The X File

Apr 13, 2009

2009-06-11T12:42:00.001-07:00

Well, at least he's learning to try to clean up after himself when he makes a mess. That's Strawberry Nesquik he's spilled all over the floor!

Apr 12, 2009

2009-06-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Well we celebrated Easter early...so here's a glimpse back at the treats. We had a big delicious dinner tonight with the Bennions and Garzas though.

Apr 11, 2009

2009-06-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

George and I in our goofy get-ups at the ward spring social.

Apr 10, 2009

2009-06-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

And it's time for fun with cracking eggs after our Easter egg hunt this morning!

Apr 9, 2009

2009-06-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

I'm sad that this photo didn't come out...but there's the long-awaited evidence that baby #5 is finally on his/her way!!!

Apr 8, 2009

2009-06-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me why they decided to dress up as cowboys...but they did and it was photo worthy.

Apr 7, 2009

2009-06-11T12:31:00.001-07:00

The boys are proud of their newest feat of strength and agility.

Apr 6, 2009

2009-06-11T12:30:00.001-07:00

And this would be one reason my allergies are out of control...tree!!!

Apr 5, 2009

2009-06-11T12:28:00.001-07:00

We took the training wheels off today and Bub took off like a total pro! Really, it was amazing to see...not just parental boasting, I promise!

Apr 4, 2009

2009-06-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

The boys & I enjoy the NW Children's Theater's performance of Goodnight Moon.

Apr 3, 2009

2009-06-11T12:25:00.002-07:00

I love that all the kids come back here to play. And I am totally loving Aaron's outfit, ha!

Apr 2, 2009

2009-06-11T12:25:00.001-07:00

Apr 1, 2009

2009-06-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Mar 31, 2009

2009-06-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

After our mad dash to finish up our 5 cars, it was time to race in the Pinewood Derby...a fun time was had by all!

Mar 30, 2009

2009-06-10T23:23:00.000-07:00

The van's been feasting on tumbleweeds, the day after returning home... Never seen so many tumbleweeds in one day in my life as I did yesterday in ID!

Mar 29, 2009

2009-06-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

And saying goodbye to the UT family too...I love them all waving from the windows, and Vovo peeking through the door.

Mar 28, 2009

2009-06-10T23:21:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately our trip had drawn to an end...saying goodbye to Steven, Grandma Darlene & Granddaddy.

Mar 27, 2009

2009-06-10T23:20:00.001-07:00

Best part about visiting AZ (after the family of course) is getting to play in the pool!

Mar 26, 2009

2009-06-10T23:19:00.001-07:00

An afternoon of fun at the train park in Scottsdale!

Mar 25, 2009

2009-06-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

Rolling down the hill at the spring training game...who needs to watch the game?

Mar 24, 2009

2009-06-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Making use of Granddaddy's band saw to make all 5 of our pinewood derby cars.

Mar 23, 2009

2009-06-10T23:16:00.000-07:00

Met up with all the little AZ cousins for fun at Pump-it-Up!

Mar 22, 2009

2009-06-10T23:15:00.002-07:00

Getting caught in snow through the mountain passes en route to AZ.

Mar 21, 2009

2009-06-10T23:15:00.001-07:00

Driving to UT

Mar 20, 2009

2009-06-10T23:14:00.000-07:00

Boys and their weapons (and patriotic flags as well.)

Mar 19, 2009

2009-06-10T23:13:00.001-07:00

Bub's discovered the magic of Photo Booth and I'm finding all kinds of fun photos on the computer.

Mar 18, 2009

2009-06-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

Benno runnin' round the yard.

Mar 17, 2009

2009-06-10T23:11:00.001-07:00

Aaron's 1st grade Leprechaun Trap project...pretty cute!

Mar 16, 2009

2009-03-19T23:37:00.001-07:00

My little companions as we hang the artwork on the bulletin board for Aaron's 1st grade class...notice my secret weapon for instigating good behavior: the lollipop.

Mar 15, 2009

2009-03-19T23:34:00.000-07:00

Pretty flowers... I'm noticing that the flowers are out later this year than they have been in years past...the daffodils aren't even quite up yet and the Camelias aren't out either, hmm.

