I am raising my children as HICKS!!

This happened the other day and I didn't want to forget about it....so onto the blog it goes!

Dallin is in 1st grade this year and so he is new to the whole reading & writing thing. His teacher encourages them to spell how it sounds...so like school could be spelled skool for example. Dallin doesn't like doing this at home however and wants things to be spelled the correct way. So, the other day he is sitting on the couch by Laiklie with a tablet in one hand and a pen in the other and they were together writing a story about a birthday party. He would randomly ask how to spell words like, party, invited or a cousins name. After about 20 minutes of writing he says, "Mom, how do you spell gunoo??" GUNOO....my poor little 7 year old thought that gunoo really was a word. Like I'm gunoo go feed the cows, or are we gunoo go to town today?? Ryan and I laughed SO HARD. I had to explain to him that gunoo isn't really a word and that it is really "going to." What hicks we are that we speak with words like GUNOO!!

Welcome to Idaho!

Flash Back

Our Stake YM/YW had a dance last night and as part of the dance each ward was assigned a dance to learn and perform. Our ward was given the dance "The Thriller!" We were excited because it was much better than the Waltz or the Line Dance.:) We (the leaders) were told that it was MANDATORY to participate......ya, NO OTHER LEADERS IN ANY WARD PARTICIPATED!! But, of course our ward went first so we just got up there and did it not knowing we were going to be the only leaders to dance that night. We had a blast though, and rumor was that none of the other wards wanted to follow our ward. WE WERE AWESOME!!

This is my "Thriller" pose.

This is the front view of the ACID WASH MINI SKIRT and the rest of my 80's gear!

This is my big bangs, crimped hair. JUST LIKE I DID IT IN 3RD GRADE!! It amazed me how second nature it was to fix my bangs like that again. It is like riding a bike....you never lose it!:)

*All photos courtesy of DALLIN!....which explains the messes in the background.....he is a boy and doesn't know to block those things out!

YW's Help

So, I am incharge of the New Beginnings for YW in our ward. The new theme for the YM/YW this year is STRONG & COURAGEOUS. I have the program and musical numbers finished and all worked out. I have the refreshments taken care of too, but I am seriously in need of help with the decorations. We want it to be a spiritual night, and we are going to have the regular white lights & fake trees around the room, but when you think of STRONG AND COURAGEOUS what do you think of?? Last year they decorated with lighthouses because the theme had something to do with Holding up your light. Do you get what I mean? What goes with STRONG AND COURAGEOUS that the girls would recognize as that. The program also mentions the SHIELD OF FAITH numerous times....so, we could go with something along those lines too. Anyway, I want a comment from EVERYONE as to what they would do - GOOD OR BAD....I need HELP!!

Blog Book

I don't know how many of you Bloggers know that you can make your blog into a book, so I thought I would share. I just got my BLOG BOOK in the mail yesterday and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!! I printed it through http://www.blog2print.com/ and think it turned out great. It does have pages where the pictures and words are off a little, but not so bad that it doesn't make sense. If any of you have ever seen a Clark County High School yearbook, it is very similar to that size. I ordered the hardback and had them print every post (you can pick and choose if you want) excluding the comments and it cost me $50 with free shipping. (They price by # of pages) So, is $50 worth it to have a years worth of scrapbooking/journaling.....DEFINITELY!! I am planning to print one each year that I do my blog.

That's a Pretty Good Trick

Last night after Family Home Evening we played a mean game of Penny, Penny, Who's got the Penny and it apparently reminded Ryan of a magic trick he learned on his mission. So, he put on his "Magic Tie" and got his "Magic Hankerchief" and his "Magic Penny" to show the kids this magic trick.

He did it OVER AND OVER again and each time they giggled and laughed and just LOVED it!! They could not figure out how he could make the penny disappear and make it reappear in their ear and armpits! It was hilarious to watch them.

In the first picture you can see Dallin in the background checking his ear for the penny....even when it wasn't his turn.:) He is stoked to be able to take the "Magic Tie" on his mission!!:)

And, since we are talking about tricks, this is the girls new favorite!!

This is the Hawkins version of a horsey ride!:) A little scary and possibly dangerous if we had something questionable for dinner!!

Why Have I Not Been Blogging Lately?

I am sure you are all wondering where I have been, and well, this past week for 5 days straight I did NOTHING but SCRAPBOOK! I spent every spare minute (I don't have many, hence the 5 days) doing nothing but getting caught-up. I am PROUD TO ANNOUNCE...... drum roll please...... that all 5 scrapbooks (one for each kid and one for the family) are FINALLY all caught-up through Christmas 2009. YAY!! I thought about taking a picture of my accomplishment, but then realized that at one point I may have to scrapbook that picture and ummm.....NO THANK YOU!!

So, while scrapbooking I found just a few....well, really ALOT of pictures that I love that didn't ever make the blog cut. I decided to share just a few with you. They aren't anything special...I just love them.

What's in there?? This is my nephew Ethan. So cute!

This is Chris. My kids call him Uncle Chris....from the picture you can't tell that he really is a Mexican, so I am sure he isn't really their uncle, but he is their uncles best friend and so he is at alot of the family functions and we all love having his goofy-self around.

Oakley had a going away party for one of her friends that was moving and so we made sure and took alot of pictures that day. I love this one!

It's Happened...

Today is the first of many emotional days with my "baby."

Laiklie is now a SUNBEAM!

Last night as we drove to Artic Circle for ice cream (Rhett's reward for trying a green bean) I announced to Ryan that our baby was going to Sunbeams tomorrow and that I might cry about it. He asked Laiklie if her being a big Sunbeam was making her mommy cry? She answered, "because..........I will hold her hand" and then she reached her soft little hand toward the front of the car to hold mine. Talk about melt my heart!!

A few years ago when Ry and I were talking about whether or not we were going to have more babies we kept talking about moving on to the "fun stage of life." The "fun stage" does not involve packing a carseat around, strollers or diaperbags. I have realized that I truly am in that "fun stage."

So, do I miss having a baby at my house? I miss the tininess of babies, baby breath, baby soft hair and their little fingers and toes. I don't miss however, teething, diaper changes, waking-up 4 and 5 times IN THE SAME NIGHT. There are good and bad about both. It was so nice to be able to send my baby to nursery so that I actually got something out of going to church, but, then it was always nice to have a crying baby as an excuse as to why I had to leave somewhere I didn't want to be.:)

There are somethings that come with babies that I hold on to and can't seem to let go of. Yes,.....I do still put baby lotion on my 9, 7, 5 and 3 year old. I do still have a cupboard full of sippy cups. I have a crib, carseat, walker, bouncer, bassinet, playpen and 2 coffin size buckets of baby clothing still in my house. For some reason it is too hard to get rid of them yet.

It is hard to watch our children grow, but truthfully I wouldn't have it any other way. As I stood in the hall just outside of the primary room today with my head peaking around the door frame I saw my sweet little 3 year old carrying on a complete conversation with the only other 3 year old girl in our ward and I was blown away that she even knew how to do that. I LOVE watching them grow and learn and develop, and I guess if I have to hold onto a crib and baby lotion them all along the way that is okay too!!

I LOVE you my little Sunbeam!