Snowballs at the Temple

Getting your picture taken is no fun no matter how old you are. Especially when you're all fancied up and freezing your butt off. Not sure who started this whole thing, but we all got in plenty of trouble from the photographer. Phoenix spent plenty of time with his head in the snow thanks to Uncle Ryan.
I love Dad's smile in this shot. Pretty sure his snowball had been aimed at Aspen.

Dad never realized that snowball was following him around. Got stuck right in his suit jacket.

Aspen got a little ahead of herself going after Uncle Ryan. It was a good thing she wasn't wearing any tights, big ol' nasty black muddy knee following this fall. But luckily enough no blood. Ryan even rubbed it down clean with a snow ball then kept the snow on there to help with the pain. That was some quick thinking, Uncle Ryan.

Then, of course like all Walker men, Uncle Ryan then rubbed the snowball into her hair. :) Don't worry though, she jumped right up and chased him down again.

Took us a good hour to warm up all their hands after this. London was the only one that actually had his gloves with him.

Emily and Jon

Jared's baby sister got married on Feb. 5, 2010. Aren't they just the cutest couple ever!
They got married in Freezing cold Logan, Utah. Then the reception was in more freezing cold Rigby, Idaho. We all had so much fun and really do love our new brother-in-law.

These are Jared's siblings. Left - Right. Katy, Jared, Em, Ryan and Dana. One of those rare occasions when you have the whole family together. Gotta love it. Oh, also rare occasion, Ryan Smiling! I took 3 different shots of this pose before I actually captured a smile. :) Love ya Ryan.

Jared's Mom did just about everything for this wedding. These 2 crazy kids got engaged over Thanksgiving and from then till now Mom made Emily 2 Temple Dresses, the beautiful quilt shown below, organized all the decorations for the reception and....

Made this beautiful cake. Isn't it gorgeous. Oh and did I mention? Jared' s Mom is a 4th Grade teacher, so she did all of that plus work full time. Craziness! But well worth it.

Emily and Jon are so cute together. All the nieces and nephew serenaded them with this sweet song while they danced their first dance. (Don't mind the lady talking in the background of the video, AUGH)

And what's a reception with out a bit of decorating!?! You can even spy London and cousin Ryker helping out. Oh, and by the way. Stuck on Oreos really STICK when you're in Rigby, Idaho. Seriously, they were frozen on by the time Em and Jon left the church. Too funny.

Happy Valentines

I got the opportunity to substitute for the Primary Choir Director at Church today. It was so much fun to see those cute kids trying to sing all those "Love" songs with me. I was shocked how many songs are actually in the Primary song book that talk about Love.

So I made this cute heart puzzle and taped the pieces under their chairs. Each piece had a song # written on the back. The kids knew most of the songs. I realized I didn't know some of those songs as well as I thought I did. I did get a little help from London's teacher, who sat right up front. He had all the words on his I-Phone, so I just followed along with him and London a few times. Thank goodness for modern technology.
I have the best Hubby in the world. $$$'s been a bit tight so for my Valentines gift he did ALL the dishes for me. Given he does do this most nights (bless him), but tonight he even hand washed all the pots and pans. And for a Sunday, there were A LOT of pots and pans. I love my Jared, he's the best!

We were given this by some family friends. The Kenningtons, Jenny made this cutest basket and I just loved it. The kids did MAKE us share, but that's ok. I just had to take a picture before we let them dig in, I knew it wouldn't last all that long.

One more cute Valentines shot for everyone out there. Aspen looked to cute on Valentines day, I just had to share. She was "Gator of the Week" (spotlight) at school and got to bring a Show-and-Tell. So Gus-Gus, her doggy, got dressed up for Valentines too. Aren't they just the cutest?

Happy Birthday My Jared!

Just kidding he's only 34!

I know, you're all making the same confused face he just made. But I didn't have a #4, only a 1,2,3 & 5. Don't know why we don't have a #4. So he got four magic candles instead.

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you.

My parents sent this card to Jared last year for his B-day, and I had to record it. Too stinking funny, it needs to live in infamy.

Pine Wood Derby #2

So here's the car. Dad helped London cut it out, London sanded the entire thing, I drew the Scout on top, London painted him, then I hot glued on the googly eyes.

We thought he was ready to go but he just wasn't fat enough.

Jared had to add on quite a bit. Drilled a few holes, added a few screws, taped on some nails and he was good to go.e in most cases this is how they really look.

