The Report Card

Gingerbread (Gram Cracker) Houses 2011

2011-12-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, so for the past 7 years, we have done gingerbread (gram cracker) houses every year as a Christmas tradition. And, I know that we are not the only family with this tradition. However, ours may be a little different from yours. Rather than using frosting to "glue" the houses together, I use sugar...yes, just sugar. And before I divulge my secret, I must give credit where credit is due. I was told how to do this by my Mentor Teacher, Sherrie Olson, when I taught kindergarten. However, it was only explained to me, and through trial and error, I have figured it out, and am happy to share with all of you!
So, here it is...

First, you break your gram crackers into squares. Some packages come already in squares, and that makes it so much easier, and you are left with a lot less gram cracker casualties this way. If you do end up buying the rectangles, I would suggest Keebler. They are a lot less crumbly.

Then, pre-heat a shallow pan. This does not need to be non-stick. Once it is pre-heated, pour about 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the pan. It will immediately start to liquefy. Once it reduces down to a light brown color, turn it all the way down to low, or even all the way off. This will prevent smoke detectors going off :), as well as a black, burnt sugar, which is pretty bitter. If, during the process, the sugar starts to thicken on you, just turn the heat back on for a minute or so. If you start to run low, just add more. Be careful not to drip the sugar on your skin. Sugar burns are awful!

Then, take two of your squares. Dip one edge in the sugar, and stick the other side on, to make the roofs. I was making about 30 houses, so I have a ton! You, most likely, won't have this many.

Then, to make the base of the houses, take 2 roofs. Stick one in the sugar, so that the 2 edges are covered. Do the same to the other one. Then stick the two together. They will look like this...

Make sure to leave some roofs aside. I have done it before, when I have gotten in the "zone," and was left with no roofs for my houses. Not a good thing :/

Then, take the base of the house and dip it in the sugar. Turn it up towards you, and stick a roof on. Once I have done that, I take the whole house, dip the bottom into the sugar, and then "glue" it to the plate.

This is what it will look like.
Now you have a gingerbread (gram cracker :) ) house that does not break easily, and that will not move around on the plate! And, best of all, it is COMPLETELY edible!

As far as clean up goes, the sugar will harden on your pan. DO NOT try to chizzle it off. This WILL ruin your pan. Just soak it in water, and the sugar will dissolve away.

Then, for the decorating...

I portion out the candy by putting it on the plate around the house. This is all of the candy that they get, and they know not to ask for more :). Then I give them each a Dixie cup full of frosting, with a large popcicle (craft) stick. I tell them that they need to frost their house first, and whatever is left, they can do with it what they please ;). They keep their germs in their own germy area :).

Here is Azure (2)

Anderson

Ace

Aspen (I just love it when I catch them with their eyes closed...everyone needs one of these awesome pictures once in a while :) )

Azure and Aussie

Here is Ace's. They like to use pretzels, because it makes them look like log cabins.

More showing off of their creations...

Here are some pics from my preschool class

Enjoy!

Hiking!

2011-06-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

So, as you may know, I love to go on trail runs! And, Eagle Mountain has some of the best trails I've run. There is one trail (hill) that I had wanted to run for years, and then a good friend of mine, told me that she ran it, and loved it! So, I went for a run up the road that it was on, and decided to try it! Now, it is my favorite thing to run, and I try to do it every week. It is about a mile up, and it has awesome, yet very deceiving switchbacks. Once you get to the top, you are awestruck by the view!
Now that you have some background on the trail, I will get on with my blog....
This week, Adam has been in Cedar City for the SUU girl's soccer camp, and I was determined to keep the kids as active and busy as possible, so that they would have a fun week, but also so that they would crash at night :). So, I decided to take them on a hike up the hill, on Tuesday. Here are the pics...

In the car, all ready to go....(This was before I bucked them :) )

I wanted to take a picture at the start, but Azure was ready to get on with it!...

Right off the bat, we spotted an ant hill, and had to stop and take a look. Of course, they all wanted to "stomp it." This gave me a good chance to talk about ants, and what hard workers they are, etc., etc.....needless to say, it did not get "stomped."

Then, we heard a helicopter, and had to watch it pass over us....one of the perks of living close to an army base :)

Up, we go....(Now Azure is mesmerized by all the cool rocks)

Speaking of rocks...check out the cool moss!

The kids loved to turn around to see how "small" the van was getting!

They just saw a lizard!

