World's longest slip n' slide

Remember the slip n' slides we slipped and slid on as kids? We would run and leap onto our stomachs and slid down the "long" piece of plastic that had the garden hose running down in it. We would jump up and squeal and do it again. If you had a hill to put it on it was better and if you had TWO slip n' slid's to hook toghether it was EVEN BETTER!

Now do you remember the post I did last fall when our kids played on the bags? The long white bags that were filled with corn and hay? The bags that our kids love to climb on, run on and slide down? Well, imagine one of those bags new and empty. Un-dirtied by the laws of the harvest. Brand-spanking new. Now imagine un-rolling that sucker out of the box and down the hill of a rather large lawn in 90 degree weather on July 2nd. Remember the garden hose we used to use? Now imagine a whole hand-line hooked to the pivot that is gushing water at about 10 times what a poor little hose is capable of. Now throw in our four children pluse a six year old neice and two nephews ages 11 and 16. Add in Brandon, age 27 and Lisa age 21 (hee hee).

There is Morgan using a snow sled.

Braxton sliding normally.

Brandon's nephew Cameron "surfing" on a snow sled. (Side note: I surfed. Not for very long. It was not pretty. But it was fun.)

Travin's favorite way to go was on a pool tube.

They got creative toward the end.

Dang he's cute.

And finally a train with all kids involved.

I had pictures of all the kids and the WHOLE slide, but my computer didn't let me up-load all of them so I'm missing three. But rest assured, a good time was had by ALL.

Question of the Day

A question from a four year old girl:

Mom, how does Tinkerbell sleep with her wings on?

Twas the Night of the Jimmer--by Lisa Whitesides

Twas the day of the game, when all through the land,
the fans were all stirring, even the band.
The Jerseys were hung from the ceiling with care,
with hopes that 32 would soon be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their blues,

while visions of cougars played in their shoes.

And mamma in her shirt and I in my cap,

had just settled in to cheer and to clap.

When out on the court there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my seat to see what was the matter!

Away from my seat I flew with a slash,

tore out my camera and flipped up the flash!

The light from the roof, did shine to below,

and gave glow to the cougars ready to put on the show.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

but a group of cougars and a Coach so dear.

With a man so smart, so tall everyone knows,

I knew in a moment it must be Coach Rose.

More rapid than eagles his players they came,

he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

Now Stephen! Now Charles! Now Logan and Anson!

On Kyle! On Chris! On James and Jackson!

to the top of the key, to the top of the rim,

Now dash away! Dash away! Get us a win!

And then in a vision, he came from a cloud,

the yelling, the stomping, the joy of the crowd.

As I drew in my head and was looking around,

Down to the court came Jimmer with a bound!

He was dressed all in white from his head to his shoe,

and his clothes were all trimmed in deep cougar blue.

A 32 was stitched to the shirt on his back,

and he looked like a wolf ready to take on the pack!

His eyes how they twinkled, his hair it did curl,

his jaw was set, ready to take on the world.

His droll little mouth was drawn to a line,

as his lips formed the words, "this game is mine."

He was tall and lean, an athletic guy,

I laughed when I saw him, but some they did cry.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

his shots went in, not one did he shirk.

He drove the ball in and swished a few three's,

he ran down the court light as a breeze.

He as fouled on a drive and went to the line,

he put in both shots, one at a time.

The defense pressed him all up and down,

Leaving Emery wide open for shots to drown.

When the buzzer went off, ending the game,

he yelled with joy and without any shame.

The other team left, but not before they heard,

the cougar fans shouting, "You got Jimmered!"

Behold....Your Mountain West Conference Champions! We love you!

Feburary 25th

We have had a few weeks of semi-nice weather. It's been in the 30's and 40's. Warm enough to melt almost all of the snow at our house. Warm enough to dry out most of the mudd in the driveway. We even went as far as to get out the bikes the other day. We oiled the chains and pumped up the tires and the kids had ball. Still cold, mind you. Hats, gloves, and winter coats required but still, nice enough to play outside. We got out the basketball and re-discovered the basketball court in the back yard. The soccor ball got dusted off as well.

Then this morning, we woke up to this.

It's about three inches if you are counting.

And let me just clue you in on something. Snow on November 25th is great. So much fun. Snow on Decembrer 25, EVEN BETTER. Snow on January 25 is annoying but expected. Snow on February 25 IS NOT FUN. The kids got up and looked outside and were so sad. Just look at our poor basketball court now.

And that's not even the saddest part. Look at Micah's bike.

It was so happy a day or two ago, as was the rider.

And now look at what this has forced me to allow in my home. Not good. I will someday pay for this.

In about 10 years, Travin is going to be asking me: "Mom, can I ride the four-wheeler in the house?"

"NO!"

"What about the motorcycle?"

"NO! What makes you think I would allow you to do something like that?!"

"Well, the answer is still no."

Cabin fever is alive and well.

Beauty School

Beauty School...

Is now in session.

Waiting.....

Waiting.

Waiting, waiting.

Waiting, waiting, waiting....

For the homemade bread to come out of the oven.

