The Felt Kids

2011-06-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

6/5/2011

Dear Family,

It has been a few weeks since I wrote a letter. The last three weeks of school feel like getting caught in an interminable dust-devil. I think I managed to remember more things than I forgot, so we’ll have to count that as a success. The first hurdle was Alex’s science fair project. We were right on schedule to get it all finished, but the #%&*!@# grass sat there for 10 days before deciding to sprout! Alex was testing out different types of water on drought-resistant grass. He was surprised to discover that bermuda grass grows with ANY type of water that you throw on it, even salt water and soapy, dirty water from the sink. I guess there are advantages to growing weeds and calling it your lawn. I think all of these science lessons are sinking in because as soon as we got his results written down, he sat down down and drew plans for a waste-water collection system that he and his dad could build and use to water our grass. We proudly glued his design on our display board, even though a few parts of it were a little “difficult” to read. =)

Ryan’s Kindergarten graduation was the next hurdle. The kids were cute, and the program started out just fine, it just had about 500 too many songs included in it. Both Josh and I had difficulty not hearing Mr. Incredible, “He is moving from the 4th grade to the 5th.....” Ryan had a wonderful year. His teacher was just right. She teaches kindergarten in about the same way that I parent, so Ryan did just fine. I was worried about him getting a saccharine- sweet teacher and wondering why his mom was such a meanie.

My end of year teacher gifts turned out quite well. I got a crafting bug and decided that rather than another gift card, I would make something for the teachers to use in their classrooms. I made a couple of wall plaques with some teacher-related sayings on them. (I was surprised to discover how familiar the smell of Mod Podge was. I can still remember the Rembrandt calendar pages that my Mom Mod Podged for our family room when I was a little girl.) We had to say goodbye to Mrs. Fatka. She’s going back to Iowa. I can’t blame her. I am amazed she’s lasted this long with the rest of her family half-way across the country. I certainly hope that things turn out well for her. She’s been an incredible teacher and a real force for good in Alex’s life. We went in to say goodbye and all three of us were bawling by the time we left.

Jillian has been sheer comedy all week long. While the boys were gone on the Father’s and Son’s outing, she and I went shopping. She found a pink leotard and tutu that she couldn’t live without. The next morning when we were headed to the library, she came down wearing the pink ballerina suit and her Bob the Builder baseball cap. I think that sums her up pretty well right now. She loves dancing, light saber fights, Polly Pockets, and Lightning McQueen. This week she started recognizing letters on street signs and stores as we drive around. Everywhere we go she’ll suddenly yell out, “Look! a B!” (or an I or a J or whatever she recognizes). She’s also discovered the joy of Beatrix Potter this week. I think she’s already got Peter Rabbit memorized and she’s well on the way with The Tale of Two Bad Mice. Some things never lose their magic.

Josh and I will be heading out with the kids from our ward on the “Pioneer Trek” this week. It will be a pleasant change to be able to be together while he’s fulfilling his duties. The kids can’t wait to get us out the door because Grandma Debbie is coming. Jillian keeps asking when Monday will be. I fully expect her to see her grandma come in, and turn around and say, “It’s time for you to leave, Mom!”

Alan has been putting together some reading material for me while I’m on the pioneer trek. He has done a ton of family history research over the last few years and he’s going to share some of the fruit of it with me. I can’t wait to read and learn what he’s prepared. It will be nice to have some time to contemplate and to “turn my heart to my fathers.”

Today it was about 105 degrees. It’s not supposed to stay that hot. I hope not for the sake of the pioneer trekkers, and for Debbie. She’s coming here from the new Arctic Zone of Salt Lake City. Their temperatures are just barely getting up into the 60’s this year. We’re not even getting down to 60 at night anymore. I hope the temperature difference will not be too shocking.

I got back on the bandwagon with my running this week. I fell down the stairs and broke my toes a couple of months back and could barely walk on them, let alone run. (There will be nothing said here about the boy who left his sleeping bag sitting on the stairs!) I started running regularly again about three weeks ago. It’s amazing how fast you lose whatever stamina you have built up. The last three weeks have been challenging. But yesterday, I was suddenly feeling the love again. I got up at the crack of dawn to avoid the heat, and ran a little over 4 miles without a hitch. It was nice to finish and know that I could have kept going for another 4 and been just fine.

Yesterday I was the little Red Hen. I went to the Superstition Ranch market. It is something like a farmer’s market, or “produce heaven,” as my friend Kelly says. I came home with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots, peaches, plums, apples, dates, eggplant, asparagus, green beans, and jicama, all for about $30. So yesterday I made 4 batches of jam and a batch of apricot-pineapple pancake syrup. Now I have to make some bread because there’s no reason to have all this jam and no hot bread to eat it on.

We’re looking forward to a few weeks away from the heat and with the cousins. We’re abandoning Josh for a few weeks, but it won’t really matter because he’ll be at scout camp and girls’ camp most of the time anyway.

Well, Thhhaat’s All Folks! Have a great week.

Cheryl

Going back to bed!

2011-05-21T07:43:00.001-07:00

Well, since today is the end of the world, its no use cleaning my floors or bathrooms. I am hereby going back to bed. See you all on the other side!

Stealing from Chelsey

2011-05-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

My cousin Chelsey has a blog tradition she calls the Friday Five. I love it! So call it inspiration, aspiration, or plagarism...but in any guise I'm about to steal her idea and use it myself. Five things on Friday: things that make me laugh, think, cry, grateful, or things that make you go... YUM! So, here's my first Friday Five:

1) I heard this on NPR this morning as came home from taking the boys to school. I bawled all the way home. Follow the link and click on the tab at the top to listen to the story from Storycorps:
Storycorps, 5/20/2011

2) A quote from Julie Beck. This has really given me a push in the right direction this week. I've had a great week being a mom thanks to some timely advice and encouragement.

Sister Beck said that as “guardians of hearth and home,” women “have responsibility for the hearts and souls” of Heavenly Father’s children.

“They are given this powerful and influential leadership role,” she said. “The female responsibility of being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend … is all about nurturing, teaching, and influencing. These are non-negotiable responsibilities. We can’t delegate them. We can accept them and live them. These are things we understood before we were born, and we can’t negotiate with the Lord whether they’re part of His plan. These are our responsibilities.”

3) Tostitos Artisan Recipies Fire-Roasted Chipotle chips. Tuesday night was the Best Taco Salad ever!

4) Jennie and Trever Plastow brought a bag of fresh peaches from their tree over this week. I know they were taking good care of their Bishop, but what they don't know is that fresh peaches are my very favorite fruit in the entire universe. I've had peaches on my cereal every morning. Thank you Plastows, you made my whole week sweeter!

5) Photos of the International Beard and Mustache growing competition! Need I say more? Here's the link:

Fabulous Facial Hair

New Recipe

2011-05-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided that since food is one of the things that our family loves and I love to cook, once in a while I should add a recipe or two to the blog. This was a great success that I made up last week. Since going out to the Olive Garden restaurant a few weeks ago, Alex has developed a love affair with Alfredo sauce. Knowing that this was not a very healthy obsession, I started thinking about making him something he can still love, but won't kill him before he's 18. I also found some ground chicken breast at the grocery store and wanted to make something with it. This is what I came up with. Yes, it has butter and cream in it, but not a ton considering how many people you can serve with this huge bowl of pasta. It probably doesn't qualify as health food, but may be a better option than a big plateful of "heart attack!"

Linguine with Chicken Meatballs

Meatballs:

2 slices bread

1/2 c. milk

1lb. ground chicken breast

1 egg

1 T. lemon juice (1 packet powdered lemon)

1/2 t. dried basil

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Tomato paste based glaze (1 T. tomato paste, olive oil, etc.)

Preheat to 400 degrees. Soak the bread slices in the milk for about 5 minutes. Squeeze as much milk as you can out of the bread and discard it. Break up the bread slices. Add all other ingredients and mix gently. Use the small scoop to place meatballs on a parchment covered baking sheet. Brush the tops gently with a tomato paste-based glaze. It gives them some color because the meatballs don’t brown at all. Bake for 15 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before using.

12 oz. linguine, cooked to package directions

3 T. butter

4 big handfuls of spinach

1 lg. can artichoke hearts, chopped (not the marinated kind)

1/4 c. heavy cream

Asaigo cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Toss the cooked pasta with the butter. Add the spinach while it’s hot. Cover for a few minutes to let the spinach wilt. Add the artichokes and meatballs and mix gently. Drizzle with the cream, sprinkle with cheese and season to taste. Toss and serve!

2011-05-11T11:59:00.001-07:00

Ironman!

2011-05-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

9 May, 2011

Dear Family,

To begin this letter, I must rectify a great wrong done this weekend. So here it goes:

“Greg Staker, 41, husband, father of six beautiful daughters, and physician from Roosevelt, Utah.......YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!”

When Greg finished, he finished with a group and he didn’t get his own announcement. Even then, when they said his name, they said “Stacker.” (losers) It was amazing to be there to see him finish. I’m so glad we made the trip. Greg raced his first Ironman on what is generally acknowledged to be the most difficult Ironman course in the world. He finished faster than he anticipated and managed to walk off the course under his own power. Although I’m pretty sure that if Sadie (his three-year-old) hadn’t have been there holding his hand, he might have fallen over.

I’m also pretty sure that this is something that Alex won’t forget. He was starry-eyed as he helped push Greg’s bike back to the car and was showing off the grease marks on his legs like they were trophies. I guess I’m one to talk, I’m bursting my stays so much you’d think I’d run the race. Well Greg, we’ve seen you run an Ironman. Although, if you want to go to Kona.....Josh has never been to Hawaii! We’d be thrilled to be there, too!!

We got to take Ken and Alison’s girls with us this weekend. Other than some funny looks from people when I walked into places leading six children, it was a privilege to have them along. It actually made the trip a lot easier to have Sydney and Cami as helpers and to have Maddy to keep Alex and Ryan entertained. We had a little glimpse of what having teenagers is like. We learned “how to Dougie” and that often a non-responsive teenager means, “Wait a second, I’m texting!” The girls were delightful. It think it was good for the boys to be with just Madelyn for a while. I’m not sure that they get to spend enough time with their girly cousins!

It was very nice to be with me Mum for a wee bit on Mothers’ Day. It was actually a great Mothers’ Day. I got to see my own mother, which doesn’t happen very often, and I didn’t go to church! But then there was that 8-hour car ride, hmmm. I had some very deep thoughts this weekend. My dear friend Cindy lost her mother Thursday evening. Pat Greene was an exceptional woman who truly earned the title “Mother.” She spent her whole life dedicated to being a mother and grandmother, raising her children and her children’s children with grace and patience. She was ever optimistic, kind, and loving despite facing enough challenges to bring a lesser woman to despair. Her example deepens my own commitment to my family.

This was a great week for me to have Mothers’ Day because my little Jilly has been a complete joy to parent this week. She comes up and gives hugs spontaneously and says, “I love you Mommy, you’re my best friend.” She has taken to picking flowers and bringing them to me and to Josh as love offerings. She puts them in her little teacups filled with water and leaves them on nightstands, desks, counters, and even on the washer and dryer. She loves to dance. She puts her arms up and twirls around to show you “her ballet.” She just seems to skip and trip lightly wherever she goes. Somehow the baby is all gone and the little girl is getting bigger every day. We’ve had lots of fun playing with Polly Pockets, reading Peter Rabbit, and having tea parties this week. The only way she would sleep in our motel room was curled up right next to me. It was a pleasure, even though it made for some sleepless nights. I know I’ll need to remember these moments for the times when instead of telling me how much she loves me she wants to tell me how much she loathes me.

We had parent-teacher conferences this week. Ryan’s teacher simply says, “Ryan is perfect. He’s exceeding expectations in everything. I’ve noticed a lot of leadership ability in him and if it’s okay with you I’ll work on helping him develop that over then next few months.” She doesn’t understand why this statement makes me break out into weeping! Alex’s teacher assures me that Alex remains an enjoyable boy, but is there anything I can do to help him understand that using his pencils and erasers as machine guns during math is quite distracting to the entire class? He continues to make progress. Half of Alex’s battle will be confidence. He’s really good at math, but he just doesn’t think he is, so instead of taking the lead when they’re working in pairs, he listens to the other student tell him how to do the problems incorrectly. His teacher tells me she pairs Alex with the kids who need help in math, but instead of leading out, he sits back and goes with the flow. Somehow, I need a way to tell him, “Son, you ROCK at math!” in a way he will believe.

We are looking forward to the last few weeks of school, if I survive the science fair that is. Josh and I are supposed to be tagging along on the Pioneer Trek at the beginning of June. Although the jury may still be out on whether they will allow me to go, given my reputation as an inveterate rule-breaker! Debbie is going to come down to be with our kids. The kids and I are then planning on abandoning our Daddy to a future of corn-dogs and frozen pizza and spending some serious time in Salt Lake. We are looking forward to seeing our families again and “gettin’ out of Dodge” while it’s super hot. We look forward to seeing Jackson and Parker again, and we should be in town the same time as Sunny and the girls before they go to Texas. Yahoo!!!

