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Utah or Bust

We have given up on technology entertaining our kids and decided that we can tough it out tech free for car rides.  So last Monday we loaded the car with lots of stuff and a book on CD(HP #1) and started out for Utah for a reunion for my family.  No regrets! It is the best. Though lately the book on tape is a little too compelling leaving little family game/interaction time. As with all family experiences there were some ups and downs but mostly we sailed through Nevada with only a few stops and got to Utah late Monday night.  Biggest down side was that Dave had to go into work and so we packed up Monday morning and didn't start driving until 9:30.  On the way home we hit the road at 6AM and that was sooo much better. Some of the highlights included: Time with family-my parents, 3 sisters, spouses and 22 grandchildren. Service project in my sisters yard.  Everyone worked super hard to clean out flower beds and add bark. Church History Museum display on Joseph Smith and early
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Recent posts

Resurrecting the blog

I was looking back at my blog and so grateful for the insight into my thoughts and life from years ago.  It is time to start it up again.  So here I am.  Can't even begin to fill in the gaps except with the real short summary. I now have 8 kids and my husband serves as Bishop of our ward.  That means that we are very, very busy. This fall I am looking forward to 2 kids in each school- 2 in high school, 2 in middle school and 2 in elementary and 2 at home. I am certainly busy and have no time to blog so we will see where this goes. Things that I love that we are doing in our family: Camping: We have been on 2 camping trips this year.  Our family is learning to love the outdoors and the wonder and experiences that we can have.  Mom and Dad love the price and watching the kids work together to hike and set up camp Using hymns: We are getting better at using music(singing) to help bring peace to our home at certain times like family scriptures and prayer.  It is far from perf
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Guatemala

Time just keeps flying by and doesn't wait for me to blog about it.  There have been a lot of changes around here in the last few months. To start off Dave, James and I went with him to Guatemala.  We had a fabulous time!  We were there for Semana Santa(Holy Week leading up to Easter).  It was great to observe all the cultural at that time.  It felt like Christmas morning to me.  We also made it to a Mayan ruin Iximche.  The city that we stayed in was fabulous.  Old with 40 plus ruins and cobblestone streets.  We walked everywhere, bartered for some great stuff and ate great food.  We were very excited to come home and I certainly missed my other kiddos especially Matt. Alfombras all over the streets in Antigua.  People were making these all day and night before each procession.  Some were made with fruit/veggies and pine needles but most were colored sawdust.  One of my favorite parts about our trip was seeing the community come together for the celebration. Making the Al
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Playing catch up

Where to start when you haven't blogged for so long?? Quick update Christmas- good day and kept it simple this year.  I loved it. CHRISTMAS JAMMIES Thomas' birthday- Made it to the snow this year His new birthday Bike Sisters Retreat- Thankful that I have such great sisters and made me sad that I don't get to enjoy them more often Jimmy and Cousin Annie about 3 months  and nearly 3000 miles apart . January- everyone was healthy!!! Beautiful California Winter day Fun in the leaves Still trying to figure out how I finally got a BALD baby. FINALLY a smile from Matt in the bath tub.  He finally likes his baths now that he has a bath buddy.(He seriously has mostly screamed during them for the last nearly 3 years)  Just don't mention washing his hair. February-Dave is in Thailand and Australia for much of the  .  Thanks to lots of prayers and good friends we are surviving.
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Blessed

For as much time as Lily spent in that thing, I think this is the only picture I reread my last post and thought it made things sound worse than it actually was.  It was a crazy 2 months but I just kept laughing about everything. Seriously, am I not enough of a spectacle getting my 6 kids out of the car and to the school that I need to add a wheelchair and a 5 year old with a cast.  Certainly got more sympathy than ever and people offering to help us. James pre-procedure We had James' appointment for a bronchoscopy 2 weeks ago and everything looks good.  He certainly has the laryngomalacia but everything else looks the way it should.  So now the diagnosis is just time like 1-2 years and he should just grow out of it.  It is great to know that he is doing so well.  He is a very noisy little boy but he is as chubby and pink as ever.  He is also the best baby ever.  He is so patient in the morning as we scramble around the house feeding everyone else, doing hair, packing lun
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When it rains, it pours

So this month has just been incredible.  We made it through the stomach flu, we are getting good at the whole broken leg thing so now it was time for some more fun. This morning I woke up to a puddle on my kitchen floor and what do you know my fridge is dying and it also looks like Lily has strep throat so she stayed home today.  Are you kidding me?  Did I mention that on top of all the craziness in my life my husband is working crazy 6 and 7 day weeks and long hours. Thank goodness for a sense of humor, some money in the bank to cover emergencies, and a Heavenly Father.  I feel like there is some lesson I am supposed to be learning but I guess I haven't learned it yet cause it is still pouring.  I will say that I have felt immensely blessed in my capacity to deal but my home is in chaos and I am not getting to all the things I want to do.  Don't get me wrong, I know that what I am dealing with is nothing compared to what other people have going on in their life.  My kids ar
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How to defrost your freezer and blog about it in 20 minutes or less

Just wanted to pass along the best idea I discovered for defrosting your freezer.  If you keep a freezer in the garage for extras, haul it out to your driveway.  Get a hose and some towels and rags.  Spray the inside of the freezer with the hose and you will have the ice melted in 5 minutes or less.  No banging, no hot pans of water, and wet puddles under the freezer.  Then  wash and wipe it dry and put it away.  It will take you longer to get the freezer to the driveway then it takes to defrost it but it is totally worth it. One other great thing I learned this week,  substitute half the flour in your pancake recipe with graham cracker crumbs.  Serve with fresh fruit and cream and you will be sooooo happy that you did. Last great tip of the day, don't let your 11 yr old "sonic bounce" your 5 year old cause someone may end up with a broken leg.  Said broken leg may just make your life incredibly challenging because all you need is a 5 year old who can't walk for 1
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