Ace was such a good little helper! He was so good with her, that she kept on asking for him, and wouldn't let me hold her. She walked a lot of the way! Bot bad for a 20 month old!

They all wanted to hold hands up the steep parts...

We found flowers....check out Aussie in the background (he was mad that he didn't find it first)

The race to the top!

Again, Aussie was complaining....he must be 3, or something....:).....In all honesty, he walked the entire way, and was really pretty good!

At the very top!

Check out those AWESOME trails! A runner's dream!

The view of Eagle Mountain City Center...

The descent. They all found walking sticks!

Back to the van! They loved it so much, that every morning following, they asked to go to the hike again!

So.....Today, my mom and brother, Kett, came up to visit. Here is my mom with Azure...

Kett being a great helper!

Aspen sprinting to, what SHE thought was the top....only to find that we had a ways to go...

Finding more walking sticks....Aspen was very difficult to please when it came to the walking sticks. She threw many of them off to the side, because she wanted the "perfect one." My mom was very patient with her. It was very nice to have her there...

All along the way, my mom would name all of the plants along the way. I wish I could tell you the name of this flower....it was very pretty, though...

Aussie had difficulty on the way up, but was loving the downhill! He was in first place (for the first part of the descent, anyway)....

Azure stopping to look at the rocks some more...

My mom was such a good citizen, in that she collected garbage along the way!....

It was such a fun time, and I can't wait to take the kids on it, again!...

Pictures from Utah Valley Half

2011-06-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 pictures from the Utah Valley Half Marathon I ran last week:
I'm not sure where in the race this one was taken...

but this one, was my sprint to the end! There was a girl and I who were neck in neck for the last mile or so. I wonder why she's not in it with me?...

The longest....but funnest day...

2011-06-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today has been a long day....and I mean, LOOOONNNGGG! Let me begin at the start...

This morning, I woke up bright and early...2:30 am to be exact, to run the Utah Valley Half Marathon. I still don't quite understand why they do this. The last bus leaves at 4:30, but you need to be there before 4:00 to be able to get a seat. So, I woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and drove the 40 min drive to Provo, where I boarded a bus at 3:45, and rode it to the starting line, only to wait there, huddled around a fire for an hour and a half!

So, at 6:00 sharp, the race began. It started out fast, and I maintained a good pace for most of the way. I wanted to get top 5, mainly because 5th place got $75, and that would have covered my registration fee :). I ended up with 7th place, and a time of 1:22, which is a 7 minute personal best on this course over last year. My time this year would have put me in 3rd place last year, which goes to show how fast the girls were this year! It was a lot of fun, and I will most definitely do it again! Here is a link to the race results (if you like checking those things :) )
https://www.raceit.com/results/default.aspx?event=5230&r=682

Last year, the race ended at the mall, right by where we parked, so I was able to get right in my car, and drive home. This year they moved the starting line, to about a mile away from the mall. I didn't have time to wait for the bus, so I just ran back.

I hurried home, and made it home just in time for the kids to eat breakfast! This is just the way that I like it. I love to run!...it is something that has been, well, "me" for so many years...it is something that I need. However, when I became a mom, I never wanted this to take away from me being a mother. This is why, whenever possible, I do my runs before they wake up, and I try to do my races the same. I want them to know that I run/ exercise, but I don't ever want them to feel like me exercising, in any way, takes away from them, or is more important to me than my family is. My family is ALWAYS first!

Moving along...I got home also just in time for Adam to take Anderson to his soccer camp. And, me, being the one who thinks we can cram a million things into a day, may have overdone it, by scheduling Anderson's birthday party for today. As crazy as our last week was, with soccer camps, etc,. I had no time to even plan it. Anderson did say that he wanted to have a sports party, which is absolutely fitting for him. He told me that he wanted to have sports stations. So, that is just what we did. I had to run to the store to get everything, and I made it back just in time to get the kids lunch, and set up for the party. We had the party in the back yard, all sett up with sports stations...

Golf and bowling....

Trampoline Basketball..

Soccer...

I also didn't have time to make cookies (which is what he wanted, since he doesn't like cake). So, I bought some Oreo cookies, and frosted them to look like soccer and basketballs (as if Oreo cookies didn't have enough frosting to begin with ;) ).
Along with them, we had Squeeze-its...the ultimate soccer mom drink of champions!
While they ate, they watched what else, but sports bloopers! It was so fun to hear all the boys laughing at all the athletes as they ran into each other. So funny!
It was a fun party!

