A Sweet Experience

I am so incredibly far behind in journaling but wanted to take the opportunity to share my experience tonight while it is fresh and sweet.

Our wards youth were scheduled to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead this afternoon. This would be Shelby's first opportunity to go. I couldn't help but to be excited for her as I know this is the beginning of her experiences within the walls of the temple. I called a member of the Bishopric to see if I could tag along as I wanted to be there to experience this with her. They of course welcomed me to come. I was able to sit next to Shelby as we waited for their turn and then be able to hand towels to them as they came out of the font. What a wonderful experience to be able to be in the Lord's House with my sweet daughter who is a strong example of good. You could tell that she was nervous as she kept saying I am so tired, I am so hungry. I giggled and told her I thought she might just be a bit so nervous. We have an incredible group of youth in our ward and it was great to be surrounded by them, in many ways it made me miss working with the youth. We finished our evening with dinner at Olive Garden (of course!) and a nice drive home.

It makes me grateful to live close to a temple and now with two children old enough to babysit, it makes it easier to go. Collin was man of the house while we were gone. He did a great job (even though he feels Ellie is spoiled!) He is working hard to master it for mom so that I will recommend him to my friends. I came home to kids fed, food and plates cleaned up and all of them in pajamas. I do believe he gets two thumbs up. Way to go son!

I did have a quick glimpse back in time though tonight, as a flashback to my Laurel Advisor days reminded me of the last youth temple trip I went on, where my keys got flushed down the toilet in Olive Garden and we had to have a lock smith come and make a new key....I think the whole stake had a great time teasing about that one forever.

Thanks for letting me come along Shelby, I am so proud of you and love you very much!

A Trip Home

Tonight I escaped to my hometown via the great world of blogging. It is amazing how time can just fly by because it seems that one blog just leads to another.....and before you know it hours have gone by. I was able to see blogs of so many people from the Gila Valley, people that I love but it has been so long since I have seen them or caught up. I have to be honest that it made me a little homesick not to be able to reach out and hug them. But on the other hand, it was wonderful to see their lives, full of joy, trials, happiness, success, growth and even sorrow, as we know this is truly the Refiners fire. When I moved to Utah, I left behind so much. I knew that it meant a new, sweet start, but at times I feel like I completely removed part of who I am. How do you find the balance between those two worlds?? Between leaving the sad, hard and hurt that came from all that was happening in my marriage 5 years ago, trying to move on and going forward and embracing that I am exactly who I am because of all that I did go through and that I am grateful I am ME! I have always loved the Gila Valley and hope that someday, the anxiety that I feel when I do physically travel home will leave and that I will look forward with anticipation to bumping into the unknowns with smiles, happiness and joy...I know this is a matter of time healing the soul, I do hope that it heals quickly. I am so grateful for each of you who do warmly embrace and welcome me home...I love each of you!

Baby Bath or Bidet

I needed to go and check our display at the Showcase of Homes where I have worked for the last three Saturdays and decided I would take the kids with me so that they could see the house where I have been working. It is only a mere 11,000 sq ft with a 2500 sq ft garage. They described it as a mansion as we were pulling up. They were oohing and awing over the house as we were going through but the kicker and what caused great laughter was when we got to the master bathroom and came across the Bidet. Ellie exclaimed, "Look Mom, it's the bath for the baby!" Of course Ellie! In my lack of knowledge on how to spell the word "Bidet" (never had a reason to before and it actually spells just like it sounds!) I went to Webster on line and after it gives the majority of the definition it then finishes with this. "Despite appearing similar to a toilet, it would be more accurate to compare it to the washbasin or bathtub. In fact, the bidet is used by some for a baby bath." Well duh, to me and the rest of us that laughed, Ellie had it right all along!
They had three of these bunk beds in one of the bedrooms. I thought they were fun!
The kids loved the indoor sports court and of course the movie theater.
I loved the doors that slide back into the walls and create a very open feel for the living room and kitchen. This house was right on the golf course and so your view was spectacular and it brought nature right into the house. Of all the features I saw, this was by far my favorite. It was absolutely beautiful!

