Happy 10th Birthday BUD!!!

Can you believe this guy is 10 now? SCARY!! Its seems like just yesterday I was in LABOR with him. It's weird how much more I remember his birthing story more then any of my other kids. I don't know if it's because he's my first or what, but I remember the details like it was yesterday! I'm certainly glad there has been no pain or epidurals or contractions today, just a fun happy day celebrating with this guy. Tonight we are taking him to the diamondbacks game for his birthday and he is so excited. I took him out to Red Robin with the girls today (taylor is still up in ShowLow with McCown's so she didn't come) but the girls and I took him and we had so much fun. He's at the age where them singing some Happy Birthday song is embarrassing for him....which I don't blame him at all.

He is such a smart loving boy. He always tells me he loves me. Anytime I leave the house, drop him off somewhere, or say good-bye on the phone he always tells me he loves me. It is so sweet and I hope he will always do that. He truly loves his family and sisters. He loves to do things with Randy and I. He is so witty and funny...half of the time, I have to second guess what he says cause he's so funny. He's got a comment or thought for everything.....He loves sports and he loves to learn new things. He can read things once in a book and he remembers them forever! He knows way more trivia and facts about useless things then anyone I know! He loves his cousins, they truly are his best friends! We love him and are so grateful to have in our family. I appreciate all his help he gives me everyday! We love you bud and hope you have a happy DAY!!

Here are some fun pictures from our lunch at Red Robin!

I also did a quick birthday interview today with him.....

· What is your favorite song? Eye of The Tiger (this is on Randy's IPOD and he loves it)
· If you could have one super-power, what would it be? Flying so I could just fly around all day.
· What was the last chore you did? Make my bed
· What's your favorite food? Broccoli Casserole (he does love this....crazy kid!)
· What's the nicest thing you've done for someone in your family lately? Say Thank You to my mom.
· What makes you mad? When someone goes into my room and messes it up.
· Where would you like to go on vacation next year? Hawaii (i think he's dreaming!)
· Who's the smartest person in your family? My dad
· How are you like your dad? We both like baseball and sports
· How are you like your mom? We are both smart (thanks buddy!!!)
· What's one thing that your dad had that you'd like to develop? Strength and he can fix anything
· What's one thing that Dad always said to you? Never go extra bases with no outs!
· What's one thing that Mom always said to you? Clean your room!
· What's one thing that you and Dad did together that you'll always remember? Going to the Diamondback game with my dad and sitting in the dugout seats!
· If you had a million dollars, what's the first thing you'd buy? Catchers Gear
· How do you know that mom loves you? Cause you feed and take care of me!
· What's your favorite cereal? Frosted Mini Wheats
· What's your favorite TV show ESPN or Sports Center
· What's your favorite vegetable? Broccoli
· What personal item that you would never give away? My Bed
· What's your favorite game? Monopoly
· What's your favorite book? Harry Potter
· What food would you eat every day if you could? Broccoli Casserole
· If you could choose a different name, what would it be? Blake or Spencer (these are his cousins he idolizes)
· What's the scariest thing you've ever done. Watch the movie “CLUE”
· If you could eat at any restaurant for the rest of your life, where would it be? Outback
· What's your favorite candy bar? Hersheys Cookies and cream
· What's the last thing that you did that you were proud of? Hit a home run in my baseball game
· What's your nickname? T-Dog!
· What's the best age to be? 10
· What's your favorite holiday? Christmas
· What's the best present you ever got? My WII
· What do you like to eat for lunch at school? Mini Burger Buddies
· Is your room messy or clean? MESSY!!
· What do you and your sisters fight about? The Wii and the computer
· What's under your bed? Nothing!

Happy 10th Birthday Travis!!!!!!

SHOW LOW and SNOWFLAKE FUN!!!!!!

The kids and I went up to Show Low this past week while Randy was White Water Rafting with his family......We had so much fun. We went jumped on the trampoline, road quads, played lots of games and just had SO MUCH FUN!!

On Saturday Amy and I took the kids to Snowflake for their 24th of July celebration/parade. They kids LOVED IT! The loved the floats and the candy that was thrown to them nonstop! After the parade Amy and I took the kids to the Snowflake temple. It was a beautiful temple and the kids really liked it.

