All Emmalee

Emmalee is wonderful when she is good, and a huge handful when she isn't :)

She loves to take care of Benjamin!

Sister Brienna, Emmalee, and cousin Jennica

Traveling in the van.

Time with Uncle Ken

I'm not sure what she is doing--just that she doesn't like to wear her pants very often.

After bath--in her princess jammies.

Bath time--first bath with Benjamin. She was excited to be able to take a bath with him!

Emmalee's first experience with a lemon.

She ate it for about 10 minutes, and then decided that she didn't like it.

And she drank and drank a lot of water, ate some crackers, and still had that "yellow" taste in her mouth :)

Playing outside in a hole the boys dug.

She loves to play in the dirt with the boys.

And she doesn't care how much dirt and mud she brings in the house. That is, until she has cleaned the floors. Then she will throw a fit if any dirt comes in!

So cute :) She will play outside (with the boys) until we drag them inside.

Watching a movie on Mom & Dad's bed.

Playing with play dough (that Brienna made). Notice the red cheeks--she had a cold.

Playing with her dominoes (while the rest of us played Mexican train with Brienna's dominoes).

Poor Emmalee had a runny, runny nose for a few days.

She didn't want this picture taken.

We love our Emmalee!

All Benjamin

I'm going to try to post lots and lots of pictures of my children--starting with the youngest.

Benjamin--almost 5 months old.

He's starting to push way up on his arms. And sometimes on his knees--but never at the same time.

His Superman pose.

All those push-ups tired me out :)

First time in the big bathtub. He had a death-grip on the bath ring for the first 10 minutes. But overall, he enjoyed it.

I couldn't get him to smile for me, though. He sure looks adorable!!!

Freedom after the bath!!

Benjamin loves to be sitting up--and doesn't like to be on the ground for more than 15 minutes or so.

Aunt Pamela

Such a happy baby!

Where Have I Been???

Where have I been? Well, from the last blog, you can see we had a snow storm over the weekend, so I spent the snow day (Monday) with the children. It was a nice "lazy" day. Actually, the older children each did a load of laundry, and Callum did the dishes :)

But last week got away from me, and so here are some of the reasons I was away.

Pack Meeting:

This is Callum in front of his invention (being a builder from "When I Grow Up).

I had to start pack meeting early so I could leave early (while the boys were in the middle of a project) so we could go to.....

Ethan's induction into the National Honor Society.

He desperately needed a haircut :) He hates getting his picture taken, so I took full advantage of this opportunity!!!

Our small school hasn't had the NHS for over 10 years, so it was nice to get it back!

Wow--a smiling photo. Alright--this was really a pose for the yearbook picture, but luckily I was right next to the yearbook camera!

from left to right: Ethan, Reese K., Mrs. Wagoner, Chrissy M., Heath Wagoner, Lana B., and Bodie M.

Saturday was a full day of Little Bobcat Basketball--the final games and Hoop Shoot :)

Ethan is in the "zebra" shirt to the left, and Callum is the shortest one on the court.
Callum looks so little, trying to shoot at the full-sized basket. He has the patience and perseverance to keep trying, and never giving up.

This is where he shot his free-throws. He finally hit the net on 2 of his shots. He will get stronger and one day will make the basket!
Callum placed 11th. The nice thing is, this program is free, the kids learn basic basketball skills, and all the children received prizes and treats.

Zane shot from the regular free-throw line, and came in 5th place over all.

Zane is an excellent free-throw shooter, and he is amazing at making 3-pointers (already--5th grader!). He will be a great asset to the Jr. High team next year (yikes--I can't believe he will be in Jr. High!)

We got home about 1:30 (on Sat.) from the tournament, ate lunch, and then I gave everyone (except for Brienna) haircuts. I even trimmed my bangs and thinned my thick, thick hair. All the boys look sharp--but I'm not sure if I have any pictures of them yet!