Happy Day to All!!!

Cheryl

Oldies but goodies

2011-05-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

My Mom has been sending some of the photos from the recently digitalized Staker family photo archives over email. These are just couple of my favorites. I especially like Greg's pants in the bottom photo. When Ken mentioned how lovely they were she said, "You can laugh all you want, Ken, but we probably just patched them up and handed them down to you!" I can't tell you how many times I've wished they still made Tuff-Skins for Alex!

2011-05-01T22:41:00.001-07:00

1 May, 2011

Dear Family,

Well, I intended to write a letter today, but here it is 10 pm and I’m just getting started. How about a small letter? The best news of the week, however, just barely happened so I don’t feel like I’m too late. Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead!!! I’m not sure it’s really cool to cheer when someone dies, and I’m not sure that it actually makes the world any safer or any better, but it sure feels good to know that they finally got Osama bin Laden. It’s interesting when I look back to see how much is different and how much of our every day has changed due to one evil mastermind. I’m sure there will be a fascinating book about the whole chase before too long. It ought to make for good reading. What blows my mind is that he still had a wife living with him while he was on the run. Bet that was a load of fun.

The other news of the week is that we have traded in our car. I’m kind of sad because I loved my 4Runner, but we thought that we’d better trade up while the car still had some value. I don’t think we were too far away from hitting the intensive car repair phase. So I am now the driver of a great big, gas guzzling, “Mormon assault vehicle” that seats 8. Somehow I don’t feel quite as green as I did last week!

The kiddos are thriving. Alex is still loving swimming. He was excited to finally have placed in the butterfly in his last swim meet. It was really amazing to watch him. His first 25m were absolutely perfect. He just runs into trouble when he touches the wall. The turns and the first few strokes out are a little rough. I have to keep reminding myself of two things: he’s nine years old; and he’s already a way better swimmer than I am. I’m glad he’s found something he loves to keep him active. He’s growing like a weed and eating like a horse.

Ryan has made great strides in his reading. He feels like he’s won the lotto because I finally let him start reading the “Magic Tree House” books. I can’t stand them because the woman who writes them has no more idea of how to write a complete sentence than fly to the moon. I make the kids point out the sentence fragments as we go! They do help the little ones get excited about reading though, and they help them learn to read independently.

The boys recently had their very first music recital. Alex has been playing the cello and Ryan the violin for about 4 months now. Alex played “Ode to Joy,” and the boys played a fiddle tune called “Boil them Cabbage Down” together. All would have gone well, except that Ryan was nervous and his fingering was off, so they played the rhythm very well together, it just sounded terrible because they were out of tune. Oh, well, the pictures are still cute.

Jillian is very cute and loving, and also very naughty. She loves to be “helpful” so I have to keep an eye on her all the time. A few weeks ago she “helped” me by wiping off the bathroom counter. However, she did it while I was in the shower and she left the sink plugged and the water running. I didn’t notice till about 25 minutes later, but we have learned that the tile contractors did a very nice job of grouting between the tile and the baseboards in the kids’ bathroom. Other than a puddle to clean up, there wasn’t any real damage. Once in a while she’ll run up and throw her arms around me and say, “Mom, you’re my best friend!” Somehow it makes all the messes and the clutter seem a lot less important.

I must be tired because I can’t think of anything interesting that Josh and I are doing right now. What terribly boring people we are! In a way, I guess boring must be a sign that all is well. We are looking forward to watching Uncle Greg finish his Iron Man next weekend in St. George. I am looking forward to a few days away and to skipping out on church on Mother’s Day. It’s never been my favorite Sunday. Somehow it always involves guilt and several renditions of “Love at Home,” two things I just can’t tolerate.

Easter seems like a long time ago now. I’m having to sit down and close my eyes to remember what a great weekend it was. Somehow, the tank seemed to go from full to empty pretty quickly this week. I think maybe we’d better go back and do it again next weekend!

Love to All,

Cheryl

Back to the Blogosphere

2011-04-25T13:02:00.001-07:00

Today, I deleted my facebook account. I've had too many friends losing too many things that are valuable because of facebook: privacy, time, and marriages. Unfortunately for all of you, that means I need somewhere to splatter the drivel that backs up in my brain and needs to be published! So, I'm back to blogging. I'm looking forward to it. Maybe someday my blog will be as entertaining as Kither's!

I Believe in Curious George...

2010-12-15T17:52:00.000-08:00

It has been a long four days. The kids have been passing around some pre-Christmas joy and taking turns getting fevers and snotty noses. Josh has been gone a lot and the kids and I are getting tired of each other. However, tonight we had a virtual miracle. I sat down to read Jill one of her new favorite stories, Curious George Flies a Kite (the one with the bunnies!) and before thirty seconds had passed, the other two were sucked in. They all sat quietly, with no fighting and no whining, for 30 minutes while we read a couple of George stories. Thank you Margaret and H.A. Rey, wherever you are!

Lame Blogger

2010-12-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

I just noticed how really boring my blog has been lately. I think I've been spending too much time cleaning or making meaningless comments on facebook! Things are settling down well since the move. If I could find my camera cord, I could download my photos. Maybe if I decide to blog again before six months go by, I can do that. Now we're just juggling the holiday sickies and trying to get healthy before we head North to see some winter.

My post for today is a question. Is there anyone out there who has survived having a strong-willed, energetic, selectively deaf and occasionally obedient 9-year-old boy? How long does this stage of daily battles go on? Any ideas for how to teach him to do the job right the first time and not have to come back 15 times to finish it before mom gets off his case? I dearly love the boy, but sometimes I'm not sure we're both going to make it to his 10th birthday.

On Luke's Fourth Birthday

2010-11-09T11:20:00.001-08:00

"A central purpose of the mortal experience is that each spirit should receive such a body and learn to exercise moral agency in a tabernacle of flesh. A physical body is also essential for exaltation, which comes only in the perfect combination of the physical and the spiritual, as we see in our beloved, resurrected Lord. In this fallen world, some lives will be painfully brief; some bodies will be malformed, broken, or barely adequate to maintain life; yet life will be long enough for each spirit, and each body will qualify for resurrection." Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Where's the Beef?

2010-11-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

5 November, 2010

Chere Famille,

Welcome to the first official issue of:

“Barefoot and Pregnant, J.D.”

This week Alex and I didn’t have a single argument about homework. I nursed Ryan’s little feelings through his first social disappointment: not getting invited to a birthday party that he wanted to attend. Today, I managed to negotiate nap time with my two-year old without a roof-raising fit. Josh and I have made it through another week of wedded nearly-bliss. I have made two meals for friends in need, babysat kids, cleaned the house, kept up with the laundry, done the grocery shopping and cooked meals for my family, unpacked a few more boxes, paid bills, run errands, gotten the kids to school on time, to swim team and to scouts and worked on my personal history. I made homemade bread and a batch of raspberry jam. I have knitted half a hat for Jane and read my scriptures and a wonderful book called Freedom’s Daughters about the women of the civil rights movement. I have read a Newberry award winner to the boys for 30 minutes every night. I have already run 8 miles and tomorrow I will run 7 more. After that, I will help my husband teach a lesson on virtue and purity to 300 youth at the Queen Creek South Stake Youth Conference. And yes, I am currently barefoot and baking cupcakes!

In case you were wondering, I just received my copy of “Res Gestae” in the mail. It is the magazine sent out by the law school once a year to brag about it’s programs, faculty and students. As I looked at all the things that were highlighted I realized that never in a million years will they ever include anything about those of us who have retired from the practice in order to rear children. Since we are not out fighting for the rights of convicts, saving the planet, battling injustice in Africa or the Balkans, or carrying the banner for gay families, we seem to have fallen through the cracks. So, today I wrote a brag rag about myself and I hope you will all forgive me for sending it to you.

We are moved in to our new house. We owe much gratitude to our friends, especially Matt Rosen, Jeremy Atkin, and Warren Barnhill, Jennifer and Lexi Cluff, the Felt Parents, and Ken and Alison. They all came at different times and helped us do all sorts of lovely jobs. Gary and Debbie worked like field hands for the time they were here and so the move has been relatively easy. Debbie got the whole kitchen unpacked and put away, and Josh and Gary hung ceiling fans in every room and fixed up inummerable odds and ends that needed to be squared away. Funny enough, it hasn’t taken a lot of adjusting for us to feel like this is home. It has been nice to have our parents here to visit. A house isn’t really home until your family has been there. I am hoping that we can get our other little house in ship shape and be able to sell it soon.

I’ve got two great kid stories to end things off. Today I gave the kids a treat and let them have cocoa and raisin bread for breakfast. When Ryan got home he announced to me that today in Kindergarten they had talked about healthy food. “The breakfast you gave me today was NOT healthy and didn’t help me concentrate and learn at school!” He told me that he didn’t think that anything with chocolate in it was an appropriate breakfast food.

This week I splurged and bought myself a copy of Beauty and the Beast, my favorite Disney movie. This morning when I asked Jilly what she wanted to do today she said, “I want to watch ‘Beauty and the Beef’.” So I put the movie on and we started to watch. About 10 minutes in she looked up and said, “Mom, this Beef is a scary Beef. I want to watch Nemo.”

Well, Josh is off at Youth Conference, I have cleaned up after dinner, and the kids and I are going to sit down and watch “Beauty and the Beef!”

Our love to all--

Cheryl

BY THE WAY, THE TITLE OF MY MAGAZINE IS PURELY FOR EFFECT. THIS IS NOT, I REPEAT, NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANY KIND!!!

2010-08-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

27 August, 2010

Dear Family,

I know this is a crazy day for writing a letter. However, today I have time and I finally have a word processing program again. I have lovely new iMac, but it took me a while to get a word processor and get it installed. So, I am back in business. I have also realized that the last letter I wrote was in JUNE. Oops! Time flies when the kids are out of school.

We had a really nice summer. We spent three weeks with our families with visits in Salt Lake and in Jackson. It always leaves me mystified when I come home to Arizona: WHY DO WE LIVE HERE???? We were able to be there for Parker’s blessing, Jillian, Eliza, and Aunt Abby’s birthday parties, and Alan’s baptism. I loved spending time with Sunny. We did projects every day, went shopping, made delicious

food, played games till 1 AM, etc. We had a wonderful time just being able to be outside in the great outdoors.

The advantage of staying away so long turned out to be that Josh

finished the built-in bookshelves and storage in our bedroom and gave me a new computer as a surprise when I got home! He thinks that it will make me less likely to stay so long next time we visit. I think he’s got his logic all twisted up! I feel like I’m walking into Pottery Barn every time I go in our room.

We got home with a week to spare getting the kids ready for school and in time to celebrate Josh’s birthday. I had been to Spoons and Spice in Salt Lake and bought some tart pans, so I had to make fruit tarts for Josh’s birthday. They turned out rather nice, I think! It is so

helpful to have your own personal reference chef. I missed him

when he was unavailable.

In the mean time, our little Jill has turned two, in all senses of the word. Peace and quiet has now become and indication that there is something wrong. In the last two weeks she has unrolled an entire roll of paper towels, filled the sink

about 1/4 full with toothpaste, dumped an entire bottle of hair spray on the carpet, pulled all the drawers out of her dresser and dumped her clothes into a big pile. But, she has also taken to giving really good hugs, singing quite a variety of songs (with correct lyrics and on key), playing really well with her brothers, loving story time, and behaving herself in the baby jogger. So as much trouble as she’s causing, she’s making up for it in cute.

This year was also Ryan’s big year. He started Kindergarten on July 28. I took him up the first day and I was trying to be happy and excited so that he wouldn’t get nervous. We found his teacher and we were lining up to go inside when Ryan said, “Mom, my tummy hurts.” I took him over to sit down and about 30 seconds later, he puked all over. The poor little guy was so scared, but he hadn’t told me that he was nervous at all. Needless to say, I felt like a loser mom, not even knowing that my son was so scared.

Subsequently, he is still working on adjusting. He’s had some times where he just can’t control his little emotions. When we talked about it, he said, “Mom, I’m just not used to being away from home every day.” He’s a tender-hearted boy. I think it will just take him some time to adjust. He hasn’t had any trouble in his class though and I’m glad for that. Today, he told me that his shoes keep coming off at recess. I said, "Ryan, are they slipping off, do they just need to be tied tighter?" Ryan responded, "No, Mom, the white guys keep taking them off when we're playing white guys and Indians!"

The beginning of this school year has been pretty tough with Alex. We spend a lot of time over the summer keeping up and reviewing the things he had learned, so I wasn’t anticipating how challenging the first few weeks would be. He seemed to have lost all motivation for school work. I couldn’t find any way to get him interested or to even get him to care about how he was doing in school. His handwriting was possibly even worse than it was last year. And we had the same struggle that we’ve had every year since second grade--the dreaded, timed math-fact test. We have fought this battle each year and I was hoping that we would have cleared the hurdle by now, but no...

Once I stopped panicking and realized that this year was going to be just as time-intensive as the last two, we buckled down and got to work. I’ll admit, I was hoping that I might be able to spend a little less time riding him to get his homework done this year. I found a couple of things that have helped to move him along: Swim Team, Harry Potter, and playing chess. He can’t do any of these things until his homework is finished an

d neat enough to be read by his teacher.

