The Teichert Tribune!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful dad!!!

2012-01-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

Top 10 things I love about my dad:
1. His dedication to our family & love for each one of his children
2. His love and knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
3. His great sense of humor
4. His love for each of his grandchildren
5. His great attitude in spite of his many health challenges
6. His love for my mom
7. His love for all things cowboy (he's the real deal)
8. Cause him is happy (Porter)
9. Him has the best candy EVER and I love to sit on his lap! (Kami)
10. He is the best reader of "Skippy Jon Jones" books EVER!! (all of the kids)

I love you, Dad!! We hope you have a wonderful Birthday!!

Head spinning

2012-01-27T07:36:00.000-08:00

Are your days ever so busy that you feel like your head is just spinning? This is my life these days! Though I really don't mind being busy, the one thing that bothers me is that my little ones really want me to sit down and just play with them (mainly build legos) and I feel like I'm always saying, "just a minute, I'll be right there." Then pretty soon two hours have gone by and the little people are still patiently waiting with lego kit in hand ready for me to sit down and build with them. Yesterday, Porter finally pinned me down to build his lego tow truck but of course he couldn't find the instructions anywhere. Though I've built the darned thing 10 times, do you think I could remember how it went together?? No way!! Thanks to the lego internet sit for posting all of the instructions on line for people like me--30 minutes later the thing was built and Porter's smile was worth every minute spent! Soon after, Kami decided she would like me to build a lego house with her cute pink legos she got for Christmas so we went to work getting that built and surprisingly, it came together much faster than we thought. Not too long after that, Kaleb came home from school and decided he'd get in on the lego fun and spent a really long time assembling his lego camper and semi truck with very little help--thank goodness he's at the point where he can follow instructions! It's so funny to watch these guys spend hour after hour building legos and never tire of it. Makes me wish I was a kid again with no worries in the world. Anyway, I've decided life is not going to slow down so I better just jump on board, keep a smile on my face, and enjoy the ride!

Under construction.....bear with me!

2012-01-26T12:25:00.001-08:00

Adorable!

2012-01-21T07:17:00.001-08:00

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

This and that

2012-01-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

I was thinking the New Year would bring on more organization in my life, more time, and less stress (ha ha ha) We're already nearing the end of January and it's left me wondering if I'm even a titch better person than I was last year. I didn't really set any goals on paper this year because, frankly, that just stresses me out and I end up feeling disappointed if I don't achieve every one that is written down. This year I just thought about the things I need to change, work on, do better, accomplish, etc., and didn't even write them down because let's face it, these things are already deeply embedded in my mind. Everyday I'm just trying to do one thing better than I did the day before whether it's reading my scriptures, playing with the kids, not losing my temper with the kids (hard one), organizing an area in my house, planning menus, developing my own talents, exercising, an so on. It's working pretty well and I'm not stressing myself out but I did realize something the other day while trying to organize my closet and that is, just because I know right where everything is in my house, doesn't mean I'm an organized person. This thought bummed me out because I really thought organization might be one area that I was sort of good at but the more I clean things out, the more I realized that I need an expert to come in to this house and do a complete overhaul. And, since that's not going to happen, I guess I'll just stick with my plan that I've had all along and that is, don't go buy more plastic organizing bins and all that jazz, just empty out the old ones, do yourself a favor and get rid of junk that you haven't used in months (trust me, you won't miss it), get rid of stuff, reuse the containers, and there you have it, you saved some money, helped someone out, and plus, you just feel good when you take a car load of stuff to the DI or the dump!  Now that I've rambled on about nothing, what I really need to do is record the happenings of the last few weeks in no particular order:
* Jordyn has been losing teeth like crazy, she's missing 4 on top and 2 on the bottom but she still finds a way to eat apples whole. Funny, funny girl! Kaleb's lost two of his own but I think he's a stand still. Morgan came home from school yesterday with a tooth in her hand that she'd pulled out during school. She told me she really wanted to get it out before she got home so I wouldn't sit on her and yank it out with dental floss. While on the subject of teeth, Regan and Morgan took another trip to the orthodontist and much to Regan's dismay, she has to wait another 4 months for her darn teeth to fall out and fill in before we look at getting braces on her. She's pretty sure that she'll be the only high schooler next year that is still losing teeth. Poor kid!  Morgan has to have another space maintainer in preparation for her second set of braces. She's been an expensive kid, but pretty teeth are a must as far as I'm concerned so any amount of money spent there is money well spent!

* Regan decided before Christmas that she'd try out for the basketball team. Tryouts were held two weeks ago and she made it and is now in the thick of practices every night and two games a week. She's at somewhat of a disadvantage because most of the other girls have been playing basketball together for years, never missing a season. Regan stopped playing quite a few years ago other than playing for fun here at home and occasionally going to the church to shoot around with DJ. So, she's having to learn all of the plays in a short amount of time and having to learn to be aggressive which is certainly not in her nature. I'm proud of her for trying out and keeping a good attitude!
* Jordyn got glasses! She's been complaining of her eyes hurting for sometime but being the sympathetic mother I am (wink wink), I just thought she wanted to be like her other little friends who recently got glasses. I sound like a mean mom but doesn't every kid that age want glasses and braces and maybe even a broken arm just because it's cool. Well, come to find out, she's far sighted in her left eye so she just needs reading glasses which she pretty much wears all day. So, the jokes on me!
* I'm officially getting old. I managed to have 2 doctor appointments in 2 weeks which resulted in way too many horse pills I must swallow every morning. I finally decided that this dang cold wasn't going to go away unless I went to visit the Doc and low and behold, I found out I have Bronchitis. The horse pills are working and the inhaler is working wonders.  Also, after 3 years of my back aching every day, I decided I better have someone take a look at it so that was the 2nd office visit. I'm kicking myself that I didn't go in 3 years ago because he's got me on some awesome anti inflammatory pills that are working miracles. I haven't been able to bend over to tie my shoes, lift a laundry basket, get off of a couch, pick up kids, run, cough, walk, etc. w/out any pain for so long and today I've done all of those things and more with minimal pain. Anyway, at the rate I'm going, I'll have to make the dreaded purchase of a pill separator!
* Morgan just finished yet another round of indoor soccer and is moving right in to the next round. She never seems to tire of the sport and is ticked if she ever has to miss a practice or a game. Of all of her Christmas presents she received, her most exciting things were her new soccer socks and shin guards! She couldn't wait to show them off to her coach. She's really fun to watch on the soccer field and is quite sure that she knows everything there is to know about the game (ha ha) This gets her in trouble sometimes!
* Kaleb has taken off reading the last couple of weeks. The light just turned on and it's all starting to click. He love his teacher and hates when there is a substitute. This week he came home very disgusted because he apparently had a "mean" substitute. He told me that she never smiles and that she's mean to him and everyone in the class. He was pretty disgusted with her bad attitude and can't wait until tomorrow when Mrs. Schuster returns.
* Porter and Kamryn spent a couple of days sick last week with a nasty flu bug. It never ceases to amaze me how one will wake up with a sickness and within 1 hour, the other one has the exact same thing. You can argue that they play together, sleep in the same bedroom, and spend much of their time together so naturally they would get sick at the same time but I still think it's bizarre. I think they are just connected in every way, they are hungry at the same time, they poop at the same time (too much information, I know), they know what each other is thinking, they fight like crazy but come to each other's defense all of the time, they can't sleep away from each other, if one leaves the room, the other one will follow within minutes. They crack each other up and carry on the funniest conversations ever!! I rarely turn on the radio in the car because they are the only entertainment I need. I'm having a hard time realizing that they will be turning 4 in 5 more months. They are definitely not babies anymore though I'm sure they are treated like it a little too often.

Jordyn and her friend Emily before there Fall clogging performance. And, an adorable toothless Jordyn!

Porter, Kamryn, and Kaleb with Grandma Johnson--this was taken at Promentory Rehabilitation where my Grandma spent a couple of weeks recovering after hip surgery caused by a nasty fall at her apartment. She's since moved down to live with my mom and dad for the next few weeks until she's strong enough to move back to her apartment at Bonaventure here in Idaho Falls!! We can't wait until she comes back!

Kami with daddy who she affectionately refers to as "her boyfriend"

Jordyn and Kamryn playing dress up and dolls with Jordyn's new Journey Girl doll she got for Christmas. She loves this doll more than anything and takes care of her just like she would a real baby. I'm glad she's finally figured out how to do it's hair because that's all I needed was another head of hair to do in the morning!

Jordyn with "Kelsee" our newest family member!

Kami slicing her own apple. Yikes!! Can anyone say in Ms. Independent!

My babies that are not really babies anymore!

Kami's loving getting her hair done these days as long as she's the one who decides what we'll do for the day. She loves for me to curl her hair like Regan's with her new curling iron!

Porter Pie--always smiling and can win anyone over with those big eyes!

Toothless Jordyn with her sleeping mask that she got for Christmas. At night time I'll go and check on her and there she is with her doll fast asleep, both with their sleeping masks on:)

Porter and Kami spent a solid day on the couch sick! Did I say Porter was always smiling...well, almost always!

Need Snow!!!

2012-01-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

My sister's and I made these snow man kits (minus the snow:)) for our family Christmas party. They turned out so adorable but we haven't been able to use them because of the lack of snow so the kids are getting creative! Regan would die if she knew I posted this but it was too funny not to post!!

I personally have never seen a snowman with an arm sticking out!:):)

Christmas Holiday Ski Pics

2012-01-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

Lunch in the lodge! Perfect time to eat and thaw our toes and hands!

Kaleb & Mom

The view at the top of the mountain-breathtaking!

Porter's first time down the mountain with the harness--nifty contraption!

Jordyn on her first run down the mountain--she was a little nervous and preferred that DJ and I stay pretty close to her and if we either got too far in front or too far behind she'd let us know!:) She's a good little skiier, just a little apprehensive.

Porter had this grin on his face the whole time he was on the hill. He thought he was pretty cool stuff skiing down the hill. Makes me wonder what he'll be like when he's unleashed from the harness. It could be scary!:) Morgan and Regan LOVE skiing and are both getting really good. Regan loves skiing on her own and likes to see how many trips she can take down the mountain before and after lunch. Morgan is a pretty confident skier but enough apprehensive that I don't have to worry to much that she'll try something stupid (famous last words)! They both enjoyed skiing with their cousins Tana and Janae this year!

Regan enjoying some lunch while she thaws and DJ giving Kaleb some last minute instructions on the hill.

There goes Porter & DJ!

(I was proud of myself that I didn't crash while taking tons of video and pictures of the kids while skiing)

This was Kami's expression the first time down the mountain! She was one sad chick until she made it safely to the bottom and then she was all smiles for the rest of the time.

I made it down the hill mom!!!

Look Mom, I'm doing it!!

Tana and Jordyn tearing up the hills! Tana is afraid of NOTHING!!! She had only been on the hill one day and she was skiing right along with Regan, Morgan, Jordyn, and Janae!

Getting off the lift while carrying a kid with skies on plus all the poles is never easy (I'm speaking for myself) DJ had no problems and I was amazed at how good he was with the harness! He's always loved to ski but I think he enjoys it even more now that he sees the kids having such a great time.

Having a little fun with the camera on the lift (until I just about dropped it off the lift)

Warming our bums by the fire!

Honesty is the best policy..

2012-01-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Today I went to pick up Kaleb from Kindergarten and just as I was getting to the door, the secretary came out holding Kaleb's hand just laughing her head off. I guess Kaleb said, "I should probably wait outside for my mom because sometimes she's in her pajamas and she looks kind of scary!" For the record, I think I've only been in my workout clothes once or twice this year when picking him up so apparently it must've been a pretty frightening sight! Gotta love kids!

It's all fun and games until someone breaks a....

2012-01-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

brand spanking new WINDSHIELD!!! On Christmas Eve we made a last minute decision to go see the Christmas lights around town, in particular, the house on Iona rode that has the lights synchronized to the music. We got a good spot, parked and then I made the mistake of letting Porter and Kamryn sit on my lap and dance to the music. They got a little carried away and both smacked their heads on the windshield a couple of times. DJ told them to stop and I did my best to hold them down but of course, they didn't stop, so Porter was the unlucky little guy that hit it one more time just right and split it all across the passengers side. I was instantly sick and ticked that I had gotten them out of their car seats. DJ kept it together and didn't say too much other than, "look what happens when you don't obey." It was a pretty quiet ride home other than Porter's muffled cries from the back seat and no, he wasn't crying because his head hurt, because he didn't even get a bump from the incident, he was crying because he felt so bad. So, guess what DJ and I gave to one another for Christmas? Yep, a broken windshield, and the prospect of forking out another $100 for a new one! Although, DJ thinks he wants to wait a while to get it fixed so every time the kids get in the van, they'll have a visual reminder of what happens when you don't obey:):)

Santa's lap

2012-01-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

In November I took the kids to BYU-I to the bookstore for their pre-Christmas sale which turned out to be quite the party. They had games, raffles, food, entertainment, and my kid's favorite, sitting on Santa's lap. I'm pretty sure he was the "real" Santa:) because he was he was just so darn adorable! He just beamed when the kids hopped right up on his lap and snuggled right in to him with their faces buried in his big white beard (not fake)!! Kaleb thought he was pretty much awesome and enthusiastically told him he'd like his own giant bag of chips and a blue glowing basketball, Jordyn thinks she doesn't believe in Santa anymore but wasn't about to miss an opportunity to sit on his lap and tell him she'd like a doll and a makeup kit. Porter and Kami were so excited they could barely wait their turn in line. As soon as it was their turn they both ran right up with huge grins on their faces and gave him a big squeeze. Porter announced that he wanted a firetruck with a really tall ladder and Kami asked for a baby doll that talked but I think they were even more excited about the candy cane he handed them when they got down. Anyway, it was a fun evening and I even got a little Christmas shopping done at some pretty good prices.

Kaleb the B-Day Boy (December 4th)

2012-01-04T14:41:00.000-08:00

I'm still playing catch up and just found this post that I had started a couple of weeks after Kaleb's 6th B-Day!

