Hoggard Herald

Fun Stuff

2011-07-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

Emma was invited to a Harry Potter Birthday Party; She was sorted into Ravenclaw.

Here are all the kids at Skylar's party. Emma is awesome at Quidditch.

School Awards for Emma: Excellence in Reading, Mathematics and attitude.

Sean Kindergarten Graduation

End of school year pizza party with friends.

First weekend of summer at the rec center

Emma excited for swimming to start.

Emma's 8th Birthday

2011-07-13T19:56:00.002-07:00

Emma's 8th Birthday

Theme: Phineas and Ferb

We played "Where's Perry?" "Mummy race" "Create an inator"

Emma and Riley

Non goody goody bag.

Back: Alec Steinert, Ethan Sudol and Riley Bliss

Front: Payden Driver, Ryan, Cera, Courtney Hepworth, and Emma Hoggard

Non Pictured: Sean, and Sterling Sorensen

2010 Yearly Scrapbook

2011-04-20T14:54:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Been awhile :)

2011-04-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

I got on here and wanted to see who still blogs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that many people still do, and so I decided to get back into bloging/journaling. I am disenchanted with facebook and all the issues arising from it, and am now remembering how fun blogging was. I am currently without camera, but hoping that will change soon. Over the next few days I thought I would do a picture catch-up. Hope you enjoy!!

2009

2010-05-26T23:05:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Illness

2010-03-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes of posting a bunch in February, but life happens. First Ryan got pneumonia and we were in the hospital for a couple of days with him. Then Emma and Sean got Strep Throat, when they were just about finished, Ryan got the Strep bug too. Poor guy had 20 days of Amoxicillin. Last week I got a bout with a nasty flu bug that kept me glued to the house, until I went to Urgent Care and got a nausea shot. When March came I had hoped that we would all be finished with the sickness, but much to my dismay poor little 2 month old Cera came down with RSV and Bronciolitis. We are just praying that all gets well soon so that we may travel to Utah and watch the beautiful blessing of Eli to my sister Michelle and husband Aaron!

Cera Ann Hoggard

2010-02-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

Cera Ann Hoggard

Dec 27, 2009 at 1:09 p.m.

8 lbs 12 oz and 20.5 inches

About to Pop

2010-02-16T11:47:00.001-07:00

Here is what I looked like on my way to the hospital to deliver Cera. It was taken at 4:45 in the morning so I don't look at prep'd.

Final Young Womens Project

2010-01-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

All year I knew that I wanted to recover some Book of Mormons for my Young Women as a Christmas present. My friend Kirsta Evans taught me how, and then I proceeded to make 19. The first step was to rip off the covers and take out the pages. Talk about feeling guilty ripping apart BOM's. Next, I recovered them with paper and embellishments, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought the paper. Here are what the finished books looked like. The bummer part is that I was released two weeks before Christmas, but the wonderful new YW pres. still let me give them out. I sure will miss those girls!

Cottonwood Christmas

2010-01-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

The Ledbetter Law Firm Christmas Party. The famous 5 lb chocolate bar and Santa! I didn't attend this year, instead I went to Prescott and finished my Christmas shopping before I got to miserably pregnant! On the first weekend in December Cottonwood has a huge Christmas Parade. This year Emma decorated a Girl Scout Brownie float, and Sean decorated a Flip City Preschool float. While Shiloh and I enjoyed watching the parade with just Ryan and our hot cocoa!!

Raking Leaves in December

2009-12-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

Having fun raking leaves with Mom!!

These are the last pictures with our camera, because Ryan dropped it after we were finished.

Sorry there are so many- but it was a nice afternoon!

The Big Pool

2009-11-12T23:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, I had a friend do this online baby pool and it was a blast to participate. So I thought with just over a month to go I would start one up. Click the Expectnet icon on the right and give a guess. The winner will get a prize!! Good Luck. (You can guess more than once too!)

My Cousin in Law is having a custom giveaway!

2009-11-10T14:44:00.000-07:00

To kick off my decion to start selling custom packages I have decided to give 2 custom packages away!!!Enter to win in our my fall in to fun give away! You can win one of two custom packages.Package 1 includes:~ 3 custom headers - you can rotate them in and out.~ Matching background~ Choice of 2 or 3 columns~ Signature~ Post separator bar~ 12 side bar icons~ Matching button with you favorite quote or saying. ( if you are going to use this for a business background it will be a link button.)* this package is worth $ 150.00 normally*Package 2 includes:~ Custom header~ Matching background~ Signature~ choice of 2 or 3 columns~ 6 side bar icons* this package is worth $ 115.00 normally*All you have to do is copy and paste this on your blog or webb page.Fall into fun @ Jen~a~Roo Blogs fall give away for a custom blog package! Don’t miss out on your chance to have your every own unique custom blog for free!www.jenarooblogs.blogspot.com

Fall Fun

2009-11-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

The kids used up almost all the Lego's to build this enormous tower- that actually stood on it's own for a few minutes! Thanks goes out to Dad who helped!!

This year I went all out in the canning department. I canned Peaches, Pears, and Applesauce. Yummy!! Here are a few snapshots of the process. Special thanks goes out to Cindy Kleinman who spent a lot of time with me helping me out! More Thanks goes out to my helpful young men who were all too willing to help! Thanks Sean and Ryan.

Here is Sean grinding up the apples to make the applesauce!

Ryan was a big helper, but did not want his picture taken.

When I bought the pear they were individually wrapped and Ryan unwrapped each and every one. I just had to throw the mess away and it kept him entertained for a long time. :)

I had to let them ripen on my counter for a few days and they were rearranged numerous times by my kids. Ryan being the most organized one.

We went to Cottonwoods first ever Airport Appreciation Day.

We walked around and looked at airplanes, helicopters, and cars for almost two hours, ate some pancakes, and watched some shows. We even had 3 F16s fly over- the kids loved all the excitement.

These were cool fast little planes doing fancy maneuvers Here are some WWII biplanes that flew over 4 times They performed the Missing Man formation- it was awesome to watch!

YW Activities in Review

2009-10-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

So for the 5th Wednesday of September we combine the three wards in our building for one large youth activity. This time I was in charge- so I planned a Scripture Scavenger Hunt. My presidency and I created passports for everyone and they had to go to 7 places to receive a stamp. BUT in order to get a stamp they had to either answer a question or do something. At each station I had a member of the church dress up as a scripture character. Brother Allred went all out with his outfit. It was a very successful evening and everyone seemed to have a ton of fun. It was worth all the effort.

For a combined Young Women's activity the girls wanted to do Karaoke, but I was unable to find a machine and so to improvise we played American Idol on the Wii. It was soooooo fun and silly. Yet hard- it actually let you know if you were on key. We have a few talented girls that were fun to watch, but I have no talent and just had fun with my performance. Here is the grand finally with all of us singing. Ahhhh

Breakfast with CJ and River

2009-10-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

I just love spontaneous friends! CJ called up and we went off to breakfast. Here are the two boys hamming it up with their mom's.

2009-10-10T10:19:00.001-07:00

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A Major Goal Accomplished

2009-09-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

Just thought that I would show off what I accomplished this weekend! I made 104 cupcakes and a wedding cake for a friend in my ward. In High School I had a teacher who made us write down 100 goals to fulfill in our lifetime. I never did figure out a hundred but among getting married in the temple and sky diving I included: make a wedding cake for someone. I grew up watching my mother make them and loved to watch her and she always seemed to love it- so it was desirable to me!! I was able to cross this off my list today!! Yeah (It was way too stressful though- ha!)

Here are the Cupcakes:

Here is the cake

Made the day our air conditioner kicked the can and it decided to rain all day!

(The first time since the beginning of June!)

Transporting the Cake

Remember it's in the rain, and through flooded AZ streets!

Final Construction

It was originally going to be outside, but the rain brought it in!

Grooms mother, "I love it, I love it, I love it!"

I knew all the flaws, and felt bad- but it seemed to be a hit.

Part of me wants to do this again just to improve what I did-

I learned so much! Not for awhile though :)

True Blue BYU!

2009-08-29T14:25:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

A Whole New Clubhouse for the kids!

It might not be perfect- but the kids don't care :)

Ryan!

2009-08-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

Urghhhhhhh! Why?!

Yet- Sean was willing to help his Mom because he thought it looked so boring to do all by myself, and he wanted to help his brother not be grounded for the rest of his life. Always something positive right.

YM/YW Flour Tag

2009-08-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

All I can say is- FUN! You put a cup of flour in a knee high nylon and tie it off. Then you play capture the flag or tag (the kids don't care they just want to get "dirty") It was a hoot and as you can see thoroughly amusing for the adults.

Grandpa Hoggard Visit

2009-08-23T14:39:00.001-07:00

On Thursday Grandpa jumped on his Harley and drove down to our house. He arrived around 4 and just visited. We enjoyed Shiloh BBQing in the backyard and goofing off , the kids even made him his favorite cookies- sugar cookies. The next morning we packed up some cookies for him and off he went back home.

It was a very fun visit- Thanks Grandpa!

Emma's First Day of First Grade

2009-08-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

On August 17th 2009 Emma entered the first grade at American Heritage Academy in Cottonwood, Arizona. She was so thrilled to finally start school again that she woke up at 5:30 got dressed, made her bed and was ready by 6:15. The next two hours were complete torture for her. She was way excited to have Ms. Plapp be her teacher. She did get a "first grade" haircut- I about cried when they chopped 9 inches of hair off- but it is what she wanted. GOOD LUCK EMMA!!!!

