Tanner's Tales

Re-Cap

2011-11-01T22:17:00.001-06:00

Well...I guess I could just re-post the pictures from our last blog entry. Reed was at work today and slipped on something on the floor and broke his knee cap again. He was able to get surgery tonight on it, so he didn't have to wait a week to get it fixed this time. At least this time we know what to expect.

I guess I need to learn some things from this experience since I didn't learn them the first time around. My sweet Willie already has taught me something during this experience. Grandpa came and picked the kids up so I could be with Reed during and after the surgery. One of the first things Willie wanted to do when they got in Grandpa's car was to say a prayer for Reed and for the doctor. I was too caught up in the logistics of getting everything worked out to remember the more important things. When Willie got word that the surgery went well, he said, "You know why, right? Because of the prayer." Such great faith! I sure have great kids and I'm glad for all of their great examples and teachers that have helped to teach them the important things. I am also thankful for great parents who always drop what they're doing to help out and take time to be with the kids. Willie even chose to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house rather than go to school. It was a hard choice for him though. He does love both.

Just in case you missed it the first time- Although the new x-rays (that I don't have) show his knee cap broken in at least 3 pieces, as well as all the hardware poking out of his broken patella.

Before and After

2011-09-17T21:27:00.000-06:00

Crushed knee cap

Getting ready to go to the hospital

Before surgery

After surgery

Good Thing...

2011-09-09T21:07:00.002-06:00

Reed's not riding LOTOJA tomorrow.

So young?

2011-09-06T21:26:00.001-06:00

Willie and I were talking during lunch today and he told me that today at school everyone was saying their favorite colors. "And I told everyone my favorite color is blue because everyone else's was, and I wanted to fit in." His favorite color is really green. It made me sad that he is already worrying about fitting in. We had a good talk with him about it though. We are reading about Abinadi and how he "boldly" answered all the priests questions. He wasn't ashamed. We asked him if Abinadi would have said his favorite color was blue, just to fit in. He smiled and said, no, he would have said red. So apparently Abinadi's favorite color is red...But I was glad that we could tie in our scriptures to his life. Hopefully he learns that it is ok to be different and it is not so important to fit in that he needs to change who he is. I didn't think kids started worrying about fitting in so early.

What to say...

2011-08-29T16:15:00.002-06:00

What do I tell this 3-year-old who is CONVINCED he is starting school with Willie tomorrow. I think he is going to have the hardest time with this whole school thing. Poor kiddo is going to miss his best friend.

Totally Jealous

2011-08-29T16:13:00.001-06:00

Enough said.

Fall

2011-08-29T16:06:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures of one of my favorite plant in our yard- our hibiscus

Here's our garlic for the year. I was disappointed with the size.

Our best hibiscus. Too bad it's in a spot that isn't seen so easily. Good planning Meg.

And this is what happens when you try to get the zucchini bread out of the pan too early. Hmmm...Someone needs to learn a little patience.

Stories

2011-08-26T21:37:00.003-06:00

Willie-

Thanks for the bedtime story tonight. I really like it where you tell me a story instead of me telling you one. You are much better at telling stories than I am. I'm so glad you talked me into staying for your story instead of wandering off to bed. I loved hearing about the castle full of good guys. Of 6,000 of them to be exact. And their weapons that were swords like whips. And their armor that was made of diamonds and their skin that shone like diamonds, and was as strong as diamonds, but as soft as your ladybug blanket. Oh yeah, this was a castle in Germany. In outer space. Then there was the castle of bad guys. In Africa. In outer space. There weapons were whips made of diamonds with one dull side and one kind of sharp side. You even showed me what it felt like if you got hit by the whip. I loved the part where you told me what the good guys language sounded like. And I liked that this was the whole story. Next time we will work on the plot a little, but I think you set it up great. Thanks for an awesome bedtime story and some great laughs.

-Mom

2011-08-19T21:46:00.001-06:00

Mikey?

How to make a 5-year-old happy

2011-08-16T21:06:00.004-06:00

Willie and Sammy went mountain biking today. Okay, so Sammy went mountain "biking" on his coaster bike...I mean motorcycle.

Willie LOVED it! He thought it was so cool that he was out doing something that his daddy loves to do. He had his first couple of falls, but for the most part, just got back on the bike. Except when Dad got out the camera for some pictures. We rode up Green Canyon on the little trail and down on the fire road. He would have just ridden all the way home if we would have let him. Maybe next time we should put some better shoes on than his crocs.

Mapleton Moonlight Half

2011-08-16T20:37:00.002-06:00

Emily, Lindsey and I ran my favorite half marathon last Friday night. It's great because it gives everyone a chance to win. You can start whenever you want, and the first to cross the finish line after midnight wins. No timing devices allowed. It is a nice laid-back atmosphere and there isn't that rush at the beginning with all the runners trying to get their spot. It takes place during a full moon and is a mostly downhill-ish course. You know what doesn't make for a great half marathon? cinnamon roll/cake breakfast, coke and potato chips second breakfast, lunch, and eating dinner at 2, as well as post-dinner-pre-race-meal at 5, then running at 9:30. Who would have thought... It was actually a very fun race and I didn't get too sick until the last 2 miles. Thanks Em and Linds for making me run this. Not to mention the sweet shirts we got. (Sorry whoever's picture this is. You are such great models of the shirt)

(No pictures...which shouldn't surprise you if you know me and/or my family)

Snaggle Tooth Mikey

2011-07-10T22:00:00.003-06:00

Can't see it?

Get a little closer...

There it is!

Darn it. Mikey was playing in the bathroom while the older boys were bathing and he took a header. Chipped both front teeth. Now if we could just get him to not smile so much, nobody would notice.

This below is Mikey (and all 1 year old's) favorite hobby. Emptying out cupboards. Or playing in the toilet. No pictures of that though. Should have gotten a picture of him dipping his teddy bear in the toilet though. Next time.

This is how he looks when he is walking. All the time. Like he is just about to tip over. And he does. A lot. Hence the teeth.

Dancing Daring Dangerous Will

2011-07-10T21:47:00.008-06:00

OK. We will start with the dancing. I let Will help cut up rhubarb for rhubarb pie the other day. Then all of his dance moves morphed into chopping motions. He told me he was practicing chopping. Hence:

Favorite activity as of late:

We made an American flag cake for the 4th. Something about Willie: He LOVES the American flag. Anytime we see one, he stops and puts his hand on his heart. We had the chance to go hang out with Dad at one of his scouting camps-Mountain Man Rendezvous. Among many other cool things for boys (throwing tomahawks and knives, setting traps, shooting a bow and arrow, shooting guns, etc.) Willie got to experience a flag being retired. He was almost in tears when they put the flag on the fire. He told me on the way back to our tent that he was glad that he got to see it, but it made him so sad. I told him it was good that he got to experience it, and now he knows how to do it and what it is. He then told me that he is glad that he experienced it so he doesn't ever have to see it again.