Travin's Favorite Things

(Sorry, not a good picture. My Travin pictures are somewhere between Cindy and I, I'm just not sure where. So this picture is an old one. And not a very good one either. But dang, look at that hair.) Here is Travin's list of favorite things.

1. Candy

2. Climbing in his crib.

3. Climbing out of his crib.

4. Soiling his diaper, then handing it to me.

5. Then bringing me a new diaper.

6. NOT taking a nap.

7. Fruit snacks.

8. Telling me everything that goes through his 2 year old little brain. Everything.

9. Taking a bath. Or three.

10. Having Mom catch him jumping off the diving board.

11. Baby kitty's.

12. Grandma's house.

13. Basketball.

Travin

Morgan's Favorite Things

Here is Morgan's list of things she loves.

1. Her pink blanket.

2. Macaroni and cheese. And Fruit Loops.

3. Bursting into tears the moment she realizes something has changed.

4. Her "Pinkalicious" book.

5. Rapunzel

6. Wearing her swimming suit at any time of the year.

7. Gymnastics class. But only if nothing regarding that class has changed. Nothing.

8. Helping Mom fold laundry.

9. Going to the dariy with Dad.

10. Not being the center of attention.

11. Helping Mom do the dishes.

12. Doing Family Home Evening.

10 Things Braxton loves

10 Un-ordered things Braxton loves.

1. Fettuccine Alfredo and Lucky Charms. It's a tie.

2. Sports.

3. Climbing trees.

4. Playing with and pestering his younger siblings.

5. Anything that involves using his pocket knife.

6. His bumblebee pillow pet.

7. Any and all things legos.

8. ELASTIC band shorts. NO zipper!

9. Sea Animals.

10. Recess.

11. And JIMMER FREDETTE!

10 Things Micah Loves

10 Things Micah loves. In no particular order.

1. Sweet and sour chicken.

2. Reading.

3. Staying up late.

4. Sleeping in.

5. Activity Days.

6. Being a big sister to her baby brother who is not a baby anymore.

7. Doing the splits.

8. Mrs. Gulbranson.

9. Animals

10. Helping Mom cook.

Things Brandon Loves

Things The Cougar loves.

1. BYU Sports

2. Jimmer Fredette

3. BYU Football

4. BYU Basketball

5. Jimmer Fredette

6. Austin Collie

7. Bronco Mendenhall

8. Jimmer Fredette

9. BYU Sports

10. Jake Heaps

11. Any player that has ever played for BYU. Or ever will.

12. Jimmer Fredette

These are in no particular order and in case you are wondering what brought this on, just know that Jimmer Fredette/BYU basketball team is beating Utah righ now. The noise level at my house is rather high.

Sugar Cookies

A couple of days before Christmas, we made sugar cookies. I have a few issues with sugar cookies and children. Well, just one issue. It's an all-day affair. By the time you make the dough, cool it in the fridge, roll them, cut them, bake them, frost them, and decorate them; then factor in how many times you must wash the little hands of children during the whole process, you better plan on sugar cookies being dinner because dinner is not getting made. But it is worth it because there are few things that make my kids happier than making sugar cookies. Here are the three kids who's jobs were to roll, cut, frost and decorate. Check. Check. Check. And check.

This fourth child's job was to look cute. Check. Then take a nap while we busted out the frosting and sprinkles. Check, check.

See how far I've come in the blogging world? I have not yet remembered to rotate the pictures before I up-load them.

This year, instead of making a bunch of different colors of frosting, I just made white frosting, and then handed them a bunch of different colored sprinkles and let them go at it. They loved that because no matter what color the frosting is, it just gets completely covered with sprinkles anyway.

Here is the darkest part before the dawn.

And here is the dawn. (Un-rotated. Sorry.)

And this year I found the secret to the sugar cookie process. I only made half of the recipe. Score! They didn't get bored before the end and we now only have half as many cookies to add to my thighs. Check.

Perfection

Perfection.

The Cougar is enjoying the BYU basketball game right now.

Travin's Birthday

Because Travin's and Morgan's birthdays are so close, we had a family party for both of them. These parties include my parents, my Grandma Bradshaw and my Aunt Barbara, Uncle Layne and their last two kids left at home, Brogan and Shelby. And just for the record, Brogan and Shelby are never allowed to go to college. Those two are my kid's hero's. To say that my kids get a little hyper when they know Brogan and Shelby are coming over would be a bit of an understatement.

Here is Travin on his actual Birthday. He is one happy two year old.

Here he is again. Happy. Presents make for excited children.

Travin could easily be the happiest two year old I have ever met. Besides being cuter than heck, he is pretty much a happy-go-lucky little guy. So. Fun. In addition to being happy and cute, his is also very busy and talkative. Very talkative.

Happy Birthday Travin!!

Chores

Chores.

Jobs.

Indentured Servitude Obligations.

Slavery Task's.

I have four smallish children ages 2, 4, 6, and 8. How do I teach them to work?

When I was growing up we had one of those famous "job wheels." The ones' where you each had your name on the outside circle, then the inside, smaller circle was filled with different jobs that could spin around. So once a week, my Mom turned the wheel and the jobs that landed under my name were the jobs I had to complete that day. Basic stuff, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning bathrooms, etc.