Luckily, he still has Mrs. Fatka, his wonderful teacher from last year. I told her that when I place the footnotes on his High School diploma, I’ll make sure her name appears right after mine! I just keep reminding myself what a wonderful kid he is. He is happy, he is kind, he is imaginative, and sometimes he’s downright funny. For a woman who values humor as highly as I, he’s a joy to be around most of the time.

After we got home, Josh announced that we were going on a camping trip so he could spend some time away

from work and church and with his wife and kids. So we rented a canoe and drove up to the White Mountains. We camped by Black Canyon Lake and spent a couple of days camping, fishing and canoeing. We discovered that Ryan has real natural talent as a fisherman. He was standing on the shore casting his line and kept getting standing ovations from the old-timers out on their boats. Alex really took to the canoe and by the time we left he was piloting himself around in the canoe. The kids had a great time. Mom left the “food police” part of her personality at home and we ate junk food and stayed up late watching stars and played with fire and rolled in the dirt and all the other things that make camping so much fun.

Now we’re back in the regular swing of things. We’re grappling with some pretty big decisions about our family’s future, so the routine is nice. It gives me something to be absorbed in so that I don’t spend too much time worrying about everything else.

I have decided to train for and run a half-marathon

at the end of January. (NOTE TO MOM: Dad said he would come down and run with me. The race is on January 29, 2011. January is a really lovely time to be in Arizona!) It feels good to be running with a goal in mind again. It’s been a long time since I’ve run a race and I’ve never run one this long. Maybe it will help push me along so that I can run at least one marathon with my Dad. I’d hate to miss out on that. We hope you are all well. Maybe I’ll write another letter in another couple of months! :)

Love,

Cheryl

Homecoming

2010-06-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

7 June, Almost 8 June (Late Night)

Dear Family,

Well, of all the strange things I am sitting up late tonight waiting for my bread to rise enough to be baked. I’m not sure why I am doing this right now. Last night was my second 2 a.m. awakening from a barfing child in a week. I should be in bed, but my mind needs a release.

Saturday night as Josh and I were sitting on the sofa recovering from the bedtime routine Mom called to tell us that my little brother, Alan, had showed up at home after six months of no contact. After the initial shock wore off, the tears of gratitude spilled down my cheeks. Alan is alive! All we had been able to pray for lately was just to know that Alan was ok, and there he was, a direct answer to prayer. We don’t know much about where he’s been or what he’s doing. No one wanted to pry or scare him off by asking too many questions.

I am now struggling to interpret this emotional flatness that I am experiencing. Perhaps it is just the geographic distance, or the fact that I haven’t seen him myself. I know I am relieved that he is ok. I think maybe I am just hesitant because I worry about how this will affect my parents. I have watched them wade through so much sorrow to finally come to a place where the ground seems more firm. I think I am aftraid of the unknown path ahead. Mom says she feels good and has slept well for the first time in six months, so I’ll have to take that as a good omen.

Of course, my emotional confusion could also have something to do with the craziness we’ve been experiencing around here. Jillian and Alex have both had a stomach flu this week. I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well that 3 hours of sleep in a night is not enough for me to be a nice person. I am tired of sick. It seems we’ve had someone in this house sick every week for the last month. I must admit that I broke down and cried when I had to clean up barf again at 2 a.m. this morning. I hereby declare an end to sickness in the Felt house for at least 6 months!

So rather than weigh everyone down with more complaining, I am going to record the best kid stories of the last month, beginning with Ryan. Ryan has been having a little bit of a tough time adjusting to the end of preschool. He’s been spending a lot of time in time out, but he’s also been providing lots of solid comic relief. Alex came crawling into the family room complaining of some kind of ache in his leg when up pops Ryan off the couch, pushes Alex down on to the ottoman and announces, “You’ve come the the right place! Welcome to Dr. McRhino’s office. Please have a seat right here on the table and I’ll take care of everything!”

I’ve had a rotten cold and sinus infection that kept me down for a good two weeks in the middle of May. On one of the worst days, when I felt I was just dragging from place to place, I was trying to feed Ryan and Jill. Just as I went to pick up Jillian’s tray, I knocked it against the edge of the counter and Cheerios and bowls and spoons and canned pears and cottage cheese went flying everywhere. In frustration I burst out, “Ahhh…why is everything I touch today turning to sh…” I had gotten the first sound out when I looked up and saw Ryan eyeing me from the counter. I stopped mid-word so as not to offend his little ears and he raised his eyebrows and said slyly, “Galactic crud, Mom?” Yes, Ryan, galactic crud! You’ve got to love Star Wars fans.

Jillian has now entered the fascinating world of pretend play. One day in May I went to get her up and said, “Good morning Jilly!” She looked up and very nonchalantly said, “I’m Alison!” I had to call her Alison all morning or she wouldn’t respond. Now she’ll come up to me and say, “I’m Alison, let’s dance.” Or “I’m Alison, read me Gossie and Gertie?” Needless to say, Jillian is sooooo excited to be having a sleep over with her Aunt Alison while Mom and Dad go up to girls’ camp this week.

Jillian also loves her Uncle Ken, but in a different way. Every time we read her favorite animal book, she points out each animal and says its name. When we come to the page with the big, silverback gorilla she always points, giggles and says, “Uncle Kenny!”

Alex has now finished the third grade. He’s had a wonderful time and a great teacher who we are thrilled to note will be staying on next year and looping with Alex’s class. We’re excited to have her again for 4th grade. Toward the end of the school year however, she called me to tell me that she was having a terrible time getting Alex motivated to learn his times tables. He needed to pass them off in order for her to advance him to 4th grade. So she had resorted to the ultimate Alex-threat: she was going to keep him in at recess if he couldn’t pass off one number from 5 through 9 each day for the next week. Well, that’s all it took. He came home and we drilled and drilled and drilled. The next day, he passed off his times tables with time to spare. Mrs. Fatka took one look at his test and “fainted” dead away. Alex was giggling when he got in the car to tell me what had happened.

Alex’s class also had a big field trip planned before school got out. They were heading to Tucson to see Kartchner caverns. He was so excited and nervous that I would forget something. He kept reading me the list of what needed to be prepared and fretting about whether I would get everything ready. The night before the field trip, I didn’t pack up his lunch until after he’d gone to bed. The next morning I heard the clatter of silverware and cupboards at 5:40 in the morning. Alex was in the kitchen, showered, fully dressed, teeth brushed, shoes on—making himself a peanut butter and jam sandwich. I gently showed him the lunch I had already packed, told him eat his PBJ for breakfast, then sit on the sofa and read and wake me up in 45 minutes.

Well, obviously I am having trouble collecting my thoughts, but the bread is baked and I am going to bed. If Ryan gets up at 2 to throw up, I am afraid he’s on his own!

Love to all—
Cheryl

Welcome Baby Parker!

2010-04-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

We have a new nephew as of today! Aunt Meggan and Uncle Rob welcomed a new boy to their family this morning. Meggan made it through hyperemesis, Rho-gam and progesterone shots, prematurity studies, a month of bed rest and a whole gamut of complications to 36 weeks only to have an unexpected c-section. He's been a real pain getting here! May he settle down and be a sweet, good baby. Welcome tiny boy! We love you and can't wait to see you.

2010-04-19T08:55:00.002-07:00

Dear Family,

Well, it’s Monday morning and here I am getting my letter written. We were having the barf-o-rama yesterday (actually it was just Ry, but he threw up enough for the whole family!) and today I am trying to ignore the fact that my arthritis is acting up and keeping me from running, so I will just write a letter to drown my sorrows.

It’s been a tough couple of weeks. Josh has had LONG hours at work and LONG hours at church. Jillian’s new favorite phrase is, “Daddy at a meeting!” He’s adjusting to his new position at work, but it’s taking its toll. He’s gone by the time the kids get up in the morning and has sometimes been headed straight to the church from work. So, I have newfound respect for single parents.

Alex and Ryan have found new levels of volume, and I thought they were loud before! They seem to be compensating for the lack of Daddy-wrestling time with more noise. Luckily for me, they are the best of friends and Alex has an excellent imagination. The two of them have turned our back yard into a ninja training arena, and the playroom into a medieval armory. They’re either outside whacking each other with sticks, or inside pounding on their cardboard armor with plastic hammers.

Alex is going through the week-long standardized testing that Arizona uses to torture third graders and their teachers. Fortunately, the test is not actually timed, so they do one section each day and the kids who finish can pick up a book and read while they wait for the others. Thanks to the testing procedure, Alex has made some great strides toward being an independent reader this week. He’s been taking the Percy Jackson book that we’ve been reading together to school. Last night I looked over, and he was just sitting there on the sofa reading. Now, unless you know Alex, you may not realize how extraordinary it is for the perpetual motion machine to sit so still!

Alex’s teacher had asked us to take him to get his eyes tested. Sure enough, he’s already nearsighted enough to need glasses. We’ve already had the, “You don’t’ need to wear your glasses to play ninjas and on the playground” discussion. He’s really excited. I am not naïve enough to think that it will explain all of the attention issues he’s had in school, but here’s to hoping!

Ryan has discovered LEGO’s since his birthday. He spends his down time poring over LEGO catalogues and deciding what he’s saving his money for. He is gearing up for the end of preschool and keeps asking me what day he starts Kindergarten (July 28). His preschool teacher has been wonderful. She’s promised a little flag to any of the kids who learn the whole pledge of allegiance and Ryan is a pro now!

This week has also been the week when Jillian turned into a little girl. We got her a little doll stroller early this week and it seems to have awakened the motherly instincts in her. She had been pushing her doll around and came in to find me with a plastic bin and a blanket. It didn’t take her long to get across that she wanted a crib for her baby. So we folded the blanket inside and she put her baby in and gave her a binky and a toy and a bottle. We have to take the baby and her crib with us wherever we go.

Mom made her a new dress and sent it in the mail. It has a full skirt and Jillian has been wearing it around and dancing and twirling in it. She loves her Grandma Shelly dress! Jill is also a major Winnie the Pooh fan. However, she has one problem. She continues to refer to Pooh as “Poo-Poo”. She asks if she can watch poo-poo, she sings songs to poo-poo, and she loves to read books about poo-poo. If she weren’t already potty trained, I’d be beginning to wonder.

The official report from the “No TV” experiment is, “Wow! Why did it take us this long to kill our television?” Our home has been a really great place without it. The feeling here is better and Josh and I spend more time doing useful things when the kids are down. He’s almost done milling all the parts of the built-in cabinets and bookshelves he’s making for our room. It’s amazing what you get done with the number one time-waster eliminated!

I guess that’s about all from the Felt house this week. We were pleased to hear that Sunny and the girls are going to spend the summer being nomads. Josh told me to tell Sunny that we’d love to have her and the girls “come spend a year with us this summer.” I can’t wait to see them again whenever and wherever I get the chance. Still no word from Alan. He keeps showing up in my dreams, but nothing else. I hope he’s finding a way, wherever he is.

Love to all,

Cheryl

Has it really been a month? Time flies...

2010-03-21T23:55:00.000-07:00

Well, after there weeks of play time, it’s back to reality for me. I think I’ve had enough vacation time that I’m ready! Earlier this month Josh and I went on a cruise to celebrate our anniversary. We had wanted to go somewhere for our tenth last year, but we had a little Jillian who was too small to leave. So, we switched to celebrating our eleventh. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where we met Gary and Debbie (Josh’s parents), and went on a 7-day cruise around the Eastern Caribbean. We made stops in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, USVI; and Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. We had a wonderful time, we played on the beaches, we rode zip-lines through the rainforest canopy, Josh went snorkeling, we read books, took naps, ate glorious food, and someone else made the beds, cooked the food, and washed the dishes! For a stay-at-home Mommy, it was a perfect vacation. I think my two favorite stops were San Juan and the little island in the Bahamas.

Of course, none of this could have happened without my Mom. She very graciously agreed to come and take over management of the Felt household for the week. She was wonderful, the kids were more than well cared for, and honestly, I don’t think they missed me at all, even Jillian! She even survived the homework battle with Alex without strangling him. I was worried about asking her to do this until she said, “Let me tell you a little secret, we grandmothers wait around for chances to get our hands on your children WITHOUT you around to interfere!” That one statement put my mind at ease and I was able to leave them behind without a care. I will admit that by Thursday, five days into the trip, I really missed my kiddos, not because I was worried about them but because I wasn’t quite sure how to handle myself without them. It is amazing how much of what you do every day and who you are is defined by caring for your kids. No wonder some people get weird when their kids are all gone! (No offense intended to our parents who are only weird some of the time! Ha ha ha … :))

At the same time we flew home, my Dad flew to Phoenix from Las Vegas after running the first marathon of the year there. Go Dad!!! We got to spend the whole weekend together. While Dad was here, we celebrated Ryan’s fifth birthday. He had a family-night party at the park with his grandparents, his cousins, and “the friends,” meaning the four families that we have shared our babysitting group with: the Rosens, the Atkins, the Christiansens, and the Householders. We had dinner at the park and ate Ryan’s surf-board birthday cake. I must say, Ry’s cake was a triumph. Usually my cakes look like I made them with my eyes closed, but this one worked out really well. Maybe it’s because I’d just spent a week cruising around the Caribbean looking at the most beautiful oceans I’ve ever seen!

