"You parents, you fathers and mothers…live the kind of exemplary lives before your children that they will find in you the polar star to which they can look as they shape their own lives."
Gordon B. Hickley

I saw this quote on another blog and I liked it. Good advice from our Prophet, who passed away this weekend. What a happy reunion he must be experiencing! I am so grateful for President Hickley's great example, understanding and simple and positive outlook on life. What an awesome man.

Goals...

Ok, so I (Lisa) have always wanted to write a children's book. It's been at the back of my mind since I was at UCF. I just thought it would be fun. Then I met and married Sean, who has a little known talent as an artist...and he agreed to illustrate a book if I ever wrote one. (I'm sure he's thinking, Suuure, I'll illustrate your book...yeah right!) Well, I made a goal to do it this year, and this is my first attempt! Surprise Sean! I need illustrations!

So, I/we keep coming up with ideas that we think would be cute for a book and one of them was titled, "There's a Pirate in my Mouth." We wanted it to be about brushing teeth. I think it would be fun with gross pictures for boys. It ended up as a poem. Any potential? Here it is:

There’s a PIRATE in my Mouth!

One morning I woke up late for school
And barely had time to wipe off my drool.
I sat up straight in the top of the bunk
And hit my head on the light with a “thunk.”
I rolled off the bed and sighed with relief
When I landed on a pile of clothes in a heap.
I pulled on two socks, some shoes and a shirt.
Then picked the shorts that showed the least dirt.
I grabbed my backpack and ran down the stairs
Into the kitchen and over some chairs.
Snatched up my lunch and ran out the door,
Tripped over dad’s boots and fell on the floor.
I rolled to recover back up to my feet
And was sore to discover I had grass in my teeth.
I did my best to spit it out
Then ran to the bus stop to sit and to pout.
I had only a moment, it was there right away…
I limped to my seat to get ready for the day.
As I sat there to ponder the morning’s events
I opened my bag to scavage for mints.
For in my rush to make it on time
My teeth weren’t brushed and were covered in slime.
The grass that was lodged from my fall didn’t help
And it tickled my gums like fingers of kelp.
My situation worsened when I opened my lunch
A tuna fish sandwich, ranch chips and green punch!
I tried not to talk or smile in class
For fear that the smell would make someone gasp.
Oh how I wished for my trusty toothbrush
For the food that had gathered was turning to mush.
The ocean of fish, sea kelp and spices
Were swirling around – perfect whirlpools for pirates!
I could hear them singing their dreadful song
Making waves in the slush as they sailed along.
What was that? I winced and held my cheek.
A cannon? Did they just shoot at my teeth?
I panicked… OH NO… But what could I do?
Two hours left… Did I have gum to chew?
These pirates were vicious, pillaging my mouth
Their ships were raging up north and down south.
Just then, I remembered a lesson we had
And ran from the room, I hope my teacher wasn’t mad!
I sped through the hall, turned a corner, then one more
Then slid to a stop at the nurse’s door.
No knock. I entered. Both hands on her desk.
I started charades to see if she could guess.
Her expression showed concern, surprise and shock.
What was wrong… Couldn’t she see that the pirates had docked?
They were climbing my mountains of teeth with their ropes
Swinging through the gaps… and with swords that could poke!
Smelly or not, I had to speak
I opened my mouth and let out a squeek.
She didn’t understand what I was talking about
So I yelled my loudest:
“THERE ARE PIRATES IN MY MOUTH!”
She took a deep breath, lips spread into a grin
Hands on her hips, she lifted her chin.
“Well, why didn’t you say so!” she said in reply.
Then went to her cabinet and got the supplies.
I grabbed them quick then rushed to the sink
Took off the cap…the toothbrush was pink?
“I’m a boy!” I thought, but this was an emergency
These pirates had lived long enough in my sea.
With a vengeance I brushed, as the paste left its tingle
And I laughed as the pirates sang their last jingle.
I didn’t feel bad, not a little remorse
And I spit out their ships and changed their course.
“Ahhh, refreshing!” I thought as I turned to see
Principal Carlson standing there staring at me.
I was a little nervous as I smiled and mumbled
Something about pink toothbrushes, pirates and being humbled.
She just shook her head and gave me a pass.
I smiled with relief and went back to class.
The lesson I learned was important that day.
And the next time I’m late
I’ll wear a fresh mouth and PJ’s!

Park City, UT

Snow Fun!

