Salt Lake or Bust

Vacation was great and I am so glad that we got a chance to go. 

We left home at 7:00 and drove through the night in 3-4 hour shifts.  It actually wasn't too bad and the kids slept a majority of the time.  We rented a condo in Ogden for a great price and it was a fantastic condo.  Living space and kitchen on the first floor, two large bedrooms and two baths on the second and a third floor that was a loft area.  It was a great space for the kids to run around in.  Much thanks to Chrissy for the referral of VRBO.com!!!!

After sleeping we ventured into Ogden on foot and walked around.  We came across the Salomon center which had indoor surfing, A huge game area with bumper cars, and a flying air tunnel that literally simulates sky diving.  It was soooo cool.  If we ever go back we are taking additional funds!!!!!

There was also a great place called the Pizza Factory, the food was outstanding and they had the best breadsticks!!

We also found the Ogden temple and wandered around their grounds a bit.

I love all the statues on the grounds of the temples, especially this one.  Hopefully this is Matt and I in fifty years.

But for now, this statue accurately represents my life.

It was daddy's turn to do double duty.  We thought about taking the stroller, but it would have taken up precious space in the van.

Tuesday we were back in the van and headed for Red Feather Lake, Colorado.  Truly in the middle of nowhere.  My aunt said if we needed anything we should stop in a town about an hour out.  She was right, between there and her house there were no establishments!!!!!  Their house is three miles up a dirt road.  And as if we didn't see enough snow this year, there was a ton there to keep the children occupied.

The purpose of this trip was to visit my Grandmother for what will probably be the last time.   It was great to see her!  She is a fantastic painter and we came home with quite a few of her recent paintings which means a lot to me.

We stayed through Wednesday and then left on Thursday after meeting Grandma's hospice worker.

My grandmother's name is JoAnne and  we named our daughter Sariah JoAnne after her.

Friday we spent the whole day at Temple square.  Tristan took his first steps in the Joseph Smith Memorial building while we were watching "The Restoration".    

We also ate at the Blue Lagoon.  A lot of our friends had said this was the best place to eat and they were so right!  We loved the food.  The menu listed a Big Burrito and then said if you could eat it all you would get a free dessert, so of course Matt, I , mom, and Seri all ordered it.  Yeah, we should have figured out that it was going to be beyond huge!!!  One of them alone could have fed my family!!  Matt made a valiant effort and ate it all with the exception of probably three bites.  We still got dessert though, thanks babe!!!

Sorry for exposing you to the bite protruding from Sariah's mouth, she was attempting to help Dad.

Not sure why Matt is boycotting the concept of smiling.

one tired cookie......

Saturday we all hung out around the condo watching conference while Dad went to the priesthood session.

Sunday, Serenitie and I went to the afternoon session.  She turned twelve this year and we want to take each of our children to a session of conference after they turn twelve.  It was amazing!!!!!  The conference center is huge, beyond huge!!!!!!!  It was a great feeling to be able to listen to our prophet in person with my daughter.

Of course there were protestors screaming that we were going to hell and the such, but what was nice were there were also members lined up on either side of the sidewalk singing hymns, quite the contrast.

I don't think I have ever seen so many members!!!!  It was amazing.  Have I already said that?

The condo had a garage, but the entrance was only a single car entrance so it was hard to get the van in and out of.  On one such entrance Matt completely scrapped the side door and chipped off some of the framing.  I would just like to point out that it was not me!!!

On the way back home I looked up just in time to see us go over a huge mass of something.  Matt ran over a deer, didn't hit it, just went over it.  The big mass of fur and bone that got stuck fell off in the driveway yesterday and I made him go collect it .  Our undercarriage is still covered in fur though.  turns out all the car washes in the area don't have undercarriage wash.

It was such a great trip. I am glad to be back home though.

Join the tea party!!!

In an effort to be more involved in our Government and make our voices heard and to endeavor to teach our children to do the same we will be attending the Tea Party in Olympia. If you can spare the time I encourage all to do the same.
Now is not the time to sit idly by and talk about things we are not willing to fight for or do something about. Make your voices heard!!!
We will be there with our tea bags!!

