Memories

Do you remember and maybe it wasn't that way with the younger part of the fam but I think it was that mom would always have some kind of dessert to eat after school like cookies or brownies or cake. I loved that. I'm not such a good mother now but my kids love it when I have treats for them after school. It's amazing that I didn't get fatter than I am as a young child always having treats!!

So Long, farewell!!

Not so sad as Mijken's goodbye's but I have to say goodbye to my shoes. I went out into the field to help the kids find a hole in the mainline to dig up and I got my shoes all muddy. Actually, everyone's shoes got muddy. So I threw them all in the washing machine. Everyone's came out looking great EXCEPT mine, which I wear everyday and I have no other shoes to wear. Here's a pic of how they looked. As you can also see, we also have wasps!!

Do's and Don'ts

Ok, I have a few do's and don'ts for you today. Do hook up the hose outside to the water faucet so that it is much easier to water the calves. Do do that big homework project a few days BEFORE it is due at school. Do take your garbage out more than one a week. Do call the local radio station and win $105 for being the 15th caller and be entered into a drawing for a trip to Disneyland. (I wish I had done this but I didn't. But my friend, Danell did and she WON!! a $105!! So exciting!!) Don't leave your second cell phone purchased on Ebay, lost your first one, bought a second on Ebay and found out it was a dud, puchased 3rd one in your pants and guess what, you washed your pants. RUINED phone!! Now I'm back on Ebay looking for a new phone AGAIN!! Don't buy airline tickets from a company that is going to go belly up!! I hope that Southwest is still in business when we go on our sister retreat!! I heard this morning they are having problems!! YIKES!!

Just boring

Not much going on around here. We are trying to get our water and power paid so that we can water the grass which is very yellow and the wheat. Great year to be a wheat farmer even if it is only 5 acres. The girls have their state "no child left behind" tests for the next few weeks. Lexi is nervous but she will do fine. Sum could care less. Bode has been busy building a piece of farming equipment out of my tiny screwdrivers, four corners from his sandwich this morning, a couple AAA batteries and some twine. In his mind, if it (it being a PU, tractor, etc.) doesn't have something behind it, like a trailor or piece of equipment, it's basically worthless. He has to create something that can be pulled. What a funny guy. I bet John Deere would have really liked to have Bode on his design team!!

O Remember, Remember

This week in RS we are studying the Conf Talk given by Pres. Eyring O Remember, Remember. He challenges us to find the Savior's hand in our lives and remember. Some of the things that I have noticed this week have been

My clothes line. It has finally gotten warm enough to hang clothes out which I love. I love the smell of the clothes and the fact, that since my dryer is so awesome, my clothes get drier quicker on the line then in the dryer. I also get to spend so time with my children teaching them how to hang clothes.

I love my NICE riding lawn mower. It allows me to cut my yard in a fraction of the time. And because of that I'm able to have a big yard to enjoy. Because this kind of mower isn't cheap I appreciate my husband for either making enough $ to let me buy it or just agreeing that we could buy it.

I LOVE Brek's swing. He sleeps in it every night so I get sleep. This swing was given to me by sisters in my ward, so that makes me love them more for their generous offers to me.

I love the fact that I have running water. Whenever I go to the sink or the bath, water comes out of the faucet. I'm able to turn on my washing machine or dishwasher and know that things will be cleaned.

When did that happen??

A couple days ago I was outside with Bode and his pre school friends and Bode was riding his TWO wheeled bike. I didn't even know he could do that. I asked him how he learned and he said that Lex and Sum taught him. Then I asked Lex and she said all we had to do was give him a push and off he went. Man, I totally missed that one. So he knows how to ride a bike. Exciting!!

Random thoughts

Spring Break is OVER!! Boo HOO!! I don't like having school in. It's hard to do homework. Summer missed school yesterday and woke up this morning not feeling well. I made her stay in bed all day yesterday. I think I'm going to have to take her to the dr. but then she got up and got ready. I gave her motrin. She will probably call during the day sick and I will have to go get her. Bode isn't feeling well either and Brek has a cough. I wish everyone would get better. I'm ready for no more coughing. Bode coughs so hard that he throws up and he also likes to spit his boogers out where ever he might be standing. YUCK!! We haven't really done anything fun. Eric has ward council tonight I have song practice for a cantata our ward is doing and a Camp wooten meeting to attend. Which Eric has to go to because it's the same time as song practice and I missed last week's practice because I thought it was at 6 and it was at 5. I had some funny Bode-isms but I can't remember them right now. I will have to write later.