We had such a fun week and we are so grateful for good friends to get to hang out with!

~~~Summer LIVIN~~~

These kids are loving summertime! They live out in the pool.....tonight we had my family over to celebrate my dad and Travis' birthday! Travis will be turning 10 next week so this was the start of the birthday celebrations.......My camera battery died half way through the night so I'll have to get the cake pictures from my Sister In Law! For now, you just get pictures of my kids in the pool! Hope everyone is staying nice and cool!!

Playing In The RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Not very often do my kids get to go out and play in the rain......After dinner tonight we looked outside and saw our first "monsoon" storm of the summer! The kids were so excited and asked if they could play outside. Of course Anney was the first one out and the wettest. She was fascinated by the water coming out of the sky. As soon as she sees the camera she says "cheese", It is the cutest thing ever. After about 10 minutes in the rain it got really windy and lightning started, so I made them come in. As soon as we walk in the door travis and taylor ask if they can have HOT CHOCOLATE! Crazy kids!! It's still 95 degrees outside, and they want hot chocolate! Too bad I'm mean and I didn't want to deal with the mess, so I made them have a cookie instead!

Happy 4th of July!

Okay.....so this is something new....a collage!! I was going to do a slide show but I thought I'd try this. We went to Showlow this past weekend and had SO MUCH FUN!! We took our toyhauler up there and left it up there for the rest of the summer. Some friends of ours own a church camp up there so we are able to leave it up there and it's protected. There are 2 other families in our ward who all took their toyhaulers up there also. We plan on going up there quite a bit to escape the heat, and let the kids play and ride quads. Plus, it's about 30-40 degrees cooler with rain everyday! It's awesome!

We had so much fun watching the LONGEST fireworks show EVER.....It was an hour long and the kids were going crazy watching it...they kept saying.."When can we go?" The kids had fun playing with all the other kids. Travis LOVED learning how to play volleyball with all the adults, he could even serve over the net! There were these horses there that we thought were so friendly cause they would let you pet them, etc. One of them got spooked while the kids were playing and they took off and ran over Megan. It was so scary, but she seems perfectly fine. She was so scared, but I kept asking her if anything hurt, etc and she kept saying she was fine. Today she has said a couple of times that the horse stepped on her stomach, so we'll keep watching her. Poor thing, she is TERRIFIED of horses now! All in all we had a great time with great weather!

Ramblings and 3 recipes!

hey guys! It's been forever since I blogged...things have been busy. We just got back from lounging on the beach in Carlsbad California where the weather never got over 72 degrees...some one tell my WHY....We live in this oven where it is 115 degrees!! Randy and I went for a walk every afternoon pushing the jogging stroller eating Popsicles and ice cream and they never melted! Can't say I do that very often in Arizona! Anyways..we had a great time with my family and the kids loved the beach like always. Of course Anney thought it was just like our swimming pool and she loved every bit of it. A few times the waves would completely knock her under the water and she'd come up smiling and laughing wanting the next one to do the same thing. That girl is CRAZY! It's good to be home and we brought home half of the beach with all the sand that is all in my laundry baskets from the dirty clothes!

Yesterday the kids and I worked around the house ALL DAY! My poor house needed some TLC and we got quite a bit done. I was kinda surprised no one complained all day about cleaning....guess they knew it needed to be done. Travis and Taylor hadn't been feeling well so we didn't even go to swim team or swimming in our pool yesterday.

Tonight Travis is going to the diamondbacks game with my dad so he's really excited about that....he actually got in trouble for being disrespectful so instead of grounding him from the game I told him he could go if he mopped all my wood floor (which is a TON) and cleaned the bathrooms. He was thrilled with his option and he's busy working like crazy!

Last but not least....my good friend posted these recipes on her blog and thought I'd share them with you....They all look yummy and I plan on trying all of them..let me know if you do and if you like them!


For Breakfast:
Cinnamon Apple Tortillas
Flour tortillas
applesauce
cinnamon sugar
shredded Monterey or Colby Jack cheese
vanilla yogurt
Place one tortilla in an un-greased skillet or griddle. (These are super quick if you use small tortillas on your electric griddle.) Spread a spoonful of applesauce on a tortilla, then sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over applesauce. Top with shredded cheese and second tortilla. Heat until golden brown. Serve with remaining applesauce and yogurt.