Presents...

In the middle of the party, Adam had to go to his school to be the the "dunk tank" as part of the "Saratoga Splash" festivities...one of the perks of being a head coach, I guess.

Meanwhile, I was getting Aspen ready for the next round of craziness...dance recital!...Well, "tumbling," to be exact. She is in a little tumbling class, and she does really well, despite my inconsistencies in practicing with her :/. Here's a picture and a video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KUKweRuL2Q

All in all, it has been a great day...long, but really a great day....that I would rather not repeat for quite some time....

On a side note...completely unrelated, my oldest daughter, Aspen got her ears pierced, yesterday. She has been asking for a while, and I wasn't quite sure what to do. I didn't get mine pierced until I was eight, which was fine with me. However, Adam and I hadn't really decided on an age for our own daughters. I knew that I didn't want to do it when she was a baby, because I wanted it to be her choice. When she decided she wanted to have it done (mind you, I have NEVER brought this up to her...it is purely her own idea, based solely, I'm sure on pier pressure), I discussed it with her, and told her that she would have to take care of them. She agreed, and so far, so good.!
Here are some pics of the "Beautify Aspen Day.."

She wanted "Rapunzel hair." I did my best...

Beautiful ears...
Ace was feeling a little left out, and asked me to take a picture of his hair. Check out the steps!...

playing hookey

2011-05-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

The other day, I kept Anderson and Aspen home from school, because I wanted to have a day with just us...just like it used to be before they were in school. Here's a video from the park...

A family of Jumpers/flippers...

2011-04-18T11:46:00.001-07:00

When I was 4 years old, my parents got a trampoline, and ever since then, it has been one of my most favorite things to do. So, as I got older, I promised myself that I would have one for my kids to grow up with. This is one tradition that I am beyond happy that I was able to pass on.

To hear the audio on the videos, you will have to pause the playlist...

This first one is a little silly....

2011-04-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm going to start off by wishing Aussie a happy third birthday! He is such a good little guy, and we are so blessed too have him in our family :).

It is a tradition in our family, that when they turn 3, they get their own bike. It is also a tradition (not my favorite, mind you), that they practice learning how to petal, in the kitchen....It's not so bad, i guess...I can keep better track of them this way :)

This week, being Spring break and all, I have had the urge to not only spring clean, but to get some projects done around the house. And, if you know me, I love, love, LOVE to paint! Our house is an eclectic array of colors, and I just love it! Having 5 young kids, it is almost impossible to not only find the time to paint, but to do it without kids all over me. It doesn't help matters, when, as soon as I get the paint stuff out, all of them ask if they can help. So...I have found a fun solution to this problem, and here it is...

I give them each their own sponge paintbrush (30 cents at Wal-Mart), and their own bowl of paint (empty cottage cheese containers work well). I, then give them something large, that they can paint. Make sure that it's something you don't care about. I have given them old wood scraps, boxes...today, I found some large bulletin boards that I wasn't using anymore. I let them paint those, while I did my projects.
Even though they were done before I was, it satisfied their need to paint, and then they were perfectly content to play outside, while I finished up...and yes, it was messy...but that's all part of the fun...and it is exactly what bathtubs were invented for :). Fun, fun day :)

Here is the wall I painted in the preschool/ play room. I found an old picture frame, down in the basement, and I painted it a cream color, then sprayed it with some high gloss, clear finish. I, then taped off a square, and used some of my left-over chalk paint, and painted it on the wall. While that was drying, I painted the outside of the green, a red color (as you can see :) ). I found this metal star, that I inherited from my mother-in-law. I spray-painted it gold.
I will use this wall as my "Star of the Week" wall in preschool, where we will write things about the Star of the Week...A little Christmas-y, I know...but who doesn't love Christmas?!
I can't wait to use it!...

Finally, I found another empty frame, and did the same thing as I did in the preschool, but just on a smaller scale, and put it in the kitchen. The chair, below, I also painted. I like how it turned out :)

I am looking forward to the summer to do more fun projects around the house...

Note from my brother, Joel

2011-03-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a note from my brother, Joel, who is serving in Mito, Japan...

