Yates Family

The Great Goldfish Disaster of 2012

2012-01-18T12:05:00.002-07:00

Seriously, this child of mine. I guess it is my fault not only for buying an enormous box of goldfish, but for being foolish enough to think that goldfish + Dora on the TV would = some time for me to practice the piano. And not only did Jake dump out the entire (new!) box, he sat and swam around in the middle of them and crunched them into a beautiful fine powder with his fingers. Pure joy to a little almost 18-month-old! I can not even tell you how many times a day we have incidences like this. The other night I bathed him, put his pajamas on, then proceeded to bathe another one of my dirty children. I was sitting right there, on the (closed) toilet, when suddenly this appeared in front of me:

How did he get past me, into the tub and get the washcloth on his head without me even noticing? Maybe the problem is me and my spaced-out, sleep-deprived brain. And yes, most children play with rubber duckies in the tub. My kids play with duck decoys. Real ones with creepy red eyes that they got at the hunting expo last year and can't live without.

Bald Eagles in Lehi!

2012-01-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

The other night we were driving near our home and we saw an amazing sight! There were a few cars pulled off the road looking at something on 1700 West where we often see deer, so of course we pulled off to see what was going on. There were no deer, but we looked up in the trees and saw several huge brown birds with white heads... could it be? The emblems of our nation? Real bald eagles! We counted six of the incredible birds perched up in the tops of the trees just across the field. They were so cool! I couldn't believe we were actually seeing them in real life! It was about 4:50 pm, and we have since seen them a few times around that time of the evening. I talked to one guy who was out of his car looking at them and he said he has seen as many as seven at one time! He even saw two of them fighting! They often fly across Pioneer Crossing and are visible from there in the tops of these trees. According to a recent article in the Utah County Bird Watching Examiner, bald eagles are not seen in Utah County throughout the year, but from November to March they can be frequent visitors. What fun little visitors to have! If you want to see them, take Pioneer Crossing west out of Lehi and turn left at 1700 West. Go about half a mile and look out at the trees to the east. So cool!

The birds were so cooperative when I was photographing them. I told this one to look to the left.

Then look to the right... perfect, perfect...

And this one was just supposed to look like a jungle cat. Not too shabby.

This picture is zoomed out to give you some perspective so you'll know what to look for. I'm pretty sure the cow was humming the national anthem, but I couldn't be sure.

Books For Gabriel

2011-12-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

So I had an amazing experience the other day. I was procrastinating doing something, I forget what, so I checked my Facebook like I am prone to do when I am procrastinating. My friend Jenny from Burley had posted a link to a book drive her friend is doing. I thought that was interesting so I clicked on the link, and read the story about a little boy named Gabriel. My heart broke as I read about how at 17 months old, this beautiful little boy just quit breathing and after a few days in the hospital, passed from this life into the next, to the sorrow of his loving parents and siblings. The story written by his mother Amy is so touching. I just can not even imagine going through something like that.

As Gabe's third birthday approaches, Amy is gathering books to donate to kids in hospitals in memory of her little boy. As I sat at the computer with tears streaming down my face, I remembered that I had just cleaned out my kids' book collection and I had a box of books that I was going to put in storage for a while. I was so excited to think I could donate them and maybe help someone just a little. I sent Amy a message and got her address, and then loaded the kids in the car and drove to her house in Saratoga Springs. Amy was so kind and grateful, and I felt so good to be able to help in some small way.

I have decided to try to collect as many books as possible and deliver them to her the week before Christmas, so I am asking that if you have any books that you would consider donating, please let me know and I will be glad to come and pick them up, or you can drop them off at my house. Hospitals love getting books for kids up to age 18, from baby board books to chapter books, to young adult books. They are such a comfort to families who are in the hospital for extended or unexpected stays. Please read Amy's blog post here and let me know if you would like to help (there is also a link on the blog to donate money for books if you are unable to donate actual books). It is a wonderful way to extend service that will truly make a difference, especially at this time of year. I would like to deliver the books this Saturday. You can email me at ampyates@yahoo.com or call or text me at 801-592-1531. Thanks!!

Oh, my life...

2011-12-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

So I know you are jealous that I am married to a hunter and my life is non-stop, constant excitement. Seriously. There is never a dull moment. Take Monday night, for example. I didn't really have anything planned for Family Home Evening. I mean, I was planning to have it, but that's about as far as I was with it. So when Jason's mom called in the afternoon and said she had a raccoon in a trap that needed to be shot, well hey, there's FHE right there.

After dinner we loaded up the kids and the bows and arrows and headed to Grandma's. I thought a gun would be easier than bows and arrows, but Jason informed me that it is illegal to shoot a gun within city limits. Also, I should add that my mother in law called the fish and game to see what to do with the little critter and they said NOT to let it go, that raccoons are nuisances and need to be... done away with. Well, the job proved to be a little harder than originally planned. Apparently raccoons are kind of like cockroaches and they just refuse to die. I was inside trying to block out any mental images of what was going on outside when the boys came in with the news that well, the raccoon was still holding on, but they were working on it. Finally Jason came in and said the job was done. I will spare you any further detail. Okay, well, I thought, that was bad but now we can move on. Wrong! Jason had the awesome idea of taking the raccoon home so he could skin it for the boys. We watched Where the Red Fern Grows recently as a family, which turned out to be a horrible idea since the whole thing is about catching raccoons and turning them into coon skin caps. So yeah, we should do that! Just because Billy did in the backwoods of the Ozarks 100 years ago. Sweet. As a result, the raccoon came home with us in a garbage bag in the back of the van. I was not okay with that. It didn't matter.

I was hoping Jason would forget about his little "project" and end up disposing of the remains after a few days. Wrong again. I returned home from running errands on Tuesday afternoon to find the VERY disturbing image of a creature with its back legs tied to a rope, tied to the RAILING of the garage steps and my husband sitting right exactly where I park the van, just skinning away. When he saw me, he yelled, "Don't look!" but it was too late. Fortunately for you, I don't have the words to describe a skinned raccoon. "Horrific" is a start, but just imagine a shaved cat, but about 5 times bigger, hanging from its feet while your six-year-old watches in fascination and, well, there was some blood involved. I'm sorry to have to tell you that, but I'm the one who has to STEP in it every time I step out of my vehicle now. I do actually step around it, but it isn't easy, and it provokes very negative thoughts in my mind about raccoons and hunting in general.

I'm sorry if you were hoping that was the end of the story. So was I, but it's not. The raccoon skin made its home on the back of Jason's 4-wheeler in the garage for a few days. It was there the last time I saw it and tried not to make eye contact with it. Then last night I went down to the basement deep freeze to get a bag of chicken. There was a Kohl's bag with a suspicious lump in it inside the freezer. I thought, hmmm, must be some deer meat that Jason's dad brought him from their hunt last week or something (forgetting that Jason's dad isn't HOME yet from the hunt last week). Later I mentioned it to Jason and he said, "Oh yeah, I put the raccoon hide in the downstairs freezer so it doesn't rot". Well, if that isn't just great news. I just touched a dead raccoon in a Kohl's bag. Why was I born? What am I supposed to learn from this? I'm trying to be a better person, honestly I am, but I just don't understand why these kind of experiences are necessary for me in the eternal scheme of things. I guess I still have a lot to learn. I just wish I could learn it all in a very sanitary, death-free, non-redneck sort of way.

They say bad things happen in 3s...

2011-11-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

I hope it's true that bad things happen in 3s and I'm not just starting to have an unlucky, terrible life! Ha ha, it's not that bad, but sometimes it feels like it. It started last Friday, the week before Thanksgiving, with my arms aching. I thought that was weird, but I continued on with my life. Until I couldn't continue on any more because my whole body was aching. Then the fevers started. Then they would break, and I (and my pajamas and bedsheets) would be bathed in sweat. TMI, I know, but I had to live it for four days! One night I went through five sets of pajamas and ended up sleeping between beach towels because I ran out of blankets. So lovely. Finally, Tuesday evening I dragged myself and my four little neglected kiddies to the Instacare and was diagnosed with pneumonia!! I did have a deep cough, but the cough was the least of my worries. I just kept waiting for the fevers and aches to go away, but they never did. Fortunately, the doctor gave me some strong antibiotics and I had a day to try to recover for Thanksgiving. By Thursday, I was feeling much better. We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving with Jason's family, then hopped in the truck and drove to Burley that night so Jason could, what else, hunt early Friday morning. Truthfully, I wasn't really feeling up to traveling, but I made it and it was nice to be home with my family and just relax. While I was there, Bad Thing #2 happened. My cell phone was accidentally dropped in a body of water. Also known as the toilet. Argggg. It has been out of commission ever since. So it will be fun to brave the Verizon store during the holiday season to try to get that whole mess figured out. Then, as we were packing up to leave Saturday afternoon, Bad Thing #3 happened. I was holding Jake, trying to balance a few bags on my arm and lean over to pick up a few more, and I somehow tweaked my back. BAD. As in, I still can't even walk. If I lie still in one position, it's okay, but if I have to move, well, I just can't. Getting Jake in and out of his crib is quite the ordeal. So that's my little gratitude post for Thanksgiving. I'm grateful that I'm not dead and I know things could be worse. I'm grateful that I don't have much going on this week and I can try to recover and maybe even get into the Christmas spirit. Or not. We'll see...

Fall Update

2011-11-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

My mom always used to say that fall was her favorite season. I thought that was really weird. What could be better than summer? Or spring or winter? Then I realized she said that every year right around the time school was starting... hmmm, suspicious. Did she actually ENJOY us leaving her home with nothing to do? I couldn't imagine that! Until I had kids. Now fall is also MY favorite season, but there are several additional reasons. Mostly food-related. I also love the cooler temperatures, the colors, the change of pace, and of course hunting. Well, not really on the last one, but I'm trying to be supportive here, people. My life is what it is. Soooo, on to the update. The kids and I had a great trip to Burley while Jason was on a hunt somewhere (I can't keep track anymore). I went hunting. And then there was Halloween.

This is at a cute little place called The Pumpkin Patch. It is north of Paul, which is north of Burley. Who knew?

The kids with my cute, wonderful, fun, adorable mom.

Heading out to pick pumpkins. I love how Jake is always just trying to keep up!

Abby got to pick out a gourd. She named him Gordy.

Jakey in the pumpkin patch.

On the hunt for the perfect pumpkin.

One of the highlights of going to Burley: golf cart rides with Grandma.

I love this picture: my dad teaching Dallin how to play "Porcupines have Prickly Quills". So precious!

And now on to hunting. We hiked up to the top of West Canyon and the sunrise was amazing, as always.


Oh, he's so proud of his little wifey! Mission accomplished.

Love the sunrise over Timp!

Jason and his brother Chad on the look out for deer. We actually saw some and took a few shots, but no deer were fated to die that day, which was all right with me.

We actually did a theme this year for Halloween! Kind of amazing. Luke was a football player (Steelers).

Dallin was also a football player, but a Chicago Bear.

Abby was the referee, and Jake was the runaway football.

He was kind of a homeless little football, but what do you do.

We had a fun night of trick or treating in Grandma Yates' neighborhood. This is the best picture I could get of all four kids, which is kind of sad, but not really, because it is our life. Jake is out of focus, but I love the big grin on his face. Dallin has figured out that if he looks at the camera it will be over much sooner. Luke can only focus on his sucker. And Abby is off in space. Why do I love my kids so much? They just crack me up.

My Cooking Class With the Food Nanny/Best Day Ever!!

2011-11-06T08:12:00.001-07:00

So you may or may not know that I am a HUGE fan of the Food Nanny on BYU-TV. I first read about her on a blog last spring and then I saw the book in Costco (where else?) and had to pick it up. I was instantly hooked. She is a huge advocate of family mealtime, which is something that I had been struggling with for a while. My husband works most evenings and is only home for dinner once or twice a week. This leaves me with four small kids and a great excuse to scrounge up some lame food most nights and not make anything special. I had a nagging feeling that I should be doing more, because I do love to cook, but was I being wasteful by making nice food for little kids who didn't appreciate it? And should I be eating well/gaining weight if I didn't have to? Cereal seemed to be the answer most of the time. I'd cook up something that sounded good once in a while and overindulge, then feel guilty and swear to eat cereal for a few days. My kids seemed to be happy with whatever I put in front of them, so I didn't have the motivation to make any changes. Then I found the Food Nanny, Liz Edmunds. She has raised seven children and attributes her success as a mother to consistent family meal times. What I can most relate to about her is that her husband was gone most of the time (he was a pilot), and she still brought her family together every single night for a home-cooked meal at the dinner table. She says she just needed something for her and her family to look forward to every single day. It was like a light bulb went off in my head after learning that. (What, her husband was gone all the time, too, and she STILL did all this? Well, why can't I?) I also love her philosophy about eating real and not dieting. She says you should eat what your body craves, but only until you are satisfied. Then you just push your plate back. And she obviously practices what she preaches because she is tiny! (So you mean I can make good food for my family AND eat it? And not spend my life counting calories? Sign me up!) Her cookbook is nothing short of amazing. Her recipes are simple but gourmet at the same time. Everything I have tried has been great. Everything. I absolutely love her philosophy about Family Dinner. "It's the most important time of the day!" she says repeatedly on her show. You can watch every episode on byutv.org and I highly, highly recommend it. I have tried so many new recipes and methods of cooking that I never thought I would even attempt. Most importantly, my family has come to expect Family Dinner every night (or most nights!) whether Dad is home or not. It's not always fantastically planned out with the table set and wonderful food, but the kids don't seem to care. I just do my best that day, whatever it is. My kids love sitting at the dinner table together and discussing their days. We each tell the best part and worst part of our day and it leads to some pretty interesting conversations! Abby can't seem to distinguish the present day from the past, so we all have some great laughs over what she thinks happened that day, which probably happened several weeks ago, if at all. The other night Jason was with us and he was telling me all about what happened at work that day when I noticed Dallin was pouting. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Why don't we just call this Mom and Dad Dinner instead of Family Dinner, since you two are the only ones talking?" I had to laugh. I asked him what he wanted to talk about and he was just busting to tell everyone about how his CapriSun had sprung a leak in his lunchbox that day and ruined his lunch. I love that he was saving something that was important to him to share with the family at dinner.

You can imagine my excitement a few weeks ago when I saw on the Food Nanny's Facebook page that she was going to be hosting a cooking class AT HER HOME for a very reasonable price, and it would include one of her cookbooks (Happy Birthday, Mom!)!! I immediately signed up and trusted that it would work out, and it did. I told Jason that it was my present for him going to Texas to hunt whitetails this week, which he had to agree with. It was SUCH a fun day. The thing I love most about Liz (I can call her Liz now, we are kind of tight like that) is her energy. She is a TINY little thing, but she is so excited about life and so full of passion about what she teaches. I always thought she was adorable, but wondered if maybe she was just a rich lady that loved to cook and had a lot of breaks in life. Not so. She is a humble, kind and hard-working lady who has made the best out of everything she has had to deal with in life. Her house is amazing, but it is not fancy. Just simple and beautiful and functional. Mostly, it is welcoming and comfortable. Very down to earth. I loved it. There were about fifteen people in the class and she made all of us feel so at home. I wanted to just stay afterward and hang out and help her do the dishes, but I had a babysitter at home and an hour drive ahead of me so I was sad to have to leave. The class was GREAT. She made so much food and ALL of it was fantastic. Apple Pie, Apple Crisp, French Baquettes, Bruschetta, Arugula Pizza, Chicken Marsala With Mushrooms, Spaghetti Carbonara... am I missing anything? She impressed me so much with her passion about cooking for her family. It's not like she just had her kids grow up and leave the house and got bored so she decided to write a book. She really lives it. She has lived this philosophy for 40 years and made a rich, wonderful life in the process. That is what I want! I want my kids to know what HOME feels like, and I think family meals around the dinner table on a consistent basis are the foundation for what I have been looking for. Even if it's just the kids and me most of the time. When Jason is home it is just all the more special.

Baquettes fresh out of the oven! So easy, and how cute is that little pan?

Liz made a special bruschetta that will be featured in her next cookbook (can't wait!!). It was amazing. I am still thinking about it.

Here she is adding the chicken to the Chicken Marsala. Wow, so good!

Here are just a few of my favorite recipes from the book, for your FYI (ha ha, I love it when people say "For your FYI" because it doesn't even make any sense!):

p. 34 Roast Chicken with Gravy - I make this for my VERY special friends when they have babies. It is probably my favorite meal to make in the world. I used to have a fear of raw chicken, and what the heck do you do with a whole chicken anyway, but Liz helps a lady who HATES raw meat make this on one of the shows (It's called "Chicken Chicken") and suggests using plastic gloves when handling raw meat! I picked up a box of surgical gloves and my life hasn't been the same since. I feel so liberated!

p. 78 Chicken Marsala With Mushrooms - I was so excited when she made this at the cooking class! It is the first thing I have ever made with cooking wine and it is SO fun and delicious. I love making it.

p. 182 Slow-Cooked Chicken Noodle Soup - Easiest and best chicken soup I have ever made! Sometimes I use potatoes instead of noodles. I also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs and it is fantastic.

p. 149 Grilled Salmon - I had never made salmon on the grill before, and this is now one of my go-to meals because it is so simple and my kids love it! Plus, I'm so excited to be feeding them fish! I feel like Mom of the Year.

p. 234 Liz's Crescent Dinner Rolls - Hands down, my favorite recipe. These are better than Lion House Rolls, in my opinion, and so easy! I make them way too much. I'm making them today, in fact. The best part of this recipe is that it makes one big pan of rolls that only needs 12 minutes in the oven, instead of three pans for 20 minutes each. Who has that kind of time? I can whip up the dough in ten minutes in the afternoon and pop them in the oven a few minutes before dinner, and wow. According to Luke, it's heaven.