For lunch:
Italian French Toast
Whip up your traditional batch of french toast with eggs and milk in the blender, minus the normal sweet seasonings. Instead, add your favorite Italian seasonings... basil, oregano, garlic salt, Parmesan, pepper... Slice up a loaf of french bread (about 1" slices). Dip your bread slices into the egg mixture and place on a well-buttered griddle. Cook as you would your french toast. When you turn the toast to cook on it's second side, sprinkle a bit of shredded mozzarella cheese. Cook until melted. Serve with some marinara sauce on the side for dipping.




For dinner:
Garlic Herbed Crock-put Chicken

1 pkg. McCormick Italian Herb Chicken Seasoning
2 1/2 lbs chicken tenders
8 oz. package sliced mushrooms
2 15 oz. cans Italian Style Stewed Tomatoes
12 oz. pasta
Put chicken into crock pot. Mix the seasonings & stewed tomatoes in a large bowl. Pour that over the chicken then toss mushrooms over the top. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours depending on your crock pot. Add and toss your pasta of choice into the chicken mix just before serving.





Have a wonderful day and try and stay cool!

~Future Olympic Swimmer~

This kids cracks us up! One of the kids put this swim cap on Anney and she LOVED it...she wore it around the house forever! The kids love to do funny things to her and she loves it...she's such a ham! What a blessing this little girl is in our lives, ALWAYS HAPPY and SMILEY! We love her and are so glad she is part of our family!

Sorry to have stolen your shoes....................

I have to document this story because it's so funny and I know Travis will laugh about it later......

It all started last Thursday night after his swim meet at Shepherd Junior High....we get in the car and he looks down at his shoes and realizes the black crocs he is wearing aren't his. These are small on his feet and have a hole in the bottom.......he starts freaking out saying someone "stole" his shoes. I told him Travis everyone has black crocs and they all look the exact same so I'm sure someone just took yours by mistake, etc. We are pretty much the last one's to leave so I figure oh well, someone got a MUCH nicer pair of shoes then we got so they will be happy. I had told travis also..I would just get him a new pair of shoes next time I was at the store....he wasn't very happy cause he wanted "his" crocs.

Fast forward to Tuesday at Swim Team practice at Brimhall Junior High... I go pick him up from basketball Camp (he goes straight from swim team to basketball camp with my sister) and he RUNS out to the car so excited telling me he has found "his" crocs. He said, "mom they were just sitting on the pool deck by themselves." I said, Travis those are someone else's shoes. He tries to tell me, no they aren't they are mine....anyways he wouldn't let it go, I couldn't reason with him, I tried to ask him how they would of gotten from Shepherd to Brimhall by themselves, etc. Basically he saw a pair that looked like his, and he was determined they were his. FINALLY after I said, "travis, those are someone else's shoes and now that poor kid had no shoes to go home in." I can't imagine how long this person spent looking for their shoes, and what if they had to walk home? So after explaining all of this, he finally GOT IT! The look on his face went from so happy he thought he found his shoes, to how bad he felt for someone that went home with no shoes! I kept thinking how frustrated this mom must be....how many times do we say to our kids, Where are your shoes? You came with shoes..no find them! I don't think someone stole your shoes, etc.? Oh I can only imagine..... anyways, to make a long story short he took the shoes back the next day to Brimhall and put them in the lost and found. Let's hope they make it to the rightful owner.

We have another swim meet tonight...so who knows what we will end up with!

Happy Father's Day!!! (a day late!)

Happy Fathers Day to the best dad EVER!!!!!!!

The kids and I made pancakes, bacon and eggs for breakfast and then we opened some fun presents. We gave Randy a BBQ cleaning brush, an UNDER ARMOUR shirt for running, a framed family picture for him to put on his desk at work, diamondbacks tie, candy and a pitcher! I'm sure some of you are wondering why the heck we could give him a pitcher but he has complained about us only having 1 pitcher (for some reason we've lost all the others). So when we some some pitchers at Target, we grabbed him one. He said that was his favorite gift, and we mixed Crystal Light in it for dinner last night. After church the kids and I made him a yummy dinner, we had Flank Steak with florentine stuffing, potatoes, corn and pineapple and watermelon. It was a yummy dinner. After dinner we went over to my parents and Randy's parents and wished them a Happy Father's Day.

Here are some pictures of the kids with him and the presents.....you can see how much they love their dad, he is truly their hero! Randy loves being a father and loves his kids more than anything. I couldn't ask for a better dad for my kids,