Ryan's Second Birthday

2009-08-23T14:14:00.001-07:00

Yipee! Ryan turned two. We had doughnuts for breakfast and decorated the house with Mickey Mouse. He was spoiled the whole day with gifts and cards and lots of love from his family. He loved every opportunity to talk on the phone, and we were able to go to triward Elders Quorum BBQ at the lake. He just figured it was a huge birthday party for him and was as happy as ever.

Here are a few snapshots of his wonderful day. We sure love you Ryan!!

Here are his first presents - still being all careful.

By the last he was tearing it up

(We are hopeful of a bed transition soon)

Another very successful present- boys sure love to build and destroy and build. . .

Here is his birthday cake-complete with burning candles!

He had them completely blown out before we had the song sung. Silly kid!

Happy Birthday Ryan Lawrence Hoggard

Multi Stake Youth Conference 2009

2009-08-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you combine the youth from 5 stakes in Northern Arizona? A Whole lot a FUN!

We met up at Fort Tuthill in Flagstaff on Friday night to set up camp. YES- we slept in tents and used port-a-potties. Then we hiked a mile for dinner and a huge barn dance! Imagine 500 youth in a barn with loud music- it was the neatest thing ever! The leaders I hung out with were awesome and despite my belly I danced. I stayed up half the night listening to teenage girls giggle and because I forgot my pillow.

On Saturday we woke and had a stake fireside, breakfast, and then were "herded" into groups of Ten. I was lucky enough to be a captain of 10 and took my group who were from Cottonwood, Flagstaff, Holbrook, Winslow, and Page to 5 different stations for group activities and lessons. We bonded and I gave them each a dog tag I had made. After lunch they went and cleaned a trail for a service project, I went to a leadership training meeting with Sister Dibbs (Pres. Monsons daughter!) We cleaned up camp, had dinner and for a finale we went and listened to Michelle Bear sing and Sister Dibbs talk. It was a wonderful experience- one I will not forget!

I am so proud of my 9 girls! As well as our stake- we truly stood out and were leaders as well as the loudest group- so full of spirit- way to go Cottonwood!! A weird thing to is the church sent down a camera crew from Salt Lake to film the entire conference. Maybe we will make it into a movie :)

**The only bummer deal was that I didn't get more pictures- but I did walk nearly 10 miles! I love the enthusiasm of the youth and how much they influence my life to bad they will never fully understand the impact that they really do have on not just us leaders but the WORLD.

Green Eggs and Ham

2009-07-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Emma successfully read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, and to celebrate we made exactly that for dinner! She was one proud girl!! Reading sure does open a whole new world to kids and it is such a blessing to watch her grow and desire that knowledge- Keep it up Emma!!

You know you are in need of some entertainment when you hire "Stanley Steemer" to clean your carpets and your kids are so excited they sit on the counter to watch. Sean asked the poor guy a million questions including "Where is your servant? You don't have one?"

After camping in a four man tent for 9 years- we finally decided that we needed to upgrade. I'm no dummy and so I wanted a tent with lots of room so I bought this 3 room 10 man tent so that we may all sleep peacefully. Hehe- the kids just love it!

Making Cookies

2009-07-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

One day we decided to make cookies. There are too many of us now to just pull up chairs to the counter. So I got out a large orange extension cord so that my Kitchen Aid could reach the table. We then proceed to have a ton of fun resulting in a large mess and some really yummy cookies.

Here are my cute little chefs!

The ingredients

Seans favorite part

Ryan has one of the longest tongues I have ever seen!

One proud moment!

She is intentionally showing off her teeth! She is missing quite a few and the new ones have no room to come in. Poor thing is a definite candidate for braces!

Summer Swimming

2009-07-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

When you live in Arizona one way to cool down is to jump into a cool pool. Now the people watching on the sidelines a.k.a. Mom and Ryan just melted. Emma and Sean survived four straight weeks of Swim Lessons at the Cottonwood Aquatic Center. Sean hit a bump in the road around week 2 and didn't want to go anymore, but when the next session began with his friend Ryland Sorenson his attitude quickly changed! Emma finally gained the courage and ability to become a fish this summer. She has grown in confidence and started to trust the lifeguards enough to actually learn. Sean has started to enjoy the water, he is still hesitant but is more willing to go in for awhile. Ryan on the other hand is a Sean of two years ago- "Don't even put me near that water!"

Sean passing his "guppy" class- Good Job Sean!

Smile for the camera!

Emma before the 5 second "bob"

The actual "BOB" in the deep end!

Ryan with his constant "GO Mom GO"

Emma and Sean's final day of swim lessons

One reason for Emma's success this summer! Sterling

Must it always come down to boys :)

Sean's 4th Birthday

2009-07-30T20:57:00.001-07:00

June 23rd, 2009

Today Sean happily turned 4 years old! He woke up to presents and recieved tons of Transformer stuff. Then went to swim lessons and preceeded to tell everyone how he was a big boy now! That evening we invited the Evan's to join us at Vinnies Pizza for a small birthday party. Him and Will are good friends.

We are very grateful to have Sean in our family, he is tenderhearted and very quick to smile and make others happy. He enjoys dressing up, playing with transformers, wearing cowboy boots, eating poptarts, watching movies and asking tons of questions!

A very excited birthday boy- he loved all the wrapping paper!

Opening gifts very quickly! Loving the musical cards! Both Clone Wars and Transformer ones!

Grand Finally of "Better Batter Baseball"

All the loot- Thanks to everyone who made his birthday wonderful!!

We found Ryan outside with a gift trying to open it up with his toy tools!

BUSTED!!

Ryan, Faith, Emma, Sean and Will

Why have a party at home when you can go somewhere else and have them clean up.

Bill and Kirsta Evans with daughter Ivy

They really made Sean's day coming to dinner and giving him the cool cage truck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN!

#4

2009-06-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

Wow- breaking news the Hoggard Clan is going to have another baby around the end of the year!

Sean's Joyschool Graduation

2009-05-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

For half of the year I put Sean into a mothers joyschool. Sean was in class with:

Spencer Kerr (Becky)
Issac Reynolds (Becky)
Addison Steinert (Denise)
Makena Bliss (Katie)
Ryland Sorenson (Alicia)

It was a very successful time and Sean really enjoyed every moment!

We had an end of the year party at our home Monday night. All in all we had 16 kids and 10 adults outback. Thankfully it was overcast and perfect weather! It was a bring your own pizza and a side to share.

Here is Alicia congratulating everyone and handing out awards!

Here is Sean receiving his certificate!

(At least I was smart enough to take his shirt off!)

Emma's Sixth Birthday

2009-05-21T09:28:00.001-07:00

For Emma's birthday this year she wanted her own bedroom where her "smelly and annoying little brothers" could leave her alone. Her wish was granted and after many hours of sanding, painting, shopping, and building this was her resulting wish. Happy Birthday Emma!!

I bought this new bed online at a clearance store, and Emma picked out the paint on the walls. With some persuasion from mom the result turned out good and not a vibrant eye shocker of fluorescent purple and pinkI bought the desk and hutch at a yard sale for 30 dollars, and after some major TLC new hardware, sanding and painting it looks beautiful.We wanted to buy her a matching dresser, but realized the birthday money was gone. So I took her dresser (which I grew up with as well as my Dad) and renailed, sanded, repainted and added some new knobs. I believe we will be able to get a few more years out of it if we don't move it too much. All the accessories and wall hangings were hers before. After being locked out for two weeks she was very thrilled to enter her new room and play! Plus all the presents from grandparents and aunts were in there. What a wonderful joy Emma is in our lives and I wish her all the fun and happiness in the world this coming year! Yep she wanted a princess cake again along with her steak, potatoes, and corn on the cob!

Father and Sons Campout

2009-05-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Shiloh took both boys, dutch ovens, and the van to the annual Father and Sons camp out. Notice I didn't say tent because Shiloh thought it would work better if they slept in the van. After staying up late, smelling like smoke, getting sunburns and sprained ankles, and who knows what else went on (I really don't want to know either!) they came home. Promptly had baths and fell into a deep slumber for almost 3 solid hours.

We also had a "champion" pose contest and here are the winners!!

Emma's Missing Front Teeth

2009-05-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhh the memories of missing your front two teeth. She has a cute little whistle to her speech and its entertaining to watch her eat an apple or ear of corn. Yet her other teeth are slowly inching their way in and looking beautiful too!!

By the way these are self portraits because I was being too slow in taking her picture.

This is Ryan helping me remodel Emma's birthday bedroom. It totally wore him out!

Ryan actually got into the car and buckled himself up and was ready to go before I made it to the garage!

A goofy Day in May

2009-05-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Brian Mickelson Race

2009-05-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

I DID IT! My first race in almost a decade! No I did not run the Marathon or the 10k, I didn't even run a 5k. Yet the two mile fun run/walk was quite a wake up call. I convinced my friend Alicia to run it with me, and we were pumped right before the race. The best part of the race was having Shiloh, Emma, Sean and Ryan to cheer me on near the finish line. Then we proceeded to cheer all of the people we knew in the other longer races! Wooo hoooo

Verde Valley Fair 2009

2009-05-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

Read to Ride; in other words read 6 books and you get into the fair and you get to ride 3 rides for free. How awesome is that! So Emma went with her elementary school and I took the little joyschool that I was in charge of today. Lucky for me half the class was missing (I didn't realize I was lucky until after the event, because they wore me out!)

Here is Ryland, Sean, Ryan and Makena

with me in the back (Seans attempt at a funny face!)

Thanks goes out to Sister Pat Howard for taking the picture!

Sean finally getting up the nerve to pet a goat.

