Washington Monument, enjoying a picnic in the shade and having some fun with glow sticks. Although the pictures I am about to show you may seem to contradict my statement of "fun", anyone with kids knows that when it comes to snapping away, if you have more than 1 kid (and really that may be to many) there always tends to be someone that isn't happy!!! But nonetheless what an incredible way to spend the 4th of July. The fireworks were amazing, the kids looked adorable *thanks grandma* and time spent with our east coast family was worth it!!!!

(cont.)

2010-07-27T12:05:00.000-06:00

Here are some things that happened along the way that I thought were a little bit funny and some a little sad!!!

:) Lainee draws a picture of Scott (complete with armpit hair)
:) Lainee draws a picture of Maryland, which is just the house that Drew and Erin use to live in, I think she thinks the house is called Maryland!!!
:) Bradley and Taron find a "hippie" friend
:( We think their Hippie friend may have some issues.....!!!
:( Lainee falls down and gets her first black eye and a huge scrape across her cheek!!
:) Kennadee and Makayla spend a lot of their time in Kari's car, thus making my van easy to clean!!!
:( Toll Roads (seriously people.......BOOOOO)
:) Cassie, Erin and Taci texting us to see where we are!!!!
:( Cassie, Erin and Taci texting us to see where we are.............STILL NEBRASKA *sigh*
:) going to the Winter Quarters Temple and having the kids remember being there before!!!! (2 years ago)
:) Zachary and Grandma getting maps in every state we passed through!!! (I thought it was really cute how they had this bonding time!!)
:) Zachary taping one of his maps to the back of the chair in front of him and using it as "his own GPS"!!!
:( Realizing "someone" left their cell phone back at the Hotel.
:) Having that realization only 15 min. after they left the Hotel!!!!!
:) Kids being excited about Homework!!!!
:) Drinking Pepsi!!!!!
:( finshing it by 9 am

I am sure there is tons more and I will probably remember them later, but for now this is what I can offer :)

So you would think by now that we women (Me, Kari and Mom) would be pulling our hair out and wondering if our kids were old enough to hitchhike home, but nooooo, surprisingly for me, the kids seemed to be enjoying the journey as well (maybe not Landon so much but he is just 2). We had lots of fun things to entertain the kids with and that made traveling much easier. We had travel bingo, doll kits, legos, friendship bracelet kits, books, license plate games, homework sheets, notebooks to color in, puzzle/game books, aluminum foil, I-touchs, an I-pad (THANK YOU Uncle "Cloud" Galen) and of course Movies and Music!!!!! I also had the Harry Potter audio books on my touch and so whenever I could I would listen to them (the man who recorded them is simply aaaaaamazing!!!). Our 3rd and final night on the road we stopped just outside Akron, Ohio and got a hotel suite. I think the kids thought they were in Heaven. There was a kitchenette, 2 bedrooms and then the living room had a couch that pulled out to a bed, there were T.V.'s in all the rooms and big nice bathrooms!!! They thought is was soooo cool how we could all be together in the same "room"!!!

After some time in the pool the next morning we started the final leg of our journey HOORAY!!!! It was just so exciting to finally know that today would be the day that we would finally reach our destination, and even more exciting to think of everybody waiting for us to finally get there!!!! I do have to tell you about this town though, I am pretty sure it was in PA but I could be wrong. So for lunch we decided to stop in what we thought would be a small town, you couldn't see much from the freeway and the name of the town "Cranberry" just gave me the impression of a quaint little stop. Well it must have been a lot bigger than we thought for they had a two lane road going into the Wal-mart parking lot and it seemed like the roads going anywhere in that town were little mini freeways!!! But the park where we ate lunch was just what we needed so Thank You Cranberry for your wonderful community park!!!

Road Trip USA (cont.)

2010-07-27T08:49:00.000-06:00

So day 2 brought on more of, you guessed it Nebraska..............*eye roll*. I cannot tell you the exhileration I felt when I saw that beautiful sign welcoming us into the state of Iowa! Although I should say that I am sooooo happy that there are those types of people who love to live in Nebraska despite the smell of dairy farms, because although I am not a milk fan, I do LOVE ice cream!!!! There really isn't much to tell up to this point except that when we stopped for the night in Iowa City, we found a hotel that looked like a castle and so the girls were all excited about being able to stay there. Our rooms had little balconies that looked out upon the moat aka swimming pool, and the beds in the rooms had huge head boards to make it look more Royal!!!! But I think what took the cake at this hotel was the pool. As the kids were diving in and swimming around they found a huge window in the side of the pool that when you looked through it you could see people eating in the Hotels' restaurant?!?!?!? Seriously I don't know that I could sit and eat while looking at people swimming in a pool.......*shudder*. Really, am I alone in this thinking??

Pictures of when we stopped for dinner and found an old train car that has now been turned into an ice cream shop!!! (it was closed, but the kids had fun playing on it!!)

Chapter 75: Road Trip USA!!!!

2010-07-11T13:19:00.000-06:00

After a slight delay, the day finally dawned that marked the beginning of our Road Trip. We were sure excited to get up and get going, I had packed my van the night before we left and of course being my normal self I forgot to pack a "few" items and so the next morning was filled with; first waking up early, and re-packing and re-situating things and then helping Kari pack and re-pack and re-situate things, and then pretty much re-packing both cars and finally getting most everything in, just as I was standing back admiring my handy work, I realized that HOLY CRAP I still had 4 kids to put in this van *sigh*, but alas they all did fit and luckily for me I had thought ahead and limited my girls to only bringing one purse and the only extra things they could bring had to fit inside the purse and they had to be able to zip up that purse!!!

Off at last, since we had the delay we were just going to drive as far as we could and hope that there was an available hotel when we got to tired to go on. The kids quickly dove into their "tote-o-fun" and we hardly heard a peep from them. Wyoming came and seemed to take forever to get through, we had to make some pit stops but we finally made it into Nebraska -- Hooray!!!! (or so we thought) I really do not like Nebraska, I soon found out. Nebraska is the kind of state that drags on ffffooooorrrrevvvvverrrrr.....................and ever, and they have lots and lots of dairy farms, stinky!!!!!!!!!!! We found a hotel in North Platte and let the kids finally have a little freedom from the car, they were so excited to be out the cars and quickly threw on their swimming suits and were off for a much deserved pool time. I didn't want to jinx myself but I just had to say that the kids were awesome, there weren't any fights or squabbles, and I don't know if it was just the traveling or what but it seemed that there appetites had exploded, they were eating all their snacks and all their meals and then asking for more?!?!?!?! (I know.....wierd) With Day 1 complete and everyone still alive, it just made the trip even more exciting!!!!!

(to be cont.)