he supports them a 110% in everything they do

loves doing things with them, family vacations are the best!

he loves to have fun with them

he teaches them about the gospel all the time

he has such a strong testimony

he can fix anything that breaks

he loves to brag about them

he's so proud they all love to ride quads, play sports, etc.

He is such a great example to them everyday

He works so hard to provide for them

I could go on and on forever.....but as you can tell we are so lucky to have such a wonderful dad!

Also, thanks so much for a wonderful father and father-in-law....Randy and I wouldn't be the people we are today without these two wonderful men who have taught us the gospel, set a great example to us, and taught us how to choose the right and be the people we are today! Thanks, we love you both!!!

Wannabe SWIMMER???

Hey Everyone! I took these pictures of Anney yesterday in her new "floatie" thing....let me tell you though...she HATES this thing! She will last in here for about 5 seconds. You can see her trying to squirm out in the second pictures. She's such a pain to take swimming cause she wants to swim like her brother and sisters. She thinks she can jump in like them, jump off the diving board, etc. It's crazy and not very enjoyable to swim with her. I thought maybe if I bought this little floating thing she would happy to float around with the kids, but nope she wants out and wants to swim! Oh well, waste of 15 bucks!

Randy got back late last night from being gone to Boston for a week, he had a great time visiting with some people he works with and attending a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. I was quite jealous he got to go without me....most of you know how much I love baseball and visiting other ballparks, so I was quite jealous he got to do this. I even contemplated flying out Thursday morning to go to the game that night, but thought that's a little unrealistic.... The kids and I had fun while he was gone, we took it easy and hung out in the pool most of the time.

Travis and Taylor had their first swim meet last Thursday. This was the freestyle meet and they both did so awesome! They are really becoming fast swimmers and I think they really enjoy it. Of course it helps they have so many friends swimming with them this year, but hey whatever works! After the meet we went to Cici's pizza with our friends, I think we've started a new tradition of going out to eat after the swim meets!

Well i need to run and get my act together for Father's Day tomorrow...everyone have a good weekend!

Watch out....here we come!! Speed Racers!

The kids had primary activity day this afternoon. They had the best time ever. It was a "drive- in" at the church. All the kids brought home-made cars that they had made and they watched a movie. The movie they watched was a talent show. The leaders had gone around and taped every primary kid doing some type of talent. Travis played "Called to Serve" on the piano, Taylor did all kinds of tumbling routines and Megan "jumped" off the diving board and swam to the side. We had so much fun making our cars. Our neighbor the Nelsons have primary age kids so we make all the cars together. When the kids got to the church, I guess it was all set up like the drive-ins. THey had a road done in the hallway made out of tape, they had a concession stand set up and a car wash so you could wash your car before you watched the movie. My kids had the greatest time ever.......They haven't stopped talking about it. My kids have the best primary leaders and teachers, they are so creative and I appreciate all the hard work they put into teaching my kids...they are incredible! Here are some fun pictures of the kids working on their cars.....they LOVED it and are begging me to keep their cars forever! Somehow I don't think they will last longer then a couple of days. They can only take Anney dragging them around so long................

A Darling Baby...and a YUMMY recipe...

This kid is so stinkin' cute!! She is the happiest and most friendly baby ever. We were outside playing tonight and she was having so much fun on the tricycle, I had to snap a picture. She LOVES to have her picture taken, as soon as you get the camera out, she has a HUGE smile for you....how can you resist not taking her picture?

Also, i forgot to include the recipe for Lemon Bars. This is my Sister In Laws Recipe, it is the best Lemon Bars I've ever had. The first couple of years her and my brother were married, I swear we had her make these lemon bars for EVERY family function.....she probably got sick of making them, but they are so yummy! Thanks Katie!

Lemon Bars- Katie Weight

Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
Mix and press in 9x13 pan and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees

Filling:
4 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon rind zest
Mix and pour over warm crust and then bake for 30-40 minutes
Cool- then add:

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Happy Birthday Grandpa Ferrin!!

