Funny story...

I was thinking about Tanner, my fifteen year old son, today. He was (and still is)the funniest person! My sister used to work at Deseret Book (while she was living with us) and she would go to work and tell them all the funny things Tanner would say and do. Her co-workers would actually ask her to tell them Tanner Stories! I'm not joking, he was hilarious! Here's an example: When Tanner was about 6 or 7 (he still had a funny way of speaking, like saying "yucky charms" instead of "Lucky Charms") we were talking about money or something. And Tanner pipes in "I want to be the Pwesident of the United States, cuz then my picture would be on the dolla biw...(dollar bill) Ha Ha!
Here's another one: Becky (my sister) was sitting in the recliner and Tanner (about 5) came around from behind the recliner with a sheet over him saying " Ooooooooooo, I am the Holy Ghost...(in his best ghostly warble)
And yes, in the photo up top he is acting funny...
Tanner is my chaos child and so many times he frustrates me, but at the same time he makes me laugh hysterically.
His new thing is saying" Oh Mom, you're gorgeous when your mad..." when he's in big trouble and I'm coming to get him. Ha! How do you stay mad? He makes me laugh too much.

Fun in the mountains!!

Last Friday we went to Mt. Charleston to get away from the heat. It was about 30 degrees cooler up there and only 1 hour away. We WERE going to be going camping up there but unfortunately it gets around 30 or 40 degrees at night and my sister didn't think it would be good for the baby. (I don't think so either) So, we did a day trip. It was really fun too. Usually there are a ton of people there but because we went on Friday, there was only 1 other family up there and they left pretty quick (Was it us? Nah...I took a shower that morning!)
We stopped at Subway and got some sandwiches to go (since we ARE in the desert and they don't allow you to do fires. Or charcoal) and bought some fruit and juice. Can't forget the chips!
The kids brought some things to play around with. A ball and bat, a football and a soccer. Here's a couple of pics of them playing!













Look at this look of concentration!! That's right! I know how to hit a ball!! I played Varsity Softball in High School! Too bad all of that extra weight has to be there!! It inhibits me mightily!!





Here's my little K-dog climbing the tree!! He's a little monkey isn't he!!?



And hello! It's ALL about the food!!



Awwwwww...isn't this picture sweet. I love my little Kaidan!! He is the most loving little 8 year old ever!



Here's some scenery! So beautiful up there compared to the desert. (Did I tell you that I HATE cactus! Bleh!!)




O.k for next part of my little story, you have to have a strong stomach. If you're squeamish then I would recommend you leaving right now.






Are you gone yet?








I'm serious... I don't want to have any nasty comment about what I put on my own blog... That's why I'm warning you....








There's a monster at the end of this post....










Well, if you haven't left yet then you get to hear the most horrible and funny thing that happened that day!!














Right before we left, Brynleigh started telling me that she needed to go to the bathroom (no.2) and I told her to hold it til we got home. And then she said that she had a stomach ache. I said, "I know Byn-Byn, It's because you have to go poo, we'll go home right now so you can go"
So we gathered everything up and got in the car and left. Brynleigh was really not feeling well. She kept saying her stomach hurt. And when she went to sleep with a very concerned expression on her face, it was so sad...
She woke up for a little bit and said again that her tummy hurt, only this time her lips were a little pale....

This was why....























I KNOW!! I was grossed out TOO!!! I tried to catch it in a bag, but she was RIGHT behind me!!! And her sister who was sitting next to her, was crying because she had a cold and the elevation change coming down was giving her excruciating pain! SO...for the next 45 min. there was a smell of sweet watermelon in the air...(NOT!)
Edited to add: My sister asked why we didn't pull over and clean up Brynleigh and the carseat...Well, she is in big girl underwear now, so we don't carry wipes. And of course, we had NO napkins,papertowels etc. This was a learning experience for us. Always bring wipes with you even when you don't think you need to!




And how could she do THIS....?





O.k. I know this was really gross. And I'm sure you are wondering why in heavens name I would write a post about it and then show a picture. Well, I'll tell you why! I have 10 children. And in the twenty years that I have had these children, I have NEVER had any of them throw up in the car. And even if they did, I would've been prepared for it. It was only now, on my LAST child, who just became potty-trained, so I don't have to carry wipes, that this happened. I mean, really! Who would've thought? And I had two choice, be really grossed out and upset, or be really grossed out and find the irony and humor of the situation. So, I was thinking about it and the more I thought about it, the funnier it was. I was SO unprepared! After 10 kids, I was unprepared!! Ha Ha! That is soooooo funny to me. So yeah! I took a picture to commemorate it. And I shared my sense of humor! (It's usually not gross, but there's a first to everything right?)

Some changes on the Bridal Shower Invite...

When I was making the invitations up, I made a few small changes. I think I like this one a little better. Maybe a little classier. It's a kitchen shower, so I thought the cherries were a good touch. And the rest just looks elegant to me. What do you think? Do you like this one or the other one? (Not that I'd change anything, cuz they're already done!!) LOL!

