Another Day...Another Adventure...

There is Good in CrAZiNEsS!

2010-10-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

As the Fall Sports Season begins to wrap up I have been thinking back at how simple life used to be before having two kids involved in sports. During this Fall Season we have been attending Taylor's Volleyball games on Mondays and Wednesdays and she has practice every other night of the work week. Ryan has soccer practice on Tuesdays and games on Thursdays.

I know you are thinking how busy that might sound...well, this past week we added two nights of basketball practice to that schedule! Needless to say when I finally got home from work yesterday I got a chance to step back and look at the damage our busy week had done to our house. It was NOT pretty to say the least!

But then when I really think about all the wonderful things my children have learned this sports season I know that the mess in the house is all worth it! Taylor is playing Volleyball for the first time in her life and LOVING IT! She had kind of a goofy start to her volleyball career when she thought she had been cut from the team to later find out the coach mistakenly didn't read her name off of the list of kids who did make it! That was a once in a lifetime event that NONE of us (probably the coach included) will never forget! She has gone to practice each day so excited to play and learn. She is already looking into a couple different volleyball camps for next summer which tells me she just might have found her sport!

Then, there is Mr. Ryan. As much as I dislike soccer, he loves it. Which I am happy because he has so much extra energy that running at soccer helps to tire him out at night. I am not sure where he gets his soccer abilities but he seems to just "get it." The look on his face when he scores is priceless and you'd think he'd just won the Olympics!

We must remember that without coaches our children would not get these opportunities to learn to play as a team member and to look inside themselves to improve day to day. Thank you to Alisa for guiding Ryan this soccer season and Mr. Heitschmidt for being so patient with those crazy 7th grade girls!!!

I hope all the wonderful things my children have learned about themselves and teamwork this sports season carries with them as we enter into the next season... AAU Fall Basketball League here we come...

I'M BAAAACK!!!!

2010-06-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

It is time that I get back to sharing the crazy daily ordeals of the Beightol Family! I knew it had been a VERY long time since I had been on my blog but I did not realize it had been over a year! WOW! I know life had gotten EXTREMELY busy but I guess I didn't think it had been that INSANE!

The Family at Housel Middle School's Awards Assembly. Taylor was one of only 6 6th graders who had received a 4.0 GPA for the first 3 QTRS.

So, where to start...Well, Taylor had an AMAZING year at Housel Middle School! She TOTALLY fell right into step as a middle schooler. We are very proud to say she kept a 4.0 GPA for the ENTIRE year...yeah, we all know she did NOT get that ability from me!! She was voted ASB Vice President for next school year and is very excited to be a 7th grader next fall.

Ryan helping his teacher Mrs. Wyatt lead a song for Tea For Two.

Ryan Jackson entered Kindergarten this year and he too had a great year. We weren't so sure he was going to make it the entire year the way the year started. He was refusing to walk into the building without me, he was refusing to finish his Handwriting work each day and anytime there was a Fire Drill he began crying and freaking out! Needless to say as a teacher I was thinking to myself "God Help Mrs. Wyatt!" But after Mrs. Hatch (the principal) bribed him with Starbucks he entered the building by himself without ever crying again! He realized that doing his Handwriting work at school was much better than bringing it home for mom to find not finished and having to sit down at the counter with ME watching his EVERY stroke...And well for the Fire Drills...I'm not sure we ever had a drill at school WITHOUT tears...But hey, we don't want to reach ALL of our goals in ONE YEAR!!! LOL Ryan's teacher was always saying what a wonderful boy he was in class...we kept trying to figure out where "our little devil" disappeared to as he walked through those school doors. ")

Ryan singing "You Are My Sunshine" during the Tea For Two the Friday before Mother's Day.

Will had a good year in the vineyard. He didn't travel as much this year as he has in the past. One thing he did do was take on another AAU Basketball team. He decided to coach Ryan's team which meant taking on a group of Kindergarten boys. Yes answers your question...HE IS CRAZY!! The boys were all Kindergartners expect one boy who was a 1st grader. And thank goodness for that first grader! He was MUCH taller than the Kinders and he was able to make baskets unlike most of our other guys. We did win one game...and the boys were so excited because we were playing in the 1st Grade Division. Next year should be even more fun to watch as they will be playing boys their own age and hopefully size!

Will talking with his infamous boys basketball team!

For me...well the year brought me going back to work. I sent Taylor off to the middle school and I decided to take on the little ones...PRESCHOOLERS! After a full year of teaching them I can honestly say that some days they are A LOT more mature than middle schoolers! It was a great year that flew by.

This summer finds us hanging out at home getting things done around here. There is the never ending landscaping projects that just seem to get bigger and bigger. Which sooo thrills me and Will soooo much! Yes, that is sarcasm you hear in my voice.

It also brings extra time for me to read, relax and hopefully keep up on blogging again. I can honestly say I have missed this time to journal the daily events in our lives. So...keep checkin back cause I am sure one of us...most likely Ryan will be doing something WACKY within the next 24 hours.

Gettin Fit

2009-04-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

So, I started working out at the Prosser Family Fitness Zone at the beginning of the month. I started out going one time the first week and have added a day each week. This last week my goal was to work out 5 TIMES! Yep, FIVE. I made it too. I doubled up on Thursday. I have just been doing step class but decided to try Body Pump on Thursday morning. It is going to kick my REAR END...which TOTALLY needs it!!!

I was able to function much better today than I thought after realizing last night how much I really worked my body. But, it just means that tomorrow morning could be EXTREMELY difficult to get my REAR END out of bed.

Monday evening I will be right back at it though...this summer, this body is gonna look GREAT in a bathing suit!!!!!!

I'll keep ya updated! Oh yeah, any of ya in the Prosser area come join us...I know once ya get there you'll like it!!!!! :)

Sheepy Farm

2009-04-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of April Ryan's preschool class got the opportunity to visit a local family who has a sheepy farm. The kids were so darn excited that morning. We loaded the mini-bus and off we went on a trek out into the country. When we arrived the kids lined up and we walked into the barn where the sheep were being kept. The owner had asked the kids to make sure to use very soft voices so not to scare the babies and the protective mom's. The preschoolers filed into the barn to find baby sheep waiting to see them. We (kids and adults) learned many new things about sheep. Such as, did you know that sheep only have teeth on the bottom. And their upper lip is split down the middle to help them grab a hold of grass.

The preschoolers were able to touch the sheep wool after it had been sheered. The kids thought it was "strange" feeling.After the tour of the barn we were taken on a tractor ride through the field where we were able to see the sheep running and playing with one another. The kids found it funny that they were chasing each other just like real kids.

For Mr Ryan it had been a LONG day. Because the field trip was on a Monday (the days I work at the preschool) he had taken the field trip twice. Remember how you felt after a field trip...well think about doing it TWICE in one DAY! Sounds like fun until the end of the day and you realize you are ready for a nap.

Haven't Given Up!

2009-03-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

I really haven't forgotten about all of my wonderful friends in Blogger World! Life has been soooo very busy the past month that I haven't had time to even CHECK my blog! When I logged on tonight I was surprised to see which background template I had on here because I had forgotten what it looked like.

In the past few weeks I have started back to work at Ryan's preschool 3 days a week. I LOVE it but it is taking some getting used to being back at work! Being back in the classroom has brought along "Little Kid Germs" which I had forgotten about. I have had a cold now for about 3 weeks.

Taylor got her cast off but isn't suppose to play for about 3 more weeks. Her final game is this weekend and we now have two other injured players...Tay just might find some playing time this weekend.

Ryan is struggling with Mom going back to work. He has become a MAJOR Mamma's Boy! Last Wednesday when I dropped him off at school he chased me out the door! He didn't even do that on his very first day of school as a 3 year old!! So, I am trying to give him extra attention when we are home together.

Will's brother Brandon, his wife Kim and their daughter Mia were just here from Florida for 10 days. We had a GREAT time with them and hope that their "talk" about moving here becomes reality sooner than later!

So, now that you know I'm not dead and haven't given up blogging completely I need to get back to giving Ryan his needed attention for the evening. I will TRY VERY, VERY HARD to be better at updating!

Taylor's Life Lesson...Learn To Catch A Football!

2009-02-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

So, last Monday Will came home early and the weather was so nice that he and the kids went outside to play. Taylor was shooting hoops and Will and Ryan were playing football.

At some point Will thought it would be a good idea to pitch the ball in Taylor's direction. She was kinda looking but like typical Taylor was spacing out a bit. When she finally focused to see the ball coming her way she stuck her left hand up enough that the ball hit the end of her pinkie.
She came in whining that she needed ice for her finger. I kinda ignored her telling her she needed to toughen up!

As the week went on her finger got worse. It went from light blue all the way to a deep purple!! Thursday I finally called the doctor. The doctor sent us to the hospital for x-rays and then we went BACK to the doctor's office to hear the verdict...BROKEN!!! Great...I had been making my daughter live with a broken finger for days! Hmmm...for some of you this may sound familiar...my parents made me live with a broken finger for a week. I was made to move it and told to bite the bullet for a whole week before anyone even started contemplating to take me to the Dr!
So on Friday Will took Taylor to see an orthopedic surgeon to make sure she hadn't done damage to her growth plate. He put her in a cast that goes all the way up to her elbow. We have been laughing wondering what the cast would look like if she had broken a major bone in her hand!

She is going to be in the cast for at least 4 weeks. It hasn't seemed to bother her yet. She is able to shower with it which is MUCH nicer than back in the day when we had to try to get a bag over it and shower that way.

I wondered why she had chosen green instead of pink or red...her reply to me was "Mom, green is my favorite color...where have you been?" Well, obviously not keeping up with the favorite color changes!!! So, it is a good thing I didn't pick for her cause ya all know what color I would have chosen...PINK!!!

I love you my dear Taylor! Here's to hoping that finger heals quickly!!!

"Yookin" For A New Bike

2009-02-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

Ryan has grown soooooo much in the past few months. One of the MANY things he has outgrown is his bike. He LOVES his bike (remember he wore holes in his tires). Saturday before Taylor's basketball game we went past the bike shop to "test" ride a few. Tay and I stayed in the car cause it was only suppose to "take a minute." I know better than that!!! Will in a bike shop could take HOURS.

We had been waiting about 15 minutes when I noticed movement out my window...it was Ryan riding a bike. It made me laugh so hard because he looked like a little munchkin on a oversized bike. He didn't have his helmet so he was being overly cautious especially for him. He was so excited with himself for riding such a big bike.

We did not purchase the bike that day but my guess is he will find himself a new love for Valentine's Day!!!

Wordless Wednesday In 3-D

2009-02-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

It was so funny to see everyone looking at the tv with their glasses on during halftime of the Super Bowl!

Wordless Wednesday~The Future

2009-01-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

I walked into the room to find Ryan watching President Obama and The First Lady yesterday. I found it extremely heartwarming!

Check out other Wordless Wednesday photos at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Bad Mom...BEEElated Birthday!

2009-01-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

Ryan thinkin' he is pretty darn cool with the ladies!

I am such a HORRIBLE mother!!! This last year I let BOTH of my children's birthdays pass without given them a friend party! I can come up with as many excuses as you want...Taylor because: her birthday falls on Wine and Food Fair Weekend and my family is always in town, it is hard to track everyone down cause it is in the summer, I hate doing parties alone (WAY TOO MUCH STRESS!!!) so I won't do them during the day while Will is at work, school started, etc.... Ryan because: his birthday is the day after Halloween (which, have I ever mentioned I HATE Halloween!), Thanksgiving arrived so quickly, we celebrated at preschool with everyone anyways...I know, NONE of those excuses are any good. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

Ya forget what it is like waiting on a bunch of girls to get ready to go into public!

This past weekend we let Taylor have two of her best girlfriends come stay the night on Friday. Will took them to the basketball game...they sat right behind the boys bench and even better Kellen Moore sat right behind them!!! Will and Kellen talked throughout the game and the girls just whispered amongst each other and giggled (silly girls)! Then, on Saturday we took the girls to the new released movie Hotel For Dogs. They got to sit a few rows in front of us (so they thought they were REALLY COOL)!

Sittin' away from the adults!

Before going to the theater we went past the Dollar Store to get candy. I learned this trick from Lolli, I wasn't smart enough to think of it on my own. They each got to pick out two boxes of candy. Once we got to the theater my extra large purse couldn't hold ALL the candy we bought so we just took in one box per person and they each took home a box.

It was a GREAT movie and we all had a great time. Nothing like having an August birthday in January! Happy Birthday Miss Tay!

Ryan is next...he will also get to take two friends with him to a new movie. He is still trying to decide which new movie coming out he wants to choose.

Monday Meal Ideas~Tuna Noddle Casserole

2009-01-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I know... I have, yet again, missed a couple Monday Meal Ideas! It isn't that I am not cooking for the fam, it is that I am not remembering to take pics when I do...and I am such a visual person that I feel like I can put a new recipe on unless I have a pic! So, here is one I did remember to take a pic of. It is one of my FAVORITES as a child!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1/2 onion chopped

5 pieces of Celery chopped

Minced Garlic

2 cans of Tuna

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

Chicken Broth

Noodles

Grated Cheese

Crackers

First, I started by sauteing the onion, celery and a garlic together. Next, I start cooking the noodles (follow the directions on package). While that is sauteing and noodles are cooking, in a bowl I mix the drained Tuna, mushroom soup and about a half can of Chicken Broth together(You want the mixture to be a bit runny). I salt and pepper both the sauteing items and the mixture in the bowl.

Turn the oven to 350 and then spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. Once the sauteing items are to your liking (I usually like to get the onions brown and the celery less crunchy) I then add it to the mixture.

When the noodles are finished I drain the water pouring them into the 9x13 pan and then add the mixture stirring it all together. Finally, I add grated cheese to the top, crumble crackers over cheese and place into the oven for 20-30 minutes just to heat up the entire casserole.

***At times I have also added sour cream and Worcestershire Sauce to mixture.

A Thousand Words Thursday~Relaxin' in Chelan

2009-01-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

This is a picture taken in 2006 at our FAVORITE vacation spot Campbell's Resort in Chelan, Washington. Ryan was taking a break from swimming and had gotten himself a whole apple to snack on. I love looking at this picture close up because his eyes are looking out into the lake and I just imagine him thinking..."I need to eat this apple quickly so I can get back into that water."

Fun memories. I think I went to the Chelan pictures cause I am sooo ready for the sun to shine around here!!!

Check out other A Thousand Words Thursday at Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordless Wednesday~The Wicked "Warlock" of the West...

2009-01-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

has FINALLY fallen asleep!

Check out other Wordless Wednesday pics at...where else Wordless Wednesday!

Totally Talented Tuesday~"The Arteest"

2009-01-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

Lately Ryan has been doing a lot of coloring. But the other day I heard him getting a cup full of water and asked him what he was doing...he responded that he was "In the mood to paint." (Where do they come up with their words?)

After a little while he asked me to come over and check out his work. This is what he had done...

A bit abstract but I was very proud of him for sitting long enough to finish a project! I am glad to see that my Grandma and Mother's artistic abilities have FINALLY arrived in someone...took long enough!

Check out Totally Talented Tuesday on Dee's site Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House for other Talents.

Magic Marker Monday

2009-01-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

Michelle over at 5 Minutes for Special Needs does a cool thing called Magic Marker Monday's . Go on over and check out the great things kids are doing...after you read my post of course! ")

This a picture Ryan drew a few months back. It is a drawing of one of his favorite characters from Star Wars...R2 D2! He even tried to write R2 D2 in the top right corner. After he finished drawing it he wanted it hung on the outside of his bedroom door. He was sooo proud of it.

His drawing and coloring skills have improved tons since this pic was taken...we are still working on the writing part! "[

Picture Tag and 100th POST!

2009-01-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

I got picture tagged by Melissa at My Little World: Choo-choos, cars & lipgloss. This is an extra special post too! Not only did I get tagged by a new friend in the blogging world but it also turns out to be MY 100th POST! I am so excited that they both ended up being at the same time because one of the things I wanted to get out of blogging was to meet new people and here I am being tagged by a new friend due to blogging and stalking others blogs ") Thanks Melissa!

