The Mitchell Family

Acrosic Poem by Paislee

2011-05-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

P lay's the piano
A wesome
I s very funny
S ometimes she's shy
L ove acts like her middle name
E xtremly cute
E xpert at making babies laugh

J ane is her middle name
A lways looking for a friend
N ever gets the bad grades
E xcellent at singing

S mells like nothing (I think this one is hilarious)
M akes pictures of friends
I t's hard to get her to stop talking (her and her 3 siblings)
T ithing is easy for her (love, LOVE, this)
H as a good responsibility for her chickens

age ten: fourth grade!

I found this sitting on my desk one afternoon, it was something she had put together. I love the confidence she displays, the truth she speaks, and how well she knows herself. I'm so proud of her and all she does!

A Chicken or Four

2011-05-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Our children love animals. They have always wanted more pets, and we haven't allowed it. I feel like we have enough "animals" in our house already and didn't want another cat or dog in the mix. I've always thought that chickens would be a fun outdoor, contributing pet to have. After much deliberation between Jake and I and many, many pleadings by Paislee we decided to get some chicks. This little lady is Grant's. Her name is Tobasco Sauce, we call her Basco for short. Grant is convinced that it is a he chicken, Roosters are illegal in the City of Meridian, so no boys, or fertilized eggs for us.
So far they are a success, even without them laying eggs yet! The kids love to check on their chicks, if they disappear for any amount of time I always finding them hanging out by the brooder in the garage. Before we get in the van to go anywhere, they check on the chicks first. Paislee makes sure they have food, water, and clean bedding to sleep in.

They are finally old enough to go into a coop (you have to wait until they have all of their feathers, or are about 6 weeks old). So we took them outside, one by one, to see how they liked the outdoors. It was a success. Trying to catch them in the brooder is fun, but tricky. Put them outside on the grass and they go so quiet and still.

They don't peck at the kids. They let them pet them, I think they may actually have enjoyed it. The yellow hens are Orpingtons and the colored ones are Ameraucanas.

Parker's chicken is named Butterscotch.

As you can see they are very protective of their chicks, below is Ella's, Caramel.

They are finally sturdy enough to allow the kids to hold them. I worried for the first few weeks that Grant would squeeze them to death, he didn't, but I still worried.

Grant is "kissing" Paislee's chicken, Vanilla, below. I never thought chickens were a kissable type of animal, apparently Grant does.

So in a few more months we will be collecting fresh, organic, blue, green, and brown eggs from our sweet little hens!

That is what happens when a chicken isn't so sure a 3 year old boy should be trusted with it's life!

Under My Feet

2011-05-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

Last summer at a yard sale I picked up that black stool. It's purpose was to sit in the guest bathroom to help the kids wash their hands rather than standing on the toilet seat to do so. It now can consistently be found in random places in the kitchen, usually right where I am walking so I can trip over it. Parker pushes it around like it's a walking aid and then randomly stops and climbs on top of it.

If I'm in the kitchen cooking, Grant places it right next to me, so he can "help". This is where he had strategically placed it the other night. Parker thought it made an excellent seat and just sat there happily, swinging her feet, watching me cook.

Grant realized the wisdom in this and joined her, it was too sweet not to capture.

Love these two, even under my feet.

Bountiful Baskets

2011-05-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

Last year, on Facebook, I saw a lot of my Eastern Idaho and Utah family and friends talking about Bountiful Baskets. Then after wondering much about it my Mom gave me the low-down. For a $15 contribution you received 6 different types of fruit and 6 different types of vegetables. And they were in abundance. Tricky part was, we could only have Bountiful Baskets in the Treasure Valley if someone volunteered in an area that already had it and brought it here. And I assumed it would be a blessing we wouldn't have here, ever. Then in August I saw a friend post that a Bountiful Basket site had opened in Middleton. I made my contribution the next Monday and participated the next Saturday and was hooked. On Saturday mornings I would get up at 5am, get ready for the day, drive 20 mintues to Middleton, volunteer for an hour to help the site coordinator there, and drive 20 minutes home with my box of produce. I was a happy girl, and in the first month alone lost 9 lbs! Then a friend suggested we start a site in Meridian. I thought about it, debated about it, talked to Jake about it, and then decided, I was already spending 1 1/2 hours every Saturday morning doing it, why not. I knew a lot of people who would LOVE to participate as well.

And so this is where you will find me on Saturday mornings, volunteering with a bunch of fantastic people. Unloading a semi with 6,000 lbs of produce and various other goodies, bread, tortillas, cases of produce, cookies, to name a few. Distributing all of the produce in 192 white plastic baskets. And watching 96 very happy families pick up their produce for the week. It's been such a great experience for my entire family. I have made some fun new friends and run into many old acquaintances. My children have learned how to contribute to their community and the value of hard work.

And our basket is better than Christmas morning. You never know what you are going to get and the possibilities are endless! This weeks basket contained:

1) pineapple

1) cantaloupe

1) lb strawberries

1) pint blueberries

6) bananas

1) head romaine lettuce

8) red potatoes

1) tomato on the vine (3 tomatoes)

3) broccoli crowns

1) lb green beans

2) jicama

2) cucumbers

How About Some Cheese with that Whine?

2011-05-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't guess it looking at these pictures, but this little girl has turned into one clingy baby. I can barely put her down, she won't go to anyone else. It's very sweet that she loves her Mommy, but some days I wish she were more independent or I had two more arms!
She's got some personality to boot. She knows what she wants, and has no problem communicating it to us. She also likes to have her picture taken!

These are some of the cheesiest grins I have ever seen. Once she caught on to what I was doing the grins became sillier and sillier.

Fourteen months old, climbing like a monkey, and not walking. She can stand there and dance, bounce, and squat, but refuses to take one step on her own. She walks on her knees, it's the funniest thing. She can also crawl faster than the speed of light! I'm hoping that once she figures out walking, gains some independance, that the whining diminishes. A mother can dream right?

In the mean time, we'll just enjoy every single second we have left of babyhood!

Our Hillbilly Pimp

2011-05-08T17:13:00.001-07:00

Our little guy went in for dental surgery Friday morning, and was so brave. When his teeth came in we noticed that the one to the left of his front teeth was split in the middle. Apparently this isn't very common, especially on the top. We were also told that the chances of the permanent tooth coming in that way is very unlikely. However because of the split it was very susceptible to bacteria and cavities and had to be extracted. He also inherited some bad genes from me, my parents and his Grammy that makes him prone to cavities. (I'm explaining this so that you will all know that yes, we do brush this kids teeth, no we do not neglect his hygiene, and his sisters have healthy teeth).
Here he is the night of surgery, he recovered quickly and is back to his mischievious ways!

This is one very relaxed little boy after the "giggling medicine" he was given. He couldn't form a complete sentence at all, had the most dreamy expression on his face, and occasionally would giggle at us with big eyes. "Giggling medicine" would be handy to have in the house on those days that he just won't stop talking!
Happy before the surgery.

Super Grant in his super cape.

His little i.d. band with stickers on it. The nurses were wonderful, they made him feel very comfortable and treated him like a prince.

They allow you to bring special toys/blankets in with you and he brought his well loved Puppy and his favorite green blanket. The turquoise bear he picked out for being so brave, he named him Heart. Heart and Puppy, Grant calls them as he sees them!

They took him back in his bed with wheels and a big smile on his face. An hour and a half later I was taken back and found a very sad, upset, screaming little boy. He wanted his I.V. out, he wanted the heart monitor off of his big toe, and he wanted the nurses to get out of the room. He eventually calmed down after they removed the hoses and we were wheeled out of the hospital by a very old volunteer. Poor guy, I think he ran us into every door jamb between the surgical floor and our car!

Two great things from this, Grant's teeth are fixed, and I ran into my best friend from elementary school. We haven't seen each other since we were sophomores in high school and she switched schools. I've wondered where she was over the years, tried to find her through facebook, and finally found her on the 2nd floor at St. Lukes. It was wonderful to see her face again!

Halloween 2010 in a Nutshell

2010-11-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

Super Daddy and Pumpkin Parker

Uncle Icecream and the little pumpkin

Paislee the "ex-mummy", Uncle Bret and that smiling pumpkin again

Me, Heidi, some little girl I don't know, Kaylynn and Bret's hand

Ella and Kaylynn dancing in a circle

Grant the Green Dinosaur

The dinosaur and his friends swimming like little fish through the grasses

Cinder Kaylynn and the pinata, she was one of the first kids to take a whack and she scored a little smartie out of it

The Little Mermaid Ella, she has my hand/eye coordination and missed the pinata the first few times, this is her expressing her frustration with the swinging pinata

Three little princesses all in a row

The dinosaur taking his turn

Our little crew before the Trunk or Treat on Saturday

Muddy Pumpkins

2010-10-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

We had a fun, semi chilly, very muddy morning at the pumpkin patch with a few of our friends from church. The kids absolutely didn't mind the mud and had so much fun on the farm.
Grant was so excited to find a pumpkin that sported his favorite color, green, that he had to get it! He even packed it around for a few minutes before handing it off to me. Later they learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin and when they showed the photo of a green pumpkin he was so excited and told the lady that it was his favorite color. He had so much enthusiasm he was yelling and jumping as he announced it.

Ella's pumpkin. She quietly walked through the pumpkin vines until she spotted the one she wanted. Once she had decided which one she stuck with it.

Grant with a fiesty little pony. These guys did not like their stable mates at all, there was some bullying and biting going around. Definitely not the greatest example for these kiddos to see but hilarious at the same time.

Parker the red nosed baby. It was a little chilly and since she wasn't running around she was a tiny bit cold. She had a shiny red, runny nose but was happy anyway (when isn't she)?

The ever popular hay maze, they ran back and forth through this thing for a good ten minutes. Every now and then they'd hit a dead end, turn around and run smack into another little kid, good times!

My little buddy, who insisted I take his photo. He cracks me up, don't you just love how he wears his hat like a little old man, crooked and askew.

The Big 3

2010-09-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Grant's third birthday in September. He's growing so fast and is the funniest little boy! I asked him early in the week what he wanted to eat for his birthday dinner. After a long pause he responded with, "Rotten eggs and snails". I had to laugh, then figure out how to make him what he wanted. For breakfast he had "rotten eggs" and bacon!
And for dessert he had snail cupcakes (they had green oozey stuff in the middle).
He asked for a green bean bag for his birthday and was so excited to open it, then go watch a movie while he sat on his own bag!

And for our activity we went bowling, he loves to bowl.

We invited our local family to come with us, above is his cousin Tripp.

Aunt Sarah with Parker.

Grant telling Grandpa Bret that he's three.

Grandpa Bret taking his turn with Parker.

Tripp became quite the bowler by the end of the night, he caught on very quickly and was throwing that ball down the lane like a pro.

Paislee and Grammy Shar.

Ella bowling left handed?

The wildest bowler of the night was Paislee, both her body and her ball were all over the place.

Uncle Allen and Parker. Papa Bill smooching on lil' P.

The birthday boy:

His favorite color: green

His favorite food: fruit snacks

His favorite toy: Buzz

His favorite movie: Toy Story

His favorite candy: Chocolate

Daddy and Grant, such handsome men!

KiNdErGaRtEn!

2010-08-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation, prayers, and patience Ella started Kindergarten last week. After the lotteries last spring Paislee was placed in one charter school and Ella in another. We hoped that they would get into the same school eventually, Paislee started out as number 16 at Ella's school and Ella was number 7 at Paislee's school. Last Tuesday I received a call from Ella's school stating that they had an opening for Paislee. This was after she had already been attending her school for a week and a half, we had gone to the opening family picnic, and we were all thrilled with the school. I was torn, did we leave her there, hoping Ella would eventually join her?
So I called Paislee's school to see what position Ella was on the waiting list, she was now #1. We felt pretty comfortable with her position, that she would eventually get in, if not right away maybe later this year. So we left Paislee at her school and turned down the opening at Ella's. I felt sick to my stomach afterwards, had I just lost the opportunity to have my girls attend the same school?

And then the next morning I received another call, Paislee's school had an opening for Ella! We were estactic, she was in, they would be going to the same school. Everything had worked out exactly as we had hoped. And the next day Ella started Kindergarten. She loves it! She had her first homework tonight and she was so excited, right now homework is fun!

