Halloween 2008

It's a Halloween tradition to go to my Grandparent's house and get a picture taken with the pumpkin in the front yard. Ever since I can remember they have carved a pumpkin and put it on that rock for halloween. My grandma is always so proud of the yearly pumpkin and how big it is.

All the kids together before heading out for the night. Tanner and Ben were Power Rangers Jungle Fury. (Don't forget the Jungle Fury part, they won't let you if you do.) The little one's were the Wizard of Oz.

Ella is the mother of these boys. Here she is making sure that Drew's costume and trick-or-treat bag is okay for the picture. She cracks me up! The boys don't find her so funny, as you can see on Drew's face.

Now she is fixing the lion's mane on Adam's costume. If one mom isn't enough, they will always have Ella to nit pick them.

Ever since I found out that I was having quads and that there was one girl and three boys, I wanted to do the Wizard of Oz for halloween. I'm not even kidding, it was one of the first things I thought of- even before their names! So this was the year. It was so much fun. They looked so cute. My sister gave me the Dorothy costume that her little girl was one year and we got the rest on EBAY. It wasn't hard deciding who would be who. Each kid fit the persoanlity of the character they were being. Adam was the lion, he's loud and proud. Drew was the scarecrow, he's silly and crazy. Luke was the tinman, he's skinny and shy. Ella of course was Dorothy, she's the only girl-the princess, and she is obsessed with shoes. The ruby red slippers were just her thing!

Quirks!!

I have been tagged and this time it is QUIRKS !!! You have to list 6 quirks about yourself soooo in no particular order...
1. Light switches- I don't know why but I have to have all my switches the same direction. It drives me crazy when they don't! I will go around turning the lights on and off just to make sure that they are all going the same direction.
2. Can't leave my house in a mess- This drives Marty crazy! He will be loading the kids up and I am in the house picking stuff up.
3. Vacuum lines- I have to have my vacuum lines going in a certain direction or pattern. I also hate when someone walks across my freshly vacuumed carpet. Can't it look nice for 5 minutes!
4. Loading the dishwasher- I am the dishwasher loading Nazi! It's all about strategy. Marty loads the dishes and can't fit everything in. I come along and I'm like, "Are you nuts? You can fit that all in." It's like a game to see if you can get every dish in. I always WIN! It drives me bonkers when they don't all get in.
5. Space issues or claustrophobia- I'm not sure what you would call it, but when I was little I hated my friends riding their bike close to mine. I had to be at the front or the back of the pack. Now in adulthood, it's skiing. Don't ski to close to me. It makes me so nervous! Again, I have to be in the front of the pack or the back.
6. I'm a "Nervous Nelly", and "Worry Wart"- I think I get this from my mom and my grandma. I get such anxiety when my kids learn to ride a bike, I can't watch. It freaks me out. I worry about everything! I worry about the most crazy unlikely things. I always ask Marty the most bizarre questions because of it, "What if this happens....?" or "What would you do if.....?"
"How would we......?" Nothing should surprise me, I've thought of (or worried) just about everything.

I tag:
Melanie
Kami
Shauni
Jen
Lanae
Cindi
HAVE FUN!

Brace Face...Metal Mouth...Train Tracks...

What ever you called someone with braces I don't want to hear it....I'm getting braces!I was at my six month cleaning with my dentist, Dr. Kyle. He came in the room and said, "Have you ever thought about getting that fixed?" I was like, "Huh?" He then told me that in that last two years that he has been seeing me he has seen movement in my front two teeth. My front left tooth is starting to overlap my front right tooth. He told me to see an orthodontist because it's only going to get worse.
So a long story short, I went to an orthodontist who wants to put full braces on me for about 8 months. Apparently I have some mild crowding on the bottom too. After all these years of bragging that I've only had to have a retainer in elementary school, I now have to get braces. I told the orthodontist that I had to have them off before I turn 30!I am excited because I'm a total teeth person and I have always thought that people who had braces have the prettiest smiles. I am nervous because...come it's braces and as Tanner has told me, "You're gonna look funny!" I don't want to look funny. But you know Marty's never kissed a girl with braces!

Hogle Zoo

Every spring we attempt to go to the zoo, and every year in the spring half of the exhibits are closed. So this year we wised up and went in the fall. Marty took the day off and he headed out. It was a really nice day. They kids loved all the animals and it was surprisingly managable. We only had one problem and that was the nightmares that Ben had about the "snake behind the glass!" It was a great day to spent with the family. (Well except for the drive home, right Mart?)