Dad gave Willie a pocket knife. Hmmm...Good thing we have accident insurance? (A must in this house) So far we haven't had to use it. Willie is a very careful boy.

And since we haven't gotten to use the insurance due to the pocket knife, why not put a five-year-old on the roof for the afternoon?

I Am Sam

2011-07-10T21:32:00.006-06:00

Sammy had a birthday. I'll let him tell you how old he is:

Whew, that took a lot of work!

He had a great birthday. He got a dragon cake. It took all I could do to talk him out of a Ninja Turtle cake. We should have done it. Oh well. The dragon cake turned out pretty cool too. Thanks to Dad for the cake.

Thanks to Grandma for all the Ninja Turtle Toys.

Some things about three-year-old Sam:

-All we could get him to say he wanted was "a bear like Mike's" for his birthday. Mikey got a little teddy bear (thanks Grandma) for his birthday, and Sammy, apparently, is (was) super jealous. So he got a bear like Mike's (a little bigger, lighter color. Not exactly like Mike's. That would cause problems.) (Thanks again Grandma). And he carries it around with him all the time. The bear's name? "Bear Like Mike's." As in, that's what he calls it. All the time. His bear like Mike's.

-He will NOT wear pants. It is a fight every Sunday to get pants on him.

-He is not potty trained. We are working on it, and using everything we can think of, from phone calls to Raphael and Leonardo (thanks Bri) to a suppository treatment(thanks Amanda). Any suggestions are welcome.

-He doesn't believe that his name is Samuel. It is Sam, or Sammy, or Raphael. Sometimes Batman or Superman. Definately not Samuel.

-He loves his baby brother and likes to let Mikey "wrestle" him. (read: lay on top of him)

-His best friend in the whole world is Willie. He does whatever Willie does. He chases him around the stores. He is so sad when Willie gets invited to play at friends houses without him. One good thing about afternoon kindergarten for Willie is that Sam will be napping (fingers crossed) so he won't miss his BFF too much.

-He loves his mama

-He likes to snuggle...on his terms.

-Speaking of his terms, everything has to be on his terms.

-He still loves to make everyone laugh.

Jealous???

2011-06-03T20:44:00.005-06:00

I get to do nothing but hang out with these guys for the next three months....

Jealous?

You should be!

(Sorry about the sideways pictures...Thought I fixed them...now too busy teaching my boys to dress to care :)

Happy Birthday Mikey!

2011-06-03T20:40:00.004-06:00

This real-life mud pie inspired...

the mud-pie birthday cake...

which I believe was a hit.

Happy birthday Mikey. We love you!

FHE

2011-05-16T20:32:00.002-06:00

"I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday...I'll prepare myself yum, yum, yum yum. This is my sacred duty."

-Sam Tanner

Chicks

2011-04-30T08:28:00.002-06:00

We got some chickens yesterday. 3. Our boys named the hens: Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo. Sound familiar? Such cute girl names. William has changed his from Leonardo to "Chirpbeak William Tanner." I wonder how many more name changes these poor girls will go through!

love love love...

2011-04-26T17:00:00.002-06:00

this picture of Mikey. Thanks Sara!

Whine whine.....

2011-04-13T13:21:00.003-06:00

That last post made everything sound much worse than it is. Life is great and I made it sound like it isn't. Here are some great things that have been going on that outweigh the "bad"

1. Kids' better

2. Dog's better

3. New fire pit in backyard= hot dogs and smores for dinner every night

4. Tilled garden

5. Planted onions...more planting to come soon :)

6. Snow melted (I hear more of that to come soon too)

7. Several nights of good sleep

8. Days at the park

9. Conference talks available to watch

10. Snuggling the kiddos

11. Hubby who is home with boys while I am at work (most days)

12. Almost Summer!

Spring Break

2011-04-08T13:57:00.004-06:00

My idea of an ideal spring break:

1. lots of snow

2. sick kids

3. 6 ear infections

4. amoxicillan in bulk

5. trip to vet with stinky dog (I'll spare you the details...you should thank me)

6. more amoxicillan (for stinky dog...hopefully no longer to be stinky, and therefore allowed in house, which would be nice because of all the snow)

7. Laying on the bed and watching super hero shows (as well as Beauty and the Beast...he he he)

8. Cleaning up throw-up

9. Staying home with kiddos for a whole week...worth all the snow and stink!

Five...

2011-03-26T21:19:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to my Willie. We are so lucky to have him. He is a great big brother to both Sammy and Mikey. He tries to make them both happy. He loves to feed Mikey his bottle before he goes to bed and give him lots of hugs and kisses. He shares all of his toys with Sam-man. Even the new toys he got today for his birthday. He is a social boy and likes to have friends and cousins over. He made me a bracelet the other day while I was at work. It had a heart on it because he loves me, and a P for panda (and no, there is nothing significant about pandas). He is very thoughtful and considerate of others, which is hard to do, especially when you are 5.

His choice of food for his birthday dinner? Green beans...Jello (green please)...and Apple sauce. In that order, but NOT green bean jello.

I love that boy.

What...

2011-03-16T16:04:00.005-06:00

What, you think they need new jammies?

Ragnar

2011-03-10T15:42:00.002-07:00

Hey Friends and Family-

Reed and I are participating in the Ragnar relay this year for the American Cancer Society. We are trying to raise some money for cancer research. If you would like to help and donate a few dollars, you can click on the link and donate. You don't have to :) Just thought I'd let you all know. Thanks!

American Cancer Society

Meg

I know her...

2011-03-07T19:10:00.001-07:00

She's my sister!

She's so cool.

Inside Jokes

2011-01-29T20:44:00.004-07:00

Lately it has felt like I am on the outside of many inside jokes between Willie and Sam. One of them will say something at dinner and they both start laughing pretty hard. Sometimes even Mikey joins in. It happens all throughout the day. I guess at least they are getting along pretty well, even if it means I am on the outside!

Polar Plunge

2011-01-27T18:41:00.004-07:00

It's sad that my four-year-old is already tougher than I am.

The Zoo in January

2011-01-27T18:25:00.003-07:00

Lindsey and I took our kids to Hogle Zoo on Wednesday. You know, free zoo day, so we couldn't miss it.

Although we traveled to SLC to see monkeys, apparently, we could have just stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and looked at the monkeys.

Micah and Willie's best elephant faces.

No pictures of Mikey at the zoo, so I got one of him doing his chores today: rinsing off the dishes.

Two Different Worlds...

2010-12-30T12:48:00.002-07:00

Super Heroes:

You can't tell me that tea party doesn't look nice after a day of fighting dragons and Lord Voldermort.

Conversation with Sam-man

2010-12-24T14:23:00.003-07:00

Scene: Sam looking up the chimney in our front room.

Mom: Is Santa going to come down the chimney tonight?