And this little guy, he gets to take a nap with his baby sister while his older ones are in school. And I? I have a few hours to myself to do whatever I want (er need) to do. Today it was canning spaghetti sauce, tomorrow I'm hoping it's finishing book two in The Hunger Games and starting book three!

A New Look

2010-08-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

When it was time to get the girl's hair cut for back to school Ella had an idea. She wanted to go short, she wanted to have the shortest hair in the house (well, in comparison to Paislee and I). And she was determined. I was okay with it, in fact had been thinking about cutting it short for a long time but didn't know how she would react, but I wasn't sure what Jake would think.
When I asked him if she could cut her hair short his reply was, "She can do whatever she wants, it's her hair." I'm almost positive this will backfire on him in 10 years when she wants to dye it black, or hot pink, but hey, Daddy said!
And it really is cute! It's taken awhile to get used to. She loves it though, how short it is in the back, how easy it is for her to comb. It's darling to see her "fluff" it with the palm of her hand.

As you can tell she's perfectly happy with the decision she made, and if Ella's happy, well, it sure makes living with her more bearable!

Pool Time

2010-08-21T21:50:00.001-07:00

We spend a lot of time hanging out at the neighborhood pool. It's so nice to have a place to go that's close, we can walk down, hang out for an hour and head home. It doesn't create a big disturbance in our day, it's just part of it.

Parker is a bathing beauty, we keep her out of the sun as much as we can. She doesn't love the water or hate it, she's content pretty much anywhere!
Grant is hilarious. The three older kids received new goggles this year, he insists on wearing his, even though he doesn't put his head under the water. Usually the green part hangs out on his forehead slightly tilted to the side, but on this day he was sporting them backwards. His favorite part about swimming? Talking to the other swimmers, he is such a friendly, outgoing kid!

This little girl has become an awesome swimmer. She loves loves loves the water and could stay in it all day.

The three little swimmers posing in the bright sun. Another benefit to the pool; they seem to get along better when we are there!

This one honestly couldn't get any easier. She fell asleep and slept soundly until it was time to go. Nothing like a nap on a hot summer afternoon, laying on a pile of towels on the concrete, in the shade.

There would be more pictures of Paislee and Ella, except their heads aren't above water long enough to capture their sweet little faces. I guess I could always photograph their floating toesies and backsides, but I think a grin is always the best!

First Day at a New School

2010-08-21T21:28:00.001-07:00

Paislee started fourth grade on Monday the 16th, 4th grade! Can you believe it? I am having a difficult time grasping it myself. She will be ten in November, "almost a teenager" according to her! She has always had a positive experience at school but we wanted her as well as the rest of the kids to have amazing experiences at school and be pushed to their greatest ability. With that in mind we placed her name in the lotteries for a couple of charter schools in our area and were thrilled that she was able to get into one.

She had an awesome first week of school. Two things of importance (according to her):

Long division is the bane of her existence (admittedly she is a bit behind in Math because this school is on such an accelerated pace, but she's bright and we know she will catch up)

The playground is much better here than at her old school

She's also thrilled to be making new friends!

Waiting for the bus, examining the rocks?

And walking across the street to get on the big yellow bus! Grant and Ella have missed her very much while she is gone, Ella starts Kindergarten this coming Friday and Grant starts preschool in 2012 (he is very disappointed that he does not get to go to school).

We are all excited to see what new things this school year brings!

Just Like a Baby Bird

2010-08-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Even though she looks skinny, she's an eater. I usually wait until 6 months exactly to feed my babies rice cereal for the first time but Parker is fascinated by food, so I gave in and she had it on Tuesday for the first time.
She caught on quickly, there was no doubt in her mind she wanted whatever was on that spoon.

At times I couldn't get into her mouth fast enough, she would hold her mouth open and gulp it down just like a baby bird.

Grant and Ella wanted to be included in the process, they love helping with their baby sister.

Such a sweet pea!

Whip Cream Fight!

2010-08-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

Jake's sister Angie and her kids were visiting last week and it was kicked off with a whip cream fight. Jake will have to add his commentary later 'cause I didn't witness it but it appears it turned into Whip Cream Eating pretty quickly.

The evening ended with ice cream and fresh, sweet, huge Oregon Blueberries, yum!

$14.99 Dresser

2010-08-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Seriously, why can't I remember that the pictures I want to be seen first need to be uploaded last? And why don't I have the patience to reupload them? Sorry, once again you get my afters before my befores! This is Grant's new dresser, the one that really only cost $14.99! I have been thinking about a dresser for Grant since before he was born, I even designed one and had the parts and pieces made for it, I'm pretty sure those parts and pieces are still sitting around somewhere but since I have absolutely no skill with power tools and apparently no power of persuasion over those I know who do, it was never built. But, thanks to one awesome family, who stumbled across this gem in their basement and absolutely refused to take any money for it (thank you, thank you, thank you) we had a free dresser. It just happened to be exactly what I was looking for, short, wide, and sturdy. I didn't care what color it was, 'cause I knew what color I wanted it to be.
And thanks to this amazing tutorial on painting furniture, http://www.justagirlblog.com/2010/03/painting-furniture.html, I had the knowledge to get the result I was looking for.

Here is it is in all it's pre-magic glory, great bones, just needing some "polo" paint from Benjamin Moore to find it's spot in Grant's room.

A Great Book, A Week Without Kids, and The Results

2010-08-01T18:24:00.001-07:00

I came across a book with the title

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids

by Kim John Payne

and it was an answer to my prayers. I've been concerned about my kids, the way they play, how much time they spend under our feet, and how crazy our house seemed most of the time and how grumpy I was because of it.

The general overview is that all kids are quirky, I've said it before about my own, they have their own little quirks that makes them uniquely them. When you add stress to those quirks you get disorders, OCD, ADD, ADHD, etc. Stress comes in the form of many things, having too many choices, being overloaded with TV and media, being immersed in the adult world instead of being allowed to dwell in childhood.

The first suggestion is to rid your child's play space of the extras, if it doesn't spark the imagination and foster creativity it goes. My first thought was, I can't do that, we have spent money on those things and we can't just get rid of them. The more I thought about it and the more I read the book I came to realize that I was having anxiety because of my children's things. I disliked going up into their space because of the clutter and chaos. If I, an adult, felt that way when I entered their play room how must they feel about it?

It says that when kids are allowed to be kids without all the distractions, they become more calm and intune with themselves. So I tried one of the suggestions, I left the TV off for 3 days. After lunch on the third day I couldn't find Grant, I put Parker down for her nap and went to find him. He had put himself down for a nap, this is the first time this has ever happened, but I honestly feel because he wasn't being distracted by the extra outside stimulation he was able to feel, I'm tired and I need a nap, then to act on those feelings.

I'm bored is a phrase that I've heard out of Miss Ella's mouth too many times this summer, she seems to think her only options are playing with friends, the computer or the Wii. I've tried reasoning with her, explaining that I didn't have those things as a kid and I was never bored. I tried threatening, saying that I would "find" her something to do. Nothing worked. She had tons of toys and nothing to do. There is a phrase he suggests using in response to "I'm bored" and it's simple, "There's something to do just around the corner". It worked, she came to me, said those words and I responded appropriately. She thought for a few seconds and then, spotted a bag of scrap paper and began to create from it. Awesome! So I knew I had to declutter and eliminate the excess from their life. It just so happened that my children were going to be at Grandma's Week and I would have an empty house and the ability to clean their space thoroughly and minimize. I did it, and it's been wonderful!

Girl's bedroom after, we have only one toy in their room, the rest of it is open space for them to be kids.
Girl's bedroom before (you can't imagine what I found on top of Ella's bed, still amazed).

Parker's future space.

Disorder of before.

Grant's bedroom after (that toy box is virtually empty).

Bedroom before, poor kid, not sure how he slept peacefully in there.

Another after shot, don't you just love his new dresser? $14.99!

Same view before.

This is now our library of toys, the door has a lock on it and they aren't allowed to pull toys out of here (I know some of you are thinking, Nazi Mom, it's okay, I've been called that before and I embrace it). Each Sunday we will open the door for them and they will be able to switch out toys from here from the ones they played with the week before. That way there aren't too many toys to overwhelm them in sight every day and it's manageable for them.

Toy closet before, doesn't it make you uncomfortable?

My favorite space. Each toy on those shelves sparks the imagination. There's relatively few so they can "see" them and make a choice. It is also very easy to clean up and put away, especially when they are only allowed one toy down at a time.

Same section of the room before, can you tell that I hardly ever go up there, it's making me cringe even now when I look at it.

After shot of the kitchen area, they can sit there and create whatever their hearts desire!

Same area before, many of the larger toys were put into the library or into the yard sale pile so that they had plenty of open space to play in.

Other than things being clean and organized the rest of the results are stupendous. My kids came home yesterday, minutes after we finished putting the bunk beds together and loved their new space. There are ten bags of toys and many larger items that are in the garage ready for yard sale, guess how many they've noticed are missing? One, that's it. And when I told Paislee it was gone, she just shrugged, no big deal. Ella asked if we got new carpet while they were gone, then she looked again and realized that I had just vacuumed it. And they are spending time upstairs, they are playing with one toy at a time, they are playing happily together, they are cleaning up without being reminded, they made their own beds this morning, and they are using their imaginations. They haven't said "I'm bored" once since they've been home, they haven't been having melt downs, they aren't irrational, they are calmer, happier kids.

Guess whose parents are calmer and happier as well?

There is an art....

2010-08-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

-Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Last weekend we went to the Idaho Falls Airshow, along with 37, 994 people. It was hot, the vendors ran out of food and water, we hiked 1 1/2 miles back to our car with the slowest two and five year olds you have ever met, but we had an amazing time!

My favorite airplane, I really learned an appreciation for flying (Jake's thinking, it only took her 7 years). It is definitely an art, it's precise, it's exact, it's absolutely breathtaking. There were moments where I had to close my eyes in fear of collision (please note, we were at the airshow in Mountain Home when the Thunder Bird crashed), but over all I was in amazement at the beauty of aviation.

We were "show center", which means we could see the airplanes as they taxied down the runway and occasionally they would fly right over our heads, thrilling to say the least.

Cute kiddos trying to be sweet, patient and good while baking in the sun!

Seriously, doesn't look safe does it?

Grant took a break from it all and took a good nap.

Ella entertained herself by "playing" with my camera and taking pictures of everything. And I mean everything, strangers, out buildings, the dirt, me (which hardly ever happens), the sky, and I have to say, she took some pretty good ones.

Love those two guys.

The Blue Angels. They put on an amazing show. Did you know that when they fly in their diamond formation that the distance between wing tip and cock pit is 18 inches? Like I said before, precise, exact, and amazing.

Maybe now when Jake talks about flying my eyes won't glaze over, I will just listen to his knowledge and love for one of man's coolest inventions! (Maybe)

Littlest Princess

2010-08-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know that I would have ever thought of putting a crown on a baby, but someone did and it was super cute! She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she didn't complain!

Parker at 4 Months

2010-07-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

They grow so fast, it's so much fun to watch but it goes too quickly. I'm already missing holding a snuggly newborn while at the same time loving her huge smiles when she sees me. She's so alert and communicative, we have another talker on our hands. During Sunday School today she kept chatting with the two sisters sitting beside me. She discovered her toes this past week and is having fun catching them. Last weekend at our 4th of July BBQ she followed Grant with her eyes and her head as he swang in the swing. Paislee gets her to laugh the hardest while we drive in the car, I love hearing those belly laughs.

She is sensitive to sound, if she hears a loud noise her bottom lip sticks out in a huge pout and the wailing starts. Pretty sure it's a warning cry to notify me that she's worried Grant's going to get her again. He loves her so much, he just doesn't know how to show it kindly.

Stats:

Weight - 12 lbs 12 oz (40th percentile)

Height - 25" (75th percentile)

Head - 42cm (75th percentile)

and as my mother-in-law pointed out

100% cute!

