A freaking year!

So I have not updated this thing for over a year! a freaking year! I couldn't believe it!! I am not very good at it and find it very frustrating, but I decided something new is better then nothing new.......so here goes. We haven't done much this year...nothing new and exciting to report....the girls started dance this fall and Ben is playing football and taking guitar lessons. My life consists of running kids to and fro...volunteering at the school on occasion and spending my days at home doing projects. I have not cleaned my house well for many moons, but I am crafting my heart out! I can catch up on housework any old time. The only new thing in my life is Alisons Pantry, I decided to become a representative. Its fun and helps ease the grocery budget, but I haven't decided if its ever really going to bring in actual income. I do not like to sell things, and I am not good at it cause I hate to be pressured into buying things. I am currently looking for a new part time job......substituting is not my forte. I am sooo excited for fall! It has been cool today and I can almost smell the leaves changing color....they will soon...I hope! I am finally feeling like I belong in my new (3 years old this month) ward. I still hardly know anyones names but I am making progress. anyway, so sorry its boring maybe I will be able to come up with new fodder in a few weeks. Hopefully not another year!

2 years of my life

So it is finally finished! It took me 20 months....countless hours spent removing misplaces stitches and weeks spent conning people into teaching me how to follow a pattern, trying to learn to sew in a straight line and learning how to bind the edges. But I am proud to say it is done! I will never have to place it in a garbage sack and stuff it in the closet ever again! I will never open the closet and sigh in frustration over this particular quilting project! I will never forget the countless hours spent grumbling behind the sewing machine and trying to entertain my kids while totally consumed in thoughts of how I was going to make a mistake work....before unpicking it in the end and starting over! IT IS FINISHED!

Summer fun

It took all summer for us to actually do something fun with the kids......All summer long we have been doing home improvements andhave not had tiem or money for fun...so I decided if we don't have the money to go to the zoo, or lagoon, or boondocks or anything else the kids seem to want to go and do we will have to find free or relatively cheap fun all on our own. last week we went swimming with the cousins in a backyard pool.....the kids had a blast and it was nice to visit with my sis in law and see her kids. Then we discovered Spanish Fork Reservoir...It's a tiny reservoir with a Sandy Beach to play in and water to swim in......we took a sack lunch and went swimming and built sandcastles. It was great fun and it is only 10 minutes from our house....While we were there Shaun rescued a damsel in distress and Michael ate sand, the girls played along the shore and Ben went fishing. I got to watch it all from my seat, camera in hand...after all if this is to be the extent of our summer partying then we better well document it!

Male PMS

what is up with onery men? I am the one that is supposed to have mood swings and be a crazy person! but alas...Shaun has been super onery for 2 full days now and I am losing my patience with it! We went outside to do smores last night around the campfire, I thought it would be a fun experience for everyone...but shaun was so frustrated it ended up being an assemblyline of me and shaun hurriedly putting smores together so the kids could eat them so it would be over...frustrating! Anyway, I guess I will survive it but hopefully it will be over soon!

Ben is 10!
Can you believe it everyone??? I can't! its hard to remember him as a toddler or baby...I only have a few token memories of him toddling around, but most of my memories come from pictures...things I never thought I would forget are mere shadows. It is really weird how time seems to go so slow, yet one day you look back and it seems it was just weeks ago (or so it feels) and you don't know how you got here.....this new undiscovered territory of pre-teens. trying to act cool, embarrassed by their parents and pushing against boundaries begging for more freedom and independence. Luckily the girls are not emerging into this new territory yet...just Ben. So I guess maybe he will teach us the ins and outs of raising teenagers before Katie decides to be totally embarassed by us. Anyway, I got some pictures of his friends at the party...acting cool (or so they think) and grown-up! P.S. don't tell him I told you so but afterwards he declared it the best party ever! High five for me!!!!!

So, I posted some new pics of Annabelle. She's pretty darn cute, with a little bit of naughty mixed in. Anyway, The kids are finally out of school and the fighting has begun, I don't know if it's cause they are bored or what but I literally had to pull kamryn out of the tub and make her go get in her PJ's before she even really had a chance to bathe! It's been like 3 days and already it is frustrating me. I think there may need to be harsher penalties for fighting in this house....hmmmm, maybe we need some new guidelines......but what would be a good punishment for them without causing extra work or frustration for me? Any ideas?

Our new addition

So....here she is....Drumroll please!!!!
ANNABELLE....isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen? I will definately be posting more pics soon, but this is the only non-fuzzy one ben could capture of her face, he got lots of her backend and tail but none of her face! Crazy boy! Anyway, as soon as Shaun charges the camera I will post more.......She is a golden retriever, she is 8 weeks old and so far her favorite spot is on my feet, while I was making lunch standing in front of the stove, while I am watching TV, while I am on the computer her head is nuzzled right on top of one of my feet at all times! She is a crack-up!