Birthday number five has traditionally been “The Lego Birthday” around our place. When they’re five, they’re old enough to get their very own big-boy Lego kits. Ryan has been having a great time learning how to build under the tutelage of his brother and occasionally his Mom. I realized the first time I gave Alex Legos that for the next 10 or 15 years, my holidays would be spent crouched over a pile of Legos with my sons. They are such great toys. I love watching their little minds work as they figure out how to read the instructions and place the pieces correctly. Ryan is a really sweet little boy. I think the Lord knew that I would need him. We call Ryan “the little diplomat.” He is gentle and unselfish by nature. He would rather give up something that he wants than cause an argument. Usually that means his older brother manipulates him in to giving him whatever he wants, but we’re working on that! Ryan’s small frame and big blue eyes really bring out the mother-bear instincts in me.

We spent the next two days washing laundry and re-packing our suitcases getting ready to go to Salt Lake. My mom stayed on and we planned to drive up together. In the meantime, Alex made his theatrical debut playing Willy Wonka in the third grade class rendition of the play. His teacher did a wonderful job of paring down the script so that the play was actually less than a half hour long. Each child had a part, some were speaking parts, some were singing, and the kids had all helped to color the background scenery. Alex needed a bright colored jacked and a top hat for his part. I took him to Goodwill and we found a red plaid jacket in the women’s section. He didn’t say anything at the time, but as we walked in before the play, I over heard him whisper to one of his classmates, “My mom made me wear a women’s jacket!” (I’m sure you can envision the rolled eyes here!) He did a wonderful job. He spoke up, but didn’t yell, and he spoke slowly enough that you could follow his part. Most of all, he had a lot of fun. I do so love his teacher. She has been such a wonderful influence in his little life.

The next morning, we drove out at 3 a.m. and headed for Salt Lake. We had a grand time. We got to see Uncle Greg and Aunt Shannon and their girls, and Uncle Doug came down for an overnight visit. Ryan had his another fifth-birthday party with the Felt family Sunday night and then we all went bowling together on Monday for family night. Alex and Jackson (Meggan’s little guy) had tons of fun playing together, despite their age difference. I think it has something to do with both of them being cracked out of the naughty mold. :) Uncle Rich took the boys over to his place and they made their own chart-busting track starring Alex’s fabulous beat boxing, Uncle Rich on the electric guitar, and Ryan as lead vocalist. I think I almost wet the chair in Debbie’s living room when they played it for all of us. I was really trying hard not to laugh too much because I didn’t want the boys to feel bad, but I could scarcely hold it in.

Jillian has struck up quite a friendship with her Aunt Abby. The two of them did all sorts of girly stuff: fingernail paint, hair do’s, lipstick, etc. She would wake up each morning and start singing, “Oh, I love Abby…” in her crib. She also took quite a fancy to both of her grandpas. She dragged Gary all around the house by his finger for a good 30 or 40 minutes Sunday night and loved sitting at his desk at work coloring pictures. She had loads of fun having tea parties, playing dollies, and learning all about snow (“Snow is white and cold!”) with her Bapa. We had a few days of snow, a few days of sun, and a wonderful time just being with our families every day. Mom and Dad and I also had fun watching episodes of “Foyle’s War” each night, running a whole bunch of little errands and iChatting with Sunny. Mom and I got the materials to finally make a cushion for the window seat in our playroom. We had everything cut out and ready to go, but I had to leave for the bowling party with the Felt clan. When I got back, she had a glint of accomplishment in her eye and produced a beautiful completed cushion. She’d done the whole job all by herself in one evening. SUPERMOM!!!

On the way home I asked each of the boys what their favorite part of the trip was. Ryan: “I liked my birthday, and opening presents, playing with cousins, and bowling, and going to Brenda’s house, and watching Quest for Camelot, and going to Felt Lighting, and…..” Alex : “I liked the childrens’ museum because I got to be with BOTH GRANDMAS at the same time.” I knew there was a sweet kid in there somewhere! We are back with one more week of Spring break for Alex. I think I am going to have a massive case of Grandma withdrawl to fight off. Wish me luck!

In regular, boring news: we have been trying hard to get Jillian to go to the church nursery without breaking down into hysterics. The first time I went to take her, we had prepped her and talked about how much fun nursery is—books, toys, kids, snacks—and she seemed all ready to go. Just as we got to the nursery door, she put on her best scowl—lips puckered, calculus eyebrows, and the whole bit—and said, “I NO LIKEY NURSERY!” Whereupon she proceeded to throw a massive fit, prompting the nursery leaders to bring her to me. For the next couple of weeks she was so naughty that the Nursery Leader had been carrying her around most of the time to keep her from disturbing the other kids who were trying to adjust to nursery. While we were gone, Mom took the kids up to Ken’s ward and didn’t even attempt to drop her off, given that her parents had just disappeared. When I came back from the cruise, I was walking down the church hallway talking, half to myself and half to her, “I don’t know whether to try you in nursery today or not.” She looked right up in my face and said quite forcefully, “NOT!” Today, she went in and only threw fits for the first hour. I sincerely hope the Lord has extra blessings in mind for her longsuffering nursery teachers.

Family Letter

2010-02-22T12:56:00.001-08:00

My sister posts her family letters to her blog (slightly edited for embarassing content!), I think its a great idea. Hope it doesn't bore you to death!

We are a little bit behind on the family water-cooler chat because we have officially killed our TV—bad timing a week before the Olympics, I know. I just have a terrible time wanting to pay $50 per month for TV when things are so tight in other areas. We’ve watched a few of the clips that they show online, but it’s not quite the same thing. The boys, of course, want to see the clips about all the crashes that happen each day. Being little boys, and having never really hurt themselves, they think it’s hilarious.

I’ve been outside doing some yard work this last week. We’re trying to get our veggie garden ready for planting. I should say our tomato and zucchini garden, with a few patches of herbs since this is all we have had any success growing here. So, I am going to plant a whole herd of tomato plants and hope to have a decent harvest this year.

The kids are looking forward to having Grandma Shelly come and stay with them for a week. The boys tell me that they will not miss me at all, which is perfect. I hope they don’t. I don’t think I will miss them for about 4 days, and then I’ll be ready to cut the trip short and come home. Josh is taking me on a cruise for a week. We had wanted to go somewhere for our 10th anniversary, but we had a little Jilly that gummed up the plans. Now that she’s older (and potty trained!) we are going to leave her. So, we’re going off to celebrate our 11th anniversary and to get away from the telephone.

Jilly comes up with new words every day, she’s virtually a non-stop talker these days. Some of her words: “rasboadies” (raspberries), “yalka-yips” (chocolate chips), “beeto” (burrito), Didney an Cami (Sydney and Cami), and her very best “bye-bye Dada” (no translation needed). I think it’s a mark of the Felt in her that most of her words have to do with food. She also has a new song each week. Last week was "Zippity Do-Dah" and this week has been “I Am a Child of God."

Alex is working hard to learn his multiplication facts. He has a wonderful teacher who is very understanding of little boys and their foibles. She really likes Alex, which is helpful. His class is putting on a short play of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and she’s asked Alex to play the part of Willie Wonka. I think it may have something to do with the fact that he’s the tallest child in the class and that he loves to talk to adults. His teacher tells me that about once a week he’ll come sit by her and recess and say, “Hey Mrs. Fatka, how’s life?” or “How are your kids doing Mrs. Fatka?”

Ryan is loving his Preschool. His teacher loves to tell me the things that Ryan says to the other kids. I guess he functions as the Preschool reality checker. One of the kids was saying that the strawberry marshmallows they were eating had strawberry blood inside them. Ryan looked over and rolled his eyes and said something to the effect of, “Actually, the marshmallow is not alive and so it can’t have blood.” His two favorite words are “actually” and “technically.” He keeps his teachers amused because he’s kind of like a miniature adult. He’s very serious and very much based in reality. He’s always asking me if things are “real” or “actual.” I think he’s a lot like his Dad in that regard.

I am still terribly concerned about my little brother Alan. We haven't heard a word from him since early December. I’ve been praying and fasting that somehow we will know that he’s alive and that he’s OK. We were driving along in the car and the boys were wondering what one of the names in Kung Fu Panda meant. Ryan said we should call Uncle Alan because he knows Chinese. Whereupon Alex replied, “We can’t Ryan, Uncle Alan ran away.” I cried the rest of the way home. I sure wish he’d let somebody know that he’s ok. Until then, I will keep asking the Lord to look after him.

Love to you All,
Cheryl

2010-02-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, I am posting today and not waiting for another six months to pass before updating my blog! We made a momentous decision this week and decided not to re-up our cable contract. I've always thought paying for TV was lame, but this week we decided that we have much better things to do with $50.00 every month. I am looking forward to doing more useful things with my time. Things like yoga, reading, jogging, knitting, playing strip poker and blogging. I never realized how much time I was wasting in front of the TV. It's just so easy to crash on the sofa after getting the kids down. Now, I don't have a reason to go sit there anymore. I don't imagine that it's going to be too much of an adjustment, considering that I grew up without at TV. My friends used to call me "raised by wolves." I guess since the wolves didn't to too bad a job on me, they can come and raise my kids, too.

On Presidents' Day we were thrilled to have a whole day with our Daddy home. That's been a rarity lately. We decided to go for a hike in the "mountains" just South of our house. It's not quite spring out here, so the desert doesn't look as good now as it will in a couple of weeks. You can see from the pictures that it's just starting to turn green. In a few weeks, it will be really beautiful for a couple of days (and then it will get hot and the landscape will get fried and resume it's usual hellish appearance). Alex and Ryan were troopers and made it all the way to the top of the Goldmine mountain trail. Alex, as usual, beat me there!

Alex came home with an essay that he had written in school that I wanted to record here.

What Makes Me Special

by Alex Felt

I am special because I mow lawns really well. I am super at the Wii. My cursive is awsome. I swim fast. I read as fast as lightning. I wash cars. I am a great scout. I got the Bobcat badge. I play chase with my sister. All of these things make me special.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is real and simple truth.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

I've been too busy cleaning up barf to do much blogging. It's been an absolute siege around here. Someone is sick every time I turn around. And we've been potty training Jill, and teaching Alex times tables, and teaching Ry how to read.... Anyway, today I saw one of the greatest sights of my life. Josh arrived home from work with flowers for me for Valentine's Day, but also with a bouquet of red tulips for his baby daughter. She took the flowers, giggled the most spontaneous and infectious giggle, and said, "Sank you, Da da!" She didn't even want to let me take them to put them in a vase for her. Take it from an old Daddy's girl, this is the beginning of a life long love affair...

Pros and Cons

2009-12-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

Just some random thoughts today. There are definte plusses to having your baby become more independent. She can run get her own shoes, she can throw her own fruit snack wrapper away, and she can play with her toys alone for a good ten minutes, allowing you to actually finish a job. However, she can also open the pantry and get her own box of KIX and dump it all over the floor in the family room. Hmmm....

Yesterday we did one of my favorite Christmas-time activities. We made paper snowflakes for our front window. It's the perfect activity: the kids can participate, the results are fascinating and occasionally elegant, and it costs nothing more than a few sheets of copy paper. Alex was especially proficient and prolific. Our front window is practically a blizzard.

A sports writer today wrote that he could think of only one mega-star, professional athlete who was successful at resisting sexual temptation: Jackie Robinson. That makes him even more incredible! It also makes me grateful for an average, faithful, middle-income man. I'd take the domestic tranquility over the professional dough any day.

Three Years

2009-11-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

Adrift! A little boat adrift!
And night is coming down!
Will no one guide a little boat
Unto the nearest town?

So sailors say, on yesterday,
just as the dusk was brown,
One little boat gave up its strife,
And gurgled down and down.

But angels say, on yesterday,
Just as the dawn was red,
One little boat o'erspent with gales
Retrimmed its masts, redecked its sails
Exultant, onward sped!

--Emily Dickinson

God Speed, Little Son!

Red Letter Day

2009-10-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

This is a day I have feared since finding out we were finally having a daughter. But, today I feel like Mommy Triumphant--I have managed to make a "do" in my daughter's hair. Her hair has been getting a lot longer and occasionally falling down her forehead into her eyes. So today I bit the bullet and went to WalMart and got some girly supplies. After much worrying and ado--here it is, the very first attempt at actually fixing Jillian's hair, and by some miracle it turned out cute!
We have just taken a great vacation with the Felt Parents. I will get the photos ready and posted as soon as I can. I've decided that if a zillion people didn't already live in California, I'd move there next week. We spend a wonderful, cool, temperate week in San Diego and a couple days in Anahiem and then came home to 100 degree weather. What a bummer!

Jillian's pictures

2009-09-28T15:12:00.003-07:00

I'm trying to get blogger to let me load up Jillian's latest pictures and having some trouble. I'll upload a just a couple. Heidi has, as usual done an incredible job. There are so many great pictures. Thank you, yet again, dear friend!

