The Birch Family

December 12 of 12

2011-12-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

November 12 of 12

2011-12-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

Because I've been so busy with school these past two months, November and December 12 of 12 were almost missed. In an effort to rectify this blasphemy, I'm posting serious randomness! Enjoy!

October 12of12

2011-10-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

1) dry cereal and hot chocolate for jace
2) special-k for me
3) ellie gettin' gussy'd up
4) pickin' up lainie from seminary
5) at weber
6) good mornin' dustin!
7) great view from his office
8) what's on his desk today (machine design lecture)
9) what i'm working on today (sketch-up)
10) quick trip to the dr.
11) yw volleyball practice
12) chillin'

Back to School

2011-09-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Back to School
Go Blue!

Zombie Prom

2011-09-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Lainie went to Zombie Prom with her friends Alexa and Amber.
She had a blast dancing with all those hollowed out cheeks and cracked up faces!

September 12of12

2011-09-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

1.-2. Wake-y wake-y eggs and bac-y

3. Long gone

4. Dustin in his new office

5. Where I spend most of my days

6. Typical collegiate lunch

7. Finally getting the sleeping bags washed

8.-9. Headed home from school

10. Quick stop at the grocery store

11. Homework

12. IV2 YW

Seattle 4

2011-08-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter in 3-D at the IMAX
and the
Museum of Flight

Seattle 3

2011-08-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Admiralty Head Lighthouse in the Puget Sound

Seattle Trip 2

2011-08-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Fun @ Fort Casey

Seattle Trip

2011-08-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

Taking the Ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island

Trek

2011-08-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Martin's Cove, Wyoming

July 27th-30th, 2011

August 12of12

2011-08-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

We were at Heber Valley Girl's Camp on the 12th!

Here are a few candids of Lainie Lu and Friends.

1-Bumble Bee

2- Journaling All The Fun!

3&4- Hangin' With Her Peeps! (IV2 YW)

5- Gigglin' Girlies (lainie, jessie and bridgette)

6- Peace!

7-9-High Ropes Course

(she climbed a swinging pole, traversed a 2-line cable and took the zip-line back down)

10- "Look Ma, No Hands!"

11- Skit Time (lainie, carol and madison)

12-Genesis 1:24...Creeping thing?

Unfortunately, because of my anti-camera skills, I missed out on a lot of great photo ops like Lainie canoeing on the lake, all the wildlife, the gorgeous hikes and the talk she gave during the Stake's Devotional Night :( Maybe I'll change my ways?.....or not.

July 12of12

2011-07-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

1- Headed to Seattle (all smiles!)
2- Plenty o' sustenance
3- Lots o' things to keep Jace busy
4- Not much to look at
5- Plenty of road ahead
6- We have to go how much further?
7- Bored
8- Something other than sagebrush
9- 12 hours in a seat belt
10- This is why we're here! (Tate's baptism)
11- No trip to the Austins is complete with out this. (Pen Thai)
12- Or this! (Fish and Chip and a Tanker)

June 12of12

2011-06-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

12 of 11 on the 19th?
Yes, I'm seriously off my rocker!
(it's been one of those months, unfortunately they happen more often than I'd like)
Not a single photo was taken on the 12th,
so I'll just have to make do with the 11th.

1-12) Lots o' fun at Shoshone Falls!

May 12of12

2011-05-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

1. this stinkin' thing woke us all up long before our alarm clocks
(no fire.....just a dead battery)
2. thought i'd get out in the early morning sunshine
3. garbage day
4. may flowers
5. allergy inducer
6. the view from ellies room
7. cutest kids ever
8. a little prep work before a big project
9. picture day at dance
10. two-headed monster
11. time out
12. thoughts from school

Sweaty Eyeballs

2011-04-14T13:32:00.001-07:00

Me: No, Jace! I'm not taking you to McDonald's for lunch today. Jace starts to cry Me: Stop crying, you're acting like a spoiled brat. Jace: Mom, I'm not crying! I'm a dude! My eyeballs are sweaty!

April 12of12

2011-04-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

1. it's not raining....yet

2. laundry-schmaundry! i hate laundry!

3. oh, but i do love clean bedding!

4. who does my little rag-a-muffin ottoman need to be? this one?

5. or this one?

(i love something else but it's a bit pricey, should i go for it anyway?)

6. the easter bunny came early to our house!

(jace won't leave him alone....i hope he comes back on the 24th)

7. ellie at achievement days

8. lainie and calamity hangin' after school

9. homework-schmomework! jace hates homework!

10. a bit of light reading for dustin tonight

11. he found a final exam cheat sheet from 1998

(this was in his advanced strengths of materials class for his masters program)

12. the girls still messin' around long past bedtime

Bon Jovi!

2011-03-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

I have a secret to share.....I have had a serious crush on Bon Jovi since their Slipper When Wet album came out when I was in 8th grade. I remember asking for the tape for Christmas that year and I seem to recall that Shawn was mad that I got it instead of him. (he didn't believe I really like them that well) Dustin and I have tried a number of times over the years to see them in concert but due to various circumstances we've never been able to do it. But now it's finally happened! I can die a happy, happy girl!

(I know, I know "serious lack of pictures". I've actually got tons of video instead. But since I'm not willing to show y'all my "serious lack of vocal talents" this will have to do!)