The Reason Why

2010-07-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

These four kids are the reason why I'm so grateful to live in this country. Even with all the political turmoil and the economic downturn it's still the best place to raise children. I'm so grateful for the men and women who have fought for our country protecting our rights and freedoms. I love teaching our children about our founding fathers, the meaning behind the Stars and Stripes, and showing them why we celebrate our Indpendance Day. I also loved watching their faces while the fireworks were being lit and exploding in the sky, it was better to see their wonder and amazement than any firework show!

I'm proud to be an American!

Family Fun Run

2010-07-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome 4th of July weekend. The girls started it off with hitting a bucket of balls and practicing their putting with Daddy and Papa Bill while I enjoyed cleaning as the other two monkeys slept. Then bright and early Saturday morning we went to our Stake activity and participated in our first family fun run. This is the only photo of Paislee because she completely left us in the dust, although her smile was just as bright at the finish line!
Ella started off with a piggy back ride courtesy of Jake before she used her own two feet.

Grant started strong and finished strong, pumping his arms and moving his feet.

Parker enjoyed the ride.

Grant being reverent and respectful for his first flag raising ceremony.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the temperate weather and sunshine at Roaring Springs with Grammy.

Learning to Swim 2010

2010-07-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

Our kids and their goggles, they are seriously obsessed with them. One morning as I was driving to lessons I looked in the rearview mirror and both of the girls were wearing their goggles, why? I don't know! They felt more secure with them on? They were afraid I was going to drive into a canal and they'd need them? Who knows! And here's Paislee, waiting for her lesson to begin, wearing her goggles. Ella did the exact same thing while waiting for Paislee's lessons to finish and hers to start. Funny kids!
Paislee diving...she's not supposed to be squatting like that as she dives in, but whatever works!

Ella's first dive, and she did it head on and was EXCITED to do so, probably the only kid in her class that couldn't wait to go in head first!

Diving for rings, she's a champ and loves, loves, LOVES it!

Jumping off the diving board. On the last day she was supposed to jump in (not to the teacher) and then "ice cream scoop swim" to the other end. Her teacher was treading water out of her reach when she jumped in and Ella was seriously bicycling through the air in an effort to get to her teacher, she almost made it and made everyone laugh.

Once again swimming lessons were a ton of fun for everyone except yours truly, one day I won't be a nervous wreck from dealing with the children on the sidelines, but I'm afraid the days of entertaining, combatting children during lessons are going to last a few more years!

Fathead

2010-06-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

Old Friends!

...is what Jake's friend Craig always called him and after 5 years we were able to hang out and catch up with him and his family.

New Friends
These two girls became fast friends and played together wonderfully for 6 hours.

Lots of Friends!
Our two families.

Silly Friends!

Fun Friends!

Howdy Partner!

2010-06-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

We went to such a fun birthday party this last weekend for the sweetest little buckaroo! They had a pony for the kids to ride and our children were so excited. Grant even took a nap without giving me a hard time so he could ride the horse!
Ella had so much fun playing with all of the kids and all the different attractions at the "ranch".

The kids waiting so patiently for the pinata.

Grant wacking the pinata.

And Ella on the horse.

It was a great party and a lot of fun to spend time with friends.

Me, Myself and I

2010-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I find myself changing over time, sometimes those changes surprise me. A few months ago I was at the Clinque counter and asked the assistant what color of eye shadow she would recommend other than the neutral browns/creams I usually use. Her response was, "For women with green eyes I recommend purples." I thought, green eyes? what is she talking about. Sure enough when I looked closely in the mirror I could see that my eyes were no longer brown and are now green.

Each time I get my hair straightened I look in the mirror and see a different person. I wish other changes were so easy to make. Once again I'm doing the baby weight loss battle and it's SO discouraging. If I bring sugar into the house I consume it quickly. If I don't bring sugar into the house I think about it all the time. I had a great running schedule figured out along with a great running partner and then a surprise surgery had to happen followed by Jake's work schedule interferring with it. And of course I'm having a difficult time finding 45 minutes to myself during the day to get on the treadmill.

Discipline is another one of those things that I seem to struggle with. I'm an overachiever when it comes to setting goals and thinking of projects. I'm even great at getting organized and started on my endeavor. Where I fail is in the follow through...

The point of this post?

To realign myself, get my priorities straight and start mucking through all those things that weigh me down.

Pasta Dreams

2010-06-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

May was a big month for our little man. He declared that he will no longer wear diapers and is in the full swing of potty training. He has the liquid part mastered and the other part under control 50% of the time. I've had multiple people tell me how difficult it is to potty train boys, I have to say he is my easiest by far. Because of the potty training we took the locks off of this bedroom door, he can now come tell us if he needs to use the bathroom. However, it also means he escapes from his room when he is not supposed to. Which leads to the third big thing happening in his life, skipping naps. Which in turn ends up with a very tired boy at dinner time, one so tired he would fall asleep in his pasta.
Food is normally the most important thing in his life, but he couldn't keep his eyes opened one minute longer.

So sweet and so aggravating at the same time.

Let's hope his life returns to some sort of normalcy as he pushes through these milestones!

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-02T10:15:00.001-07:00

Grandma Jones with all the great grandchildren that were there for the weekend.

Decoration Day is a huge social event for my Grandma every year and this year was no exception. We had decided weeks ago to travel to IF and visit my Mom and Grandma and shortly before the weekend one of my cousins called and said her family would be going as well. It was a lot of fun and a little crazy at times. Those two girls above are 2 days apart in age and it was fun to get them together.

Paislee and Ella at my Grandpa's grave.

Each year they have a memorial for all the Veterans at the cemetary, it was very touching. Paislee especially enjoyed listening to the symbolism and witnessing the gun salute.

Three Months and Growing

2010-05-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

I've honestly always had really good babies but this sweet baby girl takes the cake. She's never fussy unless she is starving. She sleeps 8 hours a night and then falls back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. She's cooing, blowing bubbles, squeaking and grinning all the time. She's also a mover and a shaker, she's trying her best to roll over. Every time I walk into her line of sight I'm greeted with the most wonderful smile and it just melts my heart. The smell of her calms me. We're enjoying every single second of her life.

Ella's Preschool Graduation

2010-05-26T12:20:00.001-07:00

It's difficult to believe and so exciting at the same time, Ella graduated from preschool today. Next year she will be attending Kindergarten and she's so excited. She's had a very fun year of preschool and one of the kindest teachers I've ever met.
The big graduates looking so grown up!

It seems just yesterday Jake was packing her around in the crook of his arm as a newborn, it's amazing how quickly they grow and change.

It's pretty great too, she's learning to read and just loves to learn everything she can. She's taken an interest in rocks recently and has been toting around a rock book and all the pretty rocks she can find. I've found them just about everywhere, including the washing machine. It's fun to see yourself in your children, rocks were one of my hobbies as a kid.

Ella and her amazing teacher (I seriously don't know how she does it all). She created a binder for them with a picture of themselves, a drawing and a poem for every letter in the alphabet. It is definitely a keepsake and a token of love from this sweet woman!

Smiles From Parker Petunia

2010-04-18T13:23:00.001-07:00

Our little baby girl is growing up so quickly. These are photos taken at 7 weeks. She's starting to smile in response to faces and noises we make rather than just the ceiling fan.

Her eyes light up just before she cracks a grin, it's so much fun to see the smiles coming.

Her long tongue.

And a full blown smile.

She's also start making some squeaking noises that she's always surpised when she hears them made. It's very high pitched and very cute.

FHE Bowling

2010-04-18T13:11:00.001-07:00

For Family Home Evening a few weeks ago we took the kids bowling. It was so much fun! The cutest little bowling shoes on the cutest little feet.

Jake probably won't forgive me for posting this photo, but isn't it adorable. Love these two guys in my life!

Watching Grant's ball making the slow progression down the lane.

Ella watching the pins fall.

Paislee holding the ball the correct way and getting ready to go.

Look at that form, she's pretty dang good, even bowled a strike! There was a teenage girl practicing in the lane next to us, she was very talented and had a very serious expression on her face the entire time, even when she was bowling strikes and picking up spares. Needless to say my girls didn't understand her lack of enthusiasm for the game. Ella on the other hand had plenty even when only a few pins fell down.

Grant became comfortable with bowling very quickly, he liked to pick his own ball up and carry it to the lane, he even tried to stick his fingers in the holes.

We heard a great talk today at church about family scripture study, prayers and FHE and the blessings it brings into your home. We are excited to continue the good habits we have, work on the ones we've been struggling with and start some new ones that will encourage our family to be more loving, obedient and reverent!

Easter Weekend 2010

2010-04-18T12:55:00.001-07:00

Parker doesn't really get to participate in activities just yet, but there are a few photos of her. If I were to title the photo above it would be "Perspective". Look how huge Grant looks compared to Parker, it just shows how brief infancy truly is. Also, for all those who still like to harass me about my red head children, please take notes of the obvious color differences between these two, thanks!

Awake and waiting for the Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma Mitchell's to begin, she napped through the whole thing.

Grandma Mitchell, Ella and Grant watching the older children hunt eggs.

Grant showing us his blue egg, although don't ask him what color it is, we're still mastering that skill!

Ella, Grant and Parker coloring eggs. Jake was at the Priesthood session of conference with his Dad and brother Mike. Parker observed from the bouncy seat.

Easter egg hide and seek at our home. The Easter Bunny did an excellent job hiding eggs this year, throughout the day the kids kept finding ones they had missed.

Paislee Jane with her Easter goodies.

Dinner with Jake's family!

Parker's Blessing

2010-03-21T21:08:00.001-07:00

Three kids who can't get enough of their baby sister.

Jake blessed Parker at church today with a lot of our family and friends in attendance. In fact all of our siblings were able to attend. Jake's brother Bret had flown into Boise to surprise their Dad for his birthday. His sister Angie and her kids are visiting from Oregon for the week. Mike is here for his medical rotations and my brothers both live in Meridian. It's the first of our children's blessings that all siblings were here, it meant a lot to us to have them all here.

Our second family photo of 6. We love our beautiful children.

The proud parents who are, admittedly slightly sleep deprived, but in love with their new baby girl.

At three weeks and two days old she's awake a lot more and we were able to get some photos with her eyes open.

Time For Privacy

2010-03-05T10:04:00.001-08:00

Jake and I have talked about this off and on for quite some time and I feel it's time that our blog was a private one, if you'd like to be able to read our blog please email me and I will add you to the list jakeandbritanie@msn.com.

Thanks!

Meet Parker Ann!

2010-02-27T10:11:00.001-08:00

Parker Ann made her debut yesterday, February 26th at 5:31pm. She weighed in at 7lb 7oz, which ironically is the exact same weight as Ella and Grant and 2oz less than Paislee. She is 20" long, as you can see her hair is NOT red but a light brown/dark blond.

We came to the hospital at 7am planning on having my water broken and seeing how things progressed from there. At 9am the Dr came in and did just that, after 3 hours I had had only one contraction and so we decided to start some "pit" almost immediately the contractions began and within two hours I was asking for the epidural.

First family photo.

I was at an 8 almost immediately following the epidural (thank goodness I asked for it with time to spare) and then the day sort of took a "slow motion" route. Every 20-30 minutes I would have my position changed and we kept that up for 3 hours. At 4pm I was ready to push put the Dr. was with another patient. At 5:10 he arrived to the room and we discovered that her face was up (which is why things were moving so slowly) and we started pushing. With each contraction he rotated her ever so carefully and slowly she inched her way out over the next 20 minutes. It was a wonderful labor and delivery, even though it seemed like such a slow process in comparison to our other children's births, it was perfect!

Her first bath which occured at 1am!

Warming under the lights.

It was funny, when she was first born she looked a lot like Ella. By the time we were upstairs she resembled Grant and this morning she is completely her own little person.

She's eating well and is a content baby, we are so excited to have her in our family!

McCall Winter Carnival 2010 (of course with our children everything seems carnival-like)

2010-02-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Jake's brother Mike and their parents planned a weekend getaway for the 8 of us in McCall this past weekend. The intent was to enjoy the snow sculptures, sadly the warm weather and wet snow diminished the effectiveness of most of the scultptures. This is the kids in front of The Ram at the golf course. We spent Friday night walking through town checking out the scultpures. We enjoyed a family dinner at The Pancake House and then Jake, Grammy, Mike and the kids went swimming. Saturday was breakfast at the hotel, more swimming, a craft faire, sledding, lunch in Donnelly and a sleigh ride with spectacular views.

