Sonny Side of Life

Christmas Morning and Stockings

2011-12-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

Brian was the first one up this year. He snuck downstairs and saw that Santa had brought the "Lego Death Star" and couldn't sleep after that. I woke up around 5:30 and we waited in bed for the kids to get up. Jeff and Zach came in around 6 and finally Collin came in 15 min later. We just decided to wake Tyler up because we were too excited. The boys were amazed to see the Death Star under the tree. As they wiped the sleep and amazement out of their eyes they moved onto their stockings where Santa had left stuff like, gold coins, pokemon cards, art supplies, games, hexbugs, sock puppies and other fun stuff.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve this year the kids cleaned up the toy room to make room for more! And they did it without complaining, mostly. Then we watched movies, made cookies, ate cookies and listened to christmas music. For dinner we made Santa pizzas.
Brian has been introducing lots of different traditions from other faiths into the season so we can appreciate everyone. We have been lighting the menorah for Hannukah. One of Brian's clients is a priest in a catholic church nearby so he took the big boys to the childrens' mass while Collin took a much needed nap. At 7 we went to a candlelight service at the Methodist church. It was nice to see some of the people we sang with in the combined choir a couple weeks ago. I grew up going to the Methodist church so candlelight service on christmas eve is one of my favorite traditions. The music was beautiful and the message about our Savior inspiring. A lovely way to celebrate christmas eve!
After looking at christmas lights, we came home to open 1 gift and the boys exchanged the gifts they got for each other. This year they each went to the dollar store and had to pick out one thing for each member of the family. They then decorated a bag to wrap it in. Even though not much $ was spent they picked up on the feeling of giving because they all were excited to pick out presents for their family.
By the time we got to bed they were exhausted and had no trouble falling asleep.

Fun Christmas Stuff

2011-12-26T07:04:00.000-08:00

Last year my grandma gave me this beautiful ceramic church. She made it years ago and it was always part of the decor I remember growing up so I was extatic to receive it last christmas. It has been lit up since Thanksgiving! I love it!
Another new addition to the Christmas decor this year is our lego village. With 4 boys that are into legos, I decided this was the village we needed. On Thanksgiving weekend, we played a bingo game and when they won each of the kids got to put up a lego set for the village. I love that Brian said to the kids "these are mom's legos, they don't leave this table". I have my own legos now! Mostly I don't want to loose any of the pieces to the pit of legos in the toy room. Lego has put our a new village piece for the last 3 years, a toy shop, bakery and post office. We are all caught up and excited to see what next years piece will be.
The kids made these cute little reindeer treats to pass out to their friends. My friend Debora showed me the idea, totally cute and the big boys did them all by themselves! My new craft was the "jingle all the way" shadowbox. Made on a craft night at church.

New Floors and Christmas Decor

2011-12-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted pictures yet about our new wood floors that Brian worked so hard on. I love them! The house looks beautiful and cozy with the wood floors and bigger baseboards.

School Parties

2011-12-26T06:45:00.000-08:00

I spent one morning with Collin at preschool last week to help with their little party. We decorated gingerbread houses and cookies and passed out little gifts. It was fun to watch all the little preschoolers learn about the calendar and the weather and their letters and numbers. I love Collin's teacher Ms. Reta. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher for him. She is amazing with him and he loves her dearly. If Ms. Reta thinks its a good idea, Collin will do it. If there's something he really doesn't want to do, he'll say to me "mom don't ask Ms Reta ok" because he knows he's a sucker to do what she wants too. I'll frequently ask her to tell him to do something because he won't do it if I ask, but he will if she asks. I wonder what his teenage years will be like without Ms Reta.
Tyler and Zach also had class parties at school. Days full of sugar, crafts, and craziness! Bring on winter break!

Temple Lights

2011-12-26T06:36:00.000-08:00

Last week one of my dear friends was sealed to his wife and kids in the Mesa temple. It was a great opportunity to take the kids to see the family and the beautiful temple lights too.

Piano Recital

2011-12-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

I told the boys that their christmas present to me was to play christmas music on the piano all season. I love to hear piano music. My mom used to play a bit when I was little and my best friend used to play a lot too. I always wished I could play but only learned the basics. I love that the boys are learning. Their piano teacher put together a recital at the Montecito, a retirement community. All three played the piano and did such a great job. When Tyler made a little mistake he would stop and look at his teacher with a very frusterated look on his face. He played "Jolly old St. Nicholas". Zach played "Little Drummer Boy" and Jeff did "Carol of the Bells". Then they sang some songs for everyone, including "Silent Night" in sign language and "We wish you a Swinging Holiday" which even included a little dance. It was a great recital! Mrs Meyer does a fabulous job with the boys!

Chicks at Church

2011-12-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

At our church event, outside there were some animals to see and the boys loved the baby chicks. I couldn't get Collin away from them. To make matters worse the next night we went to my cousins house and she has chickens so the begging began "can we get chickens?" Somehow I changed the subject and I think its been forgotten about now.
At the church event there was a great childrens' activity "Finding our way to Bethlehem" They were able to walk thru some activities on their search for the baby Jesus. It was very well done and a very popular activity. Brian and I sang in the combined methodist and LDS choir. We have some amazing music talent in our ward, it was a great experience. We sang 17 carols put together by Alfred Burt.