Sam: (Blank look)

Mom: Santa is going to fly with his reindeer, land on our roof, and bring a present for you and Willie down the chimney tonight.

Sam: Santa going to come down the chimney?

Mom: Yeah, and he'll bring you a present.

Sam: (Eyes getting big) He's going to bring me a bell?

Mom: A what?

Sam: A bell.

Mom: Oh yeah. (finally catching on. Darn slow Moms)

Sam: He going to put a bell in my hand?

-Too sweet. I love this age when they don't know that they can ask for anything. All he wants is a bell. I hope I can hear it ring when he gets it.-

Trains

2010-12-24T11:11:00.005-07:00

We made our gingerbread trains the other night. We had a couple of friends over. It was a lot of fun...mess....and sugar. Thanks Landon and Drew for coming! P.S. Next year, I will assemble the trains before hand.

One of the benefits of having boys is I get to go out and run errands with this guy! (Who did dress himself, thanks.) He's so rad.

The Tale of Three Clementines

2010-12-23T12:19:00.004-07:00

Once there were three clementines. Then I tried juggling. Now there are two. And a nice orange-y smelling home when the heat is on. Shhhh...don't tell Reed.

Christmas Helpers

2010-12-18T23:02:00.002-07:00

The boys have been great helpers lately. They have been calling me Santa, and they are the elves...maybe I should think about working out once in a while :)

Here they are making treats for neighbors.

At least Sammy thought they were tasty.

Willie came with me this morning to do a little Christmas shopping...He hasn't taken this crown off that we made yesterday except to sleep. And yes, his shoes are on the wrong feet. You'd think he'd notice, but he had them on all day like this.

We enjoyed dinner by the fire and Christmas tree (thanks Amanda for the great idea!) They loved it. We drank out of plastic cups and ate on Christmas paper plates. The boys thought it was a blast!

Happy Trails!

Dad's Yearly Post

2010-12-18T01:55:00.003-07:00

I sit awake late at night often. Usually thinking about family. Sometimes work and other stuff. Life is good here in Logan. Kiddos are getting big and learning so much. Mom is always keeping things together and everyone happy. I get caught up in the busyness of life once in a while and forget to pay attention to what is great.

I walked into the kitchen the other Sunday. Meg was baking rolls and feeding Mikey at the same time. NPR was on the radio. Willie was intently drawing at the table and Sam was playing in the front room. There was a lot going on and it is rare to be in the middle of it and just be able to watch. It was a sweet moment for me. Who knew hanging out with that blue eyed soccer girl would have led me to this. I made a great choice and have a happy life. I am glad I have so much. I have Jedis, Wizards, Superheros, and a fantastic girl who plays with them all. I love you guys.

Dad

Christmas Decorating

2010-12-09T15:52:00.003-07:00

Willie has been busy making the house "Christmasy". Here is his Play Doh nativity.

We made a puzzle one night out of foam board. We all drew on it and cut it out. That was the best $3 I have spent in a long time. (And I didn't even feel bad when I threw it away a week later!)

I can't get a picture of Mikey being still...as he is always moving, but at least he is smiling.

(Well, and there is the fact that our camera is messed up and every picture looks washed out in the middle...)

Here is our Christmas tree. The kiddos decorated it, as you can tell from the second picture.

Yes folks, that is a sock on the tree...

One Each

2010-11-16T19:38:00.001-07:00

2010-10-25T14:03:00.003-06:00

Here are some things that have been going on the past couple of months...

A snake was among the many animals we saw in Zions and Kolob. This was on our way home in Kolob. Such pretty country!

We were on the shuttle in Zion's. The boys had fun walking around and seeing all the cool rocks, deer, lizards, snakes, but most of all, the cool sticks (swords, guns, light sabers...) and acorns (bombs). Should I be worried?

Willie learned about the planets this summer and here is his artwork!

Mikey Mike

Boo at the Zoo Skeletons

Here we are in the Tetons this summer. Hidden falls maybe? After the boat ride across Jenny Lake.

The waiting and watching pictures of Old Faithful. Aren't the boys cute!

This is part of Will's decorating the car for LOTOJA. I didn't get pictures of the side windows. He was very excited to paint the car.

This is at Yellowstone, in the canyon. There is a huge waterfall behind where the boys are standing and it was making me so nervous, even though it is all fenced off, and they weren't going anywhere....Reed thinks I'm a wimp.

pictures

2010-09-10T10:59:00.002-06:00

Thanks Grandma for the skeleton jammies. The boys decided they want to be skeletons for halloween. Done!

Great Grandma Tanner and Happy Mikey

Great Grandpa Tanner and Mikey

Isn't this exciting! We went to the Golden Spike. I thought the boys would like it...

Not so excited...it might have been the hour drive in the middle of nowhere with a screaming baby brother...

Sunday Best

2010-08-11T21:35:00.001-06:00

The Boys

2010-08-06T20:34:00.005-06:00

Sammy does love his little brother, even if sometimes he doesn't know how to contain himself and we have to call him Lenny.

The boys all in their train jammies...Actually, just Sammy and Mikey had train jammies on, and Willie felt left out, so he is wearing some of Sammy's jammmies...they almost fit!

I think it will always be 2 out of 3 smiling...never all 3.

Sammy was walking around in Dad's shoes, and informed us he was going on a bike ride.

I think I have Grandma Edge to thank for the spider webs. I guess the yarn spider web was better than the thread one I found in the basement...and got my foot tangled in.

Sammy wearing part of Mikey's blessing outfit...He called it his helmet and kept asking me to buckle it.

Mikey has decided he likes his thumb better than the binky for now. This is okay, except it takes him a long time to find his thumb.

Benefits of having 2 and 1/2 in diapers?

2010-07-30T17:10:00.002-06:00

Pictures

2010-07-20T19:25:00.002-06:00

As we were walking out the door to church, Sammy decided he wanted a tie like Willie. (Sammy pronounces Willie like Will-dee. It's pretty funny.) So we found this tie for him, and he wore it all of sacrament meeting. I finally got it off of him before nursery.

These halloween costumes have come in handy as PJ's.

On Monday, Reed was home, so we went and did some exploring in the canyon. We went and visited Old Ephraim's grave. The boys had fun, and Calvin had fun chasing the flies, which the boys thought was so funny...as you can see in this picture.

And Mikey started smiling the last week or so. He doesn't do it so well for the camera though. They are hard to catch.

Sam's Gash

2010-07-09T21:55:00.003-06:00

new pictures

2010-06-16T21:49:00.009-06:00

I have had a few requests for pictures of Sam-man stitched up, as well as a few updated pictures of Mikey, so here you go!

We counted 10 stitches on the top layer, so we are guessing 20-30 stitches in the three layers.

Nephi-Will

2010-06-15T20:44:00.003-06:00

Willie had a primary activity on Saturday, and got to dress up in "biblical clothing." This is what we came up with. If you told him he looked good, he would say, "thanks, I'm Nephi." We decided we should have sent him in his soldier clothes and he could have been a Roman soldier.