So here's an actual race. We have the coolest race track ever. All computerised right down to the Thousandth of a second. No room for error with this Pine Wood Derby. Here's how it works. Each car is placed on the track by a leader, no boys allowed. Each car gets to race on all 4 tracks. Then all 4 times are added up to see who the overall winner is.

London's car did Awesome, of course, he won 3 of his 4 heats.

Check out that final time as London comes in first again.

But overall there were a few times faster than his. We came in 6th out of 16. Only lost by 0.378 of a second. Dang those computers! Oh and yes that 225.9 MPH is an accurate speed had this been a real car. Cool eh!

Everyone of course got a Ribbon and a Pine Wood Derby Patch. Good times!

Here's my Den showing off their cars. I love teaching these boys. We have so much fun. And I'm ever so glad I don't have to teach their Primary Classes...

Because in most cases this is how they really look. Absolutely CRAZY!!! I don't know how I'd ever keep them reverent. Thank goodness Scouts is all about having fun!

Aussie or American?

So it's 50 degrees outside, what do you do? Most people would do the whole pants, warm coat socks and shoes, maybe some gloves. No, not London. We'll just throw on a sweat shirt and call it good. True Aussie right there!

He may have been born in the States, but I think this boy has some Australian blood in him after all.

Ice Cream Man

I know it's officially still considered Winter in North America, but we had some rather warm weather recently (not currently), and the Ice Cream Man made his official first trip around the neighborhood. It was Family Night anyhow, and everything was the same price (which never happens). So the kids all spent their own money and got themselves a treat.
Gotta love watching a 2 year old lick the Biggest Popsicle Ever.

Christmas Bows

My Aunt Kathy sends us gifts every Christmas. Normally we are REQUIRED to go to the Family Christmas Party to receive our gifts. But since we're just no longer in Utah she's the best and mails them down to us. This year we got the best stuff.

Jared and I: A Date Bucket full of movies, popcorn and chocolate

London: Gift Card to Wendy's (awesome)

Aspen: These cute bows that Sicily is borrowing, and a head band (they match everything)

Phoenix: Chick race car from "Cars" (he loves it)

Sicily: The sweetest Baby Doll (perfect for her)

So I know it's late but I just wanted to thank the Best Aunt in the World for thinking of me and my kids every year. Thanks Aunt Kathy! We love you!

Peanut Butter Anyone?

For those that didn't know (I didn't) Houston, Texas has the ONLY Latter-Day Saint Food Storage Packaging Plant for Peanut Butter in the world. It's open and running Mon-Sat, 24 hours a day. No one is paid to work there, it is all volunteer from the local Members of the LDS Church. Cool eh!

Well, I got the joy of volunteering. Jared and I were going to do it together but we'd have had to leave so early that it just didn't logically work out for a babysitter. So I went on my own. It was such fun to work with the other members of the Ward.

I got to sort through roasted peanuts, taste testing if we wanted, plus fishing out dirt, rocks, or the random corn kernel. Then I got to screw on the lids (not a hard job). Scariest part was putting the empty bottles in line to be filled up with Peanut Butter. The Peanut Butter is hot when it first comes out, and looks a bit like Butterscotch Pudding. I was so nervous I'd miss a spot for the jar and have an entire 16 oz of Peanut Butter splotch down all over the floor and then they'd have to shut it all down just to clean up my mess. But luckily that never happened. I also got to stick on the Peanut Butter Sticker Labels, and help package them into boxes of 12.

All in all, it was A LOT of work. We were there for 4 hours. We did get to take breaks whenever we wanted and have as many Peanut Butter and Jelly/Honey Sandwiches that we could eat, even free cold milk. It was a lot of fun, but I think I'll let Jared do it next time.

So grand total we made 5,630 jars of Peanut Butter in one night. And I didn't get home till 11:30. Definitely Jared's turn next time.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

My kids have a habit of cracking me up. There are just times when things come out of their mouths that make me laugh so hard I almost...well you know. Here's a few of our latests.

1. My mending pile was getting larger and over breakfast I told the kids I was going to fix things that day with my sewing machine. To which Aspen said, "We have a sewing machine?!?" So sad, I know, I really just don't pull it out that often.

2. My sister, Marlene, has EXTREME arachnophobia. EXTREME!!

Me, "Aunt Marlene has never seen 'Arachnophobia'."
London, "That's because she's scared of Spiders, isn't it?"
Aspen, "So scared!"
Phoenix, "Remember that time when we saw the alligators at the alligator park?"