Chapter 74: DELAY

2010-06-27T23:12:00.000-06:00

You know when you see that word at the airport everyone just kind of sighs................................*sigh*, ugh, so we have run into a delay for our Road Trip to Maryland, the engine in Kari's van decided to blow a rod and ruin the whole engine :( sadly Kari was already packed with every inch of space used and filled including the car top carrier. But Happily (if you can call it that) it happened near Salt Lake and before we got 1/2 way across the country. So we are having to postpone the start of our trip until Tues. morning and Kari buys a new van (fingers crossed). She was saying that this had better be the only glitch we have this trip and I whole heartedly agree, all in favor say I......................................"I". (okay done).

Although we have to delay I am still super excited to be able to go on this Road Trip and I cannot wait to see Erin and Taci and to see Alesa playing with her cousins again. I also am (call me crazy) excited to show my kids the country and spend some real quality time with them!!!! (I may change my mind 2 hrs. and 27 min. into the trip, give our take 1 hr. and 59 mins.)

Hey, can you hear that????? That is the sound of my tan calling me all the way from Ocean City Beach.....................I am coming, coming, coming, please wait for me, me, me!!!!!

Chapter 73: The "F" word

2010-06-23T08:30:00.000-06:00

I Hate it, hate it, hate it with a passion. When I hear it my skin crawls and makes me shudder. I hate to hear it on T.V., I hate to read it in the newspaper, I hate to hear it uttered by my neighbors and I especially hate to hear it from my own kids' mouths, because that only means it has invaded my home!!!!

What word is it???? Well it's that nasty, vile word, the word everyone hates.......................
.................................
...............................
...........................
...................................
.................................
............................
..................................
...............................
..................................
.................................
................................

FLOOD

Oh yeah, sorry you had to read it hear too, but it happened again. But unlike the other times, I actually looked at this flood as a blessing in disguise!!!!

Wait -- what????? I know those reading must be confused, because I just said I hated fl..... flo...... floods (augh, it is even hard for me to type it out!!!) But yes, this time it was a blessing. I was sitting on the couch watching T.V. and all of a sudden I hear a massive amount of water flowing, my first thought was that the kids had turned on the hose and were having a water fight, but something about the sound caused me to further investigate. As I went into the kitchen I could see water now dripping from under the sink and when I opened the cupboard, all I saw was a wall of water. I immediately tried to turn off the water valve underneath the sink, but I don't know if it was the 500 knobs that are under there or the fact that I had water shooting everywhere, but I could not get the water turned off. So as I was running downstairs to turn off the house water, I am screaming at Kennadee to call her Dad and tell him there is a flood, I finally get the water shut off and thankfully Scott is on his way home. As I come back upstairs to assess the damage and clean out under the sink so we can figure out what happened, I am amazed at the amount of water that had accumulated all over my kitchen floor, and I am immediately struck with the thought, what if I hadn't been sitting right there, what if I had been gone to the store or worse.................what if this had happened next week, when I would have been on my way to Maryland!!!! It really is a sobbering thought of how something as simple as a burst pipe from your kitchen faucet can bring about so much damage to your home. Scott the ever-faithful handy man was able to repair the damage and get us back in working order in no time. But for once in my life I am very, very thankful that the "F" bomb came when I was here to hear it, and face it head on.

Chapter 72: Can you guess who???

2010-06-22T13:07:00.000-06:00

Hello my name is Benjamin Franklin, my parent's were Josiah and Abiah Franklin. I was the eigth out of ten children my mom gave birth to. I have lived in Boston which had over 7,000 people living there, Boston was found in 1630 ten years after pilgrims had landed in Plymouth, it was the biggest town in the British American colonies. I made a stove called the Franklin Stove in 1741 and then quit that business, I also made the Poor Richards Almanac. In 1748 I made an electricity experiment with a kite and a key, when a storm came by I let the kite fly out, later I touched the key and I felt quite the shock. In 1775 I was a member of the continental Congress and had advocates seperation from England. After all that I officially signed the constitution of the United States of America.

(this was a school assignment that Bradley did while I was in Maryland back in March of this year. I think the thing that impressed me the most was not only that he had to read about Ben and memorize his paper, but he and his Dad came up with his "costume" and then he had to perform his memorization as if he was part of a wax museum for the school.)

Chapter 71: The Cure All

2010-06-19T23:27:00.000-06:00

Well what can I say???? Today was one of "those" days, it started off good but then quickly fell apart. We went from Melt Down to Nuclear Reactor in a matter of seconds. I had two kids who couldn't calm down enough for me to even reason with them, and then another kid who thought he was "helping" by yelling and bossing everybody else around. Needless to say ---- I had lost all contol in this household. I felt like a Mime on the street: I appear to be talking, I am showing you what you need to know and yet no one can hear, no one can understand my hand signals and even though I am desperately trying to get your attention, they all just seem to ignore me and pass by. This is the time where I wish I could just google "help" and a magic cure would appear, I would then give out the appropriate doses and calm would return to my home. But NOOOOOO I guess google doesn't think sanity is that necessary.

So what does work, what is the magic cure.................?????

A NAP!!!!!

aaaahhhhhhhhhh the sweet sound of sleeping!!!!! I have to say for a few *cough, Bradley, Kennadee, cough* they did not think they needed to take a "baby" nap, but after one look of my "evil eye" and they were putty in my hands. Another more stubborn child took to coming out every 10-20 min. claiming to have had a nap, but the "meanest mom" in me would calmly turn him around and put him back in his bed, I should say that he did this until dinner time, but I stuck to my guns and kept reminding him that if he wanted to get out of his bed, all he had to do was take a nap. After the majority of them took their naps and had gotten up, it was "A whole new day", all of a sudden being asked to do chores and get along with their siblings, didn't seem like a big deal. In fact, my kids were acting and behaving so well, and even saying things like "Thank you" and "is there anything I can do to help you?" and "your the best mom", that I really thought that maybe I had fallen asleep and I was now dreaming, but Thank Heavens, I was in the real world to enjoy this moment. I even took all 4 to Wal-mart so they could spend their b-day money and we didn't have 1, oh yeah I said it, not 1 argument, not even so much as a slight whimper or whine, and when I told them "NO" on wasting their money on something dumb or to sugary, they just simply put it back and went to find something else.

Mothers of the world I am here to testify that the Miracle Drug we so crave has been in the palms of our hands this whole time, it is just simply the power of NAPS!!!!!
(I am hoping this is really the case and that this Miracle Drug does not come with any nasty side effects!!!!!)

Chapter 70: Can I just ignore it????