There are so many more recipes that I love, and my secret goal is to try every recipe in the book. Probably won't really happen, but at least we will be eating good in the mean time!

My Spider Solution

2011-10-28T17:31:00.003-06:00

I hate bugs. Like, really, really hate them. More than the average person. I realize few people really, really like them, but my entire day can be ruined by finding a spider in my baby's room, or seeing an earwig pretty much anywhere on my property. Yuck and a half. Hence, the semi-annual visit of my spider guy, which I have always hated paying for but couldn't force myself to do without. Jason does NOT understand the need to pay to have the house sprayed inside and out every spring and fall because he says we don't have any bugs. Well, the reason we don't have any bugs is because our house is sprayed inside and out every spring and fall! Still, I would schedule the visits at times when I knew Jason would not be home just to be safe. This fall I decided to do a little investigating and see if I could find a product that I could spray myself and save a little $$ and not have to feel like I was sneaking around behind my husband's back. So I took a little trip to IFA and asked the lady behind the counter if she had any suggestions. Her face lit up and she practically jumped over the register. "I have just the thing for you. This is what the professionals use! They come here and buy it, and then they spray your house with it!!" She led me to the pest control aisle and showed me this nifty little bottle.

It's called Tempo SC Ultra Insecticide and it is professional grade pest killer that is safe as soon as it is dry. You mix 16 ML (it shows the measurements in the little section at the top of the bottle) with a gallon of water and spray along the baseboards inside your house and along the foundation of the outside, just like the professional little spider guy used to get paid way too much money to do. My whole house, inside and out, only took one gallon. The bottle contains 220 ML and costs about $45. I also bought a gallon tank sprayer for $12. Since I was spending at least $65 every spring and fall to have my house sprayed, plus $5 to spray the inside of the trailer, it seems like a pretty good deal. And man, is it fun! I just whip through my house whenever I feel like it. No one will ever charge me $5 to spray the inside of my trailer ever again. I can spray the heck out of it for free. Whenever I want. So there, Spider Guy. I felt like charging him $5 for talking to me on the phone when he called to try to schedule an appointment recently. $5, my tail. Sucka.

The IFA lady also told me to spray around the doorways of the outside entrances to my house to keep the flies out and it actually worked! It's been a few weeks since I first sprayed and we haven't had any bugs and the flies disappeared almost immediately. I also just love the little line of dead bugs around the outside wall of the garage. I bless the IFA lady every time I sweep them up. No offense is intended to the pest control industry by this post because I am sure they are all good people in their hearts. I'm just really glad I don't need them now!

My favorite "under" shirt: Hapari Shores

2011-10-24T22:21:00.000-06:00

I pretty much wear a "Shade" type shirt under my regular shirts every single day. I have them in every color and style and brand. It's a little embarrassing how many of them I have, actually. I have a whole section in my closet dedicated solely to shirts that I will be wearing under other shirts . However, recently I discovered Hapari Shores, which are basically little half-tees and I think I may need to purge all 350 of my old shirts and replace them with just a few of these. They fit so great and I love that I don't have to worry about tucking in or not tucking in an extra shirt, especially under dresses. They look like a real shirt, too, none of that unfinished edge business that you find with other brands that looks like maybe I didn't mean to have my undershirt sticking out, but maybe I did, and people are just left to wonder if I got dressed all the way or forgot something or do I just have four kids and can't keep anything straight... it's confusing to everyone involved. Shores aren't too pricey, either, about $16 each, and I just got an email with a coupon code for 60% off the entire site!! Just enter the code FALL60 at checkout. If you want to, you can go try them on at their store in American Fork, at 69 East Main Street. I don't know if everything in the store is on sale, so I am just ordering online. Who cares about shipping because Jason owes me big for the deer hunt that I am going on in about 4 hours that I did NOT agree to, but I am trying to have a good attitude and be a supportive wife, though it may be through gritted teeth. I digress. I love all my Hapari swim suits, too, so check those out while you're there. I am ordering, um, several new shirts, and then I will be downsizing my undershirt collection. I can't wait! My journey to minimalism has begun.

Greek Yogurt: My Favorite Breakfast

2011-10-12T18:16:00.000-06:00

Several months ago I tried Greek yogurt. I've always been a yogurt fan and I'd been reading about how great it is and how much healthier than regular/sugar-laden yogurt. For example, I would generally buy light yogurt, which in a one cup serving has 100 calories, 0 grams of fat, 13 grams of sugar, 15 grams of carbs and 6 grams of protein. The ingredient list is about a mile long and includes things like fructose, aspartame, and about a thousand things I can't even pronounce, including phenylalanine, whatever that is. One cup of Fage Greek yogurt has 130 calories, no fat, 9 grams of sugar, 9 grams of carbs and 23 grams of protein. The only ingredients are milk and live active yogurt cultures. And that much protein! Plus, I don't really like the flavor of light yogurt, but I can't justify 40 grams of sugar in one serving of regular yogurt. So I decided to convert.

My sister-in-law warned me that Greek yogurt is very similar to sour cream: thick and not really something you want to spoon into your mouth again and again, which you would need to do to get in the one cup serving requirement and reap all the benefits of eating it in the first place. I thought, sure, but I love yogurt and it can't be that bad, so I picked up a container like this on my next trip to Costco:

The problem is, it really was that bad! I could hardly gag it down. It sat in my fridge for several days until my cute, precious, adorable sister Kristen saw it one day when she was visiting and said, "Hey! You should try mixing your Greek yogurt with Crystal Lite! It tastes so much better, and there's no sugar!" So I did. And a new addiction was born. I now eat (at least) a cup of Greek yogurt every single day. I can't go a day without it. It is so rich and creamy and I love it. I feel like I am eating custard. My very favorite flavor addition is this:

Sugar Free Hawaiian Punch Lemon Berry Squeeze. I only use a half of a single-serving pack for one cup of yogurt, so I figure the artificial sweetener won't take too many years off my life. The benefits of Greek yogurt far outweigh a half serving of Splenda, or whatever the heck is in there. So now I will share with you how to make my yummy yogurt. You might want to write this down, it gets a little complicated. Put one cup of yogurt in a bowl, sprinkle on half a package of drink mix...

Looks about like this:

Then you stir it til it's nice and creamy...

And there you have it! I always add fresh or frozen fruit and my favorite granola that I also can't live a day without. Seriously, you should make this granola. It is so easy and so good. I will never buy granola again! Step-by-step instructions are here, courtesy of my good friend Sierra. All her recipes are amazing, by the way! I LOVE her web site.

Since strawberries are about out of their glory this year, I am currently using the Costco, yes Costco again, brand of frozen triple berries. I like to set a cup of berries in the fridge at night and then add them to my yogurt in the morning when they are nice and thawed and all that juicy juice can mingle with the creamy goodness of the yogurt. Yum.

The bad news about Greek yogurt is that it's way more expensive than regular yogurt. The good news is that Costco just released their very own Kirkland variety that is way cheaper and just as good. It comes in a twin pack (8 servings) for about $7. The Fage brand, my first love, is about $5 (I think) at Costco and a lot more expensive at grocery stores and it is only 4 servings. So go with the Costco brand, even though it has 3 fewer grams of protein per serving. 20 is still a lot. Give yourself an extra spoonful or two if it means that much to you.

While we are on the subject, yes, I do go to Costco way too much. I just can't stay away from the place! I need intervention. I think the employees are getting sick of me.

The reason I can't get anything done lately...

2011-09-22T15:56:00.000-06:00

I've just had to accept the fact lately that my house will be DESTROYED in about 4 seconds the instant Jake is on the loose. He considers it his personal mission in life to empty every last cupboard/drawer/closet in the entire house about 50 times a day. Every time I enter a room I hear myself say, "Oh no, what have you done now!!" He also loves toilets, so it is now MY personal life mission to keep every bathroom door in the house closed. If I had a dollar for every time I yelled, "Are the bathroom doors closed?!!!" I could hire a stinking nanny to patrol them for me. I think Jake has Evil Baby Radar that leads him to open bathroom doors no matter how vigilant I try to be because I still find him splashing happily away in one toilet or another on a daily basis. I've considered putting child-proof locks on all the cabinets/closets/doors in the house, but man, I hate those things. I'm just hoping he will grow out of this... eventually! In the meantime I am trying to be grateful for happy, healthy kids and crazy, naughty babies.

This is a typical EVERY DAY scene in my kitchen, except he is only about a third of the way finished with the job.

The little naughty!! I should probably edit out all the junk on his shirt, but hey, I'm just keeping it real here.

Jake is One!!!

2011-08-14T16:37:00.000-06:00

This last year totally feels like a time warp. I can't believe it's been a year since my little Jake was born!!! But at the same time, I can't even remember life without him. How strange that must have been! He is such a sweetheart and a huge part of our lives. He is truly a fun little guy and has a very wild, adventurous streak! He is full of life and loves to be the center of attention. He is into EVERYTHING. When he is awake and prowling around, the whole family has to be on high alert. Any chance he gets he goes STRAIGHT to the toilet, which is just awesome. He has finally learned to go up AND down stairs. He has taken a few steps already and I know once he figures he can run, he will start walking. He is just too fast of a crawler to make the transition! What a nut, but I wouldn't trade him. Here are a few pictures from his party. It was so fun. I love seeing his little personality develop and blend into our family. Love you, Jakey!

Happy Birthday, Alison!

2011-08-04T17:58:00.000-06:00

Today is my sister Alison's birthday. Al is one year younger than me and we were always pretty inseparable growing up. She was one year behind me in school, so the only year I didn't have her close behind was my freshman year at BYU. Luckily, she followed after me and came to BYU for her freshman year the next year. I lived with her basically my entire college career. Then we both got married in the same year and she moved to Springville, but eventually made it to Lehi a few years ago and just a few miles away. She now lives across town, but at least still in Lehi. At times in our lives we have spent so much time together that we could have entire conversations with just one look. Alison is as smart as a whip and the most organized person you'll ever meet. She can do ANYTHING. Whenever I have an Anger Management Moment where I can't open a jar or figure out how to put something together she just shakes her head and holds out her hand and has the job done in about 2 seconds. Many times during the day I get frustrated with something and think, "Where is Alison when I need her?!!" I wish I could hire her as my personal assistant. On top of that, she is HILARIOUS. A story isn't a story unless it's been told by Alison. She owns the audience!! She is beautiful and smart and always the first one to help anyone in need. We've been together through thick and thin and I'm so grateful for all of our experiences together. This morning my sister-in-law Christa and I brought her cupcakes and ice cream and had a little party with all the kiddos. It's always fun to get together and especially to see how much fun our kids have together. Love ya, Alison!! Happy Birthday!

The whole crew (minus me, taking the picture). It's a wild bunch with ten kids age eight and under, let me tell you! I'm not quite sure where the little girl in the bottom left came from, I think she is a friend of Halli's, but all the rest are ours!

Alison, me with Jakey Jake and Christa. I wish I had a picture of our four little boys together. Alison has a 2 and 1/2 year old and Christa has an almost 3 year old and a 15 month old. This little generation of boys is SO cute (not to mention LOUD!!). I can't wait to watch them grow up and be friends with each other.

Katelyn (Christa's), Dallin, Luke, and Halli (Alison's). Katelyn and Halli are only a few days apart in age and my boys LOVE to play with them!


Abby and Alison's little Josie. Josie and Luke start kindergarten this year, which is just crazy!! They were just born.


Luke's tooth was on the verge of falling out the entire time we were at Alison's, and as soon as we got home it popped right out! He was pretty proud, but disappointed that it didn't happen at the party so he could show Alison that he lost his first front tooth on her birthday. Pretty special. So here it is. HB Al!!!

Yellowstone 2011

2011-07-26T18:47:00.000-06:00

We took the kids to Yellowstone earlier this month. It was so fun! The kids always have fun, but sometimes the mama doesn't enjoy it as much as I should. It's hard with a baby! But little Jake was pretty darn good and it turned out to be a really good trip. We went fishing, hiking, saw tons of animals (11 bears!), slept in the trailer, ate lots of s'mores, saw some amazing sunsets, and just basically had a really good time together. I was sad to come home! And that is saying something. This was our third trip to Yellowstone, and I definitely think there is a learning curve to enjoying this trip (for me, anyway). It takes just the right campground, and the right amount of time spent AWAY from the crowds. The eastern part of the park is so amazing, but most people just drive around the Old Faithful loop and miss the best parts. Which is good for us. If you need any advice on what to do/where to stay, etc. when you go to Yellowstone, let me know. We have learned through trial and error and I would be glad to share our tips and tricks to enjoying the park. Dallin said about 100 times, "Can we live here?" and "This was so worth the drive!" I'm not sure I'm ready to move to Yellowstone, but I am already looking forward to next year's trip.

Can't go to Yellowstone without seeing Old Faithful. Well, I could, but no one else could.

Fly fishing.

So beautiful!

Watching Old Faithful.

There were so many bears this year!

Lukie Dukie.

Jake was thrilled to get out of his car seat any chance he got.

Sunset over Yellowstone Lake.

Abby with her new pet bear, Claw. There was still a lot of snow in the higher elevations!

We went on the prettiest hike to Trout Lake. The fish were spawning and were all in a stream above the lake. The kids were trying to catch them with their hands! I don't know if I've ever seen happier kids in my life.

That is a bear to the right of Luke!!

This sunset was so incredible, it looked like fire!

Fishing in Jackson on the way home.

My cousin Kacey

2011-07-19T14:13:00.000-06:00

I received the sad news this morning that my cousin Kacey was killed in a plane crash yesterday. I am heartbroken for his sweet wife and two little boys. Kacey was my brother Ryan's age and spent a lot of time in Burley at our house during the summers. I have a lot of fun memories with him. He was always up for an adventure and had a smile on his face. He probably tested his parents' patience a tad growing up because he was so energetic, but I remember him always being really respectful to my mom and reminding Ryan and me, "Your mom is calling you! You better go see what she wants!" when we would be busy playing and choose to ignore the call to dinner or do our chores or whatever else. I hadn't seen Kacey for several years, but I had the opportunity to see him and visit with him last month at the Crane Reunion. It was good to talk to him and catch up. He was still just the same old Kacey, kind and happy. He and his wife went through the temple a few months ago and were sealed to each other and to their boys. That gives me a lot of comfort and I'm so grateful for the plan of salvation and the opportunity we all have to be with our families forever.

4th of July Festivities

2011-07-05T21:26:00.000-06:00

We had a great 4th of July! I am lucky to have a mother-in-law who always plans great parties and makes sure everyone has a wonderful time. We started with some swimming in her pool. Jason had to pretend to catch the kids with a fishing pole, which they of course loved.

Oh, he caught a Dallin!

I promise I got in the pool right after I took this picture.

Jake LOVED the water. I can't wait to start swimming lessons with him next week!

Luke showing off the red, white and blue treat table.

This picture is strictly to prove that yes, I did dress everyone in 4th of July colors. Maybe next year I will run for Mom of the Year and head to Old Navy and buy flag tees or something.

The kids decorated their bikes and had a little parade.


And of course, lots of fun fireworks in the driveway.

Crawdad Fishing at Strawberry Reservior

2011-07-04T15:03:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we decided to take the kids fishing for crawdads at Strawberry. Or crawheads, as Luke calls them, or broadheads, as Abby calls them. Jason had surprisingly never done this before, so he hopped on Google and learned how to catch crawdads with a rope and some chicken bones. I wasn't extremely on board with the whole idea at first, but it was surprisingly fun. Strawberry Reservoir is so beautiful and it was a gorgeous day. We didn't plan on staying very long, but ended up fishing until dark. The kids loved it. We even boiled up our catch and ate crawdads fresh on the shore of the lake. They were delicious, or so I was told. When I saw how many legs and feelers and pinchers the little dudes had, and then watched them be thrown live into a pot of boiling water... well, it was enough to bring out the religion in me. As luck would have it, the next day was Fast Sunday, so I decided to start my fast a little early. It's supposed to be 24 hours, right? But I'm sure I would have loved every bite!

Jake was a little trooper in the pack-n-play.

Our first fishing spot was nice, but there were too many people around. And it was hot.

Luke borrowed my sunglasses and looked fantastic.

See what I mean about the feelers and pinchers and stuff?

Jake looks happy, but he was actually pretty ticked about the heat.

Jake was thrilled, however, about having the crawdads right next to him, and promptly threw his bottle into the bucket. Call me squeamish, but that is one bottle that did not come home with us.

Yeah, I really wish we wouldn't let our children play with the food while it is still alive and pinching. And by "we" I mean Jason. Bless his heart.

Our second spot was a lot nicer. Grassy banks and shallow water. Once the evening began to cool off it was downright pleasant.

Dallin caught a cutthroat all by himself. It looks like a rainbow, but it's not. I learned all about it.

Three little buddies.

Me and my four little buddies.

The crawdad boiling operation.

They really do turn red like lobsters when you cook them. Mm-mmm!