Sam Man

2010-06-15T20:36:00.004-06:00

Here are a few pictures to show what it is like living with Sam-man. He is always looking for a laugh. Even when his head is split open. He had his second birthday yesterday and got a sweet caterpillar cake from his dad. This header into the plastic climbing wall at the park cost him 3 layers of stitches. He is a tough guy!

2010-05-30T07:51:00.006-06:00

Michael Edge Tanner

May 29, 2010

9 lbs, 21 inches

Big brothers Willie and Sam-man

Yeah!

2010-03-15T16:47:00.003-06:00

Good news! This weekend I finally found these, which I have been looking for for the past 7 months! They always sound so good when I am pregnant and everything else makes me sick. Also, Sara sent me these pictures of the boys. Very cute! thanks Sara!

Little Helpers

2009-12-30T20:35:00.007-07:00

Since I've been able to be home more over Christmas break, I couldn't help but notice what good helpers I have around the house. Some evidence, in no particular order:

Willie, helping to build the train... Or eat it, I don't know

Ok, so this one isn't so much of a helper as much as it is Willie showing off his Billy side...

The turkeys helping do laundry...ok, so they're putting the clean clothes back into the washer and dryer...It's the thought that counts, right?

Sam man putting the nativity back together after Billy has played with it.

Willie helping to redecorate the tree.

What would we do without cousins? Poor Lucy wouldn't know how to use her new Christmas toy!

Or know where the food goes in her new kitchen set.

Willie helping Grandpa put the crayons away, with all the points up.

Sammy taking over Dad's job as the protector of the house. Notice his finger ready on the trigger.

Sammy helping put Christmas decorations away... At least this treat I won't have to work off later.

Just another picture of the dedicated worker.

And his co-worker working at a slower pace with a glass of milk.

Thanks little helpers for all you do around the house!

Christmas Train Trouble

2009-12-24T11:36:00.005-07:00

The above Gingerbread train may seem cute at first glance but really there is more than meets the eye. Both gummy penguins and cinnamon bears have climbed aboard and are in the throws of mortal combat. The battle to claim the giant gold coins has been raging on our kitchen counter for several days. According to Will the bears are winning today. Really I think the only reason is that he finds the penguins to be tastier and for this reason they are dwindling in numbers.

update

2009-12-23T08:13:00.006-07:00

- Willie is excited for Christmas this year. He asked Santa for a bag of mint m&ms. I love it! I don't think he knows that the presents under the tree are really for him and Sam, because we are copying my mom and doing categories for everyone, so they don't know what presents are theirs until Christmas. His categories is Dinosaurs (because he is so into dinos). He brings me a present and asks me what it says- then he'll say, "(insert dinosaur) gets a present! He's lucky!" But he never asks where his presents are.

-Sammy is into everything, learning more words and understanding too much. He loves to sit on the stool at the counter because he feels like such a big boy. He forgets to eat; he is too busy looking around making sure everyone is noting how big he is. He loves sitting at the table and coloring, and some of it even gets on the paper. And yes, he is eating a jam sandwich in this picture. Those are the kind of sandwiches you get when your dad is allergic to nuts.

This is a shot of part of our Christmas tree. It looks like it may even make it to Christmas in spite of being knocked over and having a rocking chair knocked over into it, along with two wild kids running around it, through it, over it, you name it! Only two more days tree. Hang in there!

Life is good!

Way-to-go Reed-o

2009-09-17T22:07:00.003-06:00

Reed and his buddy Tim rode LOTOJA this past Saturday. He finished in about 12 and a half hours. They did really well. I am impressed and maybe one day we can do it on a tandem.

sam

2009-08-29T10:53:00.002-06:00

Can you tell he likes to eat?

The Boys

2009-08-20T21:28:00.003-06:00

I don't think you can see it on these pictures, but if you look closely at Willie's shoulders, they are wet with sweat after waking up from a nap...if there is one thing my boys can do, it is sweat!

It Has Raisins in it!

2009-06-17T17:33:00.005-06:00

Turn up the volume and listen to Willies reaction. This will be the best blackmail video ever.

Trooper

2009-06-16T21:19:00.003-06:00

Today Willie, Sammy and I went for the hike. I took Sammy in the backpack and Willie was on his own. We went to the Wind Caves. (the link doesn't say it, but it is a fairly steep trail-1000 feet above the highway) I thought we'd walk for about half an hour, turn around and go back. Willie had something else in mind. He was determined to make it to the caves. It took us about 3 hours, round trip, but we made it the whole way. It is almost 2 miles each way. I was very impressed. He got tired on the way down, but we made it.

We came home, ate lunch, and he and Sammy hit the sack. About 30 minutes later, Willie woke up in a puddle of puke. Poor guy. What a trooper though!

Sammy

2009-06-16T21:14:00.004-06:00

Sunday was Sammy's birthday. We had a huge party. (At least according to Willie. I guess dinner and cupcakes qualifies as a big party.) He's a good kid. He got sick the next day, but hasn't skipped a beat. We knew he was sick when he laid his head on my shoulder and cuddled for 15 minutes in the rocking chair. He's a trooper though. Happy birthday Sammy! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa and Jennie and Brian for coming to the huge party!

pictures

2009-06-14T08:55:00.004-06:00

Here are some cute pictures that Auntie Sara took a little while ago. Thanks Sara!

Payoff

2009-05-30T18:28:00.003-06:00

I finally did it. After months of losing I finally beat Willie at Candyland! Definitely a blog-worthy moment.

Little stinker

2009-05-29T13:17:00.002-06:00

I just caught Willie reading a book while he was supposed to be taking a nap, using his clock for light :)

Phew

2009-05-17T08:24:00.001-06:00

I did it. 26.2

Just some pictures...

2009-05-02T15:22:00.006-06:00

Matching Boys

Sammy on Wednesday at 3:00 after a little mud snack.

Sammy on Wednesday at 5:00 after a mud dinner. (Notice the shirt)

I love walking in the room to find Sammy entertaining himself...even if it is a mess.

Willie and his Easter eggs he decorated himself...sort of.

Grandma Edge never runs out of ideas of things to do. So fun! Too bad Willie's mom isn't so fun. Thanks Grandma for the Wilbur box. It has been rainy the last two Saturday's, and the Wilbur box has been great!

Willie and Sammy, looking for eggs at Grandma and Grandpa Tanner's house. Thanks for letting us stay there! It was very nice to get away.

Poppy and Willie, happy to see each other!

Yeah for new running shoes?

Saturday's Run

2009-04-05T21:16:00.002-06:00

Grandma K

2009-03-30T20:59:00.006-06:00

Grandma K

Oct 2, 1920 to March 28, 2009

Thanks for being such a wonderful grandma to me, my husband and kids.

We love you and will miss you.

