Grandpa & Nana Bo's Visit

My Dad & his wife Melody came all the way down from Edmonton to visit with us for a few days in September.  They haven't been able to come down since just after Mason was born 4 years ago so it was a great treat to have them with us.  Ryan went to the doctors the day before they arrived and got a tetanus shoot booster, which he had a terrible reaction to.  He was sick in bed for all of their visit which he felt horrible about. 
They brought us some treats from the Great White North, which where much appreciated and well enjoyed for a long time after they went home.  We still have some that I have hidden from the kids.
I took the kids out of school for a day and we took Grandpa Bo & Nana Bo, as my kids call them to  Ogden's Eccles Dinosaur Park.  We saw big Dinosaur skeletons, life sized statues & even robot dinosaurs. 
Mason was a pretty freaked out by the robot dinosaurs & all the life like sounds they had playing, but he kept close to his Grandpa Bo or me and got better as we went on.  Once he understood that they weren't alive or real he calmed down.  Mason really bonded with my Dad while he was here and they had fun digging for dinosaur bones together. 
After the park we went to lunch, and then Grandpa took them to Target to pick out a "prize" for each of them.  Holly got My Little Pony's which she had Grandpa Bo play with her latter that day.  Ethan got Pirates of the Caribbean Lego video game, which he tries to play on a daily basis & Mason got an Imagine X Dinosaur, of course.  Mason even slept with it for the next few nights after he got it.  
Although we had just a few short days with them we had a really great time visiting, playing & showing them our own little part of Utah.  Thanks for making the time to come down Dad & Melody, we had a great time and the kids still talk about your visit.  I'm so happy that Mason took to my Dad so well.  He tried to be sitting with if not on his lap the whole time they were here and even now remembers Grandpa Bo in his prayers every night.  That in and of it self is the greatest thing about their visit.

First Day of School

The first day of school came early this year as the kids went back on the 22nd of August.  I have NO complaints but the kids did. 
Holly is in the First Grade this year and her teacher is Mrs. Pope.  She seems to like her but was way more excited about being able to go to school for the whole day & even have lunch at school.  Of course for Holly everything had to be pink so she got a pink lunch bag & back pack. 
Ethan is in the Third Grade this year and has Mrs. Younger who has a teaching aid that happens to be her husband Mr. Younger but the kids call him Mr. Tweetie Bird because he whistles like Tweetie Bird.  Ethan was excited because one of his best friends, Jett,  who just happens to live two doors down from us is in his class this year.  It is also a big jump in academics so he is & will be challenged all year long.  He is even learning how to write cursive this year, which he is happy about because he thinks it will make him more grown up. 
Also new this school year is that everyday that it is not raining or snowing we walk the mile to school together.  It was hard the first day because it was new.  They next day they were able to ride their scooters which helped. 
Mason rides in the stroller & once we drop the kids off we turn around and walk the mile home stopping off at the park on the way.  Mason thinks its great that he gets to play at the "dinosaur" park everyday and Ethan & Holly don't.  My kids call it the "dinosaur" park because their is a dinosaur type thing on the back side of part of it.  Mason plays, and I read or visit with some of the other Mom's on the days that their is some. 
We have enjoyed the school year so far, except for the homework according to Ethan, and the kids are doing so well.

Harvest Days

In the first part of August is Midvale Harvest Days.  We were told way ahead of time to plan on going down to Ryan's parents house for the whole day, first for the parade & then for a big surprise that Ryan's parents had planned for all the grand kids. 
The kids LOVED the parade mostly because of the candy but they also love hanging out with their cousins.  Each of my kids are lucky enough to have at least one cousin that is pretty close to their own age to make it fun.  Mason was not too excited about how loud everything was especially the fire engines.  He is such a cute kid with such a kind heart.  There was an elderly lady sitting behind us & Mason made sure that when he got candy he would take one piece back to the "grandma" sitting behind us.  He said that he was fast & she needed to have some candy too.  How cute is that?
After the parade we went back to the Granquist homestead where a large blow up water slide was being put up in the back yard.  Well the kids freaked out.  Ethan & Holly were all upset because they thought that they couldn't play because they didn't have their swimsuits, but of course I had all the stuff they needed hidden away in the van.  Again, much freaking out.  The hard part came telling them they had to wait until it was put up all the way & that they had to eat lunch first.  We had to take them away from the site of all the excitement it get them to eat lunch, but they were happy because we got Astro Burger, a big treat in our household.
They played in the water for 8 hours!!  Almost straight.  We had to make everyone get out & eat dinner.  You have never seen so many kids eat so fast in your life.  I think Holly ate in 10 minutes flat & that includes dishing up her plate.  That 10 minutes I think was the only time the whole day that Holly & her cousin Rachel where out of the water.  Let me tell you she & all the kids slept good that night.
Mason had a hard time getting warmed up to going down the slide.  The kids kept running over him to get up the slide & then when he would take too long they would pull/push him down.  So he spent most of the day crying & being held by Mom.  Uncle Kay helped Mason to be happier by giving him a ride on his Jazzy & even letting him drive it. 
Latter in the day while everyone was taking a break to eat I took Mason to the slide & let me take his time.  He soon got his sea legs & was going up & down so fast he was the one running over the other kids. 
It was such a fun day & a great way to say good bye to summer. Thanks Rhonda for such a fun day!