Field Trip to the Fire Station

Ben's preschool had their first field trip to the fire station. The kids had alot of fun seeing all the fire trucks and the fire station. They got to go in the fire trucks and see the fireman all dressed up in his suit. They try to teach the kids not to be afraid of a fireman. If a house is on fire most kids run away from the firemen because they seem scary, so they put on their full gear so the kids can see what it's like and what a fireman sounds like with the oxygen tank on. As soon as the fireman did this half of the kids start crying or backing away. It was pretty funny.

Ben's class on the front of the fire truck. Yes, there's only one girl in the whole class.

Ben and Ethan inside the fire truck.

Ben and the "dressed up fireman." He felt pretty brave touching his hand, that's as close as he would get.

Ben and Ethan on the front of the fire truck.

Benny Starts Preschool

Okay, so I admit it....I am the worst blogger in the world. Yes,Ben started preschool a month ago and I'm just getting around to blogging it...I already admitted to being the worst blogger what more do you want. He is going to preschool at Mrs. Lisa's and he has really enjoyed it. And I'm really surprised at how much he knows. With Tanner I spent all this time reading to him, teaching him letters and sounds, how to write his name. And poor Benny has pretty much been self-taught, not completely but certainly not with the attention I gave to Tanner. Hopefully this is how most moms are with first child vs. second child....otherwise I will have to admit to being the worst mother in the world too!

Benny on his first day of preschool.

Again first day of preschool. Not a great picture of Ben, but see if you notice anything unusual about this picture. I will give you a hint- look at the side light window.

(Yes, that is a naked Adam in that window!)

Tagged

8 t.v. shows I love to watch..
The Office
30 Rock
Grey's Anatomy
Biggest Loser
Jon and Kate Plus 8
Pushing Daisies
ER
Seinfeld

8 favorite restaurants..
Cafe Rio
Gandalfo's
Chick-fil-a
Olive Garden
Mimi's
Boston's
Ligori's
Wendy's (not a favorite,but we sure go there alot!)
*Pretty lame selection I know, tells you where we get out to!*

8 things that happened yesterday..
1-Made Dirty Rice for lunch at parents
2-Got kids ready
3-Went to parents for lunch
4-Had a debate with my sister over democrats and Obama (Boo...Hiss!)
5-Yellled at my kids for playing in the park that flooded from rain water, after I specifically told them not to.
6-Grounded my boys from getting to go to Grandma in the White Houses'
7-Went to my Grandma's aka Grandma in the White House
8-Had an ice-cream cone with my family

8 things I'm looking forward to..
1- I agree with my friend Melanie... the babies being potty trained
2- Nap time!
3- Halloween
4- Secret Life of Bees movie release
5- Ella's room being finished
6- The basement being cleaned, not by me (I'll be waiting a while I'm sure!)
7- Running again, sometime I'll get time for it.
8- Christmas

8 things on my wish list..
1- Again I gotta go with Melanie.... to wear a size 4!
2- My kids to always be healthy
3- A vacation for Marty and I
4- To take my kids to Disneyland
5- Fabulous Hair
6- To frame down my Living Room wall and make it an office! (Never gonna happen)
7- To have a big yard
8- That my kids can have friends like I have had

8 people who I'm tagging..
Lori
Lindsey
Whitney
Cindi
Lydia
Michele

Funny things kids say...