I am right now in a church in Abiko (closer to Tokyo). We were evacuated out of Mito yesterday by the Mission Office because of the continual tremors (I always think of Kevin Bacon whenever I say `tremors`) and because of the exploded Nuclear Power Plant 11 miles to the north. Mito was also hit by a tsunami and this was a problem, too. We were told to pack for a week. But, the problem was that there was no way out of Mito. The express way was closed, the train line was broken, the local roads were bumper to bumper, and no one could give us a ride out of Mito. However, our Super Hero senior couple, Elder and Sister Hobbs, took the 5 hour drive and picked us up and got us out of Mito last night. Thank you all for all of your prayers. I am so grateful for every single prayer that was said. So, the big 9.0 earthquake happened last Friday at 3-ish o`clock. From Thursday afternoon, I was in a town called Tsukuba on splits with an Elder named Elder Cooper. Friday afternoon, we took the train back to Mito to meet the other Elders to switch back. We said goodbye, then started to walk out of the station and to our bikes. Tiny earthquakes here and there are pretty natural here in Japan. When we got to our bikes, we started to feel an earthquake. It started off really small, and we shrugged it off. We were under a bridge, and then the shaking got worse and we started to see dust and rubble falling down from above us. We ran away from the bridge, and then the ground started to crack and sink and slant and the glass in all of the buildings began to crack. All we could do was just crouch down, cover our heads and watch the buildings sway back and forth and side to side. It went on for what seemed about 3-5 minutes. Once it ended, the first thing we wondered about was `Where are the Tsukuba Elders?` So we ran back into the station to find them, but we couldn`t find them anywhere. As the streets flooded with people evacuating the buildings and searching for shelter, there was no hope to find the Tsukuba Elders. Another quake came right then that wasn’t as strong, but shook us up none the less. Our cell phones wouldn’t work and we couldn’t make any calls. We tried to call them several times, but no luck. We went all around looking for the Tsukuba Elders (we thought they were trapped inside the Station). The phones everywhere were down. We were having more tremors and we were getting pretty worried for ourselves and for them. We were ready to go and look somewhere else. However, we received a miraculous phone call, out of nowhere. It was from the Tsukuba Elders. How we received that call at that time, and weren’t able to make or receive any other calls, I don’t know, but we received that call and were able to meet up with them. To make a long story short, we decided to walk back to the apartment and as we were on our way, we found a lot of people that needed our help. As we went, there were houses that crumbled, and shops that were crumbled and glass everywhere. We helped an old man and his wife clean up there shop (which was also their house). They didn’t want to bother us with helping them, but we took the brooms and pans and helped them clean the glass and broken stuff as quickly as we could. The man thanked us, but really, it was such a wonderful thing to be able to help them. They were so frightened by everything and didn’t know what to do. As we walked away, the man walked out onto the sidewalk and thanked us in a loud voice. It was a pretty humbling experience. I don’t want to take all this time by just telling about the effects of the earthquake and what not, but that is just a little bit of what happened. I would just like to show my gratitude and testify of a God of Mercy and Miracles. I am so grateful to be here and have the opportunity to serve among these people and see the Light of Christ evident in every single good deed anyone does. So many people were helping others as much as they could. Seeing acts of kindness which receive no recognition and seeing people serve their fellow men during this time was so amazing. This time is definitely a time to count the blessings, focus on the things that matter most, and strive to lose yourself in the service of others. I love the work and I love being a missionary!

Love, Elder Einfeldt

Christmas!

2011-01-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

Was it just me, or did Christmas come waaayyy too fast, this year? Before I knew it, Christmas was here, and gone just as quickly. Thankfully, we were able to get everything done without a hitch, and it was a wonderful time for all of us.

First, we HAD to make cookies for Santa (oatmeal chocolate chip--his favorite!)

The finished product, with carrots for the reindeer.

Waking up early in the morning.

Aussie is not yet to the excitement of Christmas stage. He wanted to sleep in.

At the bottom of the stairs, before the big reveal. Anderson's face is priceless!

Presents!

More Snow

2010-12-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we woke up to a ton of wonderful white snow! When I say, "wonderful," I mean it! I went for a run in it, which was soooo much fun, but while I was out there, all I could think about was getting home to the kiddos, so I could build a snowman with them! So, we did!

It started to rain...yes, rain right in the middle of our snowman building, so he was getting pretty slushy :(

Then, we had a snowball throwing contest that turned into, yes, you guessed it...a snowball fight!

If you're wondering why Aussie wasn't an active participant, it was because he had a headache :(...And, of course, band aids make everything better!

Child Abuse Awareness

2010-12-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine posted these facts about child abuse in an effort to raise more attention to child abuse, when so many "friends" on facebook are doing so by changing their profile pictures with the same idea/purpose in mind.