Mar 14, 2009

2009-03-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

State Champions!!! OGA boys took 1st place at the Mens State Meet--Anthony came in 11th in the All-Around! Way to go Anthony & team!!!

Mar 13, 2009

2009-03-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

Zoo day with the Bennions! Funny kids in their Congo line.

Mar 12, 2009

2009-03-19T23:30:00.001-07:00

Our little monkey making faces at the dinner table...

Mar 11, 2009

2009-03-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

I love seeing these two play together...what sweet little buddies they are.

Mar 10, 2009

2009-03-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

I ordered this dome a full month ago!!! At long last it's arrived and Anthony is so excited to practice on it.

Mar 9, 2009

2009-03-19T23:26:00.001-07:00

The snow this year has been crazy...we have never had snow this late into March since we've lived here!

Mar 8, 2009

2009-03-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

We finished Season 2 of Lost...

Mar 7, 2009

2009-03-19T23:17:00.000-07:00

You know spring is on its way at last when the boys can get out to play on the playset again!

Mar 6, 2009

2009-03-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

The Rose City Challenge Meet... Anthony's A-A was 86.9, putting him in 6th place, and the team took 1st place!

Mar 5, 2009

2009-03-19T23:13:00.007-07:00

We go through a LOT of cereal in our house.

Mar 4, 2009

2009-03-19T23:11:00.000-07:00

Christopher LOVES gymnastics, especially getting to use all the new equipment in the newly expanded gym.

Mar 3, 2009

2009-03-09T10:49:00.001-07:00

Is that a guilty face or what? He's been caught red-handed climbing up where he does not belong.

Mar 2, 2009

2009-03-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

I taught Art Lit on Friday...came back today to photograph the finished art & this is Aaron's dog.

Mar 1, 2009

2009-03-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

The Bennions' loaned us Season 1 of Lost on Friday night...we are thoroughly hooked and spent "naptime" today watching another 4 episodes.

Feb 28, 2009

2009-03-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

George & the boys gave me my gifts and we had cake & ice cream tonight since we'd gone out the night before. I love the boys' cards (and Christopher's is the purple--he wrote all over it with As & Xs)...and George gave me the Willow Tree figurine.

Feb 27, 2009

2009-02-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday--my 2nd sweet 16! : ) George took me out to Papa Haydn's in Portland for a delicious dinner and my favorite dessert there: Panna Cotta, mmmmm!!!

Feb 26, 2009

2009-02-27T11:57:00.001-08:00

Anthony performs in the 3rd grade program at school... He's sitting there (rather unenthusiastically) in the front row holding mallets.

Feb 25, 2009

2009-02-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

Here are half of the ladies who showed up at my house for book club... I love hosting! The book was "The Spy Wore Red".

Feb 24, 2009

2009-02-27T11:54:00.001-08:00

Benno is such a little goofball...here in the cultural hall for the Blue & Gold Banquet.

Feb 23, 2009

2009-02-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

George & Anthony made a cake for the Blue & Gold Banquet (the following night)...looks as though they could use some practice.

Feb 22, 2009

2009-02-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

Setting up the YW photo... I love my calling with the YW!

Feb 21, 2009

2009-02-27T11:45:00.002-08:00

Anthony's awesome Arctic Rush meet in Eugene, OR, and he did his best ever pommel horse routine--14.8!!!

Feb 20, 2009

2009-02-27T11:45:00.001-08:00

Shhh!!! Benno's eating the "secret" ice cream!

Feb 19, 2009

2009-02-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

Mr. Cheesy Grin and his doughnut.

Feb 18, 2009

2009-02-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

I love this shot of Anthony catching the football. I asked if he liked football and he said, "I like to catch the football, but not to play." Sorry, Vinny & Stelios...doesn't look as though Anthony'll be following in your footsteps.

Feb 17, 2009

2009-02-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

This is our first glimpse into our "new" gym--at the edge of that platform with the white guardrails and the big post is where there used to be a wall! They knocked that out last week and are finishing work on that other side...supposed to be finished in a few short weeks!

