Hay Jumping

On Saturday we went up to American Heritage West Museum in Wellesville (near Logan).  They were having their Fall Celebration, we had a great time with the kids.  They really got into the hay jumping.  Marshall is a total crazy man, he just went right up to the tallest bail and tried to jump off, luckily Aram had his hand.  You gotta watch that kid like a hawk!

Fabulous Friends-Fabulous Fridays

We have been having so much fun lately with Bode, Raini and Patrice.  We decided that every friday we would have a new adventure.  We started out with a bang at Pineview Reservoir.  We had the beach all the ourselves and you couldn't have asked for a better day.  Marshall was so Marshall, when he wasn't wondering off chasing the birds he just plopped down in sand and laid there for long periods of time.  Bode and Shep had good times playing duck, duck goose, having races down the beach, playing horses on their noodles and playing football with their mommies.  

Next, we went on a hike to Wheeler Creek and ended the day at the Dinosaur Park.  Hiking with kids is all about the journey, not the destination.  

And, just last week we went up to Patrice's cabin with Grandma Knudsen and Grandma Lu Lu.   It's so neat that we now have three generations of friends: Robin and Linda, Patrice and Karri, Shep and Bode and Raini and Marshall.  We had a great time hiking around, throwing big rocks in the river, jumping on the tramp, monkeying around on the playground, and eating lots of yummy food.  

More adventures to come!

Chef Shep

Reading the instructions.

   Making the cake, with Daddy's help.
 The best things in life are all the sweeter 

if you have someone to share them with!

This is the whole reason to make a cake...

licking the bowl.

There aren't many things Shep likes to do more than make a cake.  He suggests that we do it nearly every day.  He actually has become a very proficient cook, I just have to get the ingredients out and supervise and he'll do the rest.  Delicious!

New Family Tradition

In the neighborhood I grew up in there was a man named Martin Peterson (some of you may know him, great guy).  I remember driving past his house every Saturday and no fail he was out in his driveway with his two youngest sons washing his car; rain, shine, snow, or sleet.  When I was a teenager I recall passing them and thinking to myself, "What a drag."  How time and perspective changes things!  Now, here I am ten years later starting the same family tradition.  I can see the value in it for the boys and for the car.  Right now, I'm not so sure they are learning much except that water and dish soap make lots of bubbles and as you can see Marshall has an affinity for bubbles.  

Shep's First Day of School

We are embarking upon a new stage in life, school!  We are starting simple and small.  I am doing a home preschool with Shep and two other boys and their moms.  It's working out great. The moms take turns teaching so it works out that I teach about one week a month.   

We decided that all the moms would attend the first day to help the kids get used to it.  It was kind of a nightmare.  They were all very distraught that we were making them sit and listen instead of letting them go about their usual ways and play with toys.  Shep was really good for about ten minutes then he just stood up and stated "I'm done.", and started walking off, like it was that simple.  Since then, things have really improved.   The boys are hilarious, and are total boys.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is their first ever school experience and just to have fun with it.  I have to remind myself of this as I am talking about the letter of the day, and the boys are fixated on saying "poop" and laughing their brains out.   "Focus...Focus."

On the first day I taught I was teaching about our bodies. 

Me: "Neal, what's a part of your body?"

Neal: "MY NOSE"-Neal is very exuberant and everything is a cheer, he said this with gusto and he jumped up and down, waving a fist in the air.  

Me: "Ephraim, what's a part of your body?"

Ephraim: (think James Earl Jones, this kid has the deepest voice you've ever heard a 3 year old have) "My Eyes."

Me: "Shep, how about you?"

Shep: "My tiger!"  Then he planted his two feet and swung one arm across his chest...this is my own child and he is a total mystery to me????

Closing Circle-

Me: "What did we learn about today?"

Neal:  He looks up at me with the sweetest face and simply says "Jesus."

This kid's smart, he has learned that you can never go wrong with that answer.  

I am looking forward to my many adventures with this rowdy bunch of boys, they have a way of making me laugh.  

Montana Moments

Grandpa Tom and Grandma Carol are Rob's parents.  They live in Kalispelle and we always try and make a visit to them when we up that way.  I love this picture, Shep and Grandpa have twinner faces.  
Amy and Bryan came up to Montana with us.  It was so fun to show off the beauty to people who I knew would appreciate it.  We went to Glacier Park for a day.  We got cherries on our way up and ate about a million, oh man I felt sick afterwards but they were sooooo good.  We had intentions to do 3 hikes.  But, after one of hauling the kids we were spent.  The hike we went on was gorgeous and the kids got to get with feet of some mountain goats, and some big horn sheep joined us for lunch.  