I wanted to post what he wrote, but I didn't want to clog up your news feed :). Here's what he said...please read carefully.

Changing pictures to cartoons to raise awareness of child abuse is fun and supportive, but it doesn't actually give people anything they can use to actually raise awareness or deal with the problem. I propose that if we are going to raise awareness, let's actually raise awareness.

I am proposing, and starting, something more. Let's raise awareness by posting facts. What is child abuse? What are its risk factors? How can we help? That is just as easily done and, in my opinion, much more useful. The fact is, most people do what is convenient. So, in campaigns like this, we must make gaining knowledge and learning about options as convenient as possible. I am going to put my money where my mouth is and practice what I am preaching here, and I encourage other people to do likewise.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #1: most children (about 80%) are abused by someone in their family. The risk of child abuse is 33 times higher (that's 330%) when the child's mother is cohabiting with a boyfriend than if the parents are a traditional married couple. The risk of abuse from a remarriage is also elevated above the risks in a situation where the child's biological parents are married.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #2: restraining orders are pretty much useless against people abusing children, because there are no consequences for breaking them. Protective orders are another story, because if the abuser violates them (even by attempting contact with the person he/she abused through a third party), he/she will be arrested.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #3- more on protective orders: Police often do not tell people that protective orders are a possiblity
(and they are actually not that hard to get), so just because they tell
you there is nothing they can do when you try to report abuse, that does
not mean there is nothing that can... be done. Talk to a shelter, victim's advocate, or child protective services.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #4: a large portion of the people who abuse children are the type you would never think would do it: smart, charming, and well-loved by those around them. So very often, people seeking help for abuse are shot down and lost without help because of the skill these people who abuse have in managing image.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #5: according to some of the most empirically sound data we have now (as opposed to a lot of junk data out there), only between 2%-10% of allegations of abuse turn out to be verifiably false. If someone comes to you to dislose abuse, take them seriously! The last thing they need to... run into is a wall of doubt. That tends to push people back into escalating cycles of abuse.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #6: one of the most dangerous times for abused spouses and children is the time period right after they have attempted to leave a person who is abusing. This is especially true if they get cold feet and return. There is a high incidence of injuries and deaths at this time without sufficient support.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #7: because of developmental issues, many children who are abused will have a hard time expressing it verbally, and when they do they will often have a difficult time expressing a chronology or details. In many ways, they will often say it with their actions long before they find a way to say it with words.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #8: Nonverbal signs of child abuse may include sudden changes in affect or school performance, displaying a sense of intense watchfulness/wariness of danger, being overly compliant or passive, regression (acting younger than their age), anger, depression, and acting out, among others.

Raising awareness of child abuse fact #9: Abuse is often about power and control. People who abuse children are often very good at making the child and/or the non-abusing parent feel like they are responsible for the abuse. This psychological conditioning is part of what makes it hard for both children and adults to report and escape abuse.

First snow of the season

2010-11-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

The other day it finally snowed. Now, I will have you all know that this was not a joyous happening for me (I can't stand the snow), but as we all know, it is magical for children. Needless to say, I needed to but my feelings aside, and let the kids play. It was a lot of fun for them! Too bad Anderson was at school, and missed all the fun :(....there will be more snow...

Family Photos 2010

2010-11-12T14:49:00.001-08:00

Update

2010-10-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it has been a while since my last post, which means, that life is busy! Busy is a good thing, though, as long as the "busy" is filled with lots of fun! So, here's an update....

At the beginning of August, we went on our annual Lake Powell trip. Adam wasn't able to come with us because all of his business getting ready for school and soccer. We missed him, but at least I got to spend some much needed time with him the week after for our 9th wedding anniversary! Here are some pics from Lake Powell...

A few weeks later, Anderson and Aspen began school! Anderson is in first grade, and Aspen in kindergarten. They both love it, but it is taking a little getting used to for me, because I really miss them when they are gone!

I couldn't get my camera to work, so I had to use my phone, which I can't stand! By this tome, the kids were tired of waiting for me, and ready to go to school!
Grandma was able to be there!

Anderson and Aspen also played soccer this year! It is so fun to watch them play! They both scored two goals their first game, and were a big part of the team in the other games! (They get it from their dad...I am no soccer player)! They love to play, and we love to watch them!

(Aspen is #11...can you find her?...)

At the beginning of September, I began my third year teaching preschool out here in Eagle Mountain. I have two awesome classes! It is so much fun, and has been great for our family!
Here are some of the tree-year old's practicing cutting...a must!