First Birthday!

2009-07-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official, Jillian has turned one. Yesterday the Arizona cousins came over and we had our traditional first-birthday cake destruction. I must say, it was very fun to make a cake that had pink icing and nothing to do with Star Wars! Jill ate so much cake I was sure she'd be up sick, but as Auntie Alison says, "She must be related to me if she can hold her sugar!" This is Alison's niece, all right. Josh had to help her figure out why she was sitting there all by herself in front of a cake, but once he got her going she pounded about half the cake with only a few jelly beans for the brothers and one bite of cake to spare for her dad. Here's the photographic evidence:

Uncle Ken was put in charge of the birthday gift from the Stakers. He scored! Jillian loves the ball popper and gets some time to play with it now and then if her older brothers ever leave it alone. I may have to abscond with the batteries in order to get some peace and quiet around here.

We spent last weekend at a Hilton resort in North Phoenix on a "staycation" with a few of our friends. We had a great time: swimming all day, good friends, good food, and no cell phone service! I did, however, forget my camera. We'll have to rely on the good graces of friends for photos from our get-away.

I am also trying not to think about the fact that Sunny and Joshua are loading up and leaving for Philadelphia tomorrow. I wish I could be there to tell them goodbye in the flesh. If the kids make it there alive after 4 days in the car, then I guess we'll get ready to come and visit. Pennsylvania and Arizona look very far apart on our USA puzzle. Best wishes to Toad and Josh as they head off on their adventure. Don't stay too far too long!

Homeward Bound

2009-07-03T20:07:00.001-07:00

We've just spent a wonderful 10 days at home in Salt Lake, in Idaho, and in Jackson at Uncle Doug and Aunt Carrie's house. Needless to say, we had a grand time and came home all pooped out! Consequently, we've all been sick for the last two weeks. And so I am just now getting around to posting some pictures from our trip. It rained and rained, but as you can see, the skies dried up just long enough for us to hike in God's backyard, for Jillian to discover the joys of spray cheese (thanks to Uncle Greg), to have a cookout in Millcreek canyon, and for the boys and Grandma Debbie to see a really cool frog exhibit at the Natural History museum. (Alex is the frog in the frog stew.)

It was hard coming home. However, we have great friends here in Queen Creek that make it worth the drive. Otherwise I think we would have moved into Doug and Carrie's shed! Jackson was absolutely heavenly.

We're getting ready to spend the 4th of July without our Dad. He's headed up to girls camp in the morning. (Luckily, we're not the only ones, so we'll be having a single parents' 4th of July party.) We went bowling and out for burgers today so that the boys won't feel cheated tomorrow. Happy Independence Day all.

Private Schmivate!

2009-05-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, well, privacy is a nice idea, but it's a pain. I'm just going to take the permissions part off. My Mom has trouble getting on my blog and so do lots of our friends and cousins. I'm getting tired of trying to keep up with the invites and all that jazz. Any more creepy comments and I may have to go back, but for now, I'm going back to normal. Happy blogging.

Another Project

2009-05-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

Well, gee I see that it's only been two months since I posted on my blog! Things have been a zoo around here lately. Anyone with kids can attest to the fact that the last two months of school can drive you bonkers. We've had a lot of changes around here lately and a lot of stress. Since this blog is private and I know everyone who's going to be reading this, I think I'm safe to post a few details. Josh was called to be the bishop of our ward about 6 weeks ago. We were (and still are) scared, worried, bewildered, flummoxed, and any number of other adjectives that can describe the overwhelming feelings of inadequacy that attend the issue of such a calling to such a young man and his young family. Then to top it all off, they postponed the meeting in which our ward was to be realligned for three weeks. So we sat there stressing for a whole month before he was sustained in church. It is not then surprising that I've had a whole litany of health problems--most likely stress-induced. But now the rat-race has begun in earnest and we're off and running. The old saying is true: the fear of cannibals is most definitely worse than cannibals. So far we're still alive. I'm sure Josh will grow into the large shoes that he's supposed to be filling and I'll get used to pulling a little more of the weight at home.

In other news, Jillian is teething, and she thinks she can walk. Which translates into GRUMPY TROUBLE. She is at this very moment standing next to the computer squealing at me for having the audacity to put her down for a few minutes. It's a good thing she's cute and her hair seems to be coming in curly because I think I'll keep her.

I finally finished the sweater I've been working on for months and months, hence the photos. Luckily it seems to be a little big still. I was worried that by the time I'd finished it would be too small for her. It looks like it should work out nicely as a winter coat here in the "Arizona wilderness." It is truly amazing to finish a project and have it look like is is supposed to. It never ceases to amaze me!

Perhaps I can be a more faithful blogger now that I will have more time on my own. I actually don't mind the solitary time. In the words of my Grandma Ann, "I enjoy my own company."

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T16:25:00.001-07:00

It is truly a beautiful Easter Day here in Arizona. Today on the way home from church I asked Ryan what he learned about Easter. His Sunbeam class talked about new life using examples like eggs and flowers and butterflies. "Mom, Jesus was like a butterfly, he went into his racoon and came alive again." We went home and watched the church DVD, "Finding Faith in Jesus Christ." It was perfect for the boys. However, I think my brother Greg's Easter idea was by far the best. His kids woke up and searched the house only to find the empty boxes from their chocolate bunnies bearing a note saying, "He is not here, HE IS RISEN!" After a good lesson about Easter, they handed out the chocolate.

This week has been a stressful one. I have spent much time pondering the mysteries of life and death this week. Three of my dear friends have been spending a great deal of time in the hospital with a parent. Cindy, Jeremy and Kelly--our prayers are with you.

I think Easter is one of the most best holidays of the year: good chocolate and the promise of new life. Who could ask for anything more?

All for the love of Jill

2009-04-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we knew that the crawling would not satisfy Jill for long. She has been trying to stand since she was tiny and has now disovered that she can pull herself up on just about anything. She's having trouble sleeping because she would rather be standing up in her crib playing with her fishy mobile than taking a nap. So, here are some new pictures especially for the Salt Lake grandparents. We're issuing fair warning--Jillian is likely to be walking when we get up there in June. Make sure you stash your valuables!

Josh and I were both just commenting how much having a daughter adds to the dynamic of our family. In a family full of boys we truly thank heaven for little girls!

Why Kids Grow Up

2009-04-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today at 6 AM my oldest son came into my room bearing a tray with a bowl of Cheerios, a glass of water and a note reading:

"Dear Mom,
I'm sorry adout the car. We can get new paint. Happy Brekfist.
Love Alex"

(I have left his spelling intact)

Yesterday I backed our new car out of the garage and came too close to Josh's car. I heard the bumper hit Josh's car and panicked. Instead of braking, I hit the gas. So...I really crunched the back bumper of our beautiful car. (Luckily Josh's Ford POS can't look any worse than it already does.) I ran in the house bawling and must have really upset Alex. He decided that breakfast in bed the next morning was the way to fix it. Despite awakening with a stomach ache, I downed a few bites of Cheerios and basked in the love of my thoughtful son.

Now we have to find a good body shop in Arizona, any suggestions?

Loser Blogger

2009-03-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, believe me, I know! Somehow finding time to update the blog has been much more difficult lately. We've had visits from my parents, from Aunt Paula and Uncle Jeff, Ryan's fourth birthday, spring break, the ever intensifying Primary work, and just daily life in the way. Jillian can crawl now. Even on the third time around it is still amazing to watch the developmental leaps babies take. She learned to crawl one week ago. Saturday morning she couldn't do it, Saturday afternoon she tried and still couldn't do it, and then all of a sudden Saturday night she could suddenly crawl. Truly miraculous and really cute, even if it means life is getting more complicated!

The boys have had a great trip together to meet the Felt family in Moab. I do enjoy a good camping trip but I must confess that 9 hours in the car to go camping with a crawling, diapered baby sounded less than appealing. So it turned into a Dad and boys trip. From what I can tell, they had a glorious time. You can see the ruins in the background, they were right above the camping spot that the Felts like to use in Canyonlands. The boys were tired and totally dirty. We just had to throw away a whole load of orange socks, that sand never washes out! Many thanks to Gary and Debbie, Abby and Rich, and Uncle Bear. The boys had a wonderful time.

While the boys were gone, my Mom and Sunny and her girls came down for the first annual all-girls extravaganza. We had a ball. Sunny has all the pictures, seeing as how my boys took our camera. But we did all sorts of fun girl things: we exercised hard every day (you should see my Mom and Sunny salsa dancing!), we shopped, we created, we painted toenails and we watched a chick movie EVERY NIGHT. We also made some bruschetta that was so good that we ate it for dinner several nights in a row. Jillian and Jane are only six weeks apart and it was fun to watch the two of them together. Right now they spend most of their time taking toys from each other and patting each other's faces.

Jillian Update

2009-02-21T09:29:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a while, so here I am on my third post of the day! We enjoyed a visit from Josh parents, Aunt Meggan and cousin Jackson, and Uncle Bear. We basically ate good food, let the kids play outside as much as possible, and went for a hike in the San Tan "Mountains" near our house. Meggan and I also ran a 5K last Saturday. I wish there were one this morning so I could get my sluggish self moving. I don't have many pictures, so we'll hope that Meggan and Gary will be forthcoming with those!

Jillian is growing like a weed and is now sitting up like a pro and learning to feed herself. She desperately wants to crawl, but is still spending a lot of time falling over on her face. It won't be long! The pictures are of her first go-round with a biter biscuit and of her thinking she's all that because she can sit in the chair all by herself!

We Are As......

2009-02-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is the costume that Josh wore earlier this month for some of our church activities. He is dressed as Helaman, leader of the 2000 Ammonite warriors in the Book of Mormon. Our Stake sponsored an activity for all the 11-year-old boys to teach them about the Aaronic priesthood, scouting, and the Duty to God award before they enter our Young Men's program. He wrote a wonderful script to inspire them as they strive to meet their goals. (He also made an appearance during Sharing Time in Primary, since we happened to have the costume on hand!) Here's his script (just imagine it being read in Josh's deep, sonorous voice):

"I am Helaman, military commander and prophet who lived in the Americas shortly before the time of Christ. I welcome you parents and leaders and most especially you young men who I soon hope to call sons.

We are in a war between good and evil, a war where you cannot sit on the sidelines. The events of this day will prepare you for battle. You are hereby called to serve in the army of your Heavenly Father!

I once had the privilege of leading another group of young men who became my sons through the many battles we fought together. They were, “men of truth and soberness…exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength …true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted…for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him.”

You are young men of such quality. This morning you will be taught in a series of three classes how you can fulfill your destiny and walk uprightly before him. Upon completion of the training I will meet you again and ask that you declare with your signature upon this contract your willingness and commitment to fulfill the mission set before you.

My 2,000 sons once told me before we went to battle with the Lamanities, “Father, behold, our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall.” (Alma 56:46) I testify to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that it shall be so for you as well, my young sons. God is with you and as you fulfill your oaths He will not suffer that you should fall. Go now and receive your training and we will meet again soon, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

As a mother of sons, I was definitely inspired in fact, moved to tears. It really helped to get our 11-year-old boys inspired as well. Thanks Josh for being so willing to do anything that is asked of you!

My Budding Writer

2009-02-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Alex's class is doing a weekly writing assignment called a "Life Journal." Each week they write in a composition book using their vocabulary words, spelling words, ideas they are discussing in class, or just the thoughts in their 2nd grade heads. I am loving watching Alex learn to love this assignment. His personality is revealed in the stories he comes up with. Two weeks ago he was supposed to write a letter. When he was finished, he'd written a Valentine love-letter to his Legos that was absolutely hilarious. So, I copied down his story this week so that I could share it on the blog. He was supposed to write a story using his vocabulary words: objects, confused, clasp, typical, removes, cornered and caused. As you can see, the boy has a wonderfully developed sense of humor, for a seven-year-old! Here's the Life Journal entry for this week:

2/19/09

Bubba was confused. "How did the pigs get out?" he said. He saw some muddy objects lying on the grass. He said, "The clasp broke! I wonder what caused that? Nothing but a screwdriver removes a clasp like that." Bubba looked up. He was surrounded by 15 pigs with a screwdriver! "How typical! I knew I shouldn't have given those pigs tools."

Quarantine

2009-02-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry about being such a loser blogger lately. Ryan and Jillian have both got RSV. Ryan was sick but just fine. Jillian on the other hand is really sick and wheezing sandpaper every time she breathes. I'll get back to blogging after I get some sleep!

The Jedi Council

2009-01-26T20:22:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post to report Saturday night's dinner conversation. Alex looked up at Josh and said, "Daddy, you're on the Jedi Council, right?" When Josh looked perplexed Alex continued, "You know, when you go to the church to have meetings." Josh chuckled and told Alex that the High Council is kind of like the Jedi Council. Alex then tried to figure out which Jedi master his dad was. When I suggested that Daddy was like master Yoda, Alex replied, "No Mom, Grandpa Larry is master Yoda because he has those ugly yellow Yoda toenails." When I called my dad to tell him, his response was " You tell Alex that when 900 years old he is, look this good his toenails will not!"