Jeff's 12th Birthday

2011-12-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

Jeff's birthday was on a Friday this year. I picked him up from school to go to lunch at his new favorite place, Paradise bakery. After school we had a little family party with cheesecake and presents. He got the lightening dragon lego set, a camera card and a video game plus some gifts from grandparents and others. After dinner we rushed off to the church for a big christmas event they were having.

Collin's Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

This has been one of the highlights of the season for me. The preschool puts on the cutest programs where the kids get dressed up and sing 4 or 5 songs with a little narration. This was all about the nativity and and to see those little 3 and 4 yr olds up there singing "Go tell it on the Mountain" "silent night" and some other songs really touched my heart. When they sang "we wish you a merry christmas" they all shouted and pointed out to us and Collin kept waving to us and smiling and clapping so enthusiastically. It was one of those nights I wish, no matter how big he gets I can always remember his cute little voice and his enthusiasm. A touching night for me as I realize this is my last Christmas with a preschooler!

Making Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

The kids had lots of fun with this activity! Lots of sugar highs! I realized I forgot to get photos of the finished thing. They will be coming later I guess!

Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-13T20:48:00.000-08:00

The kids dressed up and sang for everyone at the church christmas party. Collin fell asleep before we got there so he didn't participate in the play, just the messing around after his little nap!

Jones Picnic

2011-12-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

Before Thanksgiving we had a picnic with a group from Brian's work. The kids had a blast on the bounce houses and we were all spoiled with some great food!

Tyler

2011-12-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

Tyler has been loosing lots of teeth lately. As we speak he is trying to yank out his other front tooth, so all he'll really want for Christmas is his 2 front teeth! Such a cutie! He was doing well in school so he got to bring home the class bear "Beary Jr" for the weekend to go on some adventures. We went to the park. Tyler loved it, read stories to him, slept on him and and hauled him around a bit.

Zach

2011-12-13T20:34:00.000-08:00

Zach has been our fitness guy lately. At school they are doing the Presidential Fitness challenge and he wants to do well on it so he has been out running and having us time him as well as getting tips from his classmates that are a bit faster. He really wants to get better. Usually the highlights of his day revolve around P.E. or recess. He has a group of boys in his class that he really gets along with. He is also doing very well in school and piano, he practices a lot and is always my right hand man when it comes to getting work done! He's my helper! He loves most food, it seems like he's always hungry and likes to help in the kitchen too.

Spirit Days at Basis

2011-12-13T20:24:00.000-08:00

Jeff had "spirit week" awhile ago and one of the days was "crazy hair and sock day" so we had fun painting up his hair. There was also a superhero day, 70's day, and a couple others I forgot. Jeff has been doing so good at his new school. We are so proud of him! 2 grading periods are done and he is in the 90's club both times. I am amazed at how much he is learning and accomplishing! He is still doing piano and just finished up a season of dodge ball at school as well.

More Santa Stop at the Mall

2011-12-13T20:21:00.000-08:00

The kids mailed their letters to Santa then we made our way thru the mall, stopping at the Lego Store, Build a Bear and the playplace of course. Jeff and Zach are really too big to be in there anymore! I remember years ago thinking I wonder what it will be like to have kids that are too big to play in these places! Well here we are and I could see all the young moms thinking "get these big kids out of here before they hurt someone!" No one got hurt and they had too much fun wrestling around on the rubbery ground and equipment.

Santa Visit

2011-11-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

Santa

2011-11-25T08:27:00.001-08:00

We went to see Santa at the mall the other night after I got their pj's done and we went to grab some Thai food. It's always funny to take the kids out with their matching jammies and santa hats. We get lots of smiles! When we got in to see Santa he recognized the boys immediately from past years. "The ones that always wear my hats" he said. It was the first year they all sat on his lap and weren't freaked out. They even gave him a hug. I'll get that picture up later.

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

Our annual church carnival, chili cookoff and trunk or treat was a great success once again!
Jeff brought his buddy and Tyler's best friend showed up too so the boys had a very fun night! Jeff went as a scuba diver with his arm bit off, Zach was a "ranger" from the book "Ranger's Apprentice" his favorite part was having a bow and arrow to shoot at people. Tyler was a ninja and Collin was purple and yellow Mario from the video game "super smash bros brawl".
On the night before Jeff had his first school pizza/dance party. I chaperoned and was quite impressed with the creativity of the kids costumes. The DJ was great, I must say it made me feel a bit old. I remember quite vividly going to dances all the time and now I'm the chaperone, watching my kids have a blast. It was awesome. I love watching my kids grow up and have fun.

Bearizona Camp Trip

2011-10-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

The camp trip over labor day included the trip to Bearizona. The kids loved seeing the animals, especially watching the racoons play in their net. There was a show with some big birds too that was pretty cool.

Highlights of NY trip

2011-10-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

Brian's trip to NY gave him the opportunity to visit the stock exchange and see the protests that were going on down there. He also saw the 9/11 memorial and was touched by the names and stories that were part of it. He also went to see a show on Broadway with his buddy Dave.

