My Interview with Goose A.K.A. Monte

Tonight I sat down and videotaped Monte while I asked him 21 questions. It was really fun, and I loved hearing his responses!!
1-If you could have picked your own name what would it be? Ethan
2-What animal would you be? An elephant because they live long.
3- Which is your favorite cartoon character? Jerry
4- Which character in a book best describes who you are? Benjamin Stilton because he likes the outdoors.
5- If you could cook for me what would it be? Coleslaw, Chicken and a roll from KFC!
6- If you were granted three wishes from a genie what would you wish? Everlasting Life, A House, I really want to get out of this apartment and a phone or a Wii.
7- Do you ever dance crazy when nobody is looking? No
8- Tell me the 5 best things about you. Good at Hiking, I'm really good at Physical Education, Really good at Geography, I'm an artist and I am good at playing.
9- What does the word "success" mean to you? It means making a goal and finishing it that equals success.
10- Who would you rather be: an NBA ballplayer, the mayor, a famous explorer, or a movie star? Why? I would be an NBA ballplayer because I like to play basketball.
11- What would be the ideal allowance? Tell me how you would use it? A $1 a chore-I would save it for college because it's really expensive.
12- If you could keep your room any way that you wanted, how would it look? I would have a 100 gallon fish tank, fish posters on the wall, a bookshelf full of books, no bunk bed, a desk with a computer so I could do research and play games.
13- What are the qualities that make a good friend? Someone who shares and is nice.
14- What was your favorite toy when you were little? My dragon castle that came with Knights and Dragons and also my colored blocks.
15- What do you think of my (talking about his mom) driving? You're Crazy!!
16- What is the most enjoyable thing your family has done together in the last 3 years? When we went to the Temple when Oliver was sealed to our family and also when we went to the indoor waterpark in Canada, I loved the toilet bowl slide.
17- What do you think is beyond the stars? Heaven
18- Name 3 things that you want to do with your family this weekend? Fish, Hike and Play Outside.
19- If you were going to have a weird, unusual pet, what would it be? Why would you want that pet? I would want a Muskrat, because it swims and I like to swim. We could swim together.
20- How do you describe me to friends? Mean, you make me clean.
21- What would you do if you were invisible for a day? I would take people's ice-cream cones.

Beaver Island/BBQ and fun on the Beach

This afternoon was gorgeous so we skipped our chores and headed to the beach. We have to take advantage of nice weather when it comes. It felt so good to be outside. Jeremy grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and made me and Lilly a grilled cheese. I seriously LOVE grilled cheese sandwiches especially on the grill when the bun is really toasted. Yummy! The older boys had a great time playing ball in the sand, Lilly loved wading in the water and Chief loved the water as well as running up and down the boardwalk. It was a wonderful day, now I guess I better go do some laundry.

Chief with his two favorite things: Sticks and Water

Lilly with Canada on the other side of the water.

Chief reaching his little paw in the Cheese Puff bag.

Sometimes I Wonder....

The other day I noticed Goose holding his jacket full of cans. He carefully would put one down, balance on it and then put another one down etc... Apparently he didn't want to get shoes on, yet he didn't want to get his socks wet, but needed to get to the garage. This was his solution.

Chief is such a climber! Here he is hanging out on my food pantry shelf.

Star Student

Lillian wanted me to make sure I got a picture of her as Star Student. She is excited because she got to eat lunch with her teacher as well as be the line leader.

This is George and he is Oh so Curious....

Chief in action....


Chief is quite the climber and hangs out in Lilly's dollhouse most mornings.

Afraid of the Dark

Lilly is afraid of the dark. Her night light recently broke so she now sleeps with her little lamp on. Last night I went to check on her before I went to bed and saw this. I guess the lamp was just a litte too bright. I love this girl!

The Rest of Spring Break, playing catch up....

Granny always has me laughing. Every day he would come down in a costume. This day it happened to be the bumblebee that he wore for Halloween when he was two. My he has grown!

I believe Granny wore this costume when he was five and about 40 pounds lighter. It was quite snug. I made him promise me that he would be dressed by the time our friends got here.


We cleaned up lots of messes. Chief loves the vacuum.

We chased Turkeys and the kids were shocked that they flew.

We made Kool-Aid Playdough. Oliver loved it!

During Spring Break Lilly had a few late nights, playing Go Fish. I totally remember playing Slap Jack and Old Maid with my childhood friends late into the night.

Easter Dinner

The kids all ready to go to church on Easter Sunday.