Spring & Summer

After our trip to Canada from my Grandma's funeral we had Easter, of which I didn't take a single photo.  I know, my bad.  Easter was low key & quite.  Nothing big, just small Easter treats for the kids, no new clothes & a ham w/ funeral potatoes for dinner. 
Then in May we had Holly's 6th birthday.  I know it was my birthday too but once Holly came along I think of it as her birthday.  She got a scooter for her birthday with a bell, which I regretted as soon as she was off and riding it.  The good thing though is that once she got the hang of the two wheeled scooter she decided that she could ride her bike.  Ryan took the training wheels off it last year & tried to get her to try & learn how to ride it but never would.  She didn't have the confidence to do it but once she got her balance riding that scooter, off she went on her bike as well. 
Her birthday was a low key event at home & then we had the big birthday family party with Ryan's family.  We have 6 birthdays in May with Ryan's family so it it easier to just have one big party. 
Just two weeks after Holly's birthday, her scooter was stolen.  She left it out on the front sidewalk one night & some dishonest person took it one night.  She was heart broken.  But fortunately Toy's R Us had pink scooters on clearance and we were able to replace it.  Holly will never forget to put her stuff away again so I guess in the long run it worked out Okay.  She learned a lesson & I didn't have to hear that bell ringing all the time.
In June Ryan's sister & her husband got a great surprise.  They adopted little Titan & welcomed him into their family.  He is so dang cute & we all just love him to bits.  Ethan is especially taken with him 7 fights to get a turn holding him, but I think that is they way it is with everyone in the family.
My Mom also came down from Canada to spend some time with us & my brothers family as well as attend the Utah Highland Games as she does every year. The kids love their annual trip to Toys R Us & to have some fun with Grandma Bo. 
On the 21st of June Ryan & I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.  We didn't get to take a trip or do anything big.  Liz was nice enough to take the kids so we could go see the last Harry Potter movie & then we got In-Out Burger.  The kids loved it because they got to go to Mike's (Liz's son)  championship baseball game which they won.  So a good day all around. 
July was uneventful & Hot. 

Long Time...

It has been forever since I've written anything mostly because 1) I have children that see me on the computer & think they need a turn and 2) I just have not had any motivation to write.  I've been getting into the bad habit of not doing things when I don't feel like doing them, which is a BAD habit to get into. 
We have had so many things going on & I have not been dealing w/ them in a constructive way...I guess.  So I'm making an effort to be happy & be a big girl by getting organized as this seems like as good a time as any.  With school starting soon it kind of makes me want to get on the bus, sort of speak.  How long it lasts you never know as I admit that I'm a space case most of the time.
I will try and cover what has happened in our crazy lives, in the next week or so w/ pictures as I still want to document everything.  I just have not down loaded ANY pictures off my camera since before Christmas, so it's not just blogging that I've been slacking on.  I would do it now but I'm on Ryan's extra laptop w/ no access to pictures, so...
Here is to more simple, organized, happy living.

Loss in a Short Time

With the beginning of 2011 came many sad times.  First Ryan's Grandma Naomi past away on the 27th of December 2010.  She was sick through Christmas but Ryan didn't get a chance to go down & see her before she past.  He kept telling me that he wasn't worried because she was a tough old bird that always can back when we thought she was on deaths door step.  This time unfortunately she didn't & that made it so much harder for Ryan.  He was so full of remorse for not making the time to go down & see her it just made his grief deeper.  Naomi Granquist was a strong woman who spoke her mind (which just made me like her more), but she did set people on edge sometimes because of it.  She loved her family greatly especially her grand kids & expected great things from each of them.  She was buried on New Years eve in Sandy, UT with her family around her. 

Only a month and a half latter on Valentines day we got a call from Ryan's Dad letting him know that his cousin Andy passed away.  He was only 45 years old & it was very unexpected.  Andy was not only Ryan's cousin but one of his very best friends.  We spent so much time with Andy & his family over the first few years we were married and we loved our time with them.  It was such a shock that I don't think that it really sank in until the funeral.  Andy Walker was a fun, smart & loving man that leaves us with a void in our lives at his passing. 

Then towards the end of March we get a call from my Mom saying that my grandmother Geneil is not doing very well.  So we planned & waited for the end to come, which did almost a week latter.  We traveled to Cardston, Alberta, Canada to gather with her 7 children, 30 grandchildren & 30 great grandchildren for her funeral.  I had the hardest time with this because I was so close to my grandma.  She was in many ways more of a mother to me.  It was a beautiful service full of music just like she would have wanted.  My Dad even came down from Edmonton to be with me, which meant so very much to me & my Mom's family. 

The start of the new year was a hard one for our family because of all those who we lost but we know that they are there beside us watching & helping to guide us though the rest of our mortal lives, until we meet again in the next life. 

Pinewood Derby Baby!

Ethan became a Scout at his last Birthday, which meant that in February he got to be in his very first Pinewood Derby!!  He was so excited & he and his Dad spent a lot of time trying to come up with the coolest car.  In the end they decided to go for fun looking rather than speed. 
They went with a basic car shape but wanted a "Angry Birds" car.  Which meant they needed some help from Mom in how to get something that looked like Angry Birds on the car.  So with a couple of big red pom pom puff balls, some felt & google eyes we had our birds. 
Then they found some cool pictures of Angry Birds online, cut them out & after painting the car mod podged them on to the car.  It turned out very cool looking. 
In the race it self it didn't do that well but Ethan did get the prize for the most original car of the derby.  We all had fun with the pizza that was served & cheering on Ethan & his friends. 
But next year, according to Ethan, they are going for speed so that he can win the whole derby. 
Way to go Ethan!

