Reunion Party A SUCCESS!

Thanks a ton to the help of Sheila and others, the family reunion/birthday party was a success! We could not have asked for a better day. The sun was out and the trees still offered some shade for us. We had plenty of food and lots of fun. It was wonderful to have quite a bit of the family together for laughs and stories. Here are some pictures from the day:

Here's a group photo of all that attended. Just the grandchildren and the great grandchildren
Grandpa and 2/3 of his children, plus one extra. Grandpa, Gwen, Tim, Bruce, the extra, WesGrandpa and Myles.
My family. Dad and Sheila and most of the kids. Lorisha (my baby sister) didn't make it up for the fun. All of the grandchildren were here though, and that was very neat. The funny thing is that I (meaning Grady and I) have half of them ourselves!
Grandpa and his cake. Aunt Gwen had this made for him and he loved it!
Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa!

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Mid-Term Progress Reports

We met with Macy's teacher yesterday for our very FIRST (of many) Parent Teacher Conference. For some reason I was pretty nervous. I know that I was very worried about the behavior of Miss Macy....I had my fingers crossed that we wouldn't have problems there. I just knew that there was nothing I would be able to do about it.....I mean, I can't get her to behave at home....how would I ever get her to behave at school? Well, it wasn't much of an issue. She had some talking (or should I say chatting) problems that usually occured during the transition time from one subject to the next, or during rest time (she's trying to stay awake, I'm sure). Other than that, she is doing EXCELLENT in school. Her grades are great, and with a bit more work on her letter sounds, she will be reading soon! Here's a self portrait and name writing practice that we received yesterday....

...can you tell she was getting bored before the end of this one?

Unfortunately, we only taught our children capital letters, and they MUST master the structure of sentences before first grade. Therefore, Macy is now learning a new way of writing her name. I think that she is doing well, and I now know that I need to teach the other children the "correct" way to write their names. So much that a mother can learn when her child starts school.....and I'm sure that I will keep on learnig right with her.

So, that's been the excitement around here. I have finally completed invoicing for October and can now move on to packing, shopping, and errand running before we head south tomorrow. It's my Grandpa's 80th birthday, and I had the grand idea to try to make a family reunion out of it. We're having a taco salad bar on Saturday and will take lots of pictures of the family that attends. My sister will be there from Colorado with her new baby and I can't wait to hold her. I also have some cousins coming in that I haven't seen in years. It's sure to be a blast....Can you tell how excited I am for this one?

Have a great weekend all!

What a Weekend....

We have had two days of no sickness around here... Yahoo! I did take a few pictures of the poor boys for the blog, but I forgot that they were on the camera until I downloaded some for Grady to post on his blog. Here's Myles after his first bout of the sickies.....and poor Stuart....
...Myles wanted some of Grady's socks on, so we let him run....
Grady hurt his back yesterday, so he was off today. He has some meds, so hopefully he will be feeling better soon.
That's our week.

Last Days of Summer

Mr. Weatherman said that these would be our last days of summer.....as in temperature wise, among season wise too. Unfortunately for us, we will be enjoying them via the front windows.

Myles started puking late yesterday and then had some terrible diapers all night long. He seems to be doing better (knock on wood), and has passed the bug along to Stuart.

Stu and Macy had a primary pizza party and program practice (say that one five times really fast) today. I had a friend pick them up since Myles' carseat was still drying from the mess yesterday and he was supposed to be napping...which turned into another pukey mess.

Later,I received a call that Stuart was complaining about a stomach ache. I loaded up the younger two....Fiona sat in the big kid chairs in back and loved it....and Myles sported the hottie girly seat in his diaper only. Stuart sat in the regular chair coming home and we are now officially starting round #2. He was hungry for Mac and Cheese, but it didn't go down or stay down for that matter. POOR BOYS...

I am really debating on whether or not just to make Macy and Fiona snuggle up with Stu so that we can get this thing over with. EVERYTIME we go to Wyoming for something planned, we take along a sickness and pass it around. I want to stop that tradition right now!

There you have our weekend. Grady is off working right now, and hopefully will be home soon. I'll keep you posted on the progression of the pukey bug.