My little fishing daughter showing off her Sponge Bob smile. She is such an easy-going kid and enjoys everything to the fullest. Oh Abby, what would I do without you?

Little Jake has had a lot of adventures in his short life. I love Luke in the background, just prancing along the shore.

Luke finally got brave enough to pick up the crawdads without getting pinched. That's more than I can say for myself.

Jason helped Luke reel in his own cutthroat.

Jason would be so mad about this picture because it doesn't display the fish properly, but I love it. Just the expression on Jake's face, and Luke's hands all splayed out and ready to grab the fish. I think it's hilarious.

This picture has a much better display factor, although ideally the fish would be held out at arm's length in front of the camera to create the illusion of enormity when compared with the tiny people behind it. The next time you see a picture of someone holding out a huge fish, don't believe it. It's just a mirage.

And... we're spent.

I'm so glad Jason has an adventurous streak and takes us on fun little trips like this. He's always up for anything and loves to explore and experience everything life has to offer. If a few crawdads die along the way, so be it. I think I have four lucky little kiddos!

Crane Reunion 2011

2011-06-27T22:03:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we took the kids to my mom's family reunion near Montpelier, Idaho. It is just north of Bear Lake and it is amazing. My uncle owns a canyon up there in the beautiful hills with a stream running through it and it is one of my favorite places on the planet. I was born in Montpelier, and then my parents moved to Burley when I was one, and I don't know if I have ever forgiven them for it. Why would you leave this place, I ask. My kids were asking the same question when it was time to go home. They could have stayed forever. It was so fun to be in the mountains and visit with relatives that I rarely get to see. I loved every minute of it. Even when Luke got a tick, which he is insanely proud of, and even when Abby threw up on me in the tent in the middle of the night. What is camping without a few of these experiences? Just throw in a few packs of wet wipes and you're good to go.

It wouldn't be a family picture if we all looked normal. Thanks, Dallin.

My brother Steven, me, my mom, and Aaron represented the Price Family. And of course my dad, who is taking the picture.

My aunt Wilma took all the great grand kids on a "horse" ride and gave them a little family history lesson . So cute!!

There were lots of games for the kiddies.

Dallin and his new friend Milton used their stick horses as swords most of the time.

Jason and Jake spent some time bonding in the air conditioned truck.

A nice little view of part of the group. My grandparents descendants currently total 271, so this is only a very small portion.

My cousin Rachel was one of my best friends growing up. We don't see each other nearly enough!!

Jason built Dallin a bow out of a stick and some string. The kids spent a lot of time prowling the hills "hunting".

Jason took the kids on a little hike and probably taught them about skinning squirrels or something useful like that. Sorry, little cousin Alex, that's how our family rolls! Hope you weren't too traumatized.

Jake was busy cutting a new tooth and drooling all over everything, bless his heart.

We left on Saturday evening, but we didn't get far when Jason and Dallin decided to try out their skills on a few poor pot guts in the field. I've learned to just keep my mouth shut.

Aw, a little father-lifting-son-over-barbed-wire-fence action. Love it. Just don't rip his pants, please. Or stab him with an arrow.

Til next year!

My little Jake ain't so little anymore!!

2011-02-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

This little blue-eyed boy is officially six months old now! Jake is such a fun, happy baby. He receives a lot of love (translation: mauling) every day. We all love this little guy so much. He rolls all over the house and loves to play with anything he can get his hands on. He loves rice cereal with pear juice and makes a huge mess when he eats. He still doesn't sleep through the night very often but he has a few times, and it was amazing. If I had to describe Jake in one word it would be "sweet". He truly brings a sweet spirit into our home. He's taking a nap right now but I think I am going to go get him up because I miss him.

Dallin's Baptism

2011-02-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well, ahem, it's been a few months since I've been on here... All I can say is, it's been a crazy six months since my little babe was born and something had to go, actually many things. Among them, blogging. Also, my computer was having issues and it's hard to type and edit pictures on a computer that doesn't work when I have four children on my lap. And with this many kids, it's hard to find time to attend Anger Management classes, so I basically just gave up on my computer. But thanks to my dear, sweet, generous, thoughtful husband and the glorious holiday on February 14, I now have a beautiful new HP TouchSmart PC. I don't even need to use a mouse! It has a touch screen! I feel like all my dreams are coming true. So back to business for me.

It's true, my little Dallin turned eight!! It was quite a surreal experience for me to watch him be baptized. It's one of those things that I always thought would never really happen, just like I still don't believe time will actually pass enough for him to enter Young Men's or go on a mission or grow up. My kids can't grow up because then I will be... old. And old basically equals lame and not fun and we can't have that. Therefore, my kids are forbidden to grow up, and they know this. Anyway, Dallin's birthday is on Groundhog Day, who by the way I HATE because he is ALWAYS WRONG, curse you Groundhog! But that's not Dallin's fault, even though he feels bad every time I look out the window and curse the groundhog. Dallin opted for the traditional hunting party thrown by Jason, which was fine by me. He had a great time with a few little buddies. His birthday was on a Wednesday, then he was baptized on Saturday. We had a lot of support from friends and family and it was a really wonderful day. Very bittersweet and poignant for his mama, but still very nice. My sweet little Dallin is such a good, talented boy and I am so proud of the person he is becoming. I hope I can be the mom he deserves. I love that kid.

And yes, Jake is enormous now. Sniff sniff.

Welcome, Baby Jake!

2010-08-15T22:27:00.000-06:00

He's finally here! Jake Jason Yates was born Friday, August 6, 2010 at 7:04 am. He was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 19 inches long. He is so sweet and little and I can't imagine our family without him.

This is on the way to the hospital. We had to be there at 5:15 am. I was so grateful that it was early so I didn't have to stress about it all morning.

Jason's little white suit didn't exactly fit, but it gave me a good laugh, which I really needed at that moment. Everything went really well with the delivery. I have to admit I was terrified to have a planned c-section. I had a c-section with Abby, but it was a last minute thing and there was so much adrenaline pumping I didn't have any time to think about what was happening. But I've had about 9 months to think about it this time, and I got a little worked up. For nothing. Everything went great. It was my first time having a spinal block instead of an epidural and I have to say, the spinal is the way to go. It's just a shot, so they don't have to leave the big old needle in your back all day. It works within minutes and wears off after only a few hours and I didn't even feel it. All that worry and terror. And I didn't even feel it. What a relief! Then everything happened so fast. It seemed like about 2 minutes until I heard the first cries. There are no words to describe how it feels to hear your baby's first cries. I've experienced it four times now, and those have been the four most incredible moments of my life. Comparable only to seeing and holding the baby for the first time.

The worst part about a c-section is that you can't hold your baby right away. Jason held him down by me for a few minutes before they took him off to the nursery, though. Have you ever had a feeling of complete and total happiness? That's what it is. Every time.

I loved having my kids and both Jason's and my parents there. My parents stayed at our house the night before and brought the kids to the hospital for us. I am so grateful for all the support and love our parents give us. My grandparents were older by the time I was born, so they weren't a part of things like this as I wish they could have been, so it means a lot to me that my kids get to know their own grandparents and get to share so many great experiences with them.

And here's the perfect little guy. He has been such a good baby so far. He eats well, he sleeps well, and the kids just LOVE him. I feel so blessed to have such a healthy, sweet baby.

Our whole little family. Jason hates this picture because he thinks he looks half asleep, but it's the best I can do. He probably was feeling a little out of it because he spent all three nights on that tiny couch while I was in the hospital. It did fold out into a "bed", but not a very big one. He was such a good sport. It was fun to spend time with just the two of us and the new baby. When will that happen again? It was like a little vacation. We had a big supply of movies to choose from and all I had to do was pick up the phone and room service would bring me/us whatever food I wanted. Jason called for breakfast one morning - "My wife would like french toast, a ham and cheese omelet, bacon, oatmeal, orange juice, milk - and what else did you want, honey? Oh yeah, and a fruit and yogurt parfait." He hung up the phone and said, "I think they might be on to me." You think? I know some people hate the hospital, but man, I love that place. Every time the nurses changed shifts I felt like I was losing my new best friend. Plus, with the pain meds they were pumping into me, I felt like I had been smoking peyote for three straight days. I don't remember a whole lot about it, but I'm sure it was great.

This is Jake with the quilt his Grandma Price made for him. She and my dad stayed with the kids while I was in the hospital and she stayed with us for the first five days we were home. It was so nice to not have to worry about all the little things, and just hold the baby and try to get back to normal. I miss her, but I must be strong. I will survive. I will.

And here is Jake with the quilt his Grandma Yates made for him. She does so much for our family. I don't know what we would do without her. Jake has two very talented grandmas who love him so much. He is a lucky boy. And we are so lucky to have him. His sweet little spirit has made such a difference in our home already. I'm so grateful for a healthy little baby and for all the love and support our family has received in the last few weeks.

The simple things

2010-07-30T11:38:00.000-06:00

I always have such good intentions to get the kids to bed early during the summer. Then evening rolls around and suddenly the kids magically start getting along and the weather is beautiful, so we head outside and stay up way too late... again. But it is worth it. We have had so many nice evenings this summer just hanging out and enjoying the beautiful weather. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. Like a bottle of bubbles from the dollar store.

Okay, so the main reason I let the kids stay up late is because lately I am just too tired to put them to bed at the end of the day. Here's to baby #4 one week from today!!!

Lance's Wedding

2010-07-30T11:21:00.000-06:00

I can always tell if it's been a good month by how many pictures I've taken that month. Most months I average around 200. My July 2010 folder has 826. Yikes. That is a good month and a lot of pictures, and a large portion of them were taken at Jason's brother's wedding a few weeks ago. It was so fun to get the kids all dressed up and to see Lance and Tess so happy.

They make a great couple.

Abby was so excited to see herself looking so bee-you-tiful!

Tess made such a beautiful bride. The little girls were in awe.

They were so cute peeking around the curtain trying to get a glimpse of her.

Dallin wasn't very impressed to get all dressed up, but I thought he looked very handsome.

This is classic Luke. Someone pointed out that he was in background of ALL the pictures the photographer was trying to take of the groups. Here she is trying to wave him away with EVERYONE staring. Awkward! I hope she can photoshop him out. Also, during the ceremony I looked around and noticed that Luke wasn't sitting by us anymore. Then I saw him running through the aisles and on the lawn chasing butterflies or something. I was tempted to run after him, but then I thought, what is more distracting, the four-year-old running around, or the pregnant lady chasing him? I just let him roam.

The whole family.

The kids loved dancing the night away.

Especially Abby.

Good luck, Lance and Tess!

Family Reunion in Burley

2010-07-12T15:52:00.000-06:00

I LOVE summer in Burley. It is the most beautiful, peaceful place on earth. Other times of the year, maybe not so much. But summer time is amazing. Plus, it's just home, and sometimes I just need to be home. So I was excited that my mom wanted to have our Price family reunion over the 4th of July weekend in Burley this year. We pulled the trailer up so the kids could have at least one more "camping" experience this year. We're hoping for a few more, but as this baby approaches I'm getting less excited about sleeping anywhere except my very own bed with my very own 40 pillows propping me up on all sides and the ceiling fan running. However, the kids... the kids. They need some memories. So I packed my bottle of Tylenol PM and away we went, and it was fabulous.

My parents' home is the perfect place for kids. There are trees and sheds and tons of grass to run around on, plus there is a huge grassy hill with a hole on one side that we fill with water in the summer... it is endless entertainment. And the sky is so big there. It really is bigger than other places. I don't know how or why, that's just how it is.

The weather was surprisingly not very warm this year, but that didn't stop the kids from soaking up the sun every chance they got. Dallin and Katelyn spent a lot of time floating around the little pond and identifying the insects that floated around beside them.

Abby wasn't quite so sure about the cold, but she still had fun.

She loved hanging out with her Uncle Aaron at the top of the hill, watching all the action.

She looked so cute wearing her matching dress with Josie and Halli to church on Sunday.

I found these two little nuts out in the beet field behind my parents' house one afternoon, just chowing on beet leaves. Apparently the little neighbor girl told them that it was cabbage and they needed to eat it. So Luke and Josie obediently went out to the field and started munching. Can you imagine the bribes I would have to give to my kids to get them to eat cabbage OR beet greens? Raw? Yet, if the local little farmer girl says it, they do it. Maybe I should hire her to spend a week with me, brainwashing my kids to eat healthy food. You can't really tell from the picture, but Luke's mouth was lined in green. Hopefully he got a good dose of Vitamin A or B or C or something, along with the pesticide/fertilizer/whatever they spray on the beets that is sure to be toxic to some degree.

We had a fun little marshmallow roast before we headed to town to watch the fireworks on the 4th.

Luke was SO excited to see his Uncle Steve who came all the way from Kansas. We just wish Kristen could have come, too!!!

*sniff sniff*

There is nothing like a Burley sunset. Or a golf cart ride with Jason. Hold on, kids!! I think he only lost a few kids... a few times...

On Monday we all headed out to Steadman's in Raft River. They have some giant waterslides, a zip line, BBQ areas, and tons of room for the kids to run around. It was a huge hit with the little kids and the big kids. We are planning to make it a tradition!

The little kids were soooo impressed with the big kids on the zip line. I can't wait to try it next year!

I think the record was 14 people on one tube going down the water slide. Jason and Dallin are in there somewhere. They might have been a little bit squished.

I thought all the little kids were so cute running around in their white reunion shirts. The shirts weren't so white by the end of the day, but that's just proof of a good time, right?

And then of course the whole group. It was such a fun weekend. It will be a while until we are all together again, so times like this mean so much. Totally worth the Tylenol PM involved. I love my family!

Summa Time

2010-07-09T16:44:00.000-06:00

In some ways I secretly dread the coming of summer, thinking it will so hard to be out of our routines and wonder how am I going to keep the kids entertained when school ends, and all that. But then summer gets here and it is so nice and pleasant to have warm weather and have time to just have fun. We've had a great summer so far. Let's just say I have spent a lot of time sitting on the deck eating popsicles with the kids. In other news, this summer both boys are playing baseball.

Dallin is doing coach pitch. He loves it.

Luke is doing tee ball. He hates it.

Lehi Roundup days were great, as usual. The kids love the parade and rodeo.

Abby got all dressed up for the rodeo, but then I send her with my in-laws after the parade so we could enjoy the night. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed hanging out with her grandma and grandpa more than she would have liked the rodeo.

The boys LOVED the rodeo, of course. You can see from my expanding belly that my due date is approaching. I am scheduled to have this little guy on Friday, August 6. Holy cow, that is four weeks from today. Yikes! What am I going to do with four kids? I'll think about it tomorrow.

We've had one round of swimming lessons at the American Fork pool and are scheduled to begin another one the last two weeks of July. We have been doing evening lessons and they are great. No sunscreen required! Why do I hate putting sunscreen on my kids so much? I swear, I would rather do yard work.

Dallin's big accomplishment of the summer has been learning to ride a bike. Yeah, he's a little old. But he has always refused to try without training wheels and this summer I haven't really felt like huffing down the street with him in the hot sun, so he has stayed on a four-year-old biking level for about seven years now. Then one night my sisters Teresa and Shayna were here and I asked them to help him learn. About 10 minutes later he was riding all over the neighborhood by himself. Thanks, girlies. I owe you one.

We had a fun little fishing trip up to Clear Lake where the boys caught 12 fish. Jason even helped Abby catch her first fish ever. She was thrilled.

And then there's this strange creature. Abby has officially adopted the fake owl from our yard as her new best friend. One day she came running into the house with a huge smile on her face, lugging the giant bird, saying, "She's name Who-Who! She's name Who-Who!!" So Who-Who is now the latest member of our family and sleeps beside Abby in her crib, and usually next to her in the car. Whatever floats your boat, my child. Just take a little nap. I need to go put my feet up for a while...

Timp Archery Range

2010-06-09T11:48:00.001-06:00

On Monday night we had a fun little adventure up to the Timp Archery Range in Provo Canyon. We cooked hot dogs and shot bows and enjoyed the beautiful night. It was funny because the wind was so strong down in the valley, and there were thunderclouds rolling in. I thought we were crazy for even attempting to go up there. But once we were there, the storms all headed east and there was no wind. It was calm and perfect and we had so much fun.

Dallin is a little pro. He puts us all to shame.

Abby found a little pair of butterfly wings at the picnic area and wore them upside down most of the night. She and her little cousin Taylor had fun running around and keeping their moms busy chasing them.

My beautiful sisters, Shayna and Teresa, with Taylor. They were both expert shooters with my bow. They will be moving in with me for a few weeks between semesters and I can't wait!!

Even Abby had to shoot a few times. Jason got so excited about her shooting that he went home and ordered a tiny bow just for her. Oh dear. It begins.

Dallin, my brother Ryan's little Katelyn, and Luke. Katelyn loves shooting and running around with the boys. She is so fun to have around.

My brother Ryan and cute little Taylor. I didn't get any pictures of his wife, Christa. She was listening for their little one-month-old baby Andrew most of the time so she didn't get to go traipsing around in the woods. She's a good sport.

Me with my sweet little Abby. I only shot once that night and the string hit my left elbow and I swore I would never shoot again. But I've said that before. I'm still waiting for an impressive bruise to develop.

And there's Luke, with the storm in the background. The rain started as we drove down the hill after 9 pm. Such luck!