Notice there is no opening about the alligators, that's just our 4 year old putting in his 2 bits.

3. On our way home from church we were discussing a little boy in Aspens Primary class:

London, "Isn't his name Joshua Stanley?"
Mom, "Who's Joshua again?"
Phoenix, "He's Aspen's boyfriend. He likes to kiss her and hug her. And he wants to marry her."
Aspen, "What!?!?"
Phoenix, "Oh! And he really loves her."

Brothers are brothers no matter how old they are.

4. While having Mexican for dinner Aspen asked, "Can I have some Guatemala and chips please?"

5. While using Jared weight machine.

Phoenix, "London is strong, I am kind of strong and Aspen is weak."
Aspen, "I am strong!"
Phoenix, "No...you're not"

Family Movie Night

Whenever Jared goes on a work trip he brings the kids back a prize. This time it was "Monsters vs. Aliens." I am not a huge fan of this movie but the kids (including Jared) love it. So we camped out in front of the TV and had a movie night.

As you can see, Sicily is just in it for the Popcorn. As soon as the Popcorn's gone so is she.

Adoption

I have a wonderful friend from College, Debbie, who was blessed enough to give birth to little Abby almost 4 years ago. But the Lord has not made it possible for her to have any more children.

They just signed up for adoption and they need our help. Look on my sidebar and see their cute little family. If you click on their photo you can read their Profile. And if you wouldn't mind spreading the word they are asking as many people as possible with Blogs to put their Adoption Button on your Blog. Follow the instructions on my sidebar.

Thank you so much for all of your help. Debbie is the BEST Mom ever, and deserves a dozen children at least. Please help her find a match so they can help their family grow.

Gymnastics

We were watching Georgia Tech vs. Alabama Gymnastics Meet this afternoon. Sicily and Phoenix decided to show off their talent. We couldn't pick which video was cuter, so you get to watch both.

Look What I Made!

Isn't it just the cutest!?! I love it. My very crafty friend, Angie, invited me round to make this cutest Valentines Decoration. I didn't get it at first but it actually says, "Sweetie Pie." Isn't that adorable.
The fun thing was, everyone else that made one used different paper and embellishments. So even though they were all the same they all looked completely different. So fun! Thanks Ang!

Worst Job Ever

I have a list of a few household jobs that I absolutely HATE to do.

For example:
Dishes
Bathrooms
Emptying the Diaper Pail
Mopping
Edging the Lawn
Hanging up the Laundry (3 1/2 years in Australia)
etc.

From the look of that list you'd wonder which jobs I do like. But the ultimate WORST JOB that I completely find NOT APPEALING at all is cleaning up dog poop in the back yard. Now don't worry, this is weeks and weeks worth.I am very excited for when my kids are old enough and coordinated enough to do this job for me.

Boys will be Boys

After a rather roundy game of football on the trampoline with his friends, London came home with these. I didn't know you could even bend glasses this far. I was not about to try and fix them, they would break for sure.

So we took them into the Eye Dr for repair. The Dr, himself, looked at London's glasses, as I asked if they'd be covered under the 1 year warranty. He said, "Well, that usually only covers normal wear and tare." To which I responded, "Well he is 9. This is normal wear and tare." He didn't find that as amusing as I did.

I fully expected to have to buy some new glasses, but to my surprise they were able to fix them. Thank goodness. So we got our glasses back in one piece. And London has been informed to NOT wear his glasses if things get a bit too rowdy.

What to do When You're Sick

First of all I'd like to point out how clean my Family Room is. I'm rather proud of that point in this picture but actually a little bit shocked. :)

Anyhow, we have not all been feeling the best in our home lately. Phoenix came home early from Pre-School this day and he definitely caught it from Sicily. So though you can tell exactly what this is, let me direct you to the next photo.
Even when they are sick aren't they just the cutest!?! We camped out in front of the TV for a couple of movies this day. That may explain why my Family Room is so clean. :) They were too sick to mess it up.

We are all definitely on the mend now. Not contagious anymore, I don't think. Hope everyone else is feeling well.

Hair Cuts, Finally!

I've told my boys I don't care how long their hair is as long as they maintain it. That means it has to be cleaned, combed and sparkling. Well, London has done quite a job of growing his hair out these past few months.
But it's finally taken it's toll. One night, 8:00 pm, he finally decided to chop it off. I think after the 100th time of me telling him to wash his hair properly, and comb it down flat he just finally got sick of it.