2010-06-07T11:12:00.000-06:00

Seriously, can I just forget today and go on as if it didn't exist??? Well maybe I could but I guess there would be one sad little girl :(

I kept telling Lainee that she could not turn 5, because I didn't want her to grow up, and yet as so many of my children do, she ignored me and decided to go ahead with her birthday anyway. She received a phone call this morning and I could hear her talking excitedly and when she came into my room I asked her who had been on the phone to which she replied "Dad, he called me all the way from work, to tell me Happy Birthday!!!" :)

Well alright, if you must ignore my wishes and go ahead with your birthday, then I guess the least I can do is grin and bear it.

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY Lil Lainee!!!

more pics to come!!!

Chapter 69: There's 180 days of..........

2010-06-04T13:25:00.001-06:00

"sung to the tune of Phineas and Ferb"

There's 180 precious school days,
and summer comes along just to end it,
so the annual problem for my generation,
is finding a good way for kids to spend it.

Like maybe cleaning their rooms and
fighting each other or
jumping on the trampoline.

Blaming everything on somebody else,
or giving poor Sophie a bath.

(duh, duh, duh)

Utah Summer Games,
Road Trip to Maryland
and slurpees to freeze up our brain.

finding all sorts of bugs,
wherever we go camp,
and driving the mother insane!!!

as you can see,
there's a whole lot of stuff to do,
before School starts this fall.

So stick with us cause King Kronicles
are gonna do it all,
So stick with us cause King Kronicles
are gonna do it all.
(MOM!! Bradley and Zachary are fighting again!!!!)
*sigh*

Chapter 68: Memorial Weekend

2010-06-01T18:55:00.000-06:00

YAY!!!!! for the first camping trip of the year!!!! This being said I feel that I need to mention that I have learned a valuable lesson:

I really do NOT like dirt, in any way, shape or form.

And the thing I learned about my kids this trip:

that they are dirt magnets, in every crease, nook and cranny.

And although I may not like dirt, I do like to spend time with family, and watch my kids explore and go on adventures and laugh and have fun with their cousins. And above all I love the fact that at night when their dirty little bodies are all tucked in, they were NOT in my trailer!!!!!! :)

The weekend was spent up in the Uintahs with Grandma and Pappy, Scott's cousin Mark and Freda Daniels and their kids, and then throughout the weekend we got visitors from both sides of our families, Great-Grandma Horrocks, Uncle Eric and Aunt Jolene, Scott's cousin Mindie and her two girls, Grandpa and Grandma Merkley and Aunt Veon. And Freda's parents who I just adore also came up. Freda's Dad came in and helped teach the sign language class that Kari and I took in High School, it is fun to "try" and communicate with him although I mostly just have Freda do the signing and I just pretend to know something every once in a while.

We stayed in a spot that the kids appropiately named "Pine Cone Valley" that also included a spot in which they "made" a dirt hill called "Devil's Hill". Bradley said they made like 6 slides going down this hill and believe me, they spent allllllooootttt of time on that hill, which was nice for me, because it just gave me time to cozy up by the fire and read my book!!!! (Good for me, Freda and Megan like to read too.) We had some yummy dutch oven food too, pot roast, creamy potatoes, pizza, peach cobbler!!!! But the weekend's top pick of funniest moments belong to Zacky and Grandma. One night the kid's decided that they would tell scary stories, it was Zacky's turn and you could tell that he was really getting into it, so as his story is getting really intense I just reached over and grabbed his arm and yelled BOO! he jumped and started screaming and I also made Megan and Bradley scream too, we all laughed and laughed and when we were done laughing Zacky just picked right back up from where he left off and finished his story.

Grandma Daniels on the other hand was just sitting by the fire minding her own business when out of nowhere the firewood popped and a red hot spark landed right on her neck, she cries out "I think I'm on fire!" to which the rest of us, just started to snicker, we were all there and saw it, I just assumed she had flipped off the spark and didn't realize it, but nooooo, it really was still there and she kept trying to get out of her chair, still amidst laughter from us, until she yelled "Help, I can't get out of my chair!!", by this time we are all crying, and yes it is because we are laughing hysterically, so she finally gets out of the chair and the spark fell down into her shirt rolled all the way down, then finally fell out onto the ground. As if watching this unfold was not funny enough, my wonderful mother-in-law then makes us all smell her hair and jacket to prove that she had indeed been burned and it really did smell like burnt hair, Robin I did feel really bad that it had to happen to you, but it was sooooo funny to watch!!!! So thanks for the laugh!!!

Sooooo when's the next camping trip?????

Chapter 67: Hey MOM..............

2010-05-28T11:42:00.000-06:00

Lainee "Hey Mom, (sniffle, sniffle) I accidently dropped my roly-poly."

Mom says with a sigh "The one I told you not to bring into the house?"

"Well yes, but it wasn't my fault!" she states as her voice goes higher with excitment, "I had it in my had and all I did was this..." to which she shows me how she flicked her wrist.

"Hummmmm" thought Mom, "well go back to where you think you lost it and look for the little bugger."

As Lainee turns to head back down the hall from whence she came, a shout from Mom stops her in her tracks.

"HOLD STILL" at this point Mom who just happened to be packing her camera for a weekend trip starts snapping pictures.

"I think your search is over Lainee!" Mom says with a chuckle.

Chapter 66: Feng-Shui Festival Flyers

2010-05-26T22:33:00.000-06:00

Is it just me or has this school year just flown by!!!! One of my favorite things that they do at the end of the school year is the Dance Festival. Each grade is taught a different dance and even some of the Teachers get into the action as they perform for their parents. Zachary danced to a song about a frog (I can't remember the exact title, but I know it was definitely about a frog.) It was adorable, and I can't tell you how fun it is to watch them when they actually MOVE!!!! Kennadee did a rendition of the Virginia Reel and lucky for her, her partner was just as little as she is :) She did really great and looked like a pro out there. Bradley danced to a song that I hear many, many, many times a day it goes a little something like this: "There's a hundred and four days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it............." sounding a little familiar???? Of course you know Phineas and Ferb's theme song, who doesn't? I know this day of the school year will always be one of my FAVORITES!!!!

After the Festival I got rid of a couple of kids (Zac and Kennadee) and headed to meet Erin, Alesa, Cassie and baby Bridget at the Salt Lake Library, at this point in my story I would just like to announce that I did not get lost, I actually found the Library without the use of my GPS...........hold for applause........and Thank You!!! If you have never been to this Library you need to go, it makes me feel calm and I know my blood pressure goes down when I walk in and see all the books and all the chairs to go sit in and enjoy the books!!! The children's floor is incredible, it has little rooms that the kids can just go and play in as well as rooms to just sit and read or look at their books, it has a glass elevator which I think goes entirely to fast, but most people seem to enjoy it, and then on the rooftop there's a garden area with tables and chairs and an incredible view of the Salt Lake Valley, It was such a nice day outside and I literally could have sat there and read all day, but alas Kari and Landon were waiting at Paradise to have lunch with us so we left our "Feng-shui" garden behind and off we went!!!