XM Radio Listeners BEWARE!

sub·scrip·tion: /səbˈskrɪpʃən/ –noun
1. a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
2. the right to receive a periodical for a sum paid, usually for an agreed number of issues.
3. an arrangement for presenting a series of concerts, plays, etc., that one may attend by the payment of a membership fee: to purchase a 10-concert subscription.
4. Chiefly British. the dues paid by a member of a club, society, etc.
5. a fund raised through sums of money subscribed.
6. a sum subscribed.
7. the act of appending one's signature or mark, as to a document.
8. a signature or mark thus appended.
9. something written beneath or at the end of a document or the like.
10. a document to which a signature is attached.
11. assent, agreement, or approval expressed verbally or by signing one's name.
12. Ecclesiastical. assent to or acceptance of a body of principles or doctrines, the purpose of which is to establish uniformity.
13. Church of England. formal acceptance of the Thirty-nine Articles of 1563 and the Book of Common Prayer.



Are you all knowed up on that one now? Good. I have a problem that has steam coming out of everywhere......and the poor gal at XM Customer Service had me flamin' too. Here's my side of the story: I walk out to put a payment in the mail. Oh, we forgot to pick up Saturday's mail. Cool! XM....hmmmm....I know that we don't owe them anything.....open it first. WHAT IN THE H***? I don't owe these guys anthing. So, I search the house in a frenzy for the phone. Found it. Dialing......Ringing.......Oh, great...these doozies use the computer answering system. After waiting and waiting, and burning so many stinking minutes on hold, I finally get a gal who says that since I did not call to cancel my subscription, it was shut off for non payment. I told her that I did not even have that car anymore, that we traded it in. She said that we needed to call to cancel the subscription because it "automatically renews". Since when does a subscription automatically renew? I asked to talk to the manager. She put me on hold. She came back and said that he was helping someone else and would I hold. I said, CAN HE CALL ME BACK? To which I get, No, we do not make outgoing calls. I was mad, there you go again raping me of my minutes...NO I WILL NOT HOLD, I WILL TAKE CARE OF THIS IN A LETTER, thank you...and hung up on her. After two emails to people that were of no help....they could not even understand my question, I called again yesterday. I told them to bill the darn dealership because we did not have the car for over half of what they are billing me for. She said that it's unfortunate for me because I did not call to cancel. I repeated to her several times that we would not be using their service anymore and that they better shut off the service to the Tahoe as soon as the trail period is over because I will not pay them another penny.

So, now I have to pay $23.81 for XM service that I did not receive and if I don't they will turn it over to collections on me. A measley amount, I know, but it is the fact that I did not renew a subscription and I did not receive the service for over a month. Would a magazine company keep sending me magazines that I did not renew? NO! I am overly angry that some company can actually screw with a consumer and a customer's credit score like that. They are so lucky that this is only two months after the fact, because if it were more, they would eat this bill. I'd have terrible credit to go with it, but this is so unfair. Why send months of bills stating service would be shut off if not renewed, and then send a bill later for service that was not ever renewed?

Just a warning to all XM listeners out there..........BEWARE!

Fishy Dancer!

You've gotta pause the music player on the left so that you can here what this fishy is singing to my boy :-D ....

Myles is doing some funny dance moves now. Where ever there is music, there is my baby boy dancing. This first one is short because we were having a 2 year old FIT (so common these days in our house...ugghhh) in the background and it was ruining the music for you all....

Around here we can bust moves on our knees.....watch and learn baby!

ha..ha..ha....I caught you laughing with us!

Pictures Are Posted!!!

Stuart's First Day of Preschool! It was a gloomy "Cat in the Hat" day, but he was all smiles anyway. Showing off his new backpack.
Grady finally got his Cub Scouts uniform. We were working on putting the patches on for him and then I ran to Walmart to pick up the fuseable iron on stuff. Way easier than stitching those suckers on. We still need to hem the pants, so he unzipped them for shorts that night.
After getting up early for yard sales, and then searching Goodwill. A funny story about that place will be posted on Grady's blog later, so check in. I thought about Granny's Attic. We took all four kids in there (I was a bit nervous. When a friend of mine took her older two boys in, they broke something.) My children were wonderful, and we found a desk! I spent a total of $45.54 on the desk and the chair. I had in my mind that I wanted to spend about $35 for a desk and then do the painting work myself. This was a bargain!
Macy loves is and just keeps telling me that she loves me. We put some ribbon around the top of a small jar and put some pencils in it. Added her name plate that she made with the cricut long ago and then her snowglobe from Alaska. She loaded the drawers with her notebooks, crayons, markers, and schoolwork. She's been in there working already. She doesn't even mind that she got her present early.....but I know exactly where she gets that from....ME!