Yes it was over 90 degrees and he's wearing shorts and a sweatshirt.

I tried to be a good mother and get him to change but after a fight decided it wasn't worth it!

Ryland and some of Makena petting a goat.

Ryan pestering the baby goat that was trying to sleep

I just laughed We saw pigs, cows, goats, bunnies, turkeys, and lots of poop!

Towards the end they were getting hot and tired and so we took a minute to relax. This is the best way to relax at the fair!

Next we moved onto our 3 rides.

Sean and Makena were dare devils and rode the roller coaster together. They both loved it a lot!

Next we ran into Emma and her school- which was a real treat.

So Ryland, Makena and Sean rode the spinning dragons

Next they all wanted to be truckers! Including sweet Makena!

Sean was in heaven with the thumbs up Ryland was all grins because he was the lead truck!

Rylands final ride!

Then I got to hear how they all wanted to ride a ton more, and I politely told them no.

By the time I dropped them off at their homes they were either asleep or pretty close to it!

It was fun to watch their excitement especially when a cow actually moooooooooed!

Newspaper Ryan

2009-05-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Ryan made it into the city paper for the Easter egg hunt!

We have a future paper star :) If only they could get his name right! PS: Those are my great legs behind Logan-

Easter 09

2009-04-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to Riverfront Park for the annual Cottonwood Easter hunt. It was roped into sections and each section got a turn to go for the candy and prizes. It was extremely cold and rainy, but not many people showed up so we received a ton of candy!

Here we are waiting for Ryan to start.

It took him awhile to figure out what he was suppose to do.

He just wanted to sit down and eat the candy off the grass!

The 3 and 4 year olds had the entire baseball field.

Sean is clear in the back- you can sort of see Shiloh

Sean refused to participate until I walked out there with him and he saw candy.

Emma ran as fast as she could out there, and looked for specific candy she liked! Then after about 20 pieces said, "Mom I think this enough I don't want to get sick!"

Was I the only mother out there encouraging their kids to get "more candy!"

When we got home everyone warmed up in front of a movie! Then after a short nap

we went to our ward Easter party which because of the weather was moved into the church!

This is what the Easter Bunny left this year.

Here is our home Easter egg hunt!

We lost our Baskets yesterday and so Shiloh ran and bought new one's at 11:00 Saturday night.

It was a fun Easter

THE EGG RYAN, NOT THE DIRT!!!!!!!!!

These things are so much fun!

Do you see Sean's tongue!

Hope your Easter was good.

Random Babblings

2009-03-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures that I have taken in the past few months that I thought would be fun to throw together! I know that they always make me smile- so hopefully it's not a "had to be there" type of post!

Our Spring Break Surprise

2009-03-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Emma has been asking to learn the piano, and with my mothers words still haunting my ears "one day you will regret it (quitting!)" The regret has now successfully surfaced, the yearning to hear the music in my home, and with Emmas desire Shiloh and I decided to buy a cheap but good piano. I've actually been looking for awhile, with no success. Then one day my friend Desiree McDowell called and the next thing I knew we were signed up for lessons and practicing at the church. (Cool little privilege of bearing the church keys!)

We earnestly started looking for a piano, and bought one on Wednesday from a little piano store in Phoenix who delivered it and tuned it for ONLY $50. It is a Acrosonic Baldwin Piano, and a perfect fit for my family. I didn't want anything that was new because I didn't want the stress with the little kids, yet I did want it to sound good. For Example: we had the piano for less than an hour and the bench got tipped over and one of the peddles scratched the top seat part and honestly it looks like a new scratch but it blends in nicely with the rest. Yet it is strong and sounds beautifully- and we have been practicing a lot the past 24 hours.

Emma gets so excited each week to go to Piano lessons and was the first one to sit at the piano with her piano book and start practicing and counting.
A really neat thing is Sean sat down at the piano and started playing with all his fingers no problem at all, he has always been musically smart so it will be interesting to see how his little piano career goes!
Ryan just loves banging away at the keys until Mom has enough and shuts the top.

PS: I was going to name this post "Newest Hoggard Addition," but decided that might be too much for some people. Although I thought it was funny. :)

Montezuma's Castle, Well and Petroglyphs

2009-03-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

On Monday, the first official day of Spring Break, I packed up the kids and headed out to some popular sites in the area. Sad that it took me four years of living here to finally go and see these beautiful sites. First we went to Montezuma's Castle, where the Sinagua Indians lived 700 years ago, the kids were amazed at how they lived and all the little areas of ancient life, but I couldn't make them understand how long ago it really was.

Here we are resting after a short hike, it is an easy hike for anyone who wants to go

Here is a close up of what is left of the castle, the front half or more is all missing

The kids are standing where the common Sinagua lived, and Emma proudly told us how they would grind corn (she learned about it in school- it was a proud moment for a mother!)

Next we went to Montezuma's Well, which is a natural spring with pretty warm water. It was a beautiful area- and quite a little hike, but we took water and snacks with us.

Here is a rest stop after a lot of stairs!

Here is Emma at one of the spring exits and canals that would irrigate farms- made by the Sinagua. We were surrounded by giant beautiful trees and we could see fish and turtles swimming in the water. It was so calm and beautiful.

Last we went to V-V Ranch home of many petroglyphs. This is a long flat hike which Ryan did in style. Here one of the park rangers gave my kids a paper with examples on it that they had to locate. It was a very fun game. Emma took this picture to prove that I really did take my kids and that Ryan was in tow!

There were so many- this wall is just amazing. From this wall they found a beautiful butterfly woman and that is why they believe the Sinagua might be the ancestors of the Hopi today. COOL! Can you tell I love history- oh yeah!

Getting ready to head back~ and take naps in the car.

PS- The entire round trip was only 56 miles- all this so close to me meaning-- all of you have another reason to come and visit!

Emma's lost front tooth

2009-03-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

After having an extremely wiggly tooth, and a mother who was too squirmy to just pull it- Emma finally lost her front tooth. #3- what a trooper and on the first day of spring break! Now if the wiggly one next to it would just fall out. I will be honest I was nervous as to whether or not they would fall out normal because they both had been capped and had "root canals." I'm relieved that all is well!!

My First Ticket!

2009-03-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

I made it 14 years, 8 months, and 20 days and three car accidents without getting a ticket. Those STUPID camera police got me last week! The worst part was that my Dad was in the car with me! Good grief! At least I can say that I have never been pulled over. I hope that my attorney can get me off! :)

Huge Group Date

2009-03-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

Our family is in a group that each month plans a large activity together. It can include children, such as sledding, or just be couples and then it's a race to get babysitters. This month we met at the church and played Dodgeball, Medic, and Speed. It was a ton of fun, and great desserts at the end. Here are some classic moments caught on film!

So, we got this idea in our head that we could take a funny picture of Shiloh getting hit in the head with a dodgeball. We had to get the timing just right with the flashes and the ball hitting his head. After about 6 attempts we started to get the giggles because Shiloh was getting hit so many times with no successful photo! Finally CJ comes up with a plan of standing really close and throwing at the last second- so we pose. . . . . . . suddenly right as the picture is being snapped a red dodgeball came flying through the air and we got the picture we were hoping for! Thanks to Brett- Shiloh's facial expression is priceless because it is a true hit in the face!

Janae, Alicia and Natalie

Me and Monica- don't ask 'cuz I don't remember!

Firm Retreat- Greer, AZ

2009-02-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

For 2009 Shiloh's Law Firm put us up in Greer, Arizona at the Red Setters Inn and Cottages. It is right next to the ShowLow/Pinetop area and located right on the Little Colorado. Nothing for miles and viewing the stars at night was spectacular. It was beautiful!! We were all in the cabin pictured above, the fires never died down, and the service was wonderful- fresh bread or cookies, breakfast and lunch, and the staff was very helpful even when I locked my keys in the room twice.

Brett and CJ Rigg
Jim and Rita Ledbetter
Mike and Colleen Gilboy
Lindsay Rich
William Fischbach
Patricia Prekup
Brian and Lindsay Hepworth
The New Guy :) (Clyde)

Grandma and Grandpa Conder drove down on Wednesday to get their yearly dose of "grandkids without parents." It's nice to know that they love it so much that I don't have to worry!

We left on Thursday, and it took about 4 hours to get there. That night we essentially unpacked, relaxed and gabbed. We went to Molly's for dinner and had "Mormon gravy!" We were quite loud and had a wonderful time.

On Friday the attorneys had all their meetings so CJ and I tried Cross Country skiing. It was way too patchy and we ended up falling and just laughing a lot. At lunch Shiloh told my embarrassing "chili burger" story, and I continued to hear and be teased about that for the next two days. After lunch Rita, Colleen, Lindsay, and I went Horseback riding in the snow- how beautiful. We were going to go on a sleigh ride, but the attorneys got their Escalade stuck in the snow and mud for two hours. At dinner I received my dessert first- yummy lava cake- why not I'm on vacation and my kids aren't around. Back at the cabin we stayed up playing pictionary- boys vs girls! Brian and Lindsay Hepworth showed up for the evening too.

On Saturday we woke up early- I was the alarm clock for everyone. We went to Sunrise Ski Resort and spent the next 7 hours skiing. Since I had only been once when I was 13 with my Father I soon found out I was starting at Level 0. Brett the magnificent skier first tried to help me, but CJ took over and spent a good portion of her day skiing the easy slopes with me. At the end of the day she convinced me to try a blue, which I did and struggled with. To her credit she did an amazing job as a coach and friend to get me down off the mountain. Shiloh stayed at the lodge and kept track of the 12 people skiing or boarding- then sledded for a couple runs. It was a fun and exhausting day!! (I was extremely sore for 4 continuous days afterwards) I am also wearing my "Nacho Libre" pants- haha Thanks Colleen!

