Hmmm..do you think we need to get out more?

I can't even do this story justice but I will attempt. I took DJ's mom to the mall for some shopping the other day and Jordyn decided she'd tag along. By the way, I can't stand the mall so I rarely go there except for the occasional trip to Old Navy. We were looking for a Homecoming dress for my niece, Katelyn, so we decided to go to Dillard's. Junior department happens to be upstairs which means a ride on the escalator. I proceed to point at the escalator telling Jordyn we get to ride on it and she's giving me this look like, "what the heck is that thing?" But, she seems genuinely excited and borderline, giddy. We started going up the thing and she's giggling uncontrollably w/ just a tad of nervousness in her voice but seriously excited about her new adventure. Just then it dawns on me that this poor child has actually never ridden on an escalator, at least not that she could remember. We reached the top and all she could focus on was the ride down, she could have cared less about the shopping and kept asking when we could go on the fun ride again. I'm thinking, "who needs Disney Land when you've got the Grand Teton Mall escalator?" Yep, it's official, we really, REALLY, need to get out more!

One more funny side note, Jordyn got the giggles several times while walking through the mall. Something about all the weird styles of clothes tickled her funny bone. One store had the goofiest looking clothes on the mannequin, Jordyn wondered why they were dressed like airplane pilots. (I thought they resembled Amelia Earhart clothing except that instead of long pants, they were bum cheek showing shorts.) Who really wears this kind of thing?? She also wondered who would want to shop in a dark store where you couldn't even see the clothes. (I think that was Hollister) Anyway, I think our next family vacation just may be the mall!

Do you remember spending hours doing this...??

I do..., only I don't remember having the weak bladder problem. I think giving birth to 6 kids might have something to do with it! Anyway, the kids love to jumprope and when they need an extra rope turner, the garbage can comes in really handy.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I'm afraid our playing outside days are numbered so I'm trying to let the kids enjoy what is left. I love having our long driveway for scooter riding, bikes, jump ropes etc., although the babies have been using it for their runway out in to road. For that reason alone, I'm excited for the change of seasons. Hopefully by next summer, they will get the concept of road danger!

Temple to Temple Race

DJ and 3 of his friends from the college participated in the race from the Idaho Falls Temple to the Rexburg Temple. He ran the first leg which was 6.6 miles and just happened to run right past our street and his leg ended at our church building. The kids were so excited to wait at the top of the street, Regan even called our neighbors, the Berrett's, to join in the little fan club. Despite the unusually hot weather at 8:30 in the morning, he ended up running his best time. Way to go, honey!

I can't believe I didn't take a picture of his fan club....what was I thinking!

Regan and Morgan got a little taste of what the race would be like for DJ because they each got a turn on a Saturday morning to ride their bike along side of him while he trained. Regan made it the full 6.6 miles w/out stopping and Morgan made it half way but her bike chain kept falling off so she and DJ ended up walking the last half of the route. They weren't disapointed though because it gave them time to visit uninterrupted.

Words cannot express

Yesterday, our dear friend, Shellie, passed away after a long battle with cancer. In my previous post, I wrote about the beautiful day we experienced with her in the temple just 2 days before her passing. My testimony, particularly of prayer and fasting, has been strengthened greatly because of what I have witnessed. Shellie wanted to attend the temple, and only through Heavenly Father's help was she able to make it. Whether she knew it or not, Shellie touched my life in many ways. Some of the lessons I learned from her include, live every day to its fullest, forge on even when it hurts, don't complain because someone always has it worse, serve others even when you are in the thick of your own problems, love your kids and husband, laugh (a lot), and don't give up. I'm sure there is not a person that knows Shellie that doesn't love her dearly. Her bubbly, up beat, fun loving, personality was contagious and I will miss her every day!

Heaven on Earth!