In mid September, My dad, younger sister, Molly and I, ran the Cedar City half marathon. It was a brutal downhill race (that took me nearly 2 whole weeks to recover from!). I took 2nd place in the women with my personal best time of 1:20.
(Molly and My dad). I didn't get any shots...not such a bad thing :)!

Two weeks later, I ran the St. George Marathon (the soreness from the 1/2 went away, literally one day before). I will post more about the specifics of it in a later post, but I took 17th overall in the women, and 2nd in my age group, with a time of 3:04.08. Can't Wait to do it again!

Lastly, our baby girl, Azure just turned one! It has gone by so fast! The Saturday after her birthday (which was when we were going to have a little party, Adam ran a race that was entitled "Cake Walk." He won (of course :)), and the prize was a custom made cake! It was perfect for our little party! Thanks, Adam! We celebrated with cousins at Adam's parent's house. Fun, fun...

It has taken me a while to put all this together, and we went to the pumpkin patch today, so here are some pictures in case I don't post again for a whole :).
Preschool class today
Family night last week :)

Summer 2010 Part 1

2010-07-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's been waaaaay too long since I blogged last, so here is the update (upon request ;)....

Oh, and I uploaded the pictures backwards, and I am NOT about to do it again. So, here is what we have been up to, in reverse order....

We took the kids to Lagoon. Thanks to my parents and younger brothers (aka, "the uncles"), we were able to have a blast! I thought we had gotten more pictures, but apparently not...thank goodness for the memories :).

Just some cute pictures of Azure...

Adam did a soccer camp where the three older kids were able to go. They all felt like suck big kids!

At the end of the last day, the kids got a picture with Clifford. Ace was so excited and wouln't leave him alone! Anderson, on the other hand, noticed the zipper on the back of his costume and was a little disappointed...

Anderson's the one in the front...of course ;).

Can you say the next Landon Donivan? I say, absolutely!

Aspen was so excited to have her own (pink) soccer cleats.

Aspen taught herself how to ride her bike with no training wheels. This picture shows it all! I think we all remember how we felt after we learned how to ride a bike...indescribable!

We took the kids to the Animal Farm....

Cute kids!...We do have 5...I promise :)

Anderson turned 6!

He doesn't like cake, so I made chocolate chip cookies. Yummy!!

Kindergarten Graduation! His teacher, Mrs. Condie. We will miss her!

Preschool water party!

Preschool summer birthday party! They made their own hats and brought yummy treats. By the way, those are cupcake ice cream cones with like a pound of frosting...they didn't mind :)

At the park after taking Joel to the MTC

We went to the SUU campus to get family pictures taken....
Here are Anderson and Elliot trying to push Rand off the stage.

Ace loves Uncle Paul :)

Azure and Grandpa!

Rand and Aspen...yippeee!

One more picture of Azure :)

Another thing not pictured, but (extremely) worthy of mentioning is that we are now down to only one in diapers!!! Aussie is potty trained!!!

It's been a wonderful summer so far, and we look forward to more fun!

Day at the Park

2010-04-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

So, we have been sooooo tired of being indoors and at the first glimmer of sunshine and melted snow, we decided to find a park. Our first choice was to go to the Discovery Park in American Fork, but it seemed everyone else had the same idea, and the thought of trying to keep track of 5 kids in a mix of 50 kids, was just too much. So we drove around the corner and found this elementary school, and we had it entirely to ourselves! The kids played on the monkey bars, slid down the slides and poles, climbed ladders, went on the swings, and lucky for us, there were some balls left on the playground and we were able to play some basketball. It was a great day, and here are some pictures to prove it:

Such a good daddy!

Swinging into the wind

Azure had fun watching it all and being cuddled by mom.

Can you believe how close he was?!

Adam did this a lot because they all wanted to make a shot!

Aspen loves sliding down the pole...future firefighter?

I love this picture with all mu boys!

Ace loved it. He was running everywhere!

Cute.

What a great family day! I can't wait to do it again!

A Typical Day at the Brown Residence

2010-03-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

Well, my cute sister, Molly blogged the other week about a typical day in a house with twin 18 month old girls and a 4 month old baby boy, and it got me thinking...what do WE do here all day? So, I decided to take a day (today) to figure out what a typical day at our house--one with, as most of you know consist of 5 kids, ages 5 and under (and a mom and a dad, of course :) ).
So, here goes....