Ellie Kneviel Part TWO

I know that you are probably looking at these pics wondering why I am taking a picture of a canoe, be ready for a good laugh cause it is quite funny! (I can only say that cause Ellie is okay of course!) The other day while I was fixing dinner, Ellie had been next door playing at the neighbors house which is something that she does quite often. I heard the doorbell ring and went to it to find my neighbor, her three children and Ellie standing there. Before she could get two words out her 7 yr old just starts spilling out the whole story and it went something like this. "Ellie and Alan, (also 4) they were climbing up the canoe and then they climbed up on the roof and the canoe fell and Ellie was hanging from the rain gutter and my dad had to catch her!" Okay.....only Ellie could pull something off like this so as I go through it with Erin (the mom) it gets funnier as we start to piece all the picture together. The canoe had been propped up against the evaporative cooler like Shelby is holding it above, Ellie and Alan were climbing up it and using it as a slide. What fun you say! As you can see it is quite close to the roof line, Ellie had just gotten to the top and Alan was almost there when it started to wobble. Alan jumped off of it and Ellie, thank goodness, had the presence of mind to grab the rain gutter. The canoe fell off of the cooler leaving Ellie literally hanging from the rain gutter. Erin and her husband were inside and heard the canoes crash and she thought she better go check but when they all of a sudden heard the screaming of the kids her husband Bryce bolted out the door. They came around the end of the housing expecting to find a child under one of the canoes but NEVER expected to find a child hanging from the rain gutter! (I would have loved to have seen the look on their faces as they came around the corner!) Bryce had to tell Ellie a couple of times to let go before she would release her death grip on the rain gutter. I knew the kid was strong but she really is amazing! We had to recreate the scene of the crime for photo evidence purposes. You have to remember that she is my child who at 2 I found her on top of Kevin's shed just sitting there and then when she was almost 3 she fell out of our second story window when she was trying to see the fire truck! She is something incredible and blessed to say the least. She must have a great mission to perform because her guardian angels have to work overtime with her! We tried to explain to her that she is not a cat and does not have 9 lives but she just smiles.
Ellie posing near the canoe, this is how it was when we found it.
This is Alan, and just for every one's information...I really do comb Ellie's hair but at some point and time earlier that afternoon she had gotten in the water and already was bathed and dressed for bed but never got her hair combed.
Ellie and Alan thought it was fun to play in the canoe now that it was down on the ground too!
This was such a cute pic of Dallin and Alan that I had to include it in this post!

In all serious, I see the hand of the Lord in our lives so often. We are blessed daily as he watches over my precious family and keeps them safely protected. I had to say a gratitude prayer especially on Wednesday evening that my Ellie was safe. I am sure that she is strong but I am more sure that she had Heavenly Father's strength with her that evening to be able to hold on for as long as she did in the hysteria of the moment. She is such a sweet blessing in my life and I am so grateful for the spunk that her audacious spirit brings to my home. She is always smiling with such a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, you can't help but to just want to squeeze her! I am grateful that I have her for another day and that we can laugh about her "Swinging from the Rain Gutters." It's so my Ellie.

Ellie's First Day of Preschool

Today was Ellie's first day of preschool. She was so excited to get up and go. She has been chomping at the bit for the last several weeks since the older kids went and she had to wait, cause you know mom is too boring :-) She is going to Teacher Terri's (that's what Ellie calls her) again, she loved being there last year. Terri is now teaching five days a week and was also willing to take Ellie extra hours so that I can work. She goes Monday - Friday from 8:30am to 2:30pm. I was worried how Ellie would do cause she gets so clingy to me at times, but she is absolutely loving it. Terri is always looking for fun things to do and Ellie is loving all of the friends that she is making. And just a side note, I am loving how much I am able to get done for work without interruptions, it is just bliss. It is nice to finally have a structured schedule for all of us. It truly is what keeps my world going round!