Petrified Forest 2

2011-10-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

Petrified Forest

2011-10-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

Brian and the kids thought this park was the coolest. The buildings were made out of agate, or petrified wood. The fallen trees are as hard as rock and learning about it was "awesome". So you're supposed to go see it. I love these junior ranger programs, it makes the kids not just see stuff but actually learn about it. Hopefully it will make the memories of these camp trip even that much more meaningful because they will say, "that was the time I learned about ...."

The Painted Desert

2011-10-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Some cool pics of the painted desert and the kids getting sworn in as junior rangers at the Petrified Forest ranger station.

Meteor Crater Arizona

2011-10-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

On the quest for more Junior ranger awesomness the most recent camp trip with their dad was to Homolovi with excursions to Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest. This is the best preserved meteor crater from 40,000 yrs ago. Apparently it didn't do that much damage to the earth when it happened either.

Primary Program

2011-10-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

Last week the boys participated in the primary program at church. I realized this is the only year that all 4 of them would be in it. It is Collin's first year and Jeff's last. Off to young men's he'll go in January. It is so cute to watch them all singing and saying their parts. Collin of course didn't say his but looked away when the microphone was handed to him. Always theatrics from one of them. Zach looking quite dashing in his Sunday suit and was took singing and saying his part very serious. Tyler tried not to rush thru it but was a little nervous. Jeff had to sing with a small group of boys, which I had no idea about, but they did a great job and I was pleasantly surprised! Great job to the primary presidency for putting together a great program. I know how hard it is, but it always ends up great!

NY Souvenirs

2011-10-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

Brian took a little trip up to NYC for work and brought back the kids fav's. Apparently the Hershey store is "what happiness smells like" according to Brian. I'm sure I could agree with that. Tyler got the 5 lb hershey bar, that he is sharing with everyone. This would be great in the food storage people! Zach and Jeff love the giant Reeses and Collin is a chocolate milk junkie so the giant bottle of hershey's syrup, is actually a bank. Thank goodness cause I don't think I have a space big enough in my fridge for that and could you imagine him trying to pour that in a cup! The kids are all down with dad going out of town if he brings back the goods!

Tyler's Baseball Season

2011-10-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

Tyler and his best buddy are doing baseball this fall. They are really having fun and doing a great job at it. We are half way thru the season and they get better with each game. Kudos to their coach, Aiden's dad, he is doing a great job.

School Activities

2011-10-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

Tyler had an assembly at school about Florence Nightengale. The class had to learn about her and memorized a poem about what she accomplished. They even had a couple little actors for the assembly.
Collin had his first school performance a couple weeks ago. It was patriotic themed and leading up to the performance he graced us with his musical abilities singing all the songs, all day long. They got stuck in all our heads. "Three cheers for the red, white and blue", "You're a grand ole flag", "he had loosed the fateful lighening of his terrible swift sword"(see if you can figure out which song that's from). I was afraid he wouldn't go up to sing when we got to the school, but Ms. Reta has a serious influence on this boy and he couldn't stand to disappoint her. He loves his teacher so much and can't wait to see her and talk to her each day he has preschool. I love what preschool has done for him. He has learned about expressing his emotions and now tells us all the time that he is either happy with us or sad with us. I love it. Instead of throwing a fit he uses his words, preschool has done wonders for him. I love his teacher and feel truly blessed with the work she does with him. She claims he has the most personality she has seen. He likes to tease her and be coy with her. If only she could come home with us and make him do stuff around here!
The last picture is of Jeff at his special assembly for the first grading period at his new school Basis. He did a great job and got a certificate for being in the 90's club, which is having a gpa of 90% or above. For his first period at a new school, and a difficult school at that I am so proud of him. He has worked hard and learned a lot. He likes this new school a lot now. It was hard getting used to the rigorous schedule and more homework but he has got it down and enjoys all he is learning. I think he especilly likes being treated more like a young adult than an elementary kid. The students are learning independence and autonomy as well as how to interact in settings with each other and their teachers on a more grown up level. Those of you that know Jeff, know he thrives with this type of setting. He still has the opportunity to be a kid though and loves this phase where he can act both parts.

Under Construction

2011-10-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

Back in Sept. Brian started tearing out the floors on the lower levels of the house. The boys had a lot of fun with the sledgehammer too. If you've been to our house you know we had a lot of ugly, slippery, always dirty, white ceramic tile that I've despised since we moved in 10 years ago. That tile is now gone, thanks to a lot of hard work by the boys. I didn't help at all with that part! Since then, we are almost finished installing the engineered hardwood. Just a little space left in the kitchen and the stairs. Then new baseboards will go on and I will show the updated pictures. I love the look of the wood! It makes me so happy to get up in the morning and stand at the top of the stairs and see beautiful wood instead of nasty carpet and ugly tile! Thanks to my hubby for the wonderful anniversary gift!

Ryan's early first birthday

2011-09-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

While Kissy and Ryan were here we had to celebrate her first birthday since she'll be 1 this month! I love buying girl stuff! She was thoroughly enjoying her enormous cupcake too. The boys love her and I love to squeeze her she's such a cutie!

