FHE

FHE at our house was a blast Monday night!

We have been looking forward to this since fall came last year, and killed our balcony garden. I have become antsy, can't wait for spring, can't wait for fresh veggies, oh the taste of our beloved cherry tomatoes. (Oh, the work...keeping the boys from over watering, and overly loving their baby plants.)
Part of our lesson was from the friend...

Our Family Garden
By Elaine Champion
Friend, Jun 2002, 48
My family is a garden, A place where we can grow. Our garden is for people, Not plants grown in a row.
We’re growing love and patience. We’re growing kindness, too. We’ve planted seeds of service For things we all can do.
Politeness grows inside us; We’re sharing more each day. Our smiles are growing bigger—Like the hugs we give away.
We can tell that we are growing The seeds of love and cheer—We fill our home with sunshine And feel our Savior near.
I love our family garden, Although I’m still quite small, ’Cause in our family garden, I’m growing straight and tall.

and

Plant a Garden
Words and music by Sally DeFord
1. If I planted a garden, If I carefully sowed, If I nourished each tiny seed, If I tended it well, And helped it to grow, What a beautiful harvest I’d reap.
2. In my life, like a garden, There are seeds to be sown. I must choose with the greatest care, Planting only what’s good So I can be sure Only beautiful things will grow there.
3. I am planting my garden Every day of my life, And the harvest is mine to keep. If I plant seeds of faith, Of honor and truth, What a beautiful harvest I’ll reap.

We then headed out to the front porch and planted seeds for our garden. Wolf really didn't get into the gardening mode last year, so it was cute for him to help the boys plant seeds, and I tried to keep up marking what we planted where in our little green house. ( I think I failed to keep up, so we may end up with more plants than I had planned for.) Then Wolf woke me up Tuesday morning to say that he thinks we should get more pots... does this mean he is excited about the garden this year? Anyway, I went and got more pots, and of course more seeds... we shall try some carrots, and beans I think, those are things we didn't try last year.

I am so excited! I am shaking all over... isn't it silly to feel this way about the coming of spring/summer? Oh, if only our balcony were twice the size, wouldn't that be twice the fun? (Last year it was nice to have the balcony garden, although it was tough taking care of it when I could hardly move...maybe that is why I am so excited about it this year.)

8 THINGS

Bethany Tagged me for

8 THINGS ABOUT ME

Here are the rules:
1)POST RULES ON YOUR BLOG 2)ANSWER THE SIX "8" ITEMS(They're not in any particular order) 3)LET EACH PERSON KNOW YOU’VE TAGGED THEM BY LEAVING THEM A COMMENT

8 FAVORITE TV SHOWS
1. MacGyver
2. Pretender
3. Home Improvement
4. Lois & Clark
5. Knight Rider
6. Animaniacs
7. Gilligan's Island
8. Keeping up Appearances (British Comedy)
(You can clearly see I haven't watched TV for a long time.)

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY
1. Made a birthday cake for my Mother-in-law
2. Took Skyler to his Neonatal Follow up Clinic
3. Watched "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk
4. Chased kids
5. Visited with my sisters
6. Chased kids
7. Snuggled Cody
8. Cleaned house

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
1. Being able to sleep through the night (please Cody, get your teeth, and start sleeping please)
2. Sunny warm weather
3. Being able to take Cody out
4. Planting my balcony garden with the kids
5. Planting flowers
6. Kickboxing
7. Date Nights with my Wolf
8. Picnics at the park

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
1. Outback
2. Pizza Factory
3. Brick Oven
4. Cafe Rio
5.
6.
7.
8.
(I don't eat out so much either.)

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST
1. Wolf getting a good job
2. School loans paid off
3. Own a house
4. Have a good sized garden
5. New minivan
6. Skyler potty trained
7. Get in shape
8.Have a lot of fun this summer