Christmas 2010

We, Ryan & I thought it would be fun to take the kids on the Front Runner Train down to Salt Lake & see the lights on temple square.  Which they LOVED riding the train, & getting McDonald's for dinner.  Word to the wise, make sure you know the train schedule otherwise you end up waiting a hour to get home.  It made for a long night but a fun one. 
Ethan had to take a camera w/ him as he had an assignment for school that entailed him to take pictures of what he did on his Winter Vacation.  They don't call it Christmas Vacation anymore as the schools have to keep everything PC or they get into trouble these days.  He was snapping pictures of anything and every thing.  It's a good things we had an extra digital camera because I think he had taken over 100 pictures by the end of the night.  You can see Ethan holding the camera in this picture of the kids in front of one of the fountains on temple square. 
The lights were as beautiful as always & there were people everywhere.  I thought we had lost a child more than once over the course of the night.  We tried to get into see the Christus but there were so many people the line to get up to it was taking about a hour.  That is just too long to wait with three kids so we had to skip it.  We didn't even get to see the Nativity presentation.  I think if we do it again this year we will no go on a Monday night, everyone must of had the same idea we did. 
We went down to Ryan sister Katie's on Christmas Eve & had breakfast for dinner.  We also played Christmas Carols on so pipes turned chimes.  Everyone had a different note w/ a number on it.  Then followed a number pattern on a poster board and WA-la a song came out that everyone got to play.  It was fun but the highlight of the night was Uncle Dan, our brother-in-law singing & playing the guitar with a huge sombrero on his head.  He had the kids laughing so hard...Ethan was crying.  It was a fun night but I was very glad that we didn't have to get up and go all the way back down to Midvale for Christmas day.  We went to Ryan's sister Liz's as she had moved to Kaysville, just down the road from us a few months before.   
Christmas morning was early, as usual but we do make the kids wait until 8 am to get up.  Although they are up was earlier than that.  Mason got a Thomas the Train set, which he loved because he can fold it up and take it anywhere in the house. 
Holly got her Princess kitchen so she could play house & have tea parties w/ her friends.  She had received a Tinker Bell table & chairs for her birthday so now with the kitchen she had the full set up.  She couldn't wait to have her friend Ryley over. 
Ethan got the Lego's he so desperately wanted, much to his mothers disappointment, but Santa convinced her that Ethan was only a kids once and that it would help him with whatever learning.  Why is it that Lego's are like sand, you keep finding them everywhere although you were sure you got everyone of them put and put away, but stepping on one is still the worst.  Oh the things we put up with for our kids...
That afternoon we went over to Liz's for dinner and to finish putting together to school bags we had made earlier.  Ryan's family had decided to take the money we would have spent on Christmas gifts for each other & get everything for school bags to donate to the church's Humanitarian Center.  It was fun for everyone to put together & to teach to kids that there are other things more important at Christmas than getting gifts. 
All in all we had a great Christmas.

A Little Wake up Call

I never thought of myself as one of those people who always had to complain about their lives, because I do see all the many things I've been blessed with, but today I had a little bit of a wake up call.  I was on Facebook and used an app to put all of my statuses for the year together .  Sitting reading them all together like that really knocked me for a loop because 95% of them where negative. 
I realized that although I do see my blessing I need to express them more.  I have been using Facebook and probably this blog to vent my frustrations.  Which is great for me but not so great for those reading it.  I must seem like the most miserable, unhappy person ever.  I'm really not, I just get overwhelmed very easily and I've never been one to be able to hold things in, although I've gotten better at it since I've been married.  I've just learned that if I keep things in to long they either turn toxic or I blow up.  I choose to see this as a blessing because I've been able to let go of some pretty horrible experiences in my life and move on.  But over the course of our marriage I've learned to hold my tongue, and Ryan has learned to express his feelings more.  We are truly opposites in so many ways, but in the end we balance each other out...another blessing. 
New Goal:  I need to learn express my feelings more to those around me and talk more of the good things going on in my life to others.  Life amazes me sometimes....we go for a run on this roller coaster and when we hit firm ground we are given these moments of clarity.  Did that make sense? 
For those that have read this blog or has me as a friend on Facebook, I apologize for being so negative.  I really didn't realize I was being that way until it was all put together in front of me.  So I've awakened and pledge to be better.  If I slip I hope you will remind me that I'm doing it again.  So here is to a better year of focusing on the blessings and not the trials. ;)

Overwhelmed and Understaffed

Once again I find myself behind but I am learning to accept that I live my life being overwhelmed and understaffed.  Since the last time I wrote it seems like I've been running, so....lets start off where I left off in October.  Let me take you back, back, back.....(you can laugh because I am trying to be funny)
October brings cooler weather, although not so much this year and of course Halloween.  The kids  were all excited and I did my best to decorate even though it was hard to with the weather still being so warm and Ryan not wanting to dig up the flowers to put in our grave yard, which we never seemed to get put in.
The beginning of October we had family pictures taken with Ryan's family at the Utah State capital.  It was the first real family pictures we have had since Ethan was little so it was nice.  I just got the final pictures and they turned out pretty good.  I say that because I don't like the way I look but love everything else about them, but that's a topic for another day.  I'm just happy to have a family portrait to put up in my house.
Ryan's sister Liz and her family bought a house just down the road from us in Kaysville a couple of weeks before Halloween so we tried to help them move the best we could.  Boy, did they have A LOT of stuff but their house is beautiful and Ethan is very happy that his cousin Mikey, who is just a few months older than him, is living so much closer.  It only takes us about 10 to 15 minutes to get there, compared to the 45 minutes to an hour like before.
The kids had all of their Halloween parties at school, Holly had her Halloween program and then there was the big Halloween Fund-raising Carnival, which was fun.  Holly did such a great job in her Kindergarten Halloween program, here is a video of her singing. (Isn't she just so cute!!)