I'm a crappy blogger these days....actually just plain pathetic. I'm finding many other things to occupy my time. Namely, Christmas prep, cooking, planning, parties, projects, homework, piano, recitals, reading, running, decorating, eating, gift wrapping,etc. I can't complain that I don't have time, I just don't make the time. Anyway, guilt got the best of me today. My little man, Kaleb, had his 6th B-Day a week ago Sunday so here is the low-down on his big day. We actually celebrated Kaleb's 6th B-Day on Saturday because DJ isn't never home on Sunday's. Furthermore, our church is at 1:30 which means we don't even get out until 4:30 and it seems that all heck breaks loose at our house with no dad, 6 hungry kids, messy house, dinner prep, and literally herding the kids off to bed. Long story short, it just worked better to have it on Saturday afternoon and of course, Kaleb wasn't a bit disappointed because it meant breaking in to his presents one whole day early!:) Grandma & Grampa Rose & Grandma Johnson joined us for the party (so glad that they live close enough to be able to attend so many of the kids things). We ate a yummy dinner, opened presents and enjoyed cake and ice cream. Kaleb requested cheesecake because he knew Grandpa couldn't have B-Day cake and he even offered to eat Grandpa's crust :) Such a cute little guy who adores both of his Grandpa's! He's always been really concerned about Grandpa Rose's food allergies and when we have any type of get together, he'll always ask me what things Grandpa can eat. Anyway, he got spoiled as usual. I was finally on the ball this year and purchased his B-Day gifts in November so that I wouldn't mix it in with Christmas and gype the poor little guy! He got some really fun toys and some cute clothes which he was pretty excited about. Kaleb is just a fun kid all the way around. Yes, he has his typical misbehaving moments but all in all he's a happy little guy and genuinely wants to do what is right. He loves all things boy, monster trucks, bikes, legos, imaginext, basketball, remote control anything, and he also loves to color, draw and make up pictures with stickers, pretend play with his sisters and brother, loves to create all sorts of intersting contraptions made from anything he can find in the house and in the garage. He'll spend hours working on projects and then come and explain them to me right down to the very last detail. He loves building legos and spends hours building with his latest sets he got from his B-day and Christmas. He likes school and is becoming a really good reader, hates riding the bus, loves his teacher, Mrs. Schuster, loves riding his bike, loves going to Cokeville to Grandma & Grandpa Teichert's, loves going branding with Grandpa Rose and playing with Grandma Rose's toys in Blackfoot. He loves playing with friends and cousins, loves eating (goodies are his favorite), chips are a close second. In fact, he asked Santa for his very own bag of Tostito Chips and a glowing basketball. He has enjoyed the bag of chips more than anything else he got for Christmas! I have to laugh at how the chip request came about. We were at our friend's house for a party and they had the family size bags of Tostito chips out and Kaleb just thought they were the best! I guess he didn't think Santitas cheapies were good enough and he kept saying, "those are the best chips I've ever eaten. I've got to ask Santa for my very own bag." Poor deprived child!!!!:):) He can be a stink sometimes but he is genuinly sweet and comes up to me frequently to give me big hugs around the waste for no reason at all! I love you Kaleb!

Grandpa and Grandma Teichert gave his this nice dress outfit which he wears almost every Sunday!!

"cool, I've never has a transformer before"

Morgan, "helping" her brother!:)

Kaleb and Grandma Johnson! I love this picture so much. It tells a lot about my Grandma J., she adores her grandkids, loves attending any activity that she possibly can, and makes each of my kids feel like a million bucks!

Pictures like this one are just priceless...shortly after Kaleb's B-Day she had a bad fall in her apartment and broke her hip. She underwent surgery and is recovering at Promentory Rehabilitation Center right across from Bonaventure where she had been living. She is a gem and I feel blessed that she is my Grandmother!

"Awesome...my cousin Jack has one of these!"

Kaleb with his B-Day loot!

Kaleb with Grandpa and Grandma Rose--they gave him two awesome lego sets which he loves!

One, two, three, make a wish and blow!!

Kami playing with Grandpa's hair, okay...head. The other day she said, "mom, I don't want dad to give me a haircut because if he does, I'll look like a Grandpa! (ha ha ha) The kids seriously LOVE playing with Grandpa Rose's fuzzy head, good thing he's such a good sport about it!

Kaleb left Grandpa and Grandma to put his new Lego set together while he tried out some of his other gifts. I had to laugh at the two of them trying hard to put the little lego camper together! They finished it finally and Kaleb was pretty thrilled!

After the Birthday party, Kaleb, Morgan and I got dressed up and took Grandpa and Grandma Rose to the Brian Stokes Mitchell Christmas concert on the BYU-I Campus. If you haven't heard this man sing you must! He's got the most beautiful, pure voice and is such an entertainer. Morgan and Kaleb loved the concert though they were a little tired and fidgety at times. They particularly loved his rendition of "The Friendly Beasts" (you need to pull this up on YouTube if you haven't heard it) It's Morgan's very favorite. Anyway, it was a perfect day spent with family celebrating Kaleb's 6th B-Day.

Can't get enough!

2012-01-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

Sometime in the craziness of December we were lucky enough to babysit my niece, Tatum's, baby, named Maggie! She is an absolute doll and possibly the chubbiest little 2 month old I've ever held. The kids thought they had died an gone to heaven! Especially Kamryn who thinks she is the mommy to every baby that comes around. She insisted on holding her, feeding her a bottle, lying with her on the floor, and she'd chastise the boys if they played to close around her:) The kids cracked me up at the things they said in the few hours that she was with us: "mom, get her out of her car seat, she can't breathe in there,", "Can I walk with her," "can I look at her," "we need a baby, pleeeaaassse mommy!", I want a baby now, where can we get one?," when Maggie sneezed, Porter said, "mommy, her snuffed at us!", "her looks like a bunny in those clothes," "isn't she so adorable mommy?" and my personal favorite, Porter asked how old she was and Kaleb said, "she's not even one, she's just a plain old baby, she doesn't even know what Birthday's are!"

They kept asking why her outfit had bunny ears, "she's a baby mommy, not a bunny":)

Her chubby little arms and legs just make you want to eat her up!

Kamryn was in the height of her glory holding Maggie and I think her expression sums it up!

Maggie was so perfect the entire time we had her. I still can't believe she was so patient while everyone took turns holding her!

Kaleb and Maggie! Doesn't Kaleb look like he's lovin' life?

Christmas card 2011

2012-01-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

Greetings, friends, family, and loved ones. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! It's been an eventful year at our home so here's the short version!

Regan (13), in the 8th grade, Enjoyed another successful year of Cross Country, is a great student, had the opportunity to spend 4 days on our Stake Pioneer Trek, 3 days at girls camp & babysat quite a bit over the summer, She's enjoyed attending the temple to do baptisms for the dead with her dad on Friday mornings. She is a beautiful pianist, great help around the house, and is genuinely sweet …most days!

Morgan (9), in the 4th grade. Loves soccer & plays year around, thanks to the indoor soccer arena! Participated in the after school Robotics program, is a great student, avid reader, plays the piano beautifully, loves creating and building, and always wants to know the why's and how's of things. She's sensitive, sweet and a great help when coaxed!

Jordyn (8), in the 2nd grade. The highlight of her year was when she was baptized in October and had the opportunity of attending General Conference in S.L.C. with her grandparents. She recently started clogging and loves it. She spends hours reading and drawing, plays the piano, & loves everything girly! She's full of personality and loves being in charge of everything….including her parents!

Kaleb (6), In Kindergarten. Started wrestling this year and still trying to decide if he likes it Loves to snow ski, learned to swim this year, loves riding his bike & playing with his siblings, is learning to read, loves any kind of music and is looking forward to another snow skiing season! He is sweet & helpful and hates being in trouble!

Porter: (3) Full of energy, loves to wrestle, loves to torture his siblings Loves cars & trucks, movies, Lego's, and candy! Almost always has a huge grin on his face, snuggly, and gives the best hugs & kisses. Loves playing with his brother who he affectionately calls "buddy," and spends most of his day pretend playing with his other best buddy, Kamryn whom he is the first to fight with but also the first one to defend her! A pure delight (most of the time)

Kamryn: (3): Also full of energy, knows exactly what she wants and doesn't hesitate to let it be known! She loves dolls, reading books, puzzles, ipad games, candy, & pretend playing with her sidekick, Porter! She loves mothering Porter, always making sure he's dressed, hair combed, shoes on, and has food in his stomach, even if it means feeding him! She's snuggly and sweet when she's not throwing temper tantrums!:)

D.J. : Enjoying his work at BYU-Idaho and continues to be busy with his church calling, Decided he didn't have enough to do and started a Doctorate Program this Fall. In his spare time he loves running and snow skiing with the kids. Participated in several races this summer including the Temple to Temple Relay. Attends the temple with Regan and several of our Ward youth to do baptisms for the Dead on Friday mornings.

Cindy: Busy being the mom to 6 really great kids! Serving in the nursery, enjoyed a season of snow skiing with our 4 oldest kids, had fun running with D.J. all spring and summer and got to participate in several races this summer, including the Temple to Temple with DJ. Loves following the kids to all their sports and activities and seeing them learn and develop their talents!

**The highlight of our year was our 10 day trip to California where we spent several days at Disney Land, Sea World, the beach, & Universal Studios. It was a dream trip!

We love you all! May the light of Christ be with all of you this season!

Family pics 2011

2012-01-03T08:47:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken by our good friend and neighbor Kara! She always does such a good job and is patient as can be with our family. It is no small task to get a good picture of all "8" of us, especially with our little hooligans!! Here are a few of our favorites that haven't been edited by Kara yet:

This makes 2 photo shoots from Kara this year for our family. One for Jordyn's baptism and then family pictures! Kara deserves a major award:)

SKI BUMS!!

2011-12-29T21:43:00.000-08:00

I can't believe what a crappy blogger I am these days...I think it's been over a month since my last post and guess what, I'm only a tiny bit bummed about it. Most of me is really glad that I've broken away for a while and spent tons of time with the kids doing some really fun things for the holidays and aside from a few really late nights preparing for Christmas, I've been in bed at a reasonable hour. Horray for me! I do hope to update about all of our fun times since November but that probably won't happen at the rate I'm going. Among many things that have kept me from the blogging world, we did a really fun thing this year and bought a season pass to Cokeville's very own ski hill (Pinecreek ski Resort) and we've spent 3 days straight skiing with our kids. Even Porter and Kamryn got to try out the hill this year and both of them loved it and made 3 runs each down the hill (thanks to the harness and DJ's great skill) Anyway, it's been an amazing 3 days watching the kids improve and seeing them enjoy themselves so much even though I'm pretty sure we've run every one of them in to the ground with approximately 6 hours of skiing each day. They are all little troupers and have loved the added bonus of being able to ski with a couple of their cousins! If you want an awesome ski experience for any level of skiier, you've got to try out Pine Creek Ski Resort...you won't be sorry!! (That's my plug) We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!

Wrestle Mania

2011-11-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

I'm ashamed of myself that I haven't even blogged about Kaleb starting wrestling. I think he's been going now for more than a month and has participated in 6 or more matches. It's been an interesting experience, not really what I had imagined. I'm not sure he loves it just yet, in fact, sometimes I think he hates it though he doesn't ever express that. He's always excited for practices and especially pumped about the meets but the minute he steps on the mat, he's scared out of his mind and most often in tears. The amazing thing about it is that he continues to wrestle while the tears are freely flowing. You'd think he would just lay down and give up and get pinnned just to get it over with but he does the exact opposite. He fights and works his hardest until he's physically and emotionally drained. Up until Thursday he's lost every single one of his matches. Some of them he was pinned within a very short amount of time and others he's made it all 3 rounds and never gotten pinned but was pretty much the underdog (literally, he's spent most of his time underneath. But, things changed Thursday night and he went out ready to win against a kid that he lost to a couple of weeks ago. He took him down really quick and then pinned him, in fact it happened so fast, I didn't even pull the camera out. I'm so ticked because his expression was so funny. He wasn't even sure that he'd won until they held his arm up as the winner. It's pretty funny because when the season first started, he said to me one day, "what's the big deal about winning, all they do is hold your arm up." Funny kid! Anyway, he's pretty proud of all of his medals he's recieved but especially proud of this medal he earned for actually winning! Who knows what will happen at Saturday's match but I'm just glad that he's had a taste of winning, just so he knows how it feels. Now I wonder how long it will take him to get past the tears that so freely flow the second he's on the mat. Way to go, Buddy!

Funny side note, DJ has Jordyn and Kaleb matched up as wrestling partners here at home. Things were going really well until Kaleb by accident bloodied her nose and fattened her lip. Needless to say, Jordyn has been a little gun shy about returning to our home wrestling mat (carpeted living room that is not very big)! Porter and Kamryn spend most of their time wrestling one another now so Kamryn keeps asking me when she'll be able to start wrestling:) Yikes, I don't think so!

Doesn't he just look thrilled? :)

Look out for these two!

Now that's more like it! Kaleb does have shorts on, his shirt is just super long:)

DJ giving Kaleb some pointers before the match! He's determined to make a wrestler out of Kaleb. Not so much for the reasons you might think but more because he always says that he learned some of his greatest lessons as a wrestler. He learned to be a hard worker, not to blame others for failures, self discipline, etc. I must say that he is all of these things and more and if Kaleb turns out like his dad, he'll be a great man!

More Halloween!

2011-11-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

I don't ever claim to be the crafty, creative, type of mom but I have had fun the past few years making an exciting Halloween dinner complete with mummy dogs, bread stick bones, eyeballs, veggie skeleton, blood dip, etc. This year my mom saved the day and gave the kids a fun bag full of all the paper goods for our themed Halloween dinner. It seriously made making the dinner that much more fun because I didn't have to worry about all of that extra stuff that really makes the dinner totally exciting! Anyway, the mummy dogs were my favorite, they are just so dang cute and they taste pretty good but only if you buy real hot dogs, not the scary fake .68 cents ones. The kids loved the bread stick bones dipped in blood (pizza sauce) and they they thought the floating eyeballs (green grapes) were pretty funny. My veggie skeleton guy is a little on the fat side only because for a family of 8, we needed a lot more veggies than the one pictured. He was a little funny but it sure helped the kids eat a ton more veggies than usual. Anyway, it was a fun time and we ended the evening with pumpkin carving. This was by far our lamest year in the pumpkin carving area because Regan was up to her eyeballs in algebra homework so she and DJ couldn't join in the fun. That made me the designated "pumpkin cleaner-outer" which always takes entirely too long so most of our pumpkins didn't even get all the way carved, others had stab wound (thanks to Porter) and others were pretty darn cute considering they were done by a 3, 5, & 8 year olds. Oh well, we're making memories, right?