Collin's Last Pinewood Derby

This is the last Pinewood Derby for Collin as he will graduate to 11 yr. old scouts next month. Can you hear me crying the tears of sadness :-) No, I can't complain too much about Pinewood Derbies cause my brother Kynan was a saint and not only helped Collin build a pinewood derby but Dallin too! (Dallin, he is not in scouts yet but was dying to do it too!) It was quite the process, design and design some more, cut and then sand, sand, sand. What about killed Dallin was how long it took me to go and buy the paint, talk about little patience, but we finally got it bought and then painted them. They each had their unique style and definitely knew exactly what they wanted. We had a few little problems with Dallin's paint job but he was cheerfully flexible (bless you Dallin) and then Uncle Kynan did the finishing touches....the wheels, they need to be just right! They both weighed 5 oz. right on the dot. Way to go Kynan! Something a little funny was that Collin wanted to name his Blue Lightening. While Kynan was trying to get the weights melted and put inside the cars, he kind of caught Collin's on fire. It had a singed part on the bottom where it almost looked like it had been struck by lightening. I told him it was good luck!

One of my callings is Assistant Cub Master. I am grateful for this calling as I feel that scouts is very important for boys and it allows me the opportunity to give back when Collin has had wonderful leaders that have made such a difference for him. This pack meeting was fun as I was able to give out all of the awards. I especially loved the opportunity that it gave me to give Collin his awards. He was very excited, as he should be. He won 1st place for his Webelos Den and 3rd Overall, he also won an award for Sportiest Car. Dallin had to race his car as a leaders car because no other younger boys had made cars...so we became Team Wright and he raced my car in the leaders race.....and we won!!! He was very excited and went with the flow of things quite well. He will thoroughly enjoy running under his own name next year.

I truly have much to be grateful for, great boys who are good sports and have fun! I am also especially grateful for a big brother who has taken the opportunity with a smile to give back to school blessings, help build pinewood derbies, be a great role model for my kids and is an exceptional boss to me. It has been wonderful to live close to him and his family. We feel so blessed to live in this community, I hope this is where we will always live! It just doesn't get much better than this!

Dallin's Pinewood Derby Hightlights

What a shot of Collin's and Dallin's cars racing! The car in the lead was weighted down by pennies and ended up being the car that won overall! It received the award of Wisiest Use of Money :-)




Dallin did such a fabulous job even if he was underage :-) He spent so much time planning this car out, it really was quite cute. I wouldn't be surprised if someday he makes a career out of designing cars or something of the sort as he enjoys drawing and using many details. He would have loved to have done more with the paint job but we just ran out of time, maybe next year Dallin! Ellie was especially patient and such a good girl tonight. She sat and watched so intently, bless you child!! Your momma thanks you!

Give Me Sleep

Does it get any better than this?? I just love it when my kids are so wiped out that they just crash in the craziest positions. Although, I do think that this one has to be somewhat genetic because my memories of my dad crashed out on our living room floor look incredibly similar, the arms are sprawled all out. Ellie, you are so busy and when you do finally sleep, I love to watch you!

Bread in Less than 1 Hour

That was the title of our mini-class for enrichment. It was absolutely incredible! We had two ladies from Pleasant Grove, a mother and daughter team, who teach bread making classes come and demonstrate their recipe. The mother wanted just one recipe that met the following criteria: it had to be easy, fast, a one size fits all (rolls, pizza, bread, desserts) and it must be year supply friendly (thus no need for eggs, milk, oil)! It was amazing what they did. I learned so much, it also made me grateful for a mother who taught me how to make homemade bread at a young age and allowed me the opportunity to learn to love it and in turn my kids love homemade whole wheat bread also, although I do not make it nearly often enough.
Her recipe is:
10 1/2 cups white bread flour or wheat flour (do not use all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup sugar or honey
1 tablespoons salt
3 rounded tablespoons of SAF-instant yeast
3 tablespoons liquid lecithin* or 1/3 cup oil
4 cups hot tap water (the hotter the better)

*squeeze or pour approximately 3 tbls. of lecithin directly into the bowl. Do not measure.

Mix dry ingredients. Add lecithin and water. Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add more water. If dough is too moist, add more flour. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add water or flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.) Spray counter and pans with Pam. Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel. Let raise 25 minutes. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. This recipe makes four loaves of bread.

For whole wheat bread, use the same recipe but add one cup of applesauce as part of the hot tap water. Mix for ten minutes.
Their blog is www. pantrysecrets.blogspot.com
This recipe truly does it all and it is really good.