Bridal Shower invite!

Here's the invitation for my new daughter-in-laws bridal shower! How do you like them?

Some fun with the kiddos!

I saw this fun activity on a blog somewhere and thought it might be a little bit fun for the kids. I took some butcher paper and traced each of the kids on their own piece of paper and then let them color themselves.






This last picture is of Brynleigh. She wanted to color on everyone else's picture and then she decided to throw a temper tantrum and be really rude. So...she had to go to the corner. I don't know...there's something about seeing their little dejected stance that makes me want to take a picture of it. They're just cute.


Brynleigh cracks me up! I've talked to her about how it hurts my heart when she's mean to me. And then we talked about where the heart is and how it sounds. She'll listen to my heart frequently and then make me listen to hers. She got really mad at me one day and yelled out "You heart not BUMPIN'!" Oh my gosh! I nearly fell over laughing...

Reminds me of my other daughter McKenna. She's 13 now, but when she was about 3 (same age as Bryn) she yelled something VERY similar..."You not my HONEY!!" to her Dad. (He used to call her "Honey" all the time.) Apparently he corrected her about something and she didn't like it!! Oh my goodness! If you could just see their faces...Truly priceless! They were so indignant!

Mother's Day and some other goodies...

Mother's Day is so much fun for me! I love that my children make things for me. I don't know why, but they mean so much more to me than things that are bought. Tanner, my fifteen year old son who is much too cool to show emotion, made me a card with a poem on it.




You can't see it but he drew a picture of me from an old photo on the front. It pleased me so much to see that he took the time and made the effort to MAKE something for me.
Here's a photo of Emma's present to me. Emma and Joseph made one for me in preschool and they were so excited to have a present for me. They didn't want to wait for Mother's Day! They actually wrapped the present themselves! I'm sure that was super fun for them


Here's what they made for me! I love them so much!!


And aren't the hugs the best thing! I have pictures of me with everyone, but I'm not sharing!! (They woke me up out of a dead sleep!! So NOT photogenic in the morning!!)



After church I got my breakfast in bed. Buttermilk pancakes and eggs and bacon! I'm not a morning person and everytime they made me breakfast in bed in the morning I couldn't eat it because it made me sick. So....this time I asked for it after church!! Yummm.....

And then Tanner decided to do a photo shoot while I was in bed...so.....I went ahead and posed for him! LOL!!






He was so funny..."Work it Mom!" "Fabulous" etc...

I tell you, I love having fun with my kids!

Some yumminess for you!!

One of my favorite cookies in the world (o.k. my only favorite cookie) is Snickerdoodles. I don't know why but I absolutely LOVE them! Well, I haven't made them in forever and a day, and yesterday I was feelin' the itch to bake! (Doesn't happen often...) I had gone on a blog that I had found a while ago, called "Get off your butt and bake", and had seen a recipe claiming to be the BEST Snickerdoodles in the world. I thought to myself, "Hmmmmm...I wonder if it's better than the one I use?" So, I decided to write it down. (Especially since I lost MY recipe and I'd have to call my sister and see if SHE had it) At the last minute I chickened out and decided to go ahead and call my sister and see if she still had the recipe...
She didn't answer her phone (Dag Nab it all!!) Soooooooo...I had to use the recipe! (When I finally get that itch to bake, I gotta scratch it!!)
I just finished baking them and I'm going to be giving them to a friend who has had a birthday this week and to another who was extremely kind and has blessed our family quite a bit. And...I DON'T WANT TO GIVE THEM AWAY!!!!!!! I love this recipe!! These cookies are to die for!! Want to give them a try? You do?!! O.k....Here it is!!!!!



Snickerdoodles


2 1/2 cups All purpose flour
2 teas. Cream of Tartar
1 teas. Baking soda
1/2 teas. Salt
1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter- room temp.
1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening (Crisco)
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 teas. Pure Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon and Sugar Mixture

1 1/2 teas. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup Sugar



Sift together dry ingredients (excluding sugar)in large bowl. Mix butter and shortening until lightened( Medium speed) in color. (About 2 minutes) Add 1 1/2 cups of sugar in steady stream and mix for another 2 min. Add egg on low speed one at a time. Mixing well after each. Stir in Vanilla. Add dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing until just blended after each. Scrape dough into clean bowl, cover with Saran Wrap and put in refrigerator for 6-8 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll in walnut sized balls. Combine the 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 teas. cinnamon in small mixing bowl. Place each ball in sugar mixture and coat evenly. Place 3 in. apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 min. or until lightly browned. Shorter baking time makes a softer cookie and longer would be a crispy one. Your choice...

I left mine in until I just barely saw some golden brown at the bottom of the cookie and they came out crispy on the outside and beautifully soft on the inside. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM....I think I've had like 5 of them. Oink Oink...

P.S. I was just kidding (kind of) about not wanting to give them away! I'm still going to. It'll just be a little bit of a sacrifice. Which is ALWAYS good for you!!