We spent Halloween at home and had Liz & her family over for dinner and trick or treating.  The kids where not out long as it was raining.  Mason was the one child that did NOT want to come in because he figured out that you could just knock on peoples door and in his case say "Give me candy, NOW!!" and grown-ups would laugh and give him candy.  The bigger kids where trying to keep up with him and he had a major melt down when the rain/cold forced them inside.  He just couldn't understand why you would ever want to come home when there was still candy to be had. 
At the beginning of October I started getting the feeling we needed to look into refinancing our home mortgage.  When we bought this house we only qualified for an adjustable rate mortgage, which we got with the mind set of refinancing before the 5 years where up.  Well we have only been here 3 years but it was always in the back of our mind.  So we started the process to refinance into a fixed rate and with all we had to go through to get our first mortgage on this house I was dreading the process, making my stress level go sky high.  During this process we had Halloween, then American Thanksgiving and Ethan's birthday, which took place on the same day, but in the end we were approved.  On December 6th we closed.  What a relief that was to get over with!  We now have a fixed, low rate on our mortgage and it no longer is a worry in the back of our minds.  The added bonus was that because of when we closed we were able to skip not only Decembers mortgage payment but January's as well.  Now we have the money to pay cash for Christmas and even have some left over to renew my Green Card, other headache which I am not going to get into here.
As I said Ethan's birthday was November 25th, which was also Thanksgiving.  We went to Liz's for Thanksgiving dinner and then back to our house with everyone to have desert and presents for Ethan and Shawn, Liz's husband, who also had a birthday that same week.  Ethan loved the whole thing with the big meal and all of his presents.  We didn't get a good picture of Ethan with his cake because I had left my camera on video mode and Ryan didn't know how to work my camera.  So the video didn't turn out very good, besides you really wouldn't want to hear how the Granquist family sings Happy Birthday to someone.  I did manage to get some pictures of him opening his presents though.
Ethan started Scout's the next week, although I just got his shirt, neckerchief, patches and guild book this morning. He has been looking forward to starting Scouts all year and has hated watching all his friend go without him.  But now he gets to join and couldn't be happier.
Then on December 4th he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It was a great day, the week before was a little crazy for me because I had to get it all planned, invitations sent out, etc., but Ethan did decide one thing that I was so thankful for in the end.  He decided that he didn't want a luncheon at our house afterwards, but wanted to have everyone go to Golden Coral Buffet afterward instead.  So no food to buy and prepare or clean up for me, yeah!!!   We had all of Ryan's immediate family with their families, Ryan's parents and our family friends the Ropers there to share in Ethan's spacial day.  Ethan asked his Grandpa Granquist to give a talk on baptism and his cousin Anna to give a talk on the Holy Ghost.  No one could play the piano so we had recorded accompaniment but all in all it was a great program.  We are so happy and proud of Ethan for making the choice to be baptized.

Ethan was so excited all day and just glowed after he came out of the water.  Ethan told us afterward that he never felt so happy and wanted to know if he could get baptized again.  So we explained that we only get baptized for ourselves once but when he received the priesthood he would be able to go to the temple and be baptized for those who didn't get a chance to be in this life.  He was so excited, he wanted to hurry up and turn 12 so he could go to the temple to do baptism's, and could have that same happy feeling again.  How cute is that?
Finally just a couple of days ago, we took a quick trip up to Idaho Falls for my cousin Brad's wedding.  Yes this is the same one who just got home from his mission not too long ago, but his new wife was his girl friend for sometime before his mission and waited for him.  So I think she deserved to have a ring on her finger and a new husband without having to wait any longer.  It was a beautiful wedding, Brad looked so happy and it was great to see some of my family.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at home so I didn't get any pictures.  I am totally bummed about it.  
That brings me up to date and now I get to start my Christmas shopping as I only have one gift so far, which proves just how much I have been overwhelmed and understaffed.  ;)