On the golf course there was a perfect hill for sledding and we spent an hour and a half watching the kids come down the hill. Ella was in heaven. Grant's first trip was perfect, he tucked himself in the sled, flat on his back and bulleted down the hill like a skeleton racer. His second run had him spinning 360s and he was finished for the day. Paislee did great until the sled approached a jump, she bailed and rolled scaring her and injuring her pride a bit.

Ella waiting for her turn next to the tree that the sled seemed to be magnetized to.

Here's Paislee coming down the hill, she wasn't as brave as Miss Ella but even after she crash and burned she tried again and enjoyed it.

Ella was the most successful sledder, she managed the straightest lines and the fewest crashes. There was one instance where her feet bounced off the tree causing a minute of anxiety but she wasn't phased in the slightest. I think she could've ridden down that hill all day long.

Grant adding a moustache to an already existing snowman.

Attempt at a family photo, Grant is tucked in there next to Jake and behind Grammy Shar.

This is absolutely the coolest part of the entire weekend. Mike scheduled a sleigh ride on a ranch where they feed a herd of elk during the winter. This is a picture of a seperate sleigh, hopefully you can see the 6-point bull elk that is feeding on the hay.

The elk are used to the sleighs and come right up to it and feed on the hay that is sitting on the sleigh. Even Grant's two year old, napless antics did not frighten them too badly. The elk were not shy, although our sleigh driver told us that if we were to step off the sleigh they would immediately leave the area, at that time they would identify us as hunters.

Paislee nose to nose with a 2 x 3 bull. She loves animals and sat there quietly watching and listening for the full 40 minutes. We were asked to keep our hands away from the animals and she had the discipline to listen, even though she admitted later that she really wanted to pet them. There were probably 50 head of elk in the herd, seriously a once in a life time experience.

Making Do...

2010-01-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

I didn't know when this month started how I would be feeling by mid month. After two weeks of "No Money January" I can say that I'm feeling very positive!

For the first time in at least two years I'm planning my meals out in advanced, it's such a relief and I don't have to waste brain power every day thinking about it. We've been amazed with how far our food storage has gone and just how much you can make even when your limited pantry is your grocery store. I know we could get even more creative with our food storage, I have yet to break out the wheat and oats or the dehydrated vegetables. Our children haven't noticed much of a difference, Ella did comment that we haven't been to McDonald's this month, but that's it. Although I must admit to craving french fries and a maple bar, didn't give in and didn't die because my "want" went unfullfilled. (That'll come in handy when I'm trying to lose this baby weight). Here's the big kicker, I have 5 cans of Coke left...what do I do? I've pretty much decided that it looks like I'm going to break my habit this week, but if you hear extra yelling coming from my house or Jake delaying his arrival home from work you know how that's going! We've used 50% of the grocery budget but we have meals planned until next Wednesday at least.

We're under on our gas budget, partly because we aren't running unnecessary errands to spend unnecessary money and party because we're more conscious of where we're going and how much it costs. I can say that staying home is driving me a little bit batty but the house is staying clean and some of the projects I need to have done before baby arrives are getting accomplished.

At the beginning of the month we had some things "break" and need replaced but we've learned that it doesn't have to be an immediate fix, most things can wait until the budget allows it and some things can just be learned to live without. What I'm looking forward to the most is next month when we are living within our regular budget it won't seem so restrictive because we've realized that we can make do no matter the circumstances.

What a blessing this experience is turning out to be for our family!

5 Things...

2010-01-12T08:28:00.000-08:00

This little girl has determination like you wouldn't believe. She knows what she wants and believes in and stands up for them and herself. Honestly you don't want to mess with her when she has an agenda!
She's a social bug, she loves people, loves to go places. I've had her ask numerous times if she can go give so and so a hug or go say "hi" to an old teacher. Most kids would say hi and then come running back but Ella has a five minute conversation with them before coming back.

She's full of surprises, and surprisingly patience. In July she started asking for a skateboard for her birthday, a pink and purple one. We aren't quite sure what sparked her interest in skateboards but we were surprised because it's so out of character with her usual girlie likes. Each month she would remind us that she would like a skateboard for her birthday, 7 months is like an eternity when you're 4 but she waited patiently for her birthday and her skateboard. She had figured out which gift was the skateboard in her pile and I thought she would open it first, but she didn't, she went through all of her other gifts, was nice and thoughtful in the comments she made about what she had received and then was estatic when she got what she wanted!

She loves to write letters and draw pictures for her Daddy, me, her sister, her brother, her grandparents (I usually have a stack I have to secretly dispose of at the end of the day). But her love for learning is wonderful, she's started to read the Bob books and is so excited to go to Kindergarten.

As much as she loves herself she loves others too. She remembers all of our family in her prayers each night, she's protective of the cat, she gives my baby belly a hug every day and asks how soon she'll be arriving, she adores her Daddy, and is so excited when 4 o'clock arrives each day and her sister is home.

We love her too! She brings so much joy and personality into our home and is such a blessing to us!

Birthday Makeover

2010-01-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

This little girl has been patiently waiting for the day she turned 5. It almost seems like a magic number to her, I think the main thing is that she gets to go to kindergarten in the fall.

At age 5 we do a "friends" birthday and decided to take her and a few friends to a salon to get glammed over! As you can see she is so excited for her big makeover!
Ella wants to be a "haircutter" when she grows up and is fascinated with the process of getting your hair done. She sat patiently while her hair was curled, back combed, stacked on top of her head, sprayed, glittered and spray painted pink!

She had her nails polished with pink and purple glitter polish!

And final touches with makeup in the color of her choice.

Aren't they just gorgeous!

Paislee came along as well as was funktified instead of princessified.

Don't worry, it all washed out in time for church on Sunday!

Enjoying her sparkly soda with whip cream and sprinkles.

Once in a lifetime treat (I don't think I've even had all of this done to me in the same sitting before). In the words of these four girls, "It was the best day ever!"

Feast or Famine

2009-12-31T11:44:00.000-08:00

As I think about starting a new year I realize that I have no idea how 2010 will go for our family. I think my own personal motto lately has become "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best". In November of 2009 my brother and sister-in-law had a challenge in their home, they called in "No Money November". At first I thought it was crazy, not to spend more than $125 on groceries or gas for the entire month. Pay only their monthly bills, ie) mortgage, utilities, credit cards, etc. And spend no other money for the entire month. Now they live in a community where they never have to drive more than 10 miles to get anywhere and he rides his bike to work so they seriously only spent $25 on gas for their vehicles (wouldn't that be nice). But as the month went on she blogged about her experience, her attitude was positive, they were holding to their plan and there was a sense of accomplishment in her tone. At the end of the month he sent out an email that went over the entire experience, what they learned, what they would change and how fulfilling the experience was. I've been thinking about that email for the past two weeks and wondering some things about myself:

Do I have the self discipline to do this?

Would my food storage hold up for the month?

Would we eat well balanced meals?

How would my children react?

What would my bank account look like at the end of the month?

The more I think about it the less crazy it sounds and the more sensible it seems. Especially as I mentally check the expenses for the rest of the holidays and second guess myself at the necessity of the expenditures. So.......here comes "No Money January" at the Mitchell house, let's bring on this learning experience!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T11:10:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. The girls enjoyed making sugar cookies together.
They planned, prepared, created back drops and performed a Nativity for Jake's parents and brother Mike. It was wonderful to see them playing "Nativity" together throughout the week in preparation for their Christmas Eve performance.
Ella as Mary, Paislee as Joseph, Grant as a silly wiseman, Jake also played a wiseman and I was able to be a shephard.

Although everyone appears to be happy in this photo Grant is about to be extremely disappointed as his gift is not a toy....

But darling slippers! He was so upset!

Christmas morning we actually had to wake our children up! Not that we're complaining but we thought for sure that this would be the year we would have to start having them "go back to sleep for an hour". We woke Grant up first, as he pushed himself up off the bed the first thing out of his mouth was, "Santa Claus?" Our answer was, "Yes" and he replied, "Okay", as though he wasn't quite sure what that meant but that he was ready for it. He then went and woke up his sisters who were disoriented and confused as to what was going on! Finally everyone was awake and on the same page and our Christmas morning began.

Ella and her flapper costume from Santa!

Paislee with her new game.

And this little guy who enjoyed every single second of Christmas!

Goodbye Mullet

2009-12-24T08:59:00.000-08:00

Although it's difficult to tell from this photo Grant has been sportin' a mullet for the past few months. We've been combing the front of his hair flat down and letting his curls have a little party in the back. Sadly his curls were turning into ringlets and it was time to give this little man his first haircut. Yesterday Jake took him to Fred the "barber" in Meridian and those curly locks were chopped.

He's so used to his sister Ella combing his hair he was great through the whole experience.
And here are the final results. I need to find a tutorial on how to do boys hair but I think we'll eventually figure it out.

He looks like such a big kid now instead of the baby he used to be.

Christmas Activities

2009-12-19T19:57:00.001-08:00

We've been fortunate to have a lot of fun filled activities during the first few weeks of December. Our stake had a live nativity where the kids were able to witness the journey to Bethlehem and the humble circumstances the Savior was born into. They've had a sleepover with Papa and Grammy with a gingerbread house put into production. Tonight we were able to drive through some neighborhoods around us and see the beautiful Christmas lights. And they were able to visit with Santa.
We are blessed with three beautiful, smart, hilarious children and are so grateful for each of them and the joy they bring into our lives. (The sleepover was last night and we missed them, the house was too quiet without them).

Little Wise woMan

2009-12-09T08:24:00.001-08:00

Saturday was the ward Christmas party, it was amazing. Our Activity Committee's theme was "Warm Hands, Warm Hearts" and it was all about service. Paislee had been asked to sing with the primary nativity and she was one of the wise men. I think it's wonderful she is so willing to put herself out there and sing with a group, it sounded very beautiful!

Typical Thanksgiving

2009-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year we headed to Idaho Falls to spend it with my Mom and Grandma. Jake took these very candid photos of Grant and the leftover turkey leg from the big meal, isn't this how it goes. We start out gang busters with a smile on our face.

We continue to chow down, the food is too good to pass up.
And finally it sets in, we have eaten too much, our pants are no longer comfortable and we need to rest from our over indulgence.

Here's hoping that all of you had as fantastic Thanksgiving holiday as we did!

Another Year Older and Wiser Too!

2009-11-18T14:47:00.000-08:00

Our oldest child is NINE years old! I can hardly believe that she started out 7 lbs 9 ounces and is now a third grader learning how to multiply and kicking her parents bums in Mario Kart.

She is such an amazing kid:

Favorite Color: purple

Favorite Activity: playing the Wii

Favorite Animal: cat

Favorite Food: spaghetti

Favorite Book: Harry and the Horrible Dungeon

Ideal Career: Zoo Keeper or Veterinarian

Fun cupcakes I made from my friend's blog (http://www.ourbestbites.com/). The other two kids and I took them into her class as a surprise, they were so happy. Funny story, I'd only been to her classroom once before and wasn't quite sure which one it was. She had a substitute that day so I couldn't even verify the classroom by making sure it was the right teacher. I went into the classroom next door to hers, twenty 3rd grade voices cheered loudly when they saw the cupcakes, I looked frantically around the room, couldn't see my daughter anywhere, quickly apologized to the teacher, turned around to see Paislee standing it the hallway with a , "What are you doing Mom" expression on her face, and left that classroom with twenty 3rd grade voices expressing extreme disappointment, I think I owe that class cupcakes!

She requested Chuck -E- Cheese's for her birthday dinner (we tried to bribe her with something a little more fancy, to no avail). I guess we have to be happy she's still a kid, even if it means expensive, disgusting pizza. The one saving grace at that place, they have Coke Zero in the soda fountain! They did have some new games and rides for the kids to play on this time, this one was her favorite!