Halloween 2011

2011-11-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

I'm so behind, but what's new?? Halloween was a lot of fun even though it's quickly becoming a faded memory....time is just flying by. Anyway, the kids made a candy haul once again and had no problem downing it all in a short period of time. Porter and Kamryn thought they'd died and gone to heaven with all their favorite candy right at their fingertips. It was pretty funny to watch them dump out their bucket time after time just to go through and see what yummy thing they could eat next. I just let them eat and have a good time and then it was gone. That's the way I like it. I did put some away for out gingerbread house making project that we plan to do at the first of December. Should be lots of fun especially with the variety of candy! Anyway, the kids all looked adorable and me, well, maybe not so adorable but I had a ton of fun dressing up right along with the kids. Porter was not loving my face but Kami thinks I ought to sport that look every day! She's a hoot! My favorite comment of the night regarding my costume came from a guy in my ward, he said, "Hey, Sister Teichert, that's the best you've ever looked!" Hardy Har Har!!!

One adorable pumpkin and Miss Fancy Nancy! Jordyn couldn't have been happier with her costume!

Power Ranger to the rescue!! And, the zombie soccer player (Morgan couldn't decide what to be so this is what she finally came up with--pretty easy, huh, and she was happy so that's what counts)

Regan in her bathtub costume (she's such a good sport) and Little Porter Bear!

What did I go as?? Well, I went as myself, frazzled mother of six children, housewife, Bishop's wife, etc.!:)

I had to post this gem--this was taken just before we left for the trunk-or-treat. Can you believe I would actually make Kamryn eat her dinner before I let her gorge herself on candy??? What a mean mom. Yes, she did finish every bite!

Man, they are growing up way too fast! They loved Halloween this year!

Picking your brain...

2011-11-10T07:23:00.000-08:00

Last night I was putting Porter to bed and out of the blue he asks, "mommy, what are boogers made out of?" DJ and I just about died of laughter!

Food for thought: :)

Boogers are mucus (myoo-kuss). Mucus is the thin, slippery material that is found inside your nose. Many people call mucus snot.

I have to remember this

2011-11-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for:
Gentle nudgings from the spirit (and the twins) on Sunday that helped me get up out of my seat to share my testimony. The spirit sometimes works through little kids, at least that's what I think. On Sunday I was sitting there in the meeting when Kamryn whispers, "mommy, I want to go sit on daddy's lap while you talk in the microphone." And, Porter in his not so quiet voice kept saying things like, "mommy, someday we all going to die, huh?" and, "mommy, then we'll go and live with Heavenly Father and Jesus again." and, "why did the mean men put Jesus on the cross" and a few other things. How could I not get up and share my testimony of the gospel after that. So, today I'm thankful for my testimony and particularly grateful for my sweet babies that express themselves so well.

Thankful

2011-11-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

I've been forming thankful lists in my head since the start of November but haven't had a chance to post them. I only have a second today so among many, many, other things,
I'm grateful today for:
Twins that completely entertain each other every day with very few fights. Really, there is no need for them to have playdates because they have one another. (We do have playdates with some of their best friends which they LOVE) but, it's not something we do on a regular basis because these two are just best buddies!

insights

2011-11-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

When life gets you down.......eat lots of Halloween candy and run 4 miles early in the morning in 20 degree weather to justify it! Somehow all guilt just floats away!

I highly recommend this!!

Jordyn's funnies

2011-11-06T17:07:00.000-08:00

At the dinner table Jordyn said, '' Mom, I have a charlie brown'' (charlie horse). Ha, I love it!!!

Regan's funnies

2011-11-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Last night Regan and I attended her parent teacher conferences. As we were leaving I asked her who her favorite teacher is and she replied, "I'd have to say Mrs. Call because she seems so user friendly!" I started to laugh and she said, "oh is that only for computers." What a funny girl!!

Memories of my Grandpa and Grandma Rose

2011-10-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have tender feelings when I think about Grandma and Grandpa Rose. I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to spend quite a few of my childhood years living just down the road from them. As a result, I remember spending many hours with grandma helping her with various things, playing with my cousins, working in her yard, eating all of her yummy cooking, watching her busily working around her house and yard, sneaking candy out of her candy dishes, watching movies in her living room, sleeping at her house, watching her rake her carpet (yes, she used an actual rake on her orange shag carpet), pretending for hours with my cousins, listening to grandma hum as she worked (I'm still not sure whether this was due to her tracheotomy or just a habit, but I loved it! My grandma was a hard worker and good at everything she did. She was a fantastic cook, she loved to work in her yard, she loved to quilt, garden, sew, and many more things. Most importantly, she had and still has a powerful testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the reality of eternal families. I always felt of her love and her desire that each one of us do everything possible so we would all be able to return back to our Heavenly Father. I'll always love and appreciate my grandma's example of righteous living. She loved the Gospel and was dedicated to serving the Lord. She was always anxiously engaged in the work and I never remember hearing her complain about her many responsibilities. I know that she played a big part in helping me gain my own testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel because of her positive example. I love you Grandma, and appreciate all that you have taught and will continue to teach me and my children.

It's not very often that children get to grown up in the same town as their grandparents. I was one of the lucky ones. I have many fond memories of times I spent with grandpa while working on the ranch with my dad and siblings. From a very early age, my grandpa taught me the value of hard work and he lived it through work and example. He was passionate in the things he did and I had complete faith in his ability to accomplish anything he had before him. I always knew and felt of grandpa's love for me, in fact, I'm sure I thought I was his favorite. Some of my fondest memories of grandpa involve the times we were together as a large family where he would express his love for each one of us and how he was so proud of all the good things we were accomplishing. He always expressed his deep desire that each one of us hold fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and shared his testimony of forever families and his desire that each one of us do everything possible to make this happen. Because of his powerful testimony, my own testimony of these same principles grew and I remember having the distinct feeling that I didn't want to do anything that would cause me to be separated from this wonderful family. To this day, I look forward to visiting with Grandpa and I'll always appreciate his kind words, his council, his compliments, and his sincere expressions of love to me. I love you, Grandpa!

I saw this quote at the nursing home where my Grandma is and I just loved it!

Jordyn the Gr.......8! at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-10-24T07:52:00.001-07:00

This is the video I put together for Jordyn's 8th B-Day. Though I've got a few mistakes and transitional mess-ups, it turned out pretty cute!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

My Beautiful Grandma Rose

2011-10-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

This is my Grandma Rose (Dorothy Evans Rose) with my Dad (her oldest son). She was just recently put in a nursing home due to dementia and is going through some very difficult times. Though this has been one of the most difficult things our family has had to go through, we know this is what is best for her as well as our Grandpa Rose who was no longer able to physically or emotionally able to care for her. My heart aches for the two of them and cannot imagine how difficult this has to be for both of them. I've taken comfort lately in reading both of their life history's, my Grandma's being in her own handwriting (there is something comforting about reading these words in the handwriting of my Grandmother who never missed sending me a birthday card) and I've joked several times that though I always had a difficult time reading her handwriting, it is some of the most beautiful writing I've ever seen:):) I've learned so much about my Grandma and Grandpa in the past little while and have a strong desire to help my kids to get to know all of their grandparents a lot better than they do and as a result, we've started a new FHE tradition where I will share a story or two from our family history before we have our lesson. I'm hopeful that my kids will know and feel how blessed they are to have such wonderful examples in their lives. I always tell my kids how lucky they are to have known several of their great grandparents though I don't really think they understand just how rare this is and how blessed they are. Anyway, my thoughts are kind of all over the place but I have tender feelings when I think about all the great times I spent with my grandparents. I was blessed to have grown up in a small ranching community just down the road from my grandma and grandpa Rose and can remember spending hours and hours and grandma's house helping her, playing with my cousins, working in her yard, eating all of her yummy cooking, watching her busily work cleaning her house and yard, sneaking candy out of her candy dishes, watching movies in her living room, sleeping at her house, watching her rake her carpet (yes, she used an actual rake on her orange shag carpet:), pretending for hours with my cousins, listening to grandma hum as she worked (I'm still not sure whether this was due to her tracheotomy or just a habit, but I loved it! My grandma was a hard worker and good at everything she did. She was a fantastic cook, she loved to work in her yard, she loved to quilt, garden, sew, and many more things but most importantly, she had and still has a powerful testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the reality of eternal families. I always felt of her love and her desire that each one of us do everything possible so we would all be able to return back to our Heavenly Father. I'll always love and appreciate my grandma's example of righteous living. Thanks to my wonderful grandma and grandpa for your fine examples to me and my children! We all love you!

This is a picture of our kids with Grandma and Grandpa Rose in Park Valley the last time we saw them. I'm not sure Grandma knew who we were but she still gave us that loving and warm smile and hug that I'll always remember getting as a child. Grandpa went in the house for a minute and came out with a gigantic bag of swedish fish for the kids and insisted that we take it for our long trip home. We were on our way home from Nevada and came through Park Valley and I'll be forever grateful that we caught them home because their life has changed durastically in the past 2 months and I'll probably never see my grandparents sitting together on their front porch together again.

DJ having a visit with Grandpa while Grandma enjoys watching her great grandchildren have some fun on Aunt Janet's fun new purchase, a golf cart!!!

Hmmm....

2011-10-13T07:02:00.000-07:00

Porter asked DJ and I this morning at breakfast if Jesus has a button that he pushes so the snow will come down. Sometimes his "3" year old mind blows me away!

Morg's in the spotlight!

2011-10-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Morgan and her friend, Grace, were in the newspaper last week for the Lego Robotics program they are involved in at school. Right now they are working on constructing models out of legos that they will later program. I think they have a competition sometime in November in Pocatello which she will be a part of. Morgan has been interested in joining the club and was excited that as a 4th grader she might just get the chance. The club meets every Tuesday and Thursday right after school until 4:00 so she is a super busy girl now with soccer, piano, activity days and now robotics. But, she's always enjoyed building a creating so this is right up her alley.

Two of my most favorite people!

2011-10-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

My Sis's (Lori and Julie)

We don't get to be together very often but when we are together there is lots of laughter and fun! I don't know what I would do without them! My sister Julie (on the left) told me the funniest saying she found the other day which describes our relationsip just perfect:

You and I are sisters, always remember that if you fall I will pick you up....after I finish laughing.

Jordy's Baptism Day

2011-10-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Jordyn's special Baptism Day. She had so many family members and friends there to support her and the whole day was just perfect. I had so many people comment on how much they love how our Stake conducts the baptisms. We have a wonderful Stake Primary presidency that organizes everything and of course, our Stake Priesthood leaders are so sweet and on the ball. We listened to 2 youth speakers who gave talks on Baptism and the Holy Ghost. Then our High Council leader who is over the Stake Baptisms spoke for a minute and then turned the time to each Bishop to introduce each Baptismal candidate. DJ had the opportunity of introducing Jordyn and she was just beaming the whole time. The baptism and confirmation were both special and the spirit was so strong. While she was waiting for DJ to get dressed after the baptism, she went around gave each person in the room a big hug. This is a day she's been waiting for and talking about with so much excitement for so long! I hope she will always remember this day and honor the covenants that she's entered in to and that she'll always listen to the whisperings of the spirit. Anyway, it's just crazy to me that she is our 3rd daughter to be baptized. The years are just passing me by! After the baptism we all came back for a yummy dinner at the our house and just enjoyed visiting and eating while we watched Jordy's baptism video. It was so much fun watching the kids play together so well and I seriously enjoyed spending time visiting with being around so many of our family members and I didn't even feel stress about the day. We're so blessed to be surrounded by such supportive families, I just hope my kids realize how blessed they are!

DJ and Jordyn before the baptism

Our 4 special girls!

The Grandparents plus my wonderful Grandma Johnson!

Beautiful Jordyn!

My sweet mother-in-law, and two of my sisters-in-law, Ann and Trinny!

Regan and Yoli (Dang, I'm sure I slaughtered that spelling)

My beautiful sis, Lor and her awesome husband Brad!

My sweet sister-in-law, Christine and my good friend Billy!

My gorgeous and sweet sis, Julie and I!

My wonderful and supportive parents with me! Oh how I love these two people!

****

Jordyn's big Birthday week!

2011-10-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! I don't even know where to start with this post. Jordyn turned 8 years old last Monday and she literally got to celebrate all week long. Actually, the fun started the weekend before when she was lucky enough to get to attend General Conference in Salt Lake with Grandma and Grandpa Rose! My parents have taken each of the kids when they turn 8 years old for a fun weekend get away. No only do they get to experience listening to Conference in the new Conference Center but they also get to stay 2 nights in a nice hotel, they eat out, they shop, ride trax, and hang out with my parents. They have all loved their special weekends and I'm so appreciative to my parents for giving the kids this special opportunity that they may not otherwise get. Jordyn's weekend was described to me as being "the best weekend she's ever had." She called me 2 different times throughout the weekend to update me on all the fun she was having and she'd talk my ear off for probably 10 minutes giving me every last detail. Though we had been through the Conference Center before as a family, she was still in awe at the size of it. She is particularly scared of heights so when there seats were in the upper part of the center, she said she was not too excited and totally freaked out but Grandma said she calmed down after a few minutes. She loved listening to President Monson, especially when he stood up and said, "HI" to everyone. She just got the biggest kick out of that. She spent time during the talks filling out the conference packet that Grandma had prepared for which she loved and then she spent one whole session sketching a picture of the Conference Center interior. If you know Jordyn, she has a passion for drawing and has had since she was really tiny. She particularly loves drawing fashionable girls:), but she also loves drawing buildings with lots of different rooms and tons of detail (even down to the design on the toilet paper:)

We just sent this in to the Friend magazine and she's hoping and praying that they will choose her picture!

*****

As a side note, our sweet Primary President called me Sunday evening to tell me the cutest "Jordyn" story that happened in primary. I guess the presidency was talking about our upcoming primary program and talking about how the children should conduct themselves when up on the stage, etc. Susie, (our primary president) asked Jordyn, since she had been to Conference, to tell the kids about the primary children that participated in the Children's Chorus at General Conference. I'm sure Susie was looking for an answer like, "they were reverent, they were dressed nice, they didn't talk or wiggle," instead Jordyn went on for about 3 minutes describing what each group of children were wearing, the different colors of hair, the way the boys were dressed, the different nationalities (skin coloring is something Jordyn really pays attention to when she's drawing), what length of hair the girls had, and finally ended with, "and they were really reverent") She said she just couldn't stop grinning and just had to let her keep going because she was just getting the biggest kick out of her. Awww, yes, that is our Jordyn! I love her to pieces and I mentioned it in a previous post, but it was interesting putting her baptism video together as I looked through hundreds of pictures from when she was tiny and she was very particular about her clothes, particular about her hair, she loved to lug around 5 different purses, she loved to draw, and she loves lots of color! She is one of a kind!!