I didn't want lunch to ever end that day (and not just because it was yummy!) but because I knew that soon it would be time for me to go and drop Erin and Alesa off at the airport so they could go back to Maryland. I have had so much fun getting to know Alesa and listening to her talk, watching her sign, play peek-a-boo and pretty much wrap all of her Aunts and Uncles around her cute little finger. But good news for me, even though I had to say good-bye to the flyers I knew that it would just be for a little while..................????

Chapter 65: Reflections

2010-05-24T09:17:00.000-06:00

As I watched my youngest Sister marry her eternal companion this weekend, I was filled with a little to much nostalgia. I guess I could blame it on the lack of sleep or the fact that I had been sewing and baking my little heart out and still needed a liitle more time in my day, or maybe it was just the simple fact that my eyes caught a glimpse of what was and now what is!!!

I saw a beautiful grown woman all dressed in white smiling as the man of her dreams knelt across from her in the Temple as they were sealed for time and all eternity, this woman who at my wedding was just a mere girl of 6 who had just finished her first year of school as a Kindergartener.

I saw another beautiful woman with a softness about her, and eyes rimmed with tears as she held the hand of yet another daughter who was now leaving her home to go out and build her own home with her new husband.

And as I looked upon another beautiful young woman dressed in purple, her red hair piled high on her head, she looked so grown and her eyes held the same enthusiasm about brides and weddings as her mothers did at that tender age.

I also saw my 4 brothers differently as well, one a brand new Dad who has already shown qualities of becoming a fantastic father. Another who has learned to take life in stride and love your kids through the rough times. One who comes and puts him arm around you for no reason and then after a long night in high heels grabs your aching feet just to simply give them a little massage. And another who always looks for opportunities to serve others whether by music, bringing out games for the nieces and nephews or getting up really early after a long night to make sure a little sister makes it to the airport on time. (and also forgiving another sister's pesky dog for whining and keeping him up that night!!!)

Even though my wedding may have been a "few" years ago, it truly seems like it could have been yesterday, except for the fact that now I am grown. It is hard sometimes to admit that, but when you reflect on how far you have come or you look at your family as it is now, I feel very grateful to be where I am. My little growing family is so incredible (yes even Bradley) and when I look at all my brothers and sisters I consider myself so incredibly lucky to have each and everyone of them in my life, I hate that we only get to be together for occasions such as this but when we are together we definitely make the most of our time.

Congratulations James and Cami I hope you enjoy the journey you are about to travel and just remember how many people you have that love and support you!!! (and really thanks alot -insert sarcasm here- for making me reflect on things and for especially making me feel OLD............sigh*)

Love to you all!!!!!!!

p.s. I think I was so busy reflecting on how old I have become that I didn't take one single picture with my camera, so I am going to have to wait until Cami gets us some pics from her photograper before I can show you what an unbelievably gorgeous family I have :)

Chapter 64: Dancing at Disneyland

2010-05-10T19:31:00.000-06:00

so really, truly and honestly how cool is it to be able to say you have DANCED AT DISNEYLAND!!!!!!! I would say it ranks pretty darn high on my scale, but of course I am a little bit...........shall we say nerdy when it comes to stuff like that.

The girls' dance company Jazz-in-it set it up for their competition team to have this incredible opportunity, so I immediately jumped at the chance and needless to say we left behind the cold, windy, rainy (sometimes snowy) Utah to go spend 4 days in the warmth and beauty of CA, but most importantly Disneyland!!!!! I have to say that Disneyland is without a doubt one of favorite places to be, I love to see all the excitement of kids and adults alike. I love to watch the expression on my kids faces as they see their favorite characters come to life and as they experience an atmosphere dedicated strictly to FUN!!!!

When it came time for Kennadee and Lainee to go backstage, I became a melting pot of emotion, I was soooooo excited for them, then I started reeling with nervousness, I'm pretty sure I felt the full 7 dwarves of emotion: happy, sleepy, grumpy, dopey, bashful, etc. etc. Their routine this year was based on Michael Jackson's music, which surprisingly enough since his death Disneyland brought back the 3-D movie he made for them back in the 80's called Captian EO, so I thought we tied in quite nicely with the "theme". Here are a few pics of the *oh so awesome* experience!!!!

Chapter 63: Watch and See

2010-04-27T20:25:00.000-06:00

Scott has been hard at work trying to do some videos of the kids and so far we have some really fun ones, but we wanted to try and see if they would work on the blog, so here's our first attempt at seeing if we can post these videos here -- if not, well then I guess next time you come out to Tooele it will be home movies and popcorn night :)

Okay - I just tried it and it worked for me, but it is not at a wonderful resolution. You have to click download on the screen it brings you to and then make sure you have your volume on. Bradley is on the Blue team and he is #10 (just look for the handsome dude that is playing AWESOME!!!!)

Chapter 62: Just a good Day!!

2010-04-18T00:27:00.000-06:00

I guess a good day always should start out with being in the service of others, I had the opportunity to help out with the Great American Bake Sale to help end childhood hunger, I made cake ball suckers and then regular homemade suckers, and although I did grumble (only at 1 or 2 in the morning), I love the feeling that you get when you serve others.

After dropping off the goodies it was off to the soccer field to watch Zacky in action. There is just something about watching little 8 year olds playing soccer, I LOVE it, and Zachary is really starting to blossom. He is really good at defense, although he loves to try and score goals to, but he is really good at watching the opposing team and matching them step for step, it is always fun for me (I just hope I don't embarass him toooo much).

Since the rest of our day was going to revolve around "girl" stuff, Zachary called in his back up family and they came to the rescue (Thanks Manziones!!!!), oh I guess at this point I should have already mentioned that Scott and Bradley left at 3 am to go Turkey Hunting. So with just the girls I loaded up and headed to Salt Lake for Aunt Cassie's baby shower, we are all so excited to meet her baby girl and we hope she makes her debute soon (please)!!!! After the shower (which as a side note, Lainee said that it shouldn't be called a shower because babies only need baths they can't even stand up and they can't wash their own hair) but anyway, we went to Kari's house to continue visiting and make the boys feel a little included!!!

I have to say sometimes I think my family can't get any funnier, and I really wish that you could lose more weight with just laughing, because I am pretty sure I could almost be to my goal weight by now. I am going to reference a few key points, just for my own future reference - Matt, comic books and shaving and my favorite of the night Grandma and the King Size Bed (don't ask because if you weren't there you just missed it, so sorry for you!!!)