Today, DJ and I had the opportunity to be in attendance at the temple with a sweet sister in our ward going through for her first time, she was also able to be sealed to her husband and two beautiful daughters for time and all eternity. This is a unique situation though, this dear sister has been fighting cancer for upwards of 10 years now and has been extremely sick for the past year. She set yesterday as the day to go through the temple and then a couple of weeks ago, she took a turn for the worse, she struggled to even sit up and speak. On Sunday, our ward had a special Fast for her that she would be able to make it to the temple as she had planned. Heavenly Father really does hear and answer prayers, she was there with a smile on her face, looking stronger than she had looked in days. I couldn't control my emotions for the entire 3 hours we were there, it was just so amazing to witness this occasion with so many of her family members and ward family members. I think one of the sweetest things was to watch her mother tend to her every need, making sure that everything was done just right. You could just see the deep love between mother and daughter. I love Shellie so much; her positive attitude has remained even through some of her darkest hours of fighting this battle with cancer. In all my many conversations with her, I never remember her having self pity, she always makes the comment, "well, it could be worse." Yesterday, after coming out of the temple, she kept repeating, "I did it, I did it." This was one of the sweetest moments of my life, one that I will never forget!! I am eternally grateful for my membership in this church and I'm grateful I got to be present in the temple yesterday with Shellie and her family. I love you, Shellie!

She's done it again!

My neighbor, Kara, graciously took pictures of the kids again. Only this time, on the spur of the moment. We'd casually talked about it, but nothing was set in stone. So, one afternoon, the weather seemed absolutely perfect, I called her, she willingly excepted, we borrowed a few items of clothing from her, and we were out the door for a big photo shoot. She does an amazing job, how she managed to capture a darling photo of all 6 kids is beyond me. See for yourself!!


Side note.....Regan did her hair all by herself in about 15 minutes. It was one of those parenting moments where I just had to bit my tongue, but I'm glad I did, because I think she did an amazing job! It's so nice to have one that can finally do her own hair.



These are just a few out of literally 100's. I'm like a kid in a candy store, it will take me days to make up my mind which ones I like best. Thanks, Kara!

Um...I can explain

why I haven't updated this thing in a long while,

why my kids have eaten obscene amounts of chips and hot dogs this week,

why I have bags the size of a large mountain under my eyes,

why I haven't returned many phone calls,

why my body aches from head to toe,

why the only thing out of my mouth to my children is, JUST A MINUTE,

why my whole house has a layer of dust over everything,

why my fingernails are permanently stained black,

why I stink of BO, propane, and fruit, mixed all together (yuck)

and........

why my children look like this:

Yep, this picture has "neglect" written all over it. So, this is WHY:

114 jars of pears, 28 jars of peaches, and 18 freezer bags of corn later. Labor Day, DJ, Regan, and I spent all day putting up corn which we purchased from the sweetest family in our ward. (120 ears for $15.00) pretty great deal, huh? Funny thing is, we came home and decided to check our corn, thinking it produced nothing this year, WRONG, we picked another 50 ears and then a few days later, my mom picked yet another 50. I guess I'll check things a little better next year. Although, Haroldsen corn is to die for so if you are in need of corn, go visit their garden. Anyway, Wednesday, my 7 boxes of pears decided to ripen so I worked for 12 hours, with a few interruptions, okay, a lot of interruptions, but was still able to get 56 quarts done. Regan was my right hand man in the evening and stayed up a little too late on a school night helping me! We did have a great visit with no interruptions which is worth it to me! Thursday, my mom came up bright and early in the morning and worked her heart out all day, she also managed to prepare a beautiful meal which she brought with her, knowing that I we needed to feed the missionaries that evening. Mom, you are amazing! My grandma came out for a bit to lend a hand as well and then, DJ came home just in time to see the 114 jars lined nicely on the table. He quickly went to work cleaning up the garage and kitchen with mom, while I tended to the kids.

