First Day of School

Today was a big day. Not only did Audrey and Corbin get to ride the school bus to school for the first time, but they got to eat in the school cafeteria and play on a playground with equipment!!! Sometimes the perks of a public school are overlooked. :)


Here they are waiting at the bus stop with the neighbor kids. How lucky for them they have friends to ride the bus with and show them the ropes. They were not nervous at all. I thought Corbin would have a hard time, but he waved, blew me kisses, and was off!


Now the wee ones that were left behind had a hard time coping. Drew really wanted to get on the bus and had even brought his backpack filled with his train set. Jake was oblivious.


This year Audrey is in 4th grade and has Mr. Hawskins. We have heard great things about him and he seems very fun. He has animals in his classroom and likes to do a lot of hand on projects.


And Corbin started first grade with Mrs. Kaper. She seems to be very soft spoken and nice! Right up Corbin's alley. I think he will love her.


They both seem to really like their teachers and came home happy and excited for the new year.

But the excitement didn't start there. Last night Corbin asked me if he could sleep on the floor. I told him no, he needed to get a good night's rest. Then I asked him why he wanted to sleep on the floor. His response? "I don't want to make my bed before school in the morning." Haha. Then at 4:30 AM he woke up Drew and came down the stairs into our bedroom. I told him he needed to go back to sleep for at least another two hours. He asked if he could sleep on the couch. I told him no, go get back in bed. Then the whining started..."I already made my bed." My response? FINE. GO SLEEP ON THE COUCH BUT GO BACK TO SLEEP. Of course by that point, Jake was awake too. Drew climbed in bed with us, Corbin went to the couch, and Jake went back to sleep.

We made it to 5:45 before Jake was up for good and so was Corbin. I can only see the foreshadowing for Christmas this year. :) That boy does not sleep. And eventually, he and Jake will share a room because they seem to follow the same early wake schedule. Audrey needs her beauty rest, and Drew simply needs a quiet place to recharge his battery.

I feel a little bad that some mom's are sad to see their kids go back to school, but for me, especially this year, school starting is heaven sent. (I'm sure the guilt won't last long.) The last few weeks have been a big trial of my kindness, patience, and love for my own flesh and blood. In one of my ranting moments a couple weeks ago, I told my kids I could hardly wait for school to start. SAD!!!!! I'm sure the tail end of this pregnancy has been hard on them too. I don't feel up to entertaining them 24/7 or going places just to keep busy. But, we survived. And as I walked back from the bus stop I momentarily thought, I could actually go through a few more days with this baby belly if the older two are back and school and me and the little ones can return to our routine. And I think that is the key...ROUTINE!!!

Drew did awesome to calm down and play on his own and be content with helping me with housework. And I was content to DO housework instead of nagging kids to get their jobs done because as a parent I feel it's my duty to teach them how to work and be responsible. Ahhhh, sigh. My woes are nothing.

Not much time to breathe...on to the next ROUTINE disruption. CHILDBIRTH. Jake was born on the last day of school last year and I have joked with the kids that Fisher was waiting for the first day of school this year. Humph. Maybe the 2nd? or 3rd? Time will tell.

Audrey is NINE

If our family was every blessed to have a girl, I'm glad Audrey showed up first! Some days I think she wonders if that is the best placement, but as parents we are trying to offset some of the responsibilities of being the oldest with some fun privileges too! My mind still whirls that she was born nine years ago.

She is a great girl and has the most contagious laugh. When she is with each of her brothers one on one, she is so kind and caring and wants to teach them all she knows. She loves to play school with them or spin them around much to my dismay. (Too dangerous but they LOVE it!) Each one of her brothers looks up to her and thinks she is the best. I would imagine with a household where attention is a hot commodity, she would be content with our family size. And although she's so proud to announce she is the oldest and only girl of four brothers, she's still holding out for a sister. :)

Audrey loves gymnastics, dancing, playing computer games, watching TLC (especially the Baby Story, Cake Boss, and Say Yes to the Dress), playing with friends, visiting grandma, cousins, and her best friend Grace. She is into American Girl, Nintendo DSi, Makeup (she tried to get away with makeup today on our way to church- I told her 13), swimming, and she is still enjoys being artistic. She is cooking a bit more but has definitely mastered Ramen, Eggs, anything in the microwave, and cinnamon toast. Like her mother, she is a train wreck when it comes to cleaning up her messes. :)

After a fun-filled day of playing with friends and doing crafts, we had Uncle Jared and Aunt Janet join us for her birthday dinner. Audrey wanted Ramen Noodles for dinner. I thought perhaps we could make that a side, and suggested she come up with a few more favorites. :) She settled on Ribs, BBQ Beans, Ramen, and Fried Zucchini. And to top it off, she wanted a chocolate butterfly cake that she got to decorate herself.