After we left Kari's we headed to our favorite dinner spot The Olive Garden. Now there are some times as a mom that I want to just freeze time or rewind and relive, and this was one of those times, I was having so much fun talking and laughing with my girls it was awesome. I asked the girls where they would go if they could choose any trip, Kennadee said Maryland right off the bat, when I asked why, she simply said "because you always say you have so much fun when you go to Maryland, so that is why I want to go." (ohhhh) Lainee had a much different plan she told me she would go camping and when I asked her where she wanted to camp she said "ummm, definately the city!!!" so I have decided that Scott will go with Lainee and I will go with Kennadee..............hey that sounds fair to me!!!!

You know those days where at the end of your day you are just Happy, well today was it. It sure is nice to have a good day every once in a while :)

Chapter 61: Playing Catch-up!!!

2010-04-05T21:15:00.000-06:00

So here is a quick catch-up, I know we just had my Dad's b-day and Easter but I didn't have my camera handy and I had a goal of posting something on the Blog today. So now I can check one thing off my to do list - YAY!!!! *check*

Every year at the school they do Spirit Week and everyday is assigned something like: favorite sports team day, hat day, green day, 70's day and the ever famous cRaZy hair day. Poor Zacky doesn't have any hair to make crazy and he didn't want me to try anything weird so he skipped out as soon as his friends got here to pick him up. Kennadee being a conservative went with the 3 braid look, one on each side and one in the back (I think it still looked a little cute). And then there is Bradley, he was still trying to decide what to do when Kennadee's friends came to pick her up, one of them said "Just go grab some hair things and we will help you out."

Mistake #1 - listening to them.

Mistake #2 - letting them.

They were all like Bees to Honey, they swarmed him and all he could do was try to stand still as they pulled and twisted and grabbed at any loose hair they could find.

I don't think he will make that Mistake again, but it made for a great photo op, good thing my camera was nearby :)

our friends - McKenna Hammer, Brooklyn Searle, Isabelle Manzione, Bradley, Kennadee and Kenadee Marx.

Chapter 60: A little bit of Harvey"ness"

2010-03-31T18:27:00.000-06:00

It just so happened that Kennadee and Lainee's dance competition was in Roy, UT so what does that mean for us...........oh yeah, a trip to Grandpa and Grandma Harvey's house. There are so many things I love about Grandma's house but my favorite is the fact that when you walk up to the house you most always see Grandma and Grandpa through the window with a smile on their face walking over to open the door for you and then when you walk in you just smell Grandma's house (I know it sounds weird, but every once in a while I will catch a wiff of someones laundry and it just smells like Grandma's house)

Grandma and Grandpa were so excited to see us and made us feel so welcome. We sat down to visit and found out that Burt, Tanya and their kids were going to be stopping by in just a few minutes as well. Soon the Harvey home turned into a regular party house, we had Kira and Mara stop by (Pam's daughter in law and grand-daughter) and also my mom's brothers Paul, Burt and Burt's family. After the girls warmed up to all the company they took the camera and had a blast taking some pictures of all the important things "to them."

if you notice the "" marks around some names, it is just because I have a hard time calling people "younger" than me Aunt without laughing (call me crazy)!!!!

Also Kira and Mara couldn't stay to long so we missed out on pics of them.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for letting us stop by, we LOVE YOU!!!!
p.s. another of my favorites is how when we leave they always stand in the driveway and wave to you until you are out of sight, maybe they just want to make sure we are really gone :) or maybe they just love us too!!!

Chapter 59: Dance, Dinner and Dates

2010-03-28T23:44:00.000-06:00

As promised here are a few pictures of our "never-ending" spring break (don't worry I am not the least bit bitter that the kids are out for 10 days)!!!!!

I bought some curlers for Kennadee a few years ago, looking for something that would work with her incredibly thick and straight hair, and no this one did not work either but it did come with a curling spray that I do love!!!! So with Lainee needing curling pony's for dance I decided to give them a whirl again, and Voila, perfection.

Here are just a couple of pics from their competition, I forgot to bring my other lens so they are dark, but hey, bonus points for those who can find my girls!!!! Good Luck!!!

Chapter 58: Spring Break

2010-03-26T11:47:00.000-06:00

So the kids are out of school, for forevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. So I am going to try and do some posting about the things we are going to be doing for this year's spring break. I will also have to play some catch up since I haven't posted for a "few" weeks. Today is filled with so much excitement, the kids could hardly contain themselves!!!!!! Ha, ha, sometimes I just make myself laugh. Actually the only fun thing going on today is the fact that at some point in time, they will have their jobs done and the house will be filled with the sweetness of peace and quiet.

I will have to post pictures soon of the jobs they so willingly did, and the fact that Spring Break is now in full swing!!!!! (despite the fact that it snowed a little this morning)

to be continued...............

Chapter 57: Tag......

2010-02-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

You are IT!!!!!!

When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
I love my hair cut!!!

How much cash do you have on you?
467.13

What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
Core

Favorite planet?
I always liked Venus!!!!

Bright or Dark Room?
Both - I love to wake up in the morning and open all the blinds, much to Scott's dismay!! But if I have a migraine it is dark, dark, dark, the darker the better.

How many drugs have you done in the last three days?
Just say "NO"

What was the last thing you said to someone?
Throw it away, she had it as a snack!!

If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be?
I would totally fly, if I could fly I could start charging people to watch me and then pretty soon I would be a millionaire!!!!

Where did you live in 1987?
In Roosevelt, Ut with my Mom and Dad.

Where were you when 9/11 happened?
I was at my home in Tooele, Ut and Scott called and told me to turn on the TV, I had 2 very small children who were playing with their Daddy's shoes and I was Pregnant with my 3rd child. I was literally glued to the TV that day.

If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Um, I don't think you could pay me enough, did you know they use needles!!!!

Would you move for the person you loved?
If it was for a good reason!

Name three things that you have on you at all times?
I don't know if I have things on me all the time, I guess I would say my Cell Phone (Scott is probably laughing reading this!!), my I-touch and Lainee (she is going through a clingy phase right now)

What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
my Groceries at Macey's

Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
Who do you count as your first love???? Well, I guess if I had to pick this person, I would say that he is married and has 4 kids (I think 4 it might be 3)

Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Cramps - enough said!!!

Have you been burned by love?
This is a stupid question and I would say No, hurt yes, burned no.

Have you burned others with love?
I would have to say Yes, although I would have to say in my defense I didn't "love" them.

How old do you look?
Ummmmm, I am going to say 21. (Hey it didn't say how old do "others" think you look:)

Are you waiting for something?
Sanity

Have you ever thought about converting your religion?
No.

What was the last thing you drank?
Water

Who do you most look like in your family?
My Mom

Have your parents ever smoked pot?
Ha, ha, ha, ha, I can't even imagine that..............my Dad probably wanted to a few times, to escape us kids!!!

What do you order at the bar?
Pina Colada with the Umbrella (virgin please)

What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter?
Strawberry Jam, or a piece of a Hershey Bar, ohh or I like it w/van. ice cream and crushed butterfinger bar!!!