Whose Baby is This?

2009-01-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

My mom sent me some pictures this morning and when I pulled them up, Ryan said, "Look Mom, there's Jilly with Grandma Ann." Impossible? I don't know, these babies look pretty much the same to me.

We found Jillian's first two teeth today. My, my how time flies!

RED LETTER WEEK

2009-01-04T14:47:00.001-08:00

Well, after a long drought, it has been truly a red letter week! So many happenings. First of all despite my kids' best efforts at earning lumps of coal, Santa made it to our house. There was a grand time had by all with new Legos, lightsabers and a little pink doll.

I wish I could say it had been a relaxing holiday this year, but there was so much going that many of the things that I wanted to do were left undone. Those of you who are out-of-town family will notice that I've been running behind when your Christmas cards arrive sometime next week. I hope that there is truth in the old saying: "better late than never." Josh seems to have been much more productive than I. He had the week off and was able to finish his built-in project in the playroom.

The boys have really loved the window seat, as you can see. It is so nice to hear silence, wonder "What on earth are those boys up to?" and walk into the playroom to find them reading! The new cabinets have plenty of space for everything that has been cluttering the floor in the playroom plus space for my extensive collection of unfinished craft projects. Perhaps some of them will get finished if I don't have to dig through the plastic bins buried in the closet to find them.

This week is also notable because, thanks to the intervention of Dr. Bapa, my upper-respiratory- sinusitis-bronchitis-never-ending-terrible-horrible-no good-very bad cold is finally on the run. I actually made it out running this week for the first time in a month. I feel like a bear emerging from hibernation after a winter's worth of bad dreams; like I've been living in a constant state of out-of-body experiences. I am battling off some residual headaches, but in general this is a vast improvement.

I think the headaches are probably due to the Primary. Today was the first Sunday in January and anyone who's been in the Primary will agree that the last few weeks have been exceptionally stressful. However, today we managed to get all the children in the right place and every class had teachers. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to our primary teachers and to everyone who worked so hard to get our sputtering Primary started again. Now I hope we're on a roll!

Friday night was also excellent. I'll admit that I wasn't too sure that the Utes had it in them, but boy did they ever! They ran roughshod over the Crimson tide of Alabama. The best part was watching the TV announcers falling all over themselves trying to act like it was just what they expected. It was nice to have the game on regular TV so that we could watch. The Rosens watched the game with us, and Matt found it in his heart to cheer for the Utes. (He was probably ready for a good football game after having had to watch the Cougars embarass themselves losing to Arizona.)

In other news, Jillian has learned to sit up. We still have an occasional slumping over, but she's getting pretty good. Now if we could just tackle the waking up at night problem. And I also finally finished reading Anna Karenina. I've never actually finished a Russian novel before. I have learned the value of a really good translation! I enjoyed Tolstoy very much and I think I'll try to get started on War and Peace as soon as I can.

If the last few weeks haven't killed me off, I think I'll still be around to blog in the future. We missed our families this Christmas. Especially upon hearing of the massive mini-marshmallow fight at the Staker home and seeing photos of the penny auction at Grandma Rogers. Perhaps next year the Primary transition will be smooth enough that we can spend some time at home. Here's hoping for a happy 2009!

Confessions of a Closet Wal Mart Junkie

2008-12-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's out in the open. Despite my best attempts at socially responsible shopping I have to confess that right now Wal Mart is my go-to place. I kind of soured on Target after trying to return some items after Jill was born, items I had purchased there myself and simply needed to exchange. Needless to say, Target's return policy STINKS. Anyhow, when you live out in the middle of nowhere and there's not much else available, you get drawn further and further into Wal Mart's sticky web and suddenly they've become indispensible. It's no wonder they're the only company still meeting their quarterly earnings projections. I even had my Christmas cards printed there this year. In the words of Master Yoda, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny." Help! I am succumbing to the power of the dark side!

Mr. Incredible!

2008-12-07T19:24:00.001-08:00

Josh has become downright domestic since being released from the bishopric. He spent all week last week building me some storage cabinets and a window seat in our playroom. "Storage cabinets" seems hum-drum compared with what he has made. He's made floor to ceiling, built-in cabinets that match the linen closet in the hall. I can't wait to see the finished product. He's been super-dad lately, doing everything that has been asked of him without complaint. And tonight, to top it all off, he made caramel frosting that brought tears to my eyes. Anyone who knows me well, knows of my penchant for really good caramel. I've been eating the frosting in big scoops all night, no cake necessary. I'm pretty sure I've died and gone to heaven. I love you Mr. Incredible!

Early Resolution

2008-12-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

I am finding myself in an early holiday season running slump. So, I am putting my running goal out here in the ether of cyberspace. If I post it on my blog, maybe I'll have better luck hauling myself out of bed to run in the mornings. ( I guess three weeks of really nasty upper respiratory infections don't help.) So....I am shooting for "London's Run" on the last day of January 2009, just the 10K, not the half marathon (yet). So, sisters, cousins and friends, I expect you to hold me to it and give me plenty of grief if I come up with lame excuses. There, I've done it. Now I better go to bed so that I can get up when the alarm goes off. "Dream bum" here I come! (My Beehive advisor had a picture of a really nice backside that she'd cut from a magazine and hung up inside her pantry door for motivation--she called it her dream bum.)

GO UTES!!!

2008-11-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well, tomorrow is the big smack down. The blood runs deeply RED around here. For all you Felts up there lucky enough to go to the game. Cheer your heads off for us!! I don't know if we'll be able to find any way to watch the game down here, but we'll be wearing red and checking the live scores on the net. GO DOWN COUGARS!!! I am a Utah man, sir....

Heidi Strikes Again!

2008-11-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

Heidi did our family photos last weekend. I just thought I'd put some on the blog. It kind of spoils the Christmas Card, but oh well! Josh doesn't look like a guy with pneumonia, does he? We've all had a nasty cold that we've had a hard time shaking, but Josh just kept getting worse and worse. He went to the doctor on Wednesday and was sent home at once to take some nuclear anti-biotics and get some rest. We'll hope that takes care of it.

Alex was worried when I told him that his dad had pneumonia. I told him that his Dad was young and strong and should be all right with some rest and medicine. He must not have been convinced because he jumped into Karissa's car Thursday after school and said, "My Dad has pneumonia. It can kill you." We're sure glad that Doctor Bapa is on his way down for Thanksgiving (after running his eighth marathon of the year in Vegas). I'm pretty sure that no one will die on his watch!

"Goodnight sweet prince..."

2008-11-09T12:04:00.000-08:00

Today should be Luke's second birthday. Happy Birthday my boy!

Not in this world to see his face
Sounds long, until I read the place
Where this is said to be
But just the primer to a life
Unopened, rare, upon the shelf,
Clasped yet to him and me.

--Emily Dickinson

Undecided?

2008-11-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

Well, for all you undecided voters out there, I have finally found the information you will need to make your decision. Follow the link below to the best youtube video I've seen in a while!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzyT9-9lUyE

Halloween

2008-11-02T20:42:00.001-08:00

Jillian the Ballerina (many thanks to Chira!)...

Rhino as Obi Wan Kenobi (surprise, surprise--I think that kid lives and breathes Star Wars)...

And Alex, as Peter from the Chronicles of Narnia (his school requires the kids to dress as literary characters)...

Well, here are the obligatory Halloween photos. We had a really nice time with good weather, good food, and good friends. The corner by the Atkins, Christiansens and Householders was blocked off and the kids were able to play. Everybody brought yummy food for our potluck and Josh and I made doughnuts again. Believe it or not, I was actually able to offer a cop a doughnut and not get arrested. A couple of Pinal county sheriff's deputies stopped by to make sure we weren't making a lot of trouble. I walked up with a plate of fresh doughnuts and asked, "Is it really wrong to offer a cop a doughnut?" No takers. As soon as they saw the casseroles and that there was no beer, they let us be.

I thought Ryan's white vampire pumkin was pretty good, but I think it is eclipsed by my brother Greg's pumpkin "Ralph." Kudos to Greg for the best Jack since Doug's Bill Cllinton pumpkin a few years ago.

Happy Halloween!

Bob the Builder and Life with Boys

2008-10-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Well, Josh has been at it again. He got tired of having laundry baskets full of towels around (clean and folded, but still homeless), so he ripped out my linen cabinet and built me a new one that holds about three times as much as the old cabinet. He grabbed a cabinet catalogue from Home Depot, asked me which door style I liked and then disappeared into the garage. This was the end result. The picture hardly does it justice. It makes me wonder what else he could do if not for that pesky, full-time job that pays our mortgage.

The little boys have been on a roll lately. Every day they say something that just cracks me up. While we were on our trip, Josh's mom overheard this conversation when the boys were supposed to be sleeping. (Keep in mind we had been to the dinosaur museum that day):

Alex: Hey Ryan, do you think dinosaurs ever puked? (giggle, giggle)

Ryan: Yeah, and then you could fill a whole BUCKET full of puke and dump it over their heads! (peals of hysterical laughter)

They announced to me last night in the car that we needed a pet. I proceeded to tell them that their Daddy is allergic to a lot of animals, but maybe if they came up with a good idea we could discuss it. After deciding that fish and frogs sounded totally dull, each boy came up with his ideal pet. Alex wants a cheetah and Ryan wants a were-rabbit. (Yes, a were-rabbit all you Wallace and Gromit fans out there.)

So all in all, life with boys may be tiring, but it is at least entertaining, as long as you think puke and belching the ABC's qualify as entertainment.

I came, I saw, I (eventually) conquered...

2008-10-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished it! Josh gave me this book for Christmas two years ago and between life with three kids and several shorter intervening books, it has taken me this long to finish it, but finish it I did! It was excellent. Much to the chagrin of my Grandfather, "Give 'em hell Harry" has always been one of my favorite presidents. So for any of you biography readers out there, this one is well worth the time investment (the book is nearly 1,000 pages, hence it is truly an investment).

Just a funny side note: When Gordon B. Hinckley, at age 97, met David McCullough he told him that he had read all of his books with great relish, except this one. President Hinckley said, "A man of my age doesn't begin a book that large."

Homesick!

2008-10-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a few days to get over the Grandma withdrawal and to get used to being back at home. I love my home, I love my dear friends here, but Oh! how I miss our families. We had a wonderful time being home again. Last Sunday, we gathered most of our families together for the blessing of our baby daughter. (We were only missing my brother Ken and his wife Alison and their kids.) Josh's mom was kind enough to host all of us, and our numerous small children in her home. There is something so tender about a father pouring out his heart to his infant child while surrounded by a fortress of strength. Jillian was blessed by her Father, assisted by both Grandfathers, all but two of her Uncles and several dear and close friends. It is a lovely way to set parents up on a sure foundation as they begin the process of rearing a new little one. It gives you such a sense of continuity. Jilly wore a lovely dress that was made by Josh's grandmother for the blessing of his sister Abby (seen with Jillian below). I have a weakness for things that are traditional and still meaningful, such as the dress and Jillian's middle name. We named her Alice in honor of my paternal grandmother, Alice Ann. I hope she'll be a presence in Jillian's life the way she has been and continues to be in mine.

The rest of the week was a whirlwind of great times. We played outside, the kids had cousin-fest and a couple of massive sleepovers in Grandma Shell's basement, we did some shopping, the boys went hiking, we played games every night, we went to a really cool dinosaur museum, we ate frozen yogurt at Uncle Rich's new shop--Yozone, we went bowling, Josh did numerous fix-it jobs for both sets of parents, and we didn't get nearly enough sleep. I'm just going to post a few of the pictures that I have, trusting that it won't do justice to the trip. We were all set to get up and leave in the very early hours of Sunday morning, but when we woke up, there were four inches of snow on the ground. The little boys had been praying for snow all week, so Grandma Debbie bundled them up and out they went. They played for an hour or so, and we took the morning easy. It turned out to be a much better way to end the trip than just leaving and racing home.

I'm glad we made the move to Arizona. It has been good for our marriage and our little family, but it makes my heart ache a little every time we pack up to leave our loved ones and head home. My little ones still ache for the snow, and in my heart so do I. I love being able to shop with my mom and sister, to watch our nephew Jackson walk around smacking anything that looks like ball with a spatula, to have my little niece Grace decide she likes me and call me her "buddy," and to stay up late playing card games with my brothers and sister until 2 a.m. Well, you can never foresee the future. Maybe events will lead us closer to home sometime. Until then, we'll have to enjoy our trips home as much as we did this one. And now for us, it's back to the rat race....

Ode to the Old Man

2008-10-14T15:19:00.001-07:00

I've always been a Daddy's girl. This post is a salute to my wonderful Dad. On our way up to Salt Lake to visit with our families, we stopped off in St. George to watch Dad finish his 21st marathon, the 7th one he's finished this summer. (He'll be running number eight in Las Vegas just before Thanksgiving!) My Dad is sixty-seven years old this year. A few years ago one of his dear friends, upon hearing that he was running yet another marathon, jokingly told him he should"act his age." That friend has since passed on, sometimes I wonder what he would say now.