Anyway, back to our regular scheduled program. As I talked to her on the phone, I got the biggest kick out of two things she said that she was SOOOO excited about, "mom, guess what, I actually got to hold the DVD player in G&G's car all by myself, I didn't even have to share it!!" and, "mom, guess what, I got a whole queen bed ALL to myself so I could move around as much as I wanted!" Some other things she loved were the huge continental breakfasts at the hotel, the room that was on the 6th floor, getting to go out to eat several times, shopping all by herself with Grandma, riding trax and talking to people about the gospel, hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa at the hotel watching t.v. and having her own snacks, laying out she and Grandma's clothes for the next day, jewelry and all, snuggling with Grandpa, talking with no interruptions:) Yep, I guess she should have been an only child but since that didn't happen, weekends like this are just what she needs and loves! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for a very fun and special weekend.

The fun continued the actual day of her B-Day, October 3rd. We had a B-Day breakfast and she left for school. I made some sugar cookies and delivered them to her class which really is the highlight of a child's life I've decided! Later that evening, Grandma Rose and Grandma Johnson joined us for her family B-Day party where we enjoyed dinner together and then present opening, lots of pictures and then cake and ice cream. Jordyn was thrilled with everything she recieved and was spoiled as usual! She got lots of arts and crafty type stuff and then a new scripture case and her own new set of scriptures. Grandma and Grandpa Teichert sent a card and a check in the mail which she was pretty excited about it. The kids don't get to go shopping very often so to have a chunk of money to spend on whatever they would like is a dream come true. Of all of my kids, she's my little shopper so I was a little afraid of how she might spend her money but I was pleasantly surprised at how careful she was with every dollar. She ended up buying herself a watch, a wooden letter "J" for her shelf, shirt, headband, pair of stretch pants, and some gum. She cracked me up because she accounted for each dollar she spent and was really careful not over spend. Phew.....maybe there is hope:)

Morgan loves to make these notebooks for B-Day's. It's just a composition notebook covered with scrapbok paper (thank you modpodge), she sometimes decorates them more with their name and a big flower but she left this one blank. Regan made a clipboard for Jordyn with basically the same idea. Jordyn was so excited about both gifts!

Grandma Rose with Jordyn! Jordy pretty much adores her, but then again, I do too! Love you mom!

This is my sweet and amazing Grandma Johnson who has faithfully attended most of my kids activities throughout the years. She is a remarkable woman and has faced a lot of health challenges this past year that set her back quite a bit but she is back to doing awesome again. She is working on selling her condo on Three Fountains Drive and recently moved in to BonAventure Assisted Living Facility. She seems to be really happy there but I always tell her that she could be happy anywhere because she's always so positive and faces her challenges with complete Faith. My mom has many of these same qualities and I love being with both women.

DJ and Jordyn--Jordyn loves to go on visits to our ward members with DJ on Sunday. She's a little talky but DJ has always said that she will make a wonderful missionary because she can talk to anyone young or old and never seems a bit nervous.

Aaaaahh.....the cake. Jordyn has chosen to make a Polly Pocket cake for a few years now. She LOVES playing with Polly Pockets and has since she was very tiny. She decorated the cake on her own though I think Morgan might have pitched in just a bit to help with the candy (okay, eat the candy:)

Some things that are special about Jordyn is that she's very organized. She's up by 6:00 each morning and gets dressed, makes her bed, makes her lunch (she despises school lunch so she makes up her own lunch ideas), she often does her own hair, she always has her backpack out of the closet, packed and ready to go each morning. She loves to read! She has 55+ points already this year in the AR program which means she's read a ton of chapter books. She's very self motivated, she plays the piano, loves clogging, loves to sing, loves to draw and color, loves to doll herself up, she is an awesome student, she's a fast runner, she loves fashion, scarfs, purses, headbands, boots, etc. She has a strong testimony and isn't afraid to share it with others. She's determined and headstrong which can be a little challenging but I'm confident that she'll use it to her benefit someday when she grows up a bit) We love you, Jordyn and hope that you had a wonderful year being "8"!

I have to be honest, I'm not a big fan of doing "friend" b-day parties. Maybe I'm just lazy but I really try to avoid doing them, but I have let the kids when they turn 8 and 12 have a few of their closest friends over for a small party. We usually play a few games, decorate cookies or cupcakes, open presents and then the kids just hang out and play. I keep it really simple and low key and the kids have to help me with the preparations. They love it and I love it so it just works for us. Jordyn had the cutest little friends over, Chelsee, Emily, and Alyssa, and they had the best time. They loved the games but I think their favorite was the caramel apple eating contest that was not even my idea. I decided at the last minute to make caramel apples for the party as a little party favor but one of the girls had the idea for the contest. Anyway, and while making them realized I was out of sweetened condensed milk so I just made my own with water, powdered milk, and sugar and it worked out pretty great. Actually, the caramel tasted really good but the caramel apples weren't the prettiest ever but they worked! It's fun to do things like that spur of the moment then I don't spend anytime stressing. Anyway, the girls were so cute and Jordyn was thrilled to have her own party!

Part 3 (Baptism Day will be following very soon!) What an awesome day this was and she had "perma-grin" the entire day!

Soccer and Cross Country season's coming to a close

2011-10-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

Soccer isn't quite over yet but Morgan has had another awesome season. I think their team is undefeated (I know, it's ridiculous that I'm not sure on that) but, whatever! I know I say this after every season but she genuinely loves soccer and she just improves so much every time she plays. She's scored a couple of goals this season but even better than that, her passing is improving so much. She's putting so much thought in to who and where she is passing and it's especially fun to watch her footwork. She looks forward to practices and games although she's been a little sad this season because DJ hasn't been able to make it to any of her games because of his classes being held on Thursday evenings. So, I've been recording some minutes of each game and always manage to successfully miss her goals and some of her best moves. Oh well, its the thought that counts, right? There team is so much fun to watch because every girl out there is there to win. Most of them have played together for several years now and we've had the same coach (my neighbor and friend) who does a great job coaching these girls! Needless to say, we all have a great time visiting and watching the girls play some awesome soccer! Anyway, on to Cross Country, Regan finished her season last Wednesday and had another awesome season. She placed in the top 10 at every meet! I was able to make it to all of her meets this year and have thoroughly enjoyed cheering she and her teammates on every meet. It's such a fun sport even though some of the meets are definetly easier to cheer at than others. The binoculars have come in handy more often then not this season although I still was able to run around to different places at several of the courses to cheer her on. She is a talented runner and their whole team had another great season. I think Regan is a bit nervous for next year as she'll be on the High School team where they run 3 miles instead of just the mile and a half courses but I think she'll do just fine.

Yes, this is the only still picture I have from soccer this season. Sad, I know, but I have taken TONS of video which makes up for the lack of still pictures. So, hopefully I get those uploaded soon for the Grandma's and Grandpa's to enjoy! She's so much fun to watch or maybe it's just because I'm her mother!

Regan with some of her xc buddies at Tiger Grizz (She placed 5th at this meet) I think there were 13 or so teams and 150 + runners! She was one excited girl!

This is Regan with Shawna (our nephew Adam's wife) They live in American Falls where Regan's last meet was last Wednesday so she and her cute little boy Austin came to cheer Regan on even though the weather was just down right YUCK! Regan was extra happy because she took first place at this meet!

Regan at Tiger Grizz in Idaho Falls

BYU-Idaho Temple to Temple Relay

2011-10-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

The week after our ward trek to the temple, DJ and I got to participate in the Temple to Temple relay put together by BYU-I. DJ has participated for a couple of years now with some his buddies at work. I was so excited when they decided to have their wives join in the fun! The race involved around 65 teams ranging from 2 to 8 man and consisted of mainly BYU-I students but their were several alumni teams and a few faculty teams like ours. The relay was a total of 26 miles so we were especially glad that ours was an 8 man team:) DJ ran a 7 mile leg and I ran a 4 1/2 mile leg and we both felt pretty darn good, in fact, I think we clocked our best times ever! Our team ended up taking 9th out of 65 teams!! It was so much fun spending the morning with DJ's co-workers and their wives. They are such neat people and it was especially fun to drive to the exchange zones and cheer everyone on as they headed off for their leg of the race. I was extremely happy when one of our team members and his wife pulled up along side of me while I was running and offered me a bottle of water. I took them up on it and proceeded to dump the whole thing on my head. Did I mention that it was stinking hot by the time it was my turn to run. Oh, I also forgot to mention that DJ handed off to me at our church building and my leg of the race went right by the our street so the kids came up to cheer me on and then hopped in with DJ to come and cheer me on. They were all yelling, "c'mon mom, you can pass him." Guess what, I didn't ever pass the guy they wanted me to pass but their cheering me on kept me going! I loved every minute of this day, probably because I was with my hubby doing something together that we both love to do! OH, and seeing the college students having such a ball together made me smile as well. Before we know it, that will be Regan! Anyway, another great activity to teach the importance of working your hardest to make it to the temple. It isn't always easy but it is obtainable!

St. Leon 1st Ward 10k to the Temple!

2011-10-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago on a Saturday our ward had our annual "trek" to the temple. All who did it last year had a great experience so we decided to try it again. All who wanted to participate either walked, ran, or road bikes as we made the 6 mile trek to the Idaho Falls Temple. It was so neat to see so many kids big and small on their bikes, some walking, some running, some in strollers, making their way to the temple with their families. We had many people in our ward volunteer to help at the busy road crossings, some who worked at our aid stations (water and bandaids:), some taking photos, some who cheered us along, and some who were invited to attend the 7:00 am session at the temple so they could be out in time to cheer the runners in as they came to the temple. It was an absolutely awesome activity for all who participated. It's something my kids looked forward to and talk about all year long. In fact, they were so excited the night before that when I came home from running errands, Kaleb, Jordyn and Morgan all had first aid baggies tied to their bikes and all their gear ready to go. Last year we all ran to the temple (minus Porter and Kamryn who were in the stroller). This year Morgan, Jordyn, and Kaleb rode their bikes and DJ, Regan, and I ran while DJ pushed the babies in the stroller. Kudos to him for pushing all 65 lbs. of them the entire 6 miles still making it in an amazing time. He is pretty much awesome but said that this is definetly the last year that will be happening:) Hopefully they get really good on their little bikes this next year. I was so proud of the kids for making it the entire way with no complaining! Kaleb was so proud of himself for making it the entire way he couldn't stop talking about it although his poor little legs were pretty sore the next day. Anyway, we all met at the temple where we were greeted by our sweet Stake President, Heber Andrus. We enjoyed popsicles and picture taking although it was a pretty darn cold morning and the wind blowing didn't help the little freezing hands. It was a wonderful activity that we are hopeful will continue for years to come.

So much to blog about...so little time

2011-09-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

I'm mourning the fact that I've had zero time lately to blog but I'm happy because I've almost completed a project for our almost "8" year old (Jordyn). When Regan turned eight, DJ surprised Regan with a DVD of pictures from birth to 8 years old put to music. So, of course, when Morgan turned "8" we decided to do the same thing only DJ was crazy busy so I decided to take the project over. It was dang fun but totally stressful but the end result was awesome! Regan and Morgan have loved their DVD's and we've watched them countless times. So, Jordyn's B-Day kind of snuck up on me, (or I was just a big slacker) and put it off starting on it until a couple of weeks ago. So, I've spent hours looking through photo albums, discs, all of my thousands of computer pictures trying to find the best pictures of Jordyn over the years! It's been a walk down memory lane and I've been totally side track with floods of memories but it's been well worth it. I'm almost done and to make it even better, I found some adorable music to go along with the pictues that I think she'll love! Hopefully I'll be back to blogging soon!

Gone Fishin'

2011-09-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day we had a fun fishing day with Grandma and Grandpa Rose. The kids got a couple of fishing poles for Christmas and have been anxious to use them since then! Grandpa took us to the perfect spot and we hit the jackpot. I think we caught 13 or 14 fish in a small amount of time, some were big, and most were small but the kids didn't care a bit. It was so much fun hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma Rose and Grandpa proved once again that he's a pretty darn good fisherman. DJ didn't have as much luck but hey, he hasn't been since for a lot of years so we'll cut him some slack:):) Love ya, honey! Kaleb Morgan, Kamryn, and Jordyn seemed to genuinely love the fishing experience, Porter and Regan, on the other hand, weren't in to all the worms, slime, fish guts, etc. but I think they still had a good time. Regan may not have loved catching the fish, but she sure loved chopping their heads off as we were preparing to cook them!:) Jordyn didn't care to carry the fish on the stick, she thought it was much more fun to hold the slimy thing in her hands. I think she even took the fish head over to the neighbors when we got home. Yuck!!! Maybe she isn't really the girly girl I think she is. Kami loved holding the worms and wanted to hold the fish in her hands as well and she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to hold the rod with Grandpa. Porter stuck pretty close to Grandma and I and was happy to suck on the everlasting sucker I offered him. Thanks to Grandma for helping me keep the little ones quiet and entertained which is no small task while you are fishing. We love you, Grandma and Grandpa!

last but not least....Kami!

2011-09-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

Kami was not as in to the picture taking as I had expected but Kara captured some dang cute pictures of her along with a ton of goofy pictures with lots of fake smiling. I'm not sure if it was her mood or the fact that she was starting to come down with a nasty flu bug that ended up lasting for 4 days. Poor kid. Anyway, I love these pictures of little Miss Kamryn!

I love the thumbs up sign in this picture!

Just pretend that DJ is in these bottom pictures.:) Actually, we hadn't planned on having family pictures, I was just wishful thinking that he could've snuck away for 10 minutes for a photo shoot at the spur of the moment (hahaha) and the weather was pretty much perfect so now I'm really regretting that I didn't think things through better! Anyway, I thought I better at least hop in the picture with the kids for memory sake.

Porter (Mr. smiley)

2011-09-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

Porter is my smiley boy. Everyone always comments on his huge smile, his big eyes, and his gorgeous eyelashes! He can be quite the grump but he's most often smiling and acting like a big goof ball. Kara captured Porter's personality so well!

Kaleb the "poser"

2011-09-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

Kaleb was a complete crack up for pictures. From the moment we got to the river he was in search of the best photo places and was practicing his moves and smiles for us before Kara arrived! I think he totally enjoyed having Kara take his pictures and loved all the compliments he was receiving from her. He was working the camera and cracking us all up!

This is a face I cannot resist!

As a side note, Kaleb lost his first tooth on Wednesday! You would've thought he'd just received a million dollars he was that excited! He wanted desperately for me to pull it out before DJ got home but I couldn't get the dang thing out and I do pride myself on being a pretty good tooth puller:) Anyway, as soon as he heard DJ's car pulling in, he grabbed me and pulled me in the bathroom to yank it out. After a bit of a fight, out it came and he was both horrified and excited. The tooth fairy was generous and gave him a dollar, something she only does with a first tooth and she was extremely nice to let him keep his tooth so he could show it off. He's gone to pretty much all of the neighbors and anyone who will listen to show off his awesome tooth.