Kids always say the funniest things and it seems like lately my kids have been full of it. So I thought I better blog it before I forget it.
Benny says:
Were watching conference and Henry B. Eyring is talking about being a peacemaker and Ben comes upstairs and says, "Mom I know what he is talking about. He is talking about being a peacemaker. And he doesn't have to keep an eye on me because I'm already a peacemaker. So he doesn't have to worry about me, he doesn't have to keep an eye on me."
Tanner and Ben wouldn't eat their dinner the other night so I told them that if they took three bites they could have some Root Beer and then they had to take three more bites and could be done. Ben thought that was a great deal and quickly ate his bites to get his drink. After Ben was done, Tanner thought yeah, that didn't look so bad and agreed to do the same. He ate his first three bites so I poured him some Root Beer. Ben said, "Congratulations Tanner, you made it to the next level!"
Adam says:
Everything is AWESOME or CUTE. He has just really started to talk over these last few months and it is hilarious to see his personality come out in his words.
I got a new church bag and I was leaving for church and I threw the bag over my shoulder and Adam says, "Cute." He is 21/2 and he's better trained than my husband who's 36. I was cutting vegetable for soup the other day and he climbed up on the table and watched for a minute and then said, "Oh, cute!" Apparently I was doing a really good job with those carrots. A few weeks ago he and Luke were wrestling and playing around with each other. They were both laughing and having a good time. Well Luke got hurt and then mad and bit Adam on the back and headed upstairs. Meanwhile Adam's all upset and crying becuase he got bit. When he calms down he is looking for revenge a.k.a Luke. He doesn't see him downstairs but hears him upstairs and makes his way up. And as he is going up the stairs he is saying, "Lukey...I bite you. Lukey....I bite you." I'm downstairs the whole time this is going on. He gets to the tops finds Luke goes up to him and bites him, I hear a scream from Luke and Adam says, "I bite you. Naughty."
And of course the funniest story is yet to come. I normally get up and get showered before my kids wake up, otherwise it doesn't happen. Well this particular day I didn't so I thought that's okay I will just put the kids in the playpens in my room while I shower. Well they did fine for the first few minutes but by the time I got out I could hear them screaming. I was worried that someone was hurt so I ran out of the bathroom without a towel. They immediatley stopped crying and looked at me all bewildered. I was like, oh they've never seen me naked before. And before I can turn around to go grab a towel Adam starts saying, "Ba-looons...Ba-looons...Ba-looons!" They haven't seen me naked since.
TO BE CONTINUED.....(I'm sure of it!)

All About Benny

Ben also just had a birthday, he just turned 5 years old. I really can't believe that he is that old, it seems old to me. Ben is our second child and he has enough personality and volume for the other five kids. He is constanly saying the craziest things. I really need to be better at writing them down. Here is "All About Benny."

Ben at Bear Lake this summer. He is so tall and skinny. We held him back from kindergarten this year becuase of his late birthday but he is taller than most of the kids going to kindergarten this year.

Ben with my Dad's dog, Annie. It's a love and I'm not sure about this relationship.

Ben and Ella. If Tanner has a picture with Ella, Ben has to have a picture with Ella. It's the story of big brother, little brother.

Ben and Tanner with their cousin Gabe. I actually posted this one so you can see Ben in his favorite outfit. A shirt he got from Bryce and Heather (Uncle and Aunt)which he calls his "Mouska Mouse Shirt", and his "Comfy Pants." I swear that kid is 80. He only wants to wear comfortable clothing. No denim, not denim shorts or pants. And no collared shirts!
Ben's Favorite things:
Fav. Color: Blue
Fav. Food: Chicken nuggets, and salad with dip dip
Fav. Show: Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Fav. Place:McDonalds
Fav. Friends: Ethan, Garrett and whoever Tanner is playing with that day
Ben is: *Crazy *Hilarious *Loud *Peacemaker *Sharing *Easy going *Active
Ben loves: *To play with his big brother Tanner *Play with Ethan *Dress up in old halloweeen costumes *Wrestle and fight with Nate and Aaron *Make people happy *Go to his Grandpa's on Sunday's *Ride his scooter *Eat candy! *To Fib (hopefully this doesn't last through the teenage years, he's really good at it though so it makes me worry.) *Be with his Dad *To wear comfortable clothing *Loves the smell of gas, he loves when we have to go fill the car up
Ben Hates:*To make people upset, cries if he thinks you are mad at him (hopefully this will last through the teenage years) *Hates to be thrown up in the air, scares him to death
Fav. Ben sayings: "I can handle that." "That'll be a deal." "Oh, man!" "Is that in Utah? Are we in Utah?" Where ever we go, Layton, Logan, West Point, Mtn. Green, Ogden, SLC, Ben will say "Is that in Utah?" Everytime it's "Yes." However, when we went to Bear Lake we went through Evanston and Ben said, "Are we in Utah?" expecting to hear yes, as always. We said "No." He looked very confused. Like if we aren't in Utah how come we haven't fallen off the earth. Everything is in Utah, where are we. I don't think he knew what to think of that.

All About Tanner

I had decided when I first started blogging that when each of my kids had a birthday I would do a post that was all about them. Well Tanner has just recently turned 7 years old! Can I have a child that old? Considering that most people assume that I am over 35 because I have six kids, I guess it's not that hard to believe. Sadly. Anyhow these are just my random thoughts on Tanner and some of his favorite things.