Today is Grandpa Ferrin's Birthday. We decided it would be so much fun to take all the grandkids over and sing Happy Birthday to him at his door and make him brownies and lemon bars. I think he was quite surprised to open the door to a bunch of little kids screaming the Happy Birthday Song.

Everyone Loves Grandpa Ferrin, these are some reasons we thought of

He is so fun and friendly to everyone.

He is such a great example of love and service.

He loves his kids and their spouses and all the grandkids so much.

He has always treated me as a daughter, and always made me feel like his own.

Everyone goes to him for advice

He Loves his wife more then ANYTHING!

He has a very strong testimony of the gospel.

He LOVES to play golf.

If you invite him to dinner with you, he even pays!

He always knows where the cheapest gas is and who has milk on sale!

He will go to any store for you and pick up what's on sale so you can get the great

deal also, and he even delivers your groceries!

He has taught his children how to work hard

He can build ANYTHING!

He is a great example on how to live within your means and invest your money

wisely.

He is a wonderful man and we are so lucky to have him as our grandpa and father! We love you and hope you had a wonderful birthday!!!

Back from the trek....

Holy cow....talk about a great experience. We had the greatest time! Randy and I were fortunate to be a "ma and pa" to 7 other kids. Those of you who don't know what a trek is, basically you are acting as pioneers for 3 days. We dressed as the pioneers, put all of our belongings we took in handcarts, slept on the ground, no showers and pulled our handcarts about 18 miles. As we "trekked" we had many experiences along the way. Some pioneer stories were told, games were played and some spiritual experiences were shared. The highlight of the trip was the testimony meeting Saturday morning at 5 a.m. Everyone shared their testimonies and I was touched by so many. The youth of our ward are incredible and they are such good examples to me. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go, it was a life changing experience for me that I will never forget. I can't believe what I learned about the pioneers. I came home with a greater love for the pioneers and what they went through.

p.s. thanks to my mom, sister and sister in law for watching my kids, we could of never gone and done this without ya!!


Recipe for the day.................I made these last night for dinner, they are so yummy. This comes from my grandma who is an incredible cook...

Company Carrots

1 lb. carrots 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 1/2 cup finely crushed Ritz crackers 1/4 cup or more of grated cheese
1 cube butter or margarine salt and pepper to taste

Peel and slice carrots and cook them until tender. Melt butter and set aside. In a casserole dish place layer of carrots, salt and pepper, cheese and crushed crackers on top. Top the final layer with melted butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Just A quick Update................

Hey everyone! Thought I'd give you a quick update on what's been going on. Randy got back from a fun week of scout camp. They hiked the Highline Trail....Over 50 miles of hiking! Doesn't sound fun to me, but they had a blast!

The kids started swim team and basketball camp this week....they've had so much fun. This is the first year they've had TONS of friends doing swimteam with them. We actually have a neighborhood carpool going with a ton of kids getting dropped off everyday, the best thing is I only have to drive one day a week, but I drive all morning long. It's worth it though!!!

Megan and Anney love swimming everyday, so that fills our afternoons almost everyday. Our fun neighbors join us quite often. Randy and I leave on the pioneer trek this week, so we are looking forward to that. I went and got all my pioneer clothes today, so I'm totally outifitted!!!!! I'll post lots of pictures and tell you all about it. I've been reading the itinerary and I have a feeling this is going to be an emotional weekend, but an incredible experience i will never forget!

And last but not least....a yummy recipe from a friend of mine who is an incredible cook....everything I make of hers, is too DIE FOR!!!!!!!!! (I love recipes and cooking so I'm going to try and share a recipe with every post!!)

JANAN'S BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

1 large bag of frozen hashbrowns, thawed1/2 cube of butter, melted Spray 9x13 pan, spread THAWED hashbrowns in pan. Pour butter over top of hashbrowns. Salt & Pepper to taste. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes. (This can be done the night before and you can refrigerate hashbrowns after cooking them and then continue with the recipe the next day.....or you can do it all at once.)Mix 8 oz. shredded Cheddar Cheese & 8 oz. Pepper Jack Cheese (THIS is the secret ingredient.....YUM!)Spread cheeses over the top of hashbrowns.Choose ham, bacon (cooked and crumbled) or sausage (cooked) - desired amount - spread over cheese layer.Mix 5 eggs & 1 C. milk - pour over entire casserole. Salt & Pepper to taste. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. ENJOY!