Jordyn's Baptismal pictures

2011-09-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Jordyn LOVES getting her picture taken, in fact, I think her words to Kara before they even started were, "how many pictures you want to take of me, I'm here for ya!" That's my Jordyn!! Dang, I'm in love with all of these pictures and the sad part about it is that there were probably 200 to choose from so I'm going crazy picking my favorites.

Morgan's pictures!

2011-09-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a few of Morgan! She requested that we only take one picture of her because she hates the camera but she got a few more than just one and I think she'll love em'! No need for her to hate the camera because she's just plain beautiful!

Funny thing about these pictures is that right before Kara got to the river to take their pictures, Morgan slipped and fell in the mud and was covered in a muddy mess all over her backside. I was so proud of myself because I didn't even bat an eye (which is highly unlike me) She was already punishing herself so I knew that anything I said would just start the tears rolling so we both just started laughing! It was a good moment for both of us to not freak out over such a tiny thing. She looks so beautiful in her pictures, I only wish for memory sake that I would've had Kara take a back shot of her so we could chuckle later:)

Someone please tell me I still look young

2011-09-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Because.....these pictures prove that I'm not as youthful as I once was

How did Regan turn 13 already? My neighbor took the kids pictures on Sunday night and since I've yet to go through the whole bunch (100's), I'll start with Regan. She also took Jordyn's baptism pictures which is causing me serious stress because reality is setting in that yet another one of my babies is turning "8" and growing up. Anyway, time marches on and life just gets better an better (except for the gray hair part)

The last two weeks in a nutshell

2011-09-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

1. school (everyone but me and the babies) yep, dad is back in school as well!
2. piano practicing and lessons (Regan, Morgan, and Jordyn)
3. activity days (Morgan)
4. robotics (Morgan)
5. Cross country meets and practices (Regan)
6. Mutual and Baptisms for the Dead (Regan)
7. Clogging (Jordyn)
8. Canning, canning, and more canning (me) (I even learned to can tomatoes and salsa this year--hooray)
9. playing & mess making (Kami and Porter)
10. basketball dribbling, playing, working, reading, & inventing all sorts of creations (Kaleb)
11. sickness- mainly Kami and Porter
12. meetings, work, Bishop responsibilities, lots of class preparations for his day job and lots of studying for night school (DJ)
13. running, running, and more running (DJ, me, and Regan) We have a ward temple 10k in the morning and then the Temple to Temple Race with BYU Idaho next Saturday!
14. Tons of late night algebra homework sessions (Regan, DJ, and occasionally me)
15. tons of cleaning, laundry, cooking, chauffeuring, etc. (me)
And last but not least
16. Lots of laughter, tears, sleepiness, grumpiness, happiness, silliness, and everything else in between!

Just what I needed...

2011-09-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

Last week was a particularly hard week. I really thought getting the kids back in to school would help things a bit but not so. It's canning season, the kids are involved in piano, clogging, soccer, and cross country which equates to lots of driving around, picking up, packing kids in and out of the car, etc. etc. lots of snacks, schedules, practices, homework, reading, plus all the other stuff. You know, menu's, laundry, tons of housework, mowing, and not to mention DJ's totally CRAZY schedule. I was really just plain bummed all week. I was just discouraged with the kids and tired of dealing with all of the little fights and complaints that each kid brings to the table. I loved them all so much and they are really great kids but at times they can really try my patience. Last week they were doing just that.

Sunday morning while were getting ready for church we decided to listen to the conference talks from last April. I listened to several talks but there was one that I listened to 4 times because it was as he was speaking to me. It was by Lynn G. Robbins entitled, "What Manner of Men Ought Ye to Be?" These are a few of my favorite parts of his talk:

A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101. If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505. Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself. With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?

We have all heard the advice to condemn the sin and not the sinner. Likewise, when our children misbehave, we must be careful not to say things that would cause them to believe that what they did wrong is who they are. “Never let failure progress from an action to an identity,” with its attendant labels like “stupid,” “slow,” “lazy,” or “clumsy.”² Our children are God’s children. That is their true identity and potential. His very plan is to help His children overcome mistakes and misdeeds and to progress to become as He is. Disappointing behavior, therefore, should be considered as something temporary, not permanent—an act, not an identity.

The most important way to teach to be is to be the kind of parents to our children that our Father in Heaven is to us. He is the one perfect parent, and He has shared with us His parenting manual—the scriptures.

Though I felt really guilty while listening this talk, it was a good kind of guilty (if there is such a thing). I really want to be better, I'm trying to change for the better this week, it's still been a stressful week, but in the particularly tough moments, certain statements from this talk come in to my mind and I'm able to handle things better. I'm grateful for the inspired words of our leaders. I'm looking so forward to another General Conference in 3 weeks and I know if I prepare, there will be talks that are meant just for me. Heaven knows I need them.

It doesn't take much

2011-09-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

I decided I'd do a special back to school dinner Monday night in honor of the kids first day back. I found this recipe for 10 Layer Rainbow Jello on one of my favorite food blogs and thought I'd give it a whirl. Heck, I had an extra hour to mess around with (not) but none the less, I thought the kids would think it was fun and different and I was right. In fact, Kaleb thought I was a genius, I believe his comment was, "wow, mom, you are awesome." See, it doesn't take much to entertain my children. Hey, they don't have to know that probably every other mother in America has made this jello!

We're riding big kid bikes!

2011-09-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Kami and Porter all the sudden looked like giants riding their little trikes so DJ decided to move them in to "big kid bikes." Kaleb was pretty excited about the whole deal because it meant he'd get a new bike. It just so happened that my friend was giving away an old bike that had been given to her that just needed a good tune-up so we took it down to the bike shop and for $30 bucks we have an awesome new bike for Kaleb! Kami and Porter are both doing awesome on training wheels but Porter is definetly the more brave one which is kind of unusual but they were riding around like little pro's on our bike ride tonight.

Speaking of these two little people. They are constantly entertaining one another (for better or for worse) They fight like cats and dogs but they will be the first to defend one another. I told my mom yesterday that Porter will be the first one to push Kami down but he'll always be the first one to pick her up:) I guess this is pretty typical sibling behavior but it's just really funny to watch with these two. Anyway, I just can't believe they are getting so big. I've had several of my neighbors tell me that they thought for sure they were Jordyn and Kaleb riding these bikes. I have to admit, I'll look out the kitchen window while they are riding and it throws me off for a half a second. They are growing up right before my eyes and I'm a little sad about it!

This is one of their latest games called, "Porter in the box"

First day of school!

2011-08-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

On the way to the big first day of school!

The kids started school on Monday and all were excited to go back (including me)! I know that sounds mean but after a really busy and great summer, I am just ready for a little routine and structure again. And, the kids were starting to fight and nit pick at each other so it was good for all involved. They were all so excited about the first day. They had their clothes picked and layed out, their backpacks were all ready to go by the door and a couple of them had a hard time falling asleep. I went down to check on everyone at 10:00 and Jordyn and Kaleb were fast asleep but Morgan had snuck in to Regan's room and there they were laying in bed visiting about the day to come. The morning went great and everyone was out the door and on the bus in good time except for Kaleb because he's a Kindergartener and they don't bus them until the 2nd week of school. He was rearing to go and practically pushing me in to the van at 8:00. He's so excited about his teacher, Mrs. Schuster. She used to be our music teacher at the school but unfortunately the music program was one of the programs cut last year so she applied for the job of Kindergarten teacher and she is AWESOME!!! Jordyn is in 2nd grade this year and has been excited all summer for her new year with Mrs. Funke. She's in our Stake and she often attends the children's baptisms that are in her class so Jordyn has already invited her to her baptism in October and is quite sure she'll attend.:) Jordyn spent much of her summer reading and was constantly begging to go to the public library. She's so excited for the AR program at the school and is hoping that she'll pass her 200 points that she earned in 1st grade. Morgan is in 4th grade this year and has Mrs. Jenkins for her teacher. She's also in our Stake and just a really great lady. I'm excited for Morgan because she has some of her good buddies in her class this year finally. Of all of our kids, she's pretty content to be on her own but I can tell that she's excited to have some kids to hang out with that she knows really well. Morgan does really well in school and also loves to read, in fact, she finished the whole Percy Jackson series this summer and she's rearing to go with the AR program again this year. I'm excited to see what this school year will bring for Morgan! Regan is in 8th grade this year and every time I say it out loud I get shivers up and down my spine. It's crazy that we'll have a High Schooler next year. Regan was so excited to go back to school and was much more relaxed than last year at this time. She's got a great group of girls that she hangs around with and the fact that she's figured the middle school scene out, helps a lot. Oh, and one of her best friend's, Lindee Andrus, transferred over from the Charter school to Rocky Mountain this year so she and Regan have spent the whole summer talking and planning out their year together!! I'm sure it will be another busy year for her between her involvement in sports and her busy schedule which includes some honor's classes.

Saturday evening, DJ gave the kids blessings in preparation for the school year. I'm thankful for the Priesthood that he holds and grateful that he's such a caring father. It was so cute because after he gave the 4 kids blessings, Porter ran right up and plopped himself up on the chair for his blessing. He was not going to be left out. Kami was being a grump so she didn't care to have one but the kids all thought it was so cute and Porter was just beaming. I think one of the kids asked DJ when he'd get his blessing for school and when would he be having his back to school night for his Doctorate Program? :):)

I stole my sister-in-law, Sara's idea of interviewing her kids after the first day of school so this is what they had to say:
Kaleb: I love it, mom. I gave my teacher hugs. She's nice. We went to recess and then we got locked out so the duty had to call Mrs. Schuster. She saved the day and let us in. she used her walkie talkie. No kids said bad words, dad's blessing worked, MOM!! Have you seen my classroom? I feel like I've been here before. It's weird. We went to Mr. Lord's office. He's the principal and his name is Jason but I shouldn't call him that. We also went to the library and it was fun seeing all of the books. We didn't get to sit on the couch and my legs hurt and I was thirsty. There was no hard work, I'm SERIOUS mom! We just did lower case letters.

Jordyn- It was Mrs. Funke's B-Day and we got to have root beer floats! I don't have homework. I did spelling. We go to go in the loft and read. We did math and I ate my lunch. I played at recess 3 times. I was going to walk the track but I got a major thing, my hair got stuck in my dress but my friends kept pulling and pulling and finally it came out. I love my friend Alyssa. There are lots of new girls, TONS! We took them on a tour of the school. My favorite thing was the root beer floats. I won't get a stomach ache because I didn't drink too much. School is the best!

Morgan- I'm boy trapped in my classroom. I sit between Justin and Gage. I turned in my lunch money and we had to write a poem in cursive and print. We could say it aloud and get a kiss, not a kiss, but a good kind of kiss, the chocolate kind. You don't have to get in the reading bathtub if you don't want to but I really want to (Mrs. Jenkins has an old fashioned bathtub in her room and they call it the reading tub) You just have to ask to get in and you get to switch someone every 15 minutes. We're already working on Idaho History. Sebastion didn't do anything bad today. He was really good. Actually, Tanne broke Cassidy's colored pencil so she sharpened it and it was really tiny so we all laughed. I'm going to to really like 4th grade.

Regan- I didn't actually interview her but she came flying through the door declaring that 8th grade at RMMS is the best!! She loves all of her teachers and she's so excited because Lindee is in lots of her classes. She says she's way more organized than she was last year because she's got an awesome binder that she vows to keep clean and organized. She's already got plans to run for student government and to be involved in as much as possible. She also said told me that she wouldn't call the 7th graders "Sevies" because that drove her completely nuts last year.

Here's to another great school year!

What we did this summer!

2011-08-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how much stuff I missed blogging about this summer. I kind of feel guilty about it but then again, I was so busy having fun that taking my camera along and blogging just seemed like too much hassle. So, Sunday evening, DJ asked the kids if they could recall all of the fun things we did this summer and this is the list everyone came up with! I wish I could say I'd follow up with some awesome pics of our fun but I'd be lying. I'm so far behind in so many areas of my life it's pathetic so I'll settle with my exciting list!

* June and half of July was spent participating in Gem State Track Club which was well worth the time and effort it took to get all the kids to practices twice a week and track meets every other week. They all learned a lot and I think Kaleb may have caught the running bug. He actually ran his first 5k this summer in Cokeville. He finished, with a little help from his darling cousin, Leona carrying him on her back for a couple of minutes. Anyway, he was so happy with himself when he crossed the finish line and was even more excited when our family won a huge bag of Swedish fish for having the most members of the family participate. (6 out of our 8) Grandma Teichert told him it was all because of him that we won so he felt like a big star for the day! Oh, did I mention that the poor kid was so sore for a couple of days he had a hard time walking up the stairs. :)
* BYU-I Alumni week activities including the 50 lap relay and a 5k earlier in the summer
* Rose family reunion at the Allen's in Logan- complete with a huge blow up water slide for their backyard! (we're totally doing this next year) Oh, and to make it even better, Uncle Stanton rented another backyard blowup slide and jump house for the next day and took us all to Cars 2!! It was awesome to have everyone together for a day before Matt and Sara and their kids left for China where they'll be for the next year. We're excited for them but soooo sad that they are so far away.
* The kids and I went to Park Valley for a day for my cousin's baby's blessing. I got to see lots of my extended family so I'm calling it a mini- family reunion!
* We spent a week at Music Camp in Rupert with the Wilson clan! The week was full of classes, performances, and lots of time in Aunt Lori's swimming pool. It doesn't get much better than that!
* Several movie nights at our neighbor's house (Berrett's) They hold it in their yard every Friday night and project the movie on the side of their house and invite all who want to come. Seriously, it's so much fun and the kids think it's the best!!!
* 4th of July barbecue with the Berrett family
* Johnson family reunion in Salt Lake- We got to spend a full day visiting and getting reacquainted with my cousins that I haven't seen in so long. I think what I most enjoyed was seeing all of our kids have so much fun with their second cousins. It just made me wish we lived closer to one another. I also loved watching my Grandma have such a good time. She truly enjoys every minute with her family and we love her so much!
* Attended my cousin Nate's wedding the same weekend as the reunion. Nate and Shelby make the cutest couple and their wedding was beautiful. I'm so happy for both of them and so glad that we got to be a part of their special day.
* We spent a day at Rigby Lake with the Berrett girls across the street
* We also spent a day with the kids (minus Regan because she was babysitting) at Rexburg Rapids the new water park in Rexburg
* We had several picnics at the park with friends
* We enjoyed the 24th of July celebration in Cokeville with DJ's family. We ran the early morning 5k with the the kids (minus Porter and Kamryn), attended the program at the church where Elder Perry was in attendance, enjoyed the afternoon with family, and then went and watched the big rodeo from the roof of Jonathan's house. Kamryn, Porter, and Kaleb all decided they wanted to try and catch the rabbits and chicken. They weren't successful in their efforts and Kamryn was not pleased at all. She was sure she was going to take one home.
* The girls had a fun sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa Rose which I hope to blog about soon. My parents are the best and they really know how to throw a party!
* We made a trip to Winnemucca, NV, for our nephew Zach's homecoming from his mission.
* We spent a fun day in Burley with Ann and Val where they took us boating all afternoon and then to the fair and rodeo that evening. Morgan and Regan both learned to water ski and all the kids had a blast riding the tube. Oh, and DJ and I got to waterski again, it's always a thrill when the old people can get up on ski's!:)
* Regan attended Trek for 4 days and Girls' Camp for 4 days! She's had a great summer
* We went to the movies, ice cream, lots of trips to the library, and just enjoyed not having a schedule