Donuts and early morning hike to Kerr Dam.  So yummy!

Shep's first time tubing.  He loved it.  One of the cutest things he did on our visit was "waterski".  He held onto a rope behind the paddle boat and we dragged him around the bay, he held on forever always with a smile on his face because he thought he was "waterskiing".  

Provident Living

We have a plum tree in our backyard and last year I attempted to can them whole.  If you are a canner, never do plums whole, they were disgusting.  So, this year we were on the lookout for something we could do with our millions of plums.  Aram was a total stud and willingly made us plum chutney and canned it.   There's nothing like a morning of canning and grinding wheat that slashes my idyllic dreams of living off the land.  It always sounds more fun than it actually is.  

You may think you know first-aid

When I was in high school I got my lifeguard license and was well certified in first-aid.  Since then I have considered myself well prepared.  But for some reason, all knowledge and sense leaves you when your 19 month old sticks his hand in a open can of tomatoes and his fingers are wedged between the can and the lid.   Blood was everywhere, I just held Marshall and called Aram.  "What should I do, Marshall is bleeding bad?"  Hello woman, how about pressure?  This all happened on the 24th of July and our Urgent Care was closed for the holiday-what?  Aren't those places made specifically for holidays?  So we took him to two other clinics before he could get stitches.  He was so brave.  He held totally still and was infactuated with what the doctor was doing to his finger.  He got seven stitches on his little finger.  He had to where a sock on his hand for over a week.  But, he loved it.  Everytime it feel off he brang it to me to put it back on again.  And, he wore it for an extra week just because he liked it.  Funny kid.  Funny mom-you think you could keep your wits about you when something like this happens, hopefully this is the last time something like this happens, but I have a hunch (knowing my inquisitive, and fearless Marshall) that it is the first of many incidents.  

Summer Sum-up

  We have done lots of hiking, and lots of throwing rocks, Marshall seems to have an obsession!
We bought Shep his first real bike, but he does not want to ride it.  I think I have damaged him for life, he has no clue how to peddle he just scoots on it because that's what he's been doing for so long on his other scooter-bike.  This picture is from a 4th of July parade that the boys rode in. 
We played with our cousins alot, I love my sisters.  
Catching bugs in our backyard, Shep has been determined all summer to catch a butterfly.
     We have done ALOT of slip 'n slidding down our hill this summer.  We have fun with our neighbors Jake and Addy, and with all our friends during play groups.  

Dysfunctional???

You think your in-laws are crazy?  Check out mine! Call us dysfunctional if you want. Aram's family is from Montana and how can I put this nicely, they are a little "hick-ish"

The Whole Clan





Their kids all look the same!

Isn't she a cutie?

The Boys.  They look like a rough bunch, but they have the best hearts!

Really, my sister-in-law Mandy planned a red neck birthday party for her hubby. She asked us all to dress up. The fact that we got to dress up like white trash, everyone went to town. It was an awesome party, a great addition to our family reunion.   My in-laws are actually all very decent, normal people, and I feel very lucky to have married into such a "functional" family.  

Yours, Mine, and Ours

We recently went to San Francisco on a trip with just Aram and I. It was so fun. Thanks to my sisters and mom who watched the boys while we were gone. While we were there we did a little of everything. We had a "yours, mine and ours" vacation. Chronicled below is the his/her version of the vacation. We followed Aram's passion (food) and hit all spots he researched and was dying to try. We followed my passion (the Theater) and went to see Wicked. And, we did alot of what we both love...exploring and finding adventures for ourselves.

The Muir Woods. I am in love with the Redwoods, they are the perfect tree. This place was so beautiful and serene.

Alacatraz Island. There is a lure about this place that takes you in and you can't resist it.

A Belgium spot we ate at before the play. Frijtz Fries-fries with funky sauces and yummy crepes.

On our first morning we got up bright and early and ran across the Golden Gate Bridge. Then explored the Golden Gate Bridge Park. Both were awesome and a must if you go to San Francisco.

Her Vacation

Long story...Long
I have been dying to see Wicked for years now. There have been several times when I almost bought tickets, and then my frugality get the better of me and I decide against it. I did this when we lived in AZ, I did it when we went to LA with my family, and I did it when tickets went on sale for Salt Lake.