Audrey is making her wish and unbeknownst to her, getting a little blowing help.


This was Drew when the candles were blown out and he didn't get to help. I just happened to have the camera in hand to catch his "I'm mad!!!" face. He wasn't too happy I too a picture either. Sweet Aunt Janet lit a candle just for him and that calmed things right down.


To top off the "room makeover" for her birthday, she got a desk and chair of her very own. (She has discovered the joy of privacy and likes to do her homework in her room with fewer distractions.)


However, there was one present Audrey requested NOT to receive. That was a baby brother. Understandably, she wanted to have her birthday all on her own. I told her I would see what I could not, but really, I'm not in charge. Apparently Fisher wanted his own birthday too, because the 24 hours came and went and still no new baby brothers!

Audrey, we love you and are so glad you are a part of our family! Hard to believe nine more years from now you will be on your way to college. :( Thanks for being a bright part of our home.

Shade Cooking Posts

As I have mentioned before, I do a cooking blog for Shade Clothing under their "Your Life In Shade" program. Many of you many have heard Shade is going out of business for a while. Their plan is to "go dark" for a period, regroup, and re-imerge next year. With the dynamics of the company and the economy the past couple years, this is the best plan for them. Thus, the blog is going away...I think. Even if not, I'm going away. :) I don't know how much I will keep up once Fisher arrives. I have done a few posts in advance and they will appear through the end of September.

Here are the most recent since I last posted links...

Spicy Glazed Almonds and Green Onion Vinaigrettes


Banana Split Dessert

Mexican Salad


Island Fruit Salsa


Strawberry Danish


German Pancakes and Buttermilk Syrup


Salmon Tacos



Tuesday the Zucchini Recipes will post and coming in September will be Chicken Fajita Quesadillas and Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Sandwiches. Yum!

Swim Lessons ROUND 2

I have felt truly blessed when it comes to swim lessons for my kids. Granted, I go through some awful experiences and walk away saying, "I will never do that again," but then the most wonderful scenarios appear.

I have a dear neighbor who was willing to let us use her pool for private swim lessons, IF I HAD AN INSTRUCTOR. And what do you know, I had a wonderful instructor who was willing to teach IF I HAD ACCES TO A POOL! So, the past couple weeks Audrey, Corbin, and Drew have taken swim lessons right next door while Jake takes his nap and I have hold of the monitor or a babysitter is at the house. DREAMY!!!

Each of the kids have improved so much I am so pleased with their progress.

Drew still operates in the "NO FEAR" category when it comes to water, so lessons are a good thing. He can hold his breath forever and thinks he is invincible. In this picture you can see he is finally learning to blow bubbles while he swims.


Here he is swimming to get the floating pony.


And he is even mastering the back float...not quite floating on his own, but not screaming that he is on his back! He can dive for coins, do frog bobs where he pushes off the bottom of the pool and comes up for air, and gets around on the kickboard, even rotating to his back. He attention span is ridiculous and I compliment Miss Carrie for putting up with whatever he wants to do, but I'm chalking it up to his age. :)


Corbin has done a fantastic job to build his skills enough to swim the length of the pool. Two years ago he could do the breast-stroke, but without decent lessons, his confidence has wained. When he would play on his own, he always had some sort of floating device.


I can hardly believe he's floating on his back with a smile!!!


I didn't decide to record anything until after he had already swam the length of the pool twice. Here he is giving it another try for the camera...a little tired.



If there were a million hours in the day and less things to accomplish, I would put Audrey on a swim team! I thought she did great. The instructor couldn't believe she had only two sets of lessons. She is doing awesome to swim laps, changing up her stroke. She even attempts the butterfly!



Here she is swimming the breaststroke...again, I'm slow at the video. She had already done a few laps and is a little tired.

Bedroom Overhauls!

When we returned from our summer travels, I had it in me for room overhauls. I had dejunked closets and rooms before we left, so I felt like I was working with clean slates! Since we moved to Grand Junction, I have been holding off doing too much decorating. We didn't think we would be living in this house that long, and didn't know the space we would have available when we moved. Plus, I considered if we are just renting, why paint the walls when I'm going to have to paint them back. And it's not as if I didn't have other personalities vying for my attention.

Well, for Audrey's 9th birthday I told her we would finally decorate her room. I calculated we have enough paint of the original wall color to paint one accent wall. She helped pick out the bedding and helped me paint all the frames, flowers, and butterflies to match. Corbin and Drew were thrilled to get in on the painting fun.


I happened to pick up these cute paint shirts at IKEA when we were in Utah. I thought they may come in handy for little art projects we do here and there. They definitely served their purpose for this job!