So, here are the rules for the Picture Tag:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

So, here it is...I started to laugh so hard when I opened the folder and counted over 4 pics. This is Ryan at Halloween last year. They were praying at preschool before snack time and apparently being Yoda and "using the force" can tire little ones out!

Thanks Melissa for the trip down memory lane!

From me to these wonderful bloggers:

Dee at Two of A Kind, Working on a Full House
Ali at Home of the Lazy Dog
Lynn at The Blair Family
Lolli at The Essary Family

Enjoy ladies and all the rest of us will be waiting to see what you find behind folder #4!!!

***After having to look closer at my picture folders I did notice how HORRIBLY messy and out of order mine are. So, I guess I have some organizing to do. ***

HEALTHY Bologna Sandwiches!!!

2009-01-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

I was just sitting on my rear, clicking from blog to blog this morning (and I wonder why I keep gaining weight???) and found this great post from Amy on her blog Coffee With The Mrs. It was on Baskin and Robbins and how they are introducing healthy choices of ice cream which they are calling BRight Choices! Papa Mack...we can eat til our hearts content!

Click on the picture below to see the new products and calorie info.

Just thought this was strange to find this post on BR after just posting about it earlier in the week!

A Thousand Words Thursday

2009-01-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

I love to just sit and listen to my sweet Taylor play her guitar! She has more talent and patience than I will EVER have! Play on my little one.

Check out other GREAT "A Thousand Words Thursday" pics at Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-07T09:58:00.001-08:00

Anyone Want Bologna Sandwiches?

2009-01-06T12:40:00.001-08:00

Ryan and Papa Mack bringing home Bologna Sandwiches for the rest of us!

A few years back my dad started asking the kids if they wanted to go get "Bologna Sandwiches" after we would get done eating dinner. The kids would look at him like he was crazy. (I'm not sure my kids even know what bologna is!) Well, after a couple times of going on an outing with Papa Mack to get Bologna Sandwiches they quickly learned that that is his secret word for Baskin and Robbins!

Whenever we go to Olympia someone always bring up that we MUST get Bologna Sandwiches before our trip there is over. Papa takes anyone who wants to go and will bring back anything for those of us who want the goods but not the fieldtrip! Taylor has a really good friend named Katie who lives two doors down from Nana and Papa and even she has since learned that when Papa Mack mentions Bologna Sandwiches not to frown but to grab your coat and RUN for the car!

Even Like This?

2009-01-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

Today Ryan climbed into my lap and I said to him "I love you sooo much that I could kiss you all over!" And his reply...

"Even if I looked like this?"

Laughing hysterically I replied "Yes" and quickly grabbed the camera!

Monday Meal Ideas

2009-01-05T13:57:00.000-08:00

Apparently I am on a soup kick lately. Sorry for those of who whose husbands like meat and potatoes all the time, I don't seem to be helping you out much. I will see what I can do for ya...but I am more of the "throw it all together" kind a gal!

My mother used to make this EVERY Christmas Eve. My kids beg for it to be made weekly!

Clam Chowder

1/2 diced onion

5 pieces of diced celery

5 pieces of cut bacon

2 cans chicken broth

4-6 cans of minced clams (with juice)

2 bags of cubed hashbrowns OR chop up own potatoes

1 quart half and half

salt and pepper

Start by sauteing 1/2 chopped onion, 5 chopped celery pieces, 5 cut up pieces of bacon, salt and pepper.

It will look like this to begin with but will thicken up as the potatoes cook.

While that is sauteing, in a large soup pot add potatoes, chicken broth and clams and bring to a boil. Once the sauteed items are finished add them to the pot. Allow all of this to cook on medium for 2 to 3 hours stirring occasionally. With about a half hour left pour in the half and half, turning down the temperature...you don't want it to boil. I usually pepper it again and serve with french bread.

After adding the half and half and letting it cook about 1/2 hour longer you will end up with nummy tasting Clam Chowder!

FYI~ I have switched to using just red potatoes and cutting up 10-15 of them in place of the hashbrowns. It seems to make a bit chunkier soup.

***This could also be used as a potato soup or even corn chowder leaving out the clams and adding corn. ***

Christmas All {Wrapped} Up

2009-01-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas with the Beightol's at Aunt Florence and Uncle Roger's house.

Boise State Bowl Game at the Weinmann's

What an amazing Christmas we had this year! We were together with family and friends, it snowed, and we received wonderful gifts!

Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Hall's house.

Taylor taking on Papa Mack's tradition of reading Twas the Night Before Christmas

I can not believe it has come and gone already. It just seems like Halloween was yesterday. This year Ryan started to understand the REAL reason for Christmas. He was excited to buy for others, to wrap presents, receive presents but most of all he truly understood why we celebrate Christmas every year. On Christmas morning I over-heard him say "Happy Birthday Jesus." Way too sweet!

As much as we all love the holidays we all have to agree that the true meaning gets SOOOOO over shadowed by making sure our children have the "latest and greatest" on Christmas morning. And as usual my children didn't go without this year! But at least somewhere inside of them they really do know the meaning for the holiday!

Christmas morning at Nana Cheryl and Papa Dick's BEFORE the chaos began.

Having Christmas via i-chat with the Florida Beightols...what will technology come up with next!?!?!?

Ryan has hardly taken off his football pads.

Mr. Bruns...I had better find your number really soon! It is bad enough having to buy Husky stuff...but Jake Locker?? Come on...that is a TOTAL slap in yours AND Kellen's face!

Cody...you have brainwashed my daughter too!!

Monday Meal Ideas~Taco Soup

2008-12-29T18:49:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made Taco Soup at my mom's house. My mother was very surprised that I volunteered to make dinner...she isn't used to the new me yet either.

This soup is sooo good and even easier to make!!!!!

Taco Soup

1lb ground beef (or ground Turkey meat)

onion

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans pinto beans

2 cans black beans

2 cans diced tomatoes(any of these kinds make it even better...Mexican, Italian, basil, green chilies)

1 can corn

1 packet dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

Salt and Pepper

First brown the meat and onion together. As you are doing that combine the rest of the ingredients(beans, tomatoes, corn, packet of dressing and salt/pepper)together in a large soup pan. Once the meat is browned add it into the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Allow the soup to come a boil and then turn down to LO or MEDIUM heat until ready to eat. The longer it sits on the stove the better. It allows the sauce to seep into the meat.

You then can add shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, more onions...

This is a great thing to serve to a large number of people or a last minute dinner. Really simple and I have NEVER had anyone NOT like it!

****You sure could add or subtract the types of beans you use! Also, the kinds of tomatoes. My mother has used stewed tomatoes instead of the diced tomatoes...but my kids don't like tomatoes so I trick them by using diced ones. They have never ever noticed. :)

For My Sister-In-Law!!

2008-12-26T18:59:00.000-08:00

My sister-n-law, Kim, reminded me (kindly) that I have NOT kept up on my Monday Meal Ideas posts that I had promised. She says she has been checking regularly looking for dinner ideas. Those of you who really know me are laughing hysterically at the fact that someone is coming to ME for recipe ideas!

I do have some recipes ready for up coming Monday Meal Ideas. But I didn't want Kim to have to wait that long so I want to add a link to this WONDERFUL new blog I have found. It is called Sunday Baker and she has AMAZING recipes. The one she currently has up is a recipe that my mommy used to make for a VERY SIMPLE finger food to take to parties: Ranch Oyster Crackers. I had made them once for BUNKO and they were a hit. You find your hand going back and back into the bowl...DANGEROUS!!

Give the Oyster Crackers a try I bet you will LOVE them! But also, check out Tanya's blog Sunday Baker,I guarantee you will find some GREAT recipes to use...especially with New Year's coming up!

Hopefully, Kimme, this will tide you over until this Monday when I PROMISE I will post a new Monday Meal Ideas that you will LOVE!

Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

We, the Beightol Family have had an amazingly and wonderfully blessed Christmas. The kids slept soundly as Santa unloaded his sleigh. And Nana, Papa, Will and I were awoken at 6:15 to little footsteps running through Nana and Papa's hallway waking us all up to see what Santa had brought. None of us were disappointed!

We were also able to open presents with Brandon, Kim and Mia (who were/are still in Florida) thanks to i-chat! We logged on with them just as we started opening presents at 6:30 am and finally said good-bye and logged off at 11:30ish this morning. Amazing that we could watch each other open gifts from across the United States.

When we return home I will upload pictures from our fun-filled day! Oh yeah, there will also be pics taken with my NEW CAMERA! Thanks Will! You have HAVE NEVER disappointed with gifts!

Merry Christmas to my blogging friends. Hope your day was as joyous as ours!

{Believe}

2008-12-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

**Remember to pause the music at the bottom of the page before hitting play on the video.

**We were going down the gravely road when he was singing so he sounds a little jiggly! :)

Apparently Mrs. Bray, the music teacher at Keene Riverview was teaching the kids great Christmas carols with a little twist. My son learned from Brock and Will this rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town! I'm sure in the future there will be things that he will learn from those two boys that we won't be so proud of so we must post about the good stuff too! It is so wonderful to have older friends to learn from!!!!!

What a wonderful thing to have young ones around at the holidays! It would be very quiet and boring without their excitement and joy!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Chocolate Candy Dipper

2008-12-23T13:12:00.000-08:00

A few years ago my Grandma Arthaud (GG Marge to my kids) bought us a chocolate melting pot to make candy. Well, I FINALLY got it out this year and the kids and I dipped pretzels into the chocolate.

We had fun making a HUGE mess in the kitchen which I wasn't even stressed out about...oh how not working has changed me!!!!!!!

Thanks GG Marge for great chocolate dipping memories!

Fifth Grade Christmas Fun

2008-12-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was Taylor's classroom Christmas Party. Ryan and I arrived just at 1:30 in time to pass out the popcorn balls that Tay and Nana had made for the class. I also took cupcakes and candycanes. Michele and Brittney brought gingerbread cookies and the kids had plenty of pop and time to enjoy each others company. Michele and I walked around taking pics of the class while they talked and giggled showing off their "eating skills." Ryan had his own seat with Taylor at her table and I believe learned a "few things" from the big kids!
The only other Christmas party of Tay's I have been to was when she was in Kindergarten because I was on maternity leave with Ryan. I am SOOOOOOOO thankful that I am home now to be able to share in these special times with my children. Having always worked, I wasn't able to take the time off to be able to do these things (that whole "being responsible for the job you are hired for" thing that some just don't (won't) ever get.)

The kids had a great time and I bet Mr VonMoos was excited when the 3 o'clock bell rang to send all those sugar high kids home for the LONG break

Preschool PJ Party

2008-12-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

Last week was nothing but a whirlwind for Messiah Preschool kids, teachers and parents! Monday they decorated Nativity Scenes. Wednesday they had their Christmas Program and Thursday brought Pajama Day/Christmas Party Day!!!

Ryan was so excited for Pajama Day to arrive. The Weinmann boys had pajama day at their school earlier in the year so Ryan thought he was pretty cool to have his own pajama day finally!

The kids were so cute showing off their pj's with each other. It was amazing how much more calm they were all day dressed this way. I think their minds were tricked into being tired!
They started their day by making Christmas cards, then Free Choice time, Worship time with Pastor Gilkey, onto snack time, THEN FINALLY what they had all been waiting for...COOKIE DECORATING!!!!!

It was hilarious watching each kid decorate their cookie with frosting and different toppings. Some ate their nummy cookie immediately where others chose to take theirs home.

Finally, to finish up their day they got to watch a movie. They were all cuddled up with pillows completely taking in the entire movie.

It was a great way to wrap up the learning before break. I am sure MANY went home and took a nice long nap...especially the teachers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{Fun Teacher Gifts}

2008-12-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to be crafty for teacher presents! It all started out to be fun and relaxing until I put it off til the end!!! I am sooo much a procrastinator it isn't funny. But in the end it all turned out to be a success!

For Mr VonMoos, Taylor's classroom teacher, we gave a loaf of Pumpkin Bread with Craisins and pecans baked into it. We also gave him a tin filled with homemade fudge...yes you read that right...I did bake this holiday season!!!

To Mrs. Houtz, Tay's Open Door teacher, we gave a loaf of the Pumpkin Bread along with a tin of Fudge. We also gave her a clipboard which we covered with scrapbooking paper and some magnets. We didn't add the clipboard or magnets to Mr. VonMoos' gift because Tay thought they were "too girlie." I figured they were her teachers she could make that decision. :)

For Ms. Parker, Tay's Guitar teacher, we made some magnets and put them into a covered Altoid can. (Forgot to take a pic of that one too.)

Ryan's teachers all got decorated Clipboard and magnets...but I forgot to take a picture of them all. I will have to wait until the New Year and take pics with them in use. :)

We had a fun time putting our love into each gift for our teachers this year. I hope they love them as much as we did!!

Many of these could work for teacher gifts too!!

Ryan's Christmas Program

2008-12-19T11:15:00.000-08:00

One happy Wiseman!

Wednesday night Ryan's Preschool had their Christmas Program to celebrate Jesus' Birthday. They were all dress-up as different people for the Nativity Scene. Ryan got to be a Wiseman this year.

I have been able to listen to his class learn and practice the songs they were to sing on Wednesday night. Ryan had refused to practice his songs at home which made me a little concerned for the final performance. He did a much better job than I thought he would. There were more yawns coming from his mouth than words during the performance though.

Some of my pics turned out REALLY blurry...

I am having MAJOR camera operator problems!!!!

There were MANY funny moments from kids plugging their ears because the person next to them was singing too loud in their opinion to a little boy dressed as an angel taking his cape taken off and flinging it over his head continuously, even though the little girl next to him kept giving him the "mother scowl" and instructing him to put it back on! Preschoolers are so darn funny!!!!!!

Beautiful Miss. Abby (one of Ryan's classmates) dressed as an angel!

We did take the opportunity to get a family picture since all of us were dressed up and matched closely enough and the Christmas tree at the church was a perfect background.

The Beightol Family 2008

Thank Goodness For Little Boys???

2008-12-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

Ryan has been testing my every nerve these last few weeks. Up until then I didn't think it was possible for him to be anymore of a turkey...but he has proven me wrong!

I know as a teacher that when the students start acting up we blame it on the upcoming holiday or the change in weather, which is what I could do but what I really believe it is is 100% paybacks from the man upstairs for the way I behaved as child! My mother has been warning me and her warnings have now turned into nothin' but reality!

Here are just a few of the things Mr Ryan has been doing, there are MANY more but I am trying to block at least some of them out of my mind.

Last Thursday Ryan announced to me as we were getting ready to leave for school "I think I'll skip school today." I looked at him with the motherly "What the????" He looked me straight in the eyes smiling and said "It's not like anyone will find out." I had to give him the mother/teacher talk about why we ALL go to school. He listened then said "It's not like I would get into lots of trouble if they found out." I absolutely have lost control of my five year old!

That same day (after I got him to school) he was holding his pencil incorrectly (what is new!?!?) He will not listen to me when I talk to him about holding it right so his teacher, Mrs. Courtney sat down next to him walking him through (for the trillionth time) the right way to hold it. I looked over at him and he wasn't even looking down at his hand. He was looking straight ahead and I noticed a small roll of the eyes as Mrs. Courtney was talking to him. I wanted soooo badly to pick him up by his little ear and drag him out of the building. But I remembered that 1. It wasn't my classroom and 2. I probably didn't need Child Protective Services at my door.

This morning he told me that he really does like school. He said he could list his 3 favorite things about it. In my mind I was really hoping I would get a list of WONDERFULLY educational things. A mother can wish can't she!?!? This was his list:

1. Recess
2. Snack
3. Free Choice Time

As a teacher this is what I heard:

1. Socialize
2. Stuff my face and socialize
3. Socialize

I am so in for it with this wonderful boy that the Lord has blessed us with. I know you are all thinking how cute his list really is and that it is not only a typical boy but just a typical child at this age. I also know I am not suppose to compare children but Taylor NEVER talked this way about school. She couldn't get enough and still can't. She SOOOOO did not get that from me. I guess she is much more like her father and I guess RyJack is just "a bit" like ME. Please pray for us...it will be MANY, LONG years to get him through school!