Kissy and Ryan visit

2011-09-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

This little angel is our niece Ryan. If all babies were like her I'd have 10. She and her mom, Brian's sister, Kristen, who got the name Kissy from Jeff when he was 1, came to visit for a week.
Brian took the boys camping over the weekend so we had some girl time.

First day of school

2011-09-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

A year of changes for a few people in the family. Jeff is off to his new school, Basis. His best buddy finally got into the school too. There is a lot of homework and routine changes but he's up for the challenge and doing well. Zach is the big kid on campus now at his school, doing great as usual. Tyler has a great teacher this year and is already getting his homework done! Which for those of you who know Tyler, know this is huge! Collin started preschool this year! Hooray for mommy! I was a little aprehensive at first since at orientation he wouldn't let me leave him in the class room and cried. Then cried again the first day of school and didn't want me to leave. Sad. He was fine when I came to get him. The second day of school he brought his blankie and puppy in his bag and said "you're going to come back and get me right?" By the third day of school he was excited to see "Miss Rita" and play in his new school. He doesn't like change at first, but once he gets used to it he loves it. Now he's excited to go everyday and can't wait to tell his teacher new things and see his friends. I love having 16 hours to myself a week! I love this new phase of life as much as I've loved other phases of my life.

Tyler's real birthday

2011-09-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

Birthday tradition that we can no longer do because Krispy Kreme has closed again. At least we got in for Tyler's free birthday dozen back in July. For his birthday we did the usual breakfast donuts and spent the day doing Tyler stuff including cake and presents which included his new fish tank that we put a crawdad from rio vista in.

Last Pictures at Grandma and Grandpa Derricks

2011-08-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Wow another birthday for Tyler! Of course we had to celebrate while in Utah too! The kids had so much fun on summer vacation! We are so blessed to have family out of state that we can visit to get out of the heat! Our boys are so loved and we appreciate all that put up with the lovely interruptions that 4 boys and a dog have to offer. Wonderful memories are being made, I think this is one of the best summers we've had! We love you all!

American Fork Public Pool

2011-08-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

Last year we were also introduced to this awesome public pool in Utah. Tyler was loving the waterslide, Collin and I spent most our time in the lazy river and Jeff and Zach were trying flips off the diving board. Unfortunately I didn't get pics of the flips but they were really getting good at it.
After swimming we went to JCW's the burger boys, for dinner and some awesome shakes. It was a splendid afternoon and evening together. We missed daddy though since he had to come back home to work.

West Jordan park

2011-08-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

We were introduced to this park last year and the kids loved it so much we had to go back. It was a beautiful evening as the sun was going down and the kids were having a blast running and hiding in all the great places in the fort or castle or town or whatever this place was supposed to be.

Painting and Fireworks with Grandpa

2011-08-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

We painted the backyard shed white with a red floor with black dots to look like a ladybug. It will be a favorite place to play for all the kids!
When we visit in July Grandpa does fireworks for us. In the past he has been a bit of a pyromaniac but has really toned it down the last few years. Nothing illegal anymore these days. =)

Grandma and Grandpa's backyard fun

2011-08-11T16:49:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa have the best yard for playing. There was a new swing up this year and I'll put more pics that show the great shed the boys helped paint and turn into a playhouse for all the kiddos that come over.

Family gettogether in Utah

2011-08-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

After Yellowstone camping we headed down to Utah and spent a week with Brian's family. On one evening we got together with cousins from Utah and Texas. It was a great reunion and the kids had so much fun playing together. Brian's cousin works for a fireworks place so we ended the night with a wonderful fireworks display. It was a blast and thanks to Paul and Lisa for hosting the event! It was great to see everyone!

Grand Teton National Park

2011-08-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone Wildlife

2011-08-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

We saw lots of bison and elk, including the huge one with the antlers in the trees. No bears though thankfully since I was a little freaked out about the guy that was killed by a bear just a couple weeks before we got there. It hardly ever happens, and the ranger explained what happened and what to do if you see a bear, play dead, even if it is a grizzly. The rangers are actually more worried about bison and moose because they are so unpredictible and we saw people getting too close to the bison to take pictures. They are wildlife people!

Landscapes of Yellowstone

2011-08-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

What amazed me about Yellowstone was the variety of landscapes. We went from steaming, bubbly, muddy pools to prairies with bison stampeding along and a coyote running through the tall grasses. Then you head up into the canyon area where there are beautiful waterfalls. Continuing up you see the high mountain area with beautiful vistas, wildflowers and lots of blue sky. Making our way down the other side we saw more colorful volcanic pools and geisers including Old Faithful and close to our camp was the huge Yellowstone lake that is so cold you would die in 30min of being in it. What an amazing place, we definately need to go there again.