Tanner practicing some "sweet jumps" on a ramp they made one day. Tanner loves to be outside riding bikes, scooters, or playing with his friends.

Tanner and Ella. He loves to give piggy back rides to the "little ones". (That's my new name for the babies. Little ones.)He is a great big brother.


Tanner has always loved tractors. From a baby he could spot them anywhere we went. "Ters!" "Ters!" He loves that his grandpa has so many that he can ride in!

Tanner and Benny are best buddies. I know that Tanner would say otherwise, but they are. If one is gone they are completely lost and bored without each other.
Tanner's favorite things:
Fav. Food: Any cheesehurger kids meal. I think it is just for the toy, of course.
Fav. Show: Suite Life of Zack and Cody and all character cartoons listed below.
Fav. Color: Red and Blue
Fav. Friends: Cayden, Clay, Eddie, all cousins
Fav. Place: Lagoon, Island Park, Bear Lake
Tanner is: *Serious *Likes to be in charge *Helpful *Imaginative *Active *Daddy's Boy *Sensitive *Smart *Loving *Inquisitive
Tanner Loves: *To sleep in *To wrestle and fight his 2 uncles Nate and Aaron *Go to Home Depot with his Dad *Watch T.V. *Everything character-Power Rangers, Batman, Spider-man, Super-man, Ben 10, Pucca, TMNT. However, he is not allowed to wear characters. I have to draw the line somewhere!
Tanner Hates: *Fish, *Hornets, *Cleaning up his messes, *Getting woke up in the morning, *Storms (especially now that his room is in the basement!)
Fav. Tanner saying: "Are there bears there?", "What will a racoon do to you?", "Are there rattlesnakes there?", "What will a mountain lion do to you?"
He is very interested or concerned by wildlife, I'm not sure which. But every time we go somewhere he has to know what kind of wildlife is there. And what will happen to him if he runs into that wildlife. Will it eat him, bite him, kick him...etc. I don't blame him becuase up until recently I thought a porqupine could throw their quils at you, you know like you see in the cartoons! One came across my path jogging one day, I didn't dare go back that way until Marty informed me they couldn't.

First Day, First Grade!

Tanner started first grade this week. We were both so excited! He was excited to ride his bike to school. He probably enjoys being away from all the little ones. Poor kid can't get his own first day of school picture without someone jumping in it!
I also was excited he got to ride his bike to school too and I didn't have to load up six kids to drive a block to drop him off. I'm so excited for all day school, too. Seriously, when is all day kindergarten going to start? I can't stop asking. Tanner has got the best teacher too. She is funny, creative and exciting. I'm so happy he was able to be in her class. It's refreshing to have a teacher who enjoys teaching, enjoys her job and wants the kids to enjoy learning. I'm really excited about her. I do miss his help though, he was a really go helper. And Ben gets really bored having Tanner gone all day. So maybe all day school isn't as cool now as it will be when all six are in school all day. I can only dream of the day! Teasing. It will be sad to have them all grown and gone. Hmmm, maybe.

Bear Lake 2008

We were able to go on a "vacation" a.k.a "relocation" to Bear Lake this month. We call it a relocation becuase it really isn't a vacation with 6 kids! We had an awesome time though. It really was a lot of fun, and surprisingly easy.
Marty's parents rent a house up there for the week and everyone goes up for what ever time they can. It was really nice for all the cousins to get to play together and have one last "blast' before school started the next week.
We had fun playing down at the beach, making sand castles, chasing seagulls, getting some sun, and just getting sandy! Our car will never be clean from all the sand. The water is perfect for the kids to play in, it stays shallow forever.
My brother-in-law Seth brought up their boat and he patiently took all the kids out for rides on the tube. He even took me, Marie (my mother-in-law),and Janna and Mandy (my sister-in-laws) out for a girls water skiing trip. It was pretty hilarious. We are all a little high-maintenance,"Could you put my ski on?", "Could you put my gloves on?","Oh, and I need the easy up rope too!", "I can't jump in it's too cold!" Seriously that water is freezing; it took my breath away, literally. It makes you have to pee it's so cold which actually warms you up for a second! Seth survived us. It's a good thing he is so laid back otherwise I am sure we would have been thrown overboard and left to swim to shore! We had a good time. I felt like Bill Murray in What About Bob. "I sail!" "Ahoy, I sail!", "I'm sailing!", "I sailed!" Only it was, "I ski.", "I'm skiing.", "I skied!" Marty got to go out and ski too, although he was afraid of doing anything that might "wear him out" for his half-marathon he was running that weekend.
It was a great vacation. Everyone got along. We have some really fun memories. I had a hard time picking picutres for the post so I made a slide show. I'm not so smart with the computer, so it's in a different post. I don't know how these things work!