Sick but kept going

Over the past few weeks I've had the WORST head ache known to man.  I've tried everything to get it to go away but it just dims a little bit.  Well today I got my answer as to why I've been in so much pain.  I had to go to the doctors to get my A.D.H.D. meds' refilled and while I was there I told him about my head aches.  He checked my ears and sure enough I have an ear infection as well as a sinus infection, thus the head aches.  Needless to say I went right to the store and got the prescribed antibiotics.  Now I just need a good nights sleep which hasn't come easy.
Ryan & I have decided that Mason in big enough for time outs now and shouldn't be treated like such a baby any more.  Which is hard for me because he is my baby.  So for the past few days when ever he hits his sister in the head with a hockey stick we have put him into time out, which is followed by much weeping and wailing.  The thing I just figured out this morning is that those days that he has been put into time out and gotten into trouble are the nights that follow with him waking up screaming.  He always has bad dreams those night that follow a sentenced time out.  Once I cuddle with him and he knows that I'm there to love him he can go back to sleep without much trouble.  Go figure...I hope that this behavior will last.  Not the bad dreams but the bad conscience.
Two days ago, on Monday, Ethan and Holly both wake up early, dressed and ready to go.  They then come and wake me up with the announcement that we are walking to school.  Talk about short notice for me because the school is about a mile from our house.  Which means I have got to get up, make Ethan's lunch, get myself ready, wake Mason up and ready in half the time I'm used to.  We finally made the compromise to drive halfway to the city park, then get out and walk from there.  So off we went.  The kids where happy when I dropped them off and then Mason and I turned around and walked back to our van.  Mason liked it because we stopped so he could play at the park for a little while before we went home.
The whole walk was 1 mile round trip and boy am I out of shape!  I need to walk more so I have decided to drive to the park and walk to the school and back once a day, since I make 3 trips to the school each and everyday.  I could build up to walking from our house to the school, which is 2+ miles round trip.  We will see if I can make it to walking twice a day but that is a ways off.
I woke up this morning stiff and sore, but I walked today too.  I hope that I can walk again tomorrow and keep it going.  I'm proud of myself, especially since I found out that I have been sick the whole time.  Now I need a nap!

The Final Catch Up (Sept. to Now)

As promised here I am with the final post to get all caught up with the events of our lives to date.  Last month we had some adjustments to make with our routine and schedules with school starting.  We go through this every year because of new homework routines that go along with new teachers.  I find that it is also a good time to set some new goals for the new school year and to give new responsibilities to the kids.
We made a goal to start having Family Home Evening each and every week.  Ryan and I just felt that anything and everything we could do to bring our family closer together as well as inviting the spirit into our home was worth it.  It meant that we wouldn't be able to have my niece and nephew over on Monday nights as we did last year, while my sister-in-law, Ashley went to school up at Weber State University.  We did invite them to join us but my brother Rayn is inactive in the church and my sister-in-law is not a member.  They both wanted to make sure to teach their children what they believe while they are young and then leave it up to them when they get older if they want to learn about the LDS church.  Which Ryan and I totally respect, but we will miss having Kyla and O'wyn over.
As far as our Family Home evening goal, so far so good.  I think we have only missed one week, due to illness and things look good for us to keep it up as the kids love having it so much they are the ones to remind us.  Ethan has even prepared the lesson and taught it all on his own twice now.  He did such an awesome job, you can just see what an great missionary he will be someday.
The end of September we went up to Idaho to listen to my cousin Brad report on his mission to New Jersey.  We got up at 5:30 a.m. so we could be in Idaho Falls by 9 a.m. and get to the meeting on time.  Ryan choose to do that as he knows better than anyone that when we get together with any of my family we are always up too late.  So he decided if he was going to be tired anyway he might as well sleep in his own bed.
Brad did a great job with his talk and you could just tell he really loved the people he served on his mission.
We then when up to Julie and Doug's for a luncheon and got to visit with a lot of my family for the after noon.  It was great to see everyone and hear how they where doing.  Holly loves playing with her 2nd cousins, although they had a ruff start, you know how girls can be sometimes.  Ethan bonded with his 2nd cousin Tryson who just happens to be two weeks older than him.  I guess they both like the same video games and books so they had a lot to talk about.
But the best part of the trip, at least for me was seeing my grandpa and while we were there I happen to go out on the front porch.  I found my grandpa and Holly just sitting on a bench visiting.  I guess they had been out there a while and Holly had really fallen in love with her Grandpa the Great, as we call him.  I guess she told him all about her life and he just listened asking questions when needed to keep the conversation going.  I took a picture of them together and now Holly proudly has a copy of it framed in her room.  she asks me all the time when we can go to Canada to see Grandpa the Great.  That right there was worth the trip to Idaho and getting up at 5:30 am for.  I love that my children have at least a little bit of an opportunity to get to know my side of the family even though we live far from them.  It makes me sad that we don't live closer sometimes.  Especially for special occasions like Ethan's baptism coming up, because pretty much the whole program will be made up of Ryan's family.  Don't get me wrong it's not a bad thing, it just makes me sad that we don't have family from my side that are able to participate.  Anyway on to another subject.
Holly has had a loose tooth for awhile now and just a little over a week ago I told her it needed to come out.  I happen to look at it one night and found that her new permanent tooth was coming up behind.  So we tried to tie a string to it and have her slam the door but that didn't work.  We tried to get some floss underneath it and pull it out that way but that didn't work.  At last I just got a hold of it and pulled it forward as fast and hard as I could and out it came.  Holly was a little freaked out because of the blood at first but once it stopped she was VERY proud of the hole that it left in her smile.
She put her tooth in a little bowl next to her bed and the tooth fairy brought her two sliver dollars.  Her Dad quickly gave her two paper dollars for them and now she is still trying to figure out what to spend them on.
Finally this past Sunday we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with a full spread.  Ryan had to go to St. George for work on Monday so we had our big dinner the day before.  Can I just say that I love Martha Stewart.  Because of her my turkeys always turn our so great.  I even made sweet potatoes, which Holly helped me make and green bean casserole, which Ethan helped me make.  They each had to have some of the dish they helped with as Ryan doesn't like either and I didn't want to have to eat it all my self.
That brings us up to date with all our happenings.  Now let's just hope I can do better because I don't want to ever have to play catch up like that again.  Whew!

