111 Degrees Today! What Did You Do With My Fall?

It's that time of year again! You know where I start to feel down. I 've reached the OK summer I am totally done with you. Go away now. Please.
I start longing to live somewhere beautiful again. Oh my gosh how I miss my flower gardens!
I miss the trees! And now~I keep thinking how right about now the nights are starting to get a chill to them! And in a few weeks the leaves will be turning those fabulous oranges, reds, and yellows that I love! Fall has always been my favorite time of year and I miss having one!
Temps in the lower 100s just ain't screaming fall to me! And take a look at these texts I got from my sweet friend Corrine yesterday!
These are pictures from her garden! She has the most amazing gardens! See that bench in her front yard? We would sit on it and talk. And laugh. And sometimes cry. I would admire her flowers. And she would give me gardening tips. And she would share with me her flowers.
She'd dig up some of the new growth on some of her flowers and give them to me to plant in my yard!
Every time I looked at my Johnny jump ups growing it would make me think of her! She is one of the most kind, fun people I have ever met. I am grateful to be able to call her my friend after all these years!
It was kinda bittersweet to get these yesterday.I smiled seeing how fabulous it looked this year. I could picture her in her big straw hat out early in the morning weeding.

Her message she sent with the pictures made me smile. It said '" A shady afternoon in my garden, wish you were enjoying with me, also the watermelon ice cream cake!
Sigh! I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time! It painted such a lovely picture in my mind!

I talked to my husband about how much I am missing it so we booked a cabin in the mountains for a long weekend at the end of the month and I am hoping that helps me not feel so discouraged.

But I wonder~Am I the only one here that has a hard time with this? My Arizona friends~Don't you miss all this beauty? Don't you miss fall? Do you find yourself struggling not to get down over these things? I think it is one of the hardest things about living in Arizona!
And if you are fortunate to live somewhere beautiful, make sure you take some time to really appreciate it! I wish I had a little more when I had the chance!

Miss Elizabeth!

A few weeks ago Elizabeth came out to visit. And once again I couldn't help but smile as I watched her cracking up over some kinda trick one of the little one was doing. Or how she would pick up the front room, or clean the kitchen. I had Pneumonia and felt like I was dying and she wanted to help me out so she just did those things without my asking.What teen does that??

I came into the room and found she and Rachelle just hanging out. Rachelle was laying down and Liz was resting on her like a pillow. i found myself once again amazed at the relationship of those two. They have been like that since day one! Best of friends! I remember one year we were camping at the beach. The girls were five I think. And I came to the bathroom where they were talking with some woman. The woman asked if they were my girls. I said yes they were my daughters. She said they told her they were sisters. and that they both were five. She thought yeah, they defiantly look like sisters but she was confused cause they told her Rachelle's birthday was in March and Elizabeth's birthday was in May! I explained that they were step sisters but don't tell them that cause in their eyes they were sisters and that was all that mattered!

To this day that relationship is just as strong as it was 11 years ago! No matter how much time is apart they just seem to pick up right where they left off. I think in Heaven they knew each other. Were best friends even then. We were all meant to be a family!

It made me happy having her around. I loved watching Liz do Rachelle's or Bailey's hair. Or seeing the girls take off in the truck to go have some fun. I loved the sweet thoughtful letter she wrote her dad for his birthday. Seeing how much it meant to him! I loved just being able to sit around with her and talk. Catch up a little!

I miss her! Like crazy! So do the kids. Bailey has asked why Liz can't live here. And when does she get to see her again? " Cause you know what mom? I miss her!" Yeah Bailey~ I do too! But aren't we lucky that she is a part of our forever family?