Audrey was too excited and could hardly wait for the finished look. We painted and decorated a little early to ensure her bedroom was done before her birthday and baby Fisher arrived.



I love how it turned out, but I must say, my favorite part is the sheets. Maybe because they were so hard to find and get, but I'm pretty sure it's because after looking several places, I thought they were darling and matched her quilt perfectly.


The boys room got a sports makeover. (I finally took the fishing pictures off the wall and put them in Jake's room with the other fishing decor.) In the middle frame, we are going to pin up their soccer pictures and ribbons they may acquire. Both Drew and Corbin have their first soccer game this weekend. After Corbin's practice tonight, he was pretty cute. He asked Brandon if he could even wait until Saturday. (Because who wouldn't be so excited to watch him play!)


And I finally found bedding for my room that I liked well enough to buy. I've been looking for two years and I just haven't found anything I had to have.


This particular set is great because I keep my gold sheets and accent color that matches the cradle bedding my mom made when I had Drew. (That sewing talent is nice to have in the family...but it seems my sister and sister-in-laws are the ones that picked it up. Definitely not me.) Nonetheless, Brandon finally moved his fishing gear from the cradle to the garage. Sheets are washed and ready for baby Fisher!

Zucchini Maddness!!!

So in our garden of plenty, the zucchini have started producing in masses. I love it! I would much rather have tons to share and experiment with fun new recipes. This beauty that Drew is proudly holding measured 18 inches long.

In the last month, the kids and I have made Zucchini Cupcakes with Carmel Frosting, Zucchini Bread, Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Zucchini Brownies, Chocolate Zucchini Cake, Grilled Zucchini, Raw Zucchini snack sticks, Teriyaki Zucchini, Zucchini noodles, and Zucchini Pie. Who would have thought a vegetable could be so versatile! Coming out on the Shade Blog next week will be my tribute to ZUCCHINI. I include a bunch of recipes to try that I have collected over the years for this special squash. Most I have tried, although some have yet to be tested.

Since you are my family and friends visiting my blog, you can have them early! Besides, most recipes I've gotten from my friends and family anyway! You may recognize yours amongst the bunch. Send me any faves you have and I'll add them to the list! As long as I can stay on top of the squash bugs, I hope to have another month or so with zukes coming out my ears!

My standard basic is Zucchini Bread. Love this one. My mom's been making the recipe since I was little. I think she got it from my grandma Bishop.


If you have the time, the Zucchini Cupcakes are delish!!! Whoever came up with the carmel frosting combo was genius. Although I will even leave the frosting off and serve them to my kids as zucchini muffins for breakfast.


And the most creative use I found for this crazy squash was in the Zucchini Pie. The recipe tells you to cut the zucchini like apples....huh??? This was my best attempt. Slice at a 45 degree angle one way, and then alternate.


I thought they totally looked like apples!!!


Audrey got to practice some of her weaving skills and did the lattice top.


And the final product we served A La Mode! I thought the ice cream was the extra ooomph needed to sweeten the pie. Now I'm ready to try Zucchini Cobbler!


In the list of recipes, I didn't particularly care for the Zucchini Brownies, so if anyone has a recipe they like, let me know. And the Zucchini noodles? I copied Pizza Factory and simply substituted shredded zucchini for the noodles when I made spaghetti. I really liked it. My kids of course went with the carbs. I just steamed the shredded squash for a few minutes and then topped with a cheesy meat sauce.

DOWNLOAD "ZUCCHINI RECIPES" FILE

You Know It's Time to Have the Baby When...

(37 Weeks...Technically FULL TERM!!!)

1. Your belly hangs out the bottom of size large maternity clothes when you wear a size small pre-pregnancy.

2. People at the next table stare while you eat your food and inexcusably have a loud conversation about your belly. (Two older women at lunch this week, thank you very much!) Consequently, you do all you can not to go in public.

3. The time between contractions (EXCUSE ME...BRAXTONS HICKS) are less than the time you are contracting. Who cares you've been told you have an irriatable uterus. They are still not comfortable.

4. Your husband affectionately and accurately refers to your baby belly as "little torpedo."


5. You are BORED because you've been on overdrive trying to finish every last project and now there is nothing to do but sit around and wait. (Truthfully you could think of a million projects, but why start another you won't have time to finish?)

6 You stand still every time you have a contraction for fear of walking and emptying your bladder on the floor. Apparently, your uterus is pushing everything out except the baby.

7. You can no longer climb the stairs without walking like a duck because as soon as you lift your foot, the top of your thigh hits the bottom of your belly.

8. You ask your kids where their little brother is and they tell you he's standing at your feet, you just couldn't see him. (I thought I felt something brush by my legs but they are practically numb. To my credit, I was wearing a fluffy apron standing between the counter and the fridge.)