Camping at Lagoon

2010-06-01T09:41:00.006-06:00

Every year Jason's work has "Lagoon Day" on Memorial Day. This year we decided to pull the trailer up and spend the night at the Lagoon Campground so we would be ready to hit the park bright and early. It was such a good time! The kids were in heaven.

When Abby is really happy, she hops instead of walks. You can tell in this picture that she is just thrilled.

What a nut.

The campground is right outside the little "zoo" area, and the kids loved going out and looking at the animals. Plus, it was nice that we weren't quite close enough for the llamas to spit on Dallin, which has happened in years past. Not joking. What kind of a llama spits on a two-year-old? I mean really, Lagoon. We should have pressed charges. We could OWN Lagoon right now. I know the first change I would make. It would involve background checks at the campground.

There is some kind of rule in my family that at least one person has to be making a weird face in every single picture. I've given up on trying to get everyone to look normal. Sorry. Dallin must be having a flashback of the llama spit in this picture because he looks slightly out of it.

Jason and the kids had a rocking game of How to Train Your Dragon while I read my book. What could be more perfect?

The weather at the park on Monday was so nice. Warm, but just overcast enough that we didn't need sunscreen. I know, I know, you can still get burned though the clouds, blah blah blah. Whatever. No you can't. Or else I would be laying out in my yard right now.

Luke's version of a "smile".

I can't believe these little boats haven't sunk in the 30+ years they have been floating around this ride. I remember riding in them when I was this age.

See what I mean about weird faces? Both of them. Seriously.

I'll be honest. I normally hate Lagoon, and all theme parks for that matter. The lines, the crowds, the whiny kids, the abusive animals... But this day was different. It was actually and truly a good time. I love days like that!

Dallin's Last Day of First Grade

2010-06-01T09:29:00.003-06:00

My little Dallin finished the first grade last week! I need therapy to get my through my kids growing up. I can't deal with it. I know it's a good thing, but I'm so sad. He can't be done with the first grade, because then he'll go on to the second grade, and that is practically adulthood. Once you learn your times tables, you may as well just move out of the house because you are no longer a child. I am so proud of him, though. He loved this school year, and he had a great teacher, Miss Oliekan. She was so kind to him, and was a good sport when every journal entry and every art assignment was somehow related to hunting. She told me she learned a lot this year!

He looks so serious. But, he's not a serious child. He is a serious goof. Love this boy!!!

Here's to summer and to all the fun changes it will bring...

Luke's Preschool Graduation

2010-05-27T14:24:00.003-06:00

I don't know why preschool graduation always makes me so emotional. It's not like it's a college graduation, or like I'm never going to see this child again. It's just that, well, I'll never see this child graduate from preschool again. Until next year. And by then, things will be totally different. Luke had a great year at Little Learner's Preschool and I will miss picking him up at Mrs. Jensen's house and hearing about all his adventures. He did a great job remembering his lines for the big graduation program and had a shy little smile through the whole ceremony.
On the way to graduation, Luke said, "Mom, we have to sing a song that has a naughty word in it and I don't want to say it." I asked him what the word was. He whispered, "Bottom. We have to say 'Bottoms up'. And I don't want to say it." I told him that he could do the rest of the song, but just not say that part. Well, when it got to that part of the "Tooty-ta", he completely shut down.
The rest of the song was fine, but after that part he just stood there and looked embarrassed. He later told me that he likes to shake his bum, but not put it up in the air. Which is just fine, I told him.

Luke LOVED being in the same class with his cousin Halli. He is going to miss her next year when she goes to kindergarten. He still doesn't understand why it isn't okay to marry cousins. I guess I'll save that discussion for a later date because it always ends in tears at this point.

Jason's mom came to help celebrate the big day. Dallin was at school, so he had to miss out.

Luke and his teacher, Mrs. Jensen.

Oh, my little Luke, don't grow up so fast!!!

HB to me!

2010-03-28T15:29:00.004-06:00

So last Friday, March 26, was my birthday! It was the best birthday ever. I had my 20 week ultrasound and everything looks great. And.... it's a BOY! A girl would have been great, too, but we like boys a lot around here. One more little hunter for Jason to train. I always love seeing the baby in the ultrasound and realizing that yes, there is a little creature in there, just waiting to make his appearance in the world! It's so hard to imagine what life will be like with one more child, but I couldn't imagine what life would be like with the other three, either, and now I can't imagine life without them.
I had a hard time getting decent pictures this year, as you will notice, but here I am with the three kiddos right before I opened my presents. Abby is blocking the beautiful flowers that my parents sent me. I love them. They are so gorgeous. Thanks, Mom and Dad!Jason spoiled me this year, like always. I got a new printer, a steam cleaner, some clothes from my favorite store, and a little getaway. I actually wanted all of us to go somewhere and have a fun time, but I didn't feel like going very far, so we went to the lovely Motel 6 in Lehi and spent the night. With the kids. It was so fun. We swam and got Chinese takeout and jumped on the beds... what could be better?
At about 9 pm Jason took the boys to get some treats and they came back with an ice cream cake, candles and a lighter, so we had a little makeshift birthday party for me.We had a great time and the kids were so excited to be at a motel. Hopefully they will always be this easy to please! We woke up in the morning and went swimming again, and then we went to the movie How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. We all loved the movie (really!). Then it was home for a small nap before heading down to my brother Ryan's house for HIS birthday party, since I was born the day before his first birthday. We are the same age for one day, so here we are, holding our signs like our parents have had us do since we were tiny little chilluns. Now we have a small batch of chilluns of our own! These are a few of them, and one extra. Thank you, Teresa for decorating our signs for us. The 3s are snakes, if you can't tell.
It was such a good birthday, and I appreciated all the calls and messages and treats. I feel so incredibly blessed and overwhelmed with how wonderful my life is. It is not perfect, but it is so good and I have so many great friends and a family that loves and supports me. What more could a girl ask for?

Dallin's Seventh Birthday

2010-02-07T12:39:00.005-07:00

Well, it's official. Dallin is seven years old. His birthday was on Tuesday, February 2. Groundhog Day. My little baby groundhog. Of course he wanted a hunting birthday again. I am still amazed by how much he loves hunting. You know your kid is well on his way to being a redneck when you search at Toys-R-Us for an hour and can't find ANYTHING for him, then stop at Cal Ranch on the way home and have trouble stuffing it all in the cart. And he was thrilled with every last target and arrow and piece of camo... weird. But whatever makes him happy. Especially when it makes his Dad VERY happy to have a little clone. The best thing about Dallin loving hunting so much is that Jason will do the whole birthday party. All I have to do is make the cupcakes and buy the cake. He decorates them, plans the games, takes the afternoon off work to manage 12 over-sugared six and seven-year-olds... it's great. Dallin's birthday this year started on Sunday with a party at his Grandma and Grandpa Yates' house. Here he is blowing out the candle on the camo cupcakes that Jason decorated:

A close-up of the cupcakes:
It's good that he's turning seven because he only has about seven teeth in his mouth these days.

Seven! Don't mind the Tang mustache. Showing off all his loot with Abby.
Then it was on to his friend party on his birthday. Here he is blowing out the candles on the hunting cake Jason decorated. The theme he chose this year was turkey hunting, so there is Hunter Dan, shooting at a turkey through some trees, a few decoys and of course, the candles. I don't think the turkey stood a chance.

Dallin's little friend Issac, in the bottom right corner, told us he was also turning seven that day. I really didn't believe him, so I asked his mom when she came to pick him up and she said yes, he really was! They were born on the same day. He is our neighbor on one side, and our neighbor across the street, Hank, turned 5 that same day! When my sisters came over later, they said they didn't know which party to attend because there were so many cars parked in the street.Dallin wanted to teach his friends the finer points of shed horn hunting, so he had Jason give them a little lesson on finding sheds and then they went down to the basement to search. Dallin takes it very seriously.Yay, they all found some!Then there was a shooting competition.

Then they played Pin the Beard on the Turkey. Yeah, I didn't know turkeys had beards either. Until one day I found a disgusting, suspicious-looking tuft of black hair in my kitchen, and Jason, upon investigating my screams, told me it was a turkey beard. Lovely. Thanks for bringing it home to share, honey.

And here we are, the whole family on his birthday. Including the new life-size deer target. I'm not sure if he has a name yet. I'll keep you posted. It is unbelievable to me that I really have a seven year old. Dallin is such a good, sweet kid and I'm so proud of the person he is growing into. He is soooooo funny. His first grade class wrote him happy birthday letters and his teacher made them into a book. It was so much fun to read what the kids wrote. Dallin obviously has a lot of friends and is definitely the class clown. Almost every single kid told him they like him because he is funny. A few of the girls said cute things like, "I like your freckles." "I like your hair." "I like your shirt everyday." "Hi, my name is Audrey but I don't think you know what I am talking about." Ha ha. One boy said, "Dallin, will you please be my friend? Please! Please! Please! Please!" What? I never had kids begging to be my friend when I was in first grade! Dallin is also very bright and loves to read and learn. I can't believe how much he has grown and changed in the last year. I wish I could just freeze time. He is at such a perfect age. Old enough to be such an individual but still young enough to need his mama. The house just isn't the same all day while he is at school. I really miss him while he is gone and can't wait to hear him come in the door and tell me all about his day. He loves recess, P.E., computers, basketball, Hershey's chocoate bars, and falling asleep with his ten stuffed animals from Cabela's in his arms every night. Dallin, I love you so much!! I'm so proud to be a part of your life. Thanks for letting me be your mom and learn from you everyday.

The end of an era

2010-01-18T12:05:00.005-07:00

It is so crazy to think that it has been two and a half years since I wrote this! Two and a half years changes a lot of things, but I never thought my time as Young Women's president would actually be over. We were released a week ago and I have to say, it has been a sad week. This calling was a huge challenge for me, but I really loved it and I love all the girls and leaders soooo much. I am going to miss the time I got to spend with them, which was usually at least twice a week. Sometimes more, if I was lucky. The good news is, I now have 25 babysitters at my fingertips. They are all such good girls. I can't even look at that picture without feeling a huge pang in my heart. Is pang a word? It just fits somehow. Anyway, I don't know why I'm so sad. It's not like I'm moving or dying or something and I'll never see these people again! Most of them live in my neighborhood. I'll still see them every week at church and whenever I decide to venture out of my cave during the week. But it's just that sometimes, change = bad. Sad. Mad. Well, not mad or bad but sad. Okay, I'll be honest, I've been sitting here for like an hour trying to upload some pictures of my time in young women's, highlights if you will, but blogger is not cooperating and I'm going a bit crazy. That is why I'm making no sense. So I'll just tell you a few of the highlights, and perhaps I will upload photos later. Yeah right, have you seen my blog lately? How many posts have I even done in the last year? Good luck getting any pictures from me. Moving on! Highlights: the funny thing is, the biggest highlights were the things I dreaded the most. Like, camp. Youth conference. Our Valentine's dinner dance. The big combined activities that I was in charge of, like the giant slip and slide, and feeding the homeless, and boating at Utah Lake. Oh man, those were some good times! I will miss attempting to play the piano for opening exercises on Sundays and listening to Alicia's outstanding lessons and eating the treats she was so famous for... I will miss hearing the girls talk about everything going on in their lives and all the things their parents would probably die if they knew they were telling everyone. Now Jason has been put in as first counselor in the Young Men's so I won't feel totally out of the loop. We just get to switch who leaves every Wednesday night at 7. Young women, I will miss you! Okay, now it's time for some closure, in the form of rolo cookies.

Denver Girls' Weekend

2009-10-27T12:47:00.005-06:00

This past weekend I had the very rare and wonderful opportunity to take a girls' road trip with my mom and sisters (one of which is a sister-in-law, but really a sister, right Christa?). Two of my sisters were running a 10K in Denver, so the rest of us decided the best thing to do would be to drive out and support them, and we were right. Teresa flew from SL, and Kristen drove out from Wichy. (They did awesome in their race, by the way. I want to be them when I grow up.)We had SO MUCH FUN. No kids, no husbands, just US. We did everything we've always dreamed of, like going out to eat, and shopping. We're really not that hard to please. Just give us a little cash, a few days to blow it in, and we're happy.

The beautiful city of Denver.

In case you're wondering, yes, we are used to posing for a living. Have you met our dad and his camera? We figured out a long time ago the best thing to do when the camera is around is just smile and get it over with. Now we are grateful to our dad for all the pictures through the years, and of course all the training.

This is l-r: Teresa (daughter #4), Shayna (#5), Alison (#2), Me (#1), Kristen (#3), our lovely mamacita, and Christa (married to son #1).

Love you guys!!! Till next year....

Bear Lake '09

2009-08-11T15:32:00.008-06:00

This past weekend we attended the Price Family Reunion at Bear Lake. It was so fun! I'm depressed that it's over. The entire Dan and Norene Price Family was there! Kristen and Steve came from Kansas, and everyone else was able to be there, too. It was so fun to have my parents, all eight siblings, five spouses and eight grand kids there. We rented a condo and spent Friday at the lake while the weather cooperated. It was supposed to rain all day, but the clouds just kept going around us, so we were able to play on the beach all afternoon. The kids LOVED it! Luke has been begging to go to the beach (or the "be-otch", as my sister Teresa has officially named it. and my dad laughed. what is this world coming to?) and the kids were so thrilled to play in the sand and waves. Bear Lake is truly one of my favorite places in the world. Probably because I was born there, in the beautiful town of Montpelier. I still love it. I'm still a little mad at my parents for moving when I was one.

The guys played a vicious game of Ultimate Frisbee, which Jason is still paying for.

Unfortunately, we weren't the coolest ones at the beach. Close, but not quite. I considered running after these people and joining them, but I didn't bring any twine to tie my stuff to the back. I do have some horns I could donate to them, though.

Saturday was cold, but Jason wanted to take the kids to the beach anyway. It was way too cold to get in the water, so Luke entertained himself by throwing goldfish crackers to the sea gulls and then trying to kill them with a shovel. I don't know where he gets it. Good thing his shovel was made of plastic and the birds were faster than he was. I do not want a stuffed sea gull on my wall.

Jason made a sandcastle in the form of a trout. He is quite the artist.

Abby was a good little girl the whole time, as usual. Our room in the condo had a closet big enough for her pack-n-play crib, so she slept in there just as well as she would at home. Every morning someone would ask if she had come out of the closet yet. Oh, my family.

On Sunday we went to Minnetonka Cave. It was my first time going there and it was amazing! I thought it would be a single cave room you walk into, look around, and then leave. Not quite! There is a sign outside the cave that says, "Warning! Can you handle 72 steep stairs?" More like 72 flights of 72 stairs each. It was quite the journey, especially carrying Abby the whole way! But it was fun. I love caves. My only regret is that we didn't see any bats. Next time, my furry little friends!

I am wearing Jason's shoes in this picture because all I brought were flip flops, in case you are wondering about my freakishly large feet. My feet are freakishly large, just not THAT freakishly large.

And here we are, every one of us! I love my family. Thanks for the fun weekend, Mom and Dad!

I can see clearly now!

2009-07-29T17:47:00.002-06:00

So I had Lasik eye surgery in March, as a result of killing a deer in October (thanks, Jason!). I was blind as a bat, so it was a huge improvement, but my vision still never got really CLEAR. It was always just a rat hair foggy, and I couldn't see far away very well. I kept waiting and waiting for it to improve, but finally last Monday I had a follow-up appointment and the doctor suggested that I have a "touch-up". Well, I wasn't sure what I thought about that because honestly, the surgery is just a little bit freaky and I didn't really want go through it again. I was nervous because I thought, if they couldn't get it right the first time, would they really be able to get it right the second time? I mean, there are only so many times they can chop into your eye. But I figured, what the heck, it's just my eyesight. What have I got to lose? ahem. But, I decided on the spur of the moment to just go ahead and do it. I was nervous all week, and finally last Saturday I did it! And I am SO happy to report that I can see! I can see! It worked amazingly. I am so happy and thrilled that I just had to share. If I've been ignoring you in the halls at church, or at Wal Mart, it's just because I couldn't see faces very well, so I've been avoiding looking at people because I'm pretty sure they think I'm looking at them strangly when I give them a weird squint and then look away. Really, it's just because I couldn't be sure who I was staring at until I got up close. But now I have no excuse! If I ignore you, it's because I mean to. And I'm sorry about that.

Belated Yellowstone Post

2009-07-17T12:31:00.012-06:00

Well, something about summer makes me a lazy blogger. Probably because there are other things I would rather be doing than sitting at the computer! But I do miss it a little bit, so here is an update on our fun and crazy summer that is winding to a close all too rapidly!

The first big event of summer was Girls Camp. I didn't really get any good pictures from that, but it was really fun. It rained almost the whole time, but the girls were such good sports, and we had a gigantic car port tent thing that we could all huddle under and eat treats together. What more could you want? It was so fun! I love my ward. We have such a good group.

The week after Girls Camp our family took a trip to Yellowstone in our new trailer. It was a great trip and so much fun to be together and carry our house on our back like a pack of turtles. Who all share the same shell. At least that's what it felt like. There's nothing like being able to pull off to the side of the road and "camp" by a city park and use their amenities so you don't have to stink up your own bathroom. Ha ha. We actually only did that once, in Jackson, WY. They have very nice facilities near the baseball park, if you want to make a note to yourself.