Summer Ideas

Seasons Graphic Comments

Summer is in full gear here and of course, hotter than ever! By Weds. this week it is supposed to be 111 degrees! Yikes!
I have been trying to plan activities for us to try to keep busy. I saw one friend who has activities EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK! Ok super mama, let me know how that works for you and how much prozac you were poppin to accomplish it! One or two things a week is fine for me thank you very much! I am just too dang lazy to load up all the little ones and herd them places!
I also am trying to do it on the cheap! I just don't want to blow money.
Here's what we have done so far!
Taco Tuesday~ We hit Rubios for some $1.49 tacos! My kids LOVE Fish And Tacos! They thought it was awesome!
The Movies~ We went and saw Shrek 3! They loved it. Adelynn behaved perfectly and slept through the whole thing. Since it was just me and the 4 little ones I brought the stroller and she was perfect. Ethan was too. Almost to the end!
The Local Pool~ It is only 50 cents per kid to go the pool. It is one of their favorite places to go. It has water slides, a lazy river, geyser's, and a whirlpool. We pack a lunch and I sometimes let them buy a Italian ice too.
Check out this lady who sat in front of me! Freakishly anorexic! You could see every bone in her spine! And her arms! Whoa!
People watching there is a crack up.The clothes instead of swimsuits, the thug wannabees, The tattoo's. Oh the tattoo's! What were they thinking? Oh and a bonus is that there is usually someone grosser, or trashier than me so it helps me not feel so bad about myself! The bikinis with their goods hanging out is scary/crazy. Lots of wild things I'm surprised to see. Fun for the kids, fun for me.
The Zoo~ We happened to pick one of the coolest days of the summer. It was perfect! We packed a lunch and ate by the lake. Ethan kept screaming he just saw a giant walleye jump!
We saw lots of fun animals,played at the kids playground, petted goats, and even splashed at the splash pad. Awesome zoo trip!

Krispy Kreme~ We went for national donut day! Free donuts. who doesn't love that?
So for this week I think we might be busy. The library has some fun stuff going on.
Tomorrow we are going to go to the Library for a free craft. (FREE! I love free!)
Tuesday we are going to the farm/peach grove to pick peaches then we are going to water and ice to get a ice cream. That night we are having the missionaries over for dinner. We love our missionaries! (chinese take out!They are stoked and I am too since no cooking!)
Wednesday I am taking Hannah and her friend to the library to make Free jewelry! It's a beading class, and once again....FREE!
Thursday we are hitting the library again for a juggler that sings and tells stories! Should be fun~ For the kids anyway!

So~ tell me what you are doing for summer. Do you have any good ideas that are cheap (cause I am kinda...) or even better, free?
The week after next I have scrapbooking with Hannah at the scrapbook store and the pool. What Else can we do???

Just Another Sunday

I always thought Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest. A day to renew your spirit. A day to bring you and your family closer together and closer to God. So if this is supposed to be the case then I have to wonder what exactly it is that we are doing wrong here! Cause I HATE Sunday's anymore. I seriously dread them. I start getting a sort of sick to my stomach feeling on Friday and by Saturday I am in full fledged dread mode.



My mouthy teen accepted a calling and it is important for him to be there. I am embarrassed every time he lets them down. I finally told the bishop I have to wonder why he felt inspired to call him to this cause it has become a huge battle and fight weekly.

I fight every single week with my kids trying to get them to church. I mean it becomes a screaming match with one of the mouthy teens telling me I am crazy. Certifiable. I should be put in a loony bin.And that he hates me.And still I can't make them go to church.

it seems like I fight with them and in the end I am fighting with my husband too.

Last week I finally had the family go ahead of me. I downloaded some lds music on itunes and I put it on trying to calm myself. I was in tears at this point.

I pulled myself together and made it to church.

Sacrament was as usual embarrassing. Yes, Ethan was his usual animal self, and the same ole people were giving us the same ole stink eye. By the time Sacrament was over I was emotional so I stayed in the chapel and pulled up conference on my iphone. I was reading a talk on mothering. It really hit home but also was making me super emotional. I was trying to hold it together when the bishop came over to ask how things were going and to tell me how well mouthy teen did on the trip I forced him to go on. I of course broke down sobbing. Nice humiliating moment! I told him I feel like my family is going to implode every week with the contention and fighting over church and at this point I am wondering why I am even there. I told him I had to go and I left church.