My Dad is inspiring to me. He inspires me to run, to stay active, to have an open mind, to read good books, to study the gospel and to try my best to live it. For me he exemplifies true Christianity. He loves Jesus, he never ceases to learn about Him, and he tries his best to live in accordance with his beliefs. Dad has learned through hard experience to respond to his children with love and understanding, no matter the circumstances or choices we have made.

I do my best to run in his footsteps (even though I know there are not likely to be marathons in my future). I love you, Dad. Keep on trucking old man!

Out of Town

2008-10-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

We are in Salt Lake letting the kids get their Grandma and Grandpa and cousin fixes. We'll have lots of pics to share later on. Jillian was blessed on Sunday. Our families made great efforts to be there and to provide exceptional food for the event. Uncle Alan got in on the act and you should have heard the groans of pleasure as we bit into his pastries. It reminded me of the party scene in "Chocolat." We're having a ball and we'll be back next week.

Better Late than Never

2008-09-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

My Alex turned seven this month and I've not had time to write a nice post for his Birthday, so now that I've recovered some of my sanity, here it goes! Alex was born the morning the towers fell down, September 11, 2001. We named him Alex because it means "protector and defender of mankind." Right now we are deep in the midst of the struggle to turn a little wild one into a protector and defender.

When I think about Alex, the first thing that comes to my mind is his incredible sense of humor. For a seven-year-old he is a very funny guy. He's always got a wry observation or an appropriate movie line to crack his mum up at the right moment. When being put in time-out, he looked up and in the perfect imitation of Mr. Tweedy said, "Nooooo chicken escapes from Tweedy's farm." Just after we moved into our new house my neighbor called and asked him if I was home, without skipping a beat, he said, "Heidi, I'm five, of course my mom is home."

Alex is also extremely loving. I know this won't last forever, so I try to enjoy it while I can. He's been growing up a lot this past year. It's been interesting to watch him change from little boy into just plain boy (along with all the smells and belches). I love his freckles and his Monchee-chee hair. I love the way he plays so well with his little brother. He's been a great big brother ever since Ryan was small. I love his active imagination. (Alex is the one that organizes the make-believe games with his brother and his friends.) I love his Lego building prowess.

Alex has the heart of a warrior. He is brave and strong. I hope that I can guide him and help him become a fine young man despite the fact that I have yet to figure out my own life. I guess that is the ultimate challenge of all parents: trying to avoid loading your kids up with your own baggage. I love you big boy, Happy Birthday!

What do y'all read with your kids???

2008-09-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

I am requesting some help from you parents out there. Alex is seven. He loves it when we read aloud together but I am running out of ideas. Many of the books that I want to share with him are a little too advanced still. Please let me know what books you and your children have enjoyed reading together. We've read Treasure Island, The Wind in the Willows, The Witches, The BFG, The Candy Shop War, The Indian in the Cupboard, Stone Fox, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the last few months. I don't want to read the Harry Potter books out loud to him. That's a pleasure I'd like to save for him when he can read independently. Please give me your ideas!

Also, for those of you who know my sister, she's created a new blog that she actually intends to keep current! I've updated the link on my list. For all you Staker cousins with private blogs, send her an invitation so she can join us in the blogosphere. It has been a real pleasure to be in contact with you all again.

A Little Bit of Light and Magic

2008-09-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Heidi is a magician with a camera. She did a photoshoot of Jillian today and these photos are a small sampling of her work. Mind you, Jilly was grumpy and not at all cooperative and look at what Heidi managed to pull out of her hat! Thank you dear friend, what a wonderful shower gift. Heidi is a very talented photographer. Her website is www. heidimixon.com. I am grateful that she's my friend because my kids lives have been documented so beautifully since she's been on the scene. Thank you kind friend.

Finished Project

2008-09-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally finished the sweater that I've been working on for my little niece, Jane. I wanted to send it home with my parents and so I needed to get it done before they left. It also helped to have two extra sets of hands around to tackle the kids while I sat on my bum and knitted. Thanks for coming to visit Mom and Dad, it was short but sweet.

It never ceases to amaze me that my knitting projects actually look good when they're finished. The pattern wasn't great, so I changed a few things about it. Then there is always a moment of doubt when you look at the pieces that need to be sewn together. All you can do is hope that you've done everything right. When I finished the yellow sweater I thought it looked a little boring, so I added the pink blanket stitch, the colored buttons and the flower. Thank goodness Jane lives in Utah and not Arizona--she may actually get some wear out of the sweater! I can't wait to see her in it.

Fun Questionnaire

2008-09-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

So, my friend Amy posted this list of questions on her blog and I had so much fun answering it that I decided to post it here too. If you know Amy, make sure to send your responses to her by email.

The last time my child made me laugh had to be the morning Alex told me he was sure that he actually had the force, see previous posting for details!
I carve out time for myself the same way Amy does, by running at 5:45. In addition to being quiet, it's also not 4000 degrees outside before the sun rises.
The television mom I'm most like has got to be Mrs. Incredible/Elastigirl: I'm married to a guy who does it all, I occasionally lose it, and boy do I wish I could stretch like that!
My favorite outdoor activity to do with my child is going for a great hike. Alex has been a hiker since he was a baby. All my kids learn to love the Kelty backpack at a young age.
The one thing I wish I had known about parenting before I became a parent is the sheer volume of poop that is involved! Actually, I wish I'd known how much I needed to learn all those lessons about patience that God was trying to teach me. I never considered myself an intemperate person until I had kids.
The most important life lesson I want my child to learn...well there are lots of candidates: You don't have to agree with people about everything in order to get along and be friends, Never be afraid to admit you don't know, Women deserve your respect just because they are women, but not all of them will deserve your trust (for my sons), God ALWAYS keeps his promises....
The invention I wish I could create to make my life easier is a laundry folding and pressing machine. I hate folding laundry and I hate ironing. I never feel like the laundry is actually done..
My most embarassing parenting moment is the time that the lady at Target had to ask my kids to behave themselves. You know things are bad when an employee at big box store notices anything, let alone how poorly behaved your sons are.
The future parenting moment I fear the most is the boys first encounter with pornography. Will I have taught them well enough that they'll make the right choice, or will they ruin their lives in that brief but fateful moment?
My proudest moment as a parent was just last week. We were out for a walk and Ryan crashed on his bike about 100 yards ahead of Mom and Dad. I watched with wet eyes as Alex jumped off his bike, scooped his brother off the ground and held him close until Mom and Dad could get there. Oh, he also moved their bikes out of the road so that they wouldn't get run over!
The thing about my younger self that I'd like to reclaim, other than my waistline, is my ability to let the yellow come out in my personality. I don't spend as much time just laughing, enjoying where I am and doing spontaneous and silly things.
If I could change places with anyone, living or dead, it would be...still a mystery, I couldn't come up with someone.
The most fun thing about being a Mom is being able to be at home with my kids. I know all about them. I know what little things they like, I know their favorite foods, shirts, toys, movies, songs, etc. I know what makes them happy and sad, and how to read the emotions on their faces (most of the time). I get to watch them as they learn life's lessons and learn lessons from watching them.
The hardest thing about being a Mom is wondering if you've spent the time the way you should. There's never enough time for everything and I sometimes wonder if we've done the most important things..
I realized I had turned into my mother when I look at my calendar. My Mom is the world's busiest lady. She tells me she does it to avoid the family curse of laziness. I think I'm doing the same thing.
I get my kids to eat fruits and vegetables by cooking good food. I don't have to twist arms, they've just learned to eat good stuff. The other night, Josh looked at me weird because I told Alex he had to eat his meat before he could have any more carrots!
The last books I read to my kids were, for Alex: The Indian in the Cupboard, The Witches, Treasure Island, The Tale of Despereaux and Stone Fox; and for Ryan: Honey, Honey, Lion, The Berenstain Bears, The Little Duck, Eating the Alphabet, and Dr. Suess's ABC Book.
Before I turn off the lights at bedtime, I say to my boys: "Don't get out of bed again unless there's a fire." Then after I calm down, I go in and say, "Good night, Mama loves you."
The favorite traditions I share with my children are celebrating Birthdays, including Luke's, watching Star Wars on sick days, and Family Home Evening.
My favorite place to take my children is home to my Mom and Dad's house.
Something that no one knows about me.... is still a secret. What you think I'm going to tell you?
I hope my kids inherit the guilt-free attitude that I inherited from my Mom. What a gift! I don't spend a lot of time feeling guilty, being depressed or agonizing. I just get up and get going and hope to do better today than I did yesterday.
The kids toy or game I will never understand is Candyland. That must be the dumbest game ever invented! I also don't understand how boys get so into video games that nothing else in life matters.
The most ingenious invention for kids is the "Toothtunes" toothbrush. I love that thing! No more arguments over brushing.
The kids snack that I am most likely to be caught eating is Cheez n' Crackers. I can't help it, even with the processed cheese!
If I had an "I'd rather be" bumper sticker on my car, it would be... naturally gorgeous! Wouldn't it be nice just to pop out of bed and skip the morning routine, not to mention slog through the night-time routine before you fall into bed?

Peach Fuzz

2008-09-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get a good picture of Jilly's hair. It cannot be tamed! It sticks up all over around her head, no matter what you try to stick it down with. This seems to be my best shot-- although it hardly does justice to the 'do.

I'm also up to my elbows in peaches for real. I picked up about 60 pounds of peaches from the "Fruit Lady" in Mesa. She trucks Utah fruit down to the Phoenix area for those of us that still remember living somewhere where things grow. We are eating, freezing and making jam this week as the peaches ripen.

Jililan has also begun to smile occasionally, when she's not crying. Here's a picture of one of the first smiles.

Anecdotes and Accessories

2008-08-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well I have some great stories from my boys this week. Yesterday was my first day at church alone with the boys. I got up and going early so that I could get everything done and be on time. I did pretty well, got everyone dressed, bags packed, teeth brushed, hair combed and baby bathed. We left just at the right time and made it to church. Just as I was lifting Ryan out of the car I looked down and saw that he was wearing two different shoes and not just any shoes, he had on one camoflage croc and one blue and yellow striped flip-flop. He had put his own shoes on to be helpful that morning. He told me he just felt like wearing two different shoes.

Later on that night we had our friends, the Rosens, over for dessert. When he heard about Ryan's accident, Matt had brought over a Lego set for Ryan, the very first one that he's ever had. He and Alex had a grand time putting it together, and then arguing over who got to play with it! Anyway, when the Rosens came in yesterday, I asked Ryan if he had something to tell Matt. He walked right up and said, "Thanks for the Lego, Matt, I wish you'd get me Obi Wan Kenobi." Mom promptly crawled under the couch and said, "That's my boy!" Ouch!

This morning, Alex ran right up to me first thing and said, "Mom, I think I really do have the Force!" When I asked why, he told me that last night he really wanted the door open, but he was too tired to get up and open it, so he just reached out and used the force and sure enough, the door opened! Way to use the force, my son.

I wanted to put some pictures up today of the accessories my kids have been sporting lately. This is Alex in his camo hat. We bought it for his water day at school and he's been wearing it all over the place since then. He tried to wear it to church one day, but his mean old mom wouldn't let him.

Jillian and Jane are wearing the sunglasses that Grandma Shell and Aunt Carrie sent them. Sunny took this picture during the ten seconds that both babies weren't screaming!

These fabulous sunglasses were Ryan's prize for being good at the dentist. I tried to get him to choose the yellow, star-shaped ones but he had his heart set on the hearts. Much to my chagrin, he wears them all over the place. Whenever he sees me get out my sunglasses, he runs to his drawer to get his too!

And last, but not least, are the flip-flops that Alison bought for Jilly. I love those baby toes. I can't decide who's having more fun shopping, Aunt Alison or Aunt Meggan! Thanks to her Aunties, Jillian will always be well-heeled. But, as Meggan says, "What girl doesn't love shoes and accessories?"

Cousins!

2008-08-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

My sister took some great photos of the kids and their cousins when she was here last month. I just thought I'd post a celebration of cousins. For some reason the kids seem to know instinctively that they're supposed to love each other. They can go for months without seeing each other and still play like best friends. I have so many good memories of my own cousins. So to all you cousins out there, I am thinking happy thoughts of you today. Hooray for cousins!!

This is Jane and Jill, born six weeks apart.

The boys--Alex, Nate, Caleb and Rhino, headed off to battle.

Alex and Ryan and Kate: the newewst additions to the list of famous western bandits.

Alex, Kate and Ryan wearing the hats they made. Talk about haute coutoure!

And last of all, the original "Goon Brothers", or cousins in this case.

Aftermath

2008-08-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

What I want to know is if there is a "frequent patient" program for Emergency Rooms, you know kind of like a frequent flier deal. Last night was the second time we have visited the ER for stitches since Jillian was born. First, Josh cut his hand in the shop when Jilly was 4 days old. Then last night, Ryan tripped while he was running around the family room and slammed his forehead into the bookcase. He split his head open, front and center, but luckily right at the hairline. So we headed back to the ER and the same doctor that stiched up Josh, stitched Ryan's head back together. I hope that the scars don't show! They cut his hair off in order to stitch him up so I think it should grow right back over. I am just thanking my lucky stars that my own recovery from childbirth has been so easy. If I'd had to have a c-section, I don't think I'd have been able to handle the stress. As it is, I can attest to the fact that it causes mothers physical pain when their little ones are hurting.