Abby did so well on the trip. I knew the boys would be fine, but a toddler who has just learned to walk is always a bit of a... challenge, especially on long road trips. She loved the trailer and settled right down every night in her pack-n-play and slept till morning. Whew!

The big antler arches are always a fun stop in Jackson.

But the boys spent the whole time chasing small rodents and feeding them bananas. This little guy probably had the worst tummy ache later. He ate several.

Jackson has a great visitor center, where Dallin started his souvenir collection, courtesy of Jason. He's a nice parent. I, on the other hand, am not.

Abby loved running around everywhere we went. She is such a funny little drunken sailor!

She still loves her daddy!

What is a trip with Jason without a few little fishing stops along the way? Jason, Dallin and Luke had so much fun, and Abby and I had a great nap in the trailer. Fish away, boys! Take your time.

Once in Yellowstone, we saw tons of animals (I'll spare you the pics). The most fun was all the grizzly bears. We saw five! I don't know what the boys are looking for in this picture. They probably don't, either.

The first buffalo you see in Yellowstone is exciting. The 400,000th buffalo... not so much. Luke still wanted to pet him, though.

Jason prides himself on spotting animals and being the first one to start a "commotion" (when about 75 cars pull off to the side of the road to see what everyone is looking at). I have to hand it to him, he is really good at it, and as a result the Yates family spends a lot of time doing exactly what you see in the picture below. Watching Daddy look through his spotting scope. I get a lot of reading done this way.

Fishing Bridge is always a good time. We camped for two nights at the RV park nearby. We also saw a grizzly bear roaming around right by the bridge one evening! Good thing we were on our way out.

Lukie picks flowers for me wherever we go.

Yeah, cheesy, whatever.

Dallin learned to skip rocks on this trip, which made for some fun little rest stops.

The boys in the woods.We also went to the Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, and Bear World in Rexburg. It was a fun way to start the summer! And if I try to include any more of the summer's activities in one post, it is going to get really long, so TTYL, or whatever kids say these days.

A little shout out to the Community Food Co-Op of Utah

2009-04-26T20:56:00.003-06:00

I am so excited about my new food co-op that I just have to share! I first heard about the Community Food Co-Op of Utah on a frugal living blog a few months ago and I thought it sounded like a great idea. You join the co-op, paying a small donation ($5) and then you can order fresh produce and meat at a huge savings. There are different packages that you can order and then once a month, you pick it up at the nearest location. I was a little nervous doing my first order because I wasn't sure how high quality it would actually be, so I ordered the Half Share. I got everything in the picture for $14, plus $5 for the tamales, and the quality is EXCELLENT! The boys and I ate three of the four oranges in one sitting yesterday because they were sooooo good. Today I made a salad with the lettuce and strawberries (yummy!), and I have big plans for my meals this week. This is what the Half Share included in April (it varies slightly from month to month):

Half Share $14 ($21-$27 retail value)
1 Pckg. Lean Salisbury Steaks
1 Pckg. Lean Pork Cubes
1 5-lb. Bag Red Tomatoes
4 Oranges
1 Head of Broccoli
1 Head Red Leaf Lettuce
6 Bananas
4 Tomatoes
1 lb. Strawberries
Stone Ground's Artisan Wheat Loaf
16 oz. Rice

I'm so impressed! My only regret is that I didn't order the Harvest Share ($23), and get even more yummy stuff. If you are interested, the next order date is Friday, May 15, with a pick-up date of Saturday, May 30. The nice part about joining is that you don't have to order if you don't want to or if one month doesn't work out for you. You're not tied down to anything. There are "teams" from Ogden down to Nephi. Just check out their web site (it doesn't look like the May order form is up yet, but keep checking).

It's finally here!

2009-04-21T16:36:00.002-06:00

Today the new No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novel was released, and I got it!!! I am so happy. I've had this date marked on my calendar forever, but I'm too cheap to pay shipping and pre-order from anywhere, so I just pressed my luck and went to Costco this morning and... they had it! It wasn't out on the table, so I asked the little book-stocker guy if he knew anything about it and he said, "Oh, yes, it's right here, waiting to be unpacked!" Then he opened a box, and gave me the first copy! I got hooked on this series four years ago when I was expecting Luke and all I wanted to do was curl up in a corner and read. Lucky for me, I only had one child at the time, and he still took naps, so that was possible. I think there were six books in the series then, and there has been a new one every April since. This is book #10, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, and I am so excited to read it. I love this series. It's such a fun, easy read. If anyone ever wants to borrow any of these books from me, just let me know. I have all ten!

She's on the charts!!!

2009-04-08T08:44:00.007-06:00

As you may know, my Abby is one tiny little Babby. We do not know how this happened, since neither of her parents are tiny people. I have a gnawing fear that one of these days, some tiny little lady will show up on my doorstep holding a big huge girl with a gigantic fluffy head of hair like Luke's and say, "This is your baby. You got mine in the hospital. Now let me have her back!" And I really don't know what I will do! I love Abby more than anything! I couldn't give her away, even if she wasn't my real child.... But anyway, she's probably mine, and I'm just not going to think about it anymore. So the good news is, she is doing awesome. She has always been in the 0.0 percentile for her age, which means that out of 100 kids the same age, she is bigger than 0.0 of them. Sometimes 0.04 or something like that. At her 12 month check up, the doctor was concerned because she was only 14 lbs. 8 oz. and had only gained 2 ounces in three months, so he wanted her to come back for a 15 month appointment even though usually kids don't come back until 18 months. So in January, at 15 months, she was up to 17 lbs, which was great. But she was still tiny! Yesterday, however, I took her in for her 18 month appointment, and she has tanked up!! Not only has she gained THREE pounds, she has grown two and a half inches!! She is now officially 20 pounds (and 4 ounces!!) and 29 1/2 inches long, which means she can graduate from her carrier car seat. And, (drum roll, please) she's now on the charts! Her height is in the 4.89 percentile and her weight is in the 3.8 percentile. I know, it's a silly thing to be proud of, but I am just so happy... I'm bustin', Jerry, I'm bustin'!!!

She is all over the place and into everything. She is so close to walking, and I know one of these days I'll look up and she'll be running across the room!

She flies up the stairs but hasn't quite figured out how to get back down, which is VERY convenient, let me tell you.

She loves to push her little stroller around, until she hits a wall and needs me to turn it around for her. Also very convenient.

She kind of reminds me of Little Critter. In the hair department, anyway. Good thing she's cute!

One of the cutest things about her is how much she loves her daddy. She says some version of the word "Daddy" all day long. Da-da, dad, daddy, da-doh, you name it. She is always thinking about him and looking for him. There he is!

Dad! Da-da! Da-doh!

Come here!

She loves kisses.

How's my girl?I love how content she looks in this picture.

Ahhh... but the best part is:

She loves her mommy, too!

Mexico 2009

2009-04-04T22:19:00.008-06:00

Well, we had a fantastic trip to Mexico!! We left on my birthday, which was so fun. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I kept telling myself "Happy birthday, you're going to Mexico!" We left the kids with Jason's parents and it was so nice to not have to worry about them at all while we were gone. Jason insisted on calling them every single day (or arranging for them to call us), and it was fun to hear how much fun they were having without us. Let me tell you right now, traveling without kids is a BREEZE. I kept feeling like I was forgetting something or I should be doing something, and then I'd think, "Oh yeah, no kids! I can just sit here and read!!" It was awesome. We made it to the airport on time despite the several inches of SNOW we woke up to, and just marched right in to the airport. We had a birthday lunch at TGIFriday's in the Dallas airport, and for some reason it was soooo good. Then it was off to Cancun! Once we stepped outside, a lady holding a "Mr. Yates" sign ushered us to a Suburban and we headed down to our resort. It was gorgeous!!

It was about an hour south of Cancun on the Mayan Riviera near a town called Playa Del Carmen.

There were big freaky lizards all over the place.

Crazy tropical birds...

And these little guys. This is a coati (pronounced "ka-WAT-ee"). They were zooming around the hotel grounds in the late evenings and no one knew what they were. They seemed vaguely familiar to me from listening to episodes of Diego in the background of my life, so we called Dallin and described them to him. Of course, he immediately said, "That's a coati!" and told us all about them. Then we were able to pretend we were intelligent when one zipped across our path and other people shrieked, "What the h--- was that?!!!" "Well, it's actually a cousin of the racoon, the coati. They are native to this part of Mexico..."

Yes, my favorite part of the trip was probably the food. I could live on french fries with guacamole. I don't think a better food combination exists!! And there is nothing like guacamole in Mexico. I did not hold back while we were there.

Jason likes to show off his calves when he senses that I am taking pictures of him from behind.

We climbed to the top of this huge Mayan temple. We took a day trip where we went to several different Mayan ruins, went zip lining across a lake, rappelling into a "cenote", which is an underground cave with water in it, and to a remote Mayan village and ate authentic Mayan food. I was holding my breath, just waiting to get sick, but neither one of us got sick the whole time we were there. Yay!

This is inside the temple at the top.

At the top of the temple from the outside.

And then, of course, the beaches.

Here we are being fugitives late one night at a neighboring resort's beach, which was just a short walk down the beach from our resort. For some reason, it was so fun to hang out at the other resorts and explore all their amenities. We almost tried out their food, but decided we better keep it legal, so we settled for watching their entertainment and relaxing on their cots.

And here we are in 30 years on my 62nd birthday. We are totally going to let it all hang out (Jason especially). I can't wait!

Dallin's Lost Tooth!

2009-02-26T14:57:00.005-07:00

I'm calling this post "Dallin's Lost Tooth" because #1 - Dallin lost his first tooth, and #2 - we lost the tooth. Seriously, it has disappeared. We have searched high and low, and it is weird because I know it was sitting on the counter in a little bag when we left for church. I suspect foul play because I asked Luke about it several times and after saying no, he didn't know what happened to the tooth, he finally said, "Well, you shouldn't have put it in a baggie and left it right over there." Hmmm. I would not be surprised if it turned up in a very odd place. But anyway, I can't believe Dallin is old enough to loose a tooth! Somehow, the tooth fairy knew that he lost it and delivered his ONE dollar (setting the standard low here, people) that very night. I was sad when I realized that the first tooth he lost was actually his very first tooth (one of them - he got his first two teeth on the same day when he was eight months old). I remember how excited I was when he got his first teeth and how I felt like my little baby was so grown up. Now they are falling out. Makes me a little sad!

The loose tooth.

It finally came out!

"Mom, look at my teeth, too!"
I suspect someone was a little jealous
by all the attention Dallin got....

V Day

2009-02-18T09:49:00.006-07:00

This year I didn't have much planned for Valentine's Day because the day before was our big Young Men/Young Women fundraiser, which was a Valentine's Dinner/Dance and was quite a large production. I wasn't planning on anything for Valentine's Day besides just getting that big event out of the way, so you can imagine how surprised I was when I walked into the kitchen on Friday morning and found this:

Oh, how sweet! Roses, a bottle of Martinelli's, a bag of chocolate-covered ju-ju hearts, a gift certificate to go tanning... I thought, "Why in the world would I need to go tanning, besides the fact that I am extremely white? It's February - who cares?" Then I opened up the card, and it all made sense - a trip to Mexico! These are pictures of the resort we stayed at in Peurto Vallarta on our honeymoon. I think we're going to try for Cancun this time. Anyone have any suggestions for places to stay/things to do there? I'm so excited!! This has been the longest, coldest winter I've ever had and I have been craving sunshine and beaches and warmth. I'm so tired of being cold! Now I have something to look forward to. Jason's plan is to go sometime next month, so I can't wait to get it booked and official!! Jason is just too good to me.

So after that fun surprise, I had renewed courage to face the night ahead. Our fundraiser turned out really well, with only a few minor snags. The food was amazing, we had a great turnout, and it seemed like everyone had a really great time. Several people suggested that we make this an annual event, but I can't even think about that right now. That's like asking someone who is in the hospital after just giving birth if they are ready for another baby.(I hesitate to post pictures of people in the ward without their knowledge, but I'm pretty sure Brother Field won't mind! This is why I love my ward.)

Happy Birthday to my sweet six year old Dallin!

2009-02-02T22:22:00.006-07:00

Six years ago tonight I was in the hospital with a brand new baby boy, wondering how I had ever lived a day without him. I can't believe that helpless little baby is now a big, responsible six year old! I remember being six. I remember my sixth birthday party. I remember what it felt like, and now my very own child is that age! It freaks me out a little bit. But today I tried not to think too hard about it, and we had a great day. Dallin wanted a "hunting birthday" and that is what he got. The festivities started last night with a birthday party at Jason's parents' house. Dallin got lots of fun presents, including a "hunting" quilt that he LOVES made by his Grandma Rita. I made camo cupcakes, which was fun, and I was quite proud of them. Dallin woke up today so excited for his special day, but he didn't want anything different than he usually does. Cinnamon toasters for breakfast, ramen noodles for lunch, nothing out of the ordinary. He had his (our) first friend party ever and it went really well. I was nervous but I didn't have to stress too much because Jason took the afternoon off work and took care of most of it. He bought Dallin's presents, decorated the cake, planned the games, and managed the party. Lucky me! I just got to enjoy it. It pays to have a husband who is trying (successfully) to pass his obsessions on to his children, at least on birthdays.

The camo cupcakes.

The cake that Jason built. Yes, there is a guy in a tree stand (hooked to the trunk of the dead apple tree that used to stand in our yard) getting ready to shoot his choice of a javelina, a deer walking down a mountain trail, a moose wading in a lake, or a bear wandering through the woods. I baked the cake and made the frosting, Jason did the rest.

The party started with a little shooting competition. The little herd of animals on the floor were the victims.

Pin the horns on the deer. Jason drew the deer, of course.

Dallin was quite proud that he got so close. The only problem was that the horns were upside down. Oh well, good job anyway.

Dallin got (another!) new bow from his daddy.

The kids got to try shooting at a target in the basement. They were a fun group!

I love this age.

Notice how I paved the mountain path with the candles, like at a reception or something? See, I can be creative, too!

We finished the day with a little family trip to Chuck-e-Cheese's. Dallin and Luke had a great time, and we all put on lots of hand sanitizer afterward.

My three hunting fools.
(Yes, guy at the soda fountain with the saggy bum, I am taking a picture and you are in it. What's your point?)

It really was a great day, and I can't believe I am now the mother of a six year old! I just love that little boy. Congratulations to me!

What is UP with the cost of energy these days?

2009-01-29T08:53:00.002-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful that the price of gasoline is down. It now only costs about $20 to fill my tank, and it is great. BUT, I feel like I am paying more than enough in other energy sources to make up for it. I opened my Questar Gas bill yesterday and I swear my heart stopped beating for at least 15 seconds. $277 to heat my house from Dec 17 - Jan 18!!!! Are you kidding me? That is up over $130 from the month before. Plus, we were gone for almost a whole week during that time and the heat was turned down to 50 degrees. And it still cost that much? Plus, the Lehi City bill is back up! It should be going way down right now, but nope, it was pushing $200 for stupid electricity this month. I could be driving a hot car and living it up, but instead I'm paying it all to heat my gay house. After I opened the bill and hyperventilated for a few minutes, I went straight to the thermostat and turned it down. Yes, I admit, it's usually set to 72 degrees. I always consider turning it down for a portion of the day, but then I think, well, I don't want to be cold in the morning. And I don't want to be cold during the day, or in the evening, and especially not at night, so that doesn't really leave a lot of options. So it stays at 72, and I still don't feel warm! I prefer to bask at about 77, but I try to be frugal. But anyway, all that went out the window and I set all 4 cycles to 69 degrees and told myself that we can all wear sweaters and coats if we need to, but we are not paying $277 again! Then last night I got home from Young Women's and found my big tough husband curled up in a blanket on the couch. "Why in the world is it so cold in here?!!!" ("It's frickin freezing in here, Mr. Bigglesworth!") I tried to explain it and he told me that I was being ridiculous and we couldn't live like this. I thought about telling him how I had just finished reading Little House on the Prairie with Dallin and how Ma and Pa would totally have just endured this and said "All's well that ends well" (whatever that means), and that they actually went through a lot worse and survived, but then I thought better of it. It's always better to have harmony in your marriage, and besides, I was starting to get a little chilly myself. So, it's back up to 72. (Alish, I'm considering moving to Tucson. Any good houses for sale down by you?)

Yay for my 100th post!

2009-01-23T18:04:00.003-07:00

I just noticed that is my 100th post. What a remarkable day for all of us. I have been absent from the blogging world the last few months. December hit me hard, and I just had to cut back somewhere in my life, and that happened to be my time at the computer. Then January came along and I have been overcome with an organization bug. I know it is a typical new year thing, but it has been so refreshing after all the craziness of the holidays to just STAY HOME and go through all our CRAP (and CHUCK most of it!). I am not a born-organized person, so it has been a learned skill I have been developing throughout my seven and a half married years. College was a time to throw everything in a box and just hope it did something with itself someday. The first year of marriage was about the same way. However, right before I had my first baby, I discovered the FLYLADY and she pretty much changed my life. I have read a lot of organization books since then, and while they are all helpful in some way or another, I still fall back on the Flylady's simple and useful system. Today I would like to share three organization books that have been helpful in bringing *order* and *peace* into my life. And yes, I stole these pictures directly from Amazon. BUT I'm linking right back to them (just click on the book, isn't that exciting?), so they should be paying me commission.