My First lift to try out the bunny slope!

Such great form!- hehe Getting better- now lets try out the real deal Pure fun with friends!

Despite the severe sunburn and muscle pain

On Sunday we drove home in the Escalade with Will. It was a nice relaxing and fun trip-

PS: Once Colleen sends me pictures I will update. bc she took over 200 pics

Thank you to the Ledbetter Law Firm!

Girl Scout Cookies Galore!!

2009-02-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Once I got home from California, I had 82 cases or 984 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies dropped off at my home. I then had to separate them into 11 groups for people to pick up, and then I had to deliver all 180 of Emma's that she sold. Can I say Holy Cow!! I had to take a picture to remind me not to do this again.These are all the boxes in my front room

These are all the cookies Emma sold!!!

Disneyland 2009

2009-02-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Ryan on Pirates of the Carribean Emma and Maya with Tinker Bell and Dew Drop

Sean with Grandpa, Emma with Shiloh, and Maya with Angela

Emma's first Roller Coaster

Great Picture Shiloh- that is Emma and I!

Grandpa and Grandma Hoggard decided to take all 4 of their grandkids to Disneyland on February 13th and 14th. It was a blast, a rough beginning with a flat tire, but it was a lot of fun. It was Maya and Ryan's first time, and I wasn't pregnant! The first day it was cold and rainy, but the next day was great weather (just way too much PDA!!!) I did go on Tower of Terror and have decided that it is one of the best rides on earth- what a rush!! On Sunday we went to Huntington Beach and the Urgent Care. Yeah- Ryan got "come-back elbow" or "nurse-maid elbow." It was so sad to watch him not use his arm at all, and terrible to watch the Dr. fix his dislocated elbow. We came home on Monday (Presidents Day.) Thanks for a wonderful time!!

Emma loved searching for shellsThere were a million surfers and high waves.

Kicking it by the water, Ryan was not a big fan!

Emma, Shiloh, Sean, Maya, and Aunt Angela

Shiloh's DC Trip

2009-02-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

February 8-11, 2009

Smithsonian When I find out what he's pointing at I will put it here!

A new attorney at Shiloh's Firm just left the JAG, but got permission to finish one case. Therefore, all the attorneys were able to go to DC and play. . . I mean learn. Despite the fact that Shiloh took the camera, he only took a couple of pictures. He was able to visit a lot of places in the few days he was there, and would call and be so excited about seeing the place where Abe Lincoln died (across from the theatre.) He had a wonderful time, and I am glad he was able to go.

2009 Daddy Daughter Dance

2009-02-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

Emma's school has a yearly Daddy Daughter Dance around Valentines Day. It was on February 6th this year. They were both very eager to attend, Emma wrote her Dad a note to invite him, and Shiloh planned a nice dinner before the dance. In preparation Emma allowed me to play with her hair and she wore a nice new dress for the occasion. I thought they were so cute walking out the door together. They had a wonderful time, and stayed up late dancing and enjoying each others company.

What a Trip!

2009-02-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight a good friend of mine, CJ, called me up to see if the kids and I wanted to go to McDonalds for dinner and mini FHE. We met at 5 and were the only one's in there for an hour and a half- it was beautiful. The kids played well together and they ate well. We were starting to think about leaving when this kid showed up- and when he walked in I immediately thought "here comes trouble" BUT if you know me I always give people the benefit of the doubt.

He walks over to Ryan and stares him down, until Ryan came over to me. So I naturally held him and was finishing my conversation with CJ, when suddenly all hell broke loose. I normally don't cuss, but seriously this was as close as I have been. This "bully" as we call him now, had gone up the playplace and started punching and slapping our kids. They were screaming a scared help and crying out in pain. I don't think I have ever moved so fast in my life! I literally ran up the kids playplace and told the kid "You don't ever touch these kids." His face turned pale and he looked about as scared as any child can get; went down the slide and ran out. Meanwhile I start to console my children who had been punched in the gut and private. CJ's had gone down to meet their mom. When I get down, a conversation about bullies became our topic and what to do. CJ's oldest was slapped and had red scratches on her face, while two others suffered gut punches. After calming our kids down and getting our kids into our vans, CJ went and talked to the father who claims this isn't true and his son doesn't have any problems- "WHAT!!!" (When we were leaving the "7" kids knew we were with them and started to taunt the boy by calling him a big bully- good grief. Well at least they know that their momma's got their back :))

Just to let you know my kids are perfectly fine, have learned a good lesson, and probably won't be asking to go to McDonalds anytime soon. What I find funny is when talking about this to CJ after all the kids went to bed, is that apparently all of Mcdonalds heard me tell the kid to not touch our kids and that it was the maddest she has ever heard a mom's voice get. I will admit that my voice sounded rough because I was a little scared and extremely mad, but I had thought that I held back the noise level. Which I'm sure I did, but the decible level was still pretty high. With that knowledge in my mind- why didn't the father come in to get his kid? or even better why didn't he come and ask why a complete stranger is yelling at his child?

It's amazing how much I have realized from this experience. I am very protective over my children and their friends, I can control my anger and yet scare the crap out of someone, and that I can hustle up a playplace extremely fast! LOL- who knew!

Under Major Construction

2009-02-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

I am teaching myself the HTML of blog templates! Therefore my blog will be undergoing some major construction. Since I do not have huge amounts of time- my blog might look silly at times. You can have a good laugh if you wish!

I have figured out how to get rid of the annoying little lines around pictures and headings or how to make them huge and hillarious. How to create any size of columns and multiple ones at that. If you have a question ask me- it's actually a lot simpler than I first thought. Anyways please forgive my changes and mismatched stuff at the moment! Thank you.

I have also discovered facebook, but already have internal struggles as to whether or not I should keep it up. What do you guys think? Anyways figuring this HTML out is a good outlet for me. Not that I have anything else to do HA! Hope you are all looking forward to Valentines Day- I know that I am!!

2009-02-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Have you done any of these?... Just copy and paste this to your blog and highlight or Bold the ones that you HAVE done.

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland/world
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Grown your own vegetables
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept on an overnight train
Had a pillow fight.
Hitchhiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Built a snow fort
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping
Run a Marathon
Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Seen an Amish community
Taught yourself a new language
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Gone rock climbing
Seen Michelangelo’s David
Sung karaoke.
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported by ambulance
Had your portrait painted
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Been in a movie
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business.
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies (bought plenty)
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a check
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Broken a bone
Been on a speeding motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book
Visited the Vatican
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper
Read the entire Bible
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Visited the White House.
Had chickenpox
Saved someones life
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Lost a loved one
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit
Owned a cell phone
Been stung by a bee
Flown in a hot air balloon

My third broken finger!

2009-02-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

You know those days where you plan every minute, and if all goes smooth there will be no stress and you will sleep well that night. Yeah, I had one of those days- everything was going smooth until I started setting up for YW Night in Excellence. I was moving a heavy podium into another room and smashed my hand between the podium and a steal framed door. Needless to say- it hurt, but I didn't cry and I told myself that I had lots to accomplish so I ignored it. I ripped a bunch of skin off of my left forefinger and it bleed underneath so it looks terrible! But not as terrible as my first two. My first: right forefinger playing basketball. My second: right thumb canning apples at the church cannery. Ouch! I've only broken toes, fingers, and a tiny bone in my wrist roller blading. Hopefully I never break anything else!!

Clean Resolution

2009-01-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

Growing up I had the best sister in the world. We shared a bedroom, and she was extremely tidy. Whenever I became a pig she would do the honors of cleaning it up for me. She even went so far as to straighten up my drawers. It got to be such a sweet gig that I even paid her to do my chores! Not all the time with money, but time consuming things like helping her to win every spelling bee! Needless to say I had the best sister in the world!!

If we fast forward to the present day, you would walk into my bedroom and realize that I need her back in my life. A couple of days ago my daughter walked into my room and stated "Mom, why can't you keep your room clean, the rest of the house is?" Talk about feeling bad, she then walked into the closet and matched up all the shoes and put both mine and her fathers shoes in a very nice order. After giving her a huge hug and thanking her she proceeded to tell me that I need to keep it looking that way.

Ahhhhh- I guess I do have my sister still living with me.

New Years Resolution #1: Keep the whole house clean- including the places that nobody else will see.

Sean's Joyschool

2009-01-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

I decided to give Joyschool another try, and this week Sean went to the Fire station with Becky Kerr. He had a wonderful time and here are some cute pictures, and yes he is caring around an old ratty cheap cowboy hat (that I don't have the guts to throw away.) He is my cute little Cowboy!!

Powdered Sugar

2009-01-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

It had been a while since Ryan had dumped out a box of cereal. . . . . .

Mothers should never be allowed to use the bathroom. . . . . .

He ran down the hall to tell me about it. . . .

You're still hungry!!!!!!!

Sean's reaction that it wasn't him. . . . Priceless.

My dream dress!

2009-01-06T20:18:00.001-07:00

I thought I would show you guys what my new project is going to be- it is the dress on your left. Hopefully it will turn out good. As many of you are aware I enjoy going to the Renaissance Faire, and have decided to make my own outfit instead of borrowing. I can thank Desiree for showing me how much fun this event can be. If anyone is in Arizona on a weekend between Feb 9 and March 29 this year this is a must!

Happy New Year 2009!!