Yellowstone

2011-08-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Yellowstone and set up camp at the Bay Bridge campground. I must say that whoever I set up reservations with must have liked me because we totally lucked out on a great camp site area. Although we were close to other campers we were close to the lake with its beautiful views and a bit woodsy area as opposed to the open campsites thrown into a field. For the sake of remembering we were in the F loop 259 I think. Next time I would get the sights on the far side of the loop. It was still a great sight. So we set up camp and let the kids run around since they had been in the car for awhile. On Friday we started our long day adventure in the park.
Our wonderful scout master Sis Brewer told us about the Junior Ranger program at the national parks so we decided to try that out too. The kids got some worksheets to do and talked to a ranger in the park. This helped them learn about the things we were seeing. Afterwards they got a cool patch, like a boy scout patch to put on whatever.
We began the day going to the mud volcano. They were all excited about the bubbly waters and the steam coming out of the ground everywhere. Collin loved the bolcanos and wanted to see all of them. The diversity of landscape in yellowstone is amazing. After the mud volcano we drove by the bison area and got to see them running down the hill. Then off to the canyon to see the beautiful falls. Tower falls for a picnic and a hike and then Mammoth hot springs. That was just the first half of the day.

Hiking around Devils Tower

2011-07-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

The hike was beautiful too. It started with enormous boulders, then we got some great views of the valley below. There were beautiful trees and wildlife around. It was a great evening.

Devils Tower Wyoming

2011-07-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

After a full day of driving we decided to go off the beaten path for a bit and were lucky enough to discover for ourselves a hidden gem. The drive to it was beautiful as well. We arrived at 7 pm, just when the sunlight is beautiful and the kids needed the 1 and 1/2 mile hike around it. As we were leaving a full moon was coming up behind it. It was one of those moments you have in life that are truly magical. I was so happy to experience it with my family. If you are ever traveling on I90 in Wyoming, it is well worth the 30 mile detour.

Cousins

2011-07-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

While staying with cousins, auntie Jen made the best waffles with whipped cream faces. The boys were diggin them! We got our annual picture on the front step and then we were off to Yellowstone.

Playing with cousins

2011-07-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

After we left the cabin we went to my brother's house. The kids all play together so great and have so much fun. I wish we had more time to spend with them each year.

Cabin Fun

2011-07-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

4 wheelin

2011-07-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

Another favorite passtime at the cabin is 4 wheelin on the 80 acres of woods. Grandpa and Grandma have made trails up there to get around and named them after each family.

Boating

2011-07-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Nature

2011-07-28T12:55:00.001-07:00

Just a few shots of the things we see at the cabin.

Swimming

2011-07-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

With a lake out the front door, we couldn't resist swimming a bit and neither could Ginger. She was in heaven at the cabin. Dock diving was one of her favorites though, after that it would have to be chasing the ducks, chipmonks, deer and almost a porcupine. The ducks was the funniest though, she bolted off the boat one evening and scared a family of ducks into the lake. The mama duck was not that happy she kept trying to get Ginger away from the babies by egging her on the other direction and then would dive at her. I'd never seen that before. There is so much nature up there that you could spend hours just watching it.

All about food

2011-07-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

We are so blessed that we can never imagine going hungry at the cabin. Grandma Rex thinks of everything we could possibly want and makes it for us. Breakfast, Lunch, dinner and numerous snacks day and night. Including s'mores and a birthday cake for guess who? Tyler of course!
We all come home with extra padding, we'll just call it extra love!
I couldn't leave out the photo of Collin with his new truck either. I thought it was ironic that he loves "grave digger" because that's what he's been doing for 4 years now, diggin my grave! And he's so cute while he's doing it! =)

The Hammock

2011-07-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

The hammock was another favorite place to hang. I especially liked it for hide and seek because you could be comfy while waiting and the bugs wouldn't get you either!

Brotherly Love

2011-07-28T12:27:00.001-07:00

Tubing

2011-07-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

We had such great weather at the cabin the whole week we got on the water a few times. The kids love tubing behind the boat and we had some great bumps. Brian went with each of the kids to get them a little more daring too and finally he went alone and asked grandpa to do his worst and try to knock him off. When Tyler pushed Brian off the boat Collin laughed and pointed at him saying "ha ha sucker!" like in the movie "Despicable Me" . You can guess how many times we watched that on the 26 hour car ride to MN. When Brian was finally knocked off the tube, which was hilarious by the way, Collin shouted "he's dead!" over and over. I think he thought it was like a video game when you loose your turn. Everyone was having lots of fun! I got up on skiis again this year. Not so much because I wanted to but because I know if I don't my kids will never try it.

Fishing at the Cabin

2011-07-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

For weeks before vacation Collin kept asking to go fishing so when we finally arrived, the kids jumped out of the car and crowed around grandpa for a fishing pole. Grandpa was a pretty popular person all of a sudden.
We fished quite a few times that week. The kids fished off the dock a lot. Tyler got really good at getting the fish off his and Collin's hook. When he couldn't do it Jeff came to the rescue. I had to put a few too many worms on hooks but as a mother of boys I'm getting used to it. Jeff caught a 29" northern pike but the picture is on Brian's phone so I'll have to see if I can get it on here later. I honestly don't know how we catch any fish. The kids are so loud running around on the boat and screaming, I was sure we scared them all away. We managed to catch enough for dinner though.