I ordered "One Year to an Organized Life" right before Christmas this year, and I've already read the whole thing. A lot of it was pretty basic stuff that most people already know/do, but there were certain sections that I really liked. It basically takes one month at a time and has you dive into different areas of your life. The kitchen section inspired me to completely redo my pantry, which has always been one of my worst areas, and now I love my pantry so much I feel like kissing it every time I open it. However, I'm not suggesting that this is the greatest book in the world. It has kind of weird little mantra things in it where you're supposed to pray to your house and stuff, and I'm not really into that. Well, I guess it's just called the 'Affirmation of the Month" but it made me kind of embarrassed for the lady who wrote it. Good for a laugh though. For example, August is "Moving Month" (in case you happen to be moving in August) and here is the AOTM: "I am guided with ease to my new home. I embrace the life waiting for me. I also bless and thank my current home. I release it to the new occupants. I am thankful for all the participants in this transition." Maybe I just haven't released my old house or something, but it all strikes me as a little odd. I really don't know why I'm talking about this book. I guess I'm just so happy about my pantry that I had to mention it. If you want to borrow it, let me know, and we can laugh together. You probably don't want to buy it. NEXT!

My mother-in-law told me about Organizing from the Inside Out a few years ago and I love it. The main principle is that you should have everything you need for a particular task within arms reach. For example, at your desk you should have pens, paper, a calendar, a phone, stapler, phonebook etc. within easy reach, and NOT have things that you don't use often, like owner's manuals or books you don't need. Store things that aren't used often in more out-of-reach places and reserve all immediate space for things you need every day. This applies to every place in the house, and I am still amazed sometimes at the things I have in places that make no sense. The job of organization is never done, I guess.

Which brings me to the FlyLady. I love this woman. I don't use every single piece of her system, but I use a LOT of it and it has helped me in so many ways. Her big thing is to start by shining your sink. You can't feel good about your life with a dirty sink, and once your sink is clean it will rub off on the rest of your life. I know it sounds silly, but I love coming out to my kitchen in the morning to a clean sink! Plus, she has a great system for getting rid of clutter. I love how she says that everything you own should bring a smile to your face. If you are holding on to something out of guilt or obligation and it doesn't make you happy, get rid of it! It is so liberating to be free of things that just bring me down every single time I see them. I used to be such a pack rat, because I was trained in the school of "what if I need this someday?" and guess what - if I do need it, I probably won't be able to find it and I'll end up buying a new one anyway so I may as well send it on its merry way to the good old Deseret Industries. Another thing I love about the FlyLady is her system for keeping bathrooms clean. I used to spend every Tuesday in rubber gloves with a thousand different chemicals trying to disinfect my disgusting bathrooms. Now I take ten seconds and wipe down my bathrooms every day and I really never have to "clean" them because they don't get dirty! I'm not saying that you should come to my house and check the bathrooms every single day and judge me if there are water spots on the mirror from time to time, but the system seriously works and has made me love my bathrooms. The FlyLady is also very adamant about taking care of yourself and not pushing yourself to live up to perfection. She has a great web site that tells you basically everything you need to know, and you can even sign up for daily email reminders to get you in the mode. I held off buying the book (Sink Reflections) for a really long time, but I finally did because I like to have all the great knowledge in one place when I need to brush up. Like right now, for example, I am getting ready to dive into my Final Frontier, my scrapbook room. I have so much STUFF in there and it has been the landing place of about everything else that I don't know what to do with. I haven't even approached it yet because I need to be in the right frame of mind, and I am finally getting there. I can't wait!! I know it is so nerdy and I never thought I would be this way, but I absolutely love tackling a space that seems hopeless and turning it into somewhere I love to be. Yes, nerd alert, I know. But it can't be as bad as this. I'll leave you with December's Affirmation of the Month. It's a good one. Maybe I should have used it this year: "I stand in the center of the storm known as end-of-the-year madness. I am an oasis of calm. I release to the past all the sad, unhappy, or angry memories that have filled my mind. The past is over. I learn from it. I do not hold onto it. This month is rich with opportunities to create new, positive, happy memories for me to savor. I open myself to receiving my good."

Self-control does NOT run in the family!

2008-12-16T16:01:00.003-07:00

So who in the heck invented advent calendars anyway? Just a little FYI to that person - it isn't really possible to eat just one chocolate a day. Hello. The good news is, our 99 cent advent calendar lasted until December 13. The bad news is, we didn't start until the 9th. It was a great 9th of December, sharing 9 chocolates with Dallin and Luke in the name of catching up. We did fine on the 10th and 11th, with the boys taking turns eating one chocolate each, and then on the 12th it was my turn. I would love to blame it on my kids, but I was actually the one who got "ahead" a few days. I don't know why. That chocolate is so stale and disgusting. It must just be the appeal of the forbidden that I couldn't resist. So the next day when Dallin went to get the 13th chocolate and found the door already open and the space empty, I couldn't really tell him that he couldn't jump ahead a few days, too. When, later that day, I discovered that the whole thing had been polished off, I just had to shrug my shoulders and think, "Those were some nasty chocolates! I'm glad they're gone!"

Our trip to Kansas

2008-11-19T12:00:00.004-07:00

We just returned from the best trip ever! We took the whole family to Derby, Kansas to visit my sister Kristen and her husband Steve for 10 days. It was so fun! Jason was hunting whitetail deer, so the rest of us got to hang out and explore Wichita. Dallin even got to go hunting for a few days with Jason and loved it. This was the boys' first trip to Kansas, and they had a blast. We went to the zoo, Kids Fest, Madagascar 2, Exploration Place (a museum where the feature display was "The Scoop on Poop" - what kid would not love that?), and lots more fun stuff. Kristen's post pretty much sums it up. In addition, Dallin and Luke absolutely loved Kristen and Steve's dogs, Tank and Lucy. We don't have dogs, so our kids are really deprived and have no idea how to act around them. Dallin is usually terrified of dogs, but by the end of the trip he was running around with Tank and Lucy like he had known them all his life. Luke has no fear and his favorite thing was to have Lucy lick his face over and over. I was so sad to leave and I'm still in denial that the trip is over. I'm honestly a little depressed to be home. Thanks, Kristen and Steve, for such a great time and for all your generosity. Can't wait for next year!

You gotta have faith...

2008-11-19T11:35:00.004-07:00

And people in Kansas DO have faith. Kristen and I had so much fun laughing at all the church billboards. Who thinks these things up? One that we didn't get a picture of was "Pssst! Guess who is due in two months?" (Keep in mind that it's early November....). Here are a few others for your faith-promoting pleasure:

And this one pretty much sums up the trip:

A huntin' I will go...

2008-11-03T13:54:00.004-07:00

I wasn't going to post this, but last week was Jason's birthday and I gave him what was probably the best present of all time. I mean besides the chocolate covered cinnamon bears. I guess the story starts at Christmas two years ago when I was desperate for a present for Jason, so I signed up for Hunter's Safety and gave him the receipt in a huge box. I really didn't intend on ever going through with the actual class, but he made sure I went and shot guns with a bunch of sweaty 12-year-olds in the basement of a Pleasant Grove city building and got my lovely little certificate in the mail a few weeks later. I still did not plan to ever actually go hunting. Little did I know, he was busy putting me in for every hunt he could think of. I haven't drawn out for anything too crazy yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time (not that I will go if I do - yeah, right). This year I just got a general deer tag and there was some pretty significant bribery in getting me to go at all. The stakes were that if I shot a deer I can get laser eye surgery. So, two weeks ago, the kids stayed at my in-laws' overnight and we headed out to West Canyon at about 4:30 am. It's all a blur now, but there was a long 4-wheeler ride, an even longer hike, and I found myself on top of a mountain before the sun came up. I got a few good pictures of the sunrise, but then the camera batteries went dead and we had to take the rest of the day's pictures on camera phones (sorry, Jason!). It was actually pretty fun being out in the wild and feeling adventurous, especially because I was sure we wouldn't even see any deer. We hiked around for a while, and then at about 9:00 it happened. Jason spotted a bunch of deer. There was a chase, some more hiking, and eventually I had a gun in my hand and he was trying to help me aim it, yelling in a desperate whisper, "Shoot! Shoot!" So I did what I had to do to make my husband love me more than I ever thought possible. I shot a huge deer. It's funny because we really didn't know how big it was until we found him. I figured it was pretty good, though, when Jason started giggling like a little girl and saying, "He's got cheaters! He's got cheaters!" over and over. Not that anyone knows or cares about the score of a deer, but it scored 172, had 5 points on each side, and eye guards. I wish I didn't know what those things meant, but I have been married to a hunter for long enough that I could probably write a book on scoring animals. Guys. Why does it always have to be a competition with them? Isn't killing something enough? I guess not. Anyway, I felt really bad for a while, and I talked it over with the deer and petted him on the head (with gloves on, of course) and I think he was glad to give his life so I can see. There really are a lot more deer out there, and his little deer friends didn't even act sad or anything. They just stood there and watched us, so I figure, the deer has lived his life, and now he will live on. On the wall of Jason's office.

Halloween!

2008-11-03T13:35:00.004-07:00

We had a great Halloween. It seems like it is more of a season than a day, but I'm still sad that it's over. The kids had a great time dressing up for the ward party, Grandma Rita's party, school parties, Daddy's work trick or treat, and of course, Halloween night! Dallin was a ninja, Luke was a bat and Abby was a sweet little witch. I've never been one for dressing up on Halloween, but I decided that next year I might take the plunge into the world of weirdies and be a witch or something. I'm just glad my kids haven't missed all the candy that has gone missing from their sacks. Jason and I had a few great movie nights this weekend with a wide assortment of treats... Gotta love Halloween.

Huntin' Fool

2008-10-18T10:39:00.008-06:00

Sometimes I am a little jealous of Jason because of all the time he gets to spend in the mountains. Yes, I know that his hunting borders on obsessive and the amount of time and money he invests in it is sometimes a little (a lot) too much, but I still think it must be nice to get out of civilization, or even out of the house, as much as he does. However, when he asked me to go hunting with him up along the Alpine Loop a few weeks ago, I gave him a resounding "no." Get up at 4 am to freeze my tail off? And what about the kids? It's a school day, for crying out loud. Here's how the conversation went:

"Oh come on, it will be fun."
"No."
"We can spend the night at my mom's and she can watch the kids."
"No."
"You'll be able to hear the elk bugling and see the sunrise and all the changing leaves."
"No."
"We might run into Robert Redford on his horse."
"Okay."

So I was persuaded. I'm glad I went, actually. It all worked out and although I didn't see Robert Redford, I like to think he was sitting on the other side of his property line, watching me and thinking about how I would be perfect for the role of reluctant housewife hunter in his next Sundance film. Now that I think about it, I totally should have carved my phone number into a tree. I bet the phone would be ringing right now. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20. (What does that mean?) Anyway, here are some pictures from the trip. Although I won't admit it to Jason, it was a good time, and it was very beautiful.

Tag, I'm it

2008-10-14T15:19:00.004-06:00

I would like to thank Stephanie for awarding me the "I love your blog award". Thank you, thank you. Now I have an easy blog post! I have to answer each of the questions with one word only.

1. Where is your cell phone? Charger
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Kind
5. Your father? Funny
6. Your favorite thing? Books
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your dream/goal? Travel
9. The room you're in? Family
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Crime
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Mean
15. One of your wish-list items? sweaters
16. Where you grew up? Burley
17. The last thing you ate? Cereal
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your TV? Wii
20. Your pet? Nonexistant
21. Your computer? New!
22. Your mood? Happy
23. Missing someone? Sisters
24. Your car? Lame
25. Something you're not wearing? Necklace
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Best
28. Love someone? Lots
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Sunday

I now award the following 6 people the "I love your blog award":

Alison
Julia
Kristen
Christa
Aaron
Teresa

Abby is One!!!

2008-10-07T11:30:00.002-06:00

Abby's birthday was September 28. I can't believe my sweet little baby girl is one year old! She got to have two separate birthday parties, one with my family on Saturday because most of them were in town, and then another one on Sunday with Jason's family. It was so fun to watch her respond to all the attention. She wasn't quite sure what to do with the cupcake, but she liked squishing it between her fingers. A year ago, I was so excited to have a brand new baby girl, but I had no idea she would bring us this much happiness! Happy Birthday, little girl!!!

Why ask why?

2008-09-24T15:33:00.006-06:00

Over the weekend we took a fun little vaycay to Wyoming. Okay, that is a lie - it was longer than a weekend, it wasn't fun, and it wasn't a vacation. We did, however, go to Wyoming. I think it is significant that the first part of the word "Wyoming" is "why". It must have something to do with the following questions: Why would anyone go there? Why would anyone live there? Why does it even exist? I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that I am glad to be home, and not there anymore. To be fair, I guess I should say that some parts of Wyoming are nice, like Jackson and, well, pretty much only Jackson. On the other end of the spectrum you have Rawlins, which is where we were camped for five days in a fine gravel parking lot, I mean KOA, whilst Jason hunted for deer and antelope. I have to tell you that I was against this trip from the beginning. For the past eight or nine months, Jason has said, "And then in the fall, we'll spend a week in Rawlins camping as a family!" To which I would reply, "Yeah, that will be great, let's just talk about it later," all the while planning to tell him the night before that I had no intention of going. That is my tactic for avoiding contention: put it off till the last minute, duke it out, end up going anyway, but at least he knows I'm not happy about it. I don't know why I'm still using this tactic, because in seven years it has never worked, but it's pretty much all I've got. But back to the story. From Lehi to Rawlins is approximately five hours. It took us almost eight. Let me emphasize that again, IT TOOK US ALMOST EIGHT. From a fussy baby, to an unsympathetic police man (who knew you could get $100 ticket in Wyoming for not getting in the left lane when passing a cop who has already pulled someone else over? And how did he catch up to us that fast? Oh yeah, we were pulling a trailer up a hill at about 30 miles per hour. Way to target the weakling, Officer...), to running out of gas four miles short of our destination, it was basically a whirlwind of hell. Sorry for the language, Mom, but it's true. I don't even think she reads my blog anyway, so what am I worried about. I may as well just let it all hang out. It wasn't all negative, though. The trailer never actually blew over, which was surprising. The kids had a great time. Dallin and Luke went out with Jason for a few hours each day and loved it. Abby and I got a lot of reading done. We all watched movies at night, and ate a lot of greasy truck-stop food. On Monday, we discovered how to hook up the Internet, so things were much better after that. I know I need to have a better attitude, but sometimes it is just more fun to be right... One cool thing though, was that we saw wild horses. This is only the second time in my life that I have seen wild horses. We were out driving around as a family, looking for antelope, and we saw a whole herd running across the desert. They ran until they were on the skyline, which was really cool to see.

We just fit right in, there in "Rawlings".

Glitter Toe Party!!!

2008-09-05T11:27:00.005-06:00

That's right, I'm having a glitter toe party, or rather "Open House", on Thursday, Sept. 11 and you are invited! My good friend Sandra and her daughter Jessica will be at my house from 6:30-8:30 to make your toes beautiful. If you haven't heard of glitter toes, they are basically gel nails with glitter sprinkled in. They sparkle, they shine. They are the lastest and greatest around here, and I must say I love them. I first got them on July 13, and I barely took them off last week, only because they were growing out after almost two months. Now I'm ready for a new set, just in time for the par-tay. They last forever and look great. Salons charge around $30, but Sandra's price is only $18 and she does the exact same thing, same quality, probably cuter colors (right Sandra?). Plus, you get the benefit of hanging out, spending some quality girl time, talking about Breaking Dawn because I haven't discussed it with anyone yet, and you can even bring your kids. Oh yeah, and I will have a few *treats and eats* for your enjoyment. What the heck, just come over, you don't even need to get your toes done!! Just show up and be yourself and that is all I can ask for. Any questions, or if you need directions, just email me at ampyates@yahoo.com. If you are wondering if YOU are really invited, the answer is YES. Just look in the mirror and say, "Yes, I am invited, and I am going." Kay, see you there. Love!

The ONLY reason I welcome the end of summer....

2008-08-29T19:13:00.003-06:00

Peach Dessert!!! This is a family favorite that I wait all year for. I'm pretty sure fresh peaches were invented for this dish, to help me say goodbye to my favorite season, summer, and hello to my second favorite season, fall. Spring is my third favorite, and winter is dead last, if you must know. So anyway, feeling a little depressed earlier this week at the passing of summer, I bought me a bag of peaches and whipped up a batch of Peach Dessert (not a very creative name, I know, but I'm sticking with tradition here). The good news is I had it all to myself because I didn't really tell my family about it. The bad news is, well, I ate it all by myself. Oh well, a can of sweetened condensed milk can't have THAT many calories, can it? And it was spread over a period of three days, so that basically cuts it down by two-thirds per day. Oh, who cares, I'm just going to count it as therapy. I really needed it.
Here is the recipe, for your post-summer, pre-fall pleasure:

Peach Dessert

40+ crushed Vanilla Wafers, reserving some for top

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1 can Eagle Brand milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

8 oz. Cool Whip

5 cups diced fresh peaches

Combine first three ingredients in bottom of 9x13 pan. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over wafer mixture. Sprinkle with remaining crushed wafers. Refrigerate. See how easy that was, and how much better you feel?

