Craftin the crap out of the day!

There really isn't another way to say it.

I haven't done ANYTHING remotely crafty for a really long time. Now I just can't stop. I blame it on Pinterest.

I made this washer necklace for me with the initials of the kids on the small one. Rebekah is frantically stamping away outside getting her friend gifts done for Christmas.
Another Pinterest find. Nest Necklaces for the girlies I love.
And finally. The craft project that had me saying not nice things.

First I couldn't find the clothes pins. Then I couldn't find my Mod Podge. Then I checked 5, yep FIVE stores and no one had any either. Michelle to the rescue!! I borrowed hers.

Then I couldn't find the Vinyl colors I wanted. Geez o Freakin Mighty I was ready to give my Mom a gift card at this point! Laurie and Terry to the Rescue!! I got what I needed from them.

I added the grandkids names in vinyl and a magnetic strip on the back. Now Grandma can hang pictures of the kids or drawings they have made etc. on the fridge or the hall mirror or the whiteboard...wherever.
They turned out so awesome I am going to make some for me. When the stores re-stock their Mod Podge of course. So Mid January!

Pirate Day in Kindergarten

In his opinion. BEST DAY EVER!

General Conference

We had a hard time with Conference in April. I didn't get to listen to hardly anything because the kids were so bored!

We made plans right after to help us improve for Oct.

Let me outline what we did.

Projector.

We borrowed a projector from the Mosers and rearranged the basement to make room for the GIANT screen. This in itself was an amazing difference.

Taped on the wall are our key words. I had a bunch of them and rotated the words each sessions. In this pic we are doing the Candy Game. Every time one of the words was spoken, the kids got to take a piece of candy from the bowl beneath the word.

Jack was entertaining.

Who has spoken.

I taped pics of the 12 and the first presidency on the door. Every time one of them spoke, we would write what they talked about. Then after the sessions was over, we would remove the pics. Then we knew who was coming up.
Conference Store.

I picked up a bunch of cheap treats and toys. I labeled each with a cent amount ranging from a penny to a quarter. Every time one the words on the cards were said, the kids that heard them got a penny. After the session was over, the kids could purchase stuff from the store or save the money for a bigger prize. Since the words were quite frequently said, they ended up with a lot of cashola! They loved this game. We only did the candy game one session because they liked the Store one better. The only down side to this game was the parent in charge of handing out the money. They were constantly pestered the entire time. I guess having the 5 year old simply listen to the older kids for the queue to get money.
Words for the money game. We finally taped them on the wall to keep Jack away from them.
Then we had the fall-backs of coloring pages, and crossword puzzles as well as Conference Bingo. All of these are available on www.lds.org
The entire weekend was amazing! I actually got a lot of crocheting done, which I MY semi-annual activity.

The kids loved the whole thing. And honestly how many times do kids say that about general conference weekend. The best part was that they listened. And we listened! And we all felt the Spirit.

We made a list for April with suggestions to make it even better.

All in All a total PLUS for mom and dad.

Oh the wonders

This week was NUTS! I really think the powers of the universe got together and decided to dump everything in 2 days. I was able to rearrange one of those days for the funeral but the next day was a nightmare!

Friday I thought was going to be my rest day.

When the kids got home, the plan drastically changed.

We had to go shopping and then pick up Bryon for my cousins wedding reception.

Ethen and Sam have been wanting to buy a lego set together so they have been trying to earn and save money. Only 2 bucks to go, Ethen was on a rampage trying to get it earned so they could buy it when we went to the store.

He was doing laundry for me when he fell down the stairs taking a new load down.

The kid falls a lot. I used to say that his brain was cushioned by scar tissue from all the times he hit is head as a baby.

He has a pretty shrill scream. I am sure the neighbors heard when he hit. I heard him crying out "I can't! I can't" Little weird.

He managed to climb up most of the stairs before he stopped. I talked to him for a while to find out what happened. He had tripped and ended up hitting his head against the bookcase at the bottom of the stairs.

Two giant goose eggs developed.

This isn't anything new. Like I said, 3 boys=lots of falls.

I started to get worried when he told me the TV looked like he was cross eyed. Dizziness followed. We ended up taking him to the doctor just in case.

He had a hard time not falling asleep in the car, and I kept talking to him to get him to stay awake. He did lighten up from Lethargy when the doctor started all the neurological testing asking him all sorts of funny questions.

Diagnosis- 2nd degree concussion. I didn't know there were varying degrees, but the lightest is when symptoms last 15 minutes or less. His were 30-45 minutes before any improvement happened.