I posted about last night below, so keep reading. Thank you to everyone that gave me ideas on this desk. We had an adventure in the rain looking for it today.

Oh, What a Night....

Oh, what a night...mid September back in 2008...

I neved thought that it would be so late.

Off to scrapbooking I did go,

But all the surprises I didn't know.

Had a feeling that I should head back,

After laughing, scrapping, and a midnight snack.

Stopping off at the Walmart store,

For some milk, fruit, and a little more.

Walking into a crying boy,

What happend to my older joy?

Ears were hurting, oh so bad,

Those big brown eyes, oh so sad.

Daddy gave him something to relieve the pain,

I tried octic drops, but what a strain.

After an hour more of cries and tears,

We got him over his biggest fears.

Off to the hospital we did go,

Stu, Mommy and the Scooby Doo show.

It was 12:15 and the moon was bright

And Stuart loved the city light.

Three people that did wait on us,

And the reason for all of his fuss....

Diagnosis? Double ear infections,

Amoxicillian.... thankfully, no injections!

Two and a half hours and two bottles of drugs,

To kill off all of those nasty bugs.

We waited and watched the trout,

All five of them swimming about.

Arriving home around three,

Fast asleep, I hoped he'd be.

Oh, but wide awake he was....

Those meds gave him a buzz.

Finally we all went to bed,

My eyes were drying into my head.

My other three alarms rang way too fast,

This rainy day.... how will I last?

Go Watch This.....

Grady sent me the link to this video from YouTube. I had to post about it because I balled while watching it....especially at the end. He has it on his blog, here's the link:

Freedom Is Always Worth The Price

Why am I so darn emotional over this war? I cried yesterday reading a blog about a gal that was counting the hours until her husband's plane landed. He is serving in Iraq and is coming home on leave. I guess I am just struggling with how so many people could really care less about these soldiers.

Just go watch it.

Help

I want to get Macy a desk for her bedroom. Her birthday is next month. I am even willing to paint something if I can find the right one. I love the following ones....maybe not so much for their colors, but their style:

I think that this one would be a perfect style for her room, but without the loudness of the paint!

...and another that would be perfect, but painted differently for her.

The problem? Where in the heck do I find one? I stopped by a thrift store this week, and had no luck. I have looked online, but will not part with the $600, or more, to order one. I was thinking that I could find one cheap and then do the work myself. Any ideas? I have a little over a month to get it done.

Ashli Wants....

After laughing at Sandy's comment on the "needs" post, I decided to try the "wants". Here they are:

Ashli Wants:

1. "to flog club to follow Hollywood" not sure what flog means??? Okay, I looked it up in the dictionary: flog /flɒg, flɔg/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[flog, flawg] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), flogged, flog·ging.
1. to beat with a whip, stick, etc., esp. as punishment; whip; scourge.
2. Slang.
a. to sell, esp. aggressively or vigorously.
b. to promote; publicize.
Ummmm....still confused...too many different definitions, and I'm not a clubber. On to the next one.

2. "zac": Nope. I don't want Zac....unless it's a name for something that I don't have to take care of!

3. "to share financial load": Well, if anyone is willing, I will share my debt with them. Any takers?

4. "troubleshooter to sort out": my parenting skills? I need to figure out how to stop some of the bad habits that my children have picked up and a better way of making them listen and help out.

5. "to go home": yes, yes, I do. I am getting tired of running everywhere already and we still have most of the school year left.

6. "to dominate the St. James Park Fortress": well, I really don't think that I'm in a position for that one right now, maybe when the kids are all in school.

7. "European qualification": nope, no real desire there either.

8. "Hillary": WRONG. Never have and never will want Hillary. Glad she's out of the running now!

9. "is for him to care about her feelings first": Something about the Real World. I'm sure my feelings are thought and cared about already.

10. "a fight": I'll run if I get one. Just warning ya'll. STAND OFF!

These are pretty funny to do. You've gotta try it if you haven't already.

Ashli Needs.....

I was just informed that another friend of mine has a blog. While browsing her's, I came across this neat post. The instructions say to google your name and then put "needs" after it. You post the top ten items that come up. Soooo, here we go:

Ashli NEEDS:

1. "a home" : Ummmmmmm.......does that mean......in Alaska?

2. "a sig": I have no idea what this means, is it another way to say Cig? If so, NO THANKS! What is it?????