Where were you on July 4th, 2008?
I think we were in Tooele watching the fireworks from Deseret Peak.

Whew!!! I did it, I usually never do these things because I never have the time, but I am in between laundry batches right now. Oh and I was totally kidding about the cash, I don't have any on me per say and I am far to lazy to get up from typing and hunt down my purse to see if I have any in there, but I thought it would be funny!!!!

Chapter 56: Some Good Stuff......

2010-02-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't put up pictures of my latest recipes, but do not despair my friends, I still have been cooking. On Super Bowl Sunday I really wanted to try something different and I had been looking through a magazine that had many appetizers and found a recipe for Coconut Shrimp. I have heard many say that Coconut Shrimp is really good, especially if you are not a big fan of shrimp, but being the big chicken I am I just couldn't bring myself to try it. But Scott said it was good and hopefully some others who tried it will leave their comment on how they thought it was. (hint, hint;)

Although I have never used puff pastry, I found a beef stew recipe that was topped with the pastry and then they used cute little remekins to make individual servings. My kids are all about individual servings, one of their favorite throw it in the oven meals is a Marie Calendars Pot Pie, so these of course were a hit with the kids. It was fun to use the puff pastry and this was a different twist on one of my favorite dishes, Beef Stew, yum!!!

Chapter 55: Loves and Kisses

2010-02-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!!!

I just wanted to take a couple of moments and tell you why I love, love, love my family so much (even on days where more than 1 gray hair sprouts on my head).

Lainee - she is such a girl, she loves make-up, dresses, hair-bows and shoes. I love to shop with her because everything is cute and adorable. She has the funniest things to say and she loves to sing with me.

Zachary - he is a bundle of energy (to say the very least) but he gets very enthused about life, he is constantly coming up with things he wants to invent and he loves to play games with me. He also has a love of music (he will not admit it), but come to my house and everytime he passes by the piano he just can't help but play it.

Kennadee - We love to giggle and sing together. I am loving the fact that she wants to learn to cook and she is doing a fabulous job and hardly gets intimidated when doing it. Most of all I love our talks, she comes up with some off the wall topics but she is always good for a chat.

Bradley - Truth be told, this boy can make me want to claw my hair out some days. But then there are the days I love, mostly days when he is telling me stories or we are just hanging out talking, playing the Wii, or times we are both reading the same book. And I love to help out in his school class, and give him a hard time.

Scott - I thought 15 years ago I was in love with this man, so I married him, but through the years of struggles and triumphs, joys and sorrows, happiness snd oneriness, I have learned that love only grows deeper and stronger as the years go on. I am so lucky to have him not only as my husband but as one of my closest friends. The thing I love most about him is that he is always looking to improve himself and our family.

These are just a few reasons of why I am so lucky to be a part of this family. I am so happy I get to show my love for these guys everyday and I am glad that they are not to old to give a hug and kiss to. Happy Valentines Day to all our loved ones, near and far.

Chapter 54: sigh

2010-02-02T00:05:00.000-07:00

So I don't know what's up with me lately but I go through spells of not being able to fall asleep, I toss and turn and try to shut my brain off but it seems that nothing works, so I either lay there until I drift off to sleep many hours later or I finally get up and do something (not clean my house though because that would be accomplishing something, and why would you want to do that in the middle of the night) mostly watch mind numbing TV, read or like tonight blog, so here are a few of my *sigh* moments of the last couple of days!!!!

Lainee has wanted nothing more than to be a big helper these last couple of days, she wants to cook breakfast, she wants to find my shoes, she wants to check my e-mail, she just wants to do it all. So tonight as I am cooking dinner, with her by my side, she asks if there is anything else she can help with so I say to her, yes, go downstairs to the Food Storage and get a jar of fruit cocktail. She rushes away and before I know it she is back with..............A-1 steak sauce, I giggle and she looks at me and then at the A-1 and says I guess I don't know what fruit cocktail is!!!! *cute sigh*

Zachary, Kennadee and Bradley got on the subject of Cain and Abel tonight, they all learned about them on Sun. and Zachary loudly proclaims that he wants to be just like Cain, (*sigh*, not really surprising though) and then he says, because Abel chose to follow Satan and kill his brother, so Kennadee and Bradley correct him in telling him that it was Cain who killed Abel, so then Zacky changes quickly to state that he wants to be like Abel and choose the right!!!! (happy *sigh* happy *sigh*)

Our Stake Pres. has extended an invitation for all stake members to read the Book of Mormon this year, so I in turn issued the same challenge to the kids. Kennadee got right on it and started reading right away, she got to the 4th chapter in Nephi and came up to me and asked what all the little letters meant so I was telling her that those were the foot notes, it helps you better study and define some of the words in the scriptures, she then said, oh yeah, now I get it, it's like at school how the teachers have that at the bottom of their books!!! (yep,*sigh*)

So Scott and Bradley were talking one night and Bradley asked Scott a very profound question, he wanted to know "Dad, how do you get rich and then how do you stay rich." When Scott told me, I just had to shake my head. But today he got the opportuninty to go to an after school program that is teaching kids about money and they get to participate in a "stock market", and now all he can talk about is rises and falls and ups and downs and percentages and decreases, holy crap it is way to much for me to think about, he definately gets that from Scott. I just want to know how much I can spend and how often do I get it!!!! (rolling the eyes *sigh*)

Okay I am feeling a little sleepy, so I think I will go unload and reload the dishwasher, because housework always makes me tired, and then hopefully I can get a little sleep in before I have to start my day over again. (yawning *sigh*)

Chapter 53: Vampires oozing Religion!

2010-01-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to go on vacation and just leave your cares behind, be able to sleep in, have your food cooked and served to you, not care if you match or even dare I say - run around in your underwear, well just come to my house and watch Lainee for a while she will transport you to a world unlike any you have ever heard of. I just think being 4 must be great!!!! Right now Lainee is all about her Vampire Teeth, she thinks that since her eye teeth are so pointy that she must be a vampire and she is always telling us that she "LOVES" blood but not her families, goofball!!! This morning as I was getting the kids out the door for school, Lainee came into the frontroom and as she was standing by the piano she had this look about her that made me stop and watch her, she finally said (while waving her hand around) Mom, this is what it looks like when Jesus comes..........I can tell that she is looking at the sun rays as they were shining through the blinds and I just had to smile at her. There are certain things in my kids' life that I know I will forget, and I know that because I have already forgotten some of that which I said "I will not forget this", so today I wanted to ooze this post as a way to remember a little of my 4 year old and her quirkiness. Oh and yes I love the fact that she says "ooze" for "use" and no I will not be correcting her anytime soon, for she is the last, and she is the link to my kids still being little, so again if you want to be transported to a world unlike any you have ever seen, come visit my little Lainee where no day is ever the same or sane!!!!

trying to show off her pointy teeth!!!

