Twilight

Michelle took me to the movie on Friday. We went and saw Twilight. It was fun. We got there about an hour early and the line was already crazy long. Michelle had her friend Katy there saving us a spot in line. I kind of felt old there amongst all the young adults with there twilight shirts on, and being all giddy in line. The audience was incredibly wired. Everyone cheered when Edward first appeared. I liked the movie. You definitely will want to read the book before going. They can't put everything in the movie. There are some thoughts that they think that you just make it more complete. I am not sure if that is a smart move on the movie makers side or what. I wasn't so sure I loved the kid that played Edward, but he grew on me as the movie went on. I made the mistake of reading the review that Edward was "hairy", so I was expecting something really hairy, but I didn't even hardly notice. I should not read the reviews before watching the movie. Anyways, it was a fun night. Oh-and it was my first night out without my baby. She did so good. Brad is such a good daddy. We went to the 9:55 movie and so I was afraid she would be awake for her 1 middle of the night feeding, but she didn't wake up until 3. Thanks for a great night, Michelle.

Arm Warmers

I have been trying to reward the kids for positive actions instead of just nagging and "stop that". The kids loved the leg warmers that I made the other day, so I made some for their arms. They loved them. I even have a few of the kids' friends wanting me to sew some for them. They are fun to make.

Tippy Toes

We have a bucket in our closet that has some extra candy in it from Halloween. Livee is very familiar with what candy is. She had crawled in to the closet and found this open bucket.

She was really working hard to reach down to the candy.

After she got one she really stood on her tippy toes. It was so funny to see how excited she was that she could get those candy. Maybe she is going to be a ballerina.

Jase's Feather Project

Jase had to decorate a feather to put on a turkey at school. He wanted it to say BSU and then we added different pieces of colored paper. There is some glitter on it, but you can't see it in the picture. He was very proud.

Bangs again

Savanna decided to try bangs again. We cut them last night. She wasn't so sure she did the right thing right off. They were tickling her, and not sure which way to lay, but I think she looks beautiful. She said she didn't notice them bothering her today.

Thansgiving FHE

We got a great idea from a friend, Thanks Anne, for FHE tonight. We haven't We had a quick lesson on Gratitude, and being thankful for what we have every day, just not on Thanksgiving. Then we decorated turkey sugar cookies. The kids thought that was great. While Hallie was looking up the scripture Alma 34:38, we went around the table and each had to say 2 things they were thankful for, and they couldn't repeat what someone else already said, here are there responses:

Jase: I am thankful for my family, and that we have a house to live in instead of being out in the cold.

Savanna: Thankful for food, water and milk (she was really trying to be funny, but I thought they were great ones.)

Aleena: Thankful for pizza and chocolate milk(Brad then quoted Multiplicity "I got some pizza in my wallet, Steve.) If you haven't seen that movie with Michael Keaton, it is funny.

Hallie: Thankful for friends and the earth

Daddy: Thankful for our health & friends-all the kids told him he had to pick a new one, but I am not sure if we ever got a second one out of him.

Mommy: Thankful for the gospel, knowing there is a plan, and for a big bath tub. The kids thought that was a funny one, but I really do love my bath tub.

We were also visited by some friends that were out on a walk. That was fun to see them. It was fun to catch up. We don't see them enough. Thanks for stopping by Whitings.

Aleena got to eat her cookie plain. I think a few baby mm's made it to her tray. Daddy has a way of sneaking treats to her.

Starting in the top left corner, going clock wise, Jase, Savanna, Hallie, Aleena, Mom, Dad.
Aleena had to decorate a second one. Jase grabbed his and took a bite, but then we realized it was really Aleena's. She did not want his, or the one he bit, so she fixed a new one.

I think the kids end up with lots of goodies on it because they like squirting the frosting out.

After we took the picture of everyone's, the kids wanted to add more goodies to them so that they would be yummier to eat. Pretty soon they just looked like blobs.

Pet Peeves

I have been tagged about my Pet Peeves. I am not pointing fingers at anyone, I am just merely mentioning things, and I have been guilty at doing them myself. I don't want to come across as being judgemental.