{First Snow}

2008-12-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look A LOT like Christmas!!!

Daddy's Home!!!

2008-12-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

Yea, airplane peanuts and MarioKart Info!!!

Will had to go to California for business this week leaving Wednesday afternoon flying out of Portland. He and I have a joke that when he leaves for California he is really heading down there to visit his "girlfriend." I have named her "Cali." I told him he was probably just going down to visit "Cali" for "their holiday time together."

Ten o'clock at night...no problem peanuts are a great late night snack!

Okay, so all joking aside...I really hate it when Will is away on a trip for many different reasons. One being the kids both think they need to fill that empty spot in our bed while daddy is gone. This time was no different. Wednesday night while I was tucking Ryan into his own bed for the night he says to me "Weemember when daddy has been gone before and sissy and I have gotten to take turns sweeping in your bed? Well, I think we need to do that this time. Tomorrow can I sweep in your bed?" I cringed, smiled and replied, "We will see how well you go to sleep in your own bed tonight." He smiled, rolled over in his bed and said NO PWOBLEM mom!" As I headed toward my room I realized I already had a little visitor, Little Miss Tay had already claimed Will's side of the bed, book in hand and her blanket. So, I told her she could sleep with me.

The following night Ryan had not forgotten about wanting to sleep with me. I told him he could if he laid right down and went straight to sleep. The next thing I know Miss Taylor is in my bed TOO! Ryan had told her she could sleep in my bed with us! Great 3 people in my bed together! What happened to one mom with TWO nights in a king sized bed alone? I wouldn't have been lonely I swear! But NOOOOO the kids didn't want me to sleep by myself. Thank you darlings! I woke up at 1:15am to Taylor at the bottom of the bed, Ryan right above her kicking her head and me with NO COVERS! I rearranged everyone to be woken back up less than two hours later to the exact scenario...Ryan kicking Tay at the bottom of the bed and myself completely uncovered. All I wanted was to sleep soundly for the night and I get two tossing monkeys in bed with me. Needless to say when my alarm went off I was just a bit sleepy and both kids jumped right out of bed.

But my BIGGEST worry while Will is traveling is obsessing the whole time about him getting into a wreck on the way to the airport or his plane going down in a ball of flames. I know he could just as easily get into a wreck right here in Prosser but the thought of him far away and out of reach always causes me extra stress. I know it sounds crazy and it really is hard to explain completely but I am always so thankful when I get that phone call from him when he has arrived safely at his destination and then again when he calls to tell me he has touched down in Portland and on his way home to us! There is something more about the holidays that makes him traveling even more unnerving!

Ryan finally able to hug his dad!

Last night when he came through the door the kids and I were racing to be the first in his arms. I WON! We were all so glad to have him back home. He even brought the kids back a couple things... two bags of peanuts from the airplane and a book for Mario Kart with information on how to win new items. They were soooo excited. I giggled and told him "Cali must have sent it as her Christmas present to them." Will just smiled and shook his head.

Will getting an earful from Ryan of all that has happened since he left.

We love you Will more than you know and we are sooooo glad to have you home safe and sound with us!!!!!!

Stateward Bound

2008-12-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we headed over to Tacoma for the 2A State Championship Game. We had made arrangements with the Weinmann Family to meet at 7am and follow each other over. Of course by the time we got to Yakima the kids were all hungry. Brian suggested we stop at IHOP for some grub. It is always an adventure seating and feeding the 9 of us.

Tay, Little Will, Ryan, Brock and Kayla outside of IHOP

We loaded back up and got on the road to have Ryan begin asking "Are we almost there yet?" Will's response was "No, sit back, relax and we will let you know when we arrive." Just about that time Will gets a text message from Brian (yes, they were texting each other WHILE DRIVING!!!) which said "I need to pee!" We were just about at Ellensburg. Now, I have the BIGGEST pet-peeve of traveling with people who can not get into a vehicle and travel for SEVERAL hours at a time. I used to leave Pullman for Shelton and not stop ONCE...yes, it was a 6 hour drive. So, come on people take care of business so we can get to our destination please!!! It is always a joke that Will's dad has to stop at least 3 times traveling from Prosser to Seattle so I think Brian was being more funny than serious.

We didn't stop in Ellensburg but we did find ourselves stopping in North Bend for a potty break and a little sugar pick me up. Loaded back into our vehicles this time, destined only for the Tacoma Dome!

Once we arrived we got everyone dressed in their gear and ready to go. We had tons of fun. But the best part was hearing Little Will as he walked into the Tacoma Dome for the first time. He was oooing and aaahhhing. His eyes were huge and his smile stretched from ear to ear! What fun for him.

After watching the game before us finish up (the winning team won in the last minutes by ONE point) we finally got to head towards our seats. No sooner did we get seated that the kids all wanted food. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!

This group of goofballs after eating BLUE Cotton Candy!

The Hicks Family came and joined us and helped corral all of the kids together. The game was fun with a lot of action down at our end. The second half brought more action and we (the fans) began to get a bit too relaxed (thinking it was pretty much wrapped up). With two minutes to go the game was tied. And in the second OT Prosser went for two which would have won the game...unfortunately the other team intercepted the ball...we lost by ONE POINT!

The Prosser Boys played their hearts out all season! The coaches coached their hearts out all season! They have NOTHING to hang their heads about! It was a tough game and another WONDERFUL season!

Ryan and Brock discussing what it will be like

when THEY get to play there!

WARNING: Tween Under Our Roof!

2008-12-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

Taylor totally threw me for a loop this year! Apparently she has gotten too old to help decorate for Christmas which I can so handle. BUT she would not sit on Santa's lap this year! What has happened to my baby????? I knew it was coming but she so could have given my at least a years warning!
Ryan on the other hand has been wanting to get out all the Christmas stuff since the middle of November. Finally, we were all home together last Friday night and decided it was as good a time as any to get started. Ryan could hardly stand it! Will brought down the container with the ornaments in it and Ryan had that sucker opened before Will had even put it on the ground completely! Where was Taylor?? You guessed it...in her room with a friend. Yeah, they came out a couple times to check to see how we were doing but then went back to their "tween" thing.

Ryan took out each ornament, looked to see whose it was and what year it was given to that person. Then he would look around the tree to find the perfect spot for each one. He really did do a great job.

There was a bit of a discussion before getting started though. Will and I had found these COOL red and silver ball ornaments in all different sizes at Costco. We decided we could just use these this year and do something different. But Mr Ryan had a different plan in mind, he wanted (in his words) "All the old looking ornaments on the tree again this year." Will started to argue with him when I stopped to remind him "that Christmas was for the children."

Ryan was still looking through the ornaments and placing more on the tree until Monday night when I finally decided the box needed to get out of the middle of my living room.It was kinda nice to have Ryan working on the tree this year so I could concentrate on other areas to decorate. I was able to get the mantle finished and the manger scene all out and decorated before he was anywhere close to be finished with the tree.
Thank Goodness my Ryan is still little enough to enjoy every bit of the holiday spirit! Taylor will come back around in a couple years...just in time for Ryan to hit the "tween" years.

Always Remember...

2008-12-10T15:33:00.001-08:00

Thanks Lolli and Tammy!!!!

Let The Season Begin

2008-12-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

It is a family tradition to have a CANDY filled Advent Calendar EVERY year. My grandma use to buy them for us as kids and now my mom makes sure that my two kiddo's get their Advent Calendars when we are at her house for Thanksgiving. This year was no exception. Both of my kids came home with Advent Calendars in hand. And Ryan couldn't wait for Monday the 1st to be able to open that little door with the number 1 on it.

He was bummed when he woke up to find Taylor had already headed off to school so they couldn't open #1 together. But that didn't keep him for opening and ENJOYING his chocolate on his own!

The look on his face is pure happiness of yet another year of the "Chocolate Countdown!"

Over the River and Through the Woods...

2008-12-01T09:23:00.001-08:00

To Grandmother's house we go!

It was a very easy trip over to Olympia this year for Thanksgiving. We encountered NO snow which disappointed the kids but made Will very happy not to have to worry about crazy westside drivers!

In Pain!

2008-11-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

I don't know what I did, I'm not sure I want to know what I did, but whatever the HECK it was IT REALLY HURTS!!!!!!!

Sometime last week I realized my right shoulder was really tight. My loving husband would tell you it is nothing new, I am always whining for someone to massage my shoulders. As the week went on it hurt worse and worse and there was NO SIGN of the pain letting up. Did I call the Chiropractor...nope just kept complaining and living with (complaining about) the pain. The weekend rolled around and the pain was almost UNBEARABLE!!!! I spent all of Sunday in my jammies on the couch (oh yeah, Will would tell you that is nothing new for me either!)

Today I was able to get in to see my Chiropractor; Dr Thompson. By the time I made the appointment yesterday the pain had moved from my right shoulder and neck all the way around to my right front to the very point of my collar bone! I can't even touch my collar bone it is so painful! Well, needless to say Dr Thompson informed me that I was a mess! I wanted to say, DUH Doc! Tell me something I don't know, that my husband doesn't know, Oh yeah, and that my friends don't know!!! But I kept my sarcastic humor to myself. He found that BOTH of my hips were out, my neck was out in two different places, the middle of my back he adjusted in a FEW different spots, AND my shoulder and collar bone BOTH needed adjusting.

I feel a bit better but hope to feel TONS better after my massage tonight! I hope to be back up and BLOGGIN' soon. But my shoulder can only handle so much movement.

By the way...why is it that your children seem to be so needy when you, yourself need a little "sick time?"

When In Doubt...

2008-11-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Root for BOTH!

This is the look of a very MIXED-UP and FRUSTRATED BOY!

Monday Meal Idea

2008-11-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

I could spend DAYS just surfing the Blogger Network! Most days I get great ideas for crafting and decorating but lately I have been finding some WONDERFUL recipe ideas. Those of you who know me know I HATE TO COOK!!!!!! I would rather sit in the Dentist chair (No offense Dr Grow) getting a root canal than cook! But I have started to find and try some recipes that have made being in the kitchen not all that bad. NO I am NO WHERE ready to tie on the apron and call myself Rachel Ray...but I'm thinking part of my issue with cooking is coming up with ideas. SO, for all of you out there who feel the same way I hopefully have a solution for you. I am going to start posting a Monday Meal Ideas. Where each Monday I will try to post a new recipe with pictures (I hate recipes w/o pics...I am a very visual person!)

For my 1st Monday Meal Idea recipe I am going to share MY adaptation to Mexican Lasagna which I found on Little Birdie Secrets. I made a few changes to theirs due to the fact I didn't have, in the pantry, what it was asking for OR I wasn't a big fan of some of the ingredients. SO, here is MY adaptation of

Mexican Lasagna:

In a large pan, saute:

1 lb. ground beef

chopped onion

salt and pepper

minced garlic

taco seasoning

(I didn't measure the taco seasoning, just dumped some in...I'm sooooo turning into my mother!)

Once the meat is browned I added:

1 can diced tomatoes with oregano and basil

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. In a 9x13 pan layer 3 flour tortillas, 1/2 can of refried beans, 1/2 meat mixture, and 1 cup shredded cheese. Repeat the layers one more time: tortillas, beans, meat mixture, and cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes...and enjoy!

My family LOVED it. Will said it would be "extra" better with a few tortilla chips to dip in it too. The original recipe asked for the use of corn tortillas but since I don't like them I didn't use them. BUT, I think the corn tortillas would have made it a bit crunchier. The flour tortillas were good just didn't harden much.

Until next Monday Meal Ideas My Ladies~

Better Keep Their Day Jobs!

2008-11-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, Taylor got the news she has been waiting to get for weeks! The guitar class she took last year was starting back up on Friday morning. She was soooo excited that she ran straight back to her room and got out her guitar. I don't know if she got it out due to uncontrollable excitement or that fact that she hadn't practiced in MONTHS!

She wasn't the only person excited about guitar starting again! That's right, the little brother ran straight to his room too. While Tay was in her room strumming away, I could hear Ryan singing in his room. As I quietly peeked my head around his door I found him on his bed with Taylor's old guitar out also strumming away.

(To hear the videos you will need to pause the music player at the bottom of the page.)

They both were so cute in their own worlds totally rockin out! Ryan seemed to be more into the Country Theme of singing about "loving his family and losing his dog." While Taylor's sound and look more resembled "a soft rock ballad."

And for the Finale...

I guess he was adding his "Kid Rock" version of Country!

I do believe both of my children are very talented and that they have the abilities to be ANYTHING in the world they want to be...but musicians probably are not in the cards for them. :)

Thank You Burger King??

2008-11-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

Ryan, the Bart Simpson impersonator.

Friday night Will took the kids through Burger King for dinner. Anyone who knows Ryan well enough knows he isn't the LEAST bit concerned about the food. He just wants the STUPID 3 cent toy. This trip was no different. The thing that INFURIATES me is as badly as he cries for the darn toy it is forgotten about by the time we get home!!! Except for some strange reason Saturday afternoon he still had a hold of the dumb toy!

He came running out of his room, grabbed the TV remote with his left hand while holding the Bart Simpson toy (from BK) in his right and said "look at this." Above is the what he was showing us. The picture isn't real clear but Bart is sitting in a chair, holding a remote, and sticking out his tongue. And our "funny" little guy, for some strange reason decided he too could be just as funny if he mimicked Bart. We laughed so darn hard!

Ryan has NEVER seen an episode of The Simpson's due to the fact that I really don't need my young man to get ANY ideas from the not so kind Bart Simpson nor his "not so intelligent father, Homer." I'm not stupid enough to think that my nice young man won't ever come up with some of Bart's tricks on his own...but I DO know RyJack doesn't need ANY help with ideas!!!

Finally...

2008-11-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

Silence in the house!

But wait a minute...she is sleeping IN MY BED!!!

Nummy Muffins

2008-11-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

Tuesday I was surfing the Blogging world and came acrossed a WONDERFUL blog called Grace Violet. She is a very talented and creative lady! One of her posts was titled The Best Pumpkin Bread. Ever. I looked over the recipe and realized that even I could make this! I actually put Taylor in charge of mixing the recipe up. I had to step in though when we realized we were w/o Ground Cinnamon in the pantry and we had already started. Yeah, yeah...I know all you "Home Ec. Teachers" out there..."You should get out ALL your ingredients first before beginning" but we didn't, so Will saved the day by bringing some home.

As I checked in on Taylor's measuring and mixing I noticed she had a HUGE mound of baking soda in the bowl. After questioning it she said she put in 2 teaspoons just like it asks. Come to find out she had not realized that tsp and tbsp meant two different things. Great teachable moment! Even better was we caught it BEFORE it was detrimental to our taste buds!!!

As, I was teaching Tay about the difference between tsp and tbsp mind you I was using my calm teacher voice I had a MAJOR flashback to the first time a friend and I TRIED to make Banana Bread by ourselves. He was reading the directions aloud while I was doing the measuring and mixing. Well, he read "One cup oil" and I remember asking him to re-read it...Yep, he said, "ONE CUP OIL" So, I thought fine... I didn't question it again until the buzzer went off on the stove and we opened the oven door...to find two bread pans OOOOZZZZING with oil! I can still see them as plain as day. They were the most disgusting looking things you have ever seen in your life! Needless to say that should have been a sign of my future cooking abilities!!!! The worst part was we were more than capable of reading...we were in middle school!

Taylor and I decided to make muffins instead of loaves of bread. The title of the post was soooo very accurate! They are the best pumpkin muffins ever! I think they would be very good with raisins or dried cranberries added into the mix! I suggest giving the recipe a try. Plus, check out Grace Violet. I think you will enjoy her stuff.

Still Here And All In One Piece...