But after awhile I calmed down and thought I need to go back. Show my kids I think being at church was important. So I went to Relief Society. And it was good. Kinda funny cause the lesson was actually on the exact conference talk I had been reading earlier.

After church I went out to my car and the freak who hates me ( she's never spoken to me, she just hates me) was sitting in her car next to mine with it running.She was bending over biting her thumb. I waited and waited for her to go cause I had to put Adelynn in her car seat and I didn't want to be in her way. She didn't drive off so I figured she must be waiting for someone so I opened the door to put the baby in the car and this lady GUNS her car! She peels out of there. She almost hits me and my baby! If there had been a kid behind her car she would have killed it! Like what the hell???? Yeah... just another shinning Sunday moment! So once again I am thinking, what am I doing here?

This last Sunday Tony and I got in a fight before we even got started over something stupid! Over him taking the baby so I could sleep. I was so frustrated. And mouthy teen spent the night at friends house and promised to be home in time for church but didn't come home. Surprise, surprise, Sunday was just the usual Sunday.

So I decided I didn't have it in me. I was tired,cramping like crazy and just plain sad. So I did what I do best and I went to bed, and pulled the covers over my head and didn't get out of bed for most of the day. I didn't want to look at my husband, mouthy teen or the super freak at church. Worked for me.For this week anyhow!

So I am now sitting here trying to figure out why this has gotten so out of control and hard right now. I am seriously trying and things are the worst they have ever been when it comes to this. It has hurt my relationship with my son. It is causing me huge anxiety and frustration and sadness.

Somehow I am wondering why doing the basics is anything but basic for my family.

Summertime Swimming

We have been spending everyday in the pool. Sometimes for hours. And miss Bailey loves taunting Ethan and Grace with the fact that she can swim without floaties and they can't!

But the other day it pissed Ethan off this time. So he ripped his floatie swimesuit off and ran and jumped into the pool. Then he kinda sank. And just as I was getting ready to grab him he made his way to the surface. And got out of the pool and did it again. And again. And again. Till instead of sinking he was swimming! He looked straight at Bailey and said HA!! I AM BIG TOO!

Woohoo Ethan! Yes you are!

Grace then had to follow cause she wasn't about to be the only one if a floatie! So I guess the fighting finally paid off cause my kids can now swim! And I didn't have to pay anyone to teach them either! HA!

Heaven! I'm In Heaven!

We made it! We are in Rocky Point Mexico! Just Tony, the baby and I!
It was only about a four hour drive from our house. Pretty cool! Tony won the trip in a golf tournament so it's free so I'm liking it even better!
Check out the first thing I saw when we got to our condo! The VIEW!! Ahhh how I love the ocean!
We unpacked everything then we headed into town to do a little exploring and get something to eat.
The town is a quaint fishing village and is known for its seafood. There are little storefronts that have fresh seafood that you pick and they cook it for you. We went off the beaten path a little and found a hole in the wall restaurant called the Blue Marlin. I ordered fish tacos and Tony ordered a shrimp platter. Mine I thought was just marginal but Tony really liked his. What made the lunch great though was the people. The owner came over and asked if we were being treated like family. Mi Casa es su Casa! Cause his home is our home! And then some musicians came over and serenaded us while we ate! Love a little flavor of the locals!
Check out this adorable kid selling bracelets! I felt bad bargaining with him cause he was so cute. But I got over it of course cause I like a good deal!
The Diet Cokes aren't really Diet Cokes! They are Coca Cola light. They taste way too much like good ol regular Coke. Too sweet, but it works in a pinch since I am too afraid to drink the water