Table Rock Hiking 2011 at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-08-24T19:58:00.001-07:00

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Way to go, Regan, Morgan, Lindee and Dad!!! This morning they all left at 5:00 and started the hike to Table Rock at around 7:00. It took them 3:40 min to hike up and 2:15 to get down. They all came back sweaty, tired, stinky, achy, hot, and ready for a bath and bed. Poor Regan still had to go to Cross Country practice and didn't get home until 6:45 this evening. She's beyond hammered!! This is Regan and DJ's second time hiking Table Rock and Morgan's first time. Jordyn had planned to go and had everything packed, and was so excited about the adventure but unfortunately she came down with the nasty bug that I blogged about earlier and spent the night puking instead. She's already gearing up for next years adventure!
According to both Morgan and DJ, Morgan was a bit whiny and slow for the first 1/2 hour and then DJ came up with the cutest idea. He nicknamed her "Morgan the Mountaineer" and told her they were on an expedition and she was the tour guide and he was the city slicker. She had to lead the way and he'd follow and from then on, she was the leader of the pack! Lindee and Regan nicknamed her "Sacajawea" which she claims she didn't like but she said that DJ's idea gave her a lot of motivation and made her excited for the rest of the climb. Lindee and Regan stuck together during the hike while DJ and Morgan stuck together just ahead of them. At about 2 hours in to the hike up, Morgan said, "you know dad, this is the most time I've spent with you at one time." He said it really hit him hard and he realized how much it means to the kids to have individual time. I love DJ so much for taking the kids to do this even though it was really tough. He is constantly teaching them and showing by example that they can do hard things. They just need to be determined and have a good attitude and of course with Heavenly Father's help they can accomplish anything! I was visiting with Morgan tonight while she was going to bed and she told me how much she enjoyed the hike. She said that in the first half hour her attitude wasn't the best but then she noticed some flowers growing along the path and they happened to be the same ones she'd learned about at day camp a month earlier. She said she started to pay better attention to the things around her and then dad's challenge to be the leader changed her attitude almost instantly. I'm so proud of her and I the best part is that she's proud of herself!! Anyway, here are a few pictures at the top of the mountain and a little video to prove they did it!!:)

What do you get when...

2011-08-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

....you say out loud to your kids the week before school starts, "Do you guys realize that no one has been sick in our family this whole summer?"

You get sick kids!! Extremely sick kids for that matter, 4 out of the 6 spent a couple of days with high fevers and endless puking.

We're on the mend now and so far Regan and Morgan are in the clear.

So, if you are smart, keep your mouth shut and don't utter such things aloud!

Dummy

2011-08-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

After my last post about Regan's Birthday festivities, I realized I didn't include any of her actual birthday pictures so I went to retrieve them and they aren't there!! I'm losing it in my old age. We celebrated a couple of days early because we were traveling to Nevada on her birthday. She took a ton of time making her own birthday cake out of 48 cupcakes decorated in pastel colors. It was so stinking cute and took her all afternoon. Do you think I can find the pictures, NOOOOOO! I'm sure they'll turn up just like the last bunch I lost but it's maddening in the meantime. She had a fun birthday and got some really fun and cute things. Grandma and Grandpa Rose took her on a shopping trip to Down East Outfitters before her birthday and spoiled her with lots of new Sunday clothes. She looks like a million bucks and is happy to have some new things that actually fit her right. Grandma and Grandpa Teichert spoiled her with a big check in the mail so DJ and I took her shopping again and this time she spent the money on pants, jewelry, and hair stuff. She's not a big spender and she's a really good bargain shopper so I never have to worry about her wasting money. Grandma Teichert also surprised her with another shirt and some more jewelry on her birthday while we were in Nevada. DJ and I gave her a new bedspread and desk lamp for her bedroom and a hymn book with her name engraved on it. Morgan gave her several sets of earrings and made her the cutest journal decorated with scrapbook paper and flowers. Jordyn gave her hand sanitizer for her locker and back pack because Regan's our "germ freak" and Kaleb gave her a locker mirror. That night we watched a movie called "Soul Surfer" and then enjoyed her cupcake cake outside that evening. I'm hoping and praying that I can find the pictures of her special day.

Here's what I did find. On our way out to Nevada we stopped in Jackpot for dinner at Winger's for Regan's birthday. The food was awesome and Regan was serenaded by the waitresses and cooks while she sported a chicken hat! Then they served her a huge platter of dessert with 8 spoons so we could all have a taste. She was embarrassed but I think she was secretly pretty happy about the whole thing.

Doesn't she look embarrassed yet pleased?

Doesn't our family look like a bunch of big pigs in this picture? The kids couldn't wait to dig in the Regan's dessert and she was happy to share. I just have to laugh at all 6 of them swarmed around one plate.

We were all laughing so hard because Kaleb was a little reckless with his spoon and dribbled ice cream all over Regan's arm. And then he proceeded to lick her arm clean. I shouldn't have laughed but I couldn't help it! I can only imagine what the people in the next booth were thinking;)

Of course a few of the kids had to have their turns with the chicken hat.

Happy 13th Birthday, Regan!

2011-08-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

Um......can someone please tell me how it's possible that I have a 13 year old?? Okay, I know how, but I'm just wondering where the past 13 year have gone. I can remember the day Regan was born like it was yesterday. I remember being scared out of my mind at the thought of caring for such a tiny little baby and wondering how Heavenly Father could possibly trust little old me to take care of her. I remember DJ holding her shortly after she was born and carrying her around like a little China doll. He was one proud daddy! I know Heavenly Father knew that we'd need Regan as our first child. She's been the perfect example for all of her younger siblings and she's been an amazing help to me and a huge blessing to our family. She's beautiful inside and out and strives to do and be her very best in all aspects of her life. We love you more than you'll ever know, Regan! Happy 13th Birthday--we hope this year will be filled with lots of great things!

My neighbor and friend (also our camp director) took these pictures of Regan in preparation for our ward Girl's camp! (I think they are gorgeous but I'm the mom so I can think that!)

This is Regan at approximately a week old. She was a tiny little thing and so beautiful.

Here's proof that she did fill out after a couple of months!

Here's a few things we love about Regan and a few things things she's accomplished this year!

* She's been working diligently on her Personal Progress for the Young Women program and she's nearing half way done already!

* She earned a little bit of extra money this summer babysitting for a lady in our ward and was excited to have her own money to school shop with.

* She attended Girl's Camp for her second year

* She got to go on Trek and had a great experience getting a tiny taste of pioneer life for 4 days!

* She learned how to water ski (just one day before her birthday!!!!)

* She ran "3" 5k's this year and ran great times in all 3

* She survived her first year in middle school and served on the student council, ran cross country and track and still managed to get great grades!

* She hiked Table Rock with DJ, Morgan, and her friend Lindee (actually that is happening right now and we're anxiously awaiting their safe arrival home)

Some of my favorite things about Regan is that she's genuine, she's quick to forgive, quick to say she's sorry when she's wrong, and she tries hard to make people happy around her. She's always looking for ways to help me around the house and can often be found doing the dishes and loads of laundry without being asked. She loves holidays, loves birthdays (not just her own), loves candy, loves goodies, loves fancy dinners, loves running, loves organizing, in fact, she's spent the last 2 days organizing she and Jordyn's wardrobe's for the first couple of weeks in school, right down to the last piece of jewelry!:):) She likes to cook, she's funny, sarcastic, and hates it when I play jokes on her. One example was a couple of weeks ago we were headed home from grocery shopping and when we were nearing home she was being a big goofball and rocking out to some music in the car. She was being seriously goofy so I pretended that I had just passed this cute boy that's in our stake that lives out in this area along side the road and he was just staring at her and giving her all kinds of weird looks. I was having the hardest time keeping a straight face but apparently I did a pretty good job because she totally fell for it and was so embarrassed. I know, I'm a rotten mother but I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that. We were both laughing our heads off when I finally told her I was joking! Regan loves spending time with her friends but she'll always choose her family first. I hope that never changes. Sorry if this seems like a brag-fest but I just want Regan to know just how proud of her we are. She has a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she sincerely wants to make good choices in her life. We love you Regan and hope that you will continue following in your Savior Jesus Christ's footsteps.

And now a random bunch of pictures I found while going through photo books. They're all mixed up because I don't have time to arrange them.

kids funnies!

2011-08-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

During Jordyn's prayer she said, "And please bless Murissa Morgan's baby to be born wealthy" (oops, I think she meant "healthy")
Kaleb retelling something that happened between he and DJ--"mom, I went in to the room and I had something in my hand and a big smile on my face. Dad told me I had a mysterious look on my face, (oops, I think he meant "mischievous look")
Porter and Kaleb are convinced that they are riding lambs in the fair this weekend. Porter excitedly said yesterday, "I'm going Muston Button, mom!" (that would be Mutton Bustin')
Kaleb said, "mom, I suffer from short-term memory loss." I asked him what that meant and he replied, "I don't know, I can't remember!"

Hangin' on for the ride

2011-08-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

We found out today that DJ is accepted to the Professional Practices Doctoral in Education program with the College of Education at the University of Idaho! He's anxious to start working on his Doctrate as it's something he's been thinking about doing for a long time. I think he and I are both not sure whether to jump for joy or bury our heads in a pillow and cry. It's going to be a long road but I know he's up for the challenge and if there is one thing I can say about my husband is that he's a worker. He's always been such a good student and is becoming a pro at juggling multiple responsiblities. He's a great dad, a hard working Bishop, a valuable employee at BYU-I, a wonderful husband, and now he'll once again be a great student! Good luck hon!

I'm Giddy!!!!!!!!!

2011-07-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

I just got to Skype with my sister-in-law, Sara, and my adorable nieces and nephews who are all living in China. YES, I did say China!! They just moved there last week and have already had quite the adventure! They were living in Florida before they moved and they will probably be in China for the next year if things go as planned with the company that my brother, Matt, works for. Exciting and crazy all in one!!!! Before they left they flew out west to spend time with family and we got to spend several days hanging out with them! The kids had such a blast hanging out with their cousins and it seemed like they had never been apart. They just picked up where they left off and enjoyed the time they had with each other. Anyway, thank goodness for web cam and Skype--I am on cloud 9 tonight just because I got to see and hear from everyone tonight (except for Matt) and hopefully we'll catch him tomorrow morning!! The time difference makes it a little tricky, in fact, right now it is 10:12 p.m. here, and it's 12:12 p.m. there so we plan to skype early tomorrow morning if Sara can keep the kids awake long enough. I'm crossing my fingers!!

Dang it, we're missing Matt in this picture! These are some darn cute kids!

This was taken at our fun reunion in Logan at Stanton and Julie's! The day couldn't have been more perfect. I love my family so much!

Music Camp 2011 (Morgan, Regan, and Jordyn performing Solo's)

2011-07-28T18:02:00.001-07:00

As part of the girl's master class, they prepared and performed a song of their choice for the Thursday recital. They all did so well even though Morgan had a little "frog" in her throat due to her vocal chords being swollen (according to her teacher), and amazingly, she was able to hit all of the high notes! Jordyn forgot her props for her song so Aunt Lor came to her rescue, and Regan started her song with the music blaring loud and they never were able to get it quite right but she kept her composure and sang beautifully. Music camp was awesome this year--I can't wait to get my hands on the video of all of the kids performing their comedy night skit. It was so funny and adorable at the same time.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I still occasionally do their hair

2011-07-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

This summer has been ridiculous for hairstyles. Regan does her own hair (which most of the time consists of a ponytail....ugh....oh, what am I saying, I end up wearing a ponytail more often than not lately). Morgan could care less about her hair so as long as we're not going anywhere, she's happy with her ponytail or sometimes crazy bed head (ugh...I really mean it this time). Jordyn being the "girly girl" around the house, always likes to have her hair done but has taken to trying hairstyles of her own (YIKES). She's most happy with piggytails or messy buns, or a vast array of clips and bows all over her head, (BIG YIKES). Kami is .following right in Jordyn's footsteps. She hates me to do her hair but wants her hair done every day and if I forget, she's hounding me right before bed to fix her messy pigtails before she lays down for bed. She's just plain cute and knows way too much for a child her age. She's also our child that doesn't let us forget prayer, loves to be involved in scripture study, with her own set of scriptures in her lap, and she throws huge temper tantrums if we don't wake her up for our morning study. She loves going to bed, loves naptime, frequently finds things that we've looked all over for, listens to everyone's conversations and knows everything about everything. Okay, that last part about Kami had nothing to do about hair but since I'm a crappy blogger lately, I thought I'd sneak it in. Anyway, I look forward to Sunday's for lots of reasons, one being that I can actually convince the girls to let me try some cute hairstyles on them and doll them up. That's all I ask, just one day a week and they've got approximately 5 more weeks until I'll be back to doing their hair daily!

A few of my faves

2011-07-22T04:59:00.000-07:00

We just finished another awesome year at music camp. We got to take two extra girls with us this year, Lindee Andrus, one of Regan's best friends, and my adorable niece, Leona! The whole week was a blast and we made so many great memories. The girls got to participate in another awesome musical this year, Hairspray! The music was so fun and upbeat and they learned some pretty cute dance steps to go along with it. The skirts that we made a couple of months ago in preparation for the camp turned out so cute and really brightened up the stage! I'm so thankful that my sister, Lori makes this all possible for us to be a part of such a neat camp. If you are curious about the music camp, visit the blog, riseupandsing.blogspot.com to find out more.
Since I don't have much time, I'm posting a few of my favorite pictures and hopefully I'll have more time another day to post videos and more pics!

