BLIAR

I'm a big fat blogging liar. Here I was all set to start writing every night and what happened? LIFE as usual. I never realized how much time 7 kids, 4 cats(2 in 2 out) a dog, a part time at home dad, a giant messy 30 year old house and almost an acre of land, can take up. Not to mention watching my DVR'd favorite shows, cause you can't watch them when they happen, too loud, and stupid facebooking. Those last two are really quite a waste of time. My house was totally cleaner before getting dish. But I try to balance it all out with sleep. Anyway. On with the real show. I'm going visiting teaching in a few minutes and so this will probably come in segments. Funny, last time I wrote in segments I moved before I could tell anyone what happened.

So Jennifer(my bff#2, Jason is bff#1 as it should be) has list little music academy up here. I helped direct a musical for the teen group this spring. It was a blast, had a good time with these kids and my little super star Sariah. As a *reward* we took this group of kids to SLC to go see the Tabernacle Choir and to have a private tour (since Jenn's aunt is the Executive Secretary we had special privileges) We started out Thursday morning at 6. with myself and Jenn in our Suburban and her hubby Bill and another parent(Lisa, whom incidentally is the lady we bought our house from) in there van. All seats were full with the exception of our 9th, middle front seat. And off we went to the great state of Utah.

Joey just peed on the floor and now I have to go V.Ting so that must be the end of segment one.

NeW pOsTs To CoMe! I have decided that blogging (journal keeping) is important and deserves a little of my time and attention again.(Plus I got a new camera) the old one had taken enough pictures of muddy children and birthdays and kicked the bucket while I was trying to snap some shots of Caleb's first T-ball game...Needless to say I was NOT a happy camper. So I bought a new one when I was in SLC on my little trip and that is what I'll be posting first...ish. I might do those birthdays first, maybe I'll just put it all into one stupid long entry and bore y'all to death with my excessive ramblings. However it happens, I look forward to reconnecting with all y'all through this wonderfully crazy blogging world.

good day to ya.

I'm sitting here eating cold pizza for breakfast, with a slightly stuffy nose, missing my husband on his 31st birthday. I spent 3 hours yesterday morning cleaning out the leaves and junk from my front row of lilac bushes. It was FABULOUS. The weather was perfect. And because I live just outside city limits I pulled all the leaves to our dirt driveway and burnt them and then I put the ashes in one of our garden boxes. Sariah (with the occasional help of Jacob) and I planted our veggie garden box on Saturday. We have corn, peas, beans, radishes, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, and zucchini. I'll let you know how that goes. We have one box dedicated to herbs, that's for Spencer to do. Then I still have two boxes to fill. I bought watermelon seeds, and I'd like to plant some strawberries. I'll have to admit that gardening is a little intimidating when you want it to succeed. I've planted in the past and not taken great care or really given a care and so it hasn't been successful. But this year is different. I am realizing that as of May 21st I'll have 7 kids at home...ALL FREAKIN DAY LONG!!!!!!! We cannot stay inside and laze the days away. So we'll be working outside A LOT. The weather hear is very mild. Yes, we saw -25 for a couple weeks in December, but when there is a giant snow storm covering the rest of Wyoming, there seems to be a bubble over this basin. The wind is mild, the sun is shiny, and it actually means something when you stand in the shade, there is an actual temperature change.
It was good for me to go outside yesterday. It reminded me of the reasons I wanted to move. I have to be honest, whenever I go shopping I have the strange and overpowering desire to move back to Houston. Remember now, NO WALMART. The closest one is an hour and a half away. We have crappy overpriced little po-dunk stores. I look like a deer in headlights when I shop. With thoughts like "You want me to pay WHAT? For THAT!?!?!?" and "@#@*&!* $*&@*#*%&" written all over my face. But I will take solace in my outdoor activities, and the low crime rate (compared to Houston, it's nonexistent) and the mountains, the robins and meadowlarks, and the fact that when I go into the kids' schools' it's not like entering a high security facility.
I also have to admit that I miss my friends. That would be those of you reading this. I didn't really think that this would be an issue for me, but there was something to be said for being in a place where most of everyone was in the same or similar place in life. Boowah. whatever. Point is, I'll definitely come and visit all y'all.
I don't know if I've posted these pics already or not. I took these right after we moved here.