At about 6-6:30-ish, I wake up and get myself ready. Shortly after, or often during this, the kids start to wake up. So, at about 7 am, we eat breakfast.

Good morning!!

Shortly thereafter, they take their baths/ showers...(Aspen took one, too but refused to be photographed in a towel.)

I get them dressed, and we are all dressed and ready by about 8:00 (8:17 this morning, to be exact ;)).

While the kids play and watch their favorite show (and mine), Sesame Street, I clean up the kitchen....

I do this...
.(Broom not pictured here, but I do a lot of sweeping!)

By 8:45 we need to be out the door to get Anderson to school. When the weather is nice, we walk, and this is how it goes, Azure and Aussie in the stroller (Aspen wanted a ride today), and Ace and Anderson on their scooters. And we're off!

We make it back just in time (9:15-ish) for preschool to start!
Here is the before photo--I always have to begin the day clean)...

If you want to see what goes on here, feel free to go to www.kinderstartin.blogspot.com

Following preschool, I load the kids up, and go pick up Anderson---Same routine as the morning ;)..Just forgot the camera...

We then have lunch at about 12:30 (yes, we had a cardboard pizza today, but it was "Digourno!")

Then Aussie takes a nap...

That's when I do this...

And this...

And today, I did this, only because Adam won't be home until late, otherwise I would rather be outside...

And they do this..

(Anderson had free reign of the camera).

We also do this...

And a lot if this..

Oh, and I nurse a baby every 3 hours...sorry, no photo for that, either ;).

Adam (Daddy) gets home usually between 5:30 and 6:30, and then the REAL fun begins...!

2010 Resolutions

2010-01-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

2009 was a great year filled with busy, busy and even more busy. Overall, though it was a really great year. Hopefully 2010will be just as good, if not better...

So, on with the resolutions....
(This is the most current picture I have of him, and it is what he spends most of his time doing....studying and preparing...argggghh!)

(Adam didn't want to play along, so I will write some for him): To win a soccer game, finish the basement, and to hug my wife more :p.

Arianne: Spend more time with my kids (on an individual basis), budget for a babysitter so that Adam and I can date more, tell my kids I love them more, and not stress out about things I can't control. I would also like to cut 15 minutes off my marathon time this year...

Anderson: Get all the guys on Lego Star Wars. Read 2 books every day. Turn 6, and go to 1st grade!

Aspen: For Azure to get big enough to play with. Write my name where my "s" isn't a "2!" Learn to ride a bike with no training wheels. And turn 5 and go to kindergarten!

Ace: Do everything that Anderson does (including turning 6!) I also want to learn how to do front flips on the trampoline.

Aussie: Wake up without crying! Get potty trained! (He didn't say anything, so these were my goals for him ;).

Azure: Keep being the cute, lovable little baby that will always let her mom cuddle her. (One of my favorite things to do!)

We look forward to all the wonderful things that 2010 will bring...

Yes, they are Sisters

2010-01-24T17:46:00.000-08:00

I was looking at some of my pictures, and noticed that Azure bares a striking resemblance to another little girl...Aspen! So, I thought it might be fun to look at a couple of them side-by side...

Cute Sisters!

Gingerbread (Gram Cracker) Houses

2009-12-24T18:03:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years we have made gingerbread houses on Christmas Eve. I guess you would say it has become a tradition. I learned how to make them when I taught kindergarten. I "glue" the gram crackers together with sugar that I have melted over the stove. I then use the same melted sugar to "glue" the houses to the plate. This way they are completely sturdy, and don't move around the plate...not to mention, COMPLETELY EDIBLE!

I then give everyone a Dixie cup with frosting, and a Popsicle stick---then let the fun begin!...

Here they are, frosting and decorating their houses....

A lot of frosting didn't quite make it on the houses...

Here are the finished products.....After looking at them, I really thought that each one really showed their personality, and thought that those of you who know our kids (and even those who don't) if you could guess who made which one?
If you want to play along, look through the five houses (I even made one!), and when you scroll down to the end, you can see if you were right...no cheating...

B

C

D

E

The answers (after a much needed bath)...
Aussie: D--most of the frosting and candy ended up on the floor or in his mouth.

Ace: A (I laughed so hard at this picture!...)

...This one was pretty funny, too! You can tell by his house that, yes he is 3, but that he is very methodical in where he places things. He really takes his time on things like this.

Anderson: B He also takes his time, and is very careful about where he places things.