Some of my favorite things about her:

Love for others

Ability to get ready for school in 20 minutes (we're hoping this wears off on her younger sister before next fall)

Upturned nose

Willingness to help with her siblings

Her obedience, she does things the first time she is asked

Her quick mind, she is always paying attention and focusing on the things we are saying and absorbing them in

How outgoing she is

Her hair; long, thick, straight....so jealous

The Cowboy and the Bride

2009-11-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

Halloween was great this year! Sadly we have pictures from our pumpkin carving night and the Primary Dance Party but I can't get them to load from a seperate SD card. However I do have these photos to share.

Ella had planned on being a bride for Halloween for months and months. Thank goodness it was an easy costume to put together as this dress is already one of her favorites for dress up. She wanted Grant to be a Bumble Bee, but when we put the costume on him he had it off within two minutes. He wanted to try the Horse costume on, that lasted less than 30 seconds. Finally he decided on the Cowboy costume. I wish you could see his tiny holster and his tiny guns a little bit more clearly.
Two very happy Trunk or Treaters! We have the most darling video of Grant filling up his pumpkin from the larger pumpkin we were handing candy to the other kids out of. He had the concept down and was taking full advantage of it. However, I can't figure out how to get the video from the hard drive onto the blog! Come over, we'll show you on the TV!

Procrastination; a naughty word

2009-10-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

In the past I have written down goals that I have had and had them come to fruition because of basic planning, sadly this has not been working for me lately. Last year I wrote a post titled "Battling Thor", it was a list of my weaknesses, I decided to post it because peer pressure is a powerful thing. In that situation it worked, I was able to get a much better handle on some of my weaknesses. I'm hoping that by posting my personal to do list I will have the same results.

1. Finish quilts:
Paislee's Minkee Blanket
Ella's Butterfly Quilt
Grant's Flannel Blanket
The Rag Quilt I started over 6 years ago
Bind the quilt for the ward humanitarian aid
2. New baby projects:
Minkee Blanket
Receiving blanket
3. Super Saturday project
4. Finish canning/freezing/drying:
Potato soup
5. Sort through girls baby clothes, wash and hang
6. Update food storage list, get back to couponing, and make a food storage plan
7. Finish emergency car kits
8. 72 hour kit
9. Start scrapbooking again

I know there are many more projects I have been guilt ridden over never completing, we'll see what else I can dig up as I start this process. Wish me luck!

**Items that are italicized and in bold have been completed**

An Evening of Joy!

2009-10-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

Next year there will be six of us making the trek to the pumpkin patch. We found out today that #4 is a girl, now the question is, what color of hair will she have?

Friday night we went as a family on our annual pumpkin picking outing and had so much fun! We arrived at dusk so we hopped right onto the hay ride to take us out to the pumpkin field.

Isn't he the sweetest little guy ever! He kept trying to pick up these pumpkins that weighed more than him, the grunts and strains were hilarious.

The kids with their orange jewels. I have to add that the girls gave their pumpkins baths yesterday while they were on the front porch, apparently they didn't like the dirt lingering on them.

There was a little petting zoo at the farm. At first he wasn't too sure about feeding the baby animals but this little pony made him laugh and laugh and laugh as he nibbled his fingers for a treat.

Paislee is in heaven right here. A pony ride! I think she could have rode her horse for hours and never tired. She definitely loves animals.

Grant and Ella were able to double up on this horse, I think his name was Joker.

I think this little ride is a must every year. It was packed the first few times we walked by it and we decided to wait, every time it pulled away without our kids on it Grant would run after it yelling, "Wait, wait!"

This was a new addition this year, swings! The entire time Grant kept saying "Weeee! Weeee!

And Ella was all smiles!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2009-10-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

I swear last year at this time we were still wearing short sleeve shirts and this year it's winter hats, gloves, and coats. I really miss fall! Monday morning was Ella's preschool field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. She was so excited all weekend to go. This is her friend from preschool, they were attached to each other the entire time, so cute to witness friendship between your children and others.
On the wagon for the hay ride.

Grant went through the hay maze all by himself by playing follow the leader, he kept up with the kids in front of him and made it out safe.

Ella waiting for the rest of the kids to catch up.

This was just too cute to pass up the picture of. Little boy strolling confidently through a maze of hay, so sweet.

Picking his pumpkin.

Ella's preschool class.

Ella and her 5.8 lb pumpkin, it was interesting figuring out how to carry both pumpkins, Grant, my camera and my 20 week prego belly through the patch. Thank goodness Ella didn't want me to carry her too!

They have a little petting zoo, the baby camel and the pygmy goats were still sleeping while we were there but we were able to see the horses. Both kids had a ton of fun. I'm excited to go next week with the entire family!

Grantster is Two!

2009-09-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

Grant had a fun filled second birthday. Grandma Trudy came from Idaho Falls to celebrate with him, he cried big crocodile tears when she left. I saw this on a friends blog and thought it was a genius and simple idea so I stole it, while he was sleeping the night before his birthday we all snuck into his room and placed the balloons on the floor. He loved it!
Here he is "blowing up" a balloon.

His big sister Ella made him a King's crown to wear, he thought it was pretty special and she was so thoughtful.

We had family pictures that evening, that's why the kids are all matchy matchy.

He loved opening presents, his cousin Tripp loved helping him. It's so much fun when they start to figure out how things work.

Here he is with his cake, he definitely has figured out how things work, as soon as the candles were lit he started to sing "Happy Birthday" to himself.

The favorite toy was a Black and Decker tool bench. He played with it for 45 minutes straight (this is a kid who normally has a 2 minute attention span unless food is involved). After prayers and the girls were tucked into bed he tried to sneak back down to play some more. He kept saying, "I make..." when we would ask what he would make the answer was cookie, cake, or pizza, cooking with power tools!

Grant at two!

He weighs 28 lbs, is 33 3/4" tall, in the 50th percentile for both weight and height and wearing a size 3T, he'll soon be overtaking his sisters.

He has hundreds of words, usually speaks in 3 word sentences.

He sleeps really well, and I'm grateful for it.

His facial expressions are hilarious, he constantly keeps us laughing.

He is very sensitive, if anyone coughs, sneezes, gags, he is always asking, "You okay?" And if he is the one to sneeze he automatically reassures us, "I'm okay."

He misses his sisters and Daddy when they are gone during the day, but is a big help to Mommy.

He can count to 20.

He brings so much joy to our home, we are grateful for his sweet little spirit every day!

I'm Dangerous!

2009-09-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

The girls were at school, Grant was bored out of his mind and helping me do laundry. He pulled the remaining clothing out of the dryer and climbed in. I squatted down to talk him out of the dryer, when I asked him to come out he asked "Why?" in his sweet 2 year old voice, when I told him that playing in the dryer was dangerous, he proudly replied...

"I'm dangerous"!

I had to giggle and get the camera, what a fun little guy I have!

First Day of School

2009-09-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I love fall above all other seasons is because of the first day of school. Of course football, cooler weather, pretty colors, and the approaching holidays all add to it, but the first day of school is right on top! Paislee is now in 3rd grade (I know, I'm old) and Ella has started preschool.
Paislee walking to the bus!

Ella climbing the steps to preschool.

Ella all ready for class to start.

Ella at the end of her first morning, she loved it.

Paislee had fun as well, relieved that she had friends in her class and she likes her teacher. Apparently they have a lot of books this year, she's excited about that too.

Grant on the other hand kept asking, "Where's Ella?" When I'd answer, "at school", he would then ask about Paislee. It will take him some time to get used to hanging out with just his Mom for a few hours each week but I for one am excited!

From a Threesome to a Fifteen and a Halfsome!

2009-08-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

Fifteen years ago three fifteen year old girls became best friends. We've been close ever since. Over the past fifteen years we've multiplied: we've gotten married and now have three kids each, with a bun in my oven. We try to get together for play dates, lunches, birthdays, and occasionally with the whole crew. Monday night for FHE we loaded everyone up and caravaned to Robie Creek for a BBQ, catching up, and for the kids to get some energy out. I had the thought on the way there, the three of us used to fit in a single cab pick up truck with bucket seats, we'd take turns hovering between them. Now it takes three full sized vehicles to go anywhere together...

I'm so grateful for these two friends, I hope that each of my kids find friends like them. Here's to fifteen more years of friendship!

Celebrating 80 Years!

2009-08-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

This amazing lady, my Grandma Jones, celebrates her 80th birthday today! This last weekend we had a family gathering to honor her and her 80 years. She has taught me so much; patience, kindness, endurance, service, hard work (she can work circles around me), reading, how to crochet, she has been a huge part of my craft/home making skills, canning, cooking, I think I get my love of projects from her. Ella is named after her, I just love and admire her so much.
She had requested new carpet for her front and back steps for her birthday, I volunteered Jake to install it for her, Grant volunteered to help Jake. It was so much fun watching them work together, I love my two boys.

My Mom, Jake, Grant and my cousin Debbie's husband Dan working hard at removing the old carpet from the back steps.

A few of the grandkids playing cards in the living room, more of us used to fit in that space, funny how things seem to shrink as we get older.

This is Jake and Grant in front of Jake's apartment at Rick's College, he has some fun memories from his years at Rick's and wanted a photo of him and Grant.

Bug Week at Grandma's

2009-08-07T15:56:00.001-07:00

These pictures are posted backwards, but you'll get the idea. Three weeks ago my Mom called and asked if she could have all three of our kids for a week. I didn't have to think twice, of course she could have my kids for a week! They were excited too. The girls had gone to "Grandma Camp" a few years ago while I went on a trip with the youth in our ward and were thrilled to go back. The theme for the week was "Bugs". Each day spotlighted a different bug, the activities, snacks, meals, entertainment, and gifts all went with the days theme. I think my favorite concept was Hungry Catepillar Day on Wednesday where they went to bed as cacoons and emerged as Butterflies for Butterfly Day on Thursday. My Mom had every moment scheduled and detailed with an itinerary 15 pages long. We arrived on Friday for the skit and dinner around the fire before heading to Island Park for the weekend. The picture above is of Ella and Paislee bowing and curtseying at the end of the program.
This is Grant marching to the tune of "The Ants Go Marching One By One", he really got into it.

Paislee singing a solo with Ella playing backup on the triangle and Grant and Tripp on the drums.

Paislee opened the program with a few words out of this bug book.

Ella in one of the willow trees at my Mom's, my Mom planted those trees when I was a baby. Kind of fun seeing my children climb them 30 years later.

Grant and I roasting his hot dog for dinner. He wasn't too sure about the heat of the fire but he loved cooking his own food. We have pictures that my Mom took of the weeks activities that I'll have to post later, they're on Jake's computer.

A Papa and His Grandbabies

2009-07-25T14:01:00.001-07:00

Clara giving Papa a kiss.

The love between a parent and a child is pretty amazing, however, the love between a grandparent and a child is powerful. They love each other unconditionally, they spoil each other without a second thought and they cry uncontrollably when it's time to part. These are some candid pics I took of Papa Bill and his seven grandchildren during our reunion this week.

The littlest one, Heidi and her Papa.

Papa and his Paislee Bear
I think Will and Papa were having an anatomy lesson on eyes and glasses.

Kaylynn smiling pretty with her Papa.

Ella and Papa having a chat.

Grant leaning in to be close to a man he loves!

We all love you Papa!

Written in Sparklers!

2009-07-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July this year was great, very laid back and easy going, just what I needed. We had a family BBQ at Jake's parents home with Mike and Grandma Mitchell as well. Grant is preparing to be a Boy Scout at the early age of 21 months as he was helping push Grandma through the living room.
Paislee loves the fireworks, posing with her sparkler.

Jake had an announcement to make: as he wrote out the letters in sparklers he said the letters out loud for everyone to hear...

B R I T A N I E

I S

P R E G A N T

No, that is not a typo, he actually spelled it that way on accident, it took a second for the adults to catch on, but when they did, well you can see the reaction below.

Pregnant isn't in Paislee or Ella's vocabulary yet, they sat there totally confused until we told them that we were going to have a baby, I think it's safe to say they were excited!

So, sometime in March 2010 we will be welcoming the fourth and final baby into our home!