We were blessed with the funnest week! My sister Keri was given a chance to stay at a resort in Park City, UT for a week and invited the whole family to come up and share in the fun. (Thanks Keri and Justin!) So...most of the family came up to snow ski, snow board, go sledding, etc. The kids had a blast. Wish we would have spent more time outside...a little challenging with 11 kids! But we had so much fun. We swam outside in the heated pool with snow freezing our ears and noses. We went sledding with the help of my brothers, Spencer and Hayden. (They dug ditches to keep the kids from flying off the side of the mountain! I'm sure they were safe, but it made my heart leap when the kids came close to the ditches. Thanks guys, for keeping the kids safe and playing with them! They have the best uncles!) We rode the gondolas. Carly managed to build a couple of snow men and of course, there were some snow ball fights! Ty loved eating the snow and the first thing he did when we went sledding was plop right down and make a snow angel. I didn't even know he knew about them. Ridge LOVED sledding and had a difficult time taking turns. (Hmmm. Seems to be a pattern with him...) I tried snow boarding with the help of Spencer. He's a great coach. I sure slowed him down, but I had a blast. I fell so many times and my entire body was sore the next day. (Even the muscles in my palms were sore! Do you even use them while snow boarding?) Well anyways, I can't wait to go again. Thanks Spence. Park City is beautiful. I am always amazed at our Heavenly Father's creations. Here are some pictures of our trip. Most of these are in the slide show above, so scroll down fast if you don't want to see them again!) Hope you have a great week!

Creative Bug!

Oh, I got a fun present for Christmas!...a router. My friend Sara (in Florida) and I used to get crafty and make magnet boards, signs, etc. We used her table saw and my jig saw and not long before I moved, she got a router. I didn't get to use it much and have been secretly (or not so secretly) wishing for one ever since. Well, Mom and Dad to the rescue! They got me one and I can't wait to try it! Thanks Mom and Dad! In the mean time...here are some of my (our) latest creations:
This box under our Christmas tree was something that I wanted to try. Our tree was a little short and this worked great! (There are a couple of cynder blocks in the bottom to add height and to keep the tree stable.) Maybe I can use it as a planter later?









The closet shelving is a project that Sean and I did together this weekend. His floor was covered with shoes and hunting and sports gear. I mentioned that we could put his closet to better use by building up...well, he was listening and I got him hooked...before we knew it, we were sketching plans and on our way to Home Depot to pick up some supplies! We had so much fun working together. Great bonding time, I highly recommend it! It is so fun to feel like you accomplished something together! (And I am so excited that we made something so big! I know, cheezy!) Now, we just have to paint it! ugh.









This last picture is of a book shelf that I made for Ridge. I saw one in a magazine and didn't want to pay $39 so I decided to try to build one. It was so easy and it works great! ...and hey, I only sell them for $38! (Just kidding!)

Merry Christmas!

Hello and Merry Christmas from all of us! We hope you enjoyed your Christmas as much as we did. We had so much fun with Lisa's family (everyone together for the first Christmas in 3 or 4 years! Sooo fun!) The kids had a blast. They make this time of year so much more fun that we ever could have imagined! From our family to yours...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Catching Up!

Hello everyone. We had some requests today, so we are adding some pictures and making some changes. Hopefully the white writing is better...please let me know if you can't read this...of course, if you are answering this question, then I will assume that you can!

Picture 1: Ok, so we bought some ocean-front property in Arizona...from our front porch we can see the sea! We live in that middle house. We had one of very few rain storms this summer, and the park (considered a retention pond in Florida) fills up with the run off water. It only stays for a couple of days, so for the majority of the year, we have a huge front yard to play on. It's nice...and we don't even have to mow it!

Picture 2: Carly playing soccer. This is a picture of her first game. She rocked. Her second game was even better, and this Saturday should be awesome! (Their team is undefeated! Woo hoo!)

Picture 3: Ridge showing his skills at the first game! (He's the purple shirt with the ball!)

Picture 4: Just a funny picture of Carly and her teammate...just a little size difference!

P.I.R. RACE DAYS

This week was mucho fun (because I can't spell "ALOT" says Lisa ) We made a few trips to PIR Phoenix International Raceway to see Dad, Muma, Auntie Kathy & Uncle Doug and Auntie Debbie & Kent who also makes a good uncle; Ridge and Ty agree. We ate great food, and had fun together. Ridge will not let me forget that he did not see a race. Not even ONE racecar at the track.

We will remedy that ASAP. And the week was finished off with Muma inviting me to join them for a race. I saw my first NASCAR race. TV is no way to see a race. To feel the horsepower rattle your fillings and see the speed of those cars and the amazing coordination of everyone involved was AWESOME. By the way Jimmie Johnson won. I am going to need a few more races to figure out who to root for. And next year alot of car and driver changes happen....I think I may have the race bug.

