The "Z" Machine

The Painting of the "Z" Machine. Yes, it's Pinewood Derby time!
Ready to Race!

Zane and his fellow cub scouts.

Job Well Done!

Spring or Summer

It may be spring here in Arizona, but it's summer weather for most states. So, that means our kids are jumping in the pool already. The water is still too cold for me, but the kids had fun. Here goes Zane for his first jump in. He didn't last too long though.

Rachel and Sierra lasted the longest in the pool. brrrr.

Contemplating his next swim?!

Wes mostly sat on the edge and played in the rock waterfall. Did you notice the black spot UNDER the water in the bottom right corner of the photo? That's Cash, out dog...already diving after the pool toys. Wes didn't want to get splashed by that tail as it swung back and forth as Cash went under! I think the dog was the most excited one to be back swimming in the pool!

That's Cash again....to the right of the photo. I can't believe that dog!

Ready to go again! They all had a great time swimming. Happy ARIZONA Spring!

Happy Spring!

I wish that I could claim that I made this, but I can't. Here's to having a talented friend that helped bring some cheery spring to my door. Just beautiful! I love this time of year and the wonderful weather that it brings.

The Call of the Bobcat

At last month's Pack Meeting, Zane earned his Bobcat....already! Thanks to a den leader that is soooo on top of it all! He also earned a couple of belt loops from a Sat. workshop that his den attended. He is enjoying being a cub scout & he's off to a great start!

Todd had to hold him upside while the pin was put on Zane's shirt. I don't think I've ever seen Todd's face so red.:)

After a while, the effects of all the blood rushing to Zane's head start to take their toll on him!

Way to go Zane! And, thanks to Kelly for taking some pics since I was gone to a YW activity.

Love from Grandma Beanie

My mother, Geneen, loves to make things for her grandkids. She has gotten into quilting over the last couple of years. When Lance turned twelve she decided that she would make a nice quilt to celebrate the special point in his life (receiving the priesthood and going into Young Men's). And so started the tradition of getting a quilt from Grandma Beanie when a grandchild turns twelve. When Sierra turned twelve, Grandma knew this quilt would have to have horses on it.

Imagine Sierra's delight to find out that she could have actual photographs of herself with Pepper on her quilt. She was so excited.

Thanks to Grandma for all the time and work that she put into this quilt. We know that it was A LOT of time and A LOT of work. The quilt is beautiful and Sierra loves it. Grandma's got talent... or "SKILLS" as Lance would say.

Since we didn't have our family blog two years ago, I thought I'd put in Lance's quilt that he received when he was twelve. His has motorcycles on it. He still carries it around with him to keep warm while he watches TV. Thanks Grandma Beanie!

A Rare Possession

Somehow, I managed to get a picture, even a smiling picture, of Lance yesterday before he ran away or put his hand went up to block my view. Love my boy! Isn't he handsome?!
Another Facebook tag.....My First Born

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? No
2. WERE YOU PLANNING ON A PREGNANCY AT THE TIME? No, but I was starting to think about it.
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? A lot of excitement and little bit of nervousness.
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? No and never was!
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 23 yrs old
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I missed a period and took a test at the dr's office.
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? My husband, Todd, or course.
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes, we are big cheaters so that we can plan ahead.
9. DUE DATE? Mar.2nd.
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Yes, some, for the 2nd and 3rd months of my pregnancy.
11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Nothing out of the ordinary.
12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? same answer as above.
13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Male
14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU WERE HAVING? No not really. I had a big brother so I was excited for my children to have a big brother also.
15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 25-30? lbs.
16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes.
17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? No.
18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?Just a little....I started to dialate early and have some very minor contractions but they were worried that the baby would come early. So, I was put on meds and watched closely. I was supposed to sit at work as much as I could (I was teaching kindergarten at the time).
19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Mesa, AZ
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? An EXTREMELY fast couple of hours....thanks for my mother's great genes. My water broke about 2:30 am and my contractions didn't even start for a while after that. Lance was born at 5:15 am.
21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Todd.
22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Todd & my mother, Geneen. (along with the Dr. & nurses:)
23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural
24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? I believe that they put some tylenol in my IV, but I didn't have an epidural. I wasn't againest having an epidural, but I knew that my mother delivered her babies too fast to have one. And, sure enough, when it started to hurt and I began to think about having one...it was TOO LATE and the baby was coming! It hurts A LOT, but only as I am actually delivering, so I figure that I can grin and bear it.
25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?6 lbs 11 oz.
26.WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? February 13, 1995
27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Lance Keith. Lance was a name we liked a lot and Keith was after his Dad's middle name and his great granfather's first name.
28. DID YOU EXPERIENCE ANY POST-PARTUM DEPRESSION OR BABY BLUES? No.
29. BREAST OR BOTTLE? Breast.
30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST-BORN TODAY? He just turned 14 and he is becoming such a great young man, but he will always be my baby.