-Meg

Obituary

Willie's Birthday

2009-03-30T15:25:00.010-06:00

It was Willie's birthday on Thursday, and all he wanted was a clock and an umbrella. Good thing for grandma's, or else he would have been so disappointed! I don't have any pictures of the clock or the super cool umbrella, I will work on getting some pictures and getting them posted. Thanks family for all your love and support. Willie loves seeing his grandmas and grandpas, and even sometimes his aunts and uncles :) We love you!

Thanks Willie for being such a nice boy and making your mom and dad laugh everyday. It is fun watching you grow and learn. And I love our snuggles at night.

Here he is in his sweet new sleeping bag. Like the orange couch?

This is Willie's cake that daddy made. He's so great! Yes, it's a ninja turtle. Don't ask me which one, I don't know!

Willie blowing out cool balloon candles.

Sammy enjoying the festivities.

Mmmmmmm, Ninja cake....

Sammy is warming up for a few months when it is his birthday. He got the hang of this pretty quickly! (He is my son, after all.)

Last, but not least, one of my favorite pictures, Willie sharing one of his birthday toys (a little truck...thanks "grandma" and "grandpa" Brewer!) with his little brother.

New Picture

2009-03-18T15:05:00.001-06:00

Thanks Jane for the cute picture of my boys!

Why I Love Mondays

2009-02-01T14:50:00.011-07:00

Monday is a great day at our house, it's like most people's Saturdays. I work in the morning, then we have the rest of the day to just hang out. Last Monday we went to Hardware Ranch, then enjoyed some food at a little local restaurant. We got to go for a sleigh ride, see the elk, and Willie had a first-balancing a spoon on his nose. Such a talented boy!

This is what Sunday Morning looks like:

And just some more pics:

Of Popcorn and Pennies

2009-01-13T17:30:00.003-07:00

Pennies and popcorn. Two insignificant items, right? Not in the Tanner home. Who knew these two items could cost so much! When place in the wrong places, pennies can cost hundreds, and popcorn kernels can cost tens...

About two years ago, Willie decided to swallow a penny. Here is a look back.

Well, today his ear hurt. He couldn't lay on it, couldn't touch it. It was very sensitive. So we took him to the doctor, expecting some amoxocillan (sp?) for an ear infection. While waiting for the doc, I thought maybe he had put something in his ear, since they are not usually this sensitive during an infection. I looked in his ear and I could see something. We ask Will: Did you put something in your ear? His answer, very matter-of-factly, "Yes, a hard popcorn." A popcorn kernel was stuck in his ear. After about 5 minutes (OK, probably like 2) of screaming, the doctor got it out and all is well. I kept telling him while he was screaming, and while both Daddy and I we holding him down, "you're o.k." He would scream "I. AM. NOT. O.K.!" Little stinker.

We are just waiting for what he sticks up his nose...

Things I am grateful for...

2009-01-11T10:23:00.008-07:00

A good husband/father who will help me out-even when I have ideas that he is not so excited about- and who spends lots of time with the boys. (we are making Grandma and Grandpa Christmas presents.)

Good brothers, who I can tell already are going to feed off of each other...for good or for bad. Sammy loves Willie and whatever Willie does, it make Sammy laugh, from tooting in the bathroom to playing peek-a-boo, Sammy loves his older brother!

A play room, for several reasons. One is entirely selfish, the toys aren't scattered around the whole house! Another reason is when I am playing with Will in the play room, I can't be cleaning, cooking, or anything else but playing with him!

No, not laundry, but for Grandma's that come and watch the kids and have lots of fun with them. They love their grandmas!

Yes, I am grateful for Zebra cakes. They are what has finally motivated Will to poop in the potty...We haven't had a poopy diaper/unders for several days. And now that I've jinxed the whole thing...

Family Pics

2009-01-04T16:41:00.005-07:00

Sara took some pictures for us over Christmas break. Here is a small sampling...more to come later. Thanks Sara!

Rad Reed

2008-11-14T19:54:00.009-07:00

Reed's great. Even though he works swings, and doesn't get home until 11:30, and not to bed until after midnight, he will still get up with our early birds (5:45 AM early birds) so his wife can go for a run and feel much better throughout the day...Thanks Reed!

I found Willie playing in his closet the other morning...he was seperating all of his toys according to color...

The boys in their jail-bird outfits

Halloween Recipes

2008-11-05T19:02:00.003-07:00

Here are the recipes for the Halloween treats (all from the Food Network website):

Maple Cinnamon Spider Web Fitters

Vegetable Oil for frying

1 1/2 C flour

1 T sugar

3/4 t baking powder

3/4 t cinnamon

1/8 t salt

3/4 C milk

1 egg

1 T maple syrup, plus 1/4 C for brushing

1/2 C confectioners' sugar

Pour enough oil in a large skillet so it's about 1 inch deep. Heat oil until hot (280 to 300 degrees)

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the milk, egg, and 1 T flour. Whisk until smooth.

Put into a pastry bag with a #3 or 4 tip. Squeeze batter into hot oil in spider web shapes (or whatever-names were fun). Cook until brown, about 2 minutes, turn and cook about 1 more minute. Transfer to paper towels and brush with syrup and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Caramel Pear Mice

4 small ripe pears (I would use apples next time)

wooden skewers for tails (or straws, or whatever you have at your house!)

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

3/4 C dark brown scorn yrup

4 T butter

1 C heavy cream, divided

1 t vanilla

1/4 t nutmeg

pinch salt

Black sesame seeds for eyes and candies for nose

Line a pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut pears. Blunt side so they stand up on their own. Put in tails.

Combine sugars, corn syrup, butter, 1/2 C cream, vanilla, nutmeg and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Slowly add remaining cream while stirring, keeping it at a boil. Cook over medium high heat until it reaches 240 F, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let sit a couple of minutes. Dip pears in caramel and add eyes and nose before the caramel hardens.

If the caramel gets to hard to dip, microwave at 20 second intervals to soften it up.

Ghostly Pumpkin Pudding

1 pkg gelatin

2 C whole milk

1 C sugar

6 egg yolks (resever 2 whites for topping)

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1 can pumpkin puree

Topping:

2 egg whites

1/3 C sugar

1/2 t cream of tartar

1 pinch salt

Pudding: Put 1 T cold water in a large bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over the surface. Do not stir. Set aside until gelatin softens.

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in pan that can hold a bowl above the water. Whisk milk, sugar, yolks, cannamon and salt in a heat-proof bowl. Put above the boiling water and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon and almost boils, 10-12 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and pour over the gelatin, whisking constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Whisk in pumpkin until combined. Divide mixture into small cups and refrigerate about 4-8 hours.

Topping: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a mixing bowl above the water. Whisk the two egg whites, sugar, cream of tarter, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set about the boiling water and until mixture is hot to the touch, about 1 to 2 minutes. Bear with a mixer (or the whisk attachment on your mixer) until eggs hold a stiff peak, about 5 minutes. Put topping onto puddings. Decorate with candy eyes and refrigerate.