Fireworks

2011-07-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

Before heading off to the real fireworks show over the lake we did some of our own in Grandma's backyard.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Every year we joke that Tyler celebrates his birthday for a whole month. Grandma Sue started off the festivities at her house with his first little party.
We took the new raft out on the lake behind her house. Jeff walked around the whole bay with Tyler and I, while we rowed. The weather was absolutely perfect. Could have done without the mosquitos though.
We always make a trip out to Hills Garden's while in AL to see my best friends family. The kids were trying to find a caterpillar and the tree frog they have living in the greenhouse but no luck. So Judy gave Tyler a ceramic caterpillar instead. He was very excited. While there we also have to go over and get a ride on the rubber horse. Jeff and Zach are getting a bit big for it now, but Tyler and Collin could go pretty high.

4th of July

2011-07-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

This year for the 4th we were in my home town of Albert Lea, Minnesota again. We spent the weekend with my mom, going to the parade, the carnival and fireworks. The kids had been asking to go on a ferris wheel for awhile so we took advantage of the little carnival on broadway. Collin wouldn't go on but the other 3 did. Tyler did one loop and was ready to get off. After 3 loops Zach got off, so Jeff was the only one to do the entire ride this year. I'm proud of them for trying though since they were pretty nervous. I'm glad that the lady running it was kind enough to let them off right away. Whenever we are in AL we have to get Jake's pizza. One of those things we did when I was a kid and I still have radio ad memorized in my head with the phone # so we never have to look it up. While I was there I ran into a couple friends from high school, Amber and Joann and their families.

Father's Day

2011-06-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

We spent part of Father's Day in Sedona swimming and eating before heading home. Collin and Brian have matching Sonic shirts that Collin is so excited about so they wore those but of course he didn't want his picture taken in it.
A funny story about the night before in our hotel room. I was in the bathroom and noticed something scurry by my feet. Brian let Ginger out and closed up any exits to find a little shrew that was loose in our room. Ginger had way too much fun playing with it in her paws. Brian finally caught it and brought it to the hotel manager to show them what they had in our rooms. After our appalled Meritz travel lady got ahold of the front desk, we got a free night stay at the Hilton in the future. The boys of course wanted to keep the shrew too, but I thought that wouldn't be a good idea so we let it go on the golf course. Shrews are pretty ugly little things. Wish I would have got a picture.

Crawfish

2011-06-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

Brian and the boys found a bunch of crawfish under the rocks in the river. Of course they thought we should bring them home. They didn't make it I'm sorry to say. When I was little we used to catch them at night in Minnesota. Its a little harder to get them in a lake, deeper and not so many rocks to hide under. So we would go out with flashlights and a net and catch them by the docks at night. One of the resorts we went to in Pequot Lakes had crawfish races so we would bring our catch into town and race them. You put the crawfish on a wooden ramp with sides and bang a stick behind them to get them to move down into a kiddie pool. The first one into the pool wins. I did win one year and got a t-shirt for it. Ah youth!

Beaver Creek

2011-06-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

When we are in the Sedona area we love to go to this swimming hole. the water is cool and the rocks are slippery but if you have aqua socks you do alright. I think Ginger loved this even more than the kids. They all took turns jumping off the rock edge and Ginger made sure she got lots of turns as well. Tyler even jumped off! Full of courage this year!

Swimming in Sedona

2011-06-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

Regional Meetings in Sedona

2011-06-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun at our annual regional meetings with Edward Jones. This year we stayed in Sedona at the Hilton. One of the nights we played Bingo as an after dinner activity. Brian and the kids tried it out first to make sure everything was in order. The pool was a great activity for the boys too.

Candy Bouquet

2011-06-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

Brian's office assistant made these fabulous candy bouquets for the regional meetings in Sedona last weekend. She used to do this as a business so they are incredibly well done! Full of all kinds of chocolate. These pictures don't even do them justice, I've though about doing them as teacher gifts or christmas gifts for neighbors so if you live near me you just might get one someday.

Collin got his hair cut

2011-06-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

This isn't the greatest picture to show but the only one I have for now.
A couple weeks ago the boy wouldn't go to sleep. He kept getting up and going in the bathroom frusterated looking at his hair. "It's buggin me" he would say over and over while pulling his hair out of his face. By 11 pm I had enough, I grabbed the scissors and cut it. I know it still looks long in this picture but it no longer hangs over his ears or down his neck. I don't think his hair has been above his ears since he was a baby. I love the new look and he likes it too. He's growing up!

Collin's present from Grandma and Grandpa Derrick

2011-06-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

Collin was so excited to get this present in the mail! He's been asking for "giant green digger" everytime we go to the store. Thankyou G & G for sending it!

Brian's Birthday

2011-06-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Brian's birthday over memorial day weekend. He requested a Texas sheetcake. The boys love planning birthdays as long as they are involved in the celebrating!

Zach at the history fair

2011-06-08T06:57:00.000-07:00

Zach's class did presidents. He just had to wear something red, white and blue. Since he wanted to get dressed up he wore his patriotic tie. Such a handsome kid!