8 PEOPLE I TAG
1. Jill
2. another Jill
3. Lynette
4. Toni
5. Delia
6. Beth
7. Linda
8. Valeri

Kickboxing

Well, I finished off my 3rd week of kickboxing. It is going pretty good, I am thinking more than ever that I am the least coordinated person on the planet, but it is fun. So far, I have re twisted my ankle (sprained it just a few weeks before starting class) made kicking contact with someone else while warming up, and been out done by a kid that is not even in the class. We have a break from class this Saturday, most of the people in my class are in a tournament at UVU, and the instructors too. Oh, no...I don't think I am the tournament type. We will see though.
In other news, our family had a great trip to the Draper Temple Open house. Poor Skyler was in a bad mood all day, and I thought it was because he didn't have a good nap, Stephen kept walking him up. (Stephen was starting to get a cold, so they were both supposed to be sleeping.) The poor little guy, Skyler was trying so hard to put a smile on his face, he even smiled at a baby or two while we were there. Well, Wolf put the big boys to bed as soon as we got home, while I took care of Cody. I went to check on the boys, and kiss them good night before I headed to bed (as always) and poor Skyler was burning up. (Fever of 102.9°) So, we haven't really been anywhere since, and we have canceled all appointments at our house. (Skyler's speech pathologist was supposed to come.) And I was looking forward to Stake Conference. Both boys have pretty bad coughs, and Cody and I are now getting colds too. Oh, I can't wait till it is warmer outside, and not so much sickness in the air!
So, since I am writing...anyone have any suggestions on how to get two best friend brothers to sleep when they share a room? I have found that I can't put Skyler to sleep, then send Stephen to bed, because Stephen will wake up Skyler to play, and the other way around too. They used to be so good at falling asleep and not giggling for more than 5 minutes or so. I am so tired of trying to get them to sleep at night...it has been taking about 2 hours. I don't know what to do! I am thinking that we will have to change the storage room into Stephen's room, but it is sooooo cold down in the basement, I really don't want to. Any ideas?

Programming Troubles

Well, we are trying out a program called weblock on our computer that Stephen's friend highly recommends in case you all want to try it ... it is a free program downloadable from www.We-Blocker.com. It is a few years old I think, but it is supposed to block problem web sites. There are too many of them! I was doing a simple job search for Wolf while he was at work, and I couldn't believe what kind of sites came up on my serach. Some looked like what I was looking for. Hummm, nope, I was wrong! So.... here we have a problem! (My search was for probation and parol officer jobs)...
Stephen's friend said that when he installed this program, him and his son tried for hours to get into a sickening website...and it didn't work. His son couldn't hack his password, and he has loved it. The first couple of days I have loved it too. I can web search to my hearts content, and the program decides if a site is safe or not. And it won't let me in. Whahoo, no more "Oops' I went to a bad site".
Now, my problem with it is...if it chooses, I can enter your blog, and if your blog has pictures, it will let me in to read your blog, but won't show pictures...I am slowly going through and unblocking your blogs. That is time consuming. My other problem is that it considers the word verification box in the "write a comment page" as something taboo. So, I am having trouble leaving comments on your blogs because it won't let me see what it is. If anyone has experience with this program please help me figure out how to unblock that too.
Anyway, this seems like a good program, it is just going to take time to get it set up to work for us the way we want it too. (Warning, it has an audio alert, so when I go into a blog or my email, it screams "BLOCKED!" at me, I keep jumping, and so do the kids.) I know that there are sites out there that aren't marked with adult warnings so they may slip through...but I feel better about my internet now.
Have a great day everyone!

6 Years!!!

Bountiful Utah Temple February 27, 2003

Wow Hun, it has been 6 years!

This Friday we celebrate our 6th Anniversary!

I Love YOU Sweetie!!!

I love our sweet boys too.

Life has had its challenges,

but has been worth it!

You are so wonderful!
How did I get to be such a lucky girl to get you?

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY WOLF!

Happy FYFD!!!

Happy Fluorescent Yellow Food Day!!!

Ok, so...FYFD isn't really until Friday, but to get ready for FYFD, I thought I would post this now. Just so if anyone wants to join in on this fun celebration with their own families, they have time to prepare.

Ok, everyone is wondering what FYFD is. In a nutshell it is a celebration that came upon my cousin Pamela and I by accident 12 years ago. (Can you believe it has been that long ago?)

The History Lesson

Pamela and I needed to go grocery shopping, but were both hungry. We hurried to put together food for dinner before going. Pamela said, "I have mac'n cheese", I said, "I have corn". Pamela said, " I have some Crystal light I haven't tried yet." (There was more, I just can't remember it all) We tossed everything on the table, and not til that moment did we notice that everything...everything! was a very bright yellow. Tammy, a roommate was a health nut, and we had heard her laugh at us many times about the unhealthiness of "Fluorescent Yellow Food". Oh, if she could only see us now. We laughed, ate and went shopping. When we got to the check out counter we laughed again. We had each bought treats for us and the roommates...all unintentionally yellow of course...we cracked up to say the least. We wondered if there was a holiday we were celebrating without knowing it.