Summer (June, July, August)

Ryan is out of town for a few days and so I feel like I can let the house go to hell for now, and I can FINALLY take the time to get the rest of the summer happenings posted. 
We start with June, a big month.  My Mom came down to visit and took all her US grandkids to Toy R Us for their annual shopping spree.  This covers all gifts for birthdays and Christmas so that no one has to spend extra on postage and so my Mom can watch all the kids enjoy their gifts.  My kids for one talk about it all year even though I say that it is more important to spend time with their grandmother rather than just the trip to the toy store.  As always my Mom is running all over the place doing all kind of things, visiting everyone she can so we only got to see her for a few hours 3 days out of the 14 she was here.  She says it's because she is allergic to my cats but I get the feeling it's something more.  I always give her the benefit of the doubt as I know she often tries to do too much and to please too many people, but we do enjoy her while we can. 

Then latter in June we got a trampoline.  The kids have been begging us for one since we have lived in this house but not until Mason started escaping down the street to a neighbour's house, to jump on their trampoline, while they where not home I might add, did I break down and get one.  We set it up one night but didn't get the encloser on as we figured out too late that we had put the legs on wrong.  So we had to take it all apart the next night, put it back together and then put the encloser up.  Mason jumped, and jumped and jumped until it was dark.  The poor little guy was so tired that he was asleep before his head hit the pillow that night, which in my book is worth every penny we paid for the trampoline. 
In July we had a trying time.  For the Independence Day weekend we decided to just light a few small fireworks with just our family as it fell on a Sunday this year.  Ryan had gone with the kids and picked some out at our local fireworks stand the day before.  The kids were all excited and could hardly wait until dark, so they got all ready for bed before we went out.  All was well as we went along but then went wrong.  We lite off a firework that shot a little GI Joe figure in the air then came down to earth in a parachute.  Ryan had got one for each of the kids, and the first two were great except they drifted down into our neighbour's yard who lives kitty-corner across the street from us. 
So for the last one Ryan moved a good 50 feet down the street in the opposite direction before lighting the last one, in hopes of not disturbing our neighbour's who where lighting their own fireworks.  Well this time I guess part of the inside of the firework came out of the main barrel, shoot 100 feet down the street, hit the sidewalk in front of our neighbour's house and hit one of their friends square in the nose.  Blood everywhere.... of course we felt awful.  Ryan went down and talked to our neighbour to find out exactly what had happened, gave him our information, retrieved the firework casing and came home.  That put an end to our night.  There was really nothing we did wrong as the firework was legal, we took every precaution we could but in the end it was a freak accident.  The injured man turned out to be Okay, thank goodness but the stress that the incident caused was incredible. 
Ryan ended up having a little bit of a breakdown, but in the end it was good because he was able to have a full physical with his doctor and some needed adjustments to his blood pressure meds' where made.  So all worked out Okay, although we did have to deal with the insurance investigation and claims that followed. 
Finally in August the kids enjoyed the Meteor shower with their Dad on the front lawn under lots of blankets.  They had a blast and I'm sure it earned a special memory in their hearts. 
The end of August the kids started school again with Holly starting Kindergarten, which she LOVES and Ethan entering the 2nd grade.  His biggest challenge is the pack of girls that chase him and his friends around the playground at recess trying to tickle them.  Ethan my little ladies man. 
That covers our summer and just about brings us up to date.  I have a few other things to get caught up on like our trip to Idaho last month, Holly losing her first tooth and our Canadian Thanksgiving which are coming soon.  I will post it tomorrow before Ryan gets home from St. George, UT.  He is there on business for just 3 days but I'm sure that he will have lots for me to do once he gets back so I will get everything posted before he comes home if it kills me.  So check back. 

Holly (May)

So here we go trying to get caught up with all our goings on this past summer.
We start, somewhat where we left off, with the end of May.  Our little Holly graduated preschool on the 25th of May, just two days before her 5th birthday.  She was so excited not only to be graduating but to be finished with preschool so she could move onto bigger and better things like Kindergarten.
Holly had received a new outfit from her Grandma Granquist  for her birthday two days before at our Big Family Birthday Bash.  We have six people on Ryan's side of the family who have birthdays in May so we just had one big party and yes, I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures of that party (sorry).  But Holly loved the new outfit so much that she wore it for her graduation program/ceremony.  She was so cute, if I do say so my self.  She loves to sing and so she was right in her element up there on stage.  All the kids did such a great job.  Here is just one clip of her program....