3. "help in confessions of a matchmaker": Well, I think that I did a mighty fine job of matchmaking myself....If I do say so! Don't ya'll agree?

4. "a singer": Yah, I do need to learn to sing, but I can not carry a tune for anything. My kids do NOT care though, and that I all that matters around here. They don't even care if I can bust some great moves or not. What a wonderful audience I am raising!

5. "a profile on classmates": Yep, I do. I think that I may have filled it out while we were in Ten Sleep some, but it could use an updating....lots has changed since then.

6. "to get something off her chest": Shouldn't that say something ON her chest? Having babies only helped in that spot while I was nursing. ha...ha...

7. "formula ASAP": Well, folks, we have officially past that point FOREVER! Yahoooo!

8. "to chill a little": Yah, that one was right on the spot. I do need to figure out how to chill, but I am hoping that it comes with the indepence that Myles will eventually come into....hopefully.

9. "a hero": Well, I like to think that I look up to several already. And my list is growing. No superheros here though.

10. "a time-out dog t-shirt": What? I need a time-out from my dogs. The t-shirt part could come separately......I love them!

Well, there you have it! Now, I know that you all want to go try it. It was fun. I want to read yours, so go google and post! Then, let me laugh with you!

He Had A BLAST!

Stuart's first day of preschool was a blast for him. We all went in (minus dad and Macy) and had an orientation type deal. We went on a scavenger hunt to locate things such as the boys' bathroom, the puzzles, Stuart's cubby, draw a picture for mom and dad (see below), etc.
It was a tough day with the other two toting along. Myles had a nap this morning, but needed another and Fiona was off having fun of her own. I had to chase Mr. T around lots, and forgot to do some things (like signup for snacks...ooooppps!) But, all in all, he had fun and is ready to go back tomorrow! I do wish that Grandma Rose was here so that I could have had that special time for Stuart alone....like I got to with Macy at school....but we managed and we're all still alive with no battle wounds to speak of! I'm considering tomorrow the actual first day, and will post pictures accordingly! Have a great one!

A Day of Adventures

We went out school shopping today. Stuart starts preschool tomorrow and Nana had sent them some money to go shopping with. We went to Ross and could not find a thing for Mr. Stu, so we went over to Target. We bought some pants and a few shirts. On our way home we had to take a detour (lovely road construction...uggghhh). We drove right into a new home construction site where a pump truck was getting ready to pour the basement. We stopped the car and got out to watch. It was amazing for the kids to see the truck "unfold" and then to watch all of the concrete mixer trucks dump into it while it was pumping into the forms. They were so excited. We talked with the guy that was running the pump truck for a bit while he was waiting for the mixers to arrive. He told Stuart not to watch too much or he would end up doing that for a living. I laughed. Popi has a pump truck that hasn't been used in years, so they came home and called him to tell him about it. I wish that I would have had my camera. Myles loved looking up at the boom.

After naps, we went out looking for monarch caterpillars. I am sure that I found mine right after school started in third grade, but we have had no luck yet. I am in the process of researching it right now. I do have my camera in the car if we can find some. I'll keep you posted. If anyone knows anything about finding these, please post me a comment. Stuart is dying to order some off of the TV, but I am determined to find our own. Help me if you can!

Catching Up Again....

This week has been full of none other than catching up and resting. I came down with a terrible head cold AGAIN and have spent many of hours laying on the couch watching cartoons with my babies. I am so congested that it just hurts to do much other. One of Grady's employees quit last week, and the other became a new father (again, baby #2) early Monday morning, so Grady has been manning the fort alone and has had a few late nights. He's back teaching cub scouts tonight, so it's been lots of the kids and I time here. I have, however, been able to catch up on some of the stuff that still has to be done:

*Laundry is caught up. Folded. Still needs to be put away. Camping stuff is back in the camper.

*Pears were officially canned on Tuesday night! We now have 11 quarts to enjoy at a later date!

* I mopped the kitchen and dining floor. I HAD to, have you ever pealed, pitted, and canned pears without the sticky mess?

*Camper is clean! I vacuumed and washed down everything....including the window full of fingerprints from last fall. The kids love to write on the foggy window in the mornings :)

*I cleaned out the shower and the bath tub. There was a huge ring around the tub from washing off our last camping trip....and I just could NOT bathe them in a dirty tub. Uggghhh. So, while I was at it, I scrubbed the toilets too!