After lunch we did some shopping then headed back to the hotel to change and head down to the beach and pool.
The pool is so warm and the weather was perfect! After a bit we then went down to the beach! Love, love, love the beach! And I guess my baby has a little more Latino in her than I thought cause she DOES like the beach! But only Mexican beaches. Not the ones in Cali! She loved eating the sand, and splashing in the water.
I love laying on the chaise lounge and having these little women come up selling their goods! I had to buy a few more bracelets for the girls! Tomorrow I am gonna bring some more cash cause I love the bargaining/shopping while soaking up the sun on the beach!
After about a hour the tide went out and once it did the beach was covered in amazing seashells that had been covered by the water!
Sometimes we'd go to pick up a shell and it would start to move! Crabs were in them!
And if you looked in the shallow water you could see big crabs running sideways in the surf. So stinkin cool!
We found tons of cool shells that we took back to the condo. It was funny rinsing them off cause some started to move and we realized a few of them had crabs in them! Opps!
To finish off the evening we went to eat at the restaurant here. We sat on the patio outside and listened to the live music! The had a lady that makes homemade tortillas for you as you wait. Mmmm my fav!
I love Mexico and am so excited to have had this chance to come!
I'm thinking tomorrow I am gonna plant my bum in a hammock with a good book and a Diet Coke!
Heaven! I'm in Heaven!

Go Figure!

Today I am cleaning up poopy diaper after poopy diaper, dog accident, mopping floors, doing dishes, laundry, and getting stuff around here organized. Snuggling baby, breaking up little ones fighting, taking out trash, arguing with teen, and doing the same ol, same ol stuff as usual.
And yet I am content! Enjoying my life today even with the work and chaos!
Go Figure!

Spring Break Disneyland!

On our trip to California for spring break we went to Disneyland! Ethan was 6 weeks old, and Grace was 17 months old last time we were there. So I was really looking forward to taking them!


The very first ride we went on was the jungle cruise. It scared the crap out of them and they weren't sure they wanted to see the rest of Disneyland.


Fortunatly they got over that quickly! It was a perfect day there! Perfect. We walked on all the rides! Just walked. For the pirates of the caribean we had no one in front of us till we got to the boat loading dock! It was awesome! We went on several rides back to back cause there was no wait. The weather was perfect. Not hot. Not cold!


I don't think I've ever been when it has been like that!


One of the funnest thing to watch was during the parade they pulled Grace up to dance with them! And she shook her booty like there was no tomorrow! People were laughing and pointing out how cute/funny she was! She is my wild girl! Let's hope she keeps the public booty shakin to a minimum in the years to come.

Best day ever at Disneyland! All the kids had a great time and I LOVED watching them as they were amazed and delighted! It was magical!

I Love Disneyland!!!

Time To Start Asking~ Is It Me??

I'm feeling totally bummed and frustrated tonight. So I think I am gonna vent a minute here even at the risk of sounding like a pathetic loser!

See ever since living here in Arizona I have had the hardest freakin time making friends! It's unlike anything I've ever experienced! I mean yeah...I am socially retarded at first and I would totally rather go to a proctologist than put myself out there and try to make new friends but I HAVE been trying!

And it feels like I come off as a stalker or something. There is only so many times I can ask someone to do something before I get it~ they don't want to hang out! Ok!

I even thought that I'd try to get into a bunko group. So I could make friends. But you know what? They have a approved list of who can and cannot sub! No, not be a regular, but sub! I guess I am not cool enough! What the freak? I've always played in groups. In Cali I played in two. And I was in them in Utah and Clolorado! Whatever.

But I miss having girlfriends! In Utah we'd have get aways where a group of us would ditch our kids and hubbys and we'd go away. Park City, or to the mountains in a cabin. Just a girls weekend. And my family would camp with their families. And I'd find my cheeks cramping from laughing so much when we'd hang out.
And yet I can't seem to make one single friend here. And it bothers me but I've tried not to think about it. But last night we sat with another couple at the comedy club. Both shows were sold out so we came early for the dinner. The couple that sat with us were so fun. And Jenna the woman there asked how many kids we had. I told her 11 total and she laughed and said she had 10! Then Tony was telling her we just got a bassett hound puppy. And they told us they have two! And she is my age. And we both laughed over the diet she was doing that I had tried already.there were just so many things we had in common. And we laughed and I got along so good with her just in those three hours before the show. It reminded me how much I miss hanging out with girlfriends. Going to lunch,the movies, scrap booking, camping, talking. Just girl stuff. She lives in Surprise which is very far away. And I was bummed.It reminded me how lonely I feel here. Pathetic I know!