When we got home, we packed the treats in a basket, made a "Happy Fluorescent Yellow Food Day" card, left it on our own doorstep, rang the doorbell, ran back up to our room and waited for roommates to answer the door. We couldn't believe it!!! No one was home, and no one came home for hours. Finally at 11:00pm we retrieved our treats from the front step. (Acting surprised of course...I mean, who knew it was a holiday besides us?) Meanwhile, we tossed a glow-in-the-dark frog back and forth underneath the glow-in-the-dark stars, and had a big party, just the two of us.

Since that night 12 years ago, we have celebrated FYFD each February 20th, with a pot luck dinner with friends, and of course, anonymously leaving yellow treats and a card on our doorstep. (Yes, it was a bit tricky distracting guests as we placed the basket on the doorstep.) But to see their faces all light up at the surprise left for all to share was worth the trouble. I remember making, was it 12 boxes of mac'n cheese? It was a lot anyway, and having plenty of leftovers.

Tossing a frog under the glowy stars has become optional, seeming, not all people have access to glowy frogs and stars.

FYFD has since been celebrated in Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Canada, Oregon, Illinois, and the Ukraine...did I miss any? Maybe Germany?

This Year

This year will be the biggest year yet for partying. Pamela just got married, Congratulations by the way, and is having a party in (place of a reception) and it is on Friday the 20th of Feb. And yes, she happily reports she is decorating in YELLOW.

To see some absolutely awesome photos of past parties check out the link in my sidebar to Pamela's website, yes, you guessed right...the Fluorescent yellow food day link.

Hope you all had a great Valentines Day, and hope you have a great President's Day!

Life Time Acheivements

My Sister-in-law has this list on her blog, and I Completely copied it.

Things I have done during my lifetime are in bold.

1. Started your own blog.

2. Slept under the stars.

3. Played in a band.

4. Visited Hawaii.

5. Watched a meteor shower.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity.

7. Been to Disneyland.

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis.

10. Sang a solo. (Only to my kids...does that count?)

11. Bungee jumped.

12. Visited Paris.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.

15. Adopted a child.

16. Had food poisoning.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

18. Grown your own vegetables.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.

20. Slept on an overnight train.

21. Had a pillow fight.

22. Hitchhiked.

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.

24. Built a snow fort.

25. Held an alligator.

26. Gone skinny dipping.

27. Run a marathon.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.

31. Hit a home run.

32. Been on a cruise.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.

35. Seen an Amish community.

36. Taught yourself a new language.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.

39. Gone rock climbing.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.

41. Sung karaoke.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.

44. Visited Africa.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

46. Been transported in an ambulance.

47. Had your portrait painted.

48. Gone deep sea fishing.

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.

52. Kissed in the rain.

53. Played in the mud.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater.

55. Been in a movie.

56. Visited the Great Wall of China.

57. Started a business. (Helped Wolf start his business)

58. Taken a martial arts class. (My class starts in Feb... so, almost)

59. Visited Russia.

60. Served at a soup kitchen.

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.

62. Gone whale watching.

63. Got flowers for no reason.

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.

65. Gone sky diving.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.

67. Bounced a check.

68. Flown in a helicopter.

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.

71. Eaten caviar.

72. Been to Canada.

73. Stood in Times Square.

74. Toured the Everglades.

75. Been fired from a job.

76. Seen the changing of the guards in London. (no, but saw the Trouping of the Colours, or in other words, The Queen's Birthday Parade.)

77. Broken a bone.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.

80. Published a book.

81. Visited the Vatican.

82. Bought a brand new car.

83. Seen Bon Jovi in concert.

84. Had your picture in the newspaper.

85. Read Gone With The Wind.

86. Visited the White House.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.

88. Had chickenpox.

89. Saved someone’s life.

90. Sat on a jury.

91. Met someone famous.

92. Joined a book club.

93. Lost a loved one.

94. Had a baby.

95. Seen the Alamo in person.

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.

97. Been involved in a lawsuit.

98. Owned a cell phone.

99. Been stung by a bee.

100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own.