Catch Up

2008-11-02T20:03:00.013-07:00

Just some pictures to show what has been going on in our neck of the woods for the past month!

We went down to St. George and we spent time hiking in Snow Canyon. I was by myself with the kids while Reed was at training, and I tried to get a picture of teh boys...

Sammy LOVES balancing on Reed's hands and will do it with a huge open-mouth smile on his face!

The boys

Smiley Sammy

Willie the Where's Waldo Ghost. He loved trick or treating and thought it was the neatest thing ever!

Here he is with the face paint that lasted just long enough for pictures, then he decided he didn't like it.

Here is our Halloween feast...ok, not really a feast. The best part was probably the spider-web cookie things. Not best for you, since they were fried, but most fun part. The orange thing is pumpkin pudding with a ghost on the top. It was good if you like pumpkin pie-very rich.

Guess who carved this!

Raking up leaves.

PB&J

2008-09-18T19:44:00.002-06:00

So yesterday, Willie had his first PB&J and it was great! It is nice to know that we can add that to our list of lunches.
(For those of you who don't know, Reed is allergic to nuts, so we have not given Willie any peanut butter or anything until now! Happy Day:)

Bare Lake

2008-09-14T20:42:00.001-06:00

We wento Bear Lake on Friday since Reed got off early from work and Mamma Letty made me jealous with her posts about their trip. Willie had a great time playing in the water. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time playing.

After Bear Lake we went to th University. They had some booths set up for kids to come make stuff and explore. The best booth was the college of science where they burned gummy bears to show how much energy is in them...or something...they made a big flame! Willie of course liked the cow and the tractor the best. The best part of an agricultural school!

Sammy has a couple new cool tricks...smiling (a lot), sucking his thumb, snd standing on Daddy's hands!

Grandma and Grandpa Tanner came up today. Willie loves seeing his Grandparents! We put Grandpa to work polishing Willie's cowboy boots and church shoes. Willie was eager to learn!

Willie was even lucky enough to try on Grandpa's "Santa" glasses!

Building a Word

2008-09-02T11:10:00.003-06:00

"DOG"

Billy the Builder

2008-08-18T17:21:00.006-06:00

Here are some of the latest pictures of little Will. He has his own toolbox now, with "Willie Tools." Who knew 2 year-olds could think some old junk tools and an old laundry detergent bucket could be so cool. And the goggles? The coolest thing ever! He wears them all over, but they are swimming goggles to him, not safety goggles. Also, Willie's first fish is included. We went to Mantua in Wellsville canyon. It is hard not to catch a fish there-you just dangle your line in the water with a worm on it, and a fish will bite. It provides for a good half-hour fishing trip for the easily distracted 2-year-olds.

Fishin'

2008-07-26T20:37:00.003-06:00

Alter Ego

2008-07-14T22:10:00.002-06:00

My two-year-old son has an alter ego. The other night, I was teasing him calling him different names..."Billy, Dilly, Filly, Gilly," etc... He laughed so hard when I called him Billy. He didn't like the others so much. Later that night when he was tired, he was sitting on my lap and he bit my finger. He looked up at me and with an evil sparkle in his eyes, said "I'm Billy" and laughed. He did that several times. The next day we were looking through the scriptures for family home evening and Will saw a page that he had colored on, and he got that same mischevious look on his face and said "I'm Billy." So he has decided whenever he does something bad, that it was Billy who did it...not innocent little Will!

I am Sam

2008-06-15T15:35:00.003-06:00

I am Sam

Sam I am

Samuel Mark Tanner

Born June 14th, 2008

8 lbs 9 oz

20 in

Tender Heart...

2008-05-12T20:16:00.006-06:00

A two-year old heart breaks so easily. It starts with the bottom lip poking out, and a brave little face trying his hardest not to cry:

"They loved living here. But I can't let them stay.

Thy'll have to find food. And I hope that they may.

Good luck, boys," he cried. And he sent them away.

I, the Once-ler, felt sad

as I watchem them all go.

BUT...

business is business!

And business must grow

regardless of crummies in tummies, you know."

He made it through the bar-ba-loots, barely...

"And so," said the Lorax,

"-please pardon my cough-

they cannot live here.

So I'm sending them off.

Where will they go?...

I don't hopefully know.

They may have to fly for a month...or a year...

To escape from the somog you've smogged-up around here."

At this point, the brave little face lost it and couldn't hold it in anymore. He just started to cry. He was so sad for the sick birds. Note-at this point, I was just trying to hurry throught the book and look at the pictures, but he could tell from the sick bird faces that they were sick.

"You're glumping the pond where the Humming-Fish hummed!

No more can they hum, for their gills are all gummed.

So I'm sending them off. Oh, their future is dreary.

They'll walk on their fins and get woefully weary

in search of some water that isn't so smeary."

Note to self...The Lorax isn't a good bedtime story!

26!

2008-03-30T20:25:00.004-06:00

Wednesday was Willie's birthday. We had some cake and ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Tanner on Monday. When you ask Willie how old he is, he says "twenty-six!" with a big smile on his face. Too funny. Here are some pictures of his birthday snake cake. It was pretty good-the cake wasn't real sweet, but it had whipcream and "fresh" strawberries on top. Willie ate all of the strawberries and whipcream.

Lloyd's Barbershop

2008-03-22T21:48:00.013-06:00

These pictures reminded me of some of my pictures-I have a little blue jacket on like his and I am just wandering around-enjoying the sun!

So it's been a while...

We went to St George a few weeks ago, and it was so nice! I needed the vacation and it was just right- beautiful weather and nothing I had to do-just what we wanted to do. We went to the park every day and went to Zions and hiked around and just had a good time. I got my haircut at Lloyd's Barbershop. We (Reed and I) went on a Saturday to find somewhere to get my hair cut. Everywhere we found was either closed or booked for the day, so I decided to get out the phone book and call a place instead of driving around. The first place listed was called "A Cut Above" so I called, and a guy answered the phone and said he had time to cut my hair. We drove over to the place, and above the sign it says: Lloyd's Barbershop. Men's Cuts $10.00. Great, I thought. This guy is planning on me coming, so we can't just leave. We could, but then I would feel bad (thanks Mom and Dad- I think that comes from you. He would have never known who I was if I didn't go in-that whole commitment/guilt thing...) We went inside and it was an old guy with a sweet wig. He ended up cutting my hair, and I couldn't keep a straight face the whole time. He kept telling me he wanted to give me bangs and frame my face etc. I told him that it was ok. I just wanted it shoulder length-no fancy stuff (especially from a guy who has maybe never cut a girls hair!) Anyway, old Lloyd did fine, it was quite the experience though. I wanted to go back and get my picture with Lloyd, but what do you say: "Hey, I can't believe I let you cut my hair and this is such a funny story I want to blog about it and it would be so much better if I had a picture of you?" I didn't think that would go so well, so you will just have to imagine-an old guy covered in polyester with a wig of flowing and very styled gray/white hair.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Tanner for letting us stay at your house! It was so nice to get away!