Here are a few that came to mind, not in any special order. Sometimes I can really let things roll off of me, but other times (pms time) I get more upset over things.
*One sided conversations. When I talk to someone and I could set the phone down, change a diaper and come back and they don't even know you left. Or when you do finally say something but they just brush it off and don't even acknowledge that you said anything.
*Crumbs on my pantry floor. Is it really that hard to pick up that cracker when it falls on the floor, or to put the bag of chips back on the shelf instead just on the floor. While I am on the pantry subject-I wish I could put a really loud alarm on the pantry door so that when I am upstairs for 5 minutes they will get busted for getting in the pantry.
*When your somewhere public and one of my kids (or all of them, depending on the day) decide to have a meltdown, and there is always those that give the look of "Oh-brother. Could you control your kid."
*Laundry-need I say more.

Great Website

If you like to scrapbook check out this website, www.littlebookofsketches.blogspot.com It is a great blog that shows you lots of layouts and helps you get some creative juices flowing.

Baby Leggings

I had fun making these. I will be making more of these. They truely were easy. Here are the details if you want to know more. I think they would make great gift. And you could wear them on your arms too. I think that is the style.

Feeling Thankful

Due to the slow Real Estate Market, we have really had to cut back. I have really come to have peace about it. At first, it was tough. I found myself upset at Brad and finding lots of reasons to be mad. I never felt like I was a vain person, but I really have had my testimony grow & my eyes opened through all of this as to what is really important. "We always have something to be thankful for". I saw this the other day in a craft store, and it captured what I have been feeling. I may not have lots of foo-foo's, but I have a husband that loves me, 5 wonderful kids, a roof over my head, a heated home, cars that are functioning, a supportive family & ward, friends, good health, and mostly a Heavenly Father that loves me. My family has been so blessed. It is amazing how our Heavenly Father knows our needs and he will take care of them. For example: I was having a "moment" the other day. My definition of a "moment" is when I just feel like I need to put myself in timeout. I don't have monstrous kids, but there are moments of arguing, fighting, and chaos that drive me to insanity, and I have just had enough. So instead of yelling and getting upset, I took Livee and said I would be back. I usually just go for a drive and cool off. When I got home I had a book full of "I love You, Mommy" notes, and "Sorry for fighting" notes. They definitely know how to cheer me up. Later that night, we were about out of toilet paper and I was going to get some a couple days later, but we were rounding up all the rolls we had and were teasing the kids of all the alternative things we could use as toilet paper, Brad is always joking. Well, when I went to get in my bed, there was a small pile of money with a note that said "Dear Brad and Liberty---The money fairy has visited you. If you know who I am you don't have to thank me or say anything". Heavenly Father had sent us an angel. Not because of the money, but because of her compassion. It was probably the last couple dollars she had, and she was willing to give them up. It sure made me feel guilty for having a "moment". I snuck the money back into her piggy bank. My kids have really stepped up and have been great sports about having to cut back. They even made their own tether ball-they used an old ball and made a cover for it, and figured out how to tie it to a rope and found stuff around the house to tie it up to our old basketball hoop. They are really getting creative. Anyways, as we are approaching this Thanksgiving season my heart is full. I know the world is full of negative influences and lots of things to get distracted, but my wish is for all of us to take a step back and put our Blessing glasses on and see all the blessings we have around us.

Catching Up

This is more of a journal entry than post.
I find myself not posting as much about what we have been up to since soccer was over. I have really been enjoying the less chaos schedule. The kids aren't so sure they like it because jobs and helping mom have become more of a routine. There isn't much to report at home, a couple of us are trying to battle the boogie cold. I have managed to kink my neck some how. Not sure if it is from sleeping funny or part of the cold. Nothing serious.
As some family reports: Dick is doing better. He had surgery and got his shoulder all put back together. I think he is getting around good.
Brad's sister moved to a new house in Caldwell. They were pretty excited because it has more room. I think they are moved in but just adjusting to their new surrounding.
I talked to my brother tonight. He was smushed by his horse and broke his arm in 5 places. He is doing good. They talked about maybe coming down for Thanksgiving since he will still be off of work.
I think that is all in the catching up front. Time for bed.