As the doctor is doing his exam he asked if Ethen had hit his face. Nope. No blood out of his nose or anything. Nope. Well he had a broken nose. Really! Good times. Old injury, but the doc did recommend he get it looked at.

Jr. Jazz doesn't start till next month, but we have to take him back in for a follow up before he can play.

After giving us a packet of information, he came back in and asked us if he was lethargic. Big fat uppers on that one. This kid doesn't hold still unless he has a fever or something. The doc told us he was considering a CT because he still hadn't perked up much since it happened 2 1/2 hours ago.

On the hospital we went. Ethen was freaking out a bit about the test until I described it as Avatar! Sliding table going into a donut.

On the way there, I thought about him screaming and asked if he remembered saying anything. He didn't. Had we not already been on the way to the hospital, I would have started that direction. He had blacked out.

They were waiting for us and we had the fastest hospital test EVER!

We needed to wait for the results...20 minutes....

When the doctor called us he told us there was no evidence of bleeding. Great news. Then he asked if Ethen had been congested. Nope. No colds or anything. Nope, but we have all had the rounds of it the last month. Surprise! The CT scan picked up a whopping sinus infection. What in the fetch?

4 hours after the injury we made it home. Just in time for the reception to be over and the snow storm to start.

Never a dull moment in Buchmillerville!

Musings

After an amazing funeral and a 5th Ward Reunion (Bishop Alan said it first), I have a few things to ponder on. It is funny how I always think, while sitting in funerals, about what will be said at mine. I am hoping that the Butterfly tile made sense to them all. If not, I really made it as therapy for me anyway.

First off, I am not fantastical like Miss Gae, so there were many things that just didn't apply to me.

Second, it was awesome to hear her kids talk about how much they fought. Yelling at my boys a few minutes ago because they were beating up on each other.... It all turns out okay in the end I

guess

Third-How often to we really write actual notes now days? All the kids had numerous letters that their mother had written them. I need to do that more often.

Fourth-Family Motto. I have thought of this a few times in the past. Bryon says we already have one. No Whining! I think we need to get a bit more perspective.

Fifth-Intense Personalities. My kids have them. That is the reason they are so hard to deal with at times. Such strong spirits trying to figure out how life works. A bit more understanding might be in order. Thanks for that Adam.

Sixth-People actually read this! I ran into so many old and constant friends who were well aware of what was going on in Buchmillerville because of this blog. Stalk Away my friends, Stalk Away.

All of the kids were able to see the amount of people in the chapel while giving tribute to their mom, but the most priceless of all was Blake's expression while following the casket afterwards. He looked genuinely surprised that so many people were there.

Yes Blake. We all showed up because we love Miss Gae.

Thanks for being amazing.

Butterfly Commitee

I had to steal this pic from the obituary. I haven't had the chance to go through all my photos yet.

This is Miss Gae Beckstrom. We always called her Miss Gae, she was a school teacher. She was my first YW president when I was a kid. She served in YW's up until I went to college. I even babysat her kids a time or two.

I was lucky enough to have continued a relationship with her through out the years. She bought Rebekah her first pair of Hiking Boots.

almost 4 years ago she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and I was able to watch from afar while she struggled with this disease.

When my parents returned home from their mission, my mother, who is a nurse was able to spend a great deal of time with Gae. She took her to doctors appointments, shopping and helped clean her house.

At the beginning of the school year, her condition took a sudden turn. She was discovered to have 200 tumors all throughout her body, many of which had ruptured making it impossible for her to have an MRI because of the intense pain of sitting in one position too long.

I was aware that she wasn't going to be around much longer, so I went to visit her a few weeks ago.

We talked for an hour of life and what was going on with all of her children. I am facebook or blog stalkers with most of them, so I was aware of a lot of things that were happening in her extended family life. Most of all we laughed.

One of the things that we laughed about most was when she died she was going to make sure and be in the line or "why didn't I get a beautiful singing voice" Her oldest two daughters were blessed with this talent and I sang with them on numerous occasions. That was her first

priority when getting to the other side. The next line she wanted to be in was for the Butterfly Committee. She wanted to make sure that butterfly's were kept beautiful and unique for the world.

It really got me thinking about what line I would stand in. We discussed patience, but decided that the line for that one was probably really long and I wouldn't have the patience to stand in it.

When she finally passed away on Thursday morning, I was once again shocked at how many memories I had of her and what an impact she had

on my life.

In an effort to help me feel as though I had done something for her, I asked my friend Andy at www.poppiesatplay.blogspot.com to design something to give to each of her kids.

In no time at all she had created this wonderful tribute to my friend. I can't wait to give it Erin, Emily, Adam and Jamilyn.