I tried to capture the sunlight filtering through (psst, you have to look really close)!

what I hear most days now "Mom, can I ooze your touch!"

Chapter 52: Family Game Night

2010-01-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that I LOVE my family!!! So we had Taron spend the night one friday and the next day Kari called and said let's have a BBQ and game night, mind you this was like at 3:00 pm on Sat. so I texted Justin, Galen, Logan and Cassie and invited them all to Tooele for an impromptu family night. We had a winter BBQ grilling up some Hamburgers and Hot Dogs and then made some yummy "strasberry" homemade ice cream. 10 cousins, 5 Merks, 3 in-laws and 1 fun-filled family night!!! (sorry to all those who live to far away for get-togethers this last minute) Thanks Guys!!!

Winner 1 (believe it or not)
Winner 2

Chapter 51: This comes from....

2010-01-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

This yummy dish came from The Worldwide Ward Cookbook, actually just the lemon chicken recipe did and I just have to say WOW, I think I must have bought the juiciest lemons ever, you have to grate the rind and use the juice from 4 lrg. lemons, I used 2 of 4 rinds and all 4 lemons :x pucker, pucker, pucker!!!!! Good thing this was paired also with a new recipe of herbed new potatoes which I steamed in my new steamer/rice cooker. All my kids love lemons and so they all liked the idea of lemon chicken but we couldn't eat to much of it since it was lemon-POWERED, but they all devoured the potatoes so in the end good recipes one which can be improved upon. 5 down!

Chapter 50: 1,4,5,6,7,8,21,83......

2010-01-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's all about the numbers!

Your 1st Pinewood Derby, being 8 and old enough to make and race your car, getting your kit for a cost of $4.00, having your Dad help you design, cut, paint, and sand your car so that when the product is finished it not only looks awesome, but it weighs in at exactly 5 oz. Saving the date of Jan. 21 as the day of the race, deciding on number 83 for your derby car, racing your car in 6 heats, taking an average of 2.9820 seconds to reach the bottom of the track going 222.6 mph. Coming in 7th place overall and being just as excited as if he won it all. Giving us 1 night to remember!!!!!

Chapter 49: You know your kids are grown when:

2010-01-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

This morning after sleeping in a little bit, I awoke with a bit of a stomach bug. Now Moms can sympathize with me when you say that when Mom is sick "nothing" gets done. Well today was one of those exceptions. The kids realized that I wasn't feeling very well and they pitched in to help out, they cleaned the upstairs (with the exception of Kennadee's room, because afterall who would want to tackle that) and they did it without fighting!!!! Bradley wanted to go to his friends house and when I asked if he wouldn't mind making soup for lunch for us girls (Zachary was gone already) he not only fixed us lunch but made sure we had drinks and crackers, it really was soooo sweet of him. My kids have been so good even about keeping the noise level down, sometimes though I think they don't want to be noticed just in case I will ask them to do something like unload the dishwasher or in Kennadee's case clean her room, hahaha. But I guess there is something to be said for kids growing up, I may not feel this way everyday but for today I am very grateful that I can be sick and actually get a little rest, and still be the Mom. Thank you kids, I love you the most!!!

Chapter 48: 3 down 49 to go

2010-01-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

So this week being very busy, it brought about the age old questions "What's for dinner?" and as I began searching for my next recipe I decided that time was what I needed more of and time is what there is never enough of, so I decided to choose a recipe for the time crunched families. This recipe was a prep work done sort of recipe, and I must admit I love those the best. All I did was take a frozen dough ball out in the morning for it to thaw and then you use meatballs (thawed in micro) mozz. cheese and any sort of sauce you want, in my case I choose Ragu', and then sprinkle a little parm. cheese on top, bake, and voila' Italian Meatball Sub. This recipe is sure to be a keeper in my house, not only for the convience but everyone approved (well, maybe not so much Lainee, but I really am not counting her because she only had one bite) I made 9 subs and we did not have any left over, I call that success!!!!! Happy Cooking everyone!

Chapter 47: 52 Recipes - 52 Weeks

2010-01-10T09:46:00.001-07:00

So one thing you may or may not know about me is that I LOVE cookbooks, I love magazines about cooking and I especially love it when there is a picture of the food that goes with the recipe. Having said that, I don't neccessarily love to cook all the time, so I have acquired all these wonderful books and magazines and print offs from the computer that have all these yummy recipes and yet there they sit on the shelf only to be read and looked at and not used for the purpose they were written for. Over the Christmas Break this year, while I was at my Mother-in-Laws house they gave me for Christmas the movie Julie and Julia and it just made me want to appreciate the art of cooking a little more, so for one of my New Year's Resolutions I decided that I was going to crack open my cookbooks and start cooking and using the recipes that I have been looking at and drooling over and also try to improve my cooking skills a little bit.

So here is my first (well really since it is the 2nd week of Jan. I did a dinner and dessert) picture to share with you all.

For Dinner:
Red Wine Beef with Mushrooms
(yes, I did use cooking wine for the first time and yes I did actually include the mushrooms even though I have not acquired a taste for them.)

For Dessert:
Gingerbread Cake with an Orange Glaze

Chapter 46: ReSoLutiOns????

2010-01-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

2010 - So this year I have made some resolutions, I know, I know, why does anyone make resolutions, because usually they are not kept and I have been guilty of not following through before, but hey, my thoughts today are that if I don't put write them down I will have nothing to be accountable to. So now I will be accountable to all who read this, and hopefully I will find my new year filled with accomplishments!!!! So here are my Resolutions for 2010:

- be more healthy (aka lose weight)
- Up my Temple Attendance.
- have Family Home Evening EVERY week, even if we can't do it on Mon.
- try one new recipe a week, and blog about it (yes I did watch Julie and Julia)
- work on improving my piano and guitar playing
- be more service oriented

Well I think this list is a pretty good start for the year, so here's to making Resolutions and making them count!!!!

Chapter 45: Kennadee turns 10

2010-01-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

I find it very sad that my kids are growing so much, I think they are doing this on purpose, they know how much I hate getting "older" so they are all conspiring against me by being excited about birthday's. Kennadee sadly is now in double digits maybe others don't look at numbers the same way I do but I am a number freak, I will have to save my freakism for another post. After Christmas and since the kids didn't have to go back to school until Jan. 4th, I decided that we would go play out in Roosevelt. And since Kennadee's birthday falls inbetween Christmas and New Years we celebrated it out there. On her actual birthday since Scott was working we decided that having a cookie with ice cream was satisfactory, after all she got to be special for 2 days that week and not just one!!!!! But we did celebrate her birthday on the 31st since Scott was back out, Kari and her kids were there along with Morgan and Wyatt and also Grandpa and Grandma Merkley were back from Maryland.