This was us in Zions. I got to listen to Willie's running commentary for the whole 3 hours. I'm not complaining, just when it was things like, "Mom go fast" and him holding on to my hair like I was a horse. His commentary did slow down after the first two hours, but never did stop!

These were from one of the parks we frequented. Willie must take after his mom-flip flops while dad is in his stocking cap! (Either that, or his mom dressed him :)

Mom- I had to post these pictures because this is what I frequently come home to from work-Willie playing with his little dog and fishy toys. He lines them up in the window or on the rocking chair and gets mad if I move them off the chair to sit down. They are currently his favorite toys. The first picture is Willie saying "Thanks Grandma!"

Akron Beet Juice

2008-02-28T21:41:00.002-07:00

Hey you up in Pullman with lots of snow and little salt. I heard this on the radio the other morning and thought you might enjoy. Maybe you could turn some of those farms into beet farms and solve the snow and ice problem!

The Amazing Power of the Beet
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19357464

Abby

2008-02-27T15:34:00.003-07:00

MWC swimming championships: Utes have an Edge in the pool
Freshman Natalie Edge is not distracted by her hearing impairment
By Martin Renzhofer The Salt Lake Tribune

Even without spectators the Ute Natatorium is crazy noisy, as sound bounces off walls and water making communication difficult. It's even tougher for Utah's freshman swimmer Natalie Edge, who concentrates on reading lips - eyes focused on mouth. Even born with at best 50 percent hearing, the South Jordan native remains relaxed and confident. She's a recruiting gem for first-year coach Greg Winslow. "We were fortunate to get Natalie," said Winslow, a former Arizona State assistant who was hired to replace Michael Litzinger, now an assistant swimming coach at North Carolina. "She's definitely a confident student athlete; soft-spoken, but when she speaks people listen." When asked about Edge's disability, Winslow just smiles: "It's not, really. " A high school All-American at Kearns High, Edge, one of Rick and Victoria's five children, would rather talk swimming than the barely noticeable hearing aids she has been wearnig since age 4. "Natalie is one of those people who doesn't let that stuff get to her," said Stephanie Fredsall, Edge's roommate, teammate and childhood friend. "It's like, 'Oh, whatever.' " Edge, a sprinter on the Utah swim team that is heading to Oklahoma City on Wednesday for the Mountain West Conference championships, has a good chance at qualifying for the
NCAA Championships in the 100-meter freestyle. "I'm more agile in the water," said Edge, who churns through the water with her powerful, muscular strokes. "I'm clumsy on land. It's just you and the water." Edge graduated from Kearns last year as the state champion in the 50, 100 and 200 relay events. She also held the nation's second fastest 50-meter time. Winslow says Edge has star potential. The biggest challenge Edge faces at Utah is making sure she hears the alarm for 5 a.m. practices. "[Hearing loss] doesn't really affect me," Edge said. "I can't hear background noises. It's not too much of a pain." Rick Edge, who played football for Utah in 1971-72, didn't immediately catch on to his daughter's hearing problems, which are categorized as moderate to severe. However, Edge wasn't talking like a typical child. "Her being the baby, we didn't pick up on it," he said. "A doctor told us that if it continues when she entered kindergarten we should look into it. I didn't like that answer, so we had her hearing checked." Edge realized she had potential to be good when she won a state meet at age 10. "There was this really fast swimmer," she said. "I finally beat her. "I've really made a lot of improvement this year. Coach Winslow has made me a lot better." After a while, it's easy to forget about Edge's hearing loss, until the Natatorium acoustics once again kick in. "As long as she remains in line of sight," Winslow said. "I can communicate with her from across the pool." The talent has not yet been used to read opposing coaches. "We haven't used it yet, but we might," Winslow said with a laugh.

Congrats Nat and Good Luck at Conference This Week!

Bedtime

2008-02-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is what bedtime looks like around here. PJs, binki (yes, at almost 2 years old) and cowboy boots, of course!

Saturday Fun

2008-02-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Saturdays are great. I was able to get the house cleaned (for the most part.) Willie was excited to clean the walls, and besides the dripping water everywhere, he was a great help. The doors and walls at Willie's level get pretty gunky, so we cleaned up a little. We were also able to play potty-the last couple of days Willie likes to sit on the potty. He has not been successful as far as accomplishing anything yet, but he tries, he just doesn't have the timing down. I was able to go for a run outside. I didn't run far or fast, especially compared to Oatmuncher...but it was nice to be outside and not on the treadmill. We were also went to the park and went sledding and thew the frisbee for the dogs for a while. I love Saturdays...Now I just have to prepare my lesson and get some school stuff done...Too bad.

Cowboy Christmas continued...

2008-01-01T19:51:00.001-07:00

I thought this was such a cute picture! I am a little bias, though. This is Coyboy Willie with his new tractor that Grandpa Tanner loved to tease him with!

Here is a great picture of Grandma and Willie sledding for the first time. He would get to the bottom and say "FUN!" then I would ask him if he wanted to go again, and he would say "No. walk." Funny kid.

This is Willie at the Discovery Museum at the Gateway. Yes, I, like all the other parents, did bring my camera, although I only took a few pictures. It was more like a photo op than a play day. It is amazing, though, that there are no other kids in the pictures, since it was so crowded. He had a good time playing though, and is learning to get his place in line-he may need some more lessons from Poppy on how to be assertive!

So we finished painting Willie's little table and chairs and his dresser, and I was going to post pictures, but I am not patient enough to wait...it is taking forever and I keep losing the connection to Blogger. So, they will have to wait for another day.

Cowboy Christmas

2008-01-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we've posted anything, so I have a bunch of pictures to get all caught up.

First, some Christmas pictures...Willie was very spoiled by his grandparents. It's a good thing we didn't get him anything!

Willie got this sweet cowboy hat and boots, as well as a matching flannel shirt with Grandpa. Too funny.

Arghhh...The computer/blogger isn't letting me upload any images....I guess I'll have to finish later.

Elmo and Nemo

2007-12-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of Willie's favorite kid icons. He picked out "Melmo" shoes at Wal-mart with Mom. Luckily they were the least expensive shoes that we had found for him. He also has an affinity for watching Nemo since being sick last week. He and Dad were laying on the couch and watched Nemo several times. We promise Will is not becoming the ultimate consumer. He just likes some of the catchy advertising.

Country Man Willie

2007-11-16T07:36:00.001-07:00

We thought this was a pretty cute picture. Old Willie might have a greater chance of growing up a cowboy than any of his cousins. Living in Cache Valley just kind of plants country seeds in people. Now we need to find him a horse.