Jeff at the history fair

2011-06-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

Jeff's teacher was in charge of the history fair this year. She did an excellent job! A few months ago she asked me to help sew costumes for the class. I was lucky enough to get the knickers and vests. She did the jackets and girls costumes and planned everything else. I think I got the easy part of the deal! Since I can't get into the classrooms as often as I would like to help out, I'm so grateful for opportunities like these to do something else for the teachers.
The kids were dressed as colonial figures and did reports on a particular person or event at that time in history.

Tyler in the history fair

2011-06-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

At the end of the school year the school put on a history fair. It was themed "A night at the Museum". The classes decorated their rooms like in the movie but used the kids pictures in lots of things. Tyler's class did folklore and legends so he dressed up as Pecos Bill and did a report on him.

Girls Camp

2011-06-01T06:02:00.000-07:00

We were known as "The Loris". The craft cabin was the perfect place for me at girls camp! Lori and I have a little too much fun with camp stuff. Our theme for the year had to do with Broadway plays and musicals so we had aprons and sunglasses and stuff to make it fun and make the girls laugh with us. Or maybe at us.

Hills Garden's beautiful petunias!

2011-05-18T01:51:00.000-07:00

I love this plant! My best friend's family owns a nursery in my home town of Albert Lea, MN. Her mom and dad, who I love a ton!!! Gave us this bubble gum petunia last summer while we were there. We nursed it thru the heat and enjoyed it all year long. This is what it looks like a year later. Absolutely beautiful!

The Pits

2011-05-18T01:44:00.000-07:00

Collin and Tyler are in a huge monster truck phase right now so we were so excited to find the monster truck show in Ahwatukee a week ago. We all headed down there and got in to see the pits first to look at the trucks up close. We were excited to see the giant size of some of the toys Collin has. A favorite is "green digger" as Collin calls it. Actually its "Grave Digger" and "Monster Mutt". The Avenger was pretty cool too once we saw the stunts he could do. We have that one in miniature form as well.

Easter

2011-05-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

I didn't get many great shots of easter this year! Anyway it was fun hiding the kids things. Brian put together a great scavenger hunt for each of them to find their baskets and we hid over 80 eggs for them to find.
After church we went over to grandma and grandpa Rex's for dinner and more egg hunting. I must say my dad did a GREAT job of hiding those eggs. The adults even had a hard time finding them, and their yard is tiny compared to ours. We were also able to see our newest cousin, Jenna and Tre's baby, Montana. Such a sweetie! My Aunt Janine was here as well. I love her dearly too. In many ways, because of her I ended up out here in AZ. She is the only relative I had at the time that lived away from the freezing cold state of MN and I visited her in 8th grade and then again in 11th. I knew in 8th grade that this is where I was going to go to school and started planning it. A month after graduation from high school I moved to AZ. The first few months I lived with Janine and the family until I found an apartment near Mesa Community College and got a job so I could get residency and go to ASU. Anyway to make the long story a little longer, Janine was wonderful for me and I appreciate her so much!
My cousin Brent and his wife Stephanie and their 3 great kids came over as well. We always enjoy getting together with them. I think watching our four boys go nuts for a couple hours gets everyone a little overwhelmed and by the end of the night everyone was exhausted! Dad and Orlene made it a wonderful holiday and get together though. You can always expect to be well taken care of over there. I love them so much and so enjoy the time we get to spend together when they are here for the winter!

Sam and his wife, not sure how to spell

2011-05-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

Robosaurus

2011-05-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of the Monster truck show was this enormous character. He came out at the very end, breathing fire and picked up a car, crushed it, ate it and then set it on fire. Absolute boy heaven!
Brian and I really like one of the first parts of the show, the rocket cars. It was so loud and so fast! They got up to 300 miles per hour and it really was cool.

Monster Truck Show

2011-05-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

I love the pics of Tyler and Collin in the tire. Its crazy to think how huge these things really are.

Tennis

2011-05-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

Jeff and Zach are doing tennis again this year. When it came time to start practices, the city called Brian and said they didn't have a coach, would he be please help out. Even though he's never really played officially, he said he would. One thing I love about Brian is he continually learns new things and he loves to share it with the family. So he has done a great job of coaching a few kids, with the help of parents and others, they've learned a lot and had a lot of fun. One thing we have really learned about coaching young kids is that they just need postivie reinforcement. And Brian is great at that.

Dog sitting Tilly

2011-05-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

In April the kids were so excited that we got to dog sit for grandma and grandpa while they went on a cruise. Tilly was the best dog to put up with Collin's antics! The kids adored having her, walking her and taking care of her. They were so sad when it came time for her to go home. Tilly was very excited though and I think she thought, "thank goodness I don't have to live there". At least that's how it looked when we brought her home and she attached herself to grandma and grandpa again. I guess she napped the entire day too. Trying to stay away or hide from Collin for a week took a lot out of her.

Unwrapping presents

2011-05-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

I had to put these pictures up because it was so funny how fast he whipped open these presents. He practically didn't even see what he was opening before he was onto the next one.