I have heard of the "sticker charts." Where each child has a list of age appropraite jobs to complete and gets a sticker for each job completed.

I have never made any sort of "chart." I don't know why, they just never spoke to me. My kid chore motivation usually revolved around me telling my kids several thousand times to go do this or that. Bribary was often used. Threats were threatened regularly. My 8 year old daughter can do most things pretty well. My 6 year old son can do some things pretty well. Other's not so much. (I.E. Bathroom cleaning, not too thorough.) My 4 year old daughter is in about the same boat as my 6 year old son. My 2 year old son's main job is to be cute. And he does that extremely well.

About two months ago, I decided to try something. I wrote some different jobs down on slips of paper and had my kids draw them out of a bowl. It was something about not knowing what they were going to get and the fact that when they were done, they got to pick again. The element of suprise was fun for them, as was not always having to do the same job. They loved it! After a few weeks, I added more jobs. More nit-picky jobs (wiping the fridge, microwave, front door; washing the wall down the stairway, and so on.) Then I started paying small amounts of money for each job completed well. Then I decided to type them up with a money amount next to each chore. And while I was doing that I thought of some more nit-picky jobs for them to do (wiping the window seals, washing the chairs and barstools, etc.) As of right now I have around 20 jobs, each with a money amount. Here is the finished result.

They frst get to reach in and pick a job. Then once it's completed to my standards, they get to reach in the other jar and get their money. It's not a lot of money, most jobs are worth $.25 and some are worth $.50. But it's not bad, them having money. One of the first things Braxton bought was a wallet. Smart kid.

The best part as of right now is that only Micah can read. So if Morgan pulls out "clean the kids bathroom," I just tell her is says to empty the laundry hampers, or wash the windows. Something she can do. Then after she scampers off to do it, I dig through and find what I sent her to do and put the harder chore back in the jar. (Micah hasn't quite figured our how come she almost always ends up cleaning bathrooms, but that's okay. She actually does a pretty decent job. And the kids bathroom is worth 50 cents instead of the usual 25 cents, so that helps.)

This is what is currently working at our house but I am still open to suggestion. Does anyone ou there have something that works for their family? I would love to hear what it is.

In case you were wondering...

In case you were wondering why I haven't written for a while.

This is why.

Amen.

My books were returned to me last Monday. And I could not resist. My self control only goes so far.

How you ask, could I have managed to read all three of these blessed books in only a week's time?

This is why. The view from my front door.

Snow. Lots of snow. Starting last Monday there was enough snow and wind (wind being the key word here) for school to be cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday. And no school on Thursday or Friday because of Thanksgiving. Safe to say we were snowed in. Hills were sledded on, cocoa was drank, movies were watched, popcorn was popped, and books were read. Oh, books were read. Snow days mean gymnastics was cancelled. Activity day was cancelled. Basketball practice was cancelled. Fattening things were baked. And ate. Cousins were played with. Sibling rivalry was had with a vengeace that only being trapped in your house for an enitre week can bring. Boise State lost. (sniff) BYU lost. (sniff) To Utah. (sniff, sniff)

By Saturday we thought we were out of the snowy woods. But alas more snow and wind made for church being cancelled. Which meant more reading. Then school was cancelled on Monday, which meant more fattening things were baked. And reading. And just for the record, I love these books. That being said, I am still not satisfied with the ending and have therefore come up with my own personal little "alternate ending." **Spoiler Alert** I won't go into the details, but trust me I have them worked out; in a nutshell, my ending goes something like this: Prim lives, Peeta dies, Katniss and GALE live happily ever after. Nothing against Peeta, I like him and everything. It's not that I want him to die, but someone has to die and in my soul of souls I believe it should be him. But don't worry, Katniss takes a whole year to mourn him before she marries Gale. No hard feelings Peeta. May you rest in peace. Haymitch also watched Katniss while she was growing up and picked her to become the face to the rebellion. He knew she had the talent and heart to win the games. He knew she needed to make a splash and get everyone's attention and he knew that she would volunteer for Prim if Prim's name was pulled. Therefore every slip of paper in that drawing had Primrose Everdeen written on it. I could go on, but if you haven't read the books you are probably pretty bored right now. So do yourself a favor and read the books. Then tell me which ending you like better. Collins's or mine. I won't be offended.

I have to go and get on with my life. But here is another picture of my front porch. Can you tell we are not ready for winter yet.

We still haven't gotten rid of the pumpkins.

Morgan's Birthday

Can you pick out the birthday girl? I'll give you a hint, she is wearing pajamas. Oh wait, they all are. She is not looking at the camera. Oh wait, neither of the girls are. Here is another hint, she likes Ariel.

Remember the non-pretty birthday cake I warned you about? Morgan wanted an Ariel cake with pink frosting and purple writing. I rest my case.

Morgan wanted a glow in the dark baby. I FOUND ONE. Thank you very much. She also got a Rapunzel dress, Dora shoes and Tinkerbel sunglasses. Then in true four year old little girl fashion, she proudly sported them all at the same time.

FYI: The off-the-shoulder wardrobe malfunction was quickly remidied with a safety pin.