Swimming Lessons 2009

2009-07-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

From the girls stand point swimming lessons went better this year than last year. Ella has conquered her fear of the water and is not dramatic about it at all. Instead she is face down bum up swimming like a little fish, even while the teachers are trying to teach. The picture above is of Paislee diving (you couldn't have paid me to do that at her age, I was such a chicken) but she willingly dove in every time they asked her to.
Last year Ella had to be dropped off the diving board by the instructors as she screamed bloody murder, this year she voluntarily went first and right in.
Now the little red head in this picture was the turkey of Swimming Lessons '09. I got a workout for an hour every day in the hot sun as I wrestled, entertained, fed and chased that kid. He made the other moms laugh and had a few of the other waiting kids helping me sing to him to keep him occupied (you know I was desperate if I was singing out loud in public). On a more positive note, one of the instructors said she couldn't wait to have him in class because she could tell he already liked the water.
Ella's back float.
Ella's super man float, solo!

We love swimming lessons, Ella is already asking when she can go again!

Lucky Peak Fun

2009-07-07T15:45:00.001-07:00

In Adoration

2009-07-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

I love how our kids love to copy their Dad. From driving the car to a project in the garage they mimic him as best they can.
Even Ella isn't afraid to get her hands a little dirty if it means spending time working on something with her Daddy.

Grant is fascinated by pretty much everything these days but the drill held his attention for a lot longer than most things. I hope he gets the handyman talent that his Dad and his Grandpa Bret have. It's nice to have the ability to do something yourself and see the results of your labor. It's also fun to see a cute little red head squatting down with a drill almost too big for him to heft around with the determination to do it just like Daddy.

How on Earth?

2009-06-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

Last week after 9 years of dutiful service our washing machine malfunctioned! Fortunately I have a hubby who is handy and intelligent, he quickly diagnosed the problem, found the part online (for a very reasonable price) and had it on its way from California. Now, I did get to adventure with my children to the local laundromat with the colorful clientelle ranging from a high school girl doing her entire family's laundry to four carnies from Dairy Days while the part made it's way to Idaho. It arrived in good time and Jake quickly went to work figuring out how to install the new part, whose packaging declared it was easy to do.
I came home Saturday night and noticed the light in the laundry room was on, I turned the corner to turn out the light and this is what I saw. My 6'2" husband's head poking out of our washing machine. My first thought was, "How on earth did he get in there?" My second thought was, "And how is he going to get out". That's when I realized the appliance was in two pieces and he was merely inside the cabinet, still no easy feat to be sure.

So, with the help of a tutorial from youtube and some skills I didn't know Jake possessed our washing machine is up and running. Yay for self reliance and the internet!

A Walk in the Cemetary

2009-06-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

My Mom and Grandma live about a mile from the cemetary that my Grandpa Jones and the majority of my Mom's deceased family is buried. We had planned on taking a hike while in IF, but the weather would not cooperate. We were able to take a walk to the cemetary between showers to see the headstone on my Grandpa's grave.
Jake carried Ella the entire way, either on his shoulders or in his arms, needless to say she was sent back in the car with Great Grandma Jones on the way home. Behind them is the canal that my mom, her friends and cousins spent a lot of time swimming in as kids. I find that ironic, today our kids are taught to stay as far away from canals as possible, but when she was a kid it was a summer tradition. The kids loved hearing her tell about going through the checks and floating in the canal.

The back of the headstone with the names of all the children.

The front of the headstone, my Grandpa was a great hunter and there are dozens of stories about him and hunting elk. My Grandma does a lot of crochet, which is why there is a basket of yard on her side.

The entire time Grant kept looking around him peacefully taking in all of the the scenery. Everytime a bird would fly by he would get excited and say "bird, bird". The dandelion he's holding was something Grandma Trudy had given him, he kept having me smell it as we walked down the road. Paislee received a lesson from Grandma Trudy about all the plants and weeds along the path home and picked a bundle of "wildflowers" for her as we walked.

Twin Falls Temple Visit

2009-06-22T15:41:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we had a chance to visit my Mom and Grandma in Idaho Falls, instead of driving straight there as fast as we could (which is how I usually do it) we decided to take our time. We've been wanting to see the new temple in Twin Falls and decided that it was a great time to do so and let the kids stretch their legs. It's such a beautiful temple. Of course the grounds are well kept with gorgeous flowers.
This is Ella's handiwork with the camera, not bad for a 4 year old.

Grant wanted to have his picture taken and he wanted to touch the flowers, this is a sample of both. Behind Grant is a rock wall that has a waterfall on the other side of it to signify the falls that are nearby. We were going to check them out as well but the thunderstorm got in our way and the kids were impatient to get to Grandma's.

Paislee with some of the foilage around the temple grounds.

Ella with some beautiful poppies that were still blooming.

A Sunday Shower

2009-06-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday the morning the girls were playing in the backyard and Grant ventured out to find them. As he was enroute the sprinklers turned on! The poor kid did not know which way to go and just stood there in the yard screaming while he was getting soaked. If you look closely you can see the beads of water on his sad little face (the red stuff is strawberries).
He was in shock at his unexpected shower and completely dismayed as well.

Teddy Bear Ballet

2009-06-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

Ella is quite the performer. She has been patiently waiting for the day when she was able to dance on a "real stage" again. Everyone she saw or met was immediately invited to come watch her dance. She did a wonderful job.
So much personality!

Strike a pose!

Blowing a kiss.

With her flowers from her family.

Grant's Wii Time

2009-05-04T10:13:00.001-07:00

This funny little boy loves to emulate his older sisters. He can scream like Ella, eat like Paislee, loves to play hide and seek with them, is learning to count with them, and playing the Wii with them.
He thought for sure that he was playing right along with her. He was very serious and so intent, he kept telling us to "watch, watch" just like Paislee would.

He also knew that he was being photographed, he likes to see the pictures as they appear on the screen just like Ella. And my girls wonder why I tell them they need to be a good example for their little brother, he really looks up to them and wants to keep up with them as well.

Play Time At Petco

2009-05-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

This may be the coolest field trip in the history of field trips. When you go to Petco on a field trip they bring out some of the animals to show the kids, they tell about them, what they eat, how they live, and then they let the kids touch them. Picture above is of Grant with a baby Gecko.
Grant grinning at a baby ferret, Ella watching him like a proud big sister.

All of the kids in the preschool with Sue, our tour guide and a Chinchilla, which I have to say was my favorite.

Ella touching the gecko's skin he had just shedded, did you know they eat that afterwards?

Grant touching the baby snake, definitely not my favorite animal.

Ella touching the snake, I didn't think she'd touch it since she is such a girlie girl, but she had no problem with it at all. She did exclaim that it was slimy when it really wasn't.

And Ella petting the turtle.

From Hugs to Dog Piling

2009-04-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

I have a new calling, I'm the Mia Maid Advisor now and I love it! However I realized almost immediately after being called that we have a very huggy group of girls and leaders. Now, I don't mind a hug every now and then but I'm definitely not a hugger and this is going to take me out of my comfort zone. So, to combat my discomfort I've been practicing hugging with Jake and our kids. The following pictures are how one of our most recent practice sessions ended, needless to say, I need to practice more so my family doesn't end up piled on each other.

It might not seem very loving but obviously there's a lot of love at our house, we just express it differently!

Saving Some For Later

2009-04-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

This is what I found when I went to change Grant's diaper the other day. A jelly bean nestled in his belly button. I'm sure it's the case of a jelly bean falling down his shirt and settling there, but knowing this kid and his appetite for food, he really could have been saving some for later.
I laughed out loud and remembered to grab the camera this time, Jake held him still so I could capture this funny little moment. Maybe this answers the question: What is the purpose of the belly button? (I know umbilical cord but seriously, after those first 9 months what are you supposed to do with it?)

3 Kids and 5 Easter Egg Hunts

2009-04-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

We had a busy Easter weekend this year and now we have way too much candy at our house. From the first Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma Mitchell's, #2 at Aunt Jan's, #3 at Grandpa Bret and Grandma Julia's, #4 from the actual Easter Bunny and #5 at Pappa Bill and Grammy Shar's, we made the rounds and the kids looked high and low to find all the hidden treasures.

Grant loved to get the eggs hidden up high. He would spot them and ask to go up, then laugh right out loud when he had snatched them from their hiding spots.
Paislee with her new Easter dress.

Ella tossing her egg into the basket.

Ella's new Easter shirt.

The 3 kids in Grandpa Bret's backyard.

Grant and his cousin Tripp.

Paislee and Ella with their cousin Lexi.

All the grandkids who could make it.

Grandpa Bret helping Grant get the candy into the basket rather than his mouth.

On the hunt.

We're so lucky to have 2/3 of the Grandparents close by that we can visit during the holidays. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming making sure everyone gets to see the kids, but really family is what it is all about. I'm so grateful that we are able to celebrate Easter with our kids, that they can learn about the Savior's resurrection and how important it is in their own lives. I'm grateful that if we live the way we've been taught that we can be a family forever. I love my kids and husband so much and am striving daily to reach my goal.

Easter Egg Hunt at Grace Assisted Living

2009-04-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

Jake's Grandma moved into an assisted living facility just before Thanksgiving last year. It's taken her some time to adjust to the new environment but I think it's finally growing on her. Of course family events like Easter Egg Hunts also help to brighten anyone's day along with a little bit of sunshine. The hunt was for children under 5, so Papa volunteered to stay home and hang out with "the bear", which is his nickname for Paislee. Ella and Grant had fun picking up the eggs with all the other kids. Grant really wanted to enjoy the chocolate inside the eggs, he was in no hurry to get to the next one until he had a little part of the first in his mouth. No surprise there coming from a kid whose first combination of words was "I EAT!"

Discovery Center with the LeBeaus

2009-04-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

Since becoming a SAHM/Realtor we have had a lot of fun with a lot of friends. From play dates, field trips, mommy and me lunches, as well as learning to grocery shop with multiple children, scheduling nap times around errands, it feels like we've done it all. Here are a few photos taken from a play date with our friends the LeBeaus to the Discovery Center in Boise. The photo above is the boys and an air compressor that kept that beach ball floating in the air. The two of them spent the most time at this display.
They have this crazy bed of nails, each of the kids laid on it and were so still and quiet (I think we might implement a bed of nails at home). I had to give it a try!

Ella and Jordynn spent a lot of time playing with the bubbles. It's so much fun when they are self entertained.

I think everyone's favorite section was the grocery store. They have displays of food, produce, cleaning items, really everything that you would find at your local grocery store. Teeny kid size carts for them to load their groceries in, working conveyor belts that lead to a cash register, and play money to buy their groceries.

Family photo in what I can best describe as a fun house type display, don't we look great distorted?

We look forward to what each new day brings, especially since warmer weather is finally arriving!

Why I Need Eyes in the Back of My Head

2009-03-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

I've recently obtained my Real Estate License in Idaho and have been hitting the ground running with clients, both buyers and sellers alike. It's been fun getting to know my clients, seeing homes, and learning the ins and outs of real estate. It's also nice because it's something that I can do from my home a lot of the time, which means more time with my kids. It does mean that sometimes Mommy has to work while the kids are entertaining themselves. Grant has hung out by my side while I have worked since he was 6 weeks old, we've always gotten along fairly well. The other day I was at the computer getting some work done and he was playing quietly on the floor behind me. Suddenly I could hear beep, beeeep, beep, coming from the printer. I turn around and my little boy, who barely started to walk one month ago has climbed up on not just one but two boxes and is pressing buttons as fast as he can. He was so proud of himself. I was very surprised, how can a kid go from not walking to scaling boxes in a matter of weeks?
Please do not let the fact that I do not have eyes in the back of my head reach my little girls ears, I'd really be in trouble if they figured that out!

Trashin' the Camp

2009-03-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

Our ward talent show was this last Friday night. It was seriously good, we have some very talented people in our ward, as well as some funny ones. Ella loved watching the show, her favorite part was the "Runway Show" that some of the sisters from the Relief Society did, we have a little fashionista on our hands.
Ella giving everyone a little pre-show talent.

Paislee danced on the stage with a large group of 6-8 year old girls to "Trashin' the Camp" from Tarzan. A sister in our ward volunteered to choreograph a number and teach it to these kids. They rehearsed twice a week for a 5 week period, amazing dedication on her part. Sister Merrill also danced later that night and is truly talented.

Paislee during the opening 8 count.