They're never too young.....

This morning Sariah came to me complaining that her leg hurt. Matt said he thought she had stuck an army guy down her pj's. Sure enough, unzip her footie jammies and there is a plastic army man. She is always putting things in her jammies; balls, math cubes, anything and everything.
So very seriousely I told her that if she would stop letting men get in her pants it wouldn't hurt at all.
She replied "OK" but Matt was giving me the "I can't believe you just told her that look". After laughing I responded, "hey, they're never too young...".

Marine Biology

I have mentioned that I love both our co-op and where we live, before haven't I?  Well, let me say it again.  I reallly love The NW and FHE academy co-op!

About five minutes from our home is Redondo beach and they have built a Marine Biology lab there within the last year.  We were able to visit and have a teacher from Highline community College give us great bits of wisdom.

We first went to the aquarium where if you can reach it you can touch it.

They gave the children laminated sheets so that they could identify which animals they were seeing.

It dawned on me this morning as I was watching my children work together, watching the older ones naturally care for and teach the younger ones, this is one of the huge benefits to Home schooling.  This interaction between my children, between the older ones and the younger ones is beneficial in every way.  They learn together, the older ones teach the younger ones and feel the pride and achievement in that  and they learn to be caring and nurturing.  The younger ones look up to the older ones and trust them and are eager to learn from them.  I love that they are able to experience these interactions, that they are able to learn together in a self-less manner.

I love this picture.  You can just sense her wonder.  Dad hates these pants, but what can I say it was laundry day at our house (what day isn't).  What you can't see is that she is wearing a pink shirt that doesn't match at all.  I made her keep her coat on so no one would know she didn't match today.  Guess I could have fibbed and told people she had dressed herself and we were encouraging her independence.....

Matt had to come and stay with the children for the last part of the field trip as I had a VT appt. to get to.  I guess he was talking with a friend later about it and the friend laughed and said that the guys at this lab swear their star fish are Pavlovian (yes I know that is not a real word, but you know what I mean) trained.  He wondered how a species without a brain can be trained.  I tell you they are though!!!  The minute they feel fingers they all flip upside down in an effort to receive food.  We were able to feed them calamari and other disgusting fishy things. 

We put the food out on the ends of their tentacles and then they would move it along with their thousands of little feelers until it got to the center and then their stomachs come out and envelope and digest the food. It was fascinating!!!  And yes, I really believe they were trained!

I love the looks on the faces of the boys in this pic.  Because of the small size of our group the instructor really went above and beyond in explaining things to us.  He showed us molten crabs and the kids were able to feel a soft shelled crab.  He also showed that a star fish is a huge predator which I found interesting.  He put it in the other tank and it approached a clam.  We all watched as the clam like thing suddenly stuck out a long white leg thing and propelled itself by bouncing away from the star fish, it was really quite funny.

We also learned that a sea-cucumber in a last ditch effort at survival will spew its guts for the predator to eats while it makes an escape, turns out it can regrow them in a few months. interesting.

Riah and Isaac investigating the animal life.

Another reason I love our co-op is that us ladies truly watch out and care for one another.  So many times one of the other mom's has stepped up to help my child when I was busy with another one or when it needed to be done and they were closest.  Whether it is holding them, getting them a glass of water, taking them to the bathroom, anything.  Sariah was kind of having a hard day and was more than happy when a friend gently led her away from the group for a little private-quiet look at the animals.  I am so grateful for these ladies!!!

From the aquarium we went back to the class room where we looked at Plankton and discussed the various kinds and the differences.

Then we went out to catch our own plankton.

This involved lowering a weighted, windsock, net-like thingy about a foot and a half under the water and dragging it as they walked up and down the dock a few times.

The water sample was then collected in a bottle at the end and Isaac came up to me yelling "Look Mom, I caught water!!".

Then it was back inside to look at and identify our own Plankton!!! 