During conference Elder Hales gave a talk about being frugal, and how the most loving thing you can say to a spouse is, "we can't afford it." After that talk Aram said, "Well, that came at a bad time for your birthday." That was enough to drive me crazy. I racked my brain as to what he might be planning, and if I should be a good wife and discourage him from doing it, or be selfish and indulge myself. While I was thinking of all the possibilities I came up with the possibility that it might be Wicked Tickets. One night while we were pillow talking I guessed what it was...a gift certificate to a spa (really nice, but really not what I wanted). So, I just came out with it..."I would rather go to Wicked." So we started looking for tickets and couldn't find any less than $250 per ticket. So, I suggested we just get cheaper tickets in San Francisco and spend the rest on lodging and food.

Needless to say, Wicked was Divine. I loved it. And, Aram did too. He won't stop listening to the CD.

His Vacation

The Famous Saigon Sandwiches, found in Little Saigon. We walked through some pretty shady parts of town to get this sandwich. It is the perfect blend of vietnamese and american. Chicken or Pork with cilantro, carrots, jalepenos, and a yummy sauce on a crusty white bread bun. MMMM.

The Farmer's Market at Embaradero on the pier on Saturday morning. We sampled all sorts of overpriced, organic goodies at this charming market. Who pays $7 for a dozen eggs...crazy. Small farmers have a nice set up there. They farm in Sonoma and keep their operations small and organic (which is costly) and they have the clientele for it in San Francisco and the surrounding cities. We got some yummy cheese curds, and some to-die-for almonds.

I fell in love with Little Italy, known as North Beach. It is the craziest thing, we walked through China Town and literally everyone on the street we were on was Chinese (we were walking their market, with the likes of dried squid and dried armidillo) and then we went up one street and no joke everyone was Italian. China Town and North Beach are right next to each other. I felt like I had just traveled the world and I only we a few blocks. As we strolled through North Beach we found a pastry shop, we got quite a few goodies and feel in love with the Almond cookies. I loved little Italy so much I made Aram take me back there for a nice dinner on our last night. You can't beat Italian made by Italians and served by Italians.

Aram found out that a must eat in San Fran is Dim Sum. Dim Sum is a chinese "snack", it is dumplings served with a variety of things in the middle. It's not just the food you must have, but the Dim Sum experience. We went to Golden Mountain in China Town. This restaurant was huge, full of round tables, bursting at the seams with Chinese people. We were a little out of place. But, that's how we wanted it...an authentic experience. Servers are swarming the room rolling around silver carts with trays of dim sum. They come to your table and ask if you want what they have. Many of the servers didn't speak english so we got a few gross ones, but overall Dim Sum was Yum. I recommend pork buns, anything with shrimp and crab, and the mango pudding.

Spring Pictures

Best Buddies. Shep and his cousin Dylan adore one another, every time they see each other they have the same greeting...hitting their hand against their forehead and saying "ouch".


My favorite easter basket, ever.


Lunch at the Brick Oven with my sisters and mom, for old time sake. It sure was nice to be with them, they are all so amazing.


Dying eggs with Papa Dude and Gramma Judy. Marshall seems to have his own agenda.


Two things I've learned about Marshall that this picture illustrates well. First, he is fiercely independent especially when it comes to eating, exploring, and climbing. And second, he has the sweetest personality, but this boy WILL fight back. If I ever yell at him or Shep (who me???) he will get right in my face and yell back.

"We're Going to the Zoo, How About You?"

Aram and I decided we have a new philosophy about taking Shep to nice/expensive/fun places; we are not paying for the experience and excitement there, we are paying for his reaction to it the day afterwards. Sheppard loves animals, he plays them all day and I'm sure he dreams about them all night. So, I assumed the the zoo would be pure paradise for him. I guessed wrong. Gramma and Papa took us to the zoo while they were here and Shep had a total meltdown. He freaked out completely, and wouldn't even pretend he liked it. You can see his distraught face on the Merry Go Round (which was our unsuccessful attempt to snap him out of his tissy fit). He finally calmed down a bit, and enjoyed it more towards the end of our time there. On the other hand, Marshall loved it and was in love with all the animals. This is the kicker...the next day Shep was talking about the zoo like it was the best thing on the planet. He told me about all the animals and what they did, "Gorilla was so funny, he played peek a boo", "Elephant ate the straw, that was so funny." Trust me, none of this was remotely funny to him while we were there, but something must have connected in his sweet little head that it should be funny. He has altered his memory of the zoo from a miserable, distraught experience to a great and funny day. Kids, go figure!