During the practices at home Paislee always danced and watched her toes at the same time. I reminded her to look at the audience and smile before we left the house and she did! I don't think she looked at her toes once. We're going to have to get her into some dances classes this fall, she really loved the whole experience.

Fire Drill

2009-02-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

My wonderful Mom has been visiting for the past two days, she has completely saved my schedule with babysitting my kids and being willing to run around with me from here to there. She brought a monkey bread mix for our family to make, she mixed it up yesterday before she left and we cooked it up last night. As I put it in the oven I thought, I should probably put a cookie sheet under that, then thought, nah it will be okay. Twenty minutes into cooking I start to smell something funny, Jake is calling to me from the living room wondering where all the smoke was coming from. The monkey bread was leaking onto the bottom of the oven creating a smoke screen in our house. The fire alarm started to go off (at least we know it works for sure) and we turn all the fans on, open the doors to get the smoke moving. Suddenly we hear some distressed crying coming from upstairs, it's not hysterical, it sounds seriously worried. Ella is crying, but not running down to us in the fashion she usually does when she's upset. We hear Paislee come down the stairs, and as she crawls into our view in the kitchen, she turns to Ella and says, "Come on, we'll just crawl outside and then we'll be safe." Ella then comes crawling through, sobbing, "Our house is on fire." They both crawl past Jake and I and out onto the back patio. I'm laughing so hard at them I can't think of going to get the camera, and Jake is encouraging them! They were so serious, I don't think they even noticed Jake and I just standing there watching them crawl by, they were so intent on getting outside to safety. So, in case of a fire at the Mitchell's, the fire alarms work and the kids know what to do!

Fun!

2009-02-18T14:10:00.001-08:00

I got this off one of my friend's blogs and thought it sounded like fun. So here's how it works:The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch though...Post this same thing on your own blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift!

Model For An Hour

2009-02-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

You know how you worry about your kids, you wonder what can I do to help them in certain situations. I was feeling worried for Paislee a few weeks ago, Ella attracts attention to herself with her bright red hair, Grant does just because he's a baby, and sometimes Paislee gets to feeling a bit left out. She has even gone as far as saying, "Mom, I wish I had red hair". You know exactly what to say, but you can't change the way other people act, so you worry. I'd been thinking about her, praying to find a way to encourage her and boost her self confidence when we get a phone call out of the blue from a sister in our ward. She wants to steal Paislee for an hour after school and do a photo session with her!!! I was thrilled, an answer to my prayers! Paislee had so much fun during this one on one photo shoot with Angie Batis, she came home just soaring. These are the results from that heaven sent hour. Angie is just starting her photography business, and look at these photos, isn't she amazing? If you'd like to contact her visit her blog http://www.angiebatisphotography.blogspot.com/. Thank you Angie!

Happy Anniversary Hot Stuff!

2009-01-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

We have a pretty amazing story, one that begins in 1995. Jake hates it when I tell the story, but I think it's pretty great and tell it whenever I get the chance. Plus, since this is sort of my scrapbook/journal I need to get it in writing.

In the spring of 1995 Jake and I were in Mr. Adams seminary class together, he was a Senior and I was a lowly Sophomore. I didn't think he knew I even existed. A year and a half later I receive a phone call from Jake, he's home from Rick's before heading to Italy on his mission and a few of his friends are getting together and setting up dates for each other, would I like to go out with his friend Craig. I didn't hesitate, sure I'd love to go out with Craig and the rest of the group. It was a really fun date, they took us rollerblading, Jake was very helpful at keeping me on my feet, cooked us dinner on the BBQ, and then we let off some fireworks. Jake and I definitely had a connection that night, but he never called me back (at least that's how I remember it, he swears he did 'cause I left my sunglasses in his car). So he went on his mission and I finished high school, went to college and started my life. Eight years later, 2003, I'm single, Jake's single and a few of our friends have talked about setting us up together, but it never happens. We eventually (this is the part Jake hates) I find him on LDSsingles and send him an email. He sends me an email back and asks me to call. I do later that evening, no answer. He was flying a friend to Burley that evening and hadn't landed in Boise yet, once he landed he gave me a call (thanks for encouraging him Bret) and we started talking. While walking back to his car Jake realized that he'd lost his keys. It was 11 o'clock, I figured that his parents were probably asleep so I offered to pick them up, I was so excited that I got a speeding ticket on my way. We talked for over 2 hours in his parents driveway that night. We talked again over the next few days and ended up going out (to thank me for picking them up at the airport). We've been together ever since, and it has been so much fun.

I have learned a lot, grown a lot and loved just about every minute of it. We were talking about things we would change in our lives if we could, the only thing I would change about us is that we hadn't lost those 8 years between 1995 and 2003.

This is our wedding day, December 26th 2003, we were sealed in the Boise Idaho Temple on January 29th 2005.

Top 10 things I LOVE about Jake:

1. His ability to be so grounded and level headed. I have highs and lows and he is always constant, I need that and appreciate it more than he knows.

2. He is a great Daddy, the kids scream in excitement the moment the door opens when he arrives at night and vie for his attention until they go to bed.

3. How handsome he is, every time I see him I get that little fluttery feeling.

4. He thinks I'm funny, no one else thinks I'm funny but he does.

5. Patience, his is endless.

6. His family, they are all great, I'm seriously so blessed to have such fun, smart, loving, giving in-laws.

7. His willingness to serve. I have watched him serve in many capacities and he has a love for everyone and is always ready and willing to share his time, talent, everything with others.

8. His love and dedication for his profession. He loves to fly, he's an amazing pilot and a humble one. If you want to get my husband talking just mention flying, he can talk about it for hours.

9. His kisses.

10. And I think my favorite is his righteous desire to do the right thing.

I love you Jake, happy anniversary!

Our Sugar Plum Fairy

2009-01-27T14:25:00.000-08:00

Ella Bella has been taking dance class through The Dance Connection at preschool for over a year now and has had so much fun learning how to dance with her classmates. Each January they have a little sneak peak for us parents to see what our kids are learning and how much fun they are having. It is a lot of fun watching her learn and grow and enjoy dance just as much as I did as a little girl.
This is her dressed as the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker leaping over a snowflake placed on the ground by her teacher. This action shot just makes me beam so proudly!
And here she is letting her personality shine. Ella loves the camera, loves to perform, and seriously adores the stage and spotlight.

There are 5 positions in dance (she knew that when the teacher asked) and she showed us each position, this should be #3.

This was just too cute and such good form. She is doing a butterfly here, they have their butterflies fly, land, stretch their necks while they look for Disney Princesses, and this is her hiding from one of them (such a smart teaching tool).

Ella Bella Turns 4!

2009-01-11T17:10:00.001-08:00

Miss Ella turned 4 on Friday! We had such a fun time celebrating this little girl. She woke up early to open her new birthday outfit and was so excited to share cupcakes with her classmates at preschool. Her teachers made her an adorable purple birthday crown which she proudly wore most of the day. For dinner we celebrated at Chuckie Cheese with Pappa and Grammy and her cake of choice, Little Mermaid. She loved her birthday gifts from her Grandparents and spent all of Saturday playing with each one. Ella is such a sweetie pie most of the time, and a drama queen only some of the time. Her Daddy and her are very close and definitely have that special father/daughter bond. She loves playing make believe games with her older sister and is very patient and loving with her little brother. We are so proud of her and love her very much!

Happy Birthday Ella!

Will Walk For Chocolate

2009-01-08T18:26:00.001-08:00

At 15 months old you think that this kid would be walking (at least I thought this kid would be walking). Family history: Daddy-14 months Mommy 12-months Uncle Bret-15 months Paislee-11 months Ella-14 months. But no matter what age we started to walk we've all managed to master it just fine, however, isn't it about time?
Ella walked for chocolate and pearls, we figured with Grant's appetite that chocolate would probably be a good motivator for him as well. As you can see he is very interested in what Daddy has.

You can also see that he wants it the easy way, "Hand it over Pops!"

In the end it was worth the effort, he took quite a few steps tonight, way to go Grantster!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

2009-01-07T20:51:00.001-08:00

In years past I have woken up in the morning, spied the newly fallen snow outside and inwardly groaned. Now I see the soft fluffy flakes falling and I'm just as excited as my kids are. The reason for this newly discovered joy is that after 14 years of driving in Idaho I am finally comfortable driving on slick roads! Comfortable should be defined as my legs don't turn to jello and start shaking as I approach an intersection. I don't totally freak out when there's someone right behind me. And I actually use my brakes to stop instead of only down shifting 150+ yards from where I need to stop.
The girls received new snow gear from their Great Grandma this Christmas and are delighted to go out and play whenever they get a chance. We've had two snowfalls big enough to warrant "playing in the snow" and this last one offered perfect snowman snow.
Unfortunately after the snow came warm weather and they ended up with slushy snow and a crumbling snowman (moments after he was built).
But these two didn't mind, plus they LOVE to have hot chocolate with marshmallows and whip cream to warm them up afterwards.

In the happenings of Grant he has some new vocabulary words: down, yeah, drink, and mup(up) and he took his first 4 steps at Pappa and Grammy's just before New Year's. He hasn't taken any since, but we know he's just biding his time before he hits the floor running!

Christmas Highlights

2008-12-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

Snow Angels

2008-12-17T20:28:00.001-08:00

The first major snow fall of the season came this weekend to the girls delight (and Mommy's driving dismay). They couldn't wait to get their cold weather gear on and head out into the snow. My sweet hubby braved the freezing cold temperatures and took these photos so I could blog about my little snow angels.
When was the last time you made a snow angel? I can't remember when I did, I'll have to get bundled up and join them next time, I'm sure it'll still be exhilarating even at my "old" age.

I just love this picture and these two darling girls!

Baptism Day

2008-12-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

What a special day for a special girl. Paislee got baptized and confirmed on Saturday, December 6th. She was so excited, you could feel the joy just flowing from her. We spent the month of November having FHE going over the aspects of baptism, so she would fully understand the choice she was making. We're so proud of her for the decision she made to be baptized and how hard she has been trying to be so much more mature, helpful, and loving to her brother and sister.

Don't these two photos just say it all? Inside you just know she is hopping up and down waiting for her big moment.

Tree Trimming Time

2008-12-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

Each year we pick out a tree that looks an awful lot like Daddy, tall and skinny. This is one thing that Jake is insistent on and I don't push too hard to get my way, a fresh, live noble fir is the only tree for us. One of my favorite moments to capture with a picture each year is Jake centering the tree, this year Grant decided to help Daddy, I just missed the shot of his little head lined up next to Jake's under the tree : (.

Ella loves hanging the ornaments on the tree, you can tell which ones she hung because they are usually clustered together on the same branch. I try really hard to let my type A personality go into hiding during tree trimming and then when the branches get too heavy and the ornaments fall to the floor I redistribute them in a way that I prefer (don't tell the kids).
Pure concentration, plus she's standing on a chair which means that there are ornaments about 4 feet up the tree!!!
Ella is our official star topper, this is always the last thing to go on the tree at our house.

Here are the girls playing Vanna and modeling our tree. I love how proud they are of their accomplishments. Isn't there something totally calming about a lit tree, a fireplace roaring, a cup of cocoa and a clean house? I guess 3 out of 4 aren't bad!

Thanksgiving in Corvallis

2008-12-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Corvallis, Oregon to visit Jake's sister Angie and her family. Traveling was "terrific" and it took 12 hours to get to their home (it should only have taken 9 at the most, at one point we went 1 mile in 20 minutes). The kids were so relieved to get there and Clara (who is 9 weeks younger than Ella) was waiting up so patiently to see her cousins.

Thanksgiving dinner was great! The food was delicious and there was plenty of it. I want to add a disclaimer, no food was wasted on Grant's plate, he ate every bite. After dinner we participated in a Butler family tradition, a pinata. This was our kids first pinata experience and they loved it! Each child got a chance to whack the pinata and they dove for that candy and the toys.

On Friday we headed to a local bounce house where we all worked off our Thanksgiving pounds. The kids ran around like crazy for an hour and wore the parents and Grammy Shar out! Paislee had fun making new friends, Ella was all over the place, and Grant was hesitant at first and then had a blast once he figured it all out.

The weather was really nice, lots of sunshine and the kids spent a lot of time outside playing. We also took them for a walk through a local wetland, it's amazing how green everything is there and a nice change from this desert climate.