2008-11-13T19:19:00.000-08:00

I would like to inform everyone: Yes, our house IS still in place up on the hill after the past few days of HORRIBLE wind! There were more than a few times I worried that I would end up as Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz...(not that I wouldn't LOVE to meet my Fairy Godmother) but thankfully we are still up here all in ONE piece...minus a few outdoor toys though...but anything is better than meeting up with The Wicked Witch and a group of her flying monkeys!!!

{Perfect Weekend}

2008-11-10T10:36:00.001-08:00

Ever have those days where ya don't want to really move from the couch? Well, one of those days hit our home Saturday. Will and I had great plans to get A LOT accomplished but found ourselves still in our sweats and on the couch watching our 3rd football game of the day as dinner time rolled around.

That's right...we sat ALL DAY watching FOOTBALL! In my mind there really is NOTHING better. We started off with the Boise State game enjoying every bit of Kellen's success. Then, we moved on to the Alabama/LSU where Alabama pulled off the win in OT! Finally we found ourselves watch the HUSKY game. Yes, I know... that word is NOT allowed in our home but...we had to cheer on Cody...who seemed to be the only one on the Husky team who could do ANYTHING right all day! That's right...our Cody Bruns was AMAZING. He threw the ONLY TD pass of the day for the Huskies! I'm thinking the coaches need to reconsider their current QB choices! I am confident that Cody could get the job done! Oooo, that would mean he would be QB-ing against MY WSU Cougars in the Apple Cup! That soooo would not be a good outcome for the Cougs!

Sunday brought more football but not as much watched by us. We got outside and did a little work around the house and inside my horribly messy car! It is amazing and disgusting the things you find when you deep clean your back seats!

Will takin' care of the tumble weeds before they take over our yard!

While Will and I worked the kids got some MUCH NEEDED fresh air. Taylor decided to pick up a basketball (outside of practice) and Ryan of course went straight for his scooter. He is practicing being able to "pop-a-wheelie!" I'm tellin' ya the kid is going to be a stuntman when he grows up. Will found him pumping trying to get more speed while going DOWN our driveway. Those of you who haven't been to our house...at the end of our driveway is a HUGE cliff. One day I will find him at the bottom of it...

Ryan showing us what he is "trying" to do w/o putting his foot down.

Taylor showing me that she CAN TOO dribble between her legs! After seeing this pic she decided maybe she did need some more practice. Funny Girl!!

Will's look of "Would you put the darn camera down and start helping please!"

I can't remember the last time we were all home together on the weekend. Taylor is usually away most of the weekend at different friends houses. We have started asking her if she is trying to tell us she doesn't like us much. I really enjoyed our family time together. It was a relaxing and productive weekend all in one! Gotta love it!

Kids+Auction Items=$$$$

2008-11-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

And the highest bidders are...

Last Thursday night Messiah Lutheran Preschool held their annual Octoberfest (in November this year). It consisted of good food, an enjoyably funny performance by the preschoolers and a silent auction.

Ryan could hardly wait to get there because earlier that day he had seen one of the items which contained multiple boxes of LEGO's but not just any LEGO's...STAR WARS LEGO items. All afternoon he kept saying "As soon as we get there tonight the first thing we need to do is go buy that LEGO box." I felt like a broken record because I was trying to explain to a 5 year old that it wasn't like a store...he was going to have to BID on the darn thing not just walk up to the counter and pay for it. And, of course just like any 5 year old he had NO IDEA what I was talking about...until we got to the event.

Ryan with his "purchase."

The first thing he did was walk over to the tables with his Nana Cheryl to show her what he was going to "buy." And of course she thought it was something he really truly needed. So, the two of them were determined to "buy" the LEGO items.

Taylor has all items on her nightstand, right next to her head.

As the two of them were working on the LEGO items Taylor was busy with her own bidding. She was trying to win a football signed by Prosser's one and only Kirby Moore (#34 on the Mustang Football team)! Well, unfortunately in the end she lost at the last second...but she had a back up plan...she was also eyeing the signed picture, water bottle, AND football signed by Prosser's current QB Jordan Durbin. When she realized she had lost the items signed by Kirby she put all her attention and efforts into winning Jordan's items.

The night was a success all around!!! Ryan "bought" his LEGO's, Taylor won her Jordan Durbin items and the Preschool made a KILLING off of my kids!

Thank Goodness for Nana Cheryl's checkbook. :)

Totally My Kid

2008-11-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

I can see the LOVE in his eyes!!

On Friday night (just like EVERY NIGHT) Ryan asked for some ice cream. As I was dishing it up he asked if I would please stir it all together making it like a "smoothie." I couldn't believe my ears! This is sooooo my favorite way to eat ice cream. I love to dish up a big bowl and then mix it all up until it is nice and smooth.

What is so extra funny about this story is since the first time Will saw me do this (when we were dating) he has always said how much it totally disgusts him. I have never understood what the big deal was...ice cream stirred up in a bowl...just like a milkshake but not in a cup. He says it is sooo not the same thing.?? So, of course whenever we have ice cream I just laugh as I sit down next to him and begin mixing the solid ice cream until it is extra soft and smooth. He has gone to a reaction of just shaking his head at me.

Ryan enjoying EVERY bite!

So, when Ryan asked me to do this for him I had to have him repeat it so his dad could hear specifically what he was requesting. Will didn't even turn around to look at him. He just shook his head smiling as shivers went through his body. With that I picked up the spoon and began stirring! :)

Love you RyJack!!!!

Gifts To Remember

2008-11-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

Ryan had an amazing birthday with AMAZING GIFTS! While writing this post I thought to myself "My Goodness it looks like Christmas with all the wonderful gifts he was given!" When Will and I went birthday shopping for him we sort of had a plan. But just when you think you are finished shopping with Will...yep, he finds just one more thing to buy!

Taylor gave Ryan Connect Four so they can play together and hopefully help Ryan learn to make AB patterns! Will and I gave Mr Ryan Mario Kart for the Wii, a Star Wars figure, a Razor Scooter (which we then went back and got another one for Miss Taylor), and an IPod Shuffle (in green of course!!). Ryan has been asking for an IPod for the past two years. Will and I have discussed the fact that a 5 year old with an IPod is a bit...no A LOT absurd but with the rest of us in the fam having ITunes it didn't make sense to get "a kids" type IPod and purchase a totally different music base. So, yes he got the shuffle and he was SOOOO THRILLED! He loaded songs on that thing immediately, put the headphones on and danced and sang all day long!

Nana Cheryl and Papa Dickie gave him Star Wars Sheets for his bed, some clothes, and what he and Will describe as "the best thing ever"...The Millennium Falcon which he and Will were soooo excited about! The two of them were kept busy for HOURS! Apparently the advertisement for the Millennium Falcon was "The ultimate dollhouse for boys."

Fabulous Five Years!

2008-11-03T10:35:00.001-08:00

Miss Taylor was sooo excited for her baby brother!

I can not believe my little guy is 5 years old! It really does seem just like yesterday that we were heading to Kadlec to bring the little guy into the world. He was not due until November 11th but I had such problems with swelling that Dr. Anderson (bless his heart!!!) decided to induce me. I told Dr. Anderson I WOULD NOT have a Halloween baby (he looked and me with his huge grin and just shook his head)!! We planned it for November 1st.

Don't I look thrilled to have everyone just hangin' around...I think they thought it was a GREAT party! I'm thinking...Let's get this party started!!!!!

After sitting around all day waiting for something to happen my parents, my sister and my aunt took Miss Taylor home for the night (around 10:30ish). As I watched the second hand move SLOWLY around and around while Will laid on the couch SOUND asleep...I realized IT was TIME!!!

Will got the nurse who came in to check me and quickly replied "DO NOT PUSH! The Doctor will be RIGHT in!" Dr Anderson came rushing into the room. Everyone seemed to be in fast forward. But apparently because it was almost midnight and the nurse had already filled out the paper work for the following day and was trying to get it changed WHILE I NEEDED TO PUSH!!!!!

When Dr. Anderson gave me the go ahead I pushed twice and out Mr Ryan came into the world! I should have known by how easy my delivery was with him that he would cause trouble down the road! :) He was born on November 1st at 11:58pm.

Daddy changing the first diaper.

We called my parents at our house to let them know they left just a bit too soon. They woke everyone up, got dressed and loaded back up into the car to drive in the SNOW back to the hospital.

Proud Daddy has a boy to carry on the Beightol name!

Ryan has blessed us with so many wonderful AND stressful things so far in his 5 years. I am sure he has so much more up his sleeve to bless us all with! We love you Ryan Jackson!!!!

Big 5 year old boy!!!

Missing Out No Longer!

2008-11-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

Being home now, has allowed me to be available for my kids more than I ever realized they needed! This past week I was able to be with Ryan on his field trip to the Fire Station, at his Pumpkin Party, and then with Miss Taylor at her Halloween Party at school.

It was so much fun to see my children in their environments outside of our home. We have always taught our kids that no matter if we are with you or not, the choices you make are being watched AND judged! "Remember who you are and what you represent!"

I have found Ryan to be very much a follower as apposed to Taylor who shows much more leadership abilities. Ryan is finally showing his teachers "the REAL RYAN" this year. Not so quiet is he ladies!?!?!

My mom was in town last week so she was able to come along for the fun too. We giggled at all the little things we saw both kids do at their schools and with their friends.

7 Random/Weird Things About Me...

2008-11-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

Thank you dear Lolli for Tagging me...now the world is able to see how random and weird I really am! Love me or hate me...the choice is yours...

1. In my 13 years of public schooling I attended 8 DIFFERENT schools! My dad had a saying..."We move every six year whether we need to or not just to get the house deep cleaned!" And he stuck to that!

2. When I was pregnant with Miss Taylor my water broke on the field of Art Fiker Stadium! She was born on mine and Will's 1 year wedding anniversary. (It was such a romantic way to spend our first anniversary together...in the hospital pushing!) Since then, every year on August 9th instead of getting all dressed up to go out for a romantic evening we have a birthday party with a bunch of crazy girls running around!

3. I have a MAJOR FEAR of clowns and anything dressed in a costume covering their face! As far back as I can remember I have be DEATHLY afraid of CLOWNS. Up until college I had chalked it up to me just being dumb. Until one day a girlfriend came back from Psych class saying her Professor talked during class about a REAL fear people have for clowns! I was so glad to know I wasn't as crazy as I had originally believed!

4. My Junior year in high school I got the opportunity to perform during halftime at the Aloha Bowl (which no longer exists). I woke up Christmas morning in Hawaii (without my family) to put on a skin tight, bright red, one piece spandex outfit to dance on national television...wouldn't catch me DEAD in that thing now...cause I wouldn't be able to get it past my calf!

5. I HATE public events! I am such a homebody!!!! Going to social events and parties causes my heart to race and my palms to sweat...even if the event is held by our best of friends! Whenever I tell people that I am NOT social they always think I am joking. But really I have MAJOR Social Anxiety attacks!

6. I have a major habit of picking my kids noses! I know...TOTALLY GROSS! But I find "Boogs" in the nose of children even more disgusting!!! Taylor won't even get near me anymore...and Ryan is finding ways of wiggling out of my reach really fast!

7. Whenever we leave our house for a long period of time(vacations, trips to the Westside) I begin to panic on the way home that our house has burned to the ground and no one called to tell us. Ever since Will and I purchased our first home I have always had this fear of returning to a house burnt to the ground. I have NEVER discussed it with the kids but the very RANDOMLY WEIRD thing is...Ryan has started worrying about our house burning to the ground lately.???

Thanks Lolli for allowing me time to realize how TOTALLY weird I truly am!! :)

I'm tagging: **Kim-Juliane-Wanda-Alissa-Sunny-Tawnya**

{TAG}

2008-10-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Karen and Lynn!

Name: Taylor RyAnne Beightol

Age: 10

Nicknames: TayTay, Little Bug, Chicken, RyAnne, Sis,

Favorite Activities: Basketball, swimming, listening to music, reading, writing, texting

Favorite Foods: Pizza, Shrimp, Mexican Food, Clam Chowder, Ice Cream

Least Favorite Foods: cooked veggies, mom's enchiladas,

Favorite Music: anything on XM Channel 20 and 30, Pink, Flo Rida

Toys: Wii, bike, basketball, guitar

Books: anything Fantasy, Tangerine, The Giver, Bud Not Buddy

What Makes Me Happy: spending time with friends, reading, shopping

What Makes Me Sad: seeing other people sad, when mom and dad tell me no

TAG: Michele (Chelsea), Julaine (Brandi), Wanda (Trevor)

Pumpkin Carving Party

2008-10-26T20:21:00.001-07:00

We received an invitation last week to attend a Pumpkin Carving BBQ on the crush pad of Double Canyon facility in West Richland. The invitation and party was put together by the daughter's (McKayla and Matilda) of the winemaker, Ned, for Double Canyon.

It was like Christmas morning

where the kids keep asking "Can we start NOW?

McKayla waiting her turn to carve.

Matilda ready to dig in!

After realizing that Ned wouldn't be able to have time to carve pumpkins with them this year McKayla and Matilda decided to have everyone come to the facility to carve pumpkins together.

Suzie found a new technique, from "good ol' Martha Stewart", to cut off the BOTTOM of the pumpkin instead of the top. It helps in keeping the bottom from rotting and is MUCH easier to deal with the candle!

So, this afternoon Will, Ryan, and I (Taylor's still in Florida) headed up to West Richland with food to bbq and pumpkins to carve. McKayla and Matilda greeted us with smiles on as they were so excited for the party to happen!

The "Witches Brew"

We had great food, conversation, wine, and

PUMPKIN CARVING!

Anyone who knows me knows I HATE HALLOWEEN!!!!!! I can not tell you why I hate it...I just do. It might have something to do with I HATE being scared though!!!! So, I put on a happy face and tried to look like I was ready for a good time...I (as well as everyone else) had a wonderful time!

Ryan did insist that I carve his pumpkin with a design which came out of a book. I taped the page onto his pumpkin and started poking holes in the darn thing. I only agreed to do it because we were in public. If we'd been at home I would have told him NO WAY. The design was very complicated and it took a LONG time to just punch the design into the pumpkin but THEN I had to use the cutting tool to finish. I was still working LONG after everyone else finished! In the end, it didn't turn out too bad...the image was suppose to be a wolf...and the wolf ended up having only one eye cause I accidentally make a wrong cut and off came the darn eye! Mind you Ryan ran past me maybe twice while I was working on HIS pumpkin. He didn't stay long enough to even see me make a cut in the darn thing.

The "free handed" R2-D2!

The painstakingly UGLY wolf!

After I was finished with his pumpkin I called him over and he was much more impressed with his dad's pumpkin which Will did free handed! He made R2-D2! I could have killed them both. There I sat working on a massively complicated ugly wolf and Will cut out R2-D2 without hardly blinking.

The finished products lit up. The pic really doesn't do them justice!

They both did turn out pretty neat!

Matilda's already looking ahead to the next party...

All in all, we had a great day with friends and family. As we were getting ready to leave Matilda said to her dad Ned, "I think we should have a Christmas Party out here on the crush pad Dad." We think Matilda has found her calling...Party Planner!

Early Birthday Present...

2008-10-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

For Ryan's birthday Will ordered him a football (youth size) to help him learn to throw and catch better. Well, Ryan's birthday is not until NEXT Saturday and as you can see from the pics Will couldn't resist giving it to him last night.

Okay, so I can't put all the blame on Will...I encouraged him, when he mentioned it last night. This is soooo why I don't start Christmas shopping until December because when I buy something for someone I CAN NOT wait to give it to them!!! I get sooo excited to see the look on their face when getting a gift. A MAJOR weakness that I totally get from my mother. ;)

When Will placed the box in front of Ryan and had him open it Ryan was shaking from head to toe with excitement! As he pulled the deflated ball out of the box he knew instantly what it was and was ready to play catch. Mind you it was pitch black outside...sooooo...yep you guessed it; my living room turned into the playing field.

There are MANY things that drive my CRAZY but playing catch with the football INSIDE the house isn't one of them. In college Will and I used to play catch in the hallway of the SAE Annex. I LOVE throwing the football around. It totally relaxes me for some strange reason.