On the happier side, I have some new pictures of the baby to post. I love this one of Alex and Jillian. He is just the perfect age to have a new baby arrive. He's so tender and gentle with her. Ryan is still mostly ignoring her, but at least there is no animosity for the little one who has rocked his pedestal.

Alex is back in school. It seems surreal that my son is in Second Grade. Somehow I didn't think I was that old. Jillian is starting to sleep longer stretches. She can go for up to five hours now at night without thinking that she's starving to death. Consequently, I am a little less of a zombie and I am now starting to dig my house out of three weeks of neglect. Luckily I have a deadline approaching...Josh's parents will be here to visit on Wednesday, so it is definitely time to scrub those potties! As long as there are no more visits to the ER on the horizon I think I can make it.

At long last....

2008-07-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

We welcome Jillian Alice Felt to our little family! She was born the afternoon of July 15 after a long 15 hours of labor. She weighs 8 1/2 pounds, is 20 and 1/4 inches long and has poofy dark hair. Baby is doing very well and Mom feels so good that it must be criminal somehow!

I know she doesn't look like a newborn here, she's only 48 hours old. She's not always this alert but she is an excellent baby so far. She appears to be her mother's daughter with an excessive fondness for sleep! I'm sure there will be enough future updates to make everyone sick of seeing them. Thanks everyone for your encouragement and prayers, they were needed.

You've been pregnant too long when....

2008-07-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

....you ask your three year old son what's wrong and he grips his stomach and says, "I'm having contractions!"

....the teenage bagger at the grocery store actually lifts his eyes to look at you, the puberty induced fog momentarily clears, and he speaks..."Whoa, can I, like, help you to your car or something?"

....your Star Wars crazed sons generally refer to you as "Chubba-the-Hutt."

....every well meaning, oblivious, never-had-a-baby checker at Wal-Mart wants to know when your twins are due.

....your favorite food seasoning is "Tums," because even a glass of water gives you heartburn.

....your kids look up at you and say, "Mom, you're getting a little grumpy, maybe you need a few minutes to lie down."

....no matter how much water you guzzle, your bladder only produces urine one teaspoon at a time.

....you are actually looking forward to the experience of childbirth.

Josh and I started making this list together last weekend, I thought I'd post our best and see what other items you could come up with.

So Long Old Pal...

2008-06-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

It is funny how I find myself being sentimental about such an unexpected item as a car. Our old Land Cruiser has finally gone to the car lot in the sky. Just before we hit this last week of record high heat (112 to 115 degrees) the air conditioner totally died. We had finally come to the point where the car was worth less than the repairs. And so, we traded in our old car. I am thrilled to have a beautiful new (used) car, but strangely, it was hard to watch them drive our old friend off to the scrap pile. We bought the old Cruiser a few months before we had Alex, who is about to turn 7.

When Josh and I were discussing the old car, we both had the same memory pop up. We had been hiking in the Grand Staircase with Josh's family all day and were headed home to Arizona. About 30 seconds after we left the trailhead, we turned around and both boys were out cold asleep. We have seen a lot of road, and a lot of off-road, together. In the immortal words of James Taylor, "Life's good friends are hard to find, and now one of mine is [gone]..." I hope the newer car will give us the same good run! Viva Toyota!

The Stuff of Life

2008-06-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

I know, two posts in one day, but I have some catching up to do. I couldn't go without showing off my little niece. These are some of the pictures of little Jane Woodford and her family. So far Kate still thinks she's pretty neat, I keep wondering when she'll be ready to ship her off "to California." (This is what another of my neices decided was the appropriate course of action to solve the problem of a new baby brother.) Besides, Sunny looks so good for a lady who just had a baby that I didn't think she'd mind being shown off too. :)

These other pictures are one of the great moments of parenthood. I came in and found Alex reading to Ryan for the first time. I really love having them enjoy being together, it warms a Mother's heart. Just in the last little while they have really started playing well together. It's nice that Jedi knights usually come in pairs! It wil be especially important that they can entertain each other when their baby sister arrives to complicate their little world. Here's to being comrades-in-arms as well as brothers!

Josh, the King of DIY!

2008-06-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

How do I love thee? Let me lay the tile! My dear sweet husband knew that eventually I wanted to have black and white tile in my master bath. (Our builder seemed to think that cheap brown carpet was a really nice option for bathroom floors.) So last week, Josh spent every evening, after a full work-day and finishing his church work, working on his hands and knees to make me this lovely floor. Anyone who knows anything about the state of Josh's knees will understand what a labor of love this was. Thank you, thank you to my HHBL!

Alex and Ryan, as you can see were oodles of help. Actually, Ryan is quite responsible with the shop vac, and Alex excelled at demolition. You can see him weilding the hammer to break out the old brown tile around the toilet. He worked with great gusto until a piece of tile flew up and cut his finger. I was limited to official gopher, tool fetcher, clean water getter, and sponge wringer-outer.

I do love working with Josh. I look forward to more home improvement projects when I am no longer great with child. We have a long history of working together. Our first few dates were spent painting the exterior of Felt Lighting and re-caulking the front display windows. (I guess he had to try me out to see if I could cut the mustard.) I love being married to a man who can do this stuff!

Welcome Baby Jane!

2008-05-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I am an Auntie again! My sweet sister brought her second little daughter into the world today at 1 PM. Jane is a tiny, but very healthy 6 lb. 10 oz. girl with lots of dark hair. Welcome sweet baby. I'm sure there will be pictures forthcoming, especially if Grandpa Larry was around anywhere.

Random items

2008-05-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ryan has discovered the joys of shaving cream. He must have spent two hours in the tub just smearing it all over himself and anywhere else he could reach. Now that it's getting too hot to play outside during the day, I may be more grateful for this discovery in the near future.

My boys have also found a wonderful use for pool noodles. They cut them in half and use them as lightsabers. They can beat on each other to their heart's content without causing any damage. It has become nearly a daily ritual. My sons are Star Wars freaks. They love to play with the legos and the transformers. It does this mother's heart good to see the boys play together and use their imaginations.

You may have noticed that Ryan is not wearing pants. He's very good about getting them on when we are leaving and when we have company, but as soon as we're home alone, off come the pants! With the weather heating up, I may be joining him. Today we hit our first 100+ degrees. It is going to be a long 8 weeks until I get rid of this little internal heater.

I also thought I'd post a garden update. Our garden has just exploded over the last few weeks. The tomato plants are about 5 feet tall, covered with little tomatoes, and the squash is as big as Ryan. As far as gardening in Arizona, I am a square-foot garden convert. This is the first time we have had any real produce to speak of. As a matter of fact, we had three different kinds of summer squash from the garden with our dinner tonight! There is just something deeply satsifying about that.

Summertime

2008-05-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

This week we are officially supposed to clock our first 100 degree day. I am in mourning. I guess I have to be grateful for the months that we have spent enjoying the outdoors while most of you have been hibernating inside. We will be cowering under our airconditioners till mid-November. These pictures were taken at our neighborhood party at the park last week. As you can see from the one of Alex and his friend Ben, tt's already warm enough for snowcones.

Mother's Day was great. This is the first year that Alex has been old enough to really get it. He gave me a packet of lavender seeds to plant in my garden and came into my room grinning with a bowl of Cheerios at 6:30 Sunday morning. He had made my breakfast all by himself. It was perfect. I wondered how my Mom managed to gag down those huge plates of undercooked scrambled eggs. She hates eggs! I'll cross my fingers and hope for Cheerios each year.

Surprise!

2008-05-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, those are pink marshmallows. The girls from my ward threw a suprise baby shower for Jillian on Saturday, the pink marshmallows were part of the decor. They were either really sneaky, or I am just reallly clueless because it was truly a complete surprise. It was also great fun. It put me over the edge from cautiously optimistic to just plain EXCITED!!!! I've never seen so much adorable, pink stuff in one place. They had invited everyone from the ward, my cute neighbors Heidi and Missy, and my sister-in-law, Alison. We had homemade crepes with fruit and cream, we had a baby bottle drinking race (won hands down by my friend Kelly), a blind-folded diaper changing competition and shared much laughter together. I've put in just a few of the photos in this post.

Saturday morning, I thought I was going to breakfast with my girlfriends. On the way out, we just stopped quickly to "drop off some chairs" to one of my neighbors. As soon as I walked in carrying a folding chair and saw all my friends and Alison there, I knew I'd been had! Jilly was given clothing, (including the pink tutu onesie in the picture made by my cub-scout partner in crime, Chira Speers) shoes, hair bows, toys, blankets, jewelry, burp cloths (that are way to cute to mop up barf with) and a tea set. Every little thing that a baby girl could possibly want. There are truly some talented women in our ward, so many of the gifts were handmade.

I am overwhelmed by the out-pouring of love from friends in this place where we have been for so short a time. When we moved way out here, we felt like we had relocated to Mexico. Since then we've found so many wonderful friends and great families out here that we feel blessed to be in this place.

I don't know if these wonderful women will understand the true nature of the gift they have given to me. This first pregnacy after our experience with our sweet son Luke has been full of bittersweet emotions. Being surrounded by such open and unconditional love and excitement has given me a new source of strength. My heart is full of gratitude and love for you all.

Thankyou dear girls from my whole heart. What a wonderful and heart-warming surprise! I can't wait for Jillian to learn about womanhood by watching all of you.

(I don't usually allow photographs of myself when pregnant, so I figured as long as I was breaking the rules anyway, I might as well include the picture in the feathered hat and make a real fool of myself online for all the world to see!)

Gardens

2008-04-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from our new back yard. It gets better and better all the time. Right now is the peak of the spring/early summer gardening season in Arizona. (Those of you who are still buried under snow will be laughing in your turn come July when I am 9 months pregnant and it is 110 degrees outside.) The purple flower is the blossom of my Passiflora or "Passion Vine". It blooms all summer, but each flower only lasts one day. The flower bed is my first completed raised bed in the garden! My Mom and Dad helped me to get it started when they were here at the end of February. Mom helped me plant all the plants, including the spiny ones that bite. (Greater love hath no Mommy...) Then Dad and I went for a drive in the hills above our house and picked up the larger rocks off the side of the road! The other picture is Ryan showing off his tomatoes. He loves to go out and inspect the vegetable garden every morning. Yes, those are swim goggles he's wearing on his head, part of his latest super-hero disguise. I really do love life with little boys! They go from Flash Gordon to Luke Skywalker to Nephi with such ease.

Let me introduce....

2008-04-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some snapshots of the Josh and Cheryl Felt Family as we are right now, or at least relatively recently. One of our favorite things to do is to meet our Salt Lake family at a half-way point in Southern Utah and do some camping and hiking. This is a picture of the four of us hiking from Wire Pass into Buckskin Gulch in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Josh and I are comfortably ensconced in our early thirties. I am a full-time stay-at-home Mom and Josh works for Intel here in Arizona. Our oldest son Alex is six years old now and in first grade. The two great loves of his life so far are his Legos and the Lego Star Wars game on the Wii. This is a picture of Alex and his soccer team. Needless to say, Alex is kind of a big kid! :)

Ryan turned three in March despite his best efforts to skip directly from two to six so he could be just like his big brother. Ryan loves anything with wheels especially if it happens to be Lightning McQueen. He is my little gardening pal. He likes to come outside and inspect the plants in our newly installed back yard. He is growing pumpkins this summer and hoping to have them ready for Halloween. Here's hoping they can survive the heat of an Arizona summer. This is Ryan with his race-track birthday cake, thanks to the ingenuity of his Grandma Debbie and his cousin Sydney.

We are expecting another baby in July who will be, to my utter and complete surprise, our first baby girl! So far everything is going well for our little Jillian. She is healthy and seems quite happy in her little, private swimming pool. We are looking forward to welcoming her to our family. The closet in the front bedroom is slowly being converted from little boy hand-me-down storage space to pink, pink and pink. This one is being spoiled unmercifully by her aunts, her Grandmas, and her Mom's friends already.

As I mentioned, we have just finished installing a back yard. I say "we", but I mean "Josh." He worked on it every weekend and every decent evening after work for about two months. It is so nice to have a space for the kids to play outside and to grow things. Here he is smiling with relief to see that after the installation of the sod, the sprinkling system works as it should. Yeah for Josh and Uncle Ken, they seem to know what they're doing!

Well, that's a brief glimpse of the Felt family. We hope to be able to keep track of our family and friends better by joining the blog-fest.

All our best to all of you from Arizona!

Starting Out

2008-04-12T00:10:00.000-07:00

This is my very first attempt at setting up a blog for our family. Josh's sister Meggan introduced me to the joy of "blogstalking" on her visit here last month. Since then I have been checking her blog on a regular basis and looking over postings from my Staker cousins. I decided that maybe I'd better get in on the act. Please be patient with me while I learn what I'm doing.