Bear Lake 2008 Slide Show

South Weber Days Parade

Every year we go to the South Weber Parade at my uncle Scott's house. His front yard is the perfect parade spot, he has this huge tree in the front that shades everything. All my extended family comes. It's a lot of fun to see everyone and how much all the kids are growing up.


Marty and the "baby" boys before the parade starts. This is what he alwayas looks like. Three kids in his lap, only cause the fourth won't fit. They love their dad.

Me and the quads catching some candy. Apparently this is surprising to me, I don't know what's going on with my face.

Tanner and Ben with their haul of candy. Like we need anymore of this at the house, we all have horrible sweet tooths. We see our dentis too much because of it. In fact we just paid our dentist bill from the last trip and already need to go back. Tanner has an abcess. Aghh... it's maddening.

The quads "enjoying" the parade. They were a little unsure about it. The Cella brothers (Todd, Brian, Tim) did a float in the parade again this year. They have this old suburban or something that has the top cut off, maybe, I can't remember exactly. Anyhow, they make it in to a pirate ship with some sort of cannon on the back. It's actually quite elaborate and cool if you aren't under the age of 3. Then they all paint themselves black and sing pirate songs and scare the crap out of the little kids watching the parade. It's kind of funny to see. The quads did not love it though.

Memories....

My sister had this on her blog and I thought it was fun to read all the fun stuff her friends had to say. So here we go...As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.This should be fun I hope you want to play!

While Mom's Away.....

This is what happens when I leave and Marty is in charge!
Would you expect anything different from a dad? They are
all alive when I get home so I guess that's all that matters.
Although I wonder, what else goes on that he doesn't get the
camera out to record? Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

I've been Tagged!

1. Self Portrait- These things never go well. I was just hoping for no double chins! Right, girls?

2. What are your kids doing right now? Surprisingly, they were all still in bed at 9 am. Ella was awake and playing Etch-a-Sketch in her bed. Ben woke up and smiled and went back to sleep. Luke's picture is not upside down, he is!

3. Your refrigerator- Full of left overs and Mountain Dew! Yummy!

4. Your sink- Full of last nights dirty dishes. This is not typical. But this is Marty's job, so it's not my fault!

5. Your favorite shoes- Well it's summer so I am pretty much bare foot and no one wants to see these ugly toes. So my next favorite pair would be my running shoes.

6. Favorite room in the house- My kitchen. Turn your heads to get a look. I don't know why it uploaded sideways and I didn't have time to figure it out. I love to cook. Not that I am an excellent "Cooker" as Tanner would say, but I enjoy it. I love my cabinets my sister-in-laws brother did for me too.

7. Dream vacation- A what? Dream vacation- probably Hawaii or Cabo. But at this point I would settle for a nap in my bed. That's my real dream!

8. Your closet- I have always thought that a person's closet reveals their true self. I fear what this says about me. I am a closet slob!

9. Your toilet- This is the one that is clean so this in the one I took a picture of!

10. Laundry room- No hiding this mess. Actually this is an improvement from the day before. I spent all day in there yesterday folding laundry. It's the putting away that I hate.

I was tagged by my friend Jen. The rules are that you have to take these pictures right away, as they are, no cheating! Then you have to tag 5 other people. So I tag- Lori, Lindsey, Bryce and Heather! Good luck. Have fun!

July 4th

This 4th of July we sadly didn't do much. We attempted to go to the Kaysville parade, but apparently if you don't stake your spot out 48hrs in advance you don't get one! I ran the Kaysville 10k that morning, that last mile was a killer! Then we just hung out at home. It was such a hot day the kids (and I) were miserable outside. Later we went to Marty's parents for:

Barbeque and Swimming

Ella, Ava, and Olivia in the kiddie pool.

Ben and Parker.

Fireworks and Sparklers!

Aunt Stpehanie trying to get the sparklers lit.
It was harder than it looks!

Finally!

Even Ella had a sparkler. The little boys were to scared.

The little boys would not leave Marty's lap.

All the kids had a blast doing sparklers together.
My friend Angie and her family did a firework stand this year and she gave Tanner and Ben some firework glasses that the kids wore while they did sparklers and watched the fireworks. It was very cool!