It was such a great trip!  There is also a new piece of art work at Redondo.  the instructor explained that it represents how humans take nature apart and then try to put it back together again.

Still together after all these years.......

We met in Oct of 1996.  Both of us were already in other relationships and this was the last thing we expected.  I was out chatting with a mutual friend when he heard us and came over.  He had cotton candy which I asked for a bite of. Somehow he ended up chasing me, tackled me and then proceeded to kiss me.  Pretty bold move, but it got him the girl.

From Oct 96- Oct 97 we met, were married, he joined the military, had Serenitie, my grandfather passed away and we moved across the country to Ft. Bliss, El Paso Tx.  I took one of those stress tests that analyze the major events in your life and it said I should have died.
I tend to think of our marriage in terms of phases. The first five years were the "El Paso" years and they were tough as we learned how to love eachother and communicate.  They were so hard. We were so very young...  We went through infertility treatments trying to get pregnant with Michael and we raised each other.

The next five years we were stationed in Germany ( The Darmstadt years) and we really began to be a couple.  We both grew up so much in this stage.  Isaac entered the family.  I started teaching and he supported me even though it was difficult.  We dealt with short deployments and living overseas.  We started home schooling and eventually left the military.

He took me to Venice for carnival for our tenth anniversary.

 

2002 until now were "The Good Years".  We moved back to the states and even though this phase began with me being six months pregnant with Sariah, no job, no house, etc......  These have been the best years by far.  This is when I think it can not possibly get better.  We are so in sync that our friends and family are mildly freaked out by it.  We truly love every minute that we are together.  I can not think of a better person to spend the rest of my life with. 

Here's to another 13 and many more!!!

I love these clips!!

I am a big fan of Mormon ads to begin with, but these I really love.  They resonate with what our home is like a good part of the time.  Especially since we are homeschooling and the children have optimal time to use their imaginations.  Couldn't have said it better myself.

This one totally reminds me of Matt and Seri!!!

 

 

The Olson Bobsled Run

Where better to get a large box than from Daddy's work, after all they are a lumber company.  So Dad brought home this huge box and the children automatically seized it as their bobsled.  Goodbye laundry baskets!!!  The best thing about the box is that it is big enough for everyone, even Daddy, to ride in at the same time!!!!

We had some friends over this evening (as you can see, my house is much cleaner!)  and they all had to try also.

Got to love it!!!!!  

Happy to be older!!!

Turns out 34 isn't nearly that bad. It is still this side of 35 and yet old enough that most people actually trust that you have gained some wisdom.
It was a great year as far as presents go. Matt got me a Garmin (a loud cheer goes up from all the people that have had to deal with my directional illeteracy). Her name is Gabby and she is my new best friend, even though Seri think it is pathetic that I had to pay for a best friend.
Mom got me ten hours of maid service which I absoutley adore!!! I was a little hesitant as I have never had someone clean my house before and I do have a tendency to believe that if I can't clean my house by myself I am a failure in some way. But, it was perfect in every way!!! It was so great to be able to focus on my children and know that those chores were still getting done and they weren't being done by me!!!!
The first time she came she did my kitchen and all three of the bathrooms.
Next she did all my windows, blinds and vacuumed all of the carpet. That time she was a little tired and remarked that I had a lot of windows and carpet. I love it!!!! Now the trick is to convince Matt that I need to continue having her come for three hours every other week.
If anyone is in need of a house cleaner let me know and I will be happy to pass on her number, she is terrific!

My boys

Tristan would like to announce that he can now stand by himself!!! Yeah!!!!





Yesterday the boys were fighting as is par for the course most days. Matt has been working on his disciplinary technique and decided this was a good time to practice his new found technique. So he sent them to their seperate rooms to sit on their beds for ten minutes. They were then told to discuss the situation using words until they came to a resolution.
Isaac came running down shortly after they had been released from their rooms and Matt asked if they had talked about the situation, he replied "Yes". Matt then asked if they had come to a resolution and he once again said "yes" Finally Matt asked what the resolution was and Isaac responded "I'm not sure, I think Michael is keeping it a secret".