So today I am just frustrated and bummed. And want to move away now worse than ever. I feel like a outcast here. I don't fit in and I am praying that the position opens up for us to be able to move back to Utah.

And in the meantime I guess maybe it's time for me start asking myself~ Is it me??
Sighhh....

April Fool's Sucka!

Tony and I decided we needed to get a car for the teens to drive to help me out a little.
We looked and looked for just the right car. We wanted a good deal and a car that would last. We didn't really care what the car looked like. It just had to run good and for us to get it at a good price.
Zachary and Rachelle had ideas though. A jeep. A bronco. A truck. No girlie cars. Nothin wimpy. Cmon mom...everyone eles is driving something cool!
We showed them older accords, camry's,etc. And they would insist it wasn't good enough. So then I started threatening to buy them a Yugo (if I could find one! Plus it was always a dream of mine to buy one and TRICK IT OUT! You know can see it!!)or a sidekick, or somethin they'd really complain about!
But then we found a truck. A awesome truck. It was a salvage title. But it was perfectly restored. AND!only 38k miles! We took it to our mechanic and he told us if we decided not to buy it to let him know and he would buy it! It was in great shape mechanically. Plus~It was a smokin deal!
So we told the kids we were gonna buy it. And life was good. They were happy!
And on the day we went to pick up the truck the dealer found they hadn't finished the paperwork for the DMV. So they gave us a loaner car till they had the truck ready the next day!

So that night the kids came running out to meet us in the driveway to see their new truck! We told them we had rethought it and decided to buy something less expensive and the dealer gave us a killer deal on this little blue number! Plus it was blue! Mesquite Blue! You know like their school colors! So they could show everyone they have awesome school spirit!
Rachelle kept saying over and over "are you serious?" She said it was the worst day of her life.She had tears in her eyes!
And Zach? He said "great this car will go great with my vagina!" He also texted to Rachelle and his friends "I am livid mad in my own little world"
Imagine the fun Tony and I had for a while. Then the fun had to end and we were able to tell them APRIL FOOLS DAY SUCKA!!!!!

Love, Love it when I get them! Haha!

Getting Back At It

I'm tired alot lately and I don't know why. And I am moody.And basically in a bad mood.I need a attitude adjustment I think.And because I know this I have avoided blogging. Cause I know I am whiny and a downer and if you don't have nothin nice to say and all that crap....Plus who really wants to admit that they kinda suck at the moment! And I am not the kinda gal that will tell ya my life is perfect and so am I. I just can't do it.

Hence...no regular blogging!

But I miss my blog. I like having little pieces of our lives written down. I like being able to look back and laugh at certain things or marvel at how much so and so has changed. So I am going to try to get back to blogging again. And I promise I will try to keep my blitchin to a minimum. No promises though, cause I am ornery like that and even on a good day I am still kinda bitchy. But hey...you already knew that about me right?

I'm Obsessed

I've become obsessed with trying to make bread lately! Jannalee was sweet enough to teach me how to make some wheat bread. She even grinds her own wheat! It was pretty yummy and so much easier than I ever thought!

My hubby is a pain about eating wheat bread though! He is pretty picky. I have a recipe that they love of white bread, and then they always love the homemade french bread, but I need to find a recipe of wheat bread that he might like!
So if you have a recipe your family loves send it my way!

Also, Janny uses white wheat. Do you use red wheat and do you like it better?

Send me your suggestions! I am obsessed with perfecting bread making. Strange eh?

I Love A Good Find!

I bought Adelynn this cute dress at Dillard's about three months ago!

I love it on her.