2009-01-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

We went to Dan and Alicia Sorensens home for the New Year. Her sister Cara and husband were there too. We decided to allow our children to stay up until the actual midnight, instead of the imposed 9:00 midnight from the past years. The adults played Compatability and Settlers while Ryan fell asleep by 8, and the kids played extremely well together and watched movies. Alicia and I went to the Stake Youth Dance for about an hour and a half, but returned to witness the New Year. The kids wore hats and pulled "poppers." It was a lot of fun!

The next day Emma realized that I had forgotten to bring the silly string to the party and so demanded that we redo the event. I was all game!! So we limited it to the living room, each of us got a can and we went to town. For those of you out there thinking "What a mess!" or "She is sooooo crazy!"(ie. Michelle) It only took about 10 minutes to clean up, it didn't ruin anything, and it was a TON of fun!

The X game

2008-12-29T12:15:00.001-07:00

Here goes Mom! Only 4 months later- :) Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not. This is for your entire life!

(x ) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
(x) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
(x) Been lost
(x ) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunset with someone you care about
(x) Been skinny dipping outdoors

Any nickname? Klondike and Indy
Mother's name? Karen Elizabeth
Favorite drink? Strawberry Italian Soda
Any Tattoos? No
Body piercings? Ears
How much do you love your job? Love it- mother
Favorite vacation spot? Amusement Parks
Ever been to Africa? No
Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Even just the dough
Been on TV? No, but my classroom was when I was teaching (A kid with a gun!)
Ever steal any traffic sign? No
Ever been in a car accident? Multiple- none my fault!
Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4
Favorite salad dressing? Ranch
Favorite Pie? My Mountain Berry Pie
Favorite number? 1
Favorite movie? Right now it's Australia
Favorite dessert? Chocolate Chip Cookies
Favorite food? Noodles
Favorite day of the week? Monday
Favorite toothpaste? Aquafresh Extreme Clean
Favorite smell? newly sharpened pencil, or fresh cut grass
What do you do to relax? Read, daydream
How do you see yourself in 10 years? Busy with kids in HS- ahhhhhhhh
How many siblings do you have?1 sister

Merry Christmas! 2008

2008-12-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

For Christmas Eve we went to Kirsta (a fellow caveman) and Will Evans home, where we were privileged to eat a delicious dinner and watch our children participate in a talent show. Emma and Sean sang and danced and then followed up with some goofy karate moves. We even had a special person knock on the door and secretly deliver presents. It was such a nice evening with the Evans and the Priests, very calm and rewarding!

Today we woke up around 7 to find presents from Santa! We all were very excited to open our presents and were grateful for all the wonderful family and friends that we have. We spent a day doing nothing but playing and enjoying each others company. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and received Joy in their hearts!

Castle Cornville Light Show

2008-12-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

Last night we drove over to Cornville and watched the Castle Cornville Light show. First we went to Taco Bell and ate- it had just reopened after being closed for the last couple weeks- wooohooo. Then we sat in 40 degree weather wrapped in blankets with the Sorensens. Emma thought it was wonderful and she had a bunch of friends so the night couldn't get better. Ryan ooohed and aaahhhed, danced, and screamed with excitement the entire time. Sean loved the first 20 minutes then complained about the cold the rest of the time. It was a wonderful evening and we want to make it a Christmas Tradition!

The man who creates this show spends 10 months doing so. He puts out chairs and heaters and creates a 40 minute show (each minute he creates takes about 8-10 hours of work.) He starts putting up his lights in October! He was totally full of the Christmas spirit, it was as if this was his very first showing and he has been doing this twice a night since Thanksgiving. It was free, but he asked for a donation to go to the "Old Town Mission" for those who are less fortunate! What an awesome guy! PS: He recorded our session to put on the internet- so if you want to watch the entire show it should be up and running tomorrow.

Sean's Preschool Christmas Concert

2008-12-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

Here is Sean's Preschool having their annual Christmas Concert. It began at 6:00 and they sang a few songs and it was over by 6:20 when we were able to eat cookies and drink milk. It was the cutest little program, my camera was dying so this is a short blurb of Sean- enjoy!

Emma Kindergarten Christmas Concert

2008-12-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight Emma had her AHA Elementary Christmas Concert! She has been practicing for a long time and we were privileged to hear her Kindergarten class sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells. Emma's class performed wonderfully and had so much energy. They were so much fun to watch and Emma loved it!!! (Hope you enjoy this little clip!) For the grand finally they had the entire elementary hold electronic candles and they turned out the lights to sing- it was pretty cool- and seriously how many schools across the country sang Silent Night for their final song!

As a mother it was a wonderful evening, but I can't help but think that it was a terrible Christmas concert. First it was way tooooo long and it didn't start until 7. Twenty five year olds sat for an hour and a half before they performed, not to mention all the younger brothers and sisters in the audience. There were multiple parents taking kids out to the car including Shiloh with the boys, and to make matters worse it was pouring rain the entire time. The music selection that they sang to was weird (ex. They tried to sing to Mannheim Steamroller) They also had 3rd graders sing to Mongolian Tribal music for Good King Wenseleus and had them sing it monotone- it was so sad but what made it funny was seeing the kids faces because they didn't want to sing it either. When I think of concert I think of singing, but 2/3 of the evening was spent with speeches about Christmas History which was sooooooo boring! It probably sounds like I really had a bad time, but I didn't- I have learned how I would do it differently!! It's a good thing the Kindergarten went last because they had the best part- the funnest part- and they truly entertained us all- which means we went home happy! Thanks Emma!

The Elf on the Shelf

2008-12-17T21:41:00.001-07:00

This year Grandpa and Grandma Hoggard sent us "The elf on the Shelf." It is a book which is accompanied by one of Santa's elves. This elf is named by the children of the house and then he sits on a shelf and watches you all day, but at night he flies home to Santa and reports how you have been. When returning in the morning he sits in a new location, which my children love finding each morning. After careful contemplation and time Emma and Sean affectionately named our elf Pinocchio. They are very excited to find him each morning, they sneak him cookies, tell him secrets, give him Santa letters, and love every minute he is around. He has truly found some fun places to be, and this picture shows where he was today. This is a very exciting tradition that we are pleased and happy to continue each year!

Traditional Gingerbread House

2008-12-08T21:54:00.001-07:00

Every year we make a gingerbread house. It has differed over the years and I have learned that it is much easier to just buy the house and make it, than to try and make it yourself. I have also learned to make gingerbread cookies to eat while making it so that the house gets finished with all the pieces it started with! Here is this years beautiful model! Way to go kids!! It's fun that Mom and Dad are doing less and less of this project each year- and the creativity juices are flowing from their little minds.

Party in December

2008-12-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today was soooo much fun!! I started by staying up late last night making and frosting 24 cupcakes and making my masterpiece of pies (Mountain Berry.) At 10 we loaded up the van with our decorated radio flyer wagon and went down to the fairgrounds for Emma to be in her first parade. Her girl scout neighborhood led the Christmas parade this year. They were able to hand out candy, and walk/ride the full two miles. It was sooooooo much fun! It reminded me of all the times I was in parades for clogging or other reasons. Anyways here are some adorable pictures of her and her fellow Daisy's.

Yes- we pulled an empty wagon for most of the time!

Emma could have also been in her schools float-I took a picture because it looked so neat.

During the parade Shiloh took Sean to a swimming birthday party and then he and Ryan met up with us along the route to see Emma in the parade. She proudly gave her brother a piece of candy. At the end of the parade I pulled Emma and Skyla back along the parade route so that they could see the rest of the parade. We met up with Shiloh, picked up Sean, and then went to The Ledbetter Law Firm Family Christmas Social. This is why I made the pie and cupcakes.

Ryan wanted a ride, but mom wasn't going to let it happen- Next year! When we got there the kids went and played in the bounce house and rode horses. Ryan explored every nook and cranny and loved the chickens. We then stuffed our faces with some excellent food.

We discovered Sean's amazing talent to play the drums- he really did have rhythm. Go Sean! Emma enjoyed a few rounds of ping pong- until a frog was used as the ballRyan made a new friend named Logan (they were reserved their own bounce time!)

We got home in time to clean the house and get ready for our UGLY SWEATER COUPLES CHRISTMAS PARTY! We got a babysitter- who had it easy because my kids were so tired they were asking to go to sleep when she got there. It was a fun party where we had a competition to see who could wear the ugliest sweater, and we had appetizers, played games, and had a present exchange. Their was a lot of laughter! By the time I got home I was ready to fall asleep!

Emma's Pedicure

2008-12-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

My friend CJ introduced me to the "pedicure world" when I was 8 months pregnant with Ryan. I was 28 years old! My daughter (5) was invited to a birthday party last Friday and received her first real pedicure (from the exact same place that I had mine.) Hummm I wonder who the girlie one is? She just loves it and is so excited about the nail polish and flowers. She mentioned how they did a much better job than I did and it was going to last longer because they put special stuff on it! How fun of a party!!

Ryan's First Word

2008-12-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

So everyone knows that babies say "mama" and "dada" and "baba" first. But what is the first word that they say? With Emma it was "book" and with Sean it was "truck." I have been anticipating what Ryan's first word would be, and finally found out today! Emma and Sean had been quoting Wall-e all morning and I went to a hair salon to have Ryan's hair cut when he said as plain as day "Wall-e" with his robotic accent and everything. The hair dresser just about died of laughter, and I am still giggling about it. Way to go Ryan!!

Have a laugh on us!