Super Saturday

Zane and Wes had some fun jumping on the trampoline. They even mixed in some water for added fun. Although when Todd sprayed the hose straight on them, they thought that was tooo much cold water.

But, then the boys found the mud and the fun got dirty!

Here's Wes trying to wash off the mud...aka. evidence:). Somebody smeared mud all over the guest house. Wonder who it could be? Two guesses.

Aim Well, Lance

Grandpa took Lance out to the desert for a morning of target shooting this week. When I asked him if he had a good time, he replied "yea, it was cool." A typical teenager reply. Thanks Grandpa for spending some time with our boy. Thanks for being so "cool."

Happy Spring Camping!

Todd managed to ditch the shop for a couple of days so that we could get in some family fun in the great outdoors. We went camping up north of Strawberry. Weston was, of course, excited to ride his quad.

Wes was also excited to....I'm not quite sure....just simply be outdoors in the dirt with Alivia, maybe. ??? It looks like he was singing. He does have a bit of Zane's goofiness in him. And dear old Kota, our 13 year old lab, still puttin' up with the little ones. He's been the best dog ever. He simply hung around the camp with us. No more running along on the rides (Cash does that now). He simply takes it easy and grants us with his sweet spirit. We love our Takota!

Our collection of pine cones and the great gatherers that helped to collect them.

Lance giving his baby brother a ride.

Megan, Kelly, and I heading out for a horseback ride. Kelly was a little hesitant, but I think she had fun. At least, she giggled a lot when we loped. She doesn't have much horse experience, which is funny cause her husband, Jason, is an ex-rodeo guy. In fact, we talked him into showing us his stuff since he never joins us on trail rides. He jumped onto my bareback horse from the ground. We were all impressed. Some others had to try it after he did it. Todd actually made it once. I was too embarrassed to even try. I don't think there's anyway I could make it up that high. Maybe when I lose 10 lbs (aka never).

Todd and the boys target shooting. (l to r: Todd, Zane S., Brock, and Lance) The dads and the older boys actually spent a good amount of time paintballing out there. So, they all came home with bruises:).

Here's the young boys being cool - (l to r: Cole, Mason, Zane S. and our Zane).

Todd sighting it in.

Jason, the great white hunter, contemplating his next aim:).

Weston giving Kota a kiss. Simply precious.

Zane T., Cole, and Mason helping to gather wood for the campfire.

Dinner around the campfire.

Jason making the bonfire BIGGER and HOTTER!

We had a great time, although it would have been nice to have another day or two. My kids came home filthy dirty after 3 days up north. Here's to great camping, yummy food, and good friends.

She's Growing Up on Us!

Do you notice anything different about our sweet Sierra Dawn?

How about now? Look closely.

Okay, we'll make it more obvious and show you both ears at once. Now, do you see? Yes, at the ripe ol' age of 12, Sierra is old enough to finally get her ears pierced. It was a surprise to her. She had asked about it in the past and I would just say that she wasn't old enough. So, when we came up to the store to get it done, I was shocked to find her saying that she didn't want to. I guess she had talked to a friend or two about how painful it was. I couldn't believe it. I reassured her that it was no big deal, but that she didn't have to do it if she didn't want to. So then, of course, she wanted it done. And, she didn't even flinch.

Playing in the MUCK!

So, we got irrigation yesterday for the first time this year. And, of course, the boys were out in it today. Neighbor boys came from all over to play in it. The older boys were busy skimboarding in it. (Yes, once again, I missed the photo-op of Lance riding the skimboard...and what was the funniest was that for some reason he was wearing Wes' Batman Cape - see previous post - I really should have gotten that pic.) The younger boys just enjoyed running around in it. Here's Cole and Zane after rinsing the muck off in the outside shower. They had a lot of fun out there....and ended up with a little bit of a sunburn unfortunately.

Wes was avoiding the rinse off for some reason....gotta love the mud clot on his back...and especially the cute crack.

He decided to rinse off in the pool. The problem was that he only dipped his feet in the pool. As one can see - that left an awful lot of MUCK still on him.