Pirate Babies

Yes this happened in May.

I am a little behind.

Anywho....

This is Jack and Sienna. She is the directors daughter and they are 3 months apart. They played a great deal with each other during the rehearsals and as you can see there was a bit of PDA as well. Abby was awesomely thoughtful and got them matching shirts. All the kids and adults got them as well, so we ended up with 4 at our house. Isn't she adorable?


Hopefully he will grow up to be a one woman kinda guy. Not "The Playa" like Sam and his harem!

General RS Meeting Choir

Way back in May-ish I got called into the bishops office to invite me to participate in the regional choir for the General RS Meeting in September. It seemed like a long way away then, but man did it creep fast.I won't report on all the details, since it would take me forever, but let me just say; as was our choir motto "these are days that will never be forgotten"

It was awesome having the opportunity to sing with 363 other women whose love of conveying the spirit though music matched my own. We attended practices at a local stake center as well as a dress rehearsal at the conference center. Nerve racking-Yep, Time Consuming-Surely, One of the best experiences of my life-Bingo.

On top of the awesomeness of it all, the entire experience was greatly boosted by the company I kept.

Thanks Michelle, Andy, Gina and Lisa for laughing at all the jokes I know full well weren't funny. I love you all.

The Vampire Boy

For some weird reason, Jacks two front upper teeth were late coming in. Oh well, we like vamps in this family. Okay well some of us do.

They have since emerged so no worries that the condition is permanent.

Why o Why does he cause problems?

Bek's 12!!! RUNNNNNN!

WOWZA!

I keep doing it year after year. Filling my house full of crazy sugar high kids.

12 Twelve year olds for 5 hours!

Good thing it was tons of fun.

Our house isn't big enough...So they kept splitting up.
Foosball, Karaoke, dancing downstairs.
With all the treats, a bunch of which ended up on the floor.
WOW-they look like they are having fun??
Hair feathers, facials and marble nails upstairs.
Thanks Jana Horton. You are the bestest! (and kelly too who will have to make flies from something else this year)
Really wasn't a theme this year, so we just went with whatever.
How the cake looked after we killed it!
I had one attendant tell me- "well this party was a big success" Thanks Kenny. I though so too.

2011 Bow Hunt

Skyline Drive is gorgeous!

Bryon loves to take landscape shots. We need to start hanging some in the house to remind us of all the places we love to go.

Silly kid would not take a nap!

Bek is finally old enough to hunt!

Sam, Bailee, Chesley and Ethen in the Hammock. That thing was hours of entertainment for all!

A sometimes futile attempt to keep Jack from rolling in the dirt-Tarp and toys.

Success rate was nominal, but it usually is. We go for the fun of being together, not necessarily the deer.

Father's and Son's Campout

I wasn't there, so there will be no captions to these photos

Angry Birds-GRRRRRR

I hate how I forget until the end that I uploaded the pictures in the wrong order!

Anyhoo-Ethen's Birthday is June 1st, but we never seem to be able to get a party together because it is the beginning of summer. After Nagging and Nagging I finally gave in and did one yesterday.

The last game we played (because we are going in reverse) was Water Balloon Angry Birds. I gathered up a bunch of storage type boxes, let them build their own contraptions and have at it. They loved trying to build a structure that would withstand the onslaught.

Middle game was Capture the Egg.

I divided the boys into Birds and Pigs, complete with colored arm bands. They headed over to the park across the street.

The Jail!

We tired a more traditional Angry Birds game at the beginning. This time with small cardboard boxes, duct tape balls and a slingshot.

The boys had a harder time than I thought with the slingshot, so we ended up just throwing the balls.

And the ever adaptable...Bird Bird Pig game while we waited for everyone to show up.

I decorated with things that I found online.

The paper birds were from "little plastic men"

Walmart had these wall stickers. I bought them a while ago in preparation of the party that didn't happen in June. Sam wanted to be part of the action. The kids had a TON of fun putting them all over the house.
Party Favors I made from just paper cups in the party section of Walmart. Add some googlie eyes and feathers to paper belly's, beaks, and eyebrows! Super Easy

And the Bestest Part. Cake.

This was my first attempt at fondant and I had a lot of helpers. I think the pigs turned out the best.

Hours went into the main cake. I was so depressed about cutting it up that I almost didn't.

Best Cake EVER!!

Cheese Experiment

After reading this article and having a killer cheese deal, I decided to try it.
So...this is sitting in my storage room...on a shelf...
We will see how it goes. Let me be your guinea pig if you are afraid to try it.

http://preparetodaywardnewsletter.blogspot.com/2011/06/waxing-cheese-shelf-stable-eggs.html