So I am all excited to go home and make this recipe (you are probably asking by now if liquid lecithin is a household staple of mine. NO, I was able to buy some from them, it is great for your year supply because it will not go rancid like oil does and serves the purpose of oil and it is really healthy for you. I promised my kids that we would make some pizza with the recipe the next night. I got everything out and went to open my 25 lb. bag of flour that I had bought a few months back from Costco and it was full of weavels, YUCK@!$@! (not Costco's fault, I didn't get it stored well). So we had to wait until the next night and it was all so very exciting, everyone took part and we made our dough, we made a stuff crust pizza and put it into the oven to bake. Next we made our dessert braid, so very yummy, we soon realized that we had missed the sound of the timer in all that we were doing and burned our pizza. It was a very sad moment for us. It would have been absolutely amazing cause even burnt it wasn't half bad! We ate the middle and the cheese out of the crust and threw the rest away. So use your imaginations as to what the pizza might would have looked like not burnt.
They gave us so many tips and easy ideas, they even have a video that you can buy that tells all of their secrets. My kids love to watch it and were even telling me that night how I needed to be doing different things, it was quite funny!
The best was Sunday during combined Priesthood/Relief Society the men where all taking about how their wives had been baking all of this stuff and how they were loving it!

Tagged

Well I have been tagged by several people so here goes.....



10 Years Ago

• I was married with 2 small children, Shelby, 2 and Collin almost 1.
• Running our own business, Crystal Bottled Water.
• Trying to keep up with toddlers that were 14 months apart.
• Scrapbooking was a new found hobby.

5 Years Ago

• Had aquired another 1 1/2 children Dallin 2, Collin 6, Shelby 7 and I was barely pregnant with Ellie.
• I was a Director with Mary Kay and even drove a free car (not the cadillac).
• Had sold the water business and Kevin was going to school to be a nurse, I was the provider for our family.
• My life was raveling apart. (Gees, nobody elses was this depressing sorry! but it's what really was happening five years ago.)

5 Months Ago

• I was learning the in's and out's of being single....still am :-)
• Four incredible children...Ellie 4, Dallin 7, Collin 10 and Shelby 12.
• Loving to scrapbook again!
• Find myself again!

5 Things to Do Today

• Continue sitting at the Park City Showcase of Homes for Iron Elements (my brother's door company. The house we have our display in is 11,000 sq ft and the garage is another 2500 sq ft.
• Help my boys finish their pinewood derbies.
• Pick up my house after being gone all day at work and four children at home :-( Wait a minute I just talked to Shelby and she said that they have been picking up as they go and that she has been doing laundry....I asked her if she was feeling okay, her reply was, "Does this mean I can have a Dr. Pepper??" "Only if it looks as good as it sounds when I get home" was my reply.
• Do something for Family Home Evening
• Maybe do something for me tonight, scrapbook, bubblebath or even just watch Jay Leno.

5 Bad Habits

• Going to bed late and getting up late.
• Not making time for me.
• Not being consistent...but I am working on this along with the previous two.
• Eating because I am bored, sad, happy, tired, stressed......
• Not having enough patience.

5 Places I Have Lived

• Thatcher, AZ
• Flagstaff, AZ
• Scottsdale, AZ
• Chino Valley, AZ
• Heber City, UT

This is the second tag from Ashlee

Rules: Respond to each question using one word and than tag 4 other people.

1. Where is your cell phone? Table

2. Your significant other? Looking

3. Your hair? Curly

4. Your mother? Detailed

5. Your father? Perfectionist

6. Your favorite thing? Happiness

7. Your dream last night? Crazy

8. Your favorite drink? Diet Dr. Pepper (Sorry can't do just one word)

9. Your dream/goal? Healthy

10. The room you’re in? Garage

11. Your hobby? Scrapbooking

12. Your fear? Loneliness

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Married

14. What you’re not? Skinny

15. Muffins? Yummy

16. One of your wish list items? camera

17. Where you grew up? Thatcher

18. The last thing you did? Read

19. What are you wearing? Jeans

20. Favorite gadget? Treo (it's my brain)

21. Your pets? Chip

22. Your computer? laptop

23. Your mood? bored

24. Missing someone? definitely

25. Your car? muddy

26. Something you’re not wearing? lingerie ;-)

27. Favorite store? Memory Box (Ashlee, I can't believe you didn't put Fashion Bug!)

28. Like someone? hmmmm

29. Your favorite color? Red

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

Now I am tagging anyone who reads this!!