Watching Will and Ryan play catch with the "just right" football was so much fun. Ryan was giggling the entire time. I'm telling ya, that football was the trick to help him learn to catch better. After just a couple throws he was catching the ball with good form and not dropping it!

It was good for the two of them to have father/son bonding time. During harvest there really is never enough of that!!!!

She's Leavin' On A Jet Plane...

2008-10-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Miss Taylor left yesterday afternoon with Nana Cheryl for their long awaited trip to Florida. Tay has been getting ready since last weekend by laying out her summer clothes and gathering up things to do on the plane. She and Nana are going to have such a wonderful time together!

While they are down there the FlO RiDA Beightol's have TONS of fun things planned. One of those fun things is going to the opening day of High School Musical 3!

I was sad to see Taylor go off without me. But I do know she is in WONDERFUL hands. When I woke up this morning I missed not going in to wake up my little girl with her morning kisses. Then, I smiled thinking of her excitement when she woke up in Portland realizing the day had FINALLY arrived to board that plane to warm West Palm Beach!

Have a great time Taylor and Nana see ya next week!

Future Scientists??

2008-10-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Last night, Height's held their Science Night where a sample of classes from each grade have students doing a variety experiments that they have done in class.

Taylor came home last week and told us that Mr. VonMoos had chosen her along with three other classmates as the presenters for their 5th grade class. We were so proud of her. In the 3rd grade, her teacher had also chosen her for this special event.
She arrived there last night at 6:15 allowing she and Lara time to prepare their table for the evening to begin at 6:30. Both of them took their job VERY seriously! Usually when she and Lara get together there is A LOT of giggling. But they put on their "serious student hats" and were great scientists for the hour long presentations.

Also in Taylor and Lara's class are Anthony and Riley (AKA: Cubbie) which were doing their experiments at the table next to the girls. They too were taking their jobs very seriously. Then it was time to clean up...I found Anthony on the ground, and Riley messing around in the garbage!??? Goofy boys!

It was a nice event not only to see what my own child had been learning in science but also to see other Height's students show off their abilities too!!

My WoRSt FEAR!!!!!!

2008-10-20T09:56:00.001-07:00

Ryan stayed out at Nana Cheryl's house on Saturday night. She took him shopping before heading out to her house. I didn't anything of it until we went to pick him up yesterday...he was wearing a HUSKY HAT!!!!! Yes, you read that right! A PURPLE AND GOLD HUSKY HAT on MY CHILD'S HEAD!!!!!!!

He was running around the house yelling "The Huskies ROCK!" I told him those were bad words at our house. He looked at me with huge eyes and asked "Are you kidding mom?" I replied, "No Ryan I am NOT kidding!" He said, "But mom Cody Bruns plays for the Huskies!" I had to take a DEEP breath and admit to my almost 5 year old "Yes, Ryan Cody does play for them and I promised Cody I would watch his games and root for HIM but that I couldn't bring myself to buy or wear and purple and gold." Ryan smiled and said "I can." I guess I have a MAJOR rebel on my hands!!!!!!!!

Back To Basketball

2008-10-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday brought the beginning of another season of AAU Basketball. Taylor's team was placed into the top bracket this session and looking at the rest of the teams we weren't very excited. But Saturday the girls REALLY surprised ALL of us by playing extremely well against the amazing Burbank team! We have never beat those girls and they usually BLOW us OUT OF THE GYM! One of their girls is literally the height of Will! She has ALWAYS been TALL but we all think she grew TONS this summer. Maybe it is just the fact that I have to look UP to a 5th grader that seems a bit strange.The Burbank team has only ever lost games to the Mabton Tournament Team. These girls are very good athlete's with a great coach! I don't mind playing them even though in the end the results aren't good. The Burbank girls have great sportsmanship and never once have our girls come off the court complaining of any of them being rude!

Our girls played their hearts out on Saturday. At one point we were only down by 4 points but ended up losing by 9 points. Not bad AT all for their first game of the season. Way to go girls! Keep practicing and I know you will one day beat that team! We LOVE you ALL!!!

Bunko @ The Beightol's

2008-10-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

So Friday Night brought yet another night of fun with the Bunko Ladies! This time it was at my house and we had a full house! After eating, chatting and being entertained by Ryan and Will we sat down to get started rollin' the dice!

Once again Ange kept us laughing through the night and Will kept encouraging her. Will can't resist hangin' with a house full of ladies! He even got to do a little rolling of the dice himself. Wanda was running late so Will sat in as Wanda calling them "Team W."

Michele Smith joined our Bunko group and fit in great adding to some fun times. We did miss a few regulars due to family things that needed to be taken care of. But we hope to have everyone together again next month as we head off to Cami's house for yet another fun filled evening!

Pumpkin Patch Day

2008-10-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Ryan's preschool class headed off to The Schell's Pumpkin Patch. I got the privilege of driving Ryan and two of his classmates. They were so funny to listen to on the drive. I had placed Abby in the middle Ryan and Isaac to keep the boys from leaving her out. But, I should have know...it wouldn't have mattered where I placed Miss Abby she is sure NOT to be left out! She helped me keep those two boys honest! Thanks Abbs.

I myself had never been to The Schell's Pumpkin Patch before and it was soooo much fun! The kids were able to roast marshmallows in the campfire, we went on a hay ride, they climbed up haystacks and slid down slides, we went through the corn maze and lastly each of us got to pick out our own special pumpkin.
Having been a working mom up until this year I hadn't realized how much I had been missing out on my kids lives each year when they would go on these field trips and I would do my duty of going to work to educate Prosser's youth. Not that I don't think Prosser's youth are important!!!!! I now just realize that my own kids need me and that should be and is now my first priority!!!! Good thing the Lord knows what he is doing for all of us...even if we don't agree at the time!!!!!!!!!

After picking out our pumpkins we loaded back up into the cars and head off to the Dinosaur Park for some lunch. The kids were so funny to watch eating with each other and then running around the park.
Watching all those kids running around helped me see that my own young WILD man is a typical BOY! All the things he was doing the other little guys were doing too. I think he has taught them a few things as well as learned a couple things from the others!

What a great day all these kids had. These are the kinds of days that are full of memories that they will talk about forever.

The kids in Ryan's class are wonderful kids and all together a great class. He is lucky to have such amazing kids to become friends with and grow up learning life's little lessons with!!!!!

Run Over By A Gator!

2008-10-14T13:14:00.001-07:00

Gotta love a woman in control!!!

On our way home from preschool yesterday Ryan and I noticed that Kambree and Lynn were laying out on the trampoline relaxing. So, we pulled in to chat for a bit. "A bit" turned into an hour and forty-five minutes but we witnesses some dangerously hilarious moments!

Ryan and Miss Kambree had a blast jumping on the trampoline. Kampbell arrived home to join in on the fun. But, trampoline fun can only last so long for 3 and 4 year olds before their attention span goes elsewhere...yep the Gator!

She is doing a great job checking behind her before backing up! :)

Ryan was so excited he could hardly stand it. Kambree made it very clear that SHE was driving. At first she wanted Ryan to sit in the way back (probably because she was so mad that Ryan kept forgetting her name and calling her Kampbell!)but Lynn pointed out that there was plenty of room for both of the up front.

Lynn is trying to guide them into the road helping to check for cars!

Well, Miss Kambree has just recently be allowed to drive the Gator as apposed to being a passenger so she is still piecing together all the safety requirements when you are the driver. She was doing very good except that her passenger kept standing up and finally after the fourth time of Lynn and myself telling Mr Ryan to STAY SEATED, he fell off the Gator! Oh, but that isn't even the BEST part! Nope, it is the fact that Kambree didn't realize she needed to stop when losing a passenger and she ran right UP AND OVER...yes you read that correctly UP AND OVER Ryan's head!!!!

We should have known by how crazy they are alone they could REALLY cause trouble together!!!

Lynn was freaking out and I was laughing so hard (I'm laughing right now!) and poor Ryan appeared again from the undercarriage of the Gator rubbing his face and looking a bit dazed. In my mind I knew he had gotten what he deserved. No time like the present to learn...follow directions or someone just might get hurt!

Ryan didn't cry but looked as if he wanted to. He has a HUGE pain tolerance so I just figured he was fine. But once we got into the car to go home he said "Mom, I wanted to cry when Kambree ran over me, but I didn't." I think maybe he was trying to act tough in front of her!

Kampbell and Ryan became very good friends too! Kampbell probably is thinking "Thank Goodness Ryan was here to get the wrath of Kambree today instead of me, for once!"

RyJack has asked at least 10 times today "When can we go back to Kambree's house? I think he may have found himself a new "friend." Too Cute!!!!!

Here is the damage done to his face by the tires of the Gator! He took some "medasa" as he calls it and feel asleep pretty fast last night! Again today he asked for some more but I don't think he really needed any he just wanted attention. Funny little dude!

A Hippo As A Lifesaver???

2008-10-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

Check this place out! It was a TOTAL lifesaver!

Hippo Scraps

With way more work then EVER should have been done my template it is finally changed! Poor Will sat at the darn computer for over 2 hours trying to get the template that I had chosen yesterday to switch to a 3 column. I forced him to go to bed...harvest brings early mornings and late nights. He needs some sleep.

After spending HOURS trying to change the template using Karen's advice on my comment list (Thanks Karen) I still couldn't get the exact template to work. The STUPID page wasn't working. So, now that it is 12:30AM I have chosen a TOTALLY different background from a new blog I found called HippoScraps.com. It was SOOOOO simple once I tried a different designer. I don't know why the other blog designer's pages weren't changing!

Even though the font sizes and colors are not yet adjusted to what I want them to be I am going to bed. After being up last night until 2AM and now about to see 1AM I am going to bed to get some sleep. I guarantee I will get A LOT more sleep now that I have a NEW background and I know that people are not coming across a page that looks all bizarrely arranged!

Tomorrow is another day...Oh I guess it already is tomorrow...So, what I meant to say is "When the sun rises is another opportunity to become "all techie" again!"

Sweet Dreams!

TeCHnICaL DifFiCUltTIEs!!!

2008-10-12T22:58:00.000-07:00

I am trying really hard to change my template and make it 3 column again w/o having to ask Will...seeing as though it is 11 o'clock Sunday Night. So, please hang in with me while I try to FIX this ON MY OWN!! :)

Hopefully it will look back to normal but with a new pretty Fall Template. But the way things are going it might not be until tomorrow night when Will returns from work! :(

{Harvest Time Birthday}

2008-10-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

My birthday always seems to go on for days...which when I was little (and a heck of a lot younger) I wouldn't really have minded. But now that I am 35 I question "Why does everyone need to keep reminding how darn OLD I am!" Because October brings long days and nights for Will (due to harvest) my birthday usually goes in multiple stages.

This is the card that Cheryl gave me which has a picture of a dog that looks just like Chance. The dog has sunglasses on and is riding in a nice car. Cheryl said the card is from Chance at his new home on the hill! Darn dog is livin' it up...so we hope since we still haven't found him!

On Thursday morning Will and the kids gave me my presents to open as Will was rushing out the door with no idea what time he would return that evening. It use to bother me that It was MY birthday and he may not get home in time to have dinner with us. Maybe it is my OLD AGE...but it doesn't seem to bother me the way it use to. I guess at some point you start to realize the most important things in life. And one of those being it is just another day and at least I know he will be coming home to me some time that evening, even if I don't have an exact time. So, as he walked out the door that morning I smiled and said "See ya, when we see ya. Have a great day!"

After Will's mom got off of work she came up to the house with her presents for me! Taylor had gone to a friends house so it was just me, Cheryl and Ryan to enjoy opening. Ryan was getting very frustrated with me because I wasn't opening fast enough for him. He wanted me to tear into the present, look at the box, and move on to the next one. Cheryl reminded him that with the economy the way it is going we are all going to need to practice slowly opening present because when Christmas gets here if we tear through them really really fast Christmas will be over before we know it!" He looked at her as if she was insane! :)

I was trying REALLY hard not to lose it...knowing Cheryl was taking pictures. Would HATE to have me losing it on my 35th birthday captured on camera!

As Ryan was getting frustrated with me I too was getting extremely FRUSTRATED with him. He was tired and when he is tired he goes 3,000 miles a second. He runs, talks, rolls, spins and does anything he has to to keep from falling asleep standing up! So while I was trying to open and enjoy he was karate chopping me, standing on his head, running through the kitchen sliding across the wood floors and racing his Hot Wheel Cars into the walls and trim! I was trying really really really hard to ask him to stop but the nicer I asked the more he tried to find things to drive me wacky!

I really was excited about my MAC makeup! Ryan is just in the kitchen throwing a FIT and I am about ready to come unglued!!!! That would be why I am not looking so excited about my gift.

My WONDERFUL mother-n-law bought me my scrapbooking Cricut printer. It will allow me to start printing vinyl letters, phrases, saying, etc.

Cheryl and I had fun just asking it to make a star. I was sooooo excited I could hardly stand it. There are soooo many different cartridges that have different fonts and shapes that it will print out on paper, chipboard, vinyl, etc. There are starting to not be enough hours in the day for all the things I want to do with it!

My 35th birthday really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I didn't feel any older than I had the previous day (a major PLUS), Ryan feel asleep early, and Will was home by 7:00 with my favorite...pizza from Brickhouse!!!!!!!!

New Venture...

2008-10-08T19:57:00.001-07:00

Specialty Line...Christmas/Holiday Scents

If you would have told me 6 months ago that on my 35th birthday I would no longer be teaching wonderful middle school children, but in the business of selling candles and staying home with my own children I would have laughed in your face!!!

Buds and Blossoms

But here I am 4 hours away from my 35th birthday and I have taken on a FUN new job. Thanks to Lolli and Stacy Aune I am now a demonstrator for Gold Canyon Candles. Monday night I had an Open House to "show off" my product.

Sugar and Spice

Fruit and Citrus

Thank goodness my mother was in town because she was a TREMENDOUS help. We spent all day Monday getting the house arranged. We came up with the idea to have people go to different rooms in the house to smell the different candle scents.

The Comforts of Home were found in my bedroom on a "breakfast in bed" tray. Decorated with one of the coffee mug candles, and a newspaper.

The master bathroom had the Aroma Gold scents next to the tub which was filled and had candles floating in it.
The Baking Line was displayed on a cake tier with a rolling pin, measuring spoons and a cookbook. The Inspirations line was arranged next to "inspirational books" and an Angel of Inspiration.

The Clean and Fresh line was found in the Laundry room of course. It was soooo much fun to come up with the different arrangements.

It took some time to set up but now it should be a piece of cake to duplicate for a while. I have two other catalog parties going as I type and 4 other people who have called to set up parties! I think these candles are well on their way of taking over the valley!

Nature and Outdoors

This venture just might pay-off! I am hoping it will be so productive that next year at this time I will find myself still at home!!!!!

If you are interested in purchasing some candles, hosting a party or even selling this product along with me please email me amy.beightol@clearwire.net and I can help you out!

These are AMAZING candles. They soooo easily sell themselves. I have had SEVERAL people say that once they bought a Gold Canyon candle they NEVER bought another brand again! Try it for yourself and see!!!!

HUGE Suprise

2008-10-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Friday Night we had another Girls Night Out. I was thinking it was only Tammy, Lol, Wendy, and Me. Boy, was I WRONG! At 6:00 a BUS showed up...if you have ever been to my house you are asking yourself A bus made it up that long, rocky, dusty road? And the answer to your question is HECK YEAH!

As it pulled into the driveway Will got this huge smile on his face and I asked him with my authoritative voice WHAT IS GOING ON? He just shrugged his shoulders and said I didn't know Tammy traded in her Suburban for a bus. I said, SHE DIDN'T and neither did Wendy who is suppose to be the one driving tonight!"