First day of kindergarten

2008-08-27T14:00:00.002-06:00

Dallin started kindergarten this week! I can't believe my little Dallin is old enough to go to school. Luke will be starting preschool next week, so this will be a major change to our lifestyle! I am looking forward to having a little more structure in our day, and a little more time to get things done. However, I am really sad that my kids are growing up. It is a weird feeling and I'm not sure I like it!

Youth Conference at Camp Williams

2008-08-12T12:51:00.004-06:00

Last week we had our Stake Youth Conference at Camp Williams. Being the pessimist that I sometimes (usually) am, I was really not looking forward to it. I thought, "How in the world are we going to control a bunch of teenagers on an army base, who are probably not too excited about sleeping in barracks, getting up at 6 am, and doing service projects/listening to devotionals all day long?" Well, I was wrong. It was so fun! I was actually sad when we had to go home on Saturday. We have the greatest kids in our ward and stake, and they have a good time no matter what they are doing. They get along, they participate, they include everyone, and there wasn't a single discipline problem the entire 3 days (that I'm aware of). I was so impressed. And Camp Williams was very cool. I've never been on an army base and it was so crazy to see all the military peeps there, marching around and singing their little chants. They were so cute. Ha ha.

This is the rappelling tower. We all got to go down twice. I was so proud of many of the kids who were terrified of heights, but did it anyway, like my little buddy in red.

The kids got to do the Leadership Reaction Courses, where they are issued a challenge and have to figure out how to make it happen. Most of them involved getting heavy (50-60 lb.) boxes of ammunition across water with almost no supplies to help. I was secretly glad the leaders weren't supposed to participate, but the kids loved it and did a great job.

This little lizard was our mascot for about 10 minutes until somebody pulled his tail off. We all got MASH t-shirts, which I will wear proudly. To bed at least.

Thanks a lot, Stephenie Meyer

2008-08-05T10:38:00.002-06:00

You had to go and release your book on what is possibly the busiest week of my entire summer! Do you realize I am getting NOTHING done??? So unfair. I'm trying to juggle a page here and there with all the things on my to-do list, I'm only on page 265, and I feel like I'm walking around in a daze and I won't be able to focus on anything until page 754!!! Why can't I get the flu or something so I'll have a reason to just sit in bed and READ?!!!

Seriously gross spider

2008-07-29T18:00:00.003-06:00

Dallin spotted this huge, enormous, freaky spider right outside the back door today. Yes, it was on my PATIO!!! I was afraid if I got too close it might grab my camera and take a few pictures of me screaming. I have never seen a spider like this in my entire life. The pictures don't do him justice. He was all silvery and hairy. Ewww!!!

Just for some perspective, the little Mayfly in the bottom corner is about double the size of a mosquito. This spider is big enough to be my uncle!!!

American Idol Concert

2008-07-24T17:02:00.004-06:00

Last week Jason took me to the American Idol concert for our anniversary. It was so fun. We left all THREE kids with my in-laws overnight. Jason tried to surprise me with a night at the Anniversary Inn, but of course I had to ruin the surprise earlier in the day by guessing where we were going. Don't get me wrong, I like to be surprised, I just like to KNOW that I'm going to be surprised, and then I'll stop guessing. He just told me that his parents were taking the kids, and I was like, "Oh! We should go stay somewhere! Like the Anniversary Inn!" So he tried to cover it up and say, "Well, maybe we'll stay somewhere like the Howard Johnson or something," and then after the concert he headed over to 6th South, and I was like, "Why are we going this way? Are we going to the Anniversary Inn?" "No, the hotel I booked is on 6th South and 9th East." "Well, that's the Anniversary Inn." "How do you know?" "Because we stayed there 7 years ago, hello." "Well, who remembers the address, Rainman? It's the Howard Johnson, just be quiet." "There is no Howard Johnson over there, just the Anniversary Inn." So then we pulled into the Anniversary Inn and he was like, "Surprise!" and I felt bad for being difficult. Sometimes I should just shut my mouth. So should several other people we saw that night, like Chickezee for example. I'm not even going to look up the proper spelling of his name, he was that bad. I didn't even take a picture of him. The Idols performed in order, and he was number 10. The first few were just terrible. But, once they got to Brooke White, it was actually worth watching. She wasn't my favorite on the show, but I really liked her performance. I think it takes a lot of talent to sing and play the piano (or guitar) at the same time. Here's a small recap of the concert:

Terrible.

Um, decent.

Okay.

Not great. Put on a shirt.

Really good.

High, as usual.

She should have been #9, not #3.

David A. sang his little heart out, which I could hear in bits and pieces over the crowd that would not stop screaming the ENTIRE time he was onstage. He was really good, though.

I have to apologize to David Cook for the rude things I have said about him in the past. He was actually a really good performer. David, I'm sorry I said you look like a hot dog with hair. Your rendition of Lionel Richie's "Hello" was really good and I actually enjoyed it. I think we can be friends, but that's all. I still don't find you attractive.

Our Mini-Vacation

2008-07-24T10:15:00.012-06:00

Last weekend we took the kids on a "mini-vacation" and had so much fun. We stayed at my in-law's awesome cabin above Rockport Reservoir, which is past Park City about 10 minutes. It was so nice to have somewhere peaceful to relax and hang out and just go with the flow. Saturday we took the kids to the zoo and did a little bit of shopping at the outlets on the way back. Then we had tin foil dinners and s'mores (not necessarily in that order). Sunday we thoroughly disrupted the Wanship Ward sacrament meeting (sorry, I can't help that I have three kids and they are bad, all you people who think church is supposed to be quiet and keep glaring at me over your shoulder...) and just hung out. We headed home Monday morning. Here are a few pics of the trip:
I think we have pictures of Dallin in front of this gorilla thing every year since he was born!

Yes, my boys' underwear is always showing.

Abby pulled out her pigtail, as usual.

I was so excited to see that the zoo finally got a sloth! I don't know why I love sloths so much, probably because I can relate to them. "I know I should get up and do something, but it's just so much work... I think I'll just hang here for another minute and let my claws grow a few more inches..."

It wouldn't be a Yates family trip if we didn't stop and fish out of every ditch between here and Kamas.

The three boys tromping through a meadow (illegally, I'm sure) to find their next fishing adventure.

The beautiful view from the cabin.

A little friend (on the right) smelled our tin foil dinners...

came in for a closer look...

a little bit closer,

...and totally dissed my cooking! RUDE!

These two were much more polite. I love that little baby with the spots!

"Mom, please can I feed him?"
"No! He was very rude and I didn't appreciate it."

Luke was so excited to go on a 4-wheeler ride and be just like Daddy with his sunglasses and "blonklers,"

But the excitement must have been a little too much. Who falls asleep on a 4-wheeler? I'm not complaining, he stayed asleep and slept all night. Maybe we should try it at home.

My goal in life is to someday live in a pretty little valley like this. Where I can yell at my kids and no one can hear me. That would be heaven. Well, minus the yelling part. I'll try to do better.

7 Years

2008-07-18T12:38:00.002-06:00

Happy Anniversary, Jason! Thanks for the best seven years of my life. I love you!

Update on Abby

2008-07-17T11:34:00.004-06:00

So many kind people have been asking how my little Abby is doing. I love knowing that so many people care about her!!! It means the world to me. Abby is doing really well. We took her back to the eye specialist this week and she is going to have another surgery on September 10. Her eyes have improved a lot on the side-to-side alignment, but her left eye still goes UP when it should be staying level with the right eye. The doctor thinks it is because the upper-pulling muscle on the right eye is tight, so when she wants to look up she has to pull really hard with both eyes and it makes her left eye go up into space. Her right eye can't look any higher than straight ahead at this point, so the doctor is hoping that loosening that muscle will help it get aligned with her left eye. This surgery will be a lot easier on her than the first one because she will only have one muscle of one eye worked on, instead of a total of three muscles (one muscle in the right eye and two in the left) like last time. I am excited for her to make more progress. She's still kind of a little squirt and not very interested in moving around. At her nine-month check up a few weeks ago she was 14 lbs. 8 oz. and 25 1/2 inches long, which puts her well BELOW the charts and in the 1 percentile (because you can't have less than 100 kids out of 100 kids, or she would be in the negatives!!). It's so weird to me to have a tiny child. Jason and I are not exactly small people. I always figured that my poor girls would be 6 foot 5, 280 pounders and I just felt sorry for them. But, that's not the way it's looking for Abby! She's so little! I love having a tiny baby, but I am anxious for her to get on the move and start exploring her world. She can sit up and she loves to play with her brothers. She's learning lots of cute tricks, like shaking her head no when you ask her if she's crazy, and putting her head down when you tell her to take a nap. Who needs pets when you have kids, right? Here are the three little weasels that I get to chase around all day. It's exhausting but so much fun. I love these crazy kids and I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Magical Bee Paste

2008-07-10T16:51:00.009-06:00

Yes, yes, it's me. I'm back. I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted! I'm so ashamed. June was a CRAZY month, and July is looking the same way. There are about 16 posts I've been wanting to make, so I'll start with this one... it's about a small traumatic experience my boys had that hopefully will benefit others. So the other night I was mowing the lawn while the boys played on the play set. I made one swipe of the lawn and they were fine, then I turned around to do the next swipe, and when I faced them again they were both SCREAMING bloody murder. I couldn't hear them because of the mower, so I turned it off and ran over and saw that they were being swarmed by hornets, holding up their hands and yelling, "We got stung, we got stung!!!" I gave them what was probably bad advice, but the only way out of the situation, "RUN!!!!" It turns out that Dallin had been climbing the ladder and reached around right into a fresh hornet nest so he of course got stung on his hand, but I guess the bees didn't want to stop there because they flew right up to Luke on the slide and stung him on the hand, too, just for good measure. I feel bad for anyone who happened to be in the neighborhood at the time and had to hear all the commotion. I ushered the boys inside to survey the damage. Dallin had one sting, Luke had two. They were both hysterical, and in pain, which I can understand. Fortunately, I have a solution to the pain of a bee sting. It brings me back to a little experience I had at BYU a few years ago (Julia, I can hear you laughing right about now). I had been lounging on the lawn in front of the SFLC, waiting for my sign language class to begin. When I stood up to put my flip-flops on, I stepped on a bee and was promptly stung on the bottom of my foot. It was my first bee sting ever. Oh, the pain! I sat back down and waited for it to go away. Through my tears, I took my shoe and began beating all the bees on the lawn, hoping for some kind of revenge and/or relief. I closed my eyes and repeated, "Faith of a mustard seed, faith of a mustard seed," over and over (oh come on, that always works!). But still, nothing. Long story short, it never stopped hurting. I abandoned the sign language class (I never learned anything anyway) and hobbled my way home with tears running down my face. After several hours, I finally went to the health center, convinced that I was allergic to bee stings and was probably on my death bed. The doctor was not impressed. "It's just a common bee sting. Take some baking soda and add a little water to make a paste, and that will take the pain away." Um, hello, I'm dying here? I was so offended. I hinted around at getting some prescription pain killers, but he just sent me home. Yeah, right, like some idiot baking soda could cure this kind of agony. I didn't even try it right away, out of pride, but finally I couldn't take it any longer, so I broke down and made the paste and dabbed it on my foot. About 30 seconds later... the pain was gone. I thought it was a fluke and the sting must have been on its way out anyway. But, a few minutes later the paste had absorbed and the pain came back. As long as I kept fresh paste on it, it felt fine. So I made a little note to myself: baking soda + water = bee sting relief. That little formula has actually come in quite handy over the years. And it certainly did the other night. I grabbed a bowl, dumped in some baking soda, added a little water and stirred it around. I was rubbing it on the boys' hands when Jason came in and asked what in the world was going on. He ran into the garage to grab the bee spray and by the time he returned, both boys were perfectly calm. It was like a miracle had occurred.

The beautiful substance that saved my sanity on Monday night.

Dallin doing a reinactment of the tragic event. No children were harmed in the making of this photo.

I love this stuff because it creates a big foam ball that weighs the bees down so they don't get you after you squirt them! Watch out bees, I'm on a mission...

That's right, you little piece of junk hornet's nest... it's over!!!

I am considering making a book of home remedies, but so far this is the only home remedy I know of. Still, if I can save even one person from pain, it will be worth it. Feel free to share any secret remedies that you know of. And I will try to post more often.

Abby's Surgery

2008-05-29T08:28:00.003-06:00

Abby had her surgery yesterday on her 8 month birthday and everything went great. I am so relieved to have it over with! She is doing really well. The doctor said it will be several weeks before we know how "fixed" her eyes really are, but there should be a big improvement. I'm so grateful that she made it through the surgery and everything was okay. It was so scary to hand her over and walk away! I was feeling really good about everything, but it was still hard to wait. She went in for the surgery at about 9:15 and it was almost 11 when the doctor came back to say everything had gone well. I think the hardest part was when I first went in to see her and her face was so swollen and she didn't even look like my little girl. Her little body just felt so limp and there was blood around her eyes. I don't know why I wasn't prepared to see blood, but it was quite a shock! I try so hard to be tough, but the sight of blood, especially on one of my children, just about knocks me over. I got to hold her for a while and she was pretty groggy, but her vital signs were really good, and she had a good appetite. She was so sweet! She would start to get upset and I would whisper to her and she calmed right down every time. We took her home a little after noon. She had to have one muscle in her right eye, and two muscles in her left eye worked on. She has 4 stitches in the right eye and 8 in the left. They were also going to unplug the tear duct in her left eye, but it has cleared up on its own in the last few weeks so they didn't have to. I am so grateful, because her poor left eye is still so swollen and she can barely open it. I'm so glad she didn't have to have more trauma to it! She wasn't very happy for most of the afternoon yesterday, but by evening she was starting to get back to her happy little self and laughing at her brothers. She settled down and went to sleep at 8:00 and slept all night! What a blessing. Thank you so much to everyone for all of your prayers and support. I know her surgery really isn't a big deal compared to a lot of things, but she is my little baby and I appreciate your kindness so much! Thank you!!!

Thank you, Stephenie!

2008-05-21T17:28:00.006-06:00

Stephenie Meyer has brought a lot of good things to my life. First, of course, was the Twilight series. Next came The Host, which I am almost finished with but don't want to read the last 50 pages because then I'll have to wait until August for her next book to come out! Then last weekend I went to her book signing with two of my favorite friends and had an absolute blast. It was so fun to meet her and listen to her speak. She is so down-to-earth and I can't believe that such amazing things can come out of her imagination! It was inspiring.I was so excited to introduce her to Abby. Someday Abby and I can talk about how much we love Edward and Ian, and I will tell her that she met Stephenie Meyer and she will be so happy and be like, wow, my mom was cool once! Well, probably not. Anyway, after the book signing, we went to the Cheesecake Factory. It was my first time and I LOVED it! I can't wait to go back (who's with me?). It was the perfect day. Continuing on with the list of things Stephenie Meyer has brought to my life, she was on Good Things Utah last Friday, so I watched, and they featured these ribs:

I made them last night and they were so good! They are called Angel's Quick Peachy Pork Ribs. You can link to the recipe on the Channel 4 web site, or here it is:

Simmer boneless country ribs in chicken broth 45-50 minutes.
While ribs are simmering place into a blender the following ingredients:
Quick Peachy Sauce:
1 (16 oz.) can sliced peaches, drained
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. salt
Pepper to taste
Place ribs on grill over medium heat. Baste both sides with sauce. Grill for 3 minutes; baste again on both sides. Grill for another 3 minutes. Because these ribs are pre-cooked you can grill them to your liking. We enjoy them when the sauce starts to caramelize and the grill marks are seared into the meat for a nice crispy outside and a moist, delicious inside.

I have never cooked ribs on the grill before and it was so fun. My favorite part was that they are cooked in chicken broth beforehand, so they were very tender and I didn't have to worry about them being raw in the middle. I have this thing with rawness. It just freaks me out, so I always cook meat way too long and ruin everything. But these turned out really great. The sauce was good, but it makes a TON, so you might want to halve it. So let's review... we've got Edward, Ian, Cheesecake Factory and ribs. I guess my point is, I just love Stephenie Meyer!!!

Cards, cards, cards

2008-05-13T17:44:00.003-06:00

My very cute and talented sister-in-law Lacey, designs and teaches card classes for my mother-in-law's scrapbooking store, Forget Me Not, in American Fork. As you may have read on Wendy's post, Lacey has agreed to come and teach a class for my friends at the amazing price of $5 for 5 cards. If you are familiar with the world of scrapbooking, you know that this is an absolute steal! We are going to have the class on Tuesday, June 3. We will let you know location and time as it gets closer. Anyone and everyone is invited (up to 20 people). Just let me know if you are interested and get me your money by Saturday, May 25. This is important! You must pay in advance so Lacey will know how many kits to make. You can also talk to Wendy and give her your money. The great thing about Lacey is that she does all the "work" - designs the cards, cuts the paper, gets everything ready so all you have to do is sit down, glue, chat and have a great time. Plus, she is one of the nicest and funniest people I know, and you will absolutely love her! (oh, to have that kind of creativity!!!) Yes, we will be making the cards in the picture. They are super cute and not difficult, so even if you have never done anything "scrapbooky", you will have no problem at all. Just let me know if you are interested!!!

Some years about me

2008-05-09T07:23:00.006-06:00

This tag is from my beautiful cousin Julia who has a secret and won't tell me. But I am going to do the post anyway. I'm sure when she decides to divulge, I will be the first one to know because I did the tag. So here goes.