After all the singing they had all the kids graduating walk across the stage with their graduation hats on to receive their diploma.  The preschool where Holly went really does a great job with their programs, and the kids love to show off all the songs they have learned during the year.  When Mason is ready for preschool (still potty training) we will be sending him there too. 
Holly's program was on a Tuesday and then they had one more field trip before she was all through.  The preschool had arranged for all the students in her class to take a trip on the Front Runner train, down to visit the Children's Treehouse Museum at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City.  They had to be accompanied by a parent so Ryan took the day off to spend with Holly.  She loved having her Daddy all to her self and even talked him into buying her a pink Build a Bear, she named "Flower", while they were there because her field trip was on her Birthday day.
She also got to open presents from Mom, Dad and her brothers that morning before they left on her field trip.  She got a Fairy table and chairs for her room from Mom & Dad so she could have those all too important tea parties.  Then she got Fairy PJ's from Mason and jeans, jewelry and a Fairy hat from Ethan.  Can you tell she likes fairies?  She loved it all and even wore some of her new stuff from Ethan.
Latter that night we made spaghetti for dinner as it is Holly's favorite and then had cake and ice cream.  Holly loved all the attention, gifts and sweets.  If she could it would be her birthday everyday.
At the age of 5 Holly not only loves fairies, she loves anything pink, singing, dancing, playing dress up, drawing and playing with her brothers & friends (social butterfly). She is a caring, sweet, and bubbly little girl who is also somewhat of a drama queen.  We love her and are so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter.

Forever...I know

 My life has been SO crazy the past few months I haven't known which way is up.  Thus the lack of writing on my part.  I know I have a lot to get caught up on so I will be trying to do that over the next week or so and will just title each with the month that it happened.
Things seem to be getting back to a routine at least, it's just fitting into it.  Ethan and Holly are both in school everyday and Mason is not ready to go to preschool just yet as we are still potty training.  So it's me and Mason for half of everyday.  He is a smart little boy as it didn't take him long to figure out that with just the 2 of us he could get into more things while my back is turned and in turn getting more attention from Mom.  He LOVES attention and cuddle time...boy does he get it because I'm afraid to turn my back for more than 2 minutes.
Holly is LOVING school and really loves the fact that she gets to go to school every day and get all afternoon to play with her friend Riley, who just lives down the street.  At least after her homework is done.  I know homework in Kindergarten...things have sure changed since I was in school.  She has Mrs. Larabee, the same teacher that Ethan had so it's nice to know what to expect ahead of time.  She is such a great teacher, we are really luck that Holly gets to have her as a teacher too. 
Ethan is doing really well in 2nd grade and we both LOVE his teacher.  Mrs. Fry is just was Ethan needs to keep him engaged and progressing.  Ethan gets board with some of his school work, because he is such a great reader (4th grade reading level) that he thinks it's too easy for him, but Mrs. Fry is good to help challenge him with new things as well as new ways of looking at things.
I, of course continue to bite off more than I can chew and so I'm am constantly running to catch up.  I'm just having trouble staying on task and not getting distracted, which is hard with 3 kids that know that Mom is easily distracted.  I'm working on it and trying to accept the fact that I can't do everything, be everything, get the sleep I need to be a cheerful person, all at the same time.
That's it for now...stay tuned for further updates of our summer, coming soon.
Oh, and you will notice a new button on my blog.  My sister-in-law and her husband are hoping to expand their family through the miracle of adoption so please check out their new adoption website by clicking on that button.

New Blog

So I said I would and I did...I started another blog to gather all the great, wonderful, awesome and cute ideas that I find. As I said in my last post it is called "Chronicles of a Super Mom Wanna-be",  here is the link if you want to check it out.

There are SO many ideas I know I will never be able to do but at least there is a place for me to gather them all together in one place rather than have scraps of loose paper all of my house, which is what I have now.  Now I have a problem of picking which ones and how many a day I should post on the blog, there are so many I love.  So for awhile there might be quite a few per day.  Can you tell I'm excited!  I am also planning on posting how they turn out once I try them because if I waited to post anything until I actually tried them it would never happen (my life is crazy enough) and defeat the whole purpose right?  So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know if you find my new blog helpful in anyway and if you try any of the ideas I find.  I like to share and love to hear how things turned out.

Where has the Summer Gone

I realized that the kids go back to school one month from today.  Where did the summer go?  We have just had so much going on....where to start.

• We had Holly's graduation from preschool
• Holly's 5th Birthday (mine too but we won't say how old I am)
• We got a trampoline
• Had 4th of July where a firework malfunctioned and hit a neighbor in the face
• Different things around our house died and fallen apart
• We got  Lego Harry Potter
• Holly informed me that it isn't fair that she doesn't have anyone to sleep with.  Mom has Dad, Ethan has Mason and she is all alone in her room...So she needs a baby sister.  I told her to take it up with her Heavenly Father so she has been praying for a baby sister every night for two weeks.  
• We had a primary summer party for all of my CTR 4 kids (I promised them in January if they were good and reverent in Sharing Time we would have a party this summer)
• I had spine surgery
• Ryan left for Texas yesterday to help with the Wacovia / Wells Fargo Conversion (one week after I got out of the hospital)
• Found out that because of my surgery that we can't go to Canada this year (which I'm having a hard time with) 
• Our extended family has had one health emergency right after another

So as you can see I haven't had much time to blog. I promise to take one thing at a time and go into more detail latter (w/ pictures), but for now I just wanted to post something to say that I was still here.
Also once the kids are back in school and I have some more time I am going to start another blog.  Mainly for me but for all my friends and family too.  I have found the greatest ideas online, in magazines, and from friends and wanted to put them all in one place, put into category's so that I can find them more easily latter.  The new blog is called "Chronicles of a Super Mom Wanna-be".  Because heaven knows that I'm surrounded by such amazing women, all Super Mom's in my eyes, and I just don't know if I will ever be counted among them so for now I am content to be a Wanna-be.  I will let you know when I have it up and running so stay tuned.  But for now I have to go and get orange marker off of my coffee table and out of Mason's hair.  Like I said a Wanna-be.