After haircuts, we worked on cleaning the house. I was a "mean, mean mama" and "forced" my children (especially the boys) to help me clean the house for 1 whole hour. Can you believe that? Making the children clean something other than their rooms--and for that long--60 whole minutes!

Then Brienna and I dashed off to the church to watch the Young Women's Broadcast. I am glad we attended--it was uplifting and refreshing.

So--that's why I haven't posted very often the last few days.

Oh--and one more reason. I have been working on (and finally finished it today) book #3 "Eclipse" in the Twilight series.

Snow Day?

School was cancelled today--because of the weather.

Now, I didn't get up at 5:30 am (when the phone call came) and take any pictures, but here is a picture at 2 pm:

It is in the shadow, so the new snow hasn't melted, but most of the other has melted.

There was wind during the night, and we do have 2 bus routes going more than 10 miles out in the mountains.

Yesterday was a blizzard--it was awful trying to get to the van after church. But this morning, it has been sunny here in town. It was windy this morning out of town so I guess the roads were quite bad--bad enough to close the interstate north of us to the Montana state line.

I called my piano students and had everyone come early so I could be done for the day. They all live out by the church, and they said they almost got stuck leaving their home. They got a lot of blowing and drifting snow. Luckily, we didn't get that in town :)

And so we had a sunny, snow day today!

Classified Ad, Part 2

Please list the following ad under the "Lost and Found" section:

Found: My voice! (well, it's a bit raspy, but it's my voice!!!)

When: Late Wednesday morning

Reward: Many words of thanks and gratitude. My middle child (well, #3) was not at all pleased that it was back. He didn't think 5 days was long enough. I think he would offer an award for my voice to be lost again (possibly even his Nintendo DS?)

Thanks to all who looked high and low for it.

I love the pre-school age--with all the cute observations, questions, and comments. This morning my Emmalee asked me, "Mom, are you yelling your whisper?" So I guess I am back to yelling :)


Joy, Joy, Joy!!!

Classified Ads

Please list the following ad under the "Lost & Found" section:

Lost: My Voice!

When: early Saturday morning (or possibly Friday during the night)

Description: Active from pre-dawn mornings until way into the wee hours of dark. Sometimes very loud (alright--yelling), but has a loving toneation at most times.

Favorite phrases:
Love ya!
Because I said so.
Because I am the mom.
I don't have to have a reason.
Hurry up or you'll be late!
Love ya!
Stop it right now.

If found: Treat w/TLC. Teach it to always say positive, kind words. Fill it with expressions of gratitude and love. (Maybe you can hold on to it for a day or two longer--I kind of like having my children coming close to me and looking at my face when I talk to them. And I haven't yelled for 5 days now!)


Reward: Words of thanks and gratitude. I'm sure my children would pay you NOT to return my voice, but I kinda like it :)

Besides, we didn't get to finish our spring cleaning because of the icky sicky bug that swept through our family. Do you know how hard it is to keep clapping your hands to get every one's attention? Then you have to whisper commands--put that here, no there, no--just get rid of it! It has been torture not being able to bark out commands from one room into another room. But on the other hand, I have seen my children much, much more since losing my voice! (since we have to be face-to-face to communicate at all).

I Should be Celebrating....but.....

Yes--I should be celebrating! I posted my 50th post (this is #51), and meant to celebrate.

But then life happens. We had spring break this past week, so we cleaned, shopped, and then all got sick! Thursday was my 1st day of sickness, so most of the other children were better by then.

Friday, I sounded like my oldest son (my baby would smile at me, but when I talked he looked puzzled). And I had no energy. I swear my arms each weighed 50 pounds and my head was glued to my pillow :)

And today I have no voice (the 2nd time this year!). I have a little more energy, but not much. So hopefully I will be able to post next week:(

Wish me luck tomorrow at church--"singing" with the primary children (I am primary chorister).

