Seven Simpsons

Simpson Motto

2010-01-31T00:07:00.001-08:00

Our family has decided to have a motto. Words we can live by and stand for. We want to focus on this all year long. Our inspiration comes from the talk given by President Monson, "Be Your Best", which can be read here Be Your Best.

To be our best we need to strive for these 3 things:

1. Study diligently.

2. Pray fervently.

3. Live righteously.

I decided to make this piece of art as a reminder of our motto. SInce taking this picture I have hung it up but that will be for a later post.

Annual Clothing Drive (ME CRAZY)

2010-01-30T23:57:00.000-08:00

Every fall there comes a day when Jed says "Let's get out ALL the ski stuff and try everything on!" He likes to make sure things still fit the kids or figure out who needs what before the ski swap comes around. This day drives me crazy! Our living room looks like a yard sale gone wrong. So I usually bow out gracefully and find errands to run. Jed always has the house back to normal by the time I return. Whew!

Seriously, do I need to type anything under this picture?

Pumpkin Launching

2010-01-27T19:55:00.000-08:00

Jed is the Scoutmaster over Tucker's group and they were challenged to a pumpkin launching contest after Halloween. What else are you gonna do with all those pumpkins? Well after much design, head scratching, welding, and work they came up with this contraption which they tell me is a trebuchet. After their first trial run it broke, so they had to hurry and go weld it back together before the contest started. Meanwhile the other group's launcher arrived and during their trial run, a pumpkin somehow misfired and came back to slam the poor boy right in the face. He ended up having to leave immediately to go get stitches. The other group decided to bow out because they deemed their launcher "unsafe". You think?

Our boys came back with theirs ready to rock and roll! Another trial run and it worked perfectly! Launched them pretty far too. See the video below.

I think a good time was had by all, well almost all, except the poor boy who had to leave to get his whole upper lip stitched up.

Sumo Wrestling

2010-01-27T19:46:00.000-08:00

The kids were complaining about being bored so I came up with this idea. Stuff pillows down Dad's shirts and have a Sumo Wrestling Match!!

I think they had fun, and it wore them out too!

Halloween 2009

2010-01-27T19:29:00.000-08:00

So you really CAN Mod Podge ANY surface!! Hannah wanted to be a zombie for Halloween so I came up with the brilliant (possibly stupid) idea of Mod Podging (yes it's a verb) tissue paper onto her face! I think it was a success. How about you?

It totally looked like old dead skin. At least I think it did. I haven't really seen any before.

We knew Hannah's best friend was going to be a zombie also, but what we didn't know was that they would end up making the perfect zombie prom couple!!! How cool is that?

Our wonderful, beautiful, crazy kids all dressed up for Halloween. We have a Care Bear, Zombie prom queen, baby, ?, and a football player!

Grandma and Grandpa came to our Trunk-or-Treat and Zoe wanted Grandma to take her around to all the cars. Thanks Grandma!!

The girls new room

2010-01-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

I recently painted Hallie and Stella's room. It was a light powder pink. We decided to go bold and bright. So I chose a happy orange color with white and pink stripes. I think it turned out great. Jed thought it was a bit bright.

I pulled the colors from the girls bedspreads. Kind of a surfer girl look.

Their bedspreads came in bags that were made out of the same material so I used them to Mod Podge their ceiling fan. It was a fun project and the girls just love it!

Pumpkin Decorating

2010-01-26T22:09:00.001-08:00

My mom throws a rocking Halloween party every year where the kids get to dress up in their costumes and carve or paint their pumpkins. They make witches brew (homemade root beer) and dinner comes served in a pumpkin with some side dishes that include, orange jell-o with spiders, and goblin shaped biscuits. It is lots of fun and we look forward to it every year. I wish I had a picture of my mom all dressed up as a witch. That is her costume every year.

New conference Tradition!

2010-01-26T22:02:00.000-08:00

We have started a new tradition at our house. For October general conference we made homemade donuts! They were so yummy!! We decided that from now on this is our family tradition. Hopefully eating these semi-annually won't be too harmful to our backsides!!

Fun in our Pool

2010-01-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

Every summer the kids spend as much time as they can out in our pool.