Easter dinner is my favorite, mainly because I love the leftovers and the fact that I don't have to cook for several days after. We had Ham, scalloped potatoes, rolls, stuffing (Stove Top), deviled eggs, Green Salad with Jeremy's homeade Italian dressing, green beans, raspberry jello and for dessert strawberry shortcake. I remember my mom always cooking a similiar meal. I miss my mom's food so much, even though I make the same thing it just doesn't taste as good as hers.


Chief loved his potatoes and ham.

Easter Sunday, The Miracle of the Empty Tomb

Easter Sunday is my favorite day of the entire year. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ for His life and for His atonement. Not only did He suffer for my personal sins, but He also suffered for my pain and sorrow as well. I remember very vividly fighting physically for my own life after the birth of Maxwell. The pain of my abdomen and body filling up with blood was excruciating. Doctors couldn’t knock me out because my veins were all collapsed. At the time the doctors didn’t know that I was internally bleeding to death. I was completely aware of the seriousness of what was going on as well as the extreme pain. My heart felt like it was going to explode and I was literally shaking from head to toe in agony. I remember being rushed down the hallway debating whether I should keep fighting for my life or give up. The pain was intolerable. At the moment when I realized I couldn’t handle the pain much longer the thought came to me of the Savior Jesus Christ. I thought of Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. I was reminded not only did He suffer for my personal sins, but for my pain as well. He did this for every single person in the entire world that has ever lived! The thought was overwhelming. After going through excruciating amounts of pain that do not even come remotely close to what the Savior experienced I honestly can’t even begin to imagine the pain and agony our Savior Jesus Christ experienced for all of us. I was reminded of the complete love He has for me, while all alone in the Garden He bled and suffered for me. How grateful I am for a Savior who atoned for me. I was reminded of the love my Savior has for me once again while I was holding my little baby Maxwell. Knowing my time with my baby was short, I couldn’t help but contemplate the miracle of the empty tomb. The emptiness of the tomb brings me so much joy and happiness. I know that there is life after death and I will see my child again. My Savior Jesus Christ made this possible. How blessed I am to be Maxwell’s mother. How grateful I am to have had the opportunity to mother him for 5 earthly days. I am so grateful that I am his forever mother and will get to mother him in the eternities. The Savior has made this possible, and I can think of no greater gift than that of Eternal life and to be with my husband and children forever and ever. I know that there is life after death. I know that families can be forever. I have no doubt that I will hold my precious son Maxwell again. The Savior Jesus Christ has made this possible. I love Him so much and I am eternally grateful for Him and for this Easter Sunday when I have had time to reflect on what the miracle of the empty tomb means to me.

Meet the Easter Bunny

Lilly standing in front of the Easter window at Kelly's Country Store on Grand Island.

It was fun to see all the homeade chocolate. It came in all different shapes, including pepporoni pizza!

Lilly loved the Bunny too, but questioned why he never stopped smiling.

To say Oliver LOVES the Bunny is an understatement. Seriously, this little boy of mine didn't even want to get off the Bunny's lap. He just smiled the entire time while sitting there.



We headed to Kelly's Country Store on Grand Island to check out their homeade chocolate as well as visit the bunny.

The Hunt and the Silver Egg

We always say Goose has eagle eyes. Every Christmas he finds the dill pickle in the Christmas tree. This year he found the coveted silver egg. Whoever finds the prized egg gets a package of silly putty. It didn't surprise me when Goose said, "I found it!"

Me and my chickens.

It has been fun to watch the grass grow in the childrens Easter Baskets. It was definatly ready to be mowed by the time Easter came.

Goose nibbling on his Reeces Pieces carrot.




Lilly counting her eggs.

It's a little tricky carrying the eggs in a basket full of wheat-grass.


The bunny hid lots of eggs in the toy room.

Goose looking for the remaining eggs.

Coloring Eggs

On Friday night we colored 48 hard boiled eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide. I think our menu this week will include lots of egg-salad sandwiches and potato salad. Good thing we love eggs!





Granny had his dozen dyed in about 5 minutes. He waited for the other kids to finish dying there's and then took all the cups of dye and added his eggs. He's so efficient! :)

Goose takes egg decorating very seriously, and adds lots of details to his eggs.

Lilly took a lot of time on her eggs. In fact she dyed them once and dunk them again in dye once they dried.

We always joke and say that Oliver is this little person, but has a huge spirit. He seriously thinks he is one of the big kids. Here he is counting the eggs. :)

Oliver chose to dye his first egg orange.