Caught in the Act

Roodles trying to get the spider man toothpaste I hid above the fridge.(last April)
Johnny going for Daddy's special hot cocoa above the fridge (yesterday)

John helping himself to some cereal.
John trying to fill up the bath tub with a measuring cup .....from the bathroom sink 2/3 cup @ a time. ooops!Olive oil on the loose.

I found the suspect lurking around the corner. A clean floor doesn't last long at our house!

Sometimes they can be so cute

Ry Pie Punkin Pie Alex playing the electric guitar on Katie's violin
Stevo rockin' out too.
John telling Daddy a secret.

My little kitchen helpers Look Mom! I found an icicle!
Pretty big, huh?
Yummy!
Johnny tickling the ivories

Aspen Grove Family Camp

Aspen Grove is a camp located near Sundance in Utah, and is run by the BYU Alumni Association. We have been going there for the past two years and are planning on going this August 2008. Check out their website if you can make it August 27-30, 2008! http://aspen.byu.edu/

Don't miss this opportunity to camp with some of the nuttiest kids to set foot in Provo Canyon!



Picture #1: Mountains from Aspen Grove, looking eastward; #2, family games on day one with Scott, Emily, Steven, Kathryn, and Chris.











Water fall hike, and Jack climbing the ropes course in 2006.


There is a slide show that the camp puts out every year that shows all of the families there that particular week. Look for our family at the Aspen Grove 2006 slide show here:

http://alumni.byu.edu/aspengrove/2006/MIni/MiniMay.wmv

Additional pictures from that year's camp are here:

http://alumni.byu.edu/aspengrove/2006/mini/index.htm

Keep in mind that the slide show has everyone that camped that particular week, so you have to keep your eyes peeled!


The above pictures are Aspen Grove 2006, when we met Betsy and Rita's brothers and sister and their families, and the pictures below are from 2007 when we went with Betsy.

Family picture during the opening day games, 2007.


Kathryn getting wet in the barrel relay race. We had to fill the barrel up as fast as possible, while plugging all the holes! That water was COLD and Katy did this two years in a row!

Dad teaching Ryan the fine art of burying a tomahawk in a target's back, just in case he needs to know someday. ;-)

Adam and Johnny with the monkey backpacks that made them famous around camp!Alex and Ryan hustle water over to the barrel relay while Steven supervises.

There is a great slide show from Aspen Grove 2007 here:

http://aspen.byu.edu/2007/MiniAug/MiniAug.wmv

Pictures from last summer

Signs you only see in Utah Katie's 12th bday morning

waking up....SURPRISE! Daddy saying good morning to the bday girl

Steven at cub scout day camp Johnny's 3rd bday . a double bday bash with Grandpa John.
Katie's 12th bday :we went down to the old drive in that is in town as a surprise and Ryan and Steven climbed up on the roof and put a bday message on the marquis. The next day I took her there and she was so surprised. Kirt's drive in has been around for 40 yrs and lets people use their marquis for free anytime it is available.

They took the camera on the roof and got this shot. then Mom bought them an ice cream cone for risking their lives for their sisters happiness.(:

Mess Maker Mess Maker make me a mess.

Grandpa John's(Chris' Dad) Bday on July 24th. Johnny and Grandpa had a double bday. All 6 of our kids plus our sweet little nephew Eli.

I NEED SILENCE

I've caught the boys in the act and took pictures to prove it.

I have been TRYING to read a book for a couple weeks now and am barely to page 100. Every time I sit down (or stand up) to read a page SOMEONE is talking to me.I NEED a moment of silence. I have also done an experiment on going to the bathroom in peace. This is NOT exaggerated either......seriously, every time I attempt to "go" in peace it only takes about 15 seconds for someone to be knocking at the door or breaking open the lock with a butter knife(John is a master at unlocking things at age 3). Last week, late at night, I went in my bathroom and THOUGHT,"this might be the moment I've been hoping for." I was going in peace and lo and behold the house intercom beeps (one is in our master bathroom) and comes on with Alex's voice,"Mom".

Right in the middle of typing THIS very post John was climbing the kitchen china cabinet and fell. I know that a lot of you might say, " How on earth could you let that happen?" Well, my kids are faster than a speeding bullet when it comes to trouble, messes and "creativity". Things are never dull around here. Right now John is crawling on me with a flashlight shining it in my eyes. At least he is not spraying PAM all over my kitchen floor. Today is a mellow day. He did not put any surprise items down the laundry chute or HEATER VENTS. The only way to always know what John and Adam are up to is for us to sell our house and go to a one bedroom studio apartment. We seriously have decided our house is too big for those two. Baby gates and childproofing doesn't keep them away from anything. They just disassemble the locks.

My favorite HEATER VENT story to this day is when Chris could not find his work keys.I smelled something horrible in our room and finally traced it to the heater vent . I opened the vent to find a poopy diaper.I pulled it out and there were the work keys!Johnny told me he was hiding them from the bad guys. He was only 2 at the time.

The other morning I was taking a shower and came out in a hurry to find them with the piano pushed out from the wall and screw drivers in each of their hands. They were going to "fix" the piano. If ONLY they would watch TV like normal kids!!!!!

Nativity by John

Few people are so privileged to have a nativity CUSTOM decorated by John.



For a personal consultation call John @ 1-800-WRECKING BALL. He also specializes in flooding sinks,hiding items (and food) in heater vents,climbing cabinets,overflowing toilets,and unlocking all "baby proofed" doors.

Alex's cast and SNOW

Johnny helping Daddy as usual. In his p.j.s with his Darth Vader shoes on the wrong feet and NO coat. I took this picture out the kitchen window when I saw him. So cute.
Our neighbor was nice enough to let Chris borrow the snow blower for the driveway since ours is acting up.

Our neighbor saw 8 deer this morning out back. We didn't see any , but saw animal tracks in the yard.

Alex is finally out of a thigh high cast and the wheelchair! He has a new short green one until Jan 2nd!

The snow storm last night and the benches on the deck this a.m.

NO, we did NOT tell John to go jump in the snow with his p.j.s on! He comes up with these brilliant ideas all on his own.He was testing out his Johnny Tractor toy.