Family Reunion

Click on picture to enlarge.
I got a scrapbook bug the other day. I scrapped this picture. This is my family that was at Bear Lake this past July. It is always so crazy trying to get that group photo.

Ear Muffs

Brad was watching Livee upstairs while I was downstairs helping the kids with something. He took this picture. They must have been having fun up here.

Livee

Livee knows when I am getting in the tub. I had planned on her getting in with me, so I undressed her, and she knew right where to go. She just looked to cute standing there naked. I just think little baby bums are so cute. She is so tiny to be standing up. Her little eyes barely peek over the edge.

Egg Project

Savanna had an interesting school assignment. The class was going to have an egg drop. Each student had to bring something to put their egg in, then the egg would be dropped from the ladder. Would your egg crack or not?

This is what Savanna came up with. It is a little hard to tell in the picture, but it is a piece of foam, folded in half and sewed up the sides. She put the egg in the space in the foam. There were some strings that she pulled and it pulled the hole shut. She then tied a sack on to it to act like a parachute. She loved this assignment. She is always wanting to do experiments. And egg did not crack when dropped. Her teacher thought the parachute idea was great. She even told her reading buddy teacher about it. Good Job Savanna.

Pancake Obsession

If any of you read my last tag, this is where the OCD tendencies come out.
I will get a certain food item in my head and I like to find the very best recipe for it, so I will make it again and again. My poor family. I think I found the best pancake recipe. They are big, fluffy, and so yummy. And my kids love them. I have tried tons of different typical recipes, with baking powder, eggs, flour, salt, sugar, oil and water. But this recipe isn't the typical ingredients.
Try them. You'll love them. Here's the recipe.
*I will update a picture soon.

Yummy!

I was craving a yummy something the other day, and so Aleena and I made these. She is always pulling up a chair if I start anything in the kitchen. She is my official Helper, or I mean taste tester.

OOOHHH, they were sooo YUMMY.

They didn't last very long. They are super easy and don't require any fancy ingredients. Here is the recipe for those of you that have a sweet tooth.

Tag

1. I was a Flag girl my first year of college at BSU with the Marching Band. It was part of my scholarship. I look back at it and it was way more work than what they paid, but it was fun. I got to go to all the games. Every once in a while, I show the kids some cool twirly tricks with the broom. They think that is cool.

2. I was traumatized by my sisters when I was little with a book about sharks. They would chase me around the house scaring me with the picture of the Great White Shark with his jaws wide open, ready to bite me. I would hide in the bathroom crying. I am terribly afraid of sharks. I can now watch them on tv, but there were quite a few years that just the sight of them would freak me out.
(I can hear my sisters laughing right now)

3. I learned how to do permanent make-up. (yes, tattooing) I did it for a bit, but the stress of it being permanent on some one's face was scary, plus I got pregnant with Aleena and I really missed just staying home with my kids.



4. I get cold sores very easily. If I don't sleep good, get too much sun exposure, scratch my lip, or get a cold, get pregnant. As a kid, I used to get them in the summer, but they would be in between my nose and lip. Gross, I know.

5. I have had all my babies c-section, but #4 was a unique surgery. The block only worked on my right side and so when they started I could feel it. Needless to say, I was pretty out of it when Aleena was born. I was so sad I didn't get to see her those first few moments. I could hear her cry, but I they had given me a drug that doesn't put you asleep, but puts you in a pretty dreamy sleepy state.

6. I keep a pair of tweezers in my car, and use my red light stopping time to do my tweezing. You get so much better light when you are outside. I am kind of a hairy person. I hate facial hair.

7. I have not been officially diagnosed with OCD, but my husband swears I have selective OCD. When there is a project I get in the brain, these characteristics come out. Brad always tells the story of me telling him I want to paint the front room, and he came home from work, and it was done, even though the house was falling apart around me and the kids were taking care of themselves. Oops. I like to refer to it as one track minded.