Happy Heart

Today the sky is blue and the sun is shining.  It finally feels like spring and its those days that I love to open all the windows in my house and let the fresh air come through.  Spring & Fall are my two favorite seasons and I love them both for some of the same reasons.  The cool temperatures + sunshine + getting your hands dirty either planting or harvesting = Happiness.  As I sit here typing on my computer with my window wide open I realize that this is the first day in a long time that I truly feel happy.  Now don't get me wrong I've always been happy with my husband and children but we've had one thing after another go wrong over the past few months.  I feel like we've finally come through the storm both literally and figuratively.  Maybe it's just the weather...I don't know.
It seems like the whole words is in turmoil right now with oil spills, earth quakes, tornadoes, floods, etc. it's no wonder that people are looking for a simpler way of life.  I used to be skeptical of the whole "green" movement but I think I understand it now.  It's just a way of getting back to a simpler life as excess, or striving to achieve that excess = stress.  Living outside your means to keep up with the Jones, or because we feel like we are entitled to it all just because we work hard is just crap.  It's unneeded "stuff" that clutters our lives.  So I'll admit I'm coming around to the green way of living, not for any other reason than simplicity.  To have the feeling of contentment sitting in the sun reading a good book while the wind blows across your face. To truly have a happy heart.

A Day for all kinds of Mother's

Happy Mother's Day!  I have been influenced by so many wonderful women in my life and I am the person I am because of the lessons I learned from them.  So indulge me for a minute while I pay tribute.
First and foremost my mother, Apryl.   She of course has been the most influential person in my life.  She taught me how to me strong in the face of adversity, she taught me how to work hard and be responsible, she taught me how to be independent and most of all she taught me to have faith. She always has had faith that something bigger than ourselves was always in charge and that if we do our part things will work out the way they are meant to.  I am very proud to be the daughter of such a strong women.
My grandma Geniel of whom I named my daughter after. She is another women that has taught me so very much.  She help me develop a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and that there is is strength in family.  She was a stay at home mom who from my point of view was always happy  with her life.  She raised 7 children in a little 4 bedroom, 1 bath home that I always felt was filled with love, warmth and fun.  I have only happy and loving memories of my time spent in her home.  I love her so very much and it breaks my heart to see the toll that time has taken on her.   I'm sad to realize that she will not be with us for much longer in this life but know she will be in the next.  She and my grandpa have been the example of how I want to be in so many aspects of my life.  I love them for that and will for eternity.
Then there are so many others that have been examples and influenced my life they're almost too many to name but I will try.  To all of my Mom's sisters - you have each shown me great love and acceptance.  You have treated me like a sister not a niece and I thank you for that.  Dori, you are one of the kindest people I know.  Cindy, you are the example of style and grace.  Pam, you know your mind and stand up for what you believe in.  Julie, you are a kindred spirit who works so hard and doesn't take enough time for herself.  And Cherri...my big sister who took me under your wing while we were little and who is the kind of mother I want to be.  Who takes that time to silly dance with your kids before bed, who loves to laugh and who tries to look for the best in others.  I love you all for the wonderful mothers, wives, sisters and friends that you are.
I have countless cousins who are beautiful, talented and kind.  I have even more cousins who married wonderful women who are just as awesome.  I also have a very kind and gentle sister-in-law Ashley who brings balance to my brother Ryan's life.  I have other sister-in-laws who unfortunately I don't know very well and others I have never met but hope to.
My Dad has 3 sisters, 2 of whom against all odds has kept in contact with me and shown me great love and kindness.  Florance, who has passed away so many years ago but I still remember and miss her birthday calls to me each year.  She would sing Happy Birthday at the top of her lungs, although she couldn't sing at all, but I still loved it.  Joan, who has such a big heart and love of animals.  She taught me a great lesson once in my rebellious teenage years to sick to the principles of my faith as I had made a commitment and needed to live up to.  I also have to thank my Dad's wife Melody, who has encouraged my father to keep me in his life.  I know without your encouragement and support I, or my children would have the privilege of knowing what an wonderful man my father is.   I hope you all know that I feel so blessed to have been born to such a wonderful family.
I have also been lucky enough to have married into just as wonderful of a family.  My mother-in-law Rhonda is kind and tolerant (you would have to be to put up with all the teasing she does).  Who has showed me that it's okay to have interests away from your husband and that you can take some time for yourself and still be a good mother.  I have 3 great sister-in-laws as well; Liz who is stronger than she thinks she is and is so fun loving, which you can tell by singing / dancing even though she knows she can't do either very well.  Katie, much like my Aunt Pam, knows her mind and stands up for what she thinks is right.  Annie is the little sister that seems to be the glue that keeps everyone together. Ryan also has wonderful aunts and countless cousins who are amazing women as well.  Thank you all for allowing me to be a part of your family. 
Finally, my best friend in high school, Angie.  Although we have grown apart over the last 14 years she helped me to find myself under a mountain of baggage.  She showed me that I am in control of my life and that I was a victim only if I allowed myself to be.  That it was Okay to stand up to anyone, even those closest to me and say NO - I'm better than the way you are treating me.  She helped me turn the corner in my life, until I met my husband who helped me change the lane I was driving in.   There have also been too many friends over the years who have pulled me up when I was down (you know who you are).  Thank you for being my friend.
Thank you all for your examples and for your strength.  Happy Mothers Day!