Pullin' Taffy

For Family Home Evening on Monday night we pulled taffy.Ryan was in charge of the activity and he had been wanting to teach us to pull taffy, after doing it at a friends house. He wrote down the recipe and planned this all by himself.It was very STICKY,but very memorable. STICKY FINGERS
Ryan
Steve has got it going pretty good.

Story Time

Here are some pictures of the kids reading together. Stevo reading to Roodles. Alex laughing with Jiggy

Stevo and Ry Pie reading in my bed together.
Daddy with Boo and Skeeter.(John and Adam)

Daddy's Little Helper

Roodles(Adam) was being a big helper to Daddy when he moved a computer last Friday. I love both of these boys!

Shiny Floors

Sweet little Ryan and Steven were busy cleaning the wood floors yesterday.(Steven was rinsing his rag when I took this picture.) Ryan was going the extra mile and getting all under the table for Mom.

Snow Shoes

Isn't this what every mother likes to see out the back door? Thank you,Alex, for always having your shoes dry and ready to go!!!!!
Stevo in his snow fort. It comes complete with a microwave,sitting area,and paths that lead through the snow all over the front yard.He and Adam ate their dinner in the fort the other night.It was cute.
the sun starting to set after a long snowy day. The camera doesn't do it justice.
Steven digging his snow fort.Are the mountains in the back ground beautiful or what?

Dusting for fingerprints

You might wonder why there is a picture of baking cocoa on the blog.If you live in this house long enough you stop wondering why.????? Last night I was in the kitchen LATE and Ryan comes sneaking up the stairs.He has a can of cocoa in his hand and looks surprised to see his dear old Mom.He smiles and says,"Can I get the scotch tape?" I say,"Wonderful,loving,smart,and very cute son,Why would a 9 yr old, like you, need scotch tape at 10pm?"He said with a smirk,"We are "dusting for fingerprints"with the cocoa!" I wanted to scream, but I laughed.Having 6 kids drives me crazy at times, but mostly it is very entertaining.Think of all of the stories I will have to tell in my rocking chair when I am old and am surrounded by Grand kids!

Oh boy! I've got joy!

Update on the Sugar Sprinkles story

Remember the sugar sprinkles post? Do you remember the BIG bottle of soy sauce in the picture?Well, I wish I would have had my camera in my pocket yesterday. I was standing on a chair trying to reach a new bottle of red wine vinegar(to make salad dressing,NOT drink). Adam decides to HELP me by pulling the BIG bottle of soy sauce out for me to use.Chris was sitting in the dining room and we both didn't say anything and he just picked up the mop and came towards the spill. It was on the cupboards and all over the floor.I wish I would have had my camera.That's life! We definitely had a "Chinese kitchen".

Tip #299

For any of you out there that have "Special" children like John, tip #299 is :THROW AWAY ALL LEFTOVER SUGAR SPRINKLES after decorating Christmas sugar cookies!
This is what a 48 oz NEW bag of "Craisins" looks like with green sugar sprinkles in it.(in case you have never seen one)
p.s. the bar stools were hidden in the front coat closet this morning and he found them within 30 min. The bar stools are his "ticket" to destruction.

oops! Enjoy The Journey

What a "saying" to be next to the lamp that just broke. You might not know this,but Teddy Bears are dangerous in our house. The reason they are dangerous is because they are NOT BOLTED DOWN and weigh less than 10 lbs.That means John can pick them up and toss them in the air. Here he is with the teddy bear that just broke the glass from the lamp.
Here he is attempting to help me clean it all up.
Yikes. I 've got cabin fever. I wish we could go to the park or even if I could lock 'em outside!

What you find with boys

I've added a few pics to an old post "What You Find With Boys". Click on that old link to see them.

All about Stevo Mc Devo

Steven is dressing up like Patrick Henry for a project at school. Cutie pie ready for church.
Nothing quite as cute as a guy doing house work! His future bride will be lucky!
Steven is an amazing son. He has straight A's in school. He is an awesome Cub Scout. He has already earned his Arrow of Light(the highest award in Cub Scouting) He is on the Pleasant View basketball team and is working hard .He practices the piano every day without reminder and is becoming quite good. He is a talented cook and very resourceful. He knows how to iron his own shirts and do laundry.He is very gentle with the little boys and will be an awesome husband and father when he grows up.If you couldn't tell....we LOVE him and are VERY pleased with him and are blessed to call him our son.

4 wheel drive

Today has been quite an adventure already and it is only 10:00 am.I am SSSSSSOOOOOOOO GLAD and THANKFUL I have a 4 wheel drive vehicle!!! Even with 4 wheel drive the roads up here are CRAZY and dangerous. They don't cancel school here, but the buses couldn't make it up here for junior high. The school told everyone to meet at the church at the bottom of the hill and the bus would pick them up. There were buses stuck down the hill in snow drifts and cars all over the road.

When I went to pick up the carpool kids(I've been out on the roads twice this morning) I had to drive as FAST as I could so I would not get stuck going up the hill. Chris and our neighbor were out front at 6:15 am(in the dark) shoveling and helping cars get unstuck from in front of our house.Our snow blower is scheduled to get fixed today.We MISS it a lot! The boys miss it too.They had to shovel for 45 minutes this morning before school to get our car out of the driveway.Luckily our neighbor showed up and plowed the end of the driveway(which is the deepest). Chris was mid thigh in it this morning.

It is continuing to snow right now and our driveway looks like it was never plowed!!! oh well......Work after school for "bored" kids. Now I KNOW why people own snow blowers. I used to just think they were lazy! ha ha
Check out the trash can.

The snow is as high as Johnny. Yes! He owns a coat.....He's just John with a mind of his own.