20 years ago:
I was 11 and just finishing up the sixth grade at Mountain View Elementary in Burley. Sixth grade was a bad year for me. The three B's about sum it up: Braces, Bad perm, and Bon Jovi (that was the year he got married, I remember I was so mad). I still remember a substitute teacher telling us that the two boys who always got in trouble and had to sit in the "naughty chairs" or whatever, would end up in prison. They probably did, just because she said that. Maybe I should google them and see if I can figure it out.

10 years ago:
Finishing up my sophomore year at BYU and getting ready to go to London for my summer term at the BYU London Center (it is actually spelled "centre" but oh, that bugs me, so I refuse to spell it that way). I loved that summer so much! I wish I could have it back.

5 years ago:
My firstborn, Dallin, was 3 months old. I was working from home doing web design for the State of Utah and totally and completely loving my life.

3 years ago:
Dallin was 2 and I was pregnant with Lukie, just getting past the yucky sick stage. We were living in our old house. I loved that neighborhood! Yes, I know it is only 3 miles away and I know a lot of people from that ward better now than I did when I lived there, but I still miss it!

1 year ago:
I was pregnant with Abby and just getting past the yucky sick stage. I had just found out I was having a girl. I was the assistant camp director and trying to figure out all the food for camp so I could go and check it off my list and not have to worry about young women any more (ha ha!). The weeds in our yard were sprouting nicely. I'm glad it's not last summer!

So far this year:
I don't feel like I have had more than 5 minutes of spare time. We finally got our yard put in. Abby has been sleeping through the night since Valentine's Day. Dallin graduated from preschool. Luke puts me in time out on a regular basis. Jason made his first hunting movie and is getting ready to sell it. And me? I made an apron.

Yesterday:
Did laundry. Ordered some wheat and thought about rice. Got my hair cut. Did some Young Women's stuff. Planted my potatoes. Helped Jason put together the kids' new play set (if you've never heard my husband swear, I think he is going to be working on it again today - come on over!). Cut out some muslin to start a new stitching project. Cleaned the house. Hung out with three of my favorite peeps (Alison, Julia & Teresa) and ate Cafe Rio at Alison's house while the kids ran around like tornadoes. Fell into bed completely exhausted without watching The Office.

Today:
Looking forward to watching The Office from last night with Jason (we're not allowed to watch it without each other. We usually watch it twice so we don't miss anything. We actually haven't even watched last week's episode yet! I'm so excited.). Going visiting teaching at 10. Finishing the laundry. Working on the play set. Getting the outside windows cleaned if it doesn't rain, and yes, I am paying someone to it! Making the dreaded trip to Wal Mart. Going to help clean a friend's house, which will be bittersweet, but I'm looking forward to it.

This year:
Abby's surgery at the end of the month. Not going to Lake Powell with my family (sniff sniff!). Not going to girls camp, which is more stressful than actually going! Having a wonderful summer playing outside with my kids and letting the house go to pot. I can't wait for my garden! I'm secretly planting some sunflowers and I hope Jason doesn't rip them out because he hates them and thinks they are weeds, but they make me happy so I think I should have them. The Cassia County Fair is on the agenda for August, of course. We are taking the kids to Kansas in the fall for our family trip this year (can't wait!!!). And of course I'm planning on enjoying every minute with my beautiful kids and great husband!!!

I tag... you. If you feel like it. Maybe I will tell you a secret if you do!

I did something!

2008-05-01T07:20:00.005-06:00

I have accomplished relatively few things in my life. Five, to be exact. Marriage, three kids, and now... an apron! Yes, you heard me right. I made an apron! A few months ago my cute cousin Tami posted about how she was going to make an apron. I thought it was so cute, and when she posted the finished product, I knew I had to try. I have never been much of a seamstress, but I thought, how hard can it be? I remember when Tami was born. If she can do it, well, I can do it, too. Never mind the fact that she is one of those extremely talented people that can do anything, and actually does do everything. But I decided to ignore that fact. I ordered the pattern, picked out some fabric at Broadbent's in Lehi, where they actually treated me decent for once (sore subject), and got out my lovely $88 sewing machine. The next month was spent perusing the pattern and trying to figure out sewing terminology. Yes, I took 4-H for about a hundred years. No, I don't remember anything I learned. But a few things did sound vaguely familiar and I spent a lot of time on the Internet figuring it out. I have a problem called "I don't learn anything unless I figure it out myself" and also another problem called "Stubborn as a mule" so although I could have spent an afternoon with my mother-in-law and had it completely done, with no mistakes, I wanted to figure it out myself so I would really KNOW something. I only called my mom about it one time because I was confused if having the fabric "right sides facing" was the same as having the fabric "right sides together". If so, why would they not just say "right sides together" all the time? Right sides facing (facing what? out or in?) must be the opposite of right sides together. But apparently no, they mean the same thing. So that is good to know. I also learned how to do the following things: baste, top stitch, create a gather, make a bias binding, make darts, use fusible interfacing, stab myself with pins repeatedly, and my proudest accomplishment: the invisible ladder stitch. That one took me a while, but once I figured it out, I loved it with all my heart. The apron is not perfect by any means, but I really don't care. It is like one of my children. Not perfect, but I will defend it to the death. I was actually really surprised at how much I loved the whole process. I found myself letting out little squeals of joy every time I made any progress. The most frustrating thing was not having a large block of time to work on it. I require complete silence and no distractions when I am really trying to figure something out, and that just never happens with 3 kids. I finally started getting up really early in the morning and working on it before the kids were awake, which was surprisingly fun. Now, let me explain the pictures. This apron is, in fact, reversible, so it is kind of like I made two aprons and have now accomplished six things in my life instead of five. It can tie in the front or the back. In the yellow picture, I didn't realize it wasn't tied high enough, so I kind of look like an idiot. Forgive me. I will not make that mistake again. Now, I would really love to learn how to make skirts. Skirts are never long enough for me, and I have such a hard time finding them, and how hard can they be, really.... I know, I know, famous last words.

One moment in time

2008-04-24T06:50:00.008-06:00

Last night at about 7:00 I was thinking about moments, and how we never get them back. So I grabbed my camera and decided to document what everyone in my family was doing at that moment. Nothing exciting, but it might be fun to look back on in a few years and see how things have changed. I wish I would have done that more when Dallin was little, or when we were first married because I don't have many pictures from that time period. We didn't have a digital camera then, so I'm sure that is part of it. Anyway, last night at 7 pm, Jason was outside getting ready to spread the playground bark in the kids' new play area where there will someday be a swing set. Our kids have never had any kind of playground equipment. They have been pretty deprived. I'm excited for them to have something fun to do outside besides throw rocks at the basement windows. I guess the rocks just have the coolest sound when they hit the windows, so you really can't blame them. I'm so excited to get our yard in. Last summer was so hot and the dirt and weeds didn't really improve my mood in my already uncomfortably pregnant state. Grass, I love you. Someday I will have you again. Next Thursday, actually, if everything works out. Dallin was finishing up his game of Super Mario Galaxy. I really don't like it when he plays video games, and I try to put it off all day, but he usually does end up playing sometime by the end of the day. Bad mom!
Mr. Luke was playing on Daddy's recliner.
Then he got down to dance like "The dino on the earf (earth)" I guess that is a character on the video game.
Little Babs was chillin' in the high chair with her new eye patch. She went to the doctor on Tuesday and he said she has to wear it for 2 hours a day until her surgery next month. They are supposed to call us and schedule the surgery and I wish they would hurry because I hate not knowing. Anyway, this is my little pirate, Abby.
And me? I was doing the dishes, and finishing up Jason's dessert. Does Jell-O count as a dessert? This is a topic of debate at my parents' home. My dad says yes, everyone else says no. I say no, but I serve it as dessert so my kids will eat the rest of their food first. And it's usually as close as we come to an actual dessert anyway. BTW, thank you Julia for your yummy lemon curry chicken recipe! I tried it last night and it was a hit.So that is my night in a nutshell. I don't know why people say things are in a nutshell, but it is a habit now so I say it, too. Nutshell. Weird.

And an honorable mention goes to Dallin for graduating from preschool today. Sniff sniff. I can't believe my little baby is already graduating. Again. He graduated last year, too, so you'd think it wouldn't be so hard for his mother, but I am really really sad that he is done with preschool. It was such a safe time in my life. No real accountability or responsibility (besides the 3 kids and the house and the calling...). I am so worried about kindergarten in the fall! How am I going to put him on the bus and wave goodbye? I'm not looking forward to it. Love you, little buddy. Please quit growing up! I already told him if he turns six he is going to be in time out. I think I'm giving him a complex. He says, "But Mom, I don't know how to stop growing!" I say, "Well, figure it out or your going to be in the biggest trouble of your life." I mean it, too. I've had it with this "get big and leave your mom" business. See what I mean? Way too big! Where's my baby?

Oh, and thank you to everyone for your yummy grilling recipes. Keep them coming if you think of more! I'll keep checking.

Sum sum summa time

2008-04-18T11:10:00.002-06:00

Okay, is anyone else sick of the games the weather is playing lately? It's warm, it's freezing, it's hot, it's snowing, it's sunny, it's snowing again, all in the same day. And the wind, arg. Nothing is worse than a cold wind on a sunny day. It's so deceptive. I wake up and think I can be in a good mood for the day, then I go outside and realize there's a cold wind a-blowin, and bam, instant bad mood. I can't keep up with all these ups and downs! It's like an emotional rollercoaster. So as I sit here and plan my meals for the next week, I would like to focus on the grill. Ah, my little friend the grill, that will cook me summer-tasting food, even if if there is not the weather to back it up. On Monday, which was actually a beautiful little tease of a day, I barbequed chicken and pineapple on the grill and it was FABULOSO. Thanks to Costco for their always sweet $3 pineapples and also to my sister Kristen's mother-in-law Jolene (sending you a "Holla!" if you're reading this!)'s famous chicken marinade recipe. It has become a staple in the Price family. So, thank you, Jolene. I hope you don't mind that I'm passing it along to the free world. Basically, you take 2 cups 7-Up, 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup oil and some garlic and marinate the chicken in a bag in your fridge. The recipe says to marinate for 24 hours, but sometimes I only have a few hours and it still turns out. You can also halve the recipe, I usually do. Now, I'm asking you, my beloved readers, for your favorite grilling recipes. Anything that is easy, yummy and basically reeks of summer will do. :)

Flashback Friday

2008-04-11T13:00:00.010-06:00

I was born the day before my brother Ryan's first birthday, so we are the same age for one day. Ever since we were little, my dad has insisted on taking a picture of us on my birthday holding signs to say how old we are. I used to resist this little tradition, but now it is fun to look back on all the years and remember which awkward stage I was going through that year. I want to track down all of the pictures of all the years, but this many embarrassing moments will have to do for now.

I guess I won't worry so much when Dallin makes his 5 backwards. I turned out fine... right?

8, and about to get baptized. Bless my heart.

I loved that sweater with the numbers all over it. It had a wide neck and I would wear a yellow tank top underneath. A little provacative for the times.

18. Wow, that was a bad year. I should have saved that Lucky shirt. It would probably fit my husband now.

Ryan was on his mission when I turned 19.
Hike those pants up, sista!

And now the elusive 31. I'm not afraid of growing older. It can't be worse than my youth.

Tonight tonight tonight!

2008-04-10T16:24:00.005-06:00

It's finally here! A new episode of The Office! Has anyone else been waiting for the last FIVE months, wondering what was happening with Dwight, Andy and Angela, Jim and Pam, Michael and Jan, Toby and nobody, and of course, Creed? Or am I the only one?

Tonight, 8 pm. Here is what to look forward to:

Pam and Jim find they have run out of excuses and are forced to go to Jan and Michael's house for dinner. When Andy and Angela are also invited to dinner, Dwight's jealousy gets the best of him.

I can't wait!!!!! Michael Scott, don't let me down. You never have before.

A great weekend at home

2008-04-07T15:07:00.008-06:00

I just returned from the BEST weekend at home. It was so nice to be there and basically do nothing but hang out with my family and watch Conference. I realized as we loaded the car to come back that I hadn't been out of the house in two days and I hadn't even noticed! Talk about being a bum! Our whole family was there, except for two very important people (Kristen and Steve, we missed you!). It is always amazes me that even with the vast number of people in my family, it is still so obvious when even one person isn't there. You'd think with a total of 21 people in the house that one or two missing wouldn't really matter. But it does! That is what I love about my family. None of us are perfect, but there is such a feeling of love and acceptance and trust. We have so much fun when we get together. I'm so grateful to my parents for always giving us such great examples of love and respect for each other. It has paid off tremendously! I just love the feeling in my parent's home. It truly feels like home, and it helps me to recognize when I am doing the things I need to do to make my own home feel the same way. I also LOVED Conference. Conference is always good, but sometimes I think I am more prepared for it than other times. This time I felt like every word that was spoken was just for me. Jason and I had some conversations on our drive to Burley about different things, and several of the things we talked about were mentioned specifically in the talks. We kept turning to each other and saying, "There's your answer!" It was really cool. I especially loved the talk about mothers and I can't wait to print it out and review every word. I love being a mother and I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I really don't know where I would be without it. I feel so renewed and ready to take on this week, fussy kids and ear infections and all!

HB to Me!

2008-03-27T15:13:00.007-06:00

On my b-day with the 3 best presents I've ever been given (I'm talking about the kids). Taken with the camera self-timer, hence the lack of focus, which is actually a good thing in my case.

I like to set out all my b-day stuff so I feel special.

Not to brag, but... I had a great birthday yesterday. Pretty much everyone else I know had a terrible day, but my first day of being 31 was pretty darn good. I feel like my 30th year came in like a lion and out like a lamb. I actually don't know what that means, but somewhere in the back of my head it seems like it applies to this time of year, or my birthday, or something. All I really know is that I have wonderful friends and family and it was a fun fun day. I went to lunch with my mother-in-law and 2 sisters-in law, had a lazy afternoon, then Jason took me to The Roof as a surprise, and he also got me a pair of Big Star capris and two very cute tops. AND, the boys spent the night at my in-law's so I could actually catch up on the last two weeks of American Idol! Talk about a good day! And to top it off, Chikezie got sent home finally (thank you!) and Brett Michaels gave what might possibly be my favorite quote of all time. If you have never watched VH1's Rock of Love, please don't start. It is a terrible show and you will be a worse person when you are done. I really only watch bits and pieces here and there. Having said that, I leave you with these words, spoken by a very heart-felt Brett about one of his girlfriends' ex-boyfriends: "He's like a conundrum... wrapped in an enigma... wrapped in a mystery." Kind of like myself.

Flashback Friday

2008-03-21T08:47:00.007-06:00

This is my first Flashback Friday post. I love this idea because I have about 40 blog posts running around in my head, but they are all too complicated to sit down and capture at the moment, so this makes it easy. I took this picture (of a picture - very high-tech, I know) when I visited my sister Kristen in Kansas over the weekend. She is the little blond cutie in the red dress. I think she totally looks like my little Luke! Everyone says Luke is "such a Yates" but I'm here to prove that he just might have a little Price in him, too. He reminds me of Kristen in a lot of ways. His big wide smile, fluffy blond hair, and especially his crazy little personality. He always has me laughing, just like Kristen does. Not that you're crazy, KD, you are just fun, and I miss you so much already! Back to the picture. My cute parents are in the middle, obviously, and we'll just go clockwise from my dad: Me with the unfortunate brown horse hair, Kristen, Teresa, Alison and Ryan. This might seem like a lot of kids, but there were three more yet to come, and this picture seems so incomplete without them! That is why I will probably end up with 40 kids; what if my parents had only had 3? or 5? or 7? I would have missed out on some of my very favorite people in the whole entire world! So if I use this reasoning in my own family, I will definitely be in trouble... Anyway, I think I must have been about seven in the picture, but who really knows. The 80s are all just a big blur to me at this point. I've been trying to find a picture of Luke that looks like Kristen, but it is hard to find one where he doesn't look like he's on crack. I also think I'm guilty of having a permanently dirty-faced kid. What can I say, I grew up in the 80s.

A few diet-friendly recipes

2008-03-10T21:04:00.008-06:00

Well, not really. But diets aren't any fun, and cookies are, so here are two of my favorite cookie recipes. I'm big on soft cookies and both of these are soft and stay that way, but they're not crumbly. I chill the dough on both of these recipes so they are easier to handle. I also think they are both better the next day, after they've had a day to set up and become the cookie they are destined to become.

Soft Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cookies (Rolo Cookies)

1 Chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Rolos
2 tablespoons white sugar

Mix cake mix, eggs and oil. Place about 1 tsp of dough in hand and flatten. Place 1 Rolo in the center and roll into a ball. Roll in sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes at 350. Note: I use the small Pampered Chef scoop and it makes exactly 36 cookies. The dough is pretty thick so I use my bosch to mix it with the dough hook, but you can use your muscles if you are so inclined. And one more note: there are 8 rolos in each package, so you will need 4 1/2 packages for this recipe. What you do with the other 4 rolos is up to you. Or, you could just buy one of those big bags, but then you have to unwrap the little buggars.

So there you have it. Two reasons to bag your diet. Oh, and thank you to everyone for your nice comments on my last post about Abby. I have the nicest friends in the world! Maybe I should just make you all some cookies...