Feb 16, 2009

2009-02-16T21:20:00.000-08:00

I put Anthony in charge of FHE tonight and look at the wonderful production he & Aaron put together! They created props and everything for their dramatic portrayal of Ammon protecting King Lamoni's sheep from the Lamanites. Bravo!

Feb 15, 2009

2009-02-15T21:07:00.001-08:00

We took advantage of the beautiful sunny afternoon to go for a family bike ride...afterward, Benno eagerly pulled out his "bike" for a short ride down the driveway.

Feb 14, 2009

2009-02-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Feb 13, 2009

2009-02-15T21:04:00.001-08:00

Anthony competes on Parallel Bars at the MAC Open. Crazy muscles on that boy!

Feb 12, 2009

2009-02-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

Christopher tries his hand at the new Art Lit project while he & Benno accompanied me to the training this morning.

Feb 11, 2009

2009-02-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

Signs of spring on the way!!!

Feb 10, 2009

2009-02-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

Benno & his giant dog in the laundry basket.

Feb 9, 2009

2009-02-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

The boys & I made a run to Target to pick out Valentine's cards for their classes. All 3 of them chose the most romantic option--Speed Racer, with changeable image (whatever the technical name for that is...)--such boys!

Feb 8, 2009

2009-02-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love a rainbow?

Feb 7, 2009

2009-02-12T11:51:00.000-08:00

Anthony performs his press-to-handstand during his floor exercise at the John Lanz meet at OGA. He did a good job, coming in 17th out of 74 boys in Level 4.

Feb 6, 2009

2009-02-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

In preparation for tomorrow's gymnastics meet here at OGA, we had to volunteer to help set up--we didn't realize they'd be cleaning out the gym almost entirely! Pretty crazy (and crazier still the amount of chalk dust in there...ick, what a mess!)

Feb 5, 2009

2009-02-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

Decorating for Valentine's Day. I like these window cling things--festive yet very easy to take down and store away.

Feb 4, 2009

2009-02-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

Aaron diligently does his homework after school.

Feb 3, 2009

2009-02-12T11:45:00.001-08:00

This was a gorgeous warm sunshiny day so I got out and finally cleaned out all 4 garden boxes...now I am impatiently waiting for spring to truly arrive so I can plant a new garden!

Feb 2, 2009

2009-02-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

Our prize photos after a fun afternoon at Kael's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Christopher was so excited to get to go to a birthday party like a big boy--not as a tag along little brother as Benno was this time!

Feb 1, 2009

2009-02-12T11:33:00.000-08:00

Another of Christopher's photos...I laughed that he caught this one of Benno getting into the Apples to Apples game. For some reason he is really obsessed with this game, even though it's made up entirely of cards.

Jan 31, 2009

2009-02-11T22:28:00.000-08:00

Aaron with the "emergency bridge" at the OMSI's Da Vinci exhibit...way cool!

Jan 30, 2009

2009-02-11T22:26:00.000-08:00

Hopefully this is the last photo George will ever have taken with his "mop" because directly after this, he "chopped the mop" with a nice inexpensive haircut, yippee! I love my handsome George (and my silly boys, particularly Anthony here).

Jan 29, 2009

2009-02-11T22:24:00.001-08:00

I missed Chinese New Year by a few days--that didn't deter us from celebrating anyway with a big Chinese dinner, complete with chopsticks. Those blurry things in Benno's rapidly moving hand would be those chopsticks, and as you can see, he's not having a lot of success with them. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

Jan 28, 2009

2009-02-11T22:21:00.000-08:00

There are a number of things I notice when I see this photo. One, Christopher neglected to put his boots away, AGAIN; two, our carpets sure are nasty and look at all the stuff tracked in with those boots; and third, and most importantly, I imagine a time will come when I won't have little boys leaving their boots around the house anymore and that will be a sad day...so a little reminder to myself to smile over little things like this!

Jan 27, 2009

2009-02-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

We awoke to a fair dusting of snow...here Aaron hops on his bike to head off to school. The snow kept coming after this and made for a rather messy drive to an Art Lit meeting I had to attend, oh joy.