Then a few weeks ago Tony and I were in Burlington Coat Factory and Look what I found!! Screammmmm...Yeah! The same dress in the older girls sizes!

Cause I am kinda a freak about dressing them in matching clothes!

I bought one for Bailey and Grace. Hannah was being stubborn and said she wouldn't be caught dead in a dress matching her little sisters. I'm thinking maybe I should forced her to!

I wish they made them in Rachelle's size too! Bummer!

A Conversation With The Hubby

So I call Tony today at work and it goes something like this...

Me~ Hey Honey ( In my sexiest breathy voice)
Him~ What's up?
Me~ You need to come for work during your lunch break. I am wearing black lace panties, and a matching lace bra....
Him~ (Laughing by now) First off you know I am working in downtown Phoenix today in meetings all day so I can't come home.And second..the only reason you are wearing black lace panties and matching bra is cause you haven't done any laundry and have nothing left to wear!

Shoot! Busted! I guess I need to hurry and do some laundry now before he gets any ideas!!

Could It Really Be This Easy??

I had been trying for a weeks to potty train Ethan and I finally gave up. It made him crazy mad and I thought we'd just wait a while longer till he wanted to.

Well this past week the older kids kept yelling at him cause he was always taking off his pull ups and going naked around the house.

The other day I thought I had caught him him in the act. Strippin again. I quietly walked over to him and watched as he took the pull up off and kicked it across the room. I then followed him as he walked into the bathroom and stradled the toilet! He grunted a few times and said hmm I can't do it and got off the toilet! I scared the crap out of him(not literally) as I yelled and hugged him telling him how proud I was of him being a big boy! He told me to go away and he was NOT going to be a big boy!

Well the past three days he has been going into the bathroom and pooping on the toilet!!! If I try to help him or say anything at all he gets angry and tells me to go away, so I am just going with it and letting him do his thing. It has only gotten ugly once when the carnage I found all over the toilet seat about brought me to tears, but what the heck....he is potty training himself!

And guess what?? I realized tonight I have not changed a poopy diaper on him in two days! TWO!!!

WooHoo! Maybe I will be down to just one kid in a diaper soon!

Could it really be this easy?

Spring Break!

This year for spring break we decided to go to California again. The beach was calling my name! I am a little homesick and so I just had to go.

We rented the same beach house we stayed at in November. I love, love it! There is something amazing being able to wake up to the sound of the waves and watching dolphins while eating your breakfast!

My Yukon is no longer big enough to fit the whole family so we had to rent a 15 passenger van! Yeah baby, even bigger than the one we had before. But Zach brought two of his friends on the trip with us and I was worried about it being crowded with those big boys!

We even rent a uhaul to tow behind the car. Cause we bring so much crap and so we need the room! People were totally mocking me about the dang uhaul, but hey, I had the baby's swing, her exersaucer, her playpen, tons of luggage, kids toys etc. We brought all the comforts of home.So even though we were ridin ghetto it was awesome!

The boys were funny the whole ride there. They were having a dance off in the car. It was shakin like crazy! made me a little nervous. They kept everyone entertained and the drive went pretty quick.

We got to Cali early evening and stayed the night at mom's house since we couldn't check in till the afternoon the following day.

To kill time before leaving for the beach house Tony bet the boys some money if they would get in the pool! Idiots did it! FREEZING!!!!We had a good laugh over the girlish screams coming from them.Dumb and dumber right? Luckily they had the jacuzzi all heated and ready to go so they could warm up after and the little ones decided to get in with them!

The time finally came and we left and headed down to the house to check in! YEAH!!

I love everything about this place! Check out the view from the kitchen table! Does life get any better than this?

I could hardly wait to get my toes in the sand and pick up a good book. I swear I could feel the tension leave me as soon as we got there! Weird I know!

The vacation did not disappoint! I think it was the best vacation we've ever had!

I have lots more pics so I'll post more on it later.

man I miss California already!

Noooooo! Say It Isn't So!

One of my babies hates the beach. HATES it!! How could this have happened?