Tumble

We had a minor incident last night: I was working on the candy bar sign in the hall at the top of the stairs. I needed to work on the floor because the sign is kind of big, and so Livee was in my bedroom with Brad with the door shut so she wouldn't attack my sign. All the kids were sitting out there with me. Brad had come out to see what was going on and so I ran downstairs to look for the glue sticks, and Brad came down a minute later to help me look. About 1 minute later we heard Savanna, Hallie and Jase screaming at the top of their lungs, it was a scream that definitely told us something was wrong. We both looked at each other and knew someone fell down the stairs. Sure enough, Livee had tumbled all the way down the stairs. Savanna, Hallie and Jase were crying and were hysteric, Aleena was crying because the other kids' crying had freaked her out and Livee was the color of a ghost and sobbing but not crying to bad. I don't think we have ever had a moment where all 5 of our kids were crying at the same time. Livee was not hurt. She actually didn't cry for very long. I think seeing the other kids cry distracted her from her own crying. She only got one little bump on her head. But my other 3 were a wreck. It took me probably an hour to settle down Savanna and Jase. They were really shaken up. They got their jammies on and brushed their teeth, and got in bed. About 5 minutes later Jase came in still crying. He said "I don't want Livee to die." It broke my heart to see them so upset. I talked about how yes, that would be sad, but we know that we will be with each other again in heaven if one of us was to die. So he layed on my bed to settle down. Then Savanna came in just really crying. She was feeling like it was her fault. She felt she should of put her back in my room and shut the door, and she keeps re-playing her falling in her head. But it really wasn't any one's fault. Then Hallie and Aleena were wondering what all the commotion was. In the meantime, Livee had nursed and fallen asleep. So we all made our way back to bed and they fell asleep soon after that. They were all lovey-dovey to her this morning and were in better spirits. We are thankful Livee wasn't hurt in the tumble. Things like this sure make us realize how quick the course of our lives can change. I tried to explain that to the kids that we never know when something will happen and that we should treat each other with love so that our last moment isn't a negative one. I had to chuckle this morning at how chaotic things got there for a minute. WWHEEEW!!!

Papa Dick

Grama D called Sunday night with the news of Papa Dick getting in a wreck. He was driving home from McCall and hydroplaned and went off the road and down a ravine. He had a friend with him and they both made it out alive. Dick has a few broken bones and ribs, and is pretty bumped and bruised. He is in the hospital right now, and is on some "happy-feel-good-drugs" to kill the pain. We made him a Candy Bar sign and are going to take it to him later today. Here is what it said:

We heard the puddle in the (rocky)ROAD was playing Twix on U & U managed to smash your truck to (Reese's)PIECES & U took a few FAST BREAKS along with a few CRUNCH-ed ribs. U-NO U are lucky to have a SWEETART to LOOK after your EXTRA needs & help U on your (milky) WAY to an (M&)M-azing recovery. Be sure to TAKE 5 & get some rest so you can get back to being the JOLLY(Rancher) Papa Dick that you are.
We love U!! The Nerds

Savanna Soccer Tournament

Savanna's soccer team ended the season with one final tournament over the weekend. It was down at Simplot Complex. I didn't get any pictures because of the rain. The first game was Saturday morning at 10. They played an awesome game. They just really had their game on, were passing to each other, and really working as a team. They won 7-0. The other team was new to the tournament thing, and were kind of a rookie team, so that helped us out. There was a bit of trash talking on the side line among parents. The other team parents were calling us "white trash" and were pretty sure they were going to beat us. Kuna is looked down upon by some teams because we aren't league teams. Some of these other teams pay lots of money and train year round, and so they tend to think they are better than us small folk. Plus, we have a fairly big group that comes to support the team and they really like to cheer, and to the other team, that made us "white trash". Anyways, it got a couple of the parents worked up. Luckily that drama doesn't come with every game.
The second game wasn't until 3 pm and there wasn't enough time to really go home for very long, so I made a quick trip to the mall. I needed to get Savanna a dress, and Aleena her Birthday gift. I hadn't been to the mall forever. It was fun. Savanna's team lost to the second game. It was a team from Courdlane. They were seriously good. We lost by 3. I couldn't believe how big their team was. The girls were pretty bumbed but, you can't win them all.
The 3rd game was Sunday morning at 9 am. They lost again. The team was good but I think our team was just as good, but was just not at their best. Hopefully they can learn from these tournaments and make next season even better.