Aspen: E This one really screamed Aspen to me. She ate most of the frosting and just grabbed handfuls of whatever, and just threw it on top. Very much an Aspen house.

Oh, and mine was "c" if you hadn't guessed. I really had fun making mine, too! It is quite therapeutic! Maybe next year I can get Adam to make one...

This was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Azure Meg!

2009-10-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

#5 has arrived!

Okay, I have to begin by telling you the whole story...

On Wednesday I began having contractions. I had an appointment that afternoon, and was dilated to a 4. I knew it wouldn't be long, and so did my doctor. He told me to go home and get some rest because he may be seeing me soon. Luckily my mom was already on her way up, because on the way home, the contractions started coming faster and harder. When I got home, of course I didn't take a rest because, well, who can when you gave 4 kids? Anyhow, when my mom got here, Adam and I went for a walk around the neighborhood because, if you know my history, they usually make me do that at the hospital because I progress so sloooowwwlllyyy. I wanted to make sure that I was far enough along for the hospital to admit me.

So, at about 10:00 pm Adam and I drove to the hospital. I was admitted just after 11:00, and progressed slowly as usual. Thankfully for the epidural, I was able to sleep most of the night, only to be woken up just after 7:30 to get ready to push. I pushed through 3 contractions, and out she came! Born at 7:51 a.m, she was 6lbs, 2oz and 18" long. A perfect little girl--our little Azure Meg.

And, by the way, if you were curious about how any of my other labors have gone, just read this again, because they have all gone exactly the same. They have all been born within an hour and a half of each other--weird stuff!

Here are some pictures:

Anderson's first day of school

2009-08-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

Today was Anderson's first day of Kindergarten! I think I was more nervous than he was! We all were up at the crack of dawn (as usual), and ready by 7:30 when school didn't start until 9:15. It was a long morning.
When the time came to go, I put Aussie in the stroller, and off we went. Once there, he just wanted to play with all the kids on the playground, and I couln't be prouder. He gave me a high-5, and off we went.
He came home happy, and can't wait until tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Aspen!

2009-08-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little dimpled girl is 4 today! Happy birthday, Aspen! I love you!

You know you're a pregnant runner

2009-07-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

You know you're a pregnant runner when.....

this is the view to your shoes. Not to mention that you are perfectly content to run with loose laces.

Most of the the time, you're shoes start out tied because you didn't want to bend over to untie them. Not to mention, they are so beat up because you can't justify buying a new pair until after the baby is born.

Touching your toes to stretch is out of the question

trying to find a waist so that your water bottles fit comfortably is very difficult.

You plan your run around potty breaks (port-a-potties, trees, neighbor's house (actual picture!))

Most of all, you feel great!

I must be crazy...

2009-07-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

So, the question of the day is, if you are told you're crazy nearly every day for 2 consecutive weeks, does it mean that you ARE?! I'm beginning to wonder...

When asked what I do for a living--"You teach preschool?! You must be CRAZY!"

While mowing the lawn--"You're mowing the lawn, and you're pregnant?! You must be CRAZY!

"While standing in line for a 4th of July 5k, other competitor's eyes immediately shift to by pregnant belly. "You're running this, and you're pregnant?! You must be CRAZY!"

When asked what number baby this is for me: "5 kids?! You must be CRAZY!"

(Well, not quite the Duggars, but that's what I feel like sometimes.)

Because I still look like I am 15 years old, I first get the crazy and uncomfortable look from people, followed by the question of how old my oldest is--"5 kids in 5 years?! You must be CRAZY!"

(Sorry, but this is my most recent picture of myself. I get asked all the time if they are my siblings. It won't be such a bad thing when they are older, but when you're asked if a 5-year old is your little brother, it is a bit offensive!)

(With kids as cute as this, why not have more?!)

My answer to them is, if being happy means that I must be CRAZY, then bring on the CRAZY!

I love teaching preschool! It allows me to use the creative side of my brain, while satisfying my need to always have little kids around!

I also love to mow the lawn! Yes, ask Adam--it is true. I will mow the lawn in the middle of the day so I can beat Adam before he gets home from work. Not to mention, it drowns out other noises ;)!

Everyone knows I love to run. When told that I'm crazy for doing it, my response is always, "it is what keeps me SANE!"

Now as for the kids. When asked why so many, it is like asking me why would I want more happiness? When asked why so close, I say why not?

So, call me CRAZY if you want to, but I will consider it a compliment!