Game Night for the Girls

Last night, Tina, Lori, Rachel and I got together for a game night at Tina's house. We had so much fun, laughing, snacking and playing games. We played Scattegories and Moods. Both games were fun and challenging but Moods brought out our most twisted personalities or at least our most twisted facial expressions. We were laughing to the point of tears and side aches. We were completely out of control. I was shocked at the competitive nature of these girls as this was my first time to join them! Tina your game face does rock though, you can stay so serious and make me have to ponder what you are seriously thinking. You never know what they are going to say or do, although they might would say more about me, I better keep the rest of the memories to myself. Tina pulled out her camera towards the end and got some great blackmail footage of Lori. We finished off the night watching the clip and teasing Lori to no end about it....we are so glad the chicks can't resist her (inside joke).
These girls really are great and I am so blessed to have them as friends, they welcomed us into the ward and helped us to feel a part of it so quickly. We tried hard to get a picture of the four of us for a momento of the evening and kinda struggled getting all of our faces in the frame. But after four attempts Rachel's arm was finally long enough. Way to go girl, your nasel hairs look lovely. I can't wait for us to do this again, I loved every minute. You girls are the greatest!

Ellie Kneviel

This is Ellie's friend Benjamin. He is a very sweet, kinda quiet and reserved for the most part and then there is Ellie who even though she fell out of a second story window, still has NO fear of heights or anything that might seem the least bit dangerous (with the exception of tubing on the lake, surprisingly). She called me outside yesterday so that she could show me something really cool and this is what she did.



She truly loves the thrill of danger...I think we will try to keep her from driving until she is at least 25! But you can't help but to love the twinkle in her eyes and after she falls from doing something the least bit crazy she always jumps up and says, "I'm okay!" with a huge smile and a giggle! I love you my Ellie Kneviel!

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Back to School

It 's that time of year again, fresh tennis shoes, nice haircuts, backpacks and of course new school clothes. Today was the first day of school for my kids, Shelby is in 7th grade, Collin is in 5th and Dallin is in 2nd and Ellie will do one more year of Preschool. The kids have been excited for school to start and have looked forward to seeing all of their friends. Shelby was especially excited that in 7th grade they are able to have lots of different teachers and she is really enjoying her math teacher who makes it lots of fun! Collin was able to have the same teacher as he had last year as she moved up a grade with them. He really enjoyed her last year and her teaching style really matched his learning style. He had straight A's and enjoyed lots of success. Dallin has Mrs. Mair this year and he comes home beaming about how nice she is and how much fun he had at school. Ellie won't start back to preschool until after Labor Day and she is extremely bored! She will be at school 5 days a week as her preschool teacher will also be her babysitter, we have been so blessed to have so many things line up for our family. We love it here in Heber and we love the schools. I am always grateful for the routine that school provides, my clock seems to tick a whole lot better when we have structure in place. I have to believe that it is good for my kids too! Summer went by really quickly but we did do quite a few fun things and enjoyed one another as well. No getting my kids to bed early....well that is a whole nother (is nother really a word or just western slang??) challenge in and of itself.

Am I Crazy or What? It must be puppy love!

Meet our new puppy Chocolate Chip but we just call him "Chip".

It all started when Shelby came home from a bike ride on Saturday saying that the sign down the street that said {Puppies for Sale} now said FREE. I told her that I didn't care if it was free, we weren't getting a dog as they still had two in Arizona.

Two hours later....I get a phone call from a number I don't recognize. My son, Collin is on the other end explaining how him and Shelby went for a bike ride and stopped to just see if they could look at the puppy and he was just so cute....Mom can we pleeeaaaase get the puppy....he's free!!! I told him no, but after much persuading, I agreed to at least stop by there and look (fully intending to say NO!) Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am not a dog kind of person. I tolerated the other ones just cause my kids loved them!