Brek

Brek is now 12 lbs 11 oz He is really growing and his hair is staying dark. His eyelashes can hold a candle to Erica's boys' eyelashes. They are long, dark and thick. At his dr this week, Hailey Wells was his nurse. She is doing her intern at my dr. office. She wants to go into prediatric oncology nursing. YIKES!! I don't think that I could stand to do that kind of work!! She was really cute and nice. Wish we could find a nice boy for her!!

Pies galore

Today is the official day of Scout pie making day. I am so glad that I'm not doing it. Eric is no longer the Scout Master!! I would rather do a community dinner. We have helped though with our brains being picked and we also helped cream the shortening and the flour/salt together for the pie crusts. We did that last night at the cherry plant with Mike and Joyce Rowley and fam and Gma Freeman came and helped too. She did the dirtiest job that of getting the shortening out of the cans and into the measuring bowls. She had grease up to her elbows and she also had to work with all the tweenies. Lexi, Sum, Megan R., Brent R. and Bode. She had to keep them all on task. Lexi said that she had grease in her armpits. I'm glad I didn't have to do that job but I did run my bosch and had flour dust all over my face. I wonder if it was white. I didn't look before I showered. All in all it went pretty fast and we made enough crust mix for 700 pies. The big job is today but I'm not going because Brek and Bode have dr. appts. Bode was supposed to get shots and a well baby check up but he isn't well. His nose is pretty green and Brek has a cough. They are both sick. I wish Spring would come. The frost control is difinitely happening. Everyone was ok until 2 nights ago and last night. Hopefully everyone's fruit faired well.

Footprints and Fire

One night a couple weeks ago, our fire got out of control and it burned our grass. Now you can't get to the garbage cans without walking through the soot of the fire. Here's the evidence that someone didn't realize their feet were dirty until they hit the carpet and then with one big wipe, hoping to get all the black off of their feet onto the carpet, they left a huge stain that I haven't been able to get out yet. I think I'm just going to go down town and get new flooring and then put it in myself. I'm so sick of this yucky carpet and it doesn't come clean. In case you were wondering it was Summer who tracked it in. But I did it last night, I just realized it before I hit the carpet. Lexi had kitchen floors this morning and she had to wash them twice. Needless to say, she wasn't too thrilled about washing them again. You really have to scrub to get the black off. Summer threw her shoes outside. I'm going to try to wash them to see if the soot will come off. It seems like when you get it wet the harder it sticks.

Can't see the cowboy

I've had complaints that the cowboy can't be seen.

Eggs, goats, piggy tails and a real cowboy

We had a pre school field trip to Easterday's farm which has many different animals including long horned cows, beef cows, chickens, a single duck and a ton of pigs. And of course, a cowboy, who has goats and a pony whose name is Pony. The kids were able to feed the goats and Pony and then we went and saw the chickens and looked into the coop at their nests and eggs and looked at the duck that also lays eggs that Easterdays eat. Then we went to the VERY smelly pigs and saw the teen-agers who were very wild and unruly and fighting the whole time and to the nursery where about 20 mamas had new babies. We really stunk to high heaven after getting out of the pig barn but the best part was when we saw the cowboy, who is John, we just call him the cowboy. Kaden Rowley (Mike and Joyce's boy) said, "Is that a REAL cowboy." I said "Yes" He said "Well, where's his cowboy hat?" He was wearing an Easterday hat. Anyway, they all wanted to have their pic taken with a REAL cowboy then. We all had to go home and take bathes and wash our clothes but the kids had a great time. This morning when Bode woke up he asked, "Where's preschool at today?"

Easter dresses

Here are the kids in their Easter-day clothes. To get that soft hue to your pics use your camera when it's cold and the lens keeps fogging up. You can tell that Brek is loving this photo session.

I'm a blonde

Or at least I'm covering up my gray. Brek really took a toll on my hair and I'm very gray. I also got it cut. It isn't done in these pics. Hopefully, I will take some more when I do do my hair.

Easter-day

My kids had a fun Easter Day. We had a picnic in the house with Gma & pa Nielson (at our house) Lexi and Bode hid then eggs then all 3 of them found the eggs. The girls and I made the whole meal on Sat which included chicken, mashed tatoes, green salad, strawberry shortcake & veggie bars. We also made ice cream cake for Freeman's the next day. We stayed very busy. Sunday we had a get together with all the Freeman cousins. I think there was over 230 eggs hidden in Gma's yard. Everyone was supposed to bring 10 for each kid. Lexi did hunt eggs on Sunday though. She's growing up. It was too cold to have the pinata so we had it on Monday. Just prolonging the candy high. Next year we are going to put vegs in the pinata.