2008-12-01T18:33:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

2008-11-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

This year for Thanksgiving my parents came down from Utah for the entire week. My kids and I were spoiled. Shiloh and I even went and saw a movie together and didn't have to pay a babysitter- yeah. BTW the movie "AUSTRALIA" is awesome and I highly recommend it. Here are some pictures of our wonderful feast and treasured grandparent moments!

Everyone asks what one of our food traditions is and here is our famous one. We wrap our turkey in bacon and it comes out delicious. (Notice that some of the turkey is missing due to it being ate while cooking!) Other's are: my mothers homemade rolls, the Howards Frozen Lime Dessert, and . . . . . .

Here is the rest of the grub- we attempted new mashed potatoes from the Ledbetter family- thanks Rita they were a hit. I wish I had gotten a picture of my pies- I tried a new fancy top and it came out pretty good.

Here is the table before we ate!

Emma made this turkey at school to place next to the one we ate.

Here we are finishing eating!

This year we officially invited the PIG! Despite his age I believe he ate more than I did, and continued to do so over the next few days.

Grandpa and all the grand kids watching the game!

We pulled out all the Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving, and I managed to put up most of it. Just as a side note- I did not fall off the ladder this year or get stuck on top of the roof and have to call for help. Ryan is so excited for the coming holiday and for his next meal!

Pizza Hut- Book it!

2008-11-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

I can remember being in 1st grade and starting the Book-it program. We had to read a certain number of books each month and then we would get a certificate. The first certificate got us a button and a pizza and then pizza and a sticker to go on the button for subsequent visits. Now 22 years later my daughter is earning her Book-it. How fun that some things remain the same. Emma "read" 30 books in October and I took her to lunch on Wednesday after school- way to go EMMA!!

Instead of a huge ugly button Emma received a neat pencil and a bag clip!

Happy Birthday Michelle!!

2008-11-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

A big shout-out to the best sister in the universe! Hope you had the best birthday in the world! Sorry BYU lost, but you gained your 27 comments YEAH! We sure love you- from all the way down here in Arizona. Hope your next year is awesome!

Twilight Party Bus!

2008-11-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

After I physically had to remove my children from the van, I put 6 women in my Odyssey and comfortably drove an hour to Prescott. We ate at Outback Steakhouse and then drove to the New Harkins Theatre in Prescott Valley where we "stood" in line for Twilight. CJ, Julie and I hid in the bathroom until the enormous line began and than we snuck in and got the best seats available! It was awesome!! (I will be honest the books are much better, I believe the screen writers could have done a better job.) After the movie we went outside and took pictures and goofed off. I didn't walk into the door until 11:20.

Alicia, Emily, Julie, Tori, Julie, Kelli, CJ and Lindsay

In the theatre

Aren't we excited!

It was such a fun girls night; good food, good friends and just good fun!

We make scary vampires!

Desert Dual

2008-11-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

BYU VS. UTAH

Despite the terrible score we had a wonderful time!

Making the homemade rootbeer!

The true blue cake- blue and white cake inside too! Colton, Sterling, Sean, Emma, Luke, Daicy in the back is Ryland and Skyla Missing is Ryan and Gabriella Watching the game! Kara, dkl;, Bill, Grandpa, Shiloh, Brett and Dan

We had a BBQ, games, treats and cake for all!

Everyone had cougar pride, but Gabriella took home the prize!

Thanks everyone for coming!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2008-11-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Grandma! I have the most wonderful mother1 Yet, I am the world's biggest slacker when it comes to birthdays this year; sorry this is soooooo late. She had a rotten day of being sick, but her birthday dinner was good. Yay! Hope you have a wonderful year and everything you wish for. Thanks for always being there for me and making the sacrifices you have over the years- it means the world to me. Love ya, Julie BTW in the past two and a half years this is the only picture I have of you- we need some more!

IPOD Excitment

2008-11-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! For years now I have wanted an Ipod but never bought one because a stubborn side of me wouldn't let me and we didn't have the money. As a reward for exercising for 6 months I bought an Ipod shuffle. This $45 gift has made me feel as if today was Christmas, the thrill that went through my spine when the FedEx truck pulled up could have powered all of Arizona. My hands were shaking when I opened the box and my kids (who were hanging over my shoulder) couldn't believe that Mom had bought something for herself and not for them. I even had Apple engrave my name on it for free. I am so excited- can you tell! hehe Now I just need to figure out how to use it- which will be a blast. Here are some pictures because I want to remember the day I received my first Ipod- b/c I have a feeling there will come a time when my children will look at me and ask, "What is a CD, Cassette, DVD, and Blu-ray?"

It's so small and so cute! Look at the package so pretty!

I put the penny here so you can really see how small it is.

It has a clip so I can use it to exercise with. Even the directions are teeny!

HOW MUCH FUN IS THIS!

Funny FHE

2008-11-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

I've decided my family is random!! We had a Family Home Evening on Sharing- Shiloh presented a wonderful lesson, Sean helped make great cookies, and Emma prepared a fun activity. This activity was to draw a picture of someone sharing. Here are the results:

I drew a man giving his wife flowers in the middle of the ocean!

How romantic.

Emma drew a friend sharing an epet with her. Then for some reason they were able to go up a flight of stairs to heaven. Notice her name at the top- they really do drill that into them.

Sean drew a cave and told me to draw Emma (who was in the dark) giving back his car.

Yet the winner would go to my husband! At first glance you would think they were pirates, but after looking closely you realize they are just two people who have each lost an eye. They then share one together- notice the detail on the shared eyeball.

Hopefully you laughed as hard as I did that night!

Gravity Boots

2008-11-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

This morning at the gym I watched Michelle (friend) put on gravity boots and pull up on a bar and hang upside down. It looks so incredibly fun and so I went over and talked to her about it. She then let me try it. After about 5 minutes of trying to get up (and looking rather ridiculous) with many laughs from people around me, my friends and even my bishop- I finally succeeded!! I expressed a very loud woohooo. It felt so wonderful on my back and really worked my stomach muscles! I think I might actually attempt it again sometime.

Here is what you strap to your legs! (Like Ski Boots)

It has a metal hook on the back that you put over the bar!

After just one work out- this is what I look like! hehe Apparently the military likes them too!

Wouldn't this be fun to watch :)

I've decided to get one at home and each morning while I read my scriptures I will hang upside down- what do you think?

Young Women's President

2008-11-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

Growing up I always loved my Young Women's program and the leaders, yet I always thought they were older women trying to fit in and be young. My eyebrows still raise up when I think of some activities they did! Well two weeks ago I was released from being the 16-17 year old Sunday School teacher to being the Beehive advisor in Young Women's. (12-13 yr old girls) I was really excited, but with Stake Conference last weekend today would have been my first week and lesson. Instead the Lord decided that He wanted to change my calling to Young Women's President. WOW! What a huge responsibility!

So, today I looked back at the YW leaders I had and think "they weren't old and they were just acting themselves, because everyone is young at heart!" Hehehe I find it so funny that your opinions and feelings change so quickly when you put on other peoples shoes. I am so excited to serve in this new calling and am looking forward to getting to know the girls, going to girls camp, and helping them in any way that I can! I just hope I have the energy to keep up with it all!!

One-Word tag

2008-11-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

Where is your cell phone? pocket
Where is your significant other? kitchen
Your hair color? brown
Your mother? sacrifice
Your father? humble
Your favorite thing? family
Your dream last night? psycho
Your dream/goal? Europe
The room you’re in? warm
Your hobby? Exercize
Your fear? Dark
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy
Where were you last night? church
What you’re not? flexible
One of your wish-list items? piano
Where you grew up? American Fork
The last thing you did? Drove
What are you wearing? jeans
Your TV? smugged
Your pet? kitchenaid
Your computer? new!
Your mood? good
Missing someone? yes
Your car? needs gas
Something you’re not wearing? make-up
Favorite store? A scoop above
Your summer? HOT
Love someone? All
Your favorite color? blue
When is the last time you laughed? morning
Last time you cried? Friday

Woohoo!

2008-11-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

It passed with flying colors! How exciting- it was fun to watch all my friends picketing out on the street corners. Thanks to Monica for being so passionate- it was fun to watch her enthusiasm! It's always exciting to watch the votes come in- even if they don't go my way. I always feel very patriotic and proud of our country for participating in voting. At the same time it's so sad that so many people don't vote and don't care. They will see the light one day.

30 DAY NOTICE!!

2008-11-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Alright after much persistence from my husband I have decided to go private. As of December 1, 2008 I will no longer be public, if you would like to continue viewing my blog and keeping in touch with me or my family you will need to do one of the following:

Talk to me (not very reliable, but if you persist it will get accomplished!)
Post a comment and tell me so
Email me and let me know: jhoggard@gmail.com

Sorry for the inconvenience, but my husband has some "substantial evidence" and is defending his side as well as any lawyer out there (plus I do feel good about it.) Thanks for understanding- Julie

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day! We played all morning, made cakes in the afternoon, and then went trick or treating in the evening. We started in Old Town and did the rounds with the businesses, and then we went Trunk-or-treat at the church. At the church we also had a cake walk, free hot dogs and root beer, face painting, hayrides, fish pond, and doughnut eating on a string. We saw a bunch of friends, handed out a ton of candy, and wore ourselves out. The kids were exhausted and went to bed a little after 8.

Emma insisted this year that she didn't want to be anything girly. So she choose to be Captain Rex- a storm trooper from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She did get a lot of complements with the accompanying giggle. It was cute to watch her act her part.Here is a picture of Emma and Riley (vampire.) They are the best of friends right now and two peas in a pod! Those are his two sisters next to Sean.