Collin turns 4

2011-05-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

My baby turned 4 yesterday! I can't believe our house is out of diapers and baby stuff! Wow, exciting stuff lies ahead! I can see how this family of all boys and one girl, me, is going to have a blast in the years ahead. Look down in blog posts for our Monster Truck post to see what I'm talking about!
Anyway, Collin has been waiting for this day for the last few weeks. He kept asking if his birthday was tomorrow, which is how he means later. Every time he saw something at the store he wanted I would say "maybe for your birthday" and he would get mad for a second and wonder when the heck this birthday was. So finally he came into my room at 5:45am yesterday morning, which is a common time for him to come wake me up by the way. And I said "Happy Birthday buddy!" The grin that came over his face was so cute and his little voice is so precious and he said "yes, yes its my birthday!" He climbed into bed with us and gave me the biggest hug. His brothers were so excited for another excuse to head to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and be late for school so off we went. About an hour later I got a call from the nurse, poor Tyler got sick and threw up at school. Yeah, Collin had a buddy to play with all day! After picking Jeff and Zach up at school Collin kept yelling at Zach "you're not gonna blow up my candles Zach!" I don't know why he was so worried about Zach "blowing up" his candles, but its something he's mentioned a lot lately.
Around 4 we had a little party with us and Aiden and Abbi.

Sonic presents

2011-05-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

After Collin pulled all the wrapping paper off he went back to look at what he got. Monster trucks and Sonic the hedgehog. Jeff was excited to give him the Sonic plush toy. Aiden and Abbi gave him a ton of monster trucks and he also got a ramp to race them along with a big monster truck and a new stuffed puppy, to name a few. A larger Sonic action figure with the Sonic car was definately a hit also. We took the toys to the park while the big boys had tennis practice and got them sufficently dirty to be part of the family now.
As I was putting Collin to bed last night, I was singing to him, like I usually do, and I decided to add the primary children's birthday song "you've had a birthday, shout hooray" and he smiled and raised his hand like, yup that's me, I'm the birthday boy! He was so excited to finally have his birthday. Love you sweet boy!!! You are so incredibly cute and fun to have in our family. I'm glad to be your mama.

Robosaurus

2011-05-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Monster Truck Shows

2011-05-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Monster Truck show

2011-05-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Easter

2011-05-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hills Gardens Petunias

2011-05-13T10:30:00.001-07:00

Tennis

2011-05-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

dog sitting

2011-05-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

More Turkey

2011-05-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

Cora church, Grand Bazaar

2011-05-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

Bosporus and Belly Dancing

2011-05-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Top 2 photos are the view of the Bosporus from the Topkapi Palace. In the second you can see the old wall that was built by the emperor Constantine hundreds of years ago.
The Bottom 2 photos were taken at "Al Jamal". A turkish restaurant that had belly dancing. It seemed very popular among the locals. They were singing and dancing, enjoying the show. The food was ok but the atmosphere was awesome. It would have been more fun in a group setting.

Harem

2011-05-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

We took a tour thru the Topkapi Palace that went thru the Harem and learned all about the women and children of the Sultan. Harem means "forbidden" so no man other than the sultan or the unichs was allowed to see the women. Their rooms and courtyards looked out over the river so as to not be seen. A sultan had as many as 300+ wives and concubines and I think one had over 100 children. The woman in charge of the Harem was the Queen Mother, the Sultan's mom. She chose the women and took charge over them. There were formal wives, like royalty thru europe, favorites and then concubines and they were seperated into these groups in the harem. It was quite interesting to learn about, sounds completely stupid to me, but interesting.

Topkapi Palace

2011-05-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

This palace was built in the 1400's by the Ottoman Sultan Mahmet. It was used for more than 400 years. The first 2 photos are of the outer courtyard. The last 2 are the innermost courtyard. The last one being where the Sultan did his business transactions. Since the Sultan was so powerful and rich, he couldn't trust anyone, even his own guards. There were faucets placed around the building that would be turned on so anyone outside couldn't hear what was going on inside.
The third picture is where they have put artifacts as part of the museum. The second largest diamond is housed here among other treasures. We even saw Moses staff and some other old artifacts.

Hagia Sophia

2011-05-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

This cathedral was built in the early 500's. It is massive, over time they needed to add the flying butresses to keep the dome from falling. There were beautiful mosiacs throughout the church but when the city was taken over by the muslims they plastered over them and places wood over the frescos that portrayed any human form. When the church was converted to a museum in the early 1900's they began removing the plaster to show the mosaic underneath.

Dolmabahce Palace

2011-05-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

These photos do not do justice to this beautiful place. We were not allowed to take photos inside either so I'll just have to explain a little bit. The sultan that built this was basically jealous over the Paris palace, Versaille, so he tried to outdo them and I think he almost succeeded. There is over 22,000 lbs of gold used in art, candles and other things in the palace. The balustrade of the huge staircase was made out of crystal. The ballroom has got to be the most amazing room I have ever seen. It is a massive domed room, with balconies, beautiful art and the largest chandelier in the world. It is 4 and 1/2 tons of crystal. I'll try to find some photos on the internet and post them.
The gardens aren't as great as Versaille, but they have an even better view of the Bosporus river. The Pictures above are the side view. The palace is huge, it stretches along the river.