On the hunt...

So, my wee ones are really into Harry Potter right now. Well, except Kel, she hates it, a little too scary for her, but the other ones can't get enough. We just finished listening to the fourth on cd. Aaron and I had a long (like weeks) discussion on if we should let them watch the fourth movie. It seems a lot scarier than the first three. Finally we decided that they could watch the fourth movie, but then we would be done with the books and movies until they were a bit older and we would continue on. In celebration of our family movie night I was so excited to make the kids a special treat. I found what was claimed to be a fabulous recipe for butter beer and so I whipped some up. It looked sooooooo good! I love rootbeer floats, so I thought this would be comparible, uh, no. Well, take a look.....

Seriously, doesn't this look nummy!?!

Big baby!

I think she's trying not to barf. Thanks for holding it in dear!

I think she'd love it if she tried it....not!

So Kel didn't even taste it. She sniffed, yelled "Yuck" and stuck out her tongue! Way to try new things, baby girl!

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, so now I am on a mission. I have, yes, have to find a good recipe. Maybe there isn't one, maybe butter beer is just plain gross, but who knows. I'm gonna keep looking! Never say die, that's my motto! Well, at least not until the butter beer kills you. I am proud to report that there are no future wino's  in my family. Aaron said it was the rum extract that gave it the awful taste that we all hated.
If you're reading this and have a tasty recipe, please let me know, it would save me a lot of time! And no, contrary to Louie's popular belief, I did NOT read the recipe wrong! Louie did give it a champion try, she tried it again in the morning, thinking it might be better....then she ran to the sink and spit it out, yep, still crap!

Miss Evie

I know my brother-in-law and his wife didn't plan their special day around us, but they have great timing! We were heading home from southern Utah on Sunday and that was the day that baby Evie was getting blessed in Salt Lake, so sweet, we got to go! The kids weren't too happy about traveling in their Sunday clothes, but they would do anything to see Evie, so we didn't get too many complaints! We feel blessed to have been included in this sweet babies blessing day. She is a great baby, and put up really well with all the people and pictures. But seriously, who could resist taking this little ones picture. Her Mommy made, yes, you read that correctly, made her dress and a ruffle diaper cover (can't remember the correct terminology) for her! Whit says she can't sew, but I would hire her! The kids loved holding and kissing Evie. They all are totally in love with her. I came down with a cold, so no cuddling with her for me, so I was disappointed, but I'll get her next time! She can't hide from me forever! Love you baby Ev!

Yeah, she loves me, or she could just be a happy kid, but let's go with the "she loves me" theory!

A pretty dress for a pretty girl!

Crazy Cousins!

Random

Just some random picks of Kel being chased by Lanny and then Kessie. She was in heaven! Love her laugh and smile, I could sit and watch her having fun all day long and never feel like I wasted a minute!

Technology Down!

So I missed Halloween, I missed writing that my two older girls both had birthdays, and Kessie had a horse themed birthday party. And well, all of November...apparently, that just didn't happen at all, but I have a good excuse. My computer crapped out (yes Mom, I said crap) and then my phone...good times, good times! So now I have a new phone and Aaron tweaked my computer, but good news, my old phone is working again, yes, I'm growling. So I thought, since I'm not that late, I'd tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving! We went down to southern Utah to have Thanksgiving with my sis and her family. It was sooo fun! My nephew loves me (maybe he loves Lanny more, but let's just not think about that)! I love just hanging out with my sister and for my Mom's information, Ronan and I hung out in our pajama's together all day long! (Ronan actually was dressed but had an accident and therefore got to put back on his pj's. No accident for me, I intentionally stayed in my pj's!). We went swimming a couple times, and of course shopping. Aaron actually spent about three days at Walmart, trying to get my phone. Success, he got it, but it took a bit of effort! I think we might make it a tradition to spend Thanksgiving down there...Surprise, Heather, aren't you excited!?!

I was taking pics of the boys and Kel had to climb up and be included. Kel and Ronan had a love/hate relationship. They totally adore each other, but not at the same time, and they always want to be in the same place as the other one, but they don't want to share anything. It got to be quite humorous and loud!

Sorry ladies, this is the boy couch!

Too cute!

Heather has this little cabinet with all her Precious Moments in it. Kel loved it! She would go over and talk to it and kiss the glass. It was the cutest thing!

My skinniest child has to grab the biggest piece of meat. She is such a carnivore!

Thanksgiving dinner, actually lunch, Uncle Murray had to work early. Look close and you'll see my sister and her hubby. It is the only shot I got of them. They're cute, but their son is waaaay cuter...no offense, sis!