Reasons (Excuses) I haven't Posted

I haven't posted in a few days for a couple of reasons (I guess this is more than just a couple!):

1. I have been soooo tired. Tired because I have an infant that likes to go to bed at 11 pm or later (but I can't complain because he sleeps 6-9 hours!).

Tired because I have 5 other children. Tired because when Benjamin does go to sleep, I have usually found my second wind and can't get to sleep. Tired because I haven't been out in the sunshine enough. Tired because I am tired :)

2. I have been spring cleaning. I know spring isn't officially here until Friday, but it is our spring break so I am taking advantage of having all these babysitters & helpers home. We have been working on a few projects and I will post those pictures next week.

3. My dryer was not being a dryer, so my clothes piled up and I had to catch up on laundry after my dryer decided to be a dryer again. (thankfully my father-in-law is an electrician & my hubby has helped him enough to figure out & fix the problem--and quite quickly & "cheaply".)

4. My aging van (photo not our van) decided to shake and limp at an extremely slow pace--it needed a repair. Thankfully it received that "hip" replacement and stopped shaking.

5. My oldest had a dentist appointment (no cavities--yay!) and a trip to town means lots of shopping :) I found a few excellent unadvertised sales so I had to stock up on those items. I love finding good deals :)

I guess it's a good thing that I am a stay-at-home mom that "doesn't work"!

8 Things Tag

8 Favorite TV Shows

1. Survivor
2. Amazing Race
3. History Detective
4. American Kitchen cooking show
5. CSI (any)
6. Criminal Minds
7. Numb3rs
8. Old shows (Andy Griffith, Addams' Family, Gilligan's Island, Waltons, Smurfs, Hazel, Hogan's Heroes)

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Melina's
2. Texas Roadhouse
3. Sizzler
4. Subway
5. China Buffet
6. Pizza Hut
7. Taco John's
8. Arby's

8 Books You'd Recommend

1. Book of Mormon
2. Work & Glory series
3. Storm Testament series
4. Tennis Shoes among the Nephites series
5. Anita Stansfield books
6. Mary Higgins Clark books
7. Twilight series
8. Harry Potter books

8 Things That Happened Yesterday

1. Laundry
2. Cleaned the boys' room (half way done--photos to come later)
3. Threw 1 garbage bag (kitchen size) stuffed full of garbage from the boys' room away
4. Played the Wii with my sister and children
5. Went outside without a jacket on
6. Made & ate dinner
7. Made & ate brownies
8. Did the dishes

8 Things to look forward to

1. Spring so I can go on walks
2. 4th of July weekend
3. 20 year class reunion
4. Camping this summer
5. A clean house
6. Organization in my house
7. De-junking my room
8. Being healthier/thinner

8 Things on my wish list

1. Enough $ to build our house w/o debt
2. Happiness in my children's lives
3. Living on our land
4. A craft room
5. New carpet
6. Thinner/healthier
7. Peace (and harmony) among my children
8. Calm in my life

8 Things I love about Spring

1. Warmth
2. Being able to walk & push the stroller w/the children (not in the snow)
3. Riding my bike
4. Green grass
5. The smell of the earth right after rain
6. New growth--flowers
7. Buds on the trees (& blossoms)
8. Seeing the ground (& not just snow)

8 People I tag:
Whoever wants to, I know this one has gone around a lot, if you haven't done it, feel free!

This was fun to think about what I want and wish.

Empty Fridge

I decided I had better wash & clean out the fridge on Tuesday since it was pretty empty (and it really needed to be washed out). There was a lot of sticky stuff on each shelf--yuck! I can't believe I am taking pictures of my fridge--thanks to Jen

Wednesday was Benjamin's 4 month check-up, so of course I had to shop! (any time we make it to town, we buy groceries)

And here is my fridge, stuffed full. The funny thing is that I can tell you where anything is in the fridge. Hubby asked where his peppers were, and I was able to tell him exactly where they were (although he didn't want to dig them out of the back corner!)

No one is going hungry for a while at our house!