Sean wanted to be a Knight, and we did buy the outfit. He changed his mind at the last minute and decided to go as Batman, without the mask because it broke a month ago and was thrown away. It's probably good he went as Batman, because the knight outfit was too small (yet cute.)

Ryan was superman! Very fitting for his attitude and he looked great in it. He was all smiles tonight, and only got scared at one outfit- a dinosaur. When he get too tired he turns silly and all smiles. He had everyone in stitches!

After we had gone around the church and had food and played games, we went back to our car. Here Emma and Sean took turns handing out the candy to all the trick-or-treaters. They had a blast. Usually I decorate our car really cute with lights and pumpkins and such- but I forgot this year. Ooops- oh well!

Here's me-goofing off for the camera and my hubby! I still love the outfit, and wish I had more reasons to wear it. It was a very warm night, the last few years it's been cool enough to need a jacket, but this year it was pretty warm (I even saw a baby crawling around in just a diaper.) The one thing that I have learned with poodle skirts is that they keep you unusually warm. In the old movies when they are in the convertibles and the men were wearing jackets and the girls were always wearing short sleeve shirts- I had thought they must be cold or why aren't the men sharing. I now know it is because the girls were wearing natural heaters.

As we got ready to go we buckled up the kids and they immediately reached for the candy. YummY!!

Here are what my cakes turned out to look like. I made 5 cute couples, and I hope nobody realized that I forgot the eyebrows and lashes on the girl- good grief where is my brain.

Here is the table with my couples on display.

By the way these are the cakes I made last week- I can now say that I made 20 cakes in one week. - ha ha Although they were small- it was enjoyable. Hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween.

Happy Pre-Halloween

2008-10-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

For those who want to see what decorations we put up at the Hoggard home this year. The kids and I bought a $5 sheet and painted a face onto it. Then the next weekend a huge windstorm blew it away, but he is back and almost as scary! We bought the cool spooky spiderweb and orange lights, the kids informed me as to where it should go. The reflection onto the window behind is neat to see.Here is our mini-graveyard. For FHE this week we paired up and carved pumpkins. Sean really wanted one with hands and a bow tie. Shiloh wanted one that was winking. Emma wanted to stab it with toothpicks. Here's an up close finished product Here is the finished Halloween facade. For Sean's preschool we made 20 little bags of candy to take.

For Emma's Kindergarten we made 20 more little bags.

Happy Day Before Halloween!!

Random babble

2008-10-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Some times I don't want to write individual posts on something really small. Yet- if you put a whole bunch of small things together it's more exciting to read and worth my time to blog. Here are a few things that are interesting or exciting to me. Emma's very first report card. (The front and back) The actual grades.

The format is so different than the one I received 25 years ago. Emma's school makes the parents sign them and return them.

Ryan's favorite thing to do right now is dump out cereal all over the floor. It is driving me nuts- he has completely ruined four boxes of cereal in the past two days and spent a lot of time in timeout. And still he runs to the cupboard! This is what will happen if you add flour to a Kitchen Aid before Mom turns it off.

In case you were ever wondering- this is how I get stuff done!

Emma's school had an assembly and she got an award for perfect attendance! Great Job Emma! This last Sunday was the Primary Program. We bought Emma a new dress for the occasion and so she could keep warm. All the primary children wore "Future Missionary" tags, and Emma was very proud to wear hers.

Her brother liked it as well- ahhhhh just think only16 more years.

You will probably only find these pictures funny if you knew me when I was a youngling. For those who just recently discovered my friendship I will fill you in. All through Elementary I played hard at recess; all of my jeans had holes in the knees, I would come home dirty, and I was constantly trying to hide the blisters on my hands. It drove my poor mother nuts and I could never understand why. Now. . . . . my daughter. . . . is coming home with mud and grass stains all over her knees and bottom. For the first time since I have become a mother I found myself repeating my mothers words and thinking to myself, "What am I going to do with her."

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2008-10-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday was my fathers birthday, and as a tradition my children sang Happy Birthday to him early in the morning. To celebrate I went to my Bishops surprise birthday party. I did eat extra cake for my dad.

Anyone who knows my dad knows that he is the kindest person and very generous with his time. He is always willing to help someone in need, and as of late his humor is seriously blooming. Apparently it was always there, but being his daughter I missed it somehow.

Some fun facts: My Dad grew up in a house a mile down the road from where I grew up. We both graduated from American Fork High School (so did his father.) He married my mother in 76 and moved into the house that they still live in today. He was in scouts the whole time I was in elementary. He was a Bishop from the time I could date until I got married. He's worked at Geneva Steel and for Utah Power. He's a huge supporter for family events: dinners, reunions, holidays, etc. He loves his family and we love him- Happy Birthday Dad! I encluded a few fun photos.

Ryan Update

2008-10-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

Now that it's been almost 3 days he is feeling much better. He is still extremely tender and is restricted with his movement, but he has learned to cope and can now do as much mischief as before. We talked to a friend of ours who is an orthopedic surgeon and he told us that the brace really isn't necessary because little children heal so quickly (which is a relief because we still don't have it yet.) Thanks for all the support and prayers in behalf of Ryan they have truly been a blessing. I am grateful for such wonderful family members and close friends- Thanks guys! For those who have no idea what I am talking about read my post called "Poor Ryan."

I've been tagged- 8

2008-10-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

8 TV Shows I like to watch:

Smallville
The Office
Scrubs
NOVA
Clone Wars
Friends reruns
Everyone loves Raymond reruns
M.A.S.H. reruns

8 Restaurants I like:

The Brick Oven
Olive Garden
Casa Bonita
Jamba Juice/Cold Stone
Nic's
Haunted Hamburger
Mortons Steak House
Javelina Cantina

8 Things that happened today:

Woke up at 5:30 with my two sons
Watched the BYU vs. UNLV game
Pulled my kids on a wagon trip
Talked to my sister in law Angela for 45 min on the phone
Went to Dennys with my kids- refused to pay for my daughter hard and gross dinner, then whipped out a 20% off the entire meal coupon. I think they hated me!
Told Shiloh to go to work (I know it's Saturday, but it was more work keeping the kids away from him working then to have him just gone. What can I say: I'm mean.)
Didn't make my bed for the seventh day in a row- no surprise to my sister. Where are you now Michelle- I'll still read you spelling lists while you make my bed.
Blogged

8 Things I'm looking forward to:

The Elections being over
Family coming into town for Thanksgiving
Christmas
Not making dinner tomorrow because it's Shiloh's day to cook
Ryan's collarbone healed
Sean being completely and totally potty trained
Emma's tooth falling out- it's creepy watching it wiggle back and forth
Shiloh coming home by midnight so I can fall asleep

8 Things on my wish list:

To go to Europe
To skydive
Sleep in on occasion
Loose another 15 lbs and feel good
Find a cheap piano- I've been looking for almost a year with no success
Honestly: I need to jump off the gossip bandwagon. Sadly I can't see when I ever got on- it's never been a problem for me my entire life, but recently I have felt really really bad about a few things I have said.
Continue my New Years resolution clear to the end of the year- only 2 months left. First time ever that I have been successful. (Recycling, and not using plastic grocery bags)
Have my children get baptised, go on missions, get married in the temple and maintain a strong testimony so we can continue life together forever!!

I tag:

Anyone who has the time to!

Poor Ryan

2008-10-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

This is how my day was suppose to go:

Walk at 5:30am
Take Emma and Sean to school
Make 10 cakes and frost them for fall festival
Pick up Sean
Make 12 Halloween cupcakes and decorate
Pick up Emma
Prep for my Cupcake demonstration for Enrichment
Drop Emma off at 6 for Primary Activity
Go to Enrichment at 6 and do my demonstration
Pick up Sean around 7 and all go to Emma's school fall festival

This is how my day went:

Went walking
Kids all woke up late. While rushing to get ready, Ryan wanted to play with a toy in his crib so I put him in. About 1 minute later he was falling out of the crib and landing on the floor- flat on his back. After having the wind knocked out of him he begins screaming. I instantly pick him up and rush to Shiloh where Ryan proceeds to throw up all over me. Once he calms down and I put him on the floor he starts walking like a drunk. BUT I am in a hurry- because we are all late.
Drop Emma off at school- late
Drop Sean off at preschool- late
After making the cakes I start to notice that something is wrong with Ryan. Every time that I pick him up he would scream, he couldn't raise up his left hand, and he couldn't bend over and pick up a ball. After calling the doctor I picked up Sean, then made frosting and quickly frosted the 10 cakes.
Rushed the cakes to the school then went to Dr. Sanson's office where she ordered x-rays of his left elbow and shoulder, and informed us that he has a slight concussion. We then drove over to get the x-rays.
Denise Steinert was so sweet and picked up Emma from school and let her play at her house with Alec, Addie and Amy for the next few hours. I also dropped Sean off after the x-rays- just a note that Sean behaved awesome through it all.
RESULTS: no break in the elbow or the shoulder, but a fracture in the middle 1/3 of his clavicle (collarbone.) He will have to wear a figure 8 brace for the next 3 weeks to pull his shoulders back to heal properly.
I get home around 5 and feed my kids and comfort Ryan. He never got a nap that day and fell asleep around 5:30. I quickly made frosting and rushed to the church with Emma.
Enrichment was long and we end up going to the fall festival late and missed out on half the activities. We stay and visit for awhile, by the time the kids crawl into bed it is around 9. Then I still have to clean the disaster of a house.

Poor Ryan he is just a miserable little man, he's learning to cope and accomplish what he needs to. Yet he's still little Ryan- this morning I was helping Sean in the bathroom when he emptied the dishes in the dishwasher into the garbage can. Ahhhhhhhhh

Halloween Party!!