Are you noticing a trend...Ronan loves Lanny! He would climb up onto the couch and join Lanny in whatever he was doing! Lanny felt pretty proud.

We're Trying...

to get a family picture. Just one family picture of us all looking at the camera, no one crying, no one punching someone else. Straight ahead, blank expressions would be fine, but we can't even manage that. We asked Grandma Karen to take our family picture last week. These are a few of what we got.

The sun, oh, the pain, don't make me look at it! I love Lanny's face in this one, I think someone was pinching him.

Shin kicking contest anyone? Rules: soft shoes only, no shin guards, just straw taped to your legs....kick away!

Okay, so here's the girls "saucy" pose. Yeah, Kessie hasn't quite mastered it yet! I giggle every time I look at her face!

Kel absolutely would not look at the camera for any reason. We were walking back to the car, obviously, our light was gone, when she turned around and smiled at me. Yeah, it was all worth it for this pic. Love it. Natural and joyful, that's my girl!

As you can see, our Christmas cards will be interesting this year...there's even a couple where it looks like I'm growling. Go me!

Eternity!

So, it's not just official, now it's eternal. My sweet nephew was sealed to my sister and her hubby in September and we were blessed to be able to go. I even got to torture him and "try" to hold him during the sealing. We are sooooo excited to have him in the family! He is a sweetie. Being his Auntie, I have a lot to teach him, like how to eat a cheeseburger followed by a cheesecake. If you notice, he's a bit on the skinny side, but I told his Mommy not to feed him squash anymore, although he loves it, it's cookies and cake from now on! Love you Mr. Ronan!

 

As you can tell, he loves his Auntie...I'm his favorite! Although after the sealing he was a bit wary of me, but we galloped around and I acted like an idiot and pretty soon he realized I wasn't going to be torturing him anymore!



Hands down, my favorite picture of the day. This is just outside the temple after the ceremony. Although he actually didn't make a sound, you can just tell he is thrilled to be with his Mom and Dad forever! "Yipppeeeee! We're a family!"

The little Mr. is so handsome in his sealing suit. He is a bit shy, but always has a sweet soft smile waiting for you.




This is my family. All these great people came to celebrate with Ronan. In all the rest of the pics we smiled like normal people, but I like this one, because it is our true selves.

Here is our family picture from the day! Yeah, this is our life! My blog isn't titled Every Day Chaos for nothing!

Arrows, Arrows Everywhere

Lanny has a thing for archery. This last summer, he tied some floss around a loose tooth, then tied the other end to an arrow and shot the arrow with his bow. His tooth flew out and plink, plink, plinked across the concrete. Yeah, he's nuts. The video is hysterical! Anyways, what I actually wanted to share was that he got his Arrow of Light in scouting. Due to our move in May, neither ward had a place for him in scouting and so he had to finish quite a bit on his own, and he did it. I was really proud of him. So here's a pic of him getting his award! Good job, Buddy!

Here was the highlight of the night. Right after Lanny got his award, as Aaron and I were walking back to sit with the girls, a very cranky Kel decided she didn't want her pants on. So she started pulling them off and then dramatically walked across in front of the audience. I was in hysterics!

Ketchup and Mustard!

So I'm playing ketchup now. I've tried to go to the library a few more times, but Kel will have none of it. She can't possibly sit still for more than a minute three seconds. I'm currently on Aaron's work computer, and he is sweating. If I give his computer a virus, he's tossing me out. So let's get right to it....Lanny turned 11 on the 15th of September. I'm still in shock, but as long as I take my anti-shock pills every morning I manage to function! He is a great young man and we are so blessed to have him in our family. He loves to read, experiment (including taking all electrical entities apart), and make people laugh. He is quite the ham, but also very charming. Just an example...I was talking to a bunch of students and telling them how to write a certain type of poem. You know the one where you take a word like BRI and then find words that start with each letter to describe the word. So I said, "B as in Beautiful, R as in Radiant..." then I paused and with out missing a beat Lanny chimed in, "I as in Ignorant." Yeah, he's a little too clever for his own good, it made everyone laugh. He's a great kid, yes, he has his moments, but he is still a super duper sweetheart and a great big brother!

Okay, so this is just a random shot that popped up. Daddy patiently painting Kel's fingernails, it was sooooo sweet!

Here's the birthday pics. We just had cake and ice cream at home with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. Simple and fun!

Lanny tried soooo hard to blow out all 11 candles, but nope, he couldn't do it. The last one hung in there...

Get closer, Lanny, nope, it still wouldn't go out. It took several other people to help get it out...so funny, he was kind of embarrassed. But when you're as old as he is, it takes a few tries!

First Day!