Then the horn honked from the bus and Will opened the door saying You'd better get out there obviously SOMEONE is here to get you. I am not a huge fan of surprises so I slowly walked out the front door and down the walkway to find Linda Brownlee flashing pictures like she was the paparazzi. Then I climbed up the stairs of the bus hearing MANY voices yell HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I was so surprised, happy, overwhelmed. and grateful! I have NEVER had a surprise party and I guess what better birthday than the 35th, the one which to me is where the roller coaster is at the very top of the roller coaster ready to go out of control full speed to 40!

With the bus filled with many of my WONDERFUL friends (Lolli, Wendy, Tammy, Glenda, Deanna, Connie, Dora, Wanda, and Linda) (unfortunately Barbie, Tammy Bybee and Audra weren't able to make it, they needed to stay behind to do mommy stuff!) we head onto the highway destination unknown to me. It was Dora's actual birthday so we were able to celebrate her birthday along with mine. We opened presents and laughed like we haven't laughed for a very long time!

The bus pulled into the parking lot of our destination KIMO'S. Amanda met us there and Sarah Davis unfortunately wasn't able to make it due to another one of her AMAZINGLY true stories. But that in itself is a whole nother HUGE post!

I was sooooooo glad to see EVERYONE but especially Amanda!!!

We had a GREAT time telling stories, laughing about old memories and running/hiding from people who felt they needed to be apart of our special evening.

These people were very strange also!?!?!?! The Mad Hatter found his way out of Alice In Wonderland and to KIMO'S restaurant?????

Lolli was in one of her devious moods and thought she would tell some strange man that "the girl named Amy" would dance with him! And that "Amy was wearing the birthday hat." Thank Goodness Deanna hollered at me to take the Birthday hat off immediately. Because the next thing I know the man is circling the table singing "Amy, Amy which one of you is Amy?"

Me hoping soooo badly that the guy calling for Amy will not figure out that I am AMY!

Deanna carrying on a conversation with "Stranger Man" Notice Lolli and Wanda in the background finding the entire situation hilarious!!!

I bolted to the restroom. Which wasn't a very good idea either because then he sat down in my seat and Amanda took up a conversation with him about me...Thanks Miss Amanda! :)

All in all we had a WONDERFULLY Evening!!!!!! Thank you ladies for making mine and Dora's birthday sooooo extra special.

SHOOOOOOO FLIES

2008-10-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

The fly strip in the garage to "capture" the flies BEFORE they enter my home.

Looks like a new strip is needed!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I truly HATE flies! My family thinks I am insanely obsessed with them! I hate this time of year for the fact that flies are trying so hard to save their own lives that they start invading homes.

I spend soooo much of my day running around the house with the fly swatter in my hand trying to kill every single fly that enters my home. I have even had multiple fly strips hanging in the garage and laundry room trying to keep them from getting into the house!

My fly swatter which has come to just hang on the OUTSIDE of the closet so I can get to it quicker than opening the door to get it. It seems like whenever I have it in the closet, the flies "hear" me opening the door to their deaths and fly away!

The idea of them crawling around on the counters, food, walls, chairs, etc and leaving their "germs" all over everything brings me to such disgust that it makes my skin crawl just writing about it!!!!!!

This is the time of year that I start to look forward to the first freeze to kill off all those little annoying buggers! I know my thoughts are not very kind but they are absolutely, disgustingly dirty little creatures that I just want them gone. Who wants to pick up something to eat when you don't know if a fly just "might" have been walking around on it earlier!!!!!

Brother And Sister Time

2008-10-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how quickly a day goes by and there are still SO many things that still need to be done! One of those things seems to ALWAYS be reading. Ryan of course never wants to do our reading during the day when we seem to have the time (that would be too easy)!

So, the other night Taylor had crawled into her bed to do her reading (which she seems to never forget to do) before she turns out the light for the night. Ryan needed to get his reading done and I wasn't really in the mood when he said "I know why doesn't Sissy read to me tonight?" I told him that was a WONDERFUL idea. A few minutes later I could hear them in her room talking about the story and the pictures. Taylor likes to take on the roll of mother/teacher with him quite often ;) So, I grabbed my camera and headed back to see what I could find.
Well, from this picture you can see I got caught in the act of taking pics. After this pic he told me to leave because it was his and Taylor's time together. I had to leave...how could I resist not letting them have some brother and sister bonding time!

They're OPEN!!!

2008-10-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

After MANY long nights by MANY different people the girls opened their doors yesterday morning. The place is beautiful and has such an amazing atmosphere!

Having MOST everything in its place I think everyone is very happy to call this home. Being in the old shop they were starting to feel like everyone was on top of one another. Making the move allowed for SO MUCH MORE space! There are six stations, four driers, four sinks, and a waxing area.

The waiting area is a perfect spot to sit quietly reading a magazine while allowing your mind to wander to the realization that you are about to get what you have been needing... total pampering!

I am so happy for Barbie and the girls! I know Barbie is VERY, VERY, VERY TIRED but also just as happy knowing she is in a place that is going to be enjoyable to work in and visit as a client.

Real Deals

2008-09-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

This star I got for my birthday last year from my mom.

Michele said they sell these stars in ALL different sizes and colors.

Michele Smith has been talking to me about this new store that Chad's sister Natalie opened in Kennewick at the beginning of June. It is called Real Deals: Home Decor and it is located at 11 E Kennewick Ave. They are open on Thursdays from 10-6pm and Saturdays from 10-4pm.

Michele was there for awhile yesterday and said they were soooo busy. There are so many wonderful deals and way cute things for the house. I can't wait to get there myself. I got on their website and signed up on the mailing list which is suppose to send you updates on major deals and when they are having them.

I looked at the pictures they had showing products in the stores. TONS of FUN stuff. Just looking at the website I could probably spend MANY hours and LOTS of money in one stop.

Check it out! Bet you too will want to go tomorrow morning!!!!!

Many Balloons- But Only One Green Balloon

2008-09-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

We have been getting up the last couple morning looking out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of an early balloon. Well, unfortunately we didn't see any... until TODAY. There were soooo many up in the air together this morning that we couldn't count them all. They were beautiful and so peaceful sounding.

I was running late getting Miss Taylor and Brit to school this morning so I didn't get a chance to stop and get a great pic of them all up together. But, the green balloon was right above us as we were heading up the hill to school. So, yes I was driving and taking pics kinda at the same time. No worries, everyone is still safe and sound!

I did pull over and get a few safe pictures too. As I was out of the car taking these pictures I could hear the people up in the basket talking. Kinda weird.

Ryan LOVES the color green so he told me it was okay that I didn't get any pictures of the other balloons cause this one is the best anyways.

Gettin' Closer!

2008-09-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

We were off to a slow start getting the new shop put together until Wednesday night. It was time to get down to business. I got down there and Will and Brian were already beginning to get things hung on the walls. They did run into a couple glitches (the screws were not going all the way into the drywall). Once they got longer screws they were back in business.

It wasn't until 10:35pm that any of us (including kids) headed home for the night. Needless to say it was a short nights sleep!!!!!

Thursday we took the night off but Friday is the MAJOR day of moving. It will be the day to say good-bye to the old building and hello to the new digs!

Come by on Tuesday for a peek at the place. You're gonna LOVE IT!

Prosser Animal Hospital

2008-09-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

Ryan's preschool was off to the Prosser Animal Hospital on Wednesday. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. I met them down there and who was the first little face I saw staring out the window...you got it RyJack's. He was so cute with this sweet Innocent look taking in the sites of Prosser.

The entire staff was so good to the kids. They took them in and showed them x-rays of animals injuries. Each child got a turn looking into the microscope at ear mites! Once Ryan looked he came up making a horrible looking face and said "Disgusting!!"

One of the nurses brought out a ferret which most kids had no clue that animal existed. No one volunteered to pet him either. They look way too much like a weaselly rat for me to be found of either.

For the last part of the field trip the kids were taken outside to see the larger dogs in the kennels. One of Ryan's classmates had their dog out there. It had gotten bit by something and they were able to see that the dog would be just fine.

Then came time to load up into the bus. It is amazing how long it takes to load thirteen 5 year olds onto a bus. They don't pay attention to the person in front of them so they are either bumping into them or not realizing that the line has moved waaaayyyy far ahead! Way too cute to see them being out in the world learning new amazing information.

Slowly But Surely??? Hopefully!!!!

2008-09-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

Getting Barbie's new shop up and going by next Tuesday is beginning to stress me out a bit. It is a good thing that I am the stresser and Barbie is the calm one(seeing as though she is the shop owner)! Last night we went to the shop for another night of "putting things on the walls." Because Will was still at work and Brian was at practice Barbie, Kelli, Emma Lynn and myself started with putting together some of the shelving. It was a VERY good thing Emma Lynn was with us because Kelli and I were having some trouble following the wordless directions! Emma kept making "blond" jokes and we did have to remind her that she too was blond!

After two hours of work we had accomplished putting together only two shelves! Brian showed up unwrapped a couple mirrors but never did hang anything on the walls.

The second shelf should have been easier to put together...yeah, we didn't think so!

So, tonight Will is coming down and Will seems to be the one who gets things done out of all of us. I have faith that TONIGHT there will be things hung on the walls before we lock the shop up for the evening!!!!!

We did realize there were MANY males around but only females working! :)

Apple Eating

2008-09-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Why is it that kids want the apple cut into pieces until they are missing a front tooth? Don't they realize how difficult it is to bite into things when missing teeth? Ryan has ALWAYS wanted his apples cut up and after Dr Grow pulled that darn tooth he has wanted the apple whole.

It is soooo blasted funny watching him try to bite into it. He assures me he knows what he is doing. Then he turns his head really close to his shoulder and bites down into the apple coming up with a small shaving out of the crisp, juicy apple. Holding out the apple to show me he has the whole process handled!

By golly he is right...he sure is capable of eating the entire apple without it being cut into pieces. He is growing up right before our eyes. Isn't it just when you get all your kids self-sufficient when an "oooppss" usually happens and you get to start all over?!?!?!?!?!?!? GOD help me. What a horrible thought...I love my FULL nights sleep WAY TOOOOO MUCH to let an "ooopppss" happen.

I do have to admit...he is DARN CUTE!!!!!!!!

Truckin' Fam

2008-09-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend Will had to go get the flatbed from the winery and the kids went with him so I could have some "me" time. I was sitting in the living room watching football when all of a sudden I hear this obnoxiously loud horn coming from the driveway. I looked out the window to see Will and the kids smiling back at me like it was Christmas morning.

Will helping Ryan honk the horn...so he doesn't honk toooooo looooonnnngggg!

Ryan laughing hysterically after honking the horn.

Ryan thought it was so cool that he got to ride in a "semi" and honk the horn. Tay wasn't as forth coming with her excitement but acted more like a teenager saying "Yeah, it was fun." with a shrug of her shoulders. I think Ryan would have stayed in the cab the rest of the night if we would have let him. I bet I can guess what his job will be during harvest when he gets old enough!!!

Maybe they can go on the road together.??

Whirlwind Of A Weekend

2008-09-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

Wendy showing us what a Bunko is when rolling for 6's!

The weekend started with Taylor going to a friends house and Ryan going home with Nana Cheryl for the night. Then, I was off for a night of Bunko with the wacky ladies!!! It is always a night full of interesting events, strange stories, and behaviors! This night was NO EXCEPTION to say the least. We haven't all been together since last year at Lolli's house about in October ?? It has been so long I can't even remember the month of the last Bunko!!! We had a great time getting caught up with one another and playing the always fun and thoughtless game of BUNKO! After three rounds and about 3 hours we handed out gifts to the deserving 4. Most Wins: Lolli Most Bunko's: Tracy Most Babies: Barbie and Most Losses: Wanda. We all were so glad to get back together again for a night without husbands and kids!

Lolli trying to make Vampire Fangs!

Ang lettin' us know she was Winning!

Saturday brought RAIN! I so love it when it rains. Growing up on the Westside I didn't know that everybody didn't wake up (at least 5 out of 7 days) to dreary rain. It made for a perfect lazy day...Will and I woke up around 9, went and got Starbucks and waited for the Boise State game to start. Then, at 4 Little Will's Grid Kids game started down at the stadium. They won again feelin pretty darn good about themselves! Taylor was the ball girl for the 1st half again and then spent the second half hanging with her friends.

After the game it was time to get to work...

Barbie is moving into a new shop and her garage has been stuffed with items to furnish and decorate it. She got the key on Friday so we decided to get a bunch of stuff moved in and on the walls. Well, we got stuff moved in but spent a couple hours, yes, I said a couple hours, looking at how the mirrors and cabinets were going to work best.

Barbie struggling to make a decision

Four of us stood there staring at a black wall trying to decide how everything would work most efficiently but also look good. While we were doing this the three boys were running around and around the inside of the shop!!! At 10:30PM we finally decided we needed to sleep on it for a couple nights before making such major decisions. I am so glad we started this process this weekend instead of waiting until next weekend when things will HAVE TO be decided on. The new shop is going to be such a fun but also relaxing environment. Barbie has worked really hard to add her wonderful personal touch to the larger upgraded building! I can't wait until it is all finished and ready to open. You will HAVE to come check it out!!!!

By the way... Boise State BEAT Oregon 37 to 32! Way to go Kellen!! You are AMAZING!!!!

http://www.broncosports.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPID=4061&DB_OEM_ID=9900

Page To Remember

2008-09-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

On the first day of preschool Ryan made his handprints on a piece of paper and then they attached a cute little poem. It wasn't that I didn't like what they had done with it at school I just wanted to make it fit inside his scrapbook. So I retyped the poem in smaller font and cut the handprints out. I used the picture of Ryan on his first day with him wearing his lovely beanie. What a day to remember!

Been Up To My Elbows In...CRAFT

2008-09-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

I can not tell you how many people have called asking where I've been! I didn't realize so many people logged on each day looking to read the next crazy story about our "OOooHH So Normal" Family!

So, no we haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I have just gotten lost in a few...okay MANY different craft projects in the last week or so. It all began when I found the wordle website. I had so many different ideas floating through my head that I was trying to keep up with all of them. BAD IDEA.

Then on Monday I ran up to Craft Warehouse...once again...BAD IDEA. I came home with so many things I didn't even know where to begin. Which is why I found myself doing multiple projects at once. As one was drying I started another and when I got frustrated I moved on to yet another...Poor Will came home to a house that looked like Santa's Workshop after a MAJOR hurricane! (I know there aren't hurricanes in the North Pole! But you get my point.) ;)

I started by making magnets with the flat decorative clear rocks. I found some fun scrapbook paper stamped a few letters on it, used Mod Podge to glue them together then added a magnet to the backs and taadaa I have fun little gifts for people. I ran acrossed some ribbon I had and decided to try to make bow magnets. I think they are VERY cute!

Next, I started on something that is going to end up as a prize for this Friday's Bunko Party. I bought a glass block, a jack-o-lantern face rub-on, a small strand of white lights and a bag of small autumn leaves. I transferred the jack-o-lanterns face on, stuffed the leaves in through the hole in the back and then began the pain-staking process of getting the lights shoved into the block as well. The hole was not large enough to get the light through at the same time as the cord so I ended up taking a finger nail file and filing the hole until it was just big enough to shove the light strand through. It will make a GREAT Bunko gift and a wonderful Halloween decoration!
My final projects were started this morning. I have been looking at this post on TipJunkie which shows how to take a tin container (Altoids box) and decorate it so it can be used again for fun. After searching and finding a couple tins (in the back of the pantry) I decided what the heck! So I gathered the supplies and followed the instructions. It really was very, very simple! As I was almost finished I realized that the tutorial only had you decorating the top of the container. HOW BORING! SO, I added my own ideas and flare. I decorated and covered the ENTIRE canister. I am soooo in love with these two containers it is not even funny. The rectangle box I did first and then decided to give the round container a go. I can't wait to find more containers. Will asked me "Does this mean we will be buying Altoids and emptying them into Ziploc baggies so you can have the tins?" He is catching on to my way of thinking...I knew he would come around eventually!!!!!!

These fun containers can be used for ANYTHING. But it dawned on me as I was finishing up, that the containers are metal (duh!)and that the magnets I made the other night would fit in them nicely. What a wonderful gift to give anyone! Tonight I also thought how perfect a Starbucks gift card would fit in the box!!!!! A creative wrapping for a gift card instead of the little paper envelope.