More Aleena Birthday

Brad and I hadn't gotten Aleena anything for her Birthday yet, and so we decided to sing Happy Birthday to her again. She wanted Zane to come over and sing with us so we invited Uncle Linden and family to come over Sunday evening. It was short and sweet and perfect. I knew the kids were pretty candied out, so I didn't go all out on cake. Instead, I went with rice crispy treats and decorated them with frosting(not that rice crispies aren't full of sugar, but I didn't want to take all day making a cake and the kids have one lick of frosting). They tasted way better than cake. Aleena wanted something with butterflies, so I used a butterfly cookie cutter and cut them out. Her gift from us was the Ariel dress up set. It was funny because she came with us to the mall and was throwing the biggest fit because I didn't buy it for her "Right Now". Little did she know that Hallie was distracting her while I paid for it. She was pretty excited to see it at her party. She actually slept in it and wore the shoes to bed, and wore it all day today. She got the new movie TinkerBell from Uncle Linden's family. We all sat down and watched last night. It is a cute movie. I am sure we will watch it a 100 times before the week is over. The movie came with a cute matching bag. She has her Halloween candy in it and carries it everywhere. She is pretty easy to please.

One more birthday complete!!

Happy Halloween

We started the weekend with some pumpkin carving. I haven't really got into Halloween this year like previous years, so I kind of just let the kids do there own thing. We got the pumpkins from the school at parent teacher conference and the kids came home and wanted to carve. Jase was to grossed out by the insides so he was trying to put sacks on his hands to clean out the guts. He was done after about 1 minute and was gone to play out front. Hallie got a face sort of on hers and then she was done. Aleena decided to paint hers. She started with yellow, pink and blue paint but by the end she had mixed all her colors and guess what? It ended up being orange. She wanted to repaint, but I had already cleaned up the mess. There was no school on Halloween so we just took it easy that morning. Hallie had her friend over Thursday night and Savanna went over to her friends. So it was just a layed back morning. I would think that after all the years of getting kids ready that I would be a better time manager, but it never fails, we are scrambling the last hour and are ready to scratch each others eyes out by the time we get in the car.

Jase is a Kung Fu Dude, Savanna is Ketchup, Hallie is Hannah Montana, and Aleena is ..... um...... a...creative witch princess. Prior to the time of getting dressed, Aleena had decided to be a princess. When it was time to get dressed, she insisted on putting on the black witch dress, and this purple fairy thing (which she had to wear backwards). She wouldn't wear the witch hat, or the cape. I figured it wasn't worth a major melt down, so she went as a creative witch. Hallie was so excited to wear her costume because Grama D had made her a special shirt and vest.

Savanna and her friend were kind of a duo costume. Ketchup and Bologna.

When the kids were getting their costumes on, we thought it would be funny to try this wig on Livee. She looks like a doll. She wasn't so sure she liked it. I had to hold her hands or she just ripped it off.

We went over to the Trunk Or Treat at the church. I was so glad the weather decided to cooperate. It was perfect temperatures. The older kids went around with their friends and I took Aleena around. Daddy kept Livee with him at the Trunk. I was surprised at the turn out. There wasn't as many people there this year, and people were running out of candy before Aleena got all the way around the parking lot. We didn't mind, it meant less candy.

After that, we headed over to Uncle Linden's house to see their kids in costume. Savanna and Hallie went with Kayla and a group of friends and went around their neighborhood. Michelle and I took the boys and Aleena down their street and back up. They got so much candy. That street definitely is the street to hit. One house let the kids pick out toys, new ones, and a huge handful of candy. One house was a spooky lady vampire and a grim reaper skeleton that just about scared the pants off the kids. Aleena was brave and got her candy, and then as we were walking to the next house she said "That freaked me out just a little bit, Huh!" giggle, giggle. It was so funny.

We headed home about 8:15. We dropped Savanna off with Chloe to walk with her and her mom. We didn't get to many knockers after that. We usually have quite a few at the house, but now we are stuck with all this candy we were going to hand out. The kids love to come home and dump their candy out and assess all of it, and sort it, and trade. Livee figured out it was candy they were dumping out and would crawl over real quick. The kids had to hurry and pick up all there stuff.

Over all it was a good night. Maybe next year I will get more into the spirit. The kids got enough candy that they will never remember any other detail.