So we chopped it off.

Do you notice the difference?

Crazy thing was as I started by buzzing the bottom, like I always do, you couldn't even tell I'd cut anything because the top hair was so long it almost reached to the bottom too. I had to go over it quite a few times to get it as short as he wanted.

His teacher at school the next day said this was kind of a crazy hair cut for the winter. I'd have to agree, but at least I don't have to tell him to comb it anymore.

Thunder?

Last night about 11:00 we were getting ready for bed and heard a rather loud Banging noise. We thought it was thunder. Jared went outside to let Charlie (our dog) into the garage and said "There's not a lot of clouds, but you never know."

Well, it wasn't thunder. Not soon after the sound we heard Police and Firetruck sirens. They are building a new High School about 2 miles from here and apparently there was a propane burner explosion on the roof that may have caused up to $50,000 in damage. We don't know what caused it yet but WOW!

And we thought it was thunder!

Oh my Word!

So being down for 2 days with sickness is apparently not good for Sicily. When you're sick and tired and sleep or watch TV most of the day you'd think when you feel better life would just go back to normal. NO WAY!!

She has woken up at 6:30 and not had a nap for the last 2 days. She literally runs around the house screaming like a crazy person, jumping on anyone who happens to fall in her path, pulling out every wipe she can reach while emptying all her drawers, brothers and sisters drawers in the mean time. Oh, not to mention the random toilet flushing I hear about ever 10 mins! I literally think that 2 days of sleeping has created 2 days of Crazy Girl.

And if it doesn't stop soon I think I'm going to be the one that's Crazy!

Not Feeling too Hot

Sicily spent most of the night crying or in our bed. She has a nasty fever, runny nose and true grumbliness. And she passed it on to me while I slept. So we spent the last day of the kids Christmas Break moving around rather slowly and sitting, a lot.

When Daddy got home things looked a little better. There's nothing better than snuggling up on Daddy when you're feeling yucky. And Daddy doesn't mind the sit down time to play a little Wii with...
Phoenix. Who is totally healthy by the way, and I think loves it when Mom's sick, cause he gets to camp out in front of the TV a lot and Mom doesn't kick him out of the house to go play because she doesn't have the energy.

Yummy Pie!

Last Christmas thing for 2009. Blueberry-Cherry Pie. Don't you wish you could've had some?!?

The Craziness Continues

Her new favorite place to drink her juice. I don't think she'll fit here for too much longer.
You're never too little for a Time Out. I was upstairs when this happened. Apparently she bit Aspen. Not a good thing.

Best Husband in the World

When you have 4 kids, one HUGE dog, a rabbit, LOTS of random kids in the neighborhood and the worst carpet in the world...This is what you end up with about once a month.
But thanks to my hubby, who let me buy a carpet cleaner and then offered to do the labor for me, my house is once again sparkly clean. Isn't he amazing. It just looks so lovely. Love you Babe!

Thanx Marlene

I've been collecting Nativities for a few years. I was absolutely amazed as we unpacked Christmas stuff to find how many Nativities I actually own. But I got a few more added to my collection thanks to my sister and sister-in-law. I only got a picture of this one from Marlene (sorry Dana). But isn't it beautiful! It's ornament size and just as gorgeous as can be. Thank you Marlene, I love it.

New Years Aftermath

How to know if your child stayed up to late on New Years Eve. Close up for you.

We had the Missionaries over for dinner on New Years Day. After dinner we were watching a DVD they brought over called "By Small and Simple Things." About 10 mins in I looked over at Aspen and this is what I found. It was only 6:30 pm. Poor thing. She was absolutely wiped out. And even this her brothers going at it right in front of her, she was just GONE!

Museum Park

The Sugar Land Museum is right next door to a pretty cool park. Lots of walking trails and hills to roll down and this super cool bridge. You just gotta take that extra half an hour to have a little play time with your kids once and a while.

One of the benefits of having small children is it's OK for you to play on the play ground with them. Yes, some adults will still look at you funny. But mostly they are just jealous that they don't have an excuse to go down the slippery slide like you do.
I am not quite sure how Aspen didn't puke after this ride. My Dad used to do this to us on our tire swing as kids. I think that's probably what messed up my equilibrium, and why I'm forever klutzy and get motions sickness everywhere. But when you're 7, this kind of ride is the bees knees.

Awesome See-saw. It even held me and Jared. Phoenix kicked me off pretty quick though. I think I'll need to go back to have a second go.