We got a new camera that is waterproof so of course Jed had to test it out to make sure it really was!

Fun with friends!

Hannah's 10th Birthday

2010-01-26T21:39:00.001-08:00

HAPPY 10TH Birthday to our sweet sweet Hannah!

Hannah requested Sticky Buns for her birthday breakfast. Note to self, do not put candles in them when they are still hot. Can you see the candles are all melted?

Hannah's next request was for a giant chocolate chip cookie cake. This time I let the cookie cool first before inserting the candles.

Jed took Hannah to lunch and to the eye doctor to pick out super cool (and expensive I might add) sunglasses. Happy Birthday Hannah!!

10 things I love about you

1. That you are everybody's friend. You never leave anyone out.

2. Your fun loving spirit

3. Your ability to turn everything into a game

4. Your happy attitude

5. Your new love for shopping

6. Your athletic abilities

7. Watching you do flips, cartwheels, and back handsprings all day long

8. Your growing testimony of the gospel

9. How you are so helpful and such a good big sister to Zoe

10. Your cookies (you make them so good)

1st Day Of Preschool 2009

2009-11-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

Stella is going to preschool 2 days a week. On Tuesday she goes to our friend Suzy Bruneel's pre-school and on Thursday her and Zoe go to Grandma's pre-school.

Stella is going to be Teacher Grandma's big helper since she can write everybody's names on their papers.

Zoe is SO SUPER excited to be going to pre-school finally.

Our cousins Liv and Taya are also in Grandma's pre-school with Zoe and Stella.

I am so thankful for my mom and her willingness to teach our kids pre-school, they just love going to Grandma's house.

It's Your Day Jed!

2009-11-10T21:15:00.001-08:00

Sept. 5th was Jed's day at Flying Pie Pizzeria. Everyday they put up someone's name and you get to go in and make your own pizza for free!! We however didn't read the fine print where you can only do it at certain times of the day. We got there at the wrong time but decided to order some pizza and hang out. They do have good pizza. We then came back an hour later so Jed could make his free pizza.

Starting out with the crust!

Jed has done this before!! He is a dough flipping officianado!!

The kids hanging out and waiting for their dad to be done playing in the kitchen!

Jed decided to make it a take and bake since we already ate about an hour before. He took it to work the next day and baked it. He said it ended up not being that great though. Oh well.

Our Newest Addition

2009-11-10T21:08:00.000-08:00

Well it's official!! We have welcomed the newest member of our family in September. His name is Walter the Winnebago. We lucked into this great find and are so excited for the adventures that lie ahead for us. He is definitely a fixer upper but Jed has been so giddy with excitement over all the projects. He recently took off the old roof and replaced the whole thing. He and Tucker and Hannah have worked really hard on it. Jed has even started a blog for Walter. There is a link on this page for it if you want to check out all his renovations.

1st Day of School 2009

2009-11-10T20:59:00.000-08:00

Hallie is starting 1st grade this year. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Atterbury

Hannah is starting 4th grade this year. Her teacher's name was Mrs. Bivens but we didn't think it was a good fit for her and asked for a change, so now her teacher's name is Mrs. Gunn.

Tucker is in 7th grade. I cannot believe that my son is already in 7th grade!!! Where has the time gone? He started out at Galileo which is a k-8 school but in mid October he decided to switch to Northstar Charter School. It's a k-12 school and he is loving every part of it and thriving there. I am so grateful for this.

Aren't they precious?? New clothes and all!

Tucker's 1st official Boy Scout Campout

2009-11-10T20:35:00.001-08:00

This is Tucker's 1st Backpacking trip with the Boy Scouts. Lucky for me, Jed is the scoutmaster and gets to go with him. They went to Boulder Lake.

Taking a break from the trail.

Boulder Lake

My 2 favorite guys! Aren't they handsome?

Tucker's 1st camput turned out to be a very memorable one for him. While he was carving some wood with his brand new souvenir from Yellowstone it slipped and sliced his hand. It was bad enough to need stitches so Jed had to make a decision. Pack up and hike back to the car for 2 miles and drive to McCall to the hospital, OR stitch up Tucker himself. Those of you who know Jed you know what he chose.