We spent a lot of time just visiting, playing the Wii, and hanging out. For Kenyon's birthday Jake, Kenyon, Angie and I went and saw Twilight, I'll keep it brief....I was disappointed!

We are so lucky to have so much family to celebrate the holidays with. Thank you Kenyon and Angie for welcoming us into your home, feeding us well, and entertaining us thoroughly, we love you guys!

A Hannah Montana Party

2008-11-17T18:15:00.000-08:00

For Paislee's 8th birthday party we had a Hanah Montana bash. Honestly, an easy theme and one that kept the girls entertained non-stop for an hour and a half. We started off with Hannah coloring pages while we waited for everyone to arrive.

They played hot potato with a microphone. I thought that they would pretend to sing to the Hannah songs that were playing while they passed it around, instead it was seriously get this out of my hand as fast as possible, throwing it at each other. Ella was the hot potato champion!

Paislee and our neighbor girls Ally and Jordan.

And finally we ended with a quiet episode of Hannah's latest adventures on the TV. I'm not sure how many of you get to watch this in your homes but it's pretty funny, however Miley Cyrus seems to be growing up a lot faster than my girls (she just got her drivers license last week on the show) and I'm not sure how much longer it will be appropriate for my kids to watch.

One of their favorite activites was decorating their own cupcakes with purple and pink frosting and sprinkles, but hands down was making their own body glitter. We used cute little metal jars with glass lids, filled them 1/2 way with Aloe Vera Gel and then let them add their own glitter and stir it up. It worked really well, the girls love slathering themselves up with the stuff.

Sometimes I think, poor Grant, but he slept through the pink and purple, the glitter and the giggles. He did get a cupcake though, food makes him so happy.

The "Big Bear" Battle

2008-11-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

We have a new resident in the Mitchell household...meet Big Bear!

Jake's Aunts, Terri and Susie, made this big guy for his second birthday many years ago and he's been a large part of the family ever since. Jake and his siblings would use him as a security blanket when they were sick. Sharon would strap him into a seatbelt and take him to the school for their Teddy Bear Picnics, he always turned heads.
I've been told over the last three years that he would end up at my house. As you can see he is kind of ginormous and doesn't really fit in with my decor, so I resisted. Really resisted, saying that he would end up in not so friendly places if he made his way to our home. Circumstances have changed, Jake's Grandma moved into as assisted living home this past weekend and Big Bear became homeless, then he snuck himself into the trunk of Jake's car and into my house when I needed the trunk for groceries. The girls used him as a pillow to watch a movie last night and tonight they've been climbing all over him. Ella learned a new song today at preschool (to the tune of "I'm A Little Teapot"): I'm a little Indian on the go, here is my arrow, here is my bow, when I'm out a hunting here me shout, BEAR AND BUFFALO, YOU BETTER WATCH OUT! We've been stalking Big Bear and shooting our pretend arrows at him while we shout (at the top of our lungs).

And I've learned that he is an excellent way to take out frustrations; the atomic elbow, round house kicks, pile drivers, frog splashes. Jake just shakes his head and chuckles quietly, I guess we've come to a stalemate.

My Favorite New Home Appliance

2008-11-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know who came up with this idea but I love this thing. It's a swiffer vac, it replaces your broom. I HATE sweeping, I tolerate vacuuming so this gets my sweeping done without all the effort. I just had to post pics of it 'cause I love it. It picks up all the tiny little dust that your broom misses and cereal size pieces. Now someone needs to make something along these lines for wiping off the counter, 'cause I HATE that too.

4-4-4 Tag

2008-11-12T13:59:00.000-08:00

I was tagged for the first time today. This photo is of Grant while we waited for the girls during swimming lessons. One thing I notice about this picture is that he doesn't have very much hair here. He doesn't have very much how now, but quite a bit more than he did in this picture. Four people tagged: Angie, Morgan, Carissa, and Melissa

So here's what you do, post the 4th picture from your 4th folder then tag 4 people.

Turkey Count Down

2008-11-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

I apologize that there are quite a few posts to catch up. We have such a full and busy life that I know if I don't get these in now I'll have way too many to post next week.

We thought it would be fun to make Turkeys to count down the days until Thanksgiving. We are so excited for Thanksgiving this year, we will be spending it in Oregon with Jake's sister. They have a little girl that is a few months younger than Ella and all of the cousins are going through withdrawals. I'm exciting to have 5 days off of work to spend with my family.
The kids thought of something for each feather that they were thankful for. Some of the items they said were: the seasons, grandparents, family, clothes, scriptures, home, Heavenly Father, baptism, helping others, prayers, kindness, the Holy Ghost, the creation, and our Savior. It's nice to count your blessings and hear what your kids are most thankful for.

Ella and I with her turkey. Moments like these are monumental for Ella and I. We spend most of our time at odds with each other, struggling for control. She has such a strong personality and spirit and I'm a little bit of a "Nazi Mom" that we play tug of war a lot. I love it when we are able to enjoy each other and work together like this; we are both a lot happier when we do.

Paislee and her turkey, they turned out to be a lot bigger than I had anticipated.

8 Years Old

2008-11-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

Paislee celebrated her 8th birthday this past Sunday. One month from today she will be baptized! All these changes are very exciting and make me feel so very old. Here she is posing with one of the cutest dresses I've ever seen, thanks Grammy.
As you can see she is thrilled with her 8 year old status. She attended her first Activity Day activity at the church on Wednesday and loved playing with all of the other girls.

She also received her very first set of scriptures. She loves reading with the family every night and is constantly impressing us with her ability to read all of the difficult words. Last night she realized she could mark her favorites with her new pencils and I'm afraid her book will be rainbow colored before too long.

Why horse-opoly? Those of you who may not know Paislee but know me may wonder why my child has a horse game. She is actually obsessed with horses and all other animals. From a very young age she liked them. Her bedset even has horses on it at her Santa Claus request in 2006. We have stables, horses, feed buckets, cowgirls, outfits. This poor kid knows that I'm very allergic to them and has already apologized for the fact that she will have horses at her house when she grows up.

We are having an all girl Hanah Montana bash next weekend so this was a very simple cake (you have to have cake ON your birthday).

Halloween Backyard BBQ

2008-11-06T14:39:00.000-08:00

On Halloween we had a fun pit stop at Jake's parents house in the middle of our running around. We cooked hot dogs and sausages over the open fire and watched the girls play in the leaves.

Grant and Grammy on the trampoline. It's funny how kids have strong, positive connections with most family members and then this magnetism with others. Ella and Papa are like this and have been since she was a baby, now we have Grant and Grammy who share this strong connection. Then there's Paislee who loves everyone equally and 110% without hesitation.

Grant eating and smiling sweetly for the camera. I think October 31st will be the last day in a long while where we didn't have to wear coats outside.
Ella ingoring her dinner and posing for the camera.
Paislee, Ella, and Papa patiently waiting for their dogs to cook.
We were having so much fun that we went back and played some more after the trunk or treat was over.

Animal Control

2008-11-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Two precious kitty cats, one pink and white, the other black and white. When the girls came up with these costumes I was thrilled, easy and inexpensive! They turned out to be the cutest little cats around.
This one can be a bit of a diva, but we love her sparkle.

The rough & tough puppy enjoying his first Halloween treat.

This is a photo of Paislee taken by Miss Ella Jeanne, not too bad.

Here's our little zoo of animals, Jake and I definitely have our hands full with these three rambunctious kids. But moments like these make it all so worthwhile.

Halloween tradition is that we visit Great Grandma Mitchell first, this year she had two visitors we hadn't met yet, Aunt Terri and Aunt Therese. We seriously whirlwinded into the house and 30 minutes later whirlwinded out again, hopefully Grandma wasn't knocked over. Then we head over to Jake's parents house. This year we had a fun BBQ outside in the leaves (those pics to come). And we finished it up with a Trunk or Treat, you honestly can't beat that. 1 hour of walking and handing out candy and you leave with a full bag and saw lots of friends. We were home and had the kids in bed by 8:30, that I think is a very successful Halloween!

Silly Jack-O-Lanterns

2008-10-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

We carved jack-o-lanterns Monday night for FHE and had so much fun. Paislee is finally old enough to get her hands dirty and loved scooping pumpkin goop into the garbage can (that means my hands stay clean from now on)!
Even if Ella were old enough to scoop goop I sort of think she'd avoid it; she's such a girly princess little thing.

The girls get to choose what sort of face they wanted, here's the kissy lips from Ella's.

Paislee supporting the "surprised" face from her Jack-O-Lantern and Ella with the "kissy" face plus eyelashes.

So instead of frightful jack-o-lanterns our front porch displays these adorable silly faces!

I'm a Digi Scrapper!

2008-10-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is something that I've been wanting to learn how to do for months now and thanks to some help from my friends and family it is a reality! My brother-in-law Mike, gave me Photoshop Elements back in August when I was hinting that was what I would like for my birthday, but once I had it I had no idea what to do with it. So, luckily for me I'm in charge of midweek activities in my ward and there just happen to be a few girls in our ward who are excellent at this, so I conned one of them (thanks Sara!) to teach a class on digital scrapbooking, that was last week. I also need to give a bit of credit to the tutorials at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/, they helped me figure out some of the finer points. And now I have completed a total of 14 pages and actually have a book done for my Grandparents 50th Anniversary!!! (To quote Disney Chanel) Yay Me! This is probably my favorite layout, it showcases how beautiful my Grandma looks and all the great-grandkids!

Battling "THOR"

2008-10-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

Some of you may not know who "THOR" is, I didn't until last night. Jake and I went to a Financial Seminar put on by the Stake. In one of the classes the teacher spoke of our conscience and the two sides of it. The "Smart" side and "THOR". The "Smart" side is the intelligent side, it persuades us to do the things that are good for us, to do the things that aren't always fun to do but necessary, and keeps us healthy and safe. "THOR", on the other hand, lives on the philosophy of persuing pleasure and avoiding pain. This side is the one that convinces that we don't need to get up early to work about before the day begins because we "deserve" to sleep in. It is also the side that tells us we can eat what we want, spend what we want, and basically do what we want. I think this is also the side that makes us feel guilty when we let him win. As I thought more about this concept the more I got mad at "THOR", as nice as it would be to take the easier road it usually creates more problems (anyone thinking of someone else "THOR" reminds you of)? I've decided that I'm not going to let "THOR" win, but in order to do this I need to confess areas of my life that "THOR" prevails:

I'm a disorganized mess, this is my work table in my craft room/office. How can I manage to get any work done. Now I had Super Saturday last weekend so I could justify this if I wanted to, but it's "THOR" that wants to, not me. I want my work area to be neat and organized. I also want all of my unfinished projects to be finished. There are many areas of my life in this same state.
Time, this is something that slips away from me so easily. An hour TV show here, a "quick" check of the e-mail there, 5 hours of work each day, the 45 minutes it takes me to get ready in the morning, a I'll just read a quick chapter in my book before I fall asleep. I know there are enough hours in the day, however "THOR" convinces me that I don't need to use them ALL to be productive, that I deserve some "me" time.In June I decided to lose the baby weight "THOR" convinced me that I could do it just by watching what I put into my mouth, that I didn't need to exercise. Here I sit 19 pounds slimmer but not any toner (it ain't pretty).
This is probably the worst, I don't balance my check book. I buy on a whim, what I want when I want it. I don't plan ahead and save up for something. I'm all about the quick gratification. With the way the economy is right now who can afford to live that way? (Disclaimer, I'm usually pretty reasonable ie) the 1998 Honda Accord DX that I drive, the side mirror is falling off, again, it has 170,000 miles on it, my three kids barely squeeze into the backseat, as much as I would like to have a new car/mini-van/SUV, I have restrained myself).
I am master of what I eat, but not what I drink, I won't admit how many of these babies I drink a day so as not to embarass my husband any further, but I'm tired of it!!!

Now the reason behind the confession? The "Smart" side of the conscience needs accountability. Since I'm human and not all powerful and at times my discipline fails me I put it out there to my friends and family, who can keep an eye on me (peer pressure) and who can encourage me to beat "THOR". So, does anyone want to share what they battle "THOR" about?