Happy 8th B-Day, Tana

2011-07-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we made a quick trip to Cokeville to see our niece, Tana, be baptized. It's so hard to believe that she's 8. Jordyn and Tana are just 3 months apart so before we know it we'll be celebrating Jordyn's 8th. Anyway, Tana is adorable and is always saying the cutest things. One of my favorite "Tana" stories happened just recently. She lives next door to Grandma and Grandpa Teichert in Cokeville so naturally, she's become really close to them. She spends a lot of time at their house and is apparently a silent observer. Grandpa Teichert recently fell out in the garage and was knocked unconscious and Tana was the one to find him. She was scared to death but remained calm enough to go and find Grandma. After things had calmed down a bit she very seriously made Grandma Teichert promise that she would never, ever, yell at Grandpa again!:) Grandpa struggles a bit in the hearing department so Grandma often raises her voice so Grandpa can hear her (at least that's the story we get:) Just kidding, mom!! Anyway, we're so proud of Tana and the decision she made to be baptized, this is just the first of many important steps you'll take in your life.

Tim and Tana

Tim, Tana, and Ranae

Morgan, Tana, and Jordyn

Katelyn and Bronson

DJ and his dad having a visit! Love both of these guys!! I'm not sure how I managed to flip to black and white but I kind of like it.

Matthew, Tim, and Trevor chillin' on the Grandma's deck (our families favorite hang out spot in the summer except for the constant fight with the mosquito's)

This is Grandma Teichert (this is possibly my favorite picture of her, ever!) The expression on her face shows the shear joy she gets from watching her family. The kids were all having races together, one of our favorite traditions in the Teichert family! I love spending time with our family in Cokeville. DJ's parents are amazing people and I'm blessed to be a part of their family.

Uncle Johnny and Kaleb--I think Kaleb might be attempting to bite Johnny in this picture. Johnny wouldn't stop teasing him so Kaleb was just about to lose it, meaning he was about to either cry or pinch and bite. If the truth be told, I'm glad he's not crying:)

Ashlee and Leah- sweet picture!

Ali and Janae (Ali is Ashlee's daughter and Janae belongs to Tim)

Tana and Jordyn--two adorably goofy cousins!

Fruit cake

2011-07-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

....the really yummy kind, that is. Morgan found this cute idea in the Friend Magazine and since we were missing quite a few of the fruits that it called for, she made up her own. It might just look like a giant pile of fruit but she really thought out the formation of it. She's quite a kid---and the fruit cake was awesome! Thanks Morg!

panic attack!

2011-07-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

I'm missing some really important photos from our Rose family reunion-I think the worst part about it is that my brother and his family who live in Florida were able to come out and enjoy the fun with us before they venture to China for a year. BOOHOO...I'm sick right now and praying that I can somehow retrieve these precious photos!!!!!!

I hate being behind

2011-07-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

I need to post. Seriously. I need to post our very fun ventures of the past few weeks. Unfortunately, I can't find a moment to fit it in. I guess I could have today but I started my day awesome by going to the temple with my neighbor and then squished in a bunch of craziness in the day, and then ended the day going to see a late showing of the movie, 17 Miracles, with a bunch of our friends in the ward. It's a must see but do yourself a favor and take some Kleenex's, then you won't have to use your friends sleeve like I did (just kidding) I think we'll do this late night movie thing again and hopefully get a hold of a bunch more people!!!! Come along if you like!

Love it, but hate it

2011-06-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

I can't explain how much joy it brings me when my kids notice when something needs to be done and just get to work and do it. That's what Jordyn did for me tonight. She noticed the kitchen was a disaster and went to work sweeping, cleaning off counters, rinsing dishes, unpacking the (dirty) dishes!! Bless her heart, I couldn't get mad, all I could do is thank her for her hard work, put her to bed, and empty the cupboards and drawers and repack the dishwasher w/out her knowing I was undoing everything she so worked so hard to do.:):):)

BYU Idaho Wellness 5k

2011-06-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend out family had the funnest experience together. The wellness center on the BYU-I campus organized a 5k for all employees, their families, and students. It didn't cost anything except for a few achy muscles, they provided yummy, healthy snacks at the end, the course was fun and challenging, all but Kaleb and babies participated, their were fun prizes at the end, lots of cheering, music, and beautiful weather! DJ pushed the babies in the stroller the whole way (he deserves some extra bonus points), Kaleb got to stay back and wait for us in the company of some cute college chicks:), and the rest of us ran the course. Regan and I stayed together the whole race and clocked one of our best times, Morgan and Jordyn were pretty amazing! This was their first 5k race and I couldn't believe how awesome they did, I was pretty sure they'd make it the whole way but never dreamed they would have such good times. They were so tired but both finished with smiles on their faces. I loved how Regan cheered for Morgan as she was finishing and then Morgan and Regan got together and cheered Jordyn on as she was making the final stretch and the best part was the sense of accomplishment that came from all of them finishing something pretty challenging. Kaleb was pumped about the free Gatorade, granola bars, fruit, and good conversation--while the girls were commenting on how proud they were of themselves for finishing the race, he came up to me and said, "mom, I'm proud of myself for being such a good boy!" Sooo cute!! At the end of the race they had a drawing for prizes and everyone in our family got picked and everyone picked pedometers except for DJ who chose a shirt for me! Aaaaahhh, what a good hubby!! It was really an awesome day that left us all feeling really happy! Regan, Morgan, Jordyn, and Kaleb are all involved in the Gem State track club this summer. We heard about it after the season had started but they let us join late and it has been such a fun experience for the kids. They teach the kids the true track and field events, short & long distance running, high jump, long jump, shot put, pole vault, hurdles. We have practice 2 nights a week for an hour and half as well as several meets during the season. It's so much fun to see the kids try knew things and find out what they like and don't like so much. More on this later!

Die-hard Jimmer fans!!!!!!

2011-06-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

These are two of my cute neighbor girls (Whitnee and Chelsee Berrett) They are some of the biggest Jimmer Fredette fans I know, especially Whit, she's already spoken for Jimmer as her husband--look out ladies! Aren't they cute?

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Teichert!

2011-06-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

Porter and Kamryn got a birthday card and check in the mail from G&G Teichert last week so I promised that I would take them to pick out something fun for their birthday. Monday was the big shopping day and you would've thought it was the best day in their lives! My kids only get toys on holidays and birthdays so being able to go to the store and pick out something to take home is quite the event! We chose to go to Target because they were having some good sales on some fun stuff! I have to laugh at my kids because as I mentioned before, Kamryn doesn't really care for toys, except that she enjoys playing cars with the boys and Porter is just all about cars,trucks, pretty much anything with wheels. Soooo, here is what they picked out:

They are always so mad when we're packing to go on a trip because they're the only ones w/out their own suit cases "soup cases" as Kamryn calls them, so you can imagine how excited they were when we saw these! They've also had their eyes on these cute "Cars" shake and go vehicles and they happened to be on a great sale that day. Kamryn knew exactly which one she wanted (the purple car) and Porter went straight for the firetruck! They've slept with them, eaten dinner with them, almost bathed with them (phew), and carried them with them almost everywhere we go. As far as the "soup cases," they won't let me put them up in the closet yet. They pull them around the house constantly and at the end of the day they park them at the side of their beds. Thanks again, Grandma & Grandpa for making our day.

Summer fun

2011-06-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

I love that all of my kids still enjoy going to the greenbelt to feed the ducks. Those that claim they don't enjoy it much anymore, could've fooled me because they were right in the action. We weren't aware of all of all the flooding going on until we got down there so everyone was pretty fascinated at the condition of things. The flooding has been crazy and we just continue to get more rain so we'll see what happens. I overheard the kids talking together yesterday about the Ririe and Palisades damns and what would happen if either of them broke. Kaleb was so excited about the prospect of being able to use his 72-hour kit.:) Yikes, I sure hope things don't get that bad! Anyway, the baby geese were so adorable and pretty friendly so the kids had such a fun time.

I've often been teased about my own little trail of "geese" in the store, library, or wherever we all go together. I think I have an idea of what it's like for this mother goose!

Jordyn trying to coax this lonely goose to come a little closer!

Morgan can always be found off by herself feeding the lonely geese

Morgan and Kaleb thought it was funny to follow these two ducks around while making their most obnoxious duck noises. I'm sure the ducks weren't as amused as they were!

Here's a great picture of all the flooding. As of this past Wednesday, things are looking much, much better!

Dog tired

2011-06-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

And....this explains why:
5:00 a.m.-woke up suddenly worrying about Regan since she left on Trek yesterday--I really wasn't that worried about her until I went to bed and all the sudden it hit me that she's not safe and sound downstairs in her bed. I love her and miss her so much. I guess I must have fallen back asleep fairly quickly because next thing I know it was 6:00.
6:00- awakened to Kamryn crying for no good reason other than she ALWAYS wakes up grumpy--the kid makes me crazy for approximately 20 minutes after she wakes up from bedtime and naptime. Anyway, she crawled in bed with us and not 2 minutes later, Porter makes himself comfortable in our bed. To make matters worse, they both must have some part of their bodies touching mine...if I move over to get away, they move closer, I know, I should think it's adorable but I don't like people touching me while I sleep.
6:30-finally muster enough strength to get out of bed and start my day--scripture study as a family, breakfast for everyone, make DJ's lunch, send hubby out the door
7:30-Tidy the house, quick shower, do a few dishes, convince everyone to change in to swimming suits and find their towels AND grab extra clothes to change in to so we can make a mad dash to the church for baseball/t-ball
8:00-get everyone out to the car and head for swimming lessons and 5 minutes down the road it hit me that I forgot my purse. No big deal other than I just don't like being w/out my purse--what if I get pulled over?? So, the kids ask all sorts of questions about what would happen if I got pulled over and didn't have my drivers license which leads to a big discussion on how you obtain a drivers license which leads to another big discussion about traffic lights, signs, speed limits, etc. It was actually one of the most pleasant trips in the car we've had because no one was fighting and everyone was watching for the next sign on the side of the road so I could explain what it meant. I wasn't speeding because I had 5 "cops" in the car with me making sure I was obeying the speed limit.
8:20-arrive at swim lessons just enough early to apply sunscreen to 5 very white bodies and take a few of them for a quick potty break
8:30- kids are in the pool enjoying swim lessons, while I apply my makeup since I'm totally scary without it and we're headed straight to baseball and church cleaning assignment after swimming.
9:00-out of the pool, hurry and dress everyone in the car and head for the church. Finish out baseball/t-ball with some of our friends and ward members
10:00-run over to the church for an hour with the primary kids to help them clean the building,
11:00-gather all the kids up and head for home so we can clean our own house--try to convince the kids that they still have their home jobs to do even though they just got through cleaning for an hour---which ends up in me and the kids having a mini meltdown (aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh---I'm sure this is a result of running the kids and myself ragged every day)
12:00- Everyone pulls it together, we finish cleaning the house, grab a bit to eat and get ready for naps
1:00- I'm just getting ready to send everyone for naps/quiet time when the doorbell rings and of course, all 5 kids have to run for the door. It's two teenage girls from Europe selling kids educational products. I'm sure their products are really great but I'm also sure they are REALLY expensive so I politely try to explain that she's caught me right at nap time but she insists on showing me just a few items. I'm sure I'm rolling my eyes but with all 5 kids swarmed around me we sit on the front porch and listen to the sales pitch. Luckily I'm still sain enough to not spend $375.00 on 12 science books for my kids and I ever so politely send them on their way.
1:30- send the little ones to bed and the older two for quiet time--I have a gigantic headache at this point and only hope to get a few minutes of down time with no one fighting, no one asking for a drink, no one calling for me to wipe their bums (Porter and Kamryn), no one begging for a friend, etc. I get just that and a little more accomplished, bills, some laundry, a little lunch for myself, a 5 minute doze in the computer chair and suddenly it's 3:00
3:00- Kamryn wakes up honory as usual so I try not to lose my temper with her and just sit and hold her while she trys to come out of her groggy grumpy state. Meanwhile Porter and Kaleb both wake up and need a snack and Jordyn informs me that she needs to get piano done which equates to me sitting by her side making sure she things are done right while I'm still holding a very grumpy Kamryn.
4:00-I realized I only have a little over an hour before all the kids need to be at track practice. I frantically fix some snacks, gather up all of our stuff, tidy the house, make some phone calls, and try to figure out what to make for dinner when we get home at 7:15.
5:15- gather everyone up, load them in the van, head to track practice, sit out in the 30 mph winds with the babies while I have a little hay fever attack for an hour and a half. My eyes were itchy, my throat was itchy, I couldn't stop sneezing, and I was really wishing I would've remembered a sudafed for the occasion. Oh well, I had a good visit in between sneezes with a friend of mine who's son is also involved in the Gem State track club.
7:00- load up everyone in the car and head for home, hurry and whip up some parmesan chicken to throw in the oven, made some scones and vegies just in time for DJ to make it home from the temple, everyone eats and cleans up and it's off to bed.
8:30-most everyone is in bed, DJ and I have a second to visit but I'm having hard time focusing and I can't even keep my eyes open so I'm off to bed Poor DJ, I think he'd love it if I wasn't so blasted tired but really, I'm getting old and ragged and all I want to do is sleep.

This is just about how every day has been this summer and I only have myself to blame. Luckily swimming lessons will be over this week, baseball will be moved to 10:00, track will be over soon, and Regan will be home from trek on Friday, life might slow down, maybe........or maybe not:)

We're BIG!

2011-06-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Porter and Kamryn turned, "BIG" on Saturday. Actually they turned "3" but whenever you ask them how old they are, they reply, "I'm BIG." Who can argue with that?? They day was great! It started with their birthday breakfast request of "Germo pancakes" (German pancakes) This is their absolute favorite breakfast! I think it's so cute that they have many of the same likes and I'm not complaining because otherwise I'd be cooking two special breakfasts!

German pancakes look awesome for approximately 1 minute after taking them from the oven and then all that buttery, fluffy, crawling up the side of the pan stuff goes away and this is what you are left with. Oh well, it's never stopped us from enjoying every last bite of this yummy breakfast!

Since they are big now, they would have nothing to do with us cutting up their pancakes so while Kamryn carefully cut bite-sized pieces (didn't even know she could do such a thing), Porter just opted to shovel the whole thing in his mouth, a boy after his daddy's heart!