2008-10-20T20:52:00.001-07:00

Last year some friends of ours put together an adult Halloween party and it was a huge success, and so this year they planned another one. With extra time I made a poodle skirt with matching shirt and petticoat, and I borrowed some saddle back shoes (thanks Alicia.) I then forced my husband to go as a bald greaser. LOL After being Leeroy Jenkins from Utube last year I had to help him out this year. For the party I was in charge of making the homemade root beer as well as a dessert. (I learned: don't make your cake too cute because than nobody wants to eat it!) During the night we ate desserts, we played some games (witch hunt, donut eating contest, guess your husbands feet, and others) and visited outside as well as inside. Then the men all concluded with the traditional ping pong in the garage. It was a really great party- one I will always look forward too! We had a photographer there to take the pictures check out her website here. Thanks Janae- the pictures below were taken by her as was another hundred or so. The creativity with the outfits this year was awesome. We had everything from traditional to political to polygamists. As you will see by the slide show we were in stitches all night long.

GIRLS LUNCH

2008-10-16T16:17:00.001-07:00

Today a bunch of mom's took some time to bond, step away from the kids for a time, and to giggle about silly old stuff. It was a very enjoyable two hours!

Me- Alice? U decide

2008-10-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

I got on my sister Michelle's blog and found a fun little quiz to find out which cullen I am. I loved the books, and even have a couple books with autographs. Anyways I found out that I AM AN ALICE! Which means: You are intelligent, outgoing & stylish. A true girly girl, you love shopping and makeovers. Although you are a generous friend, you can be coy, tricky & very persuasive in order to get your way. You are known to zone out occasionally during conversations, but your friends forgive you because you are understanding, supportive & know how to throw one heck of a party! How much fun was that! You can decide if that's me or not :) BTW I can't wait for TWILIGHT to come out in only 37 days!!! Wooohoooo!!

Emma's Kindergarten Pictures

2008-10-09T09:03:00.001-07:00

I may be biased- but isn't she a cutie!! Love ya Emma!

Verde Valley Fire Station Open House

2008-10-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

My children are huge "Firemen" fans so when I found out the fire station was having an open house I quickly put it on my calendar. I figured we would go, stay for awhile, and then skip out- because I didn't want to stay there for the whole two hours. Well- I was wrong! It was so cool that I was begging the kids to stay. When we pulled up they had "Sparky" the dog outside waving to all the kids, then they had hot dogs (Emma ate two) chips, cookies, water, and popcorn. We got to see a whole lot of booths. Then came the fun stuff! They had a brand new firetruck that hasn't even been used yet that we got to get in and look at. Emma and Sean got to wear the headsets so they could talk to each other- they thought that was pretty cool!

We then watched two firemen repel down the side of the station and then climb back up the ropes! Then we watched a puppet show where they taught the kids fire safety. My kids were all giggles! Who wouldn't laugh at a talking bird and a lady with bright pink hair.Then came my favorite part of the night. We watched three firemen take apart a minivan- COMPLETELY!!! They popped the tires, broke out the windows, and then showed us how the "Jaws of life" worked. SWEET! Then came the grand finally- they put flares into the van and watched it burn- once it was a huge fireball and we were feeling the heat (Emma hid behind me at this point) they turned on the hoses and put the fire out in about 15 seconds. It was amazing! So I ended up staying the full two hours- and we all loved every minute of it!!

Very Busy Saturday!

2008-09-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

You know that relaxing Saturday that you long for each week- the one where you even get to relax in a bubblebath. Yeah that one, can you envision it! . . . . . I long for one of those in my near future. Last Saturday was so jammed packed that we split up as a family to accomplish it all. 1st off my cousin Stacey was married, it was up in Utah and so I was unable to attend. It sounded wonderful and judging by the pictures it was beautiful. Congratulations Stacey!!

My other cousin, Brittney, was having a babyshower down in Scottsdale, and so I took Emma and we went shopping then went to the shower. Afterwards we went to Olive Garden to relax before we drove 2 more hours home. Here is a pic of Emma standing next to a cute onsie she painted for baby Eli who is going to join the world around October 26th. I have a pic of my prego cousin, but am waiting for the pic to be emailed to me it will be added to this post at a later time.

It was Verde River Days in Cottonwood, and I had to make four dozen cupcakes for our booth (American Heritage Academy Parent Council- did you know I was Secretary?) they needed to be there by about 9am. I raced them over and then became jealous that my "boys" all were going to be able to go. Here are pictures of Verde River Days which was a blast!

I got Emma home just in time for me to race over to the church to watch the Relief Society Broadcast, which I nearly slept through because the day was so exhausting. It was nice though, and I slept very well that night!

Dead Horse Ranch State Park (Sep 20)

2008-09-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

I would love to know the story behind the name of this national park! Anyways two weekends ago we got together with a whole bunch of other families and had a park day, we reserved a pavilion, and people brought canoes. We started at 11:00 (Shiloh had just returned from camping with the scouts) and we ate lunch and desserts, we went out on the water, went fishing, with a lot of visiting and playing. Unfortunately we had to leave around 1:30 because Ryan was so tired he was just miserable. It was a lot of fun, and we were really glad to go. Here are some photos thanks to Shiloh and to Sarah.

Sean playing in the water when he was suppose to be eating!

My first trip around the lake- Emma trying out rowing. The Bishop and I were praying we didn't tip over because we were going to have to calm down five nervous kids!

One of the times I canoed around the lake with only 4 kids this time!

This is what Ryan looked like most of the time, tired.

Emma's first attempt at fishing- go Emma!

Sean's first attempt at fishing- go Sean!

They didn't want to stop- fortunately they didn't catch anything. It sure was a fun day! Thanks to the Bliss' and the Trujillo families for the organization!

***The story behind the name: Calvin “Cap” Ireys purchased Dead Horse Ranch in 1950. “Cap” told State Parks Director Dennis McCarthy that his children named the ranch. The first time the family looked at the property, they saw a dead horse lying in the field, and after looking at a number of properties “Cap” asked them which one they liked the best. The answer was the one with the dead horse. After they acquired the property, they named it Dead Horse Ranch. THANKS FOR FINDING THE INFO MOM!!

Cool Caterpillar

2008-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today I dropped Emma off at school and then had to go to the office to sign her up for girl scouts. Afterwards Ryan, Sean and I were walking off of campus when I noticed something moving on the wall in a very high traffic area. I stopped and showed the boys what I think is a huge cool looking caterpillar. It was about 4-5 inches long and about the width of your thumb. It was smooth except for the black fuzzy ring around the middle. It had mimicry in the fact that it had the fake eye markings on the body. When we touched it, the front part puffed up and it looked like a head. (See second photo) It was so fascinating, I actually would have kept it but was scarred it might be a little dangerous. I loved being able to show my boys the different parts of the caterpillar because you could see the legs, antennae, and face with much detail. I believe this is the first blog I have written positively about bugs. UPDATE: My mother did some research today, and sent my picture to a bug website and they told her that we found a Two-tailed Swallowtail Caterpillar. He is brown here because he is getting ready to turn into a cacoon. There are some wild varieties, and here is an example of what the butterfly will look like. Thanks mom!

Family Home Evening

2008-09-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening last night I piled the kids bikes into the van and we went to the church to ride around for a little while. Emma is starting to get the hang of it, but has two things against her. 1) Long legs and 2) being a mega girly girl. I am persistent and she will eventually get the hang of it. Sean is way too big for his bike and just barely too small for Emma's. He's catching on very quick and was a yell leader for Emma until he started to call her a "slow looser." Ryan was just happy to be there, although he fell off the sidewalk and scrapped up his knee and got blood all over me. Then he was pretending to drive and slipped off the seat and smashed his face into the dashboard, more blood! Bloody nose and lip and a slightly swollen eye, poor kid looks beaten up. After riding for awhile we went and picked up Shiloh and went to A Scoop Above - which is a great new place for Gelato here in Cottonwood. Yummy- what a great night!

Sean's Special Day

2008-09-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

At Seans preschool the parents have the opportunity to go to the school once every other month and spend time with their child. Actually it's mandatory, but I don't look at it that way because it's too much fun! On Tuesday -Sep 16- it was Sean's special day. I sent Ryan over to a friends house and Emma was at school. It was just Sean and I hanging out for 3 solid hours. HOW EXTREMELY FUN!

As you can see from the picture there is a sign telling everyone who's day it is. He recognized his name and was so excited that I was able to stay. After playing with the toys and other friends for the first 30 minutes, Sean got the opportunity to ring the clean up bell and tell everyone to clean up. He truly enjoyed telling everyone else what to do, and felt special ringing the bell.Next was circle time, where we sang some songs and talked about what day it was. Sean got to be Mrs. Patti's helper with the calendar and other business. He was a bit on the shy side and didn't really want to talk. Did you notice the shorts and cowboy boots? We then split up into stations, and they are currently "studying" bugs. I was in charge of the insect lotto game that had pictures of all sorts of ugly bugs. After about 20 minutes the Lincoln logs were pulled out- but it's a laid back preschool so it was ok. They also stamped bugs and painted butterfly wings at the other stations.

Sean then had story time, while I set up the snacks that I brought. The grapes and cheese chunks with milk were a huge success.

The last item of business before they are allowed outside to play is to journal. Here is Sean and Brandon faithfully writing (scribbling) in their journals. The last half an hour they get to go outside and play on the swings or playground or bikes. I really enjoy the school as well as the teachers. I just loved Seans special day- because it's just the two of us playing for three hours.