Jan 26, 2009

2009-02-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

With 3 of the 6 of us playing violin, the violin takes up a prominent part of the living room...the boys are doing great with it, so proud!

Jan 25, 2009

2009-02-11T22:16:00.000-08:00

So if you're a stickler for details, you might know that this photo couldn't have happened on this day because "today" was Sunday. I just needed somewhere to fit in this little achievement of Aaron's...the first time I saw him climb all the way to the top of the rope in gymnastics, yay!

Jan 24, 2009

2009-02-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

Still a mystery as to what really happened, but Bub was one very bloody mess all over...thankfully the bleeding stopped.

Jan 23, 2009

2009-02-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

Visiting the Children's Museum with the Bennions. I like the boys pretending together...what cuties.

Jan 22, 2009

2009-02-11T22:13:00.001-08:00

Christopher was this portrait's photographer. What a cutie.

Jan 21, 2009

2009-02-11T22:12:00.001-08:00

Boys and toys. Too many.

Jan 20, 2009

2009-02-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

New Parent Orientation tonight... I'm official now.

Jan 19, 2009

2009-02-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

What better way to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr Day than to pay a visit to Ikea? Here the boys wait for Dada to return with our meatball lunch.

Jan 18, 2009

2009-02-11T19:22:00.001-08:00

Sundays have become breakfast-food-days around here...lots of eggs & pancakes & French toast & on today's menu was waffles!

Jan 17, 2009

2009-02-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

We met friends at the playground at the Rose Garden because it was a beautiful sunny day. And as you can see here by the blue cast of the lighting, the entire playground was in shadow and we all were FREEZING! At least the kids had fun anyway...

Jan 16, 2009

2009-02-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I don't remember what Christopher was demonstrating here...but it's been a while since he appeared in the photos, so here he is!

Jan 15, 2009

2009-02-11T19:16:00.001-08:00

One of my New Year's resolutions was to clean my kitchen before bed every night...and I love it, even when I don't feel like it.

Jan 14, 2009

2009-02-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

Benno's buddies. He carts these guys all through the house, and sometimes the piggy or little dog accompany us to the store.

Jan 13, 2009

2009-02-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Anthony displays his "Little Buddy" project. As a K, 1st & 2nd grader, he had a "Big Buddy" and now that he's in 3rd, he gets to play Big Buddy to the Kindergarten!

Jan 12, 2009

2009-02-11T19:12:00.000-08:00

Benno's new favorite pastime, stuffing toilet paper into the toilet paper roll. Nice.

Jan 11, 2009

2009-02-11T19:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, there's a floor under there! Cleaned up the master bedroom today.

Jan 10, 2009

2009-01-30T18:10:00.000-08:00

Aaron's "Snowman Soup" from school...really cute (hot chocolate with marshmallows, Hershey kisses & a candy cane)!

Jan 9, 2009

2009-01-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

Aaron's class had a pajama party at school (postponed from before Christmas) and he was bashful about wearing his pjs.

Jan 8, 2009

2009-01-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

Art Lit training today for artist James Lavadour... Interesting project with crayon "under-drawing" and tempera paint applied & removed from the top. This is supposed to be Grandma & Grandpa Shelley's pond in Massachusetts...a magical place for us when we were growing up!

Jan 7, 2009

2009-01-08T23:58:00.000-08:00

I've decided it's time for the gingerbread house to go...the boys enjoyed eating it goodbye.

Jan 6, 2009

2009-01-08T23:57:00.000-08:00

Random photo I pulled off the boys' camera... Benno's learning to enjoy the camera and poses willingly.

Jan 5, 2009

2009-01-08T23:55:00.001-08:00

For our first FHE of the new year, what better activity than to have everyone write out their New Year's Resolutions??? Even Benno was eager to get his down on paper.

Jan 4, 2009

2009-01-08T23:52:00.001-08:00

As YW Secretary, the beginning of the new year is a bit of a headache with switching out all the old calendars, rosters, lists, etc for the new from both all of the adult leadership binders as well as the youth leadership...23 binders in all. I did have fun though creating this image for the new theme for the year.