I pulled up putting on my tough mom face and went to see this so called "cute puppy" but what I saw was a really cute puppy and deep smiles of joy on my kids faces. After grilling the poor lady about what kind of dog this was, his temperament, do they jump, chew, be obnoxious, bark a lot....you get the idea and after my kids negotiating their way through me, even telling me that they already knew what his name would be...Chip cause he's the color of a Chocolate Chip.....my tough mom face caved and I couldn't say no. They have truly been through a lot this last year and if this helps them heal and gives them some joy....I guess I can learn to love dogs or at least this one! I do have to say that he is the cutest puppy with a very sweet disposition.

So here are the facts: He is a three month old German Short-Hair Pointer known to be family friendly, eager to please and a great hunting dog (this is the part Collin likes). They are a medium sized dog and need lots of exercise.

He already has his first shots, tail snipped shorter and dewclaws removed and was still free until I had to go buy dog food, leash, collar, chew toy....... kinda like a New Car...great deal until you drive it off the lot and it automatically depreciates a ton. No I am just kidding kinda, I am not regretting the decision yet, although the newness hasn't warn off yet...we will see! We are working on training him so that hopefully that will help him be a good dog. For the meanwhile we are enjoying his soft fur, extra skin, floppy ears, paws too big for his body, big eyes, sweet disposition and lots of walks!

Dog Sitting

Saturday, Dallin and Ellie had "borrowed" the neighbors dog to play with it. I could hear giggling in Ellie's bedroom and went to see what her and Dallin were up to and this is what I had found, they were have a grand time playing dress-up with Chevette...poor dog, but she looks awfully cute!

Dallin's Winning Rocket

Dallin came home from the neighbors all excited to make a rocket to enter into the County Fair because he wanted to win a lot of money. He designed and made this all by himself with the exception of a little help with the glue gun from Shelby. His design was absolutely awesome and did win him a First Place ribbon along with $3. He was feeling rich so we went straight to the bank and opened him up a savings account. He was quite excited about having his very own just like Shelby and Collin.

Family Home Evening on the Lake

Paul and Lynn Robertson are our next door neighbors and great friends. Our first Sunday in our house they invited us over for dinner and made us feel very welcomed. They have been wonderful to the kids. Lynn has been known to bring home dresses for my girls, just cause they were a great deal and they are always looking for ways to serve. We have been so blessed that no matter where we have lived my children have always been blessed by not just good neighbors but great neighbors.

Paul has been promising Collin that as soon as his boat is fixed he would take him out on the lake. Tonight, he showed up at 6:00pm and asked if we had plans for Family Home Evening, it was a little bit embarrassing to say no we didn't :-( but good that our availability was open for the evening to go spend it on the lake with him and Lynn. We live 10 minutes from 2 different resevoirs. So we hurried and jumped in our suits and headed out to the lake. This was the first time for my kids to go out on a boat and they loved it. They were smiling from ear to ear the entire time.

Ellie loved to sit up front and her job was to raise the flag when a tuber was down. She took this job very seriously and did a great job. She was a little nervous about riding the tube. Her and I tried it together but we only went a little ways and she wanted off. She was content with jumping off the side of the boat into the water with the other kids.

Collin was the first one to test the water for sharks! He couldn't wait to get on the tube and go for a ride. He held on great and Paul had a little fun making the water quite choppy. He was graceful in his wipeouts and a great sport.

Shelby was next to test the water and found out that it was much better to lay on your stomach than to lay on your back. She was true to form with falling of the tube for no apparent reason, not able to get back on with lots of screaming and at one point and time Paul called her the "Drama ". She loved it though!

Now we have always known that Dallin can be a bit of a dare devil on his bike but he was so funny in the tube. He tucked his feet down in the middle and just held on. Paul took him over some amazing wakes and he just rode them like a Pro. He was the only one that never wiped out!

My kids enjoyed seeing me get on and let me tell you I held on for dear life. I knew that if I wiped out, it was going to hurt a lot worse than it did 15 years ago. I didn't realize how tight I held on though until the next day when my whole upper body hurt so bad I could hardly move. It was the best workout I think I have ever had!

What a fun Family Home Evening!