Swinging from the Chandelier

We thought you might like another video, showing Johnny working on the chandelier for us. When we checked it later, it turns out that he was unscrewing the chandelier from the ceiling!

Since I Was Up

Well, since I was up after John mauled me in bed for 20 minutes before I got up to put him back in his own bed , I thought ......might as well run down stairs and "switch the loads" as we call it in our house.I don't even call it laundry anymore.It is in a CONSTANT state of sorting, starting, and switching! It is a blessing and a curse to have a big home. My laundry room is located over 3000 sq ft form where the majority of my life is "lived". I NEVER seem to be visiting that end of the house. I try to avoid it at all costs because it is in the "boys
" area.Chris and I , Kate, and the "little boys" sleep on the main floor. The "big boys", Alex, Steven, and Ryan, live in the basement.It is not a scary, cement , cold ,leaky basement basement like you might be imagining. It is fully finished.BUT,the things they can do to the basement are things I would rather only see once a week!The forts they build out of blankets, the experiments they do in their bathroom,the "towers" they build out of old VHS video tapes...etc etc

Alex has his own room, but NEVER sleeps in it. He LEAVES the light on constantly in his bedroom and bathroom just to make sure our electric bill stays nice and high.He owes me $$ every time I find it on.(I think he just hit $110.00) Steven and Ryan have 3 beds in their room and he always joins them for fun and games after 9:00 pm.When you hear laughter you know it is dangerous. Someone is jumping off a top bunk into a PILE of every blanket,pillow,sleeping bag,or piece of clean or dirty laundry they could find! I BRACE myself for the first cry and feel RELIEVED when there are no broken bones or need for stitches.I am just too busy for ER visits.Laughter can also mean different items are being balanced on the blades of the ceiling fans and getting ready for take off!Oh, I love my boys!!!

I don't know if I could be a Mom to 5 girls.TOO much emotional garbage and boo hooing over nothing.Kate is a great daughter.She fits in great with her brothers, but has a touch of girly girl when she needs it. She has no problem climbing up a tree and reading her book in a dress after church.(by the way...in the summer my big kids would climb the tree and ask for their food to be delivered "drive in' style and they would all eat up in the tree. It was a fun memory I just recalled.Our friends, the Powner's were here in the summer from Colorado and would do it with them. FYI the Powner's are GREAT kids and I LOVE when they visit UT in the summer and come and stay for a few days(Andrea, If you are ever reading this, I love you and your kids)! We have fun together.I love being with her and my boys, too. I am very blessed.

Well, it is 3:41 am so I should try to go back to sleep before it all starts over again. Katie has to babysit at 7:45 am and I just found her sleeping on the couch in her clothes with the book Twilight in her arms when I came through the living room. She has already read all three of the Twilight books, but is wanting to read the first one again this weekend.

Yesterday my friend Sue Zan came over with her two little ones and we did a bunch of cooking together.My friend Amy,who now lives in UAE,and I used to cook meals for the week together. We both have 6 kids and it worked out great. Every Monday we would get together. One of us would plan the weekly menu and buy all of the groceries for the 5 meals.We would make 10 meals total and each have 5 prepared meals with a written menu for the week. I loved it and we had a great time together talking.(Amy, I MISS you!!) Well, Sue Zan,who was introduced to me through Amy,has stayed here with our kids multiple times when Chris and I have gone away for marriage retreats and trips. She is awesome! My kids LOVE her.She was wanting some help getting dinner on the table every night and so we made 9 meals yesterday for her to eat this week and freeze for later. It was a ton of fun.Johnny swung from the chandelier while we were doing it, but it was great fun.
I am really going to bed now.
Rita

SCREW IT!

<-- John showing off his project skills...

Here's what happens with 3 and 4 year olds get their mitts on the power tools. Believe it or not, this is very tame and very controlled and good thing mom is there ready with that video camera in case anything really BAD happens....

For more videos by Rita, check out our youtube link and videos here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOuQ7ssMp1o

Click on "More from z00kpr6" link on the right and it'll show all videos recently added.

ENJOY!

The Cast is Off

A GREAT thing happened today! Alex is celebrating the removal of his cast. He has been wanting to get in the hot tub since he broke his leg on November 9th. For those of you who don't know, Alex broke his leg at Ryan's bday party. He was playing football at the park with twenty five 9 yr olds. He was in a thigh high cast and in a wheelchair for a month with his foot elevated. That means no walking up a very steep hill to the bus stop...Mom and Dad taking him to and from school.He was a good sport, but got very sick of all of the stairs in the house and not being able to go in the hot tub or run and play outside with friends. He is now going to be in a boot for a month that he has to wear only while walking. YEAH! Here is Alex in the 103 degree hot tub in 10 degree weather.Steamy!

Things you find with boys

Johnny trying on Katie's new lip gloss on his forehead.If you're ever in need of carrots...now you know where to find them.Crisper drawers are "out".....dust pans are the NEW thing.
Adam knows how to work the can opener and share with brother.(just kidding)
Left over Christmas gift tags always work well on blankets!
Hey,can I have a piggy back ride?

Things you find with boys

My kids are famous for leaving a plate of cooked marshmallows around....hard as a rock.....anywhere,but...the kitchen sink!

These are some of the things you find around when you have little boys in the house.

Dinosaurs posed and ready for action!
I do wish this was as crazy as it got.My life would be a breeze.

Snow Caves and Icicles

Alex is going to the Klondike Derby for Scouts in 2 weeks. They sleep in snow caves up there.Chris went last year with him, but he is taking this year OFF. He (Alex)was practicing building one on our back deck with the help of Steven.

Check out the length of this icicle Alex got off of our house.John tried to put it in the freezer and broke it.

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!