The things I do for love

2011-03-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

I am a fair weather skier. I'll only go if the day is sunny and clear. Even if it's just a little cloudy I choose to wait for a better day. This perturbs my husband to no end and so, in order to keep the peace and show him that I really do respect the things he values most (ie. spending time with his kiddos on the ski hill....) I agreed to go night skiing with them. As you can see in the first picture, it was looking great when we got there. But, by the time we bought our tickets and lashed on our skis, we had a full scale winter storm on our hands. The kind that just keeps on dumping! Of course, just to spite me, the wind started blowing hard, causing the snow to relentlessly pelt our uncovered faces. Oh, the sting! That sort of thing is far more than I'm able/willing to deal with. So, to keep from pitching a full on hissy-fit and marching myself to the car, each time we boarded the ski lift, I'd tuck my head as far inside my coat as possible and recite over and over......I love my husband, I love my husband, I love my husband, I love my husband! Oh, the things I do for love!

P.S. Everyone else quite enjoyed themselves! (I'm the only complainer in this family.)

March 12of12

2011-03-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

On the 12th, we celebrated Lainie's 14th birthday with the Birches. Here's a glimpse of our day.

1- Laine and Amber in Jackson Hole

(Susan and I took the girls shopping for the morning)

2- Eating wings at Bubba's

3- Tubing at Targhee with the Birch cousins

(while we were in Jackson, the others spent the day skiing.

we met them at 4 to tube)

4- Jace is ready to go

(we couldn't get this little guy to quit, he loved it!)

5- Laine and Amber on their way down the hill

6- El Conquistador

7- Ellie's turn

8- Another perspective

9- Mr. & Mrs.

10-Madey, Syd and Ellie lashing their tubes together

11- Pizza back at G & G Birch's

12- Happy Birthday, Lainie!

A huge thank you to Susan and Keith for hosting us as well as to Amanda, Jill and Bart for skiing with the kiddos all day. I'm so grateful for family like you!

Future Einstein?

2011-03-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

At 5, kids have the liberty to constantly change their minds. One minute they want hot dogs for lunch and the instant you make said hot dog they want macaroni and cheese. The same holds true for their future careers. One day it's a fireman the next it's a ninja but recently, for Jace, it's been a scientist of sorts. He used his mechanical engineering talents to come up with the idea to create a robot who walks around downtown handing out money to the general public. (One day, upon running into his creator, the robot would then give Jace all the money he possessed thereby rendering Jace the richest man in the world!) Not long after that, Jace insisted on becoming a genetic engineer to create an animal that was half tiger, half octopus that was also endowed with dragon wings. (Jace would then train said animal to become the greatest anti-terrorist weapon known to mankind!)

While waiting to get to that point in his life, however, he tries to come up with good ways to solve everyday problems around the house. Here are a couple I thought fairly funny:

On an especially cold day a few weeks ago, I sat on the couch snuggled under a large blanket. Jace approached and said, "Mom, I know how we can get you warm." "How?" I questioned. "First," he replied, "we need a really hairy guy!"

During the previously mentioned cold spell, the drain in our shower froze. Of course, I didn't realize it until I was standing in ankle deep water with a head full of shampoo. Later, as I'm scooping out the water, Jace comes in to see what I'm doing. "I know how to fix that" he said. "First, we need two zebras!"

Oh, boy! What will he think up next?

February 12of12

2011-02-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

1- Leadership Training Mtg. first thing this morning
2- Lainie @ dance
3- Dustin making Tammy's birthday cake
4- Time to work on Jace's Valentines
5- Lainie's Valentines
6- More Valentines?
7- Lainie preparing to speak in Sacrament Mtg.
8- Annual Valentine's Day dinner with the Jackson's and McKay's
9- Tammy's 40th Birthday Party!
10- Geriatric Necessities
11- Home again, home again, jiggety-jog
12- Shhh, sleeping

Twelve of Twelve

2011-01-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for a way to motivate myself to keep blogging and having a bit more fun with it when I came across this great idea posted by a friend of mine. She is taking twelve photos of the things she does on the twelfth of each month. I thought this would be a great way to show "a day in the life" of the Birches. Since we live so far from most of you we aren't acquainted with the every day goings on in your lives. So, here's a glimpse at ours. You'll see right away just how boring and mundane we can be but hopefully I'll get the chance to share some interesting things as well. Here's to a new year with at least one post a month! YEAH!

12of12

2011-01-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

1. chocolate milk and cinnamon toast, the only thing Jace will eat in the morning

(the only thing he'll eat at any meal!)

2. the bathroom...the busiest room in the house

3. picked up the carpool and am headed to school

4. volunteered in Kindergarten

5.early out today. picked up the girls and headed to the orthodontist

6.took Lainie to dance class

7.Ellie's parent teacher conference

(Mr. Garcia is her Spanish Immersion teacher/Mrs. Wilburt teaches English)

8.Jace played ball with his friend Anakin while we waited to meet the teachers

9.Jace's parent teacher conference with Ms. Susana

10.Ellie's favorite book series

(she got a new book for getting good grades)

11.finally home again!

(by the tracks in the drive way, you'd think I make a lot of trips a day. I DO!)

12. off again to make Temple Time Capsules with the YW

Wishing you Happiness and Joy!

2010-12-27T21:11:00.000-08:00