Update...I'm using the library computer...sob, sob, sob! Due to my computer issues, this post is a week late. The kids started school this last week (Sept. 3), we’re a late start, but we love it because August has great camping weather! We had a great summer, but the kids were ready to go back. I think the structure is good for them and even though I miss them, I think we all needed a break from 24/7 togetherness. I was worried that they would hate going back, but they love their new classes and teachers. The only problem is getting up at 6:30am! I know, pretty harsh! Keston took a nap every day after school this week, and Louie took a nap on Thursday for three hours. And you all know my kids, they don’t take naps. I think in about two weeks, we’ll have the hang of it, but right now all of us are a bit sleep deprived and a titch cranky. I was worried about Kel, but she hasn’t seemed too distraught. I think she is enjoying “Mommy solo time”, but give it a few more days and she’ll be out of her mind bored. Look at the following pictures below to find out what grade my kids are in….please make sure you’re seated because it will shock you! Lanny is no longer three. Although, I’m still seventeen and I don’t look a day over fifteen!

No, she's not upset about her siblings leaving. She doesn't want to hold that stupid sign!

Poor Man's Jackson Hole

Aaron had some training in Cody, WY, so we accompanied him as our vacation for this summer. While he was in classes, we were in the hotel pool. I actually didn't get any pictures because we were always swimming. But it was fun. We went window shopping, swam, watched SpongeBob, swam, swam, well, you get the idea. All my kids are getting to be really good swimmers and none of them are afraid to their heads under. We also visited the Cody Dam, which is super high and Louie thought about dropping Aaron's phone over the edge, but we stopped her before there was an accident. There was also a little LDS visitors center in the church building. We stopped by and were looking around when Kel started pulling on my hand and she was laughing and smiling. She pulled me over to show me the miniature Christus statue. We talked about it for a moment then I put her down and continued looking, she immediately started tugging on my hand and pulling me back. She was pointing and laughing and so happy. She had to touch the statue. She knew Jesus, it was such an amazing moment for me. I honestly believe that she isn't talking because she still remembers so much from her premortal life. I wish I could say that I knew Jesus that well. It's my kids that teach me about the important things. Love that little girl!
After Aaron was done with his training. We went home by way of Thermopolis and the natural hot springs. We stayed over one night and went swimming the next day. It was really fun. The pools were around 99 degrees (I think) and there were three different slides. I loved the big, mondo, oh you're so brave slide. Keston loved the indoor one, which made me claustrophobic. And Kel loved the little one that was about the length of two adults. They had a high jump, which Lanny, Louie, and Aaron went off of, seriously, they're nuts. I definitely think we need to go back sometime!
We were able to travel through Yellowstone Park and see some mud pots and buffalo. We stopped to look at dinosaur footprints, and enjoyed family time and tag in the park!


Fair Week

So I'm back tracking a ways due to computer issues. The first week in August was fair week and this is always a busy week for us (okay, well for the last two years it has been). The girls showed horses of course, so there was lots of practicing and then the three older ones all entered items in the town booth. Lanny entered flies that he had tied, paintings and drawings, and a leather coaster he had tooled. Louie entered paintings, cookies, and a fly. Kessie entered paintings, a scrapbook page, and cookies. They all did really well. They were sooooo excited to go look and see what ribbons they won. And then they were even more excited to go get the money that went along with the ribbons. We went home that first day of fair and the kids immediately started working on projects for next year...I've promptly put all their new projects in a very safe place and consequently will never see them again.
The riding didn't go so well this year, but even though neither of my girls got first, they are riding better and are much more confidant than last year, so I'm proud of them. There were some safety issues with another horse, and Louie removed herself and Kessie from the situation and thus didn't place, but hey, she's alive and that's what counts! They still looked super fantastic on their horses. They are planning next year and excited to compete in an older competition (we'll see...) and already picking out music for their performances.

Grandma got the girls some show shirts, which they loved! Louie showed Wendell, Grandma's show horse. She loves him and they did really well together. This is her during Showmanship.

Louie got fourth in Showmanship...this was her first time, so she did fab!

Louie during walk/trot. Her and Kessie competed together, which didn't make Louie happy.

Kessie looks serious during walk/trot, but she loves being in the saddle! She was pretty nervous, though. Kessie got fifth in walk/trot.

This was my favorite shot with both of them riding together. Louie looked out for Kessie. So proud of both of them!



Grandma on her Wendell. She competed in several classes, but freestyle reigning is everyone's favorite. There isn't a pattern and everyone gets to dress however they want and pick music to ride to. It is sooooo fun to watch and the stands are always full.

Grandma rode to the song "Better Dig Two". And I am not exaggerating she was the crowd favorite. She did fabulous! This is the competition the girls want to ride in next year.