This is looking out our farthest driveway(we have 3)This is looking out our middle one


This is too, and that's one of our 10 pine trees


Now these are the garden boxes. We cleaned them out in the fall, and boy am I glad we did. It made planting SO much easier. We used the closest "L" shape one on Saturday.
And that's our house.
So many projects. That's what my husband says every time he comes home. But it's true. And it's good. Well I'm gonna get my giddyap on. Caleb has an ear infection and needs to get to the Dr. so for now...

good day to ya.

So...I seem to be narrating my day in my head again. I guess that means it's time to blog again. I have taken solace at the other keyboard in my life. That would be the piano. Most of you are saying either "I didn't know you play the piano" or "you can't play the piano." Well truth of the matter is... I do and can. Not necessarily to accompany in church with hymns, there seems to be a cross section in my brain that insists I focus more on what people are singing rather than what I'm playing. That is all beside the point. I've "composed" 4 songs since I've been here. I would have said written but they're not scored. The lyrics are finished for 3 of them. The 4th is not finished. It is actually my 2nd song. After watching Jennifer in the writing process, I decided that it couldn't be that hard, and guess what, it's not. And I'm sure there is divine inspiration in there as well. Now all I need is recording equipment and software. It's a satisfying pastime, one that I could and have gotten lost in for hours. The equipment will have to wait for a while, however, because we're going to VEGAS BABY! Jason and I have decided that it is finally time we took a "honeymoon." So for our anniversary in May we are taking a 5 day trip to Las Vegas to see a show and go to the temple and sleep. Hopefully not all at the same time.
Jenn and Bill are going to come and stay at our house. I just need to solidify the babysitting for the daytime while they have to work. I'm super excited. Jason and I haven't been together anywhere without kids in a million years, if not ever. And it's about time we go. So we're going.
Easter was fabulous, because Jason was home. Not so fabulous because on Saturday I had the stomach flu. I was blessed with much improved health on Sunday, enough to where I could be up for everything and not totally hate it. I made the boys ties to match the girls dresses. Unfortunately, we didn't get to complete the picture at church because Ellie and I stayed home. Which was alright since I got a good little "photo shoot" done with her. .

So my mother sent me this via email.
And if any of you have been wondering what it is like to live here in Wyoming, 
well here you go.  Jeff Foxworthy style.



Jeff Foxworthy on Wyoming                                                
                                                                         

• If 'vacation' to you means going shopping for the weekend in Casper or Cheyenne (while the kids swim at the Comfort Inn) You might live in Wyoming
  

• If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord, You might live in Wyoming
  

• If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 8 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, You might live in Wyoming

• If you're proud that your state makes the national news primarily because it houses the coldest spot in the nation, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you have ever refused to buy something because it's 'too spendy', You might live in Wyoming
  

• If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, You might live in Wyoming
  

• If you know how to correctly pronounce Dubois, Kemmerer, and Fontenelle. You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you measure distance in hours, You might live in Wyoming.

• If your family vehicle is a crew cab pickup, You might live in Wyoming.

• If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you often switch from 'heat' to 'A/C'in the same day and back again, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events, You might live in Wyoming.

• If you've installed security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If the largest traffic jam in your town centers around a high school basketball game, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If there are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Wal-Mart at any given time, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If there are more people at work on Christmas Eve Day than on Opening of Deer Season, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, You might live in Wyoming.

• If you can identify a southern or eastern accent, You might live in Wyoming .
  

• If your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your cottonwood, You might be from Wyoming.
  

• If a brat is something you eat, You might live in Wyoming.

• If finding your misplaced car keys involves looking in the ignition, You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you find 0 degrees 'a little warm,' You might live in Wyoming.
  

• If you actually understand these observations, and you forward them to all your Wyoming friends, You must be from Wyoming.
  

 This is all so true it's almost not funny.

I also think it's funny when...

I also think it's funny when...

Jacob sings, in all sincerity "Take the Kitty lock her up, lock her up ,lock her up. Take the kitty lock her up, My fair lady."
Makes sense, I can hear it can you?

After everyone else went to bed Joey and I were having a snack and watching *Mythbusters*(LOVEthat show) He put black olives on his fingers (totally not original) but he used just 3 of them and *walked* them around and asked in a little alien voice "what's that?". When he got to the 7 layer dip we were eating and asked what it was I told the little alien that I was eating dip with his family on top and he says "NOooooo, not my brother! Is that my mom? and my dad? NOoooo." this may not be funny to you unless you know that up until about a year ago Joey said pretty much NOTHING.

I think it's silly when...

I think it's silly when...
Somebody asks you *how you're doing?* when you are standing in a line at the hardware store holding a plunger and a toilet snake.