9. You can't sleep at night as it is so the baby might as well be the one waking you.

AND FINALLY...

10. You think you might be in labor and rather than pack your hospital bag, you try in vain to take a nap because it’s the last bit of rest you will get in a long time. (Funny how priorities changes with baby #5.)

Of course, all of these factors are my own. Not my baby’s. He is still going to come when he wants to. So I pray for endurance, tolerance, patience, and another good day of loving my life. Because really, if I can find the humor, it's a good life. :)

Track Reunion July 2010

It's hard to believe I graduated college and finished my track career 12 years ago. And it's amazing how much has happened in those years. But one thing remains constant. The friends I made and the bonds that were built are some of the strongest I know and will last a lifetime.

I loved track. I loved BYU. I loved my coaches. And I especially loved my friends. At the end of my collegiate career, I jotted down a few thoughts that I found the other day. "On the long bus rides to Pocatello, or week long trips to Texas and Nationals, we had so much fun. It was amazing that so many talented girls with All-American titles and World Records would be on the team at the same time. And even more amazing is that we all got along and were friends off the track. Some days coach had a hard time getting us to practice because we were too wrapped up in conversation."

We truly were friends on and off the track. A miracle if you ask me with so many diverse personalities, backgrounds, and attitudes. Here's some fun pictures I scanned from my track scrapbook. Terrible quality, but awesome memories!

This looks like practice for the talent show held at Coach Poole's house December 1994. Wendy, Melinda, and Julie in their prime. :) Every Christmas he would hold a party at his house that would include dinner, a talent show, gift exchange, and a spiritual movie focusing on Christ's life. Very inspiring.

Willie Williams Invitational, AZ (March 1995) That would be Tiffany acting her crazy self and leaping into the picture behind the group. :)

Arizona State University Invite (March 1995) Yes, that's Tiffany again.

USC-UCLA-BYU (May 1995) Hanging out in the airport. Always a fun pastime.

Minnesota Invitational (January 1996) The weather was so cold, there was an ice sculpting competition going on while we were there. By far the coldest place I have been. I remember my inside nose hairs freezing. (Of course this was indoor season and we raced inside.)

Indoor WAC Championships (Feb 1997) Michelle, Me, and Kathy goofing off in the hall.

Someone gave me this photo in one of my energetic, optimistic moods that I was going to make a "track movie." That didn't happen. Maybe someday. I don't know where this is, but I'm pretty sure it's 1997.

UC Irvine Invite (March 1998). Beautiful weather! And usually around the time of finals at BYU so we got to take tests early and then go off to play. I mean, compete.

LSU Invitational (April 1998). We were treated to a crawfish fry by the Lousianna team after the meet. Quite the experience for a bunch of BYU girls...sucking head juice.

WAC Championships Outdoors, Houston, TX (May 1998).

Since graduation, we have tired to remain connected through small get togethers here and there. And even when miles separate us, we fill each other in on what's going on in so-an-so's life. We've gotten married, had babies together, struggled with infertility together, supported a few through Olympic competitions, and now stand back in amazement at how far we have grown and matured.

One of the first reunions was with a bunch of babies. They seem to come in waves. Of course at this stage, we have hopes and dreams that all will be run fast, jump far, leap high, and go the distance. Keplar (Tiffany's), William (Julie's), Audrey (Mine), Addie (Dawn's), and Skylar (Melinda's). This was February 2002.


We tried to get together if we knew an out-of-stater would be coming for a visit. In September 2005, we had an awesome turnout considering so many had moved out of Utah by this point. I remember the party was crazy with little kiddos, but manageable with the outdoors available.


We've had a few more reunions on the way, just not any pictures that I can find. (Does anyone have a picture of all the girls in Dawn's basement at the Christmas Dinner we did in 2007? It was after that party that Dawn, Melinda, and I decided no more kids and holidays. To roudy and we couldn't chat like we wanted! Summertime is the way to go.)

Well, with the convenience of Facebook, emails, and blogs, putting out an invite was less work and we haven't seen each other in a while...so July was the big month. It was so fun to see all who were able to make it. And we were sad missing those who could not. We hope to see you next time!


On an exciting note, our Coach, Craig Poole is retiring this year and was able to attend the event. He was truly an amazing coach. Of course, we like to think of ourselves as his favorite group, and unless I'm mistaken, our team placed the highest at nationals that it ever has. In 1998, we took 3rd at the NCAA's. Coach was a great father figure for many of us so far away from home and his coaching style had such a positive approach that everyone thrived under his direction. When we graduated, we made him a quilt with an action picture of each of us in our specialty and signed our autograph.


Coach has accepted an position to be the head Coach for the women's team at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego, CA. We wish him the best and know those women are lucky to have him.