Kennadee is becoming more and more a young woman every day, she is very sweet and sensitive (when she wants to be) and she is also very kind and helpful to others. She works really hard at school, especially on her math since that seems to be a struggle for her. She loves music and musicals and ever since Christmas when she got a CD player, there has been a constant hum of music coming from her room. She always has a hug for Mom and really wants to learn more about cooking, and although she drives me CrAZy with never, ever having a clean room, I still think I will keep her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE GIRLFRIEND!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Chapter 44: It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

2010-01-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

There has been so much to blog about lately that I feel I will not catch up, but first and foremost I wanted to write about our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I really do not know if I could convey in words how special Christmas Eve was for me, it has been my favorite day for many, many years now but this years was just as wonderful as could be. I called my Grandma Harvey that morning to ask if we could come for a little visit and sure enough Grandma told us to come on up (Scott had to work 1/2 day so I just wanted to get out of the house), so we made our way to Sunset and met Kari and her kids up at our Grandparents house. We had such a wonderful visit and I thoroughly enjoyed the time we got to spend up there, it was really neat to see the kids get excited about the same things that we used to get excited about when we were younger, like the growth chart, the birthday calendar and the basement, just to name a few. And then of course you never leave Grandma's house without something yummy, and just as I had prayed she would, she had made her yummy cranberry-orange cookies, Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for making us feel loved!!!!

As we came home from our visit, we didn't have to wait long for Scott to get home and then we all dug in to help with the making of our dinner, We do a candle light dinner and it was night filled with laughter, excitement and a warmth of love. The kids were too excited about Santa coming and didn't even want dessert they just wanted to go straight to bed. But alas we all gathered round and grabbed our scriptures for the reading of the Christmas story, as each kid was taking a turn reading, Bradley leaned over and said to me "Mom, I think I feel the spirit." I told him he absolutely is because it was so strong at that moment. Of course after we read the story Lainee piped up that she wanted to read the story again and that she wanted to read all the baby Jesus parts and all the fairy Godmother parts (okay so we have a little work to do with her :) we sang some songs and then had dessert which was heavenly, then the kids set to work on getting the cookies, milk and carrots ready for Santa, after they were satisfied with that, they all got their pj's on and were off to bed (mind you it was only about 8 pm), so with giggles and whispers, Scott and I left them to dream of sugarplums and we enjoyed a relaxing evening with a movie and yummy treats.

Christmas Day dawned to the sound of footsteps trying to hurry past the frontroom, so as not to peek as they hurriedly came into our bedroom. I love the sound of my kids on Christmas morning as they all jump into our bed and try to wake us up, and as we try to pretend that we don't know that it is Christmas Day, or that we are just simply not going to get out of bed, and that little spark of panic that comes into their voices, and then the huge relief when they realize that we are only teasing them. The kids are growing up so fast and so this morning I just tried to soak up as much of them as I could. For those who have been worried or wondering, yes Santa found his way here and no, he didn't even hide their presents this year, but he left a very nice letter to the kids and some very wonderful memories for us to share.

Chapter 43: Christmas Letter

2009-12-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

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

Chapter 42: CTR

2009-12-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

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.

Chapter 41: Merkley-isms

2009-12-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!

Chapter 40: Possibilities

2009-12-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!!

Chapter 39: Omedeto Gozaimasu

2009-11-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

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.)

Chapter 38: Onegai Shimasu

2009-11-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

Chapter 37: HUH?!?!?!?!?

2009-11-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

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 :)

Chapter 36: Things that go BUMP in the night!!

2009-11-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

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!)

Chapter 35: Eleven

2009-10-31T18:52:00.000-06:00

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***

Chapter 34: PMDD

2009-10-27T01:05:00.000-06:00

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!!!!!

Chapter 33: Dance

2009-09-11T09:04:00.000-06:00

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!!!

Chapter 32: Almost famous!!!

2009-08-31T15:16:00.000-06:00

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.

King Kronicles

A Newborn.....

The Wrong Way

Home Lunch....

the Big 1-0

A Birthday Girl!!

CHRISTmas Season!!!

The 4K that nearly killed me!

Lainee turns Six

Making up is so much fun...

Happy Anniversary!!!

Word Puzzle

A new laughable line of Lainee's and a hopeful boy with a homeless brother.

Journals

A TEEN!!!

What the........

Angel Kisses

AMIGOS!!!

Laughable Lines from Lainee

INCREIBLE (means incredible in spanish)

MAGNIFICO!!!

Fantastico!!!

Muey Bien

Bloom where you are planted

There is nothing better..................

My three obsessions 03-13-11

Chapter 89: ZACH (ary)

My 3 Obsessions 03-06-11

Chapter 88: In sickness and in health??

My 3 Obsessions 12-05-10

Chapter 87: Thanksgiving

My 3 obsessions 11-07-10

Chapter 86: A laugh (or two)

My 3 Obsessions - 10-24-10

SHOUT OUT!!!!

Chapter 85: So what would you Do???

Road Trip USA (cont.)

My 3 Obsessions - 10-17-10

My 3 Obsessions - 10-10-10

Chapter 84: My Answering Machine

My 3 Obsessions - 10-02-10

My 3 Obsessions

Chapter 83: His Number

Chapter 82: twelve

Chapter 81: My 3 Obsessions...

Chapter 80: Can you feel the love tonight?

Chapter 79: The power of a dollar

Chapter 78: You say Goodbye and I say Hello.

Chapter 77: An American Flag

Chapter 76: My Mom says....

beep.........beep.............beep

(cont.) Pool Time

(cont.) zip-a-dee-doo-dah!!!!

(cont.) fireworks at the Capitol

(cont.)

Road Trip USA (cont.)

Chapter 75: Road Trip USA!!!!

Chapter 74: DELAY

Chapter 73: The "F" word

Chapter 72: Can you guess who???

Chapter 71: The Cure All

Chapter 70: Can I just ignore it????

Chapter 69: There's 180 days of..........

Chapter 68: Memorial Weekend

Chapter 67: Hey MOM..............

Chapter 66: Feng-Shui Festival Flyers

Chapter 65: Reflections

Chapter 64: Dancing at Disneyland

Chapter 63: Watch and See

Chapter 62: Just a good Day!!

Chapter 61: Playing Catch-up!!!

Chapter 60: A little bit of Harvey"ness"

Chapter 59: Dance, Dinner and Dates

Chapter 58: Spring Break

Chapter 57: Tag......

Chapter 56: Some Good Stuff......

Chapter 55: Loves and Kisses

Chapter 54: *sigh*

Chapter 53: Vampires oozing Religion!

Chapter 52: Family Game Night

Chapter 54: sigh

Chapter 45: Kennadee turns 10