2007-11-03T18:21:00.000-06:00

Here are some (late) pictures from Halloween. Willie was a skunk, again, since it still fit him, and he doesn't care what he is! It was a lot of work, mostly for mummy, so it should get two years use out of it!

All the pictures I could get of him were him leaving. We went and got a sucker next door, and he kept wanting to go back. He also hated wearing the hat, so I was lucky to get one picture with the hat on.

We went to the Sheriff's office and they had some trick-or-treating there. It was nice because then Reed, who had to work, could do some trick-or-treating with us. Willie was funny. I don't think he knew that he had all that candy in his hands, or he would have chewed the wrappers off!

Here is the pumpkin that Reed carved:

Here is Willie's room. He no longer has clouds and yellow walls. It only took us 5 years to do it!

And lastly, here is what you get when you dip everything, including beets, in ketchup:

Willie's Goose Egg

2007-10-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

Well today Will was climbing like normal, the only problem was that he was climbing on a stool which held a very large potted plant. You can probably figure out what happened next. Needless to say he was in trouble. Once Dad determined that little William would survive the accident and had stopped crying and screaming Willie was sentenced to time-out on the couch. During his time-out session we took pictures of his new goose egg. Poor Willie

Graduation!

2007-10-14T20:31:00.000-06:00

Reed graduated the Police Academy this past week. He is now officially all done with all the schooling that he will need. Since he started this school right after he graduated USU, he will finally be able to relax and enjoy the fact that he has no more school. Willie and I will also be able to see him a little more!

Here are some pics from graduation:

And this is what Willie does when you say, "guess who's coming? Grandma and Grandpa are coming!"

Congratulations Reed! We are proud of you and happy you are done :)

A few things...

2007-10-07T12:40:00.000-06:00

So, a few random things that I have been thinking about lately:

Workin'-

I really do like my job. It is really nice being able to only work 4 hours, and be gone for that amount of time, compared to last year. It is nice being closer to work, and being able to do all of my prep work at home. I have enjoyed being able to teach different subjects like Biology (thanks to Em) and English. Maybe I should go get endorsed in those subjects so I can teach them someday :) We are getting a second teacher starting Monday. That will be nice, so instead of teaching 5 subjects (upper and lower math, biology, upper and lower english), I will only have to teach 3 (lower math and English, Biology). Now that you know I enjoy teaching English, you should know it is the reading books part, not the grammar etc. So you don't need to tell me what errors I have in my blogs. I'm not an English major, after all!

I'm glad that Reed and I can work it out so one of us is home with Willie. Thanks mom for filling in though, while Reed has finished his classes.

The last of the tomatoes and peppers-one last batch of salsa to make

Home Sweet Home-

So Reed and I are always thinking about where we want to live next. I do like our home and our yard, however, we would like to one day (who knows, 15 years?) move to a place where it is more stable-not so many neighbors moving in and out. We have always said we would like to buy a bigger piece of land, an acre or so?, and build a little house on it. But I've been thinking it might be nice to live "downtown" so we are closer to everything instead of out in "the country." So what do you think: an older house in the pretty part of "downtown" Logan. (around center street for those of you who know Logan) or out in the country with a big lot in Lewiston or Newton or somewhere out there...Again, not that this is happening at all, just something to think about.

The Weather Outside is...-

It is such a pretty time of year! I went for a jog last night and it was the perfect weather-shorts and a long-sleeve t-shirt that had to come off 1 mile into the run. My body is very efficient at keeping me warm:) It was so nice out, half the population was at priesthood, so I had the roads to myself. We took a drive today so Reed could sleep and I could listen to conference and the Wellsvilles are so pretty! Bright red the bottom half, and the top half is white with snow...I like living here.

Walmart (my least favorite place! And yes, Logan is getting a second one)-

I had to go to Walmart yesterday, and I think it is the best form of birth control! I always come away from there thinking that maybe one or two kids is enough! It's just all the whining and bratty kids and the parents at the end of their ropes. Maybe I shouldn't say anything though, because I only have 1 child, and the only things he can say are: belly! toes! eyes! etc etc. I just have to remember that the only safe time to go to Walmart is at 5 A.M. when nobody is awake yet.

More pictures...

2007-09-12T20:54:00.000-06:00

Life is good! I just wanted to post a couple of pictures. Sorry Grandma, I know you will be mad, but I think these two pictures are so cute!

Willie and Daddy swinging. (I guess Daddy isn't swinging...)

A Day of Surprises!

2007-09-04T20:53:00.000-06:00

Today was a day filled with several great surprises.

I came home from work (by the way, I really like my job!) to find that Reed had mowed and edged, cleaned the garage, cleaned our closet, and cleaned the closet downstairs with all of our backpacking/camping gear so the closet now closes!

Then, after several hours, I got a phone call from my principal who told me that my students have to go to Brigham City tomorrow all day, so I don't have to go in and teach! He said it is still a "teaching" day and I should use it to prep, but I can do it at home. yeah!

The last nice surprise is that we had a great thunder/lightening storm, and quite a bit of rain. Not just the normal 5 minutes of hard summer rain, but an hour or so of rain. Now I don't have to water.

What a great day!

Catch Up

2007-08-17T18:59:00.000-06:00

So it's been a while since I have posted, and I have a bunch of pictures to share from the summer, which is drawing to a close.
We will start with some good Willie teething phots. He has gotten four new teeth this summer, and along with the teeth comes the drool (note his glimmering chest above) and the snot. Enjoy!

Here are some pictures from a park in River Heights. It has this whole area for 2-5 year olds. It's great. There are slides and bridges, sandboxes and swings, and a set of chimes. (Willie is plaing the chimes in the first picture.)

This is a picture of Willie doing one of his favorite things lately. You ask him if he want to go rock with a book and he will bring a book up the the rocking chair and climb up on the chair and read his book.

And to wrap up the post, here are some of my summer projects that I have done. (Note: I use the term "Summer" very liberally, these are projects that I may have started back in December, but just got done in the summer!)

Here is our railing we painted black to match the front door. (It used to be white, but I really like the black!)

The quilt I made for Reed. This is one of those 7 month projects.

Here are the Roman Shades I made for our kitchen doors to try and help it stay cooler in the afternoon.

And what do you do with that space under your deck that used to be a sandbox that you have tried to grow stuff in? Well, put a sandbox in, of course!

Do you notice the part of his grilled cheese that he didn't eat? Honestly, I don't know where he learns things from!

And here is a good night picture from Will!!!

My Famous Sister-in-Law

2007-07-08T21:56:00.000-06:00

Check out my famous sister-in-law: http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=16564 Very cool, Sara! Congrats

Endangered Rings

2007-06-28T21:08:00.000-06:00

Click here http://www.rareearthtones.org/ringtones/ for some cool free ring tones. I don't know how to get them on my phone, but I'm sure you who are more technically smart can figure it out. There are some fun sounds on this site.