Our kids warmed right up to everyone and it was great to get together even if it was too short.

Our Three Runts...

I didn't think that I would ever start a blog. I love looking at the blogs of my friends and family, but just didn't think I could manage one. But tonight my little sister (Katie Joe) suggested I start one and just like that, here we are. Well, the "just like that" took a little longer then it sounds...with the new email account, user names, passwords, name on the blog, etc. it's taken a little longer. It's hard to be creative and original "just like that!" But anyways, here we are! Thanks Katie!

Welcome to our family blog! Here's an update:

We now live in Arizona and we are loving it. I say now because we couldn't make up our minds between Arizona and Florida...and trying both TWICE we have decided that Arizona is the place for us to be! We love the mountains, sunsets, family, new friends, the job, etc. We miss the rain, green grass, REAL trees, beach, family and old friends. (We have to admit it's hard to break in new friends when you love and miss the old ones so much!)

We have been blessed from the moment we moved here. The day after Sean drove into town, he got a job with a great company. After a rough few years, we are so grateful for this! He works on the HUGE tank farms that provide all of the gas out here. (Don't you think we should get free gas? I do!...but unfortunately they don't.) I will let Sean post some pictures and tell you about what he is doing later. He is also an assistant Scout Master at church. He loves this and gets along well with the boys. He's a busy guy, but somehow manages to stay sweet!

Carly is doing great. Much to my delight (or dismay) she is still growing taller everyday. She is easily the tallest 1st grader in her school. (I am constantly reminding myself she's only 6!) She's such a happy person and is filled with personality. She has learned to ride her bike this year and we recently rode all the way to my sister's house and back. Carly loved it and has been reminiscing ever since... She sigh's thoughtfully, and asks if I remember the fun time we had and suggests that we do it again sometime soon! (Did I mention that we just did this Friday night?) I guess I need to get a trailer to keep the boys in tow! Carly really wants to get into a dance class, but we missed sign ups this year...so she's in soccer instead. She and Ridge are on the same team. It's quite a height difference, and thankfully we know at least 1 or 2 people on each team, so they can vouch for her age. I consider us very lucky though...it's really easy to find her in the traveling bee-hive! Ridge, on the other hand, gets blocked by the wall of kids.

Ridge is a such a sweet boy. Don't get me wrong...he's still a red head, but he has a really kind heart. Ty riles him up and takes toys from him and hits and teases him, and of course Ridge will do what every other boy in the same situation would do...he takes a swing at his little brother. But right away, he gives him a hug and tells him sorry! I tell you, it really warms a mother's heart! I feel bad for him though, because Ty is a fire cracker. I do expect Ridge to have more self control...and I feel guilty for admitting it, but sometimes I am just rooting for him to take a little swing at Ty...because there are some things that a mom just can't teach a 2 year old...like, you don't pick on kids twice your size, because one of these days, they're going to pound ya! Ridge is loving soccer and HATES taking his turn to sit out during the games. He complains very loudly that he is there to play soccer and does not want to sit out! Ahhh, none of my coaches would believe he came from me...he's very vocal and very passionate! Took me years to get to where he is! We still have great sword fights. He's gotten very elaborate in his moves, adding rolls, jumps, obstacles, dives, and he even throws his sword now and then. My favorites are the slow motion moves. I especially like it when he let's me watch the replay of them, just in case I blinked and missed the really cool parts!

I don't know where Ty came from. He is so different from Carly and Ridge at this age. I don't want to call him a disagreeable child, but if the shoe fits... He seems to like to disagree, even if he agrees! If he wants a drink of water, and you ask him if he wants a drink of water, he'll tell you no, until you give him several more options, and then he'll impatiently and loudly let you know that he wanted water! He's such a ham though, and I have so much fun with him. He's starting to imagine and role play, and really likes to be spiderman. We have been having great sword fights as well, and he likes to be captain hook. We have great chases around the house and he loves to ride Ridge's bike around (much to the dismay of Ridge...and yes, he does have his own bike, and it's really cool!) He really likes to cook with me and needs to be right in the middle of the action. His specialty is taste testing though he could use a little practice on his aim when adding ingredients. Today, we were making cupcakes for my sister's birthday, and Ty decided to open the cake mix for me and dumped 1/2 of it on the ground. Of course he insisted on helping clean it up (responsible child that he is) and then dumped it a second time down the side of the garbage can! For some reason, I can repeat this with a grin on my face! Maybe it's because I am raising 3 little kids who like to cook...a challenge that I have to work on daily!