So, long post-short...I have not been ignoring all of my wonderful readers, I have just been crafting and designing things to show you. I spoiled you all a few weeks ago doing multiple posts in one day. I will admit we are a wacky family but even we take a break from the wackiness every once in awhile.

sSOo MUcH FuNNN

2008-09-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

I just ran across this website on TipJunkie this morning. The website is: wordle.net and it is a FREE program that allows you to type in any words and it makes a design out those words. You can change to multiple different fonts, colors, and arrangements. Then you are able to print them off and use them as you wish. I just did a quick one with words that describe Ryan to try it out. Talk about EASY! As I was printing it out I thought...What a perfectly simple way to do gifts. Print them off on cardstock, add pics if you wish, put in a picture frame and you have a touching gift to last a lifetime!

Thankful!!!

2008-09-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

Today, September 11th 2008, seven years after we were attacked on our own soil I can't help but think about all those people who woke up once again this morning with that "It wasn't just a bad nightmare, It really did happen!" feeling in their tummies!

I, along with so many others will never forget where I was that horrible morning when the first plane hit the tower. It was Tuesday morning and I was downstairs ironing my outfit for work while watching ESPN because Ed McCaffrey had received a broken leg the night before in the Monday Night Football game and I wanted to see disgusting the replay again. Will then came downstairs asking if I just saw "that". I replied yeah, it was really gross! He looked at me, then the tv and then said "No not McCaffrey's broken leg! On the TODAY Show they just showed a plane running into the World Trade Center!" The rest of that morning at home is a blur.

I do remember getting to school and many of my students were a bit on edge (as well as the rest of us). One student whose mother was a flight attendant was back east and they had not been able to get a hold of her before coming to school so he was mentally someplace else all day!

During the days and months afterwards I remember the kindness that people were showing for each other. And I remember thinking then as I do now...Why does it take such a horrible thing to have people treat one another the way we should treat each other ALL THE TIME! Strangers were opening doors for strangers, people were smiling and making eye contact with every person that they walked passed on the streets and the colors red, white and blue were EVERYWHERE!

It is extremely disappointing to me that only 7 years later things have gone "back to normal." Well, at least for some. Others are still affected by that day EVERY DAY of their lives and will be for THE REST of their lives. I believe that each of us needs to heal and go forward in life but that doesn't mean that we need to go "back" to the way things were. I bet those who were affected by the loss of family and close friends thank GOD each and everyday for those people in their lives.

So many of us get caught up in the rush of everyday life that sometimes we forget to take the time to be completely thankful for all that we have. And to remember no matter how bad you think you have it...there are people who are worse off than you...seek out those people who need an extra hand... and offer some kindness. It really doesn't hurt that badly to be a little "blue" (compassionate).

Scrappin' Faster!

2008-09-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here is the page that I did for Miss Tay with her guitar she got for her birthday. I chose to be VERY simple on the page since the paper was so busy. The bottome right hand coner I used rub-ons to describe our Taylor. She is a very smart girl who finds out of the ordinary things to try. No one in our family plays the guitar and I am not even sure where Tay got the idea of wanting to learn. But here she is practicing away on her own time and loving it!

{Ryan's Ready}

2008-09-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Today was Ryan's first day back at preschool. He woke up ready to roll. I had a VERY hard time explaining (and getting through to him) that this year his school started at 12:00 and went until 2:30 instead of going at 9:00 and getting done at 11:00 like last year. It was the LONGEST morning in the history of mornings. I tried to keep him busy to make the time "fly by" but nothing seemed to help.

When it was finally time to go he came out with his backpack on binder in hand and his BEANIE on his head. I tried over and over to explain to him 1. it is WAY TOO HOT outside to wear a BEANIE and 2. He would have to take it off when we got to school. I got the teenage huff and a stomp of the foot with a reply of "Alright!"
Trying to take pictures was another major ordeal. He kept saying "Mom, I'm gonna be late. Let's go now." He wouldn't take off the beanie so he looked silly standing outside with the beautiful sunshiny weather, shorts and the winter hat!

Then, I made the mistake of asking for just one more picture and this is what I got this...

Yes, my four year old huffed AGAIN and then walked away from me. Little turkey!

When we got to school the first little boy we saw noticed Ryan's missing tooth and said to him "WOW, you are lucky you have a missing tooth. I still have all of mine." Ryan then told the boy that it got pulled out because it was "tip" I had to translate for the mothers around that it was CHIPPED.

What a nice, sweet angel!

Ryan is lucky this year in the fact he has 3 teachers. Mrs. Courtney will be there all three days Ryan attending. Then, Mrs. Bender(whom he had last year) will be there on Wednesday and Thursdays. Mrs. Hick's will be with Ryan's class on Mondays.

Ryan and Mrs. Hicks Hi-5ing each other after getting all of his supplies in the box.

All last year I continually heard from Mrs. Courtney and Mrs. Bender what a nice young man he was when he was at school which normally contradicted how he was at home. After watching him for a bit a school today he was very respectful and followed directions very well. I guess it is like always said to my middle school parents: "Wouldn't you rather have them behave appropriately in public and be a turkey at home as apposed to the other way around?" I never had a parent disagree with that statement and I guess that is just how Ryan will be...most of the time.

Each student came up and found their name on an apple and placed that apple on the tree.

This is the look of a child who has been waiting to come to school ALL morning and now it too tired to concentrate.

When I left Ryan was sitting "Criss-cross Applesauce" listening to Mrs. Courtney explain what their day was going to look like. As I walked out the door I realized I have 2 1/2 hours ALL TO MY SELF! I got in the car and headed for home. Who knows what I can accomplish in that time? Maybe my next scrapbook page?!?!

Learning CAN Be Fun!!!

2008-09-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

Ryan with the double "Tiger Woods arm pump"

One of the things I promised myself after I decided to stay home with Ryan was I wanted to set aside time each morning to help him in areas that he needs improvements on. Well, we started on Tuesday after Brock went to Kindergarten and let me fill you in on a few things:

1. Boys are sooooooo much different than girls!

2. I was NOT made to home school my children!!!!!!

3. Kids say and do the darndest things!

Ryan playin' the air guitar.

Ryan is still trying to figure out if he is left handed or right. Which causes MAJOR problems. 98% of the time he uses his left hand but then gets a wild hair and tries his right hand! So, needless to say his writing abilities are minimal.

We were working Tuesday morning on holding a pencil correctly and writing his name when he looked at me and said "This is WAY too hard I think I just won't learn to hold a pencil." My reply, "Nice try Buster Brown get goin'!" Ryan: "Fine but I am very tired from all this hard work." Mind you we had been working for a total of maybe 5 minutes!!!!!!

It is a darn good thing he starts back to pre-school on Monday. Good Luck Mrs. Courtney and Mrs. Bender you both have way more patience to teach him than I seem to have.

Today I decided see if I could "trick" him into some learning time. My Aunt teaches Kindergarten and she gave us a few card games to practice his knowledge of letters and numbers.

Ryan and I decided play Go Fish Alphabet style today. I explained the game to him and before I knew it he was ready to WIN. Except he wasn't grasping the concept of not showing your cards.

Then whenever he had to "Go Fish" he would pump his fist in the air and yell "YES!" No matter how many times and ways I seemed to explain to him that he really didn't want to "Go Fish" he never seemed to grasp the whole concept. He and I had so much fun giggling and being funny with each other. But the best part is he was learning the ENTIRE TIME and he didn't even realized it!!!!!!!

In the end he counted up his pairs and then my pairs and HE WON fair and square! He had 16 pairs and I had 10. Monday we will try the Old Maid Number game! Who knows I'll probably even end up learning something from that game!

"Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!"

Major Steps FORWARD!

2008-09-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

This morning was the most eerily perfect morning that I can say I've ever had. It started with me getting ready and doing my hair for the day. Yesterday I had my hair done for the first time in TWO MONTHS! Barbie and I had forgotten to schedule my next appointment the last time I was in! Won't EVER make that mistake AGAIN!

It was about three weeks ago that I realized how badly I needed my hair done. I was looking in the mirror and thought to myself Man, the summer really took a toll on me...I look 10 years older than I should! I haven't been out in the sun as much as I usually am during the summer months so I am extremely pale and blah looking which doesn't help my look!

I was so overly excited to get in Barbie's chair yesterday morning! As she was finishing up I noticed that I looked a lot better than I did that day 3 weeks ago in the mirror. My blond was back and my dark underneath wasn't all washed out and reddish looking anymore. I felt 100% better! It is always fun the morning after your hair appointment to style your hair but this morning was even more enjoyable.

My pleasant morning continued as Taylor came in and asked if she looked alright. As I looked up at her I thought to myself Oh, dear what did she put together now? She is going through that "I'm trying to find myself" dressing stage. But when I saw what she had put on I was very impressed. She looked very cute and well put together!

Then, came Ryan's moment. We have been working very hard getting him to pick out his own clothes and to dress himself. He has made GREAT gains this summer and this morning it ALL came together. He brought his clothes (that he had picked out himself) to my bathroom to get dressed. He started with the boxer briefs, then his shorts (these two items he has no problems with). But then came the dreaded T-shirt time! But I heard him say "I'm gonna try putting on my t-shirt myself." Then, I heard him say through giggles "I did it myself!" Sure enough he got his shirt over his blasted darn big head all by himself. I was so proud of him. Next, he sat down put on his socks and then asked me to help with his "tie shoes." I undid the laces and asked him to put the shoe on himself while I got the other shoelaces undone. Then we switched; he put on his other shoe while I tied his shoe. He jumped up after both shoes were tied and hollered "I did it all by myself and I even match right down to my shoes mom!" He proceeded to the sink, put toothpaste on his toothbrush and brushed his teeth ALL BY HIMSELF!
So, needless to say now you can see why this morning was such a wonderful day in the Beightol home! I am blogging about this because as all of us with kids know: these days are far and few between! Come Monday, we will probably sleep through the alarm clock, not have any clean clothes, be dressed in stripes and polka-dots, not be able to find the shoes we WANT to wear and be dropped off at school wiping tears from our cheeks!

Sometimes we forget the small steps our kids make which in all reality are HUGE gains in them growing up and becoming Little People.

Have had people ask...Yes, Mr. Ryan DID take this picture!

Remember to take the time to compliment them on those major achievements in their life! I know I forget way too often.

Ideas + Perfectionist= Little Progress

2008-09-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have realized I am more of a perfectionist than I ever thought I was! I started this page the day after I finished Ryan's page on his motorcycle. I laid pics one way, then another, walked away for a while, come back moved things around again, so on and so on and so on! Finally last night I sat down and said to Will "I am finishing this page TONIGHT!"

While working on this page I have come up with about 4 or 5 other pages I want to get started on also. But the rate I have done two pages, these others won't be done until Thanksgiving!

You can't see Mia's shirt very well but it says: Are you sure these are MY relatives?

Part of my problem is that I have all these creative ideas in my head but don't exactly know how to get them down on the page! That is where my very, very, creative and artistic mother and grandmother would come in handy!!!!

If you notice I stamped Beightol on individual "things" that are suppose to look like marshmallows. To help that along I went out and got a large tumbleweed from the yard and broke off a few different sized sticks. Once I found one that was long enough I cut slits in each side of the letters and wove the stick through each letter. My hope was to have it look like marshmallows on a stick being roasted over the camp fire. ?? Again, great idea in my head; not so sure it ended up looking the same on paper. ?

Well, this one is at least finished and in the book. On the my next page(s)...

Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree!!!

2008-09-03T20:29:00.001-07:00

My mother kindly suggested that I start blogging about Miss Taylor too. She is afraid people will think I like Mr Ryan more than Miss Taylor...ha ha ha! I reminded my mother that I have been spending entire days with Ryan and Taylor has been going to school. Plus, Ryan seems to be at that stage where most everything he does and/or says is blasted funny. So, I told my mother I would blog about Taylor soon but that I just couldn't make something up to make something up. I try to write about things that are from my heart! (That darn "blue" in me again!)

Well, this evening brought an event to our home that so must run in my family (on the female side) MATH HOMEWORK ISSUES! The moment the math book comes out of the backpack "all heck breaks loose" in this house. It is flashbacks from my wonderful days of taking EVERY flippin' math class TWICE in high school AND college. Yes, you read that right EVERY MATH CLASS TWICE! So, needless to say I am absolutely NO HELP to Tay when it comes to her struggles with this complicated task.

I have always believed in telling/teaching my kids that EVERYONE has strengths and weaknesses in life's everyday tasks. It is no secret to anyone that when someone talks math my ears just automatically turn off what they are saying because I have spent way too many hours TRYING to understand to no avail. Well, unfortunately, Miss Taylor took me being math inept and automatically assumes she is not good at it either. That is her excuse anyways when she is not able to figure a problem out quickly and easily. I have been trying to explain to her that just because she has to work at it doesn't mean she isn't good at it.

So many nights I have seen "the look." It is when a child is working on something they don't understand but they want you to think they are trying to figure it out...so they look up toward the ceiling, then their eyes roll down to see if anyone is watching them "working so hard on the problem", then they start quietly talking to themselves as if all of this is helping to make everything magically come together in their head to then be put down on paper. She thinks she is tricking ME? I don't think so...I was the one who invented "The Look!"

Even better is watching Will try to explain to her what she is not understanding. Talk about a blast from the past! It is like an out of body experience: watching my own father try to explain to me. Will always starts out by saying "Tay, what doesn't look right there?" Tay ALWAYS responds with "I don't know?"

Will: Look again then Taylor.

Taylor: OH! I get it now. When she really doesn't!

Will: Taylor you are making silly mistakes, slow down and do it right the first time.

I am telling you if I had a PENNY for every time my father said those words to me I would be so darn rich!

As a parent, you want better for your own children than what you had. And that is no different with the ability to learn and grasp concepts. I know Taylor is MUCH, MUCH smarter than I was at her age(she thankfully got her dad's genes in the intelligence dept.)! But I just wish she didn't get frustrated so easily(she got that from ME, if you hadn't already guessed)! I guess we have all had to learn that some things just take a bit of extra effort before succeeding. Let's just hope she comes to grasp that understanding soon or Ms. Lolli and the other middle school math teachers are in for a HUGE challenge...And no it won't be the challenge of having me taking middle school math classes with Taylor next year!

Another night getting through math without tears!!!!!!! Yippee!!

Signs Of Trouble Ahead

2008-09-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

The face of a child who NEVER learns!!!

So just as I am publishing my last post "Hole" History Of A Tire I look out the office window to see Ryan sitting on the ground next to his bike. (Yes, Will was able to fix his tire yesterday with one we already had in the garage. Yippee!) I can't tell at first if he is just resting or if he is actually crying. His darn helmet is so blasted huge it doesn't leave much room to read body language and/or facial features.

Gettin' up for another round!

The only injury SO FAR today and it didn't even need a band-aid!

I walk out the front door and Ryan is actually just kind of whimpering like a new puppy. As I am approaching him I asked him what happened. He replied with an "I'm very hurt" voice: "I was peddling up the driveway and my tire turned out the wrong way." I suggested he be more careful. He then proceeds to show me what he was actually doing. This TOTALLY explained why his tire turned the wrong way! The ding-a-ling had his handle bars turned around backwards!

Take a closer look...yep he is seriously RIDING with the handle bars turned around!

Now turning with the handle bars backwards

And now heading back up the hill for another round with the handlebars backwards!

I am telling you the kid is going to be the death of me!!!!!!!!!!!

"Hole" History Of A Tire...

2008-09-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

During Spring Break while at my mom and dad's house Ryan learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. He has not slowed down since. Ryan can't just go out for a leisurely peddle. No, he has to be peddling as fast as humanly possible. No wonder he got a full-on snowboarder helmet from his Papa Dick on his first Christmas. Papa knew we were in for it with this one!