*I washed the car today! IN THE RAIN! I started on the wheels, and by the time that I was able to do the rest, it was raining on us. I pulled it into the garage and finished drying it off. Grady took it to scouts, so it will be dirty again. :(

*The babies are all bathed and in bed right now. We even had time to read lots of stories before hand. It's amazing how much time you have to spend with them when you keep stepping over all of the toys and let the dishes pile up in the kitchen sink!

We're now gearing up for the Fall Home Improvement Show this weekend. It is supposed to be the biggest one yet! The kids keep singing the song that is playing on the radio and tv. Well, I'm gonna go join my husband in watching McCain's speach! How about Sarah Palin's last night? USA, I believe we have a winner in her!

Have a great night!

Camping...Neighbor Style!

We headed to camp towards Cooke City. We went down through Wyoming via the Chief Joseph Sceneic Byway since it was an easier pull for the car. We ended up in the Soda Butte Campground. It was a great time for us...probably the best camping trip we've had so far. Our neighbors were going there, so we joined them. Their granddaughter loves to play with our kids, and they all had a blast.

A new picture of the camping rig. Not the best angle, but the only one I managed to take.

Here's the smoke from the Yellowstone fire.

The kids love the dirt.

Bear boxes. Rumor has it that a bear took out an unoccupied tent the night before we set up came just a few spaces down. We never knew if it was for sure or not, but it was enough to make us be a bit more careful.

What a view!

Testing out the Hybrid!

We took a trip up to Abundance Lake for some fishing. We were told that the road wasn't that bad, so we were game. It wasn't that bad for the most part, but the new car sure did get some off road testing done! It's funny because the suburban was a Z71 (the offroad package), and we never really did use it, but then we get the city car, and here's what we do before we even put the plates on it:

This doesn't do justice. Kirk and I had to place logs and rocks in the ditch to keep the front end from being torn off. But, that Nascar inspired front end is just too low:

good thing the black stuff is very, very flexible!

We made it through both places, and back out!

The lake was full of frogs! Grady caught so many of them for the kids. No fish came out, but it was a great time for all!

Our Brave Macy Girl!

Sunday in Yellowstone!

After sometime in the Soda Butte Creek, and a game of Bocce Ball, we headed out for Yellowstone. We camped only 4 miles from the Northeast Entrance, and our other crew could get in for free. So, we enjoyed a trip through some of the park for free! Here's some pictures:

The kids had so much fun in the water. We could not keep them out!

This is a very fun game....we'll be purchasing one for future camping trips!

And, another "Only in Wyoming" photo.Yup, Mr. Buffalo held up traffic like crazy here. He wandered up the road and there was a huge line of cars waiting to get around him. He even had a pretty on for the pictures! People were getting off of their motorcycles and out of their cars for a picture of him. Grady said, "It's people like those that give this place a bad name for being dangerous. They should get a ticket for being just stupid." After laughing about it, we have decided that there should now be a STUPID TICKET to award tourists for their dumb moves!

After some yummy ice cream in Mammoth, we headed down the hillside to scout out some elk. Here's a few of the herd that we ran into:

What a fun road trip!

Coming Home

We headed home over the Beartooth Highway. We were told that it would be slow going

due to all of the twists and turns, but that it was the most beautiful route. And, after the weekend full of adventure, we decided to try it out. Here are a few pictures. This is about all that I got taken because the road was a bit larger than 2 inches wide, and the twists and turns were close to 15 switchbacks with high rocks so close to the road on one side that we were afraid of scratching the side of the camper, and a cliff so close on the other that you had to hug the yellow line to keep yourself from heading into a sideways downhill slide.

And then we hit snow! The roads were pretty good, but wet at the top and the temperature was 31, so we were worried about ice. You can see the road winding up the hillside here.

....and down the hillside here. Look at that view!

And then we hit fog. My heart was pounding. I was feeding the kids all of the sugarfree candy left from the Alaska trip just to keep their little mouths busy.....which means we get quiet time. I figured that Grady needed that to concentrate. We only managed to swipe one of those lodge pole pines that the highway department had up for snow plows this winter. And, that was because some driver (needed the STUPID TICKET) was in our lane coming around a corner.

We came home to Nana and Popi waiting for a visit. They helped unload the camper, bathed the babies, and had some time to look at my scrapbooks. It was so nice to see them. It's been a long time....since before we left for Alaska.