They've both been begging for sunglasses for the longest time and Kamryn made it very clear that she didn't want any toys for her birthday, just cake and fun stuff (not toys). She honestly doesn't play with toys, I mean your typical little girly toys. She loves baby dolls but doesn't really play with them in the true sense of the word. She would rather build blocks, dress magnetic dolls, ride her bike, organize and arrange colorful items of any kind, play in the sandbox, play cars with Porter, play outside, jump on the tramp, and play "house" with the other kids. I kept naming off ideas for toys for her B-Day and she kept getting irritated with me and saying, "no toys" so she got a new swimming suit, a ball, her own water bottle, and she and Porter both got the coolest portable bean bag toss game that we found the night before their birthday at Big 5 Sporting Goods. The kids have had a blast with it and she's excited because apparently this isn't a toy. Funny kid! Grandma and Grandpa Rose bought both she and Porter the cutest portable saucer camp chairs and G&G Teichert sent them both money which they haven't spent yet! Thanks Grandma's and Grandpa's!

Porter loved his new church outfit and was happy to get the same things Kami got, sunglasses, water bottle, ball, and bean bag toss game. Though they have some differences in food preferences, they pretty much have the same likes and dislikes. And, whatever one has, the other one wants, which might explain their bathroom habits being right on schedule as well. (I know, too much information but it's true)

Porter is ALL boy. He loves trucks, trains, tractors, mud, sticks, wrestling, hitting, spitting, pottying outside, etc. The being said, he's one of my most snuggly kids and has the most contagious smile. He's definetly more mischievious than any of the other kids and has quite the temper. My mom reminded me the other day of my terrible temper as a kid, hopefully he'll grow out of his :):)

As far as B-Day cakes go, I really thought they'd be more adventurous in their choice but they made it very clear again that they wanted a blue cake and a purple cake with 3 candles to blow out. The kids kept giving them ideas for race track cakes, butterfly cakes, etc. but no amount of convincing worked. (thank goodness) I was perfectly happy with their easy choice!

Ever since the girls got their hair cut, Kami has begged me to take her to get her's cut. I'm cheap so I decided to cut it by myself and it actually turned out pretty darn cute. I'm happy because I saved myself $10.00!

Stinking cute kids in some stinking cute chairs--Grandpa and Grandma and pretty darn cute themselves!

Happy "Big" Birthday, Porter and Kami!

peace

2011-06-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

The task at hand....

2011-06-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

.....teaching Porter that it is NOT okay to drop his pants and whiz wherever we are at whether it be in our front yard, tennis camp, soccer games, or at the neighbors. This morning he decided to try out the garage as his watering hole. YIKES!! This kid is something else, nothing like his older brother Kaleb and he's giving me an education on how most little boys probably are. On the other hand, I guess I could be glad that he's chosen other places as his bathroom because when he actually uses the toilet, I end up having to scrub the toilet and walls surrounding:) Gotta love little boys!

My Montage 6/7/11 at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-06-07T22:00:00.001-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Summer....so far

2011-06-07T21:21:00.001-07:00

We've been out of school for 17 days now and somehow it seems like it's been a month. It's great having the kids home, even though we've been running our heads off since the moment school let out. It's great doing things together and having all of us together in our home more often. I knew we were busy during the school year but I don't think I realized until now just how little I see each of my kids when we're all involved with everything during the school year. I won't lie, it's totally stressful having all 6 kids home because of the crazy amount of food I'm preparing each day, the piles of laundry that adorn our laundry room, the non-stop action of kids in and out of the house, kids in and out of the fridge, a billion pairs of unmatched shoes/flip flops all over our house, yard, garage, etc., the disgustingness of the bathroom (okay, that was a totally made up word but that's the best way to describe the condition of our bathroom), and the list goes on but in spite of all that, I really do love summer break. I love my kids and I love being together. This is what we've been up to together:

* Free 3 day tennis camp at Bonneville High School-I signed Regan, Morgan, and Jordyn up and as a bonus, Kaleb got to participate the last 2 days. You should have seen the smile on his face when one of the coaches came and asked him if he'd like to play.
* summer reading program at the library-even though the prizes are a little lame, my kids are still motivated to read during the summer and look forward to our weekly trips to the library. We went to the library last Wednesday and came home with 45 books. Jordyn checked out 12 of the 45 and by Saturday she was begging me to take her back to the library for more. I enlisted her help in reading to Kaleb since I'm having a hard time getting all the little ones read to. Thank goodness for little helpers!
* The girls participated in piano duet festival and all ended up with really great scores. Jordyn and Morgan played two songs together and scored a 99% between the two. Morgan played again with her partner Kylee Andrus and between their two songs, they scored a 99%. Regan and Lindee played together and scored a 98%. Once the older girls get 8 lessons in, they get a small break from piano. Jordy isn't so fortunate, she's still new in piano so she'll take all summer. They are all preparing new songs for their summer recital in July.
* Swimming lessons- Lessons are bright and early in the morning at 8:30 and everyone but Regan is taking. We have 3 lessons left and the kids have been troopers, even enduring some pretty yucky weather days (43 degrees to be exact and yes, it is an outdoor pool) Aaahhh, I felt like such a jerk, there I was decked out in my winter attire and their are all of my little ones in their swim suits and flip flops hopping in to the pool looking at me like I am one crazy mother. Thank goodness the weather decided to cooperate the next day and actually made it to a whopping 65 degrees--Idaho weather is the BEST (in my best sarcastic voice) For the record, I plan to sign the kids up next year for this exact time--even though the weather has been questionable, the class sizes are so small--no more than 4 to a class with 2 teachers. Can't beat that!

This is our 3rd year participating in the free camp and my kids love it! If I could fit it in the schedule I think I might consider signing them up for a round of tennis lessons. Now if I could only find the time.

Our ward held the father-son outing a couple of weeks ago at Sealander Park just a few mile out of town. It was a perfect overnighter for the boys with dad, perfect weather, yummy food, smores, scavenger hunt, outdoor movie, games, etc. Kaleb and Porter couldn't have been more excited to have a camp out with DJ. It was all they talked about for a whole month before it actually happened. They had a great time and the boys came home looking and smelling just like I had anticipated--s'more covered faces, grimy clothes, bonfire smell, and big smiles pasted on their faces--I wouldn't have it any other way! And, DJ said they slept awesome, and he knows, because he was up all night:) He'd enjoy camping if it weren't for the nights!

Memorial weekend

2011-06-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

We spent Memorial weekend with DJ's family in Cokeville. It was a great weekend to go home because we were able to see several of DJ's siblings and spend quite a bit of time with mom and dad. Dad recently had a bad fall in his garage and gave us all a good scare. He still doesn't remember what happened but my niece, Tanna that is Jordyn's age found him lying on the garage floor with tons of blood on his face. He doesn't know if he passed out or tripped but whatever happened, it left him with a huge bump and gash on his forehead and a very achy body. We've been really concerned about him so we were thankful that we had already planned to go home to visit for the weekend. The morning after we arrived, DJ and I took a run up to the Cemetery in Cokeville. It's not too far from their home and sits on a hill overlooking the town of Cokeville. DJ has several family members buried there including his dad's parents, Minerva and Herman Teichert, Herman Teichert (DJ's Uncle), and Jan Anderson Teichert who was married to DJ's brother, Matthew. She passed away of cancer shortly after DJ and I were married, 16 years ago. Though I didn't get to know her as well as I'd hoped, it didn't take long to realize what a great wife, mother, friend, and daughter she was. She is loved and missed by everyone that was privileged to know her. Later that morning we rode back up to the cemetery with DJ's parents and took the kids around to visit the graves of family members. Jordyn was particularly helpful in decorating each grave with Grandma's flowers and showed genuine interest as we talked a little bit about the people who's graves we were visiting. After spending a while wandering around we headed back down to DJ's house but first made a stop at the park where the kids played until the rain started to fall. Just as we made it back to the house, DJ's brother, Mike, pulled in from Nevada with two of his sons, Jeremiah and Jed. They are such good kids and we had such a great time visiting with all of them. Ann and Val showed up later that afternoon and brought 3 new picture holders for grandma's hall. She used to have what she called the "wall of fame" where she had individual pictures of each of her grand kids but it was just really huge and a big pain to load and unload the pictures so Ann and Val built her some awesome wooden picture holders to replace it. Dang, I wish I would've taken a picture of it, but I didn't. DJ helped hang them on the wall and then we worked on replacing all of the pictures. The end product was awesome and I think DJ's mom was pretty thrilled.

Here's a picture of the damage done by dad's fall, although I think it looks a ton better than what it did according to mom!

Kamryn found a new best friend on this trip, Uncle Val. Grandma has a bean bag pillow that the kids love so Kamryn and Val threw it back and forth to each other for probably an hour. She loved the attention she was getting and wouldn't leave him alone.

Janae and Jordyn playing the piano! Two blond Teichert beauties!

Grandma Teichert slaving away in the kitchen. My kids love going to Grandma's house because she serves pizza and ice cream!!

Leona--another blonde Teichert beauty!

Johnny and Trinny (I'm not sure if I should call her Johnny's girlfriend) but she did spend the weekend with our family and we thought she was really sweet. I'm not sure what will come of it, so we'll just wait and see.

Leona, Regan, Janae, and Yoli (Trinny's daughter) and I probably slaughtered her name.

The kiddos having fun at the playground in Cokeville. My kids beg to go and play on the playground every time we come to Cokeville so I'm happy that the weather held up long enough to squeeze it in. The cousins have so much fun when they are together.

Jordyn and Ali are having a makeup party! Ali is DJ's niece, Ashlee's daughter. She's Kaleb's age and is so stinking cute. Jordyn talked her in to having a little makeup party and surprisingly, she didn't come out looking to bad. Jordyn was so proud of herself because she actually applied mascara on Ali. YIKES!!!

Game time with Jed, Chris, Johnny and Trinny!

Yet another blonde Teichert beauty!!

Another season of soccer...over

2011-06-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Morgan ended yet another season of soccer last Friday evening. The kid loves soccer. She gets side tracked by any ball of any size that's hanging around the house and just kicks it over and over against the wall. I was laughing with my parents and DJ the other day as we reminisced about Morgan's first couple of seasons playing soccer. She bawled and bawled every single game. She's be fine as we were driving to the game and then as soon as she'd cross over the white line on to the field, the tears would be free flowing. Believe me, it was the most frustrating thing ever. We would bribe her with ice cream after the game (I know what you are thinking....don't bribe your kids but we were desperate) DJ and I about went to the loony bin and she was miserable!! I felt so bad for her but at the same time, we were totally ticked at her because she'd beg and beg to play another season so we'd pay the money and then she'd bawl and bawl. I'm not sure what changed but something just clicked and she's turned in to a soccer loving fool. She works really hard to understand and implement the new things she learns and I think it helps that she gets to play with some of her very best friends!

Kara (the coach), Holly, and I were laughing just 2 hours before this photo about the goofiness of our girls. Particularly Morgan and Alissa and this weird pose that they love to do. I thought it was funny that they didn't disappoint in yet another photo. Oh, and you've gotta love the little guy in the black coat licking his plate clean, yes, that's Kaleb (he learned that trick from his dad:):)

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The girls last official soccer game was Thursday night. They played awesome and their passing is so much fun to watch. They really get it now and look for opportunities to pass to their teammates. I love it when things finally click and I'm glad that Morgan gets to play with such a great group of girls. Thanks to Kara for taking so much time to coach these girls.

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After the game we had a barbecue with all the girls and their families which was a lot of fun but the funnest part was the game the parents played against the girls. Unfortunately, DJ couldn't be there but most of the parents were and we played until we just about killed ourselves. The girls were awesome and so were the parents, in fact, I was laughing so hard at some of the moves I saw on the field. I didn't know these people had it in them:) I think we all had one thing in common though, we're all getting a little old and out of shape and I think we all had a few aches and pains the next morning to show for it. Oh well, it was totally worth it!!

Last day of school

2011-06-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

It' hard to believe that another school year has come to a close. Regan will be an 8th grader at RMMS next year, Jordyn will be a 2nd grader at Fairview, Morgan will be a 4th grader at Fairview, and Kaleb will be a Kindergartner at Fairview. This year has been so busy but tons of fun. Since I already wrote about Regan's school year, it's Morgan and Jordyn's turn! Both girls did excellent in school and were especially self motivated in the AR program. Morgan really took off in her accelerated math. She was excited that she was the first one in the school to complete 200 math objectives. She also earned 530 AR (reading) points and earned all A's in her classes. Her teacher, Mrs. Willis is a great teacher and really pushed Morgan to be her very best. Almost every day, Morgan would come home and say how much she loved Mrs. Willis, something that isn't typical of Morgan. I love the teachers at Fairview!! Jordyn took off in reading this year and ended the school year with 225 AR points. She read right up until the last 2 days of school until she couldn't take anymore tests on books at the school. She would bring home stacks of chapter books and picture books each night and have them all read by morning. I'm thankful that I didn't have to push her much and that the great teachers at Fairview really motivate the kids to enjoy reading. Mrs. Walker has been a great teacher for Jordyn. She really strives to get to know each child and takes a genuine interest in helping each child succeed both in their academics as well as the social aspect of school. Jordyn struggled a bit at the beginning of the school year because her best friend was in the other 1st grade class which meant that they wouldn't be spending much time together. Mrs. Walker recognized that Jordyn was having a hard time and tried extra hard to help her make some new friends. Within a couple of weeks, Jordyn was back to her happy self and had found some fun girls to hang around with. I'm so thankful for good teachers that really take an interest in each child.

They started something really cute this year at our school. When the students achieve 200 AR points or 200 math objectives, they get to be "Principal of the Day," which means that they get to make some of the announcements on the intercom, deliver notes to students, spend some time with our principal, and they get to have a pizza lunch with our Principal, Mr. Lord's. The kids love it, in fact, Jordyn could hardly wait to get achieve her 200 points. At around 120 points, she started saying, "only 80 more points, only 78 more points, and on and on and on every day. She was so excited when it was finally her day and it turned out that she got to deliver a note from me to Morgan which made it even more exciting! Morgan got to be the principal twice, once for achieving 200 AR points, and once for achieving 200 Math Objectives. Way to go girls! Morgan and Jordyn also got to participate in the gifted and talented program every Thursday for 1 hour out of their day. It was just a little something extra in their day and something they really looked forward to. I'm sad that due to our districts budget cuts, they won't have the program next year so this just means I need to do a little extra with them at home.

Morgan and Jordyn are only 17 months apart. They are complete opposites! They are either best friends or worst enemies:) I hope they continue to work on their relationship and be great friends in the years to come. Both are beautiful and talented in so many ways.

The last day of school they had field day which included face painting, dunking machine (Morgan's favorite) she loves being dunked, snow cones, hot dogs, popcorn, Mr. Jenkins fun swing, cotton candy, and tons of games.