In the past four months he has become even more daring...I didn't realize it was possible but he has figured it out. Ryan likes to peddle his bike while standing up then push on the brakes and see how long of a skid mark he can make on my concrete walkway. His newest trick consists of him looking anywhere BUT in the direction he is going. He just thinks it is so funny to be looking backwards while going down our driveway. The kid is giving me grey hairs!! That goodness Barbie is able to cover those up!

Last Friday Ryan came in the house and informed me that he needs to start practicing really hard on his two new tricks he wants to be able to do. Popping a wheelie (which I have no problem with) but also riding with NO HANDS! I told him he probably needs to keep those hands on the handle bars for a bit longer. He said he would try but he didn't think that would happen. BOYS!!!

So, Sunday morning at my mom and dad's Ryan comes running into the house yelling for me to come look at his bike tire. I go out to the garage and find his bike turned over and his tire has a hole in it. Not just a puncture hole but literally he has done so much skidding he wore a hole in his tire. Ryan was so proud of the hole. He kept finding people and dragging them to the garage to show off his abilities.

He wanted Will and Papa to fix the tire immediately so he could get back on his bike with the rest of the neighborhood kids. With it being Sunday and Labor Day Weekend we were not able to find a bike shop open to repair the tire. He had to make do with a neighbor's scooter. He enjoyed it but didn't find it to go as fast as he usually prefers.

Last Chance?

2008-09-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

MISSING: One Dingy Dog(answers to the name Chance... sometimes) loves people and that is only one of his many downfalls!

When we went to my parents this weekend we took our dog Chance with us. He absolutely loves to be at my mom and dads house. They have a large fenced in backyard that he wanders around, eats my mothers decorative grasses, and chases the squirrels. The problem is if he realizes the front door is open he will wander out that direction instead. If no one is aware that he has escaped out the front he will just continue wandering until he finds something or someone who interests him.
So, while my dad, Will, Uncle Bob and I were all at the Cougar game on Saturday my mother and her twin sister Mame were left in charge of the kids and dog. (Bad decision on our part, looking back now! It's a good thing only the dog is missing!!!) During the game we all received texts from Mame and Taylor saying they had lost the dog and they didn't know how long ago he had taken off. Now you need to understand something; we have lost Chance so many times that we stopped counting! So, Will and I don't get really worked up over the whole issue but the kids seemed to be panicking this time which caused my mother and aunt to do the same. (My dear loving mother doesn't handle stress very well!)Mame and Mom piled the kids (Taylor, Ryan, and the neighbor girl Katie) in the car and drove around the surrounding neighborhoods looking for the darn dog. After getting hoarse vocal cords and using up a lot of expense gas they headed back home to hope and pray that he would return on his own. No luck...

When the rest of us returned from the game we too went out looking to no avail! That dang dog could be ANYWHERE in the city of Olympia. There were so many people out walking and Chance is the kind of dog that would follow anyone anywhere!

That night as I was walking upstairs with Taylor to go to bed she turned around on the steps and asked if we could get a Yorkie puppy now that Chance was gone. I giggled and said to her "Chancey hasn't even been gone 24 hours and you are trying to replace him already.?? She said, "Well I miss him but I want a puppy that I can carry in my arms." I just shook my head and told her to get into bed and that I would tell Chance about our conversation when he returned. :)

The only place it seems we didn't check was the Human Society. It was closed for the long weekend. So, my mother is suppose to be going by there today to see if he was put into "lock up" for the weekend. I figure he was picked up by someone taken to their house. Then let out to go to the bathroom and wandered off. Someone else picked him up, took him to their house, let him out to go to the bathroom and then wandered off... so if you see where this story is taking us you understand why dear ol' Chance can't just get back to Nana and Papa Armstrong's house on his own!

For those of you who don't know or had forgotten: remember we got Chance from the pound about 8 years ago. He had gotten to the pound by wandering away from his original home. When the pound called the owner she said she didn't want the darn dog back! We thought she was a horrible, horrible woman but now after chasing Chance the last 8 years I am starting to see her point of view a lot clearer. I do get frustrated with him at times but just like a child I love him dearly.

I so do hope that darn dog finds his way back to us soon!

[Long Season Ahead]

2008-09-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Once a Coug ALWAYS a Coug

Being a Cougar you just come to accept the fact that you will get ready for a game, pay $ for tickets and most likely be disappointed with a loss in the end. And this opening weekend was no different for the 2008-2009 season. Deep down inside I think I knew the outcome wouldn't be pretty but I was trying to be positive and excited.

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

Our day started out with Dad, Will and myself leaving Olympia Saturday morning around 10 AM. We stopped in Federal Way to pick up my Uncle Bob. Then the four of us headed for Seattle. As we pulled off the freeway by the stadium I called my brother Scott who was suppose to be meeting us there along with Shelly his girlfriend. He had just paid $30 for a parking spot across from the sign at Safeco Field that said Home Plate. I gave him an earful about paying that much money for a parking spot when he could have paid a heck of a lot less and just walked a few blocks. But apparently he was a little late meeting a bunch of fraternity brothers who were at Pyramid Brewery. So, I told him we would meet up with him later.

Dad found a parking spot that only cost $15 and we had an enjoyable walk to the stadium. As we were coming down the street to the stadium we found the area Scott paid $30 to park. Will then noticed that if Scott had driven just half a block further he could've parked in a parking garage for only $15! He soooo got riped off.

The four of us decided we had time to get something to eat before heading into the stadium so we walked over to F.X. McRory's and sat on the patio, drank a couple beers, ate some appetizers, people watched and finished just in time to head to the stadium for the game.

Scott FINALLY arriving to the game.

We got seated with 2 minutes til kick off. Scott and Shelly arrived with about 3 minutes left in the 1st quarter. Needless to say, Scotty had had just a bit to drink so Shelly came and sat next to me and left Scott to sit with dad. Poor Dad had to listen to him the entire game.

Shelly LOVES Blue Cotton Candy!

The weather was very fall like but was perfect for the start of football season! Going to WSU you get so used to being at games in Martin Stadium getting sunburned and dying of heat that the weather in Seattle on Saturday was a breath of fresh air. We were all able to break out our Cougar sweatshirts instead of our Cougar tank tops and t-shirts.

Okay so I have tried many times with NO success to explain to people that I am so NOT a competitive person. But apparently the way I yell and carry on at games does not back up that statement! I am very loud and get a bit over the top. The people in front of us at the game weren't sure how to take me at first but then thankfully Scotty showed up and was 10 TIMES louder than I was so he took the attention away from me.

He looks so sweet and innocent.

Just before halftime we suggested to Scott to head down to the locker room put on some gear and head out on the field to play QB for the second half. He thought that would be a great idea but figured he would need a few more drinks first.

As he came back up the stairs from getting some food we were ALL laughing (even the people in front of us) because Scott was out of breath before he even made it to his seat. We decided he wouldn't be much help to the Cougs on the field.

As the Cougars were heading in for halftime we were all saying how they were going to get a chewin'! Then the next thing we knew we see all the Redshirts coming back out and sitting down in the tunnel. We were all laughing so hard saying that Coach Wulff probably sent them out because he didn't want to scare them to death!

The non-suits thinking they may want to just go home!

Scott, Dad, and Uncle Bob just glad they aren't in Coach Wulff's shoes!

It was a very fun and memorable day. Even though the Coug's didn't come away with a win we still had some great laughs together. Thanks dad for a wonderful weekend!

Will and I still smilin even after the game.

Let The Season Begin!!!

2008-08-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

There are some strange traditions that are started at WSU and some of which should probably be LEFT there! But when Will and I left WSU 12 years ago there was one tradition that Will took with him:

On Saturday mornings during football season you could always count on Kelly Molstad (one of Will's fraternity brothers) to run through the house YELLING at the top of his lungs...

"IT'S COUGAR FOOTBALL SATURDAY!!!"

So you guessed it, Will likes to keep Kelly's tradition a-rolling. And somehow no matter how early or loud he yells it, I still seem to get a smile and a giggle, picturing Kelly back in the day.

Even the "Town Of The Huskies" are preparing for us all.

To me there is NOTHING better than football season! You know it is that time again when the mornings begin to get a little chillier and the days begin to get dark earlier. That's right...there is NOTHING better than football season!

And this weekend the chilly air will definitely be there...The Cougars are invading Seattle! My dad, brother, his girlfriend, Will and I are all going to the game together. It is going to be a blast. Will and I have not been to a Coug game since the Rosebowl in 2003. Due to the fact that football season falls right in the middle of harvest Will is usually a bit busy at this time. So, this weekend is going to be a big treat.

To all you Coug Fans: start packin' the car and headin' over the pass cause morning comes early and the "festivities" will wait for no one. It is going to be one-heck-of a great weekend. Enjoy!!

**Oh, and remember to listen closely tomorrow morning, you just might hear Will or maybe even Kelly yelling their famous words!

Expensive But Worth It

2008-08-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

I guess that title could go two ways... The expense of Ryan riding a motorcycle would be one but the one I was meaning is my new hobby: Scrapbooking!

With all this extra time at home, I have known that I was going to need a few new hobbies to keep myself busy. So, not only have I taken up Blogging but also now I am trying my hand at Scrapbooking. I know you are all thinking the same thing Will is..."Why didn't you take up this expensive hobby when you had an income?" But it has become a way for me 1. to be creative and 2. do something with ALL the blasted pictures we have on the computer!

Ryan went out to Dick and Cheryl's last weekend and got to spend some time on his favorite thing...his motorcycle. So, yesterday I spent time putting together a page for Ryan's 1st Love.

I had decided I didn't want to journal on this page. I wanted the pictures to speak for themselves. Once I had placed and tact the pictures I thought I was done, but ended up with a blank corner. So, I got on the computer and printed off a piece of paper that said "racing" over and over. I cut that out, mounted it on red cardstock like Ryan's pictures and then put the Thor sticker on along with a Fox logo that I printed off of Google Images.

I don't think it is too bad for my first page. I found it to be a lot of fun. I can see how one could get REALLY caught up on one page and not get a lot of "scrappin' " done in a day. I had so much fun arranging and then re-arranging the pictures until it just felt right.

Scrappin' one page at a time...

Ready For Take OUT

2008-08-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

Mr Ryan (aka:Crash-n-Burn) had obviously bumped his front tooth sometime last year. We had Dr Grow look at it in December and he said it was dead but there was no need to do anything with it. Well, leave it to Crash-n-Burn to find a way to hit that tooth at least two more times which in turn chipped it very bad! I still am trying to figure out how he hit that tooth since it was so much farther up into the gum than the rest.? Anyways, when we were brushing his teeth the other day I noticed the back of that tooth looked really, really funny...almost like I could see the nerve. I called the Dr Grow's office and they found room to squeeze him in to check it.

So, this morning at 8:15 Ryan, Brock and I headed to the dentist. Now mind you, Brock doesn't like going to the dentist himself so I had told Ryan he had to be a VERY big boy and show Brock there was nothing to be afraid of. Taylor and Ryan are the only two kids I know who look forward to going to the dentist (strange kids)!

Dr Grow looked at the tooth and shook his said while saying to me "He has got to be in a lot of pain. The nerve is extremely exposed!" That comment just verified that Mr. Crash-n-Burn has a HUGE pain tolerance! (I had asked Ryan several times over the past few weeks if the tooth hurt him and he always replied with a shrug of his shoulders and a nope.) Dr Grow said there was nothing else to do other than just remove the tooth. I had no problem with this at all except that I knew I needed to get Brock back out in the waiting room before this event took place!

After taking pictures of his teeth it was time to give him the "laughing gas" which Dr Grow said made him look like a Fighter Pilot. Ryan thought that was pretty cool but then he began to get a bit panicky. He didn't want to lay back in the chair, the nose piece was bugging him and I think he just plan didn't know what to expect. The Dental Hygienist came to give him "the shot" which they refer to as "Goofy Juice." I had to step out of the room because 1. I DO NOT DO NEEDLES and 2. I HATE NOVOCAINE SHOTS MYSELF!!! I would be NO HELP to my poor child. But as I was standing outside the room the wail of my child caused me to leap to his side. He had gone from being panicky to down right hysterical. As they started to give him the shot he jerked his head which caused the needle to shift inside his gum. I held his hand and tried desperately to calm him down but did not succeed immediately. I just kept thinking "Ryan this really isn't helping Brock's fears of the Dentist!"

He did finally calm down once we allowed him to sit in my lap. And when Dr Grow came back in Ryan without being asked moved back toward the tooth. A discussion then took place between Dr Grow and his assistant (Cedar) that a second shot had not been given that was needed. I thought to myself...Oh dear, here we go again! But Dr Grow was SO good with Ryan he talked calmly while gently rubbing Ryan's head and explained what was going to happen and that he needed Ryan to help him out so they could be a team. Ryan NEVER flinched, cried, winced, NOTHING! The next thing I knew there was the tooth sitting on the tray. My 4 year old had a funny little gap where his baby tooth used to be.

They placed the tooth inside a cute tooth holder which could be worn as a necklace. Ryan was so proud! He walked right out and told Brock (with a piece of gauze sticking out of his mouth) "I lost a tooth and the Tooth Fairy is coming to my house tonight.

Both boys were so good. So we went past Becky's for a special drink for each of them. Oh yeah, and ME.

For My Workin' Girls

2008-08-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

I know some of you have had a LONG exhausting day and I wanted to help in someway relieve some of your stresses! So here are a few things for you to relax with tonight.

1. NOT COOKIN': Knowing many of you like I do, I know there won't be much home cookin' going on in your homes tonight. But here is a simple recipe that you could use for your 2nd night of school (or any other night for that matter)!

Easy Chicken Bake

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 6 servings

Recipe
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1-1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1 bag (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, drained
Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package; set aside.
Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and vegetables in 13x9-inch baking dish; top with the stuffing.
Bake 30 min or until chicken is cooked through

2. SIT DOWN! Most of you have been on your feet all day for the first time in months. Let your feet relax. You can also get a pop can and roll your feet over it to help massage your arches.

3. H2O: You have been talking ALL DAY LONG. Drink lots of water to replenish your body and help your vocal cords rest. Remember: for the most part your kids were pretty quiet today...tomorrow they begin to come out of their shells!

4. ENJOY: Do something you enjoy doing whether it be watching tv, reading a book, blogging, listening to music, etc. You have many more days (179 to be exact) to concentrate on school work.

5. BED: Get to bed at a decent hour. You just put out every ounce of energy you had for those kids today. Make sure you re-charge because they are comin' back in full force tomorrow!

6. WEEKEND: Only 3 days away and it's a THREE DAY WEEKEND...even better!

Remember...it starts all over tomorrow!

Here She Goes Again...

2008-08-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how quickly our children grow up right before our eyes. Today was no exception! Miss Taylor went to school today, for the last time as an "elementary school child." I remember her first day of Kindergarten...so grow up even then. I got her on the school bus from the middle school and then raced down to meet the bus at Keene Riverview. She got off the bus walked right past me like she didn't even know me! I was a bit sad, but also so proud that she could stand on her own and be so confident in herself to go to her first day of Kindergarten not needing me or better yet not needing someone to pry her from my leg.

Kindergarten: She must have thought we were sending her to Military School by the look of her stance!

1st grade: Rockin' the Leopard print backpack!

Taylor you are a wonderful daughter, sister, friend, and citizen! You have learned so many things educationally and worldly already in your few years of school. Keep working hard each day to better yourself, learning about life through schoolwork but also with what each day deals you. We know you will (like EVERYONE) hit some bumps in the road along the way, but just remember your friends and family will ALWAYS be here to pick you up and set you back on track.

2nd grade: Smile and show us your missing teeth Miss Tay.

5th grade: Here's to another GREAT year!

It was fun to see you walk into school this morning. Being able to drop you off each day was something I didn't think I would ever get to do. We are going to have a lot of fun times together this year Miss Tay. OMG...I didn't think I would EVER have to be the "Room Mom!"

Miss Britney and Miss Taylor: Go take on the world girls!

Okay, so I am a horrible mother and can not find 1st day school pics of 3rd or 4th grade. I will keep hunting and post them when/if I find!