Thanks to my mom for coming to the rescue and, thank you, Regan, for always being willing to help me! The fruit is all down in storage, nicely lined out on the shelves. I've decided I'm going to be the "fruit Nazi" If anyone wants a bottle of fruit, they'll have to come to me first. (just kidding)

Chuckars Baseball with the Andrus's

A couple of weeks ago, we went with our good friends, the Andrus's, to the Chuckar's Baseball game. We were lucky enough to join them in their Suite room where we enjoyed great seats, endless popcorn, and yummy ice cream with all the toppings. I have to admit, not much baseball was watched by any of us though. Holly and I can't help but gab our heads off when we're together. The kids found the Disney Channel much more interesting than the actual game and the husbands were busy fiddling around on their I-touch's. DJ's "in training" as I like to call it, and Jason is his I-touch trainer since we are technologically challenged. Anyway, we all had a fun time and to end the evening, the guys offered to take all the kids home to bed while Holly and I finished watching the game (ha ha ha). We couldn't turn down that offer and enjoyed gabbing for another hour. Thanks, wonderful husbands!!

South Dakota Part 3

Someday I will have this whole trip documented, I hope! It was such an amazing trip, I don't want to forget anything. I think I left off just as we were heading through Needles Highway! One word for you, AMAZING!!! It was truly a beautiful, scenic drive and we were lucky enough to begin the beautiful drive by seeing a few Big Horn Sheep right along the road. They didn't seem a bit scared of the crowd of people (including us) gathered around snapping photos.

We kept driving along the highway, taking in the breathe taking views of pointy mountains(hence the name "Needles Highway." We stopped several times to let the kids hike which they thoroughly enjoyed. Even the babies got in on the action, they seriously think they are as old as the other kids. I'm so glad we took them with us, not that I would've left them home, but the thoughts of two little babes in the car for hours upon hours made me a bit nervous. But, it all worked out, thanks to my mom's ingenius "car packets" for each of the children packed with endless games, toys, snacks, educational packets, you name it, it was in the bag. Among the favorites were the license plate spotting game, road trip bingo, people watching game, the flash cards, and the snacks. There was literally something for them to do every second of the car ride so it made for a very pleasant, not perfect, but generally pleasant car ride. I learned that even 14 month old babies love flashcards. Maybe I should've done that earlier but I just didn't think about it. Anyway, I have a great mom who always thinks of everything and most of all is always trying to make my life a bit easier.

Okay, more about Needles Highway. It was just stunningly beautiful. Even the kids were ooohing and aawwing along the way. We could've spent hours climbing on the rocks but needed to move on down the road. After a bit more driving we came upon the "Needle" but before you could get the full affect, you had to drive through a one lane tunnel. The kids thought it was the neatest thing they'd seen thus far. It was kind of crazy because it was tough to see if any cars were coming through the other way because the sun was shining just right so we had to inch our way forward. After making it through, we parked and took pictures of the "Needle" which is pretty amazing. After a few more pictures, we drove for a bit more and came upon Sylvan Lake. I'd read about it and seen pictures before hand but you really can't begin to get the full affect of its beauty w/out actually going there yourself. I know I keep saying how beautiful and stunning places are but I have to say the same about this place. It's a must see if you ever decide to make the trip. We spent the afternoon playing there. Hiking, swimming, & playing on the sandy beach. We hoped to rent paddle boats but they were closed because of scattered thunderstorms. But we still totally enjoyed ourselves.

These pictures just don't do it justice, oh well! Go there someday and you'll see what I mean. Regan, Morgan, Kaleb, and I hiked around the lake, through another tunnel, up some rocks, and made our way around to the beach. Since we couldn't take strollers that way, DJ, Jordyn, and the babies went the other way. We met up and played on the beach for a couple of hours. Jordyn and Morgan loved trying to catch the tiny fish, Kaleb and the babies loved splashing in the water and playing in the sand. Regan and I walked out as far as we could w/out having to test our swimming skills.

Well, that's it for now! Still, tons more to come but I'm getting there. One more favorite picture to share with you, possibly my favorite. It just signifies the babies life for that week, stuck in a stroller with plugs in their mouths. Believe me, there were times I wished I could've traded them places!