YEP Jed gave Tucker 5 stitches in his hand without any sort of numbing or pain killing medicine. He just happened to have a sucher kit with him. Tucker is a very brave soul!! I asked him if he had to bite on a stick or something and he said he pinched his arm. Whatever works I guess.

Backpacking at Hidden Lake 2009

2009-11-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

Super fun backpacking trip into Hidden Lake. We hiked started our hike in the waning light of later afternoon. Uncle Kurt and his Tyler were with us. It was a grand adventure! The light faded faster than we expected. It got so dark that we had to use flashlights, so when we arived at a campsite on the shore of Lost Lake, we decided to make our first nights camp there.

Tired from the late hike in, sleep came easy that night.

In the morning we found that Lost Lake is more of a Lost Marsh. Thick lillypads, and grass made it impossible to get a line out to fish in this shallow small lake. We broke camp early & headed on down to Hidden Lake.

Arriving at Hidden Lake
Big rocks must be jumped off of. Way to go Hannah!

Hannah, trying to help Opa retrieve a stuck fishing lure.
Dinner included the days catch of Trout. Yum!

Opa, Neil and Carter arrived the second day.
Kurt and Opa really helped us on our way out. They were staying another night, but they were super and carried kid's packs and sometimes the kids, up the steepest part of the climb out of Hidden Lake. Thank you Opa and Kurt. We got to see Jessie, James, and McKayla on their way in. Sad to not have enjoyed more time with them, but it was nice to get to leave my tent for them to use. My pack was that much lighter on the way out. Thank you Jessie & James.

Happy 12th Birthday Tucker!

2009-11-08T21:34:00.000-08:00

On August 8th, 2009 our oldest child turned twelve years old. Happy Birthday Tucker!! This was a super special birthday for him. Tucker was ordained a deacon in our church and received the aaronic priesthood by his father. He is such a wonderful young man. It is amazing to watch him honor his priesthood and see his testimony grow.

All the family came to celebrate on his special day. We ate pizza and strawberry pie as requested by Tucker!! The kids all swam and played!

We got Tucker a backpack for all of his future scout camping trips and backpacking adventures now that he is a Boy Scout!!

Blowing out the candles on his strawberry pie!!

We always take a picture of the cake, or in this case, the pie!!!!

10 Things I Love About Tucker

1. His kind spirit

2. His desire to do what is right

3. His crazy full head of hair

4. His love for reading

5. His willingness to be helpful

6. His love for all knick knacks and gadgets

7. His respectfulness

8. His obedience

9. His big brown eyes

10. The fact that he still wants to hold my hand

I LOVE YOU TUCKER!!!

Yellowstone Trip Aug. 2009

2009-11-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

The fam took a trip to Yellowstone this summer with Grandma and Grandpa Shaw and the Ball and Shaw family. We stayed in Island Park at an amazing cabin and everyone had a blast. We got our family photos taken at the Playhouse at Macks Inn. Most of us also were able to go see a play that they put on at Macks, it was called "Less Miserables", a funny take on Les Mis.

The whole Fam Damily!!

One of the many beautiful works of nature we saw.

At one of our stops we had to hike down to the waterfall, well on the hike there were a few snakes spotted and one stepped on (ask Hallie about it). If you know me at all, you know I am super scared of snakes so my sweet bro gave me a ride over the snakey part. My hero!!

We did some fishing, and more fishing.... And Jed did EVEN MORE fishing, but nothing was ever really caught. Better luck next time guys.

Our friends lent us some super cool rockets to take on the trip. You make your own paper rocket and then launch them into the air by stomping on a 2 liter bottle connected to some pvc pipe which shoots air up through the rocket to launch it into the air. The kids and adults had lots of fun with these. Thanks Ross'!

This is a view from the top of the paint pots in Yellowstone.

The kids got to see some elk up close! They also got to spend ALL their souvenir money at the shops around the park.

Another of the beautiful views we encountered. Christmas card pic????? Notice the hat Stella is wearing. This is THE SOUVENIR that she really wanted and bought with her money, she then proceeded to wear it the WHOLE entire time on vacation and well into the next month. It was super cute.

And YES we did see a bear!!! Jed got pretty close up to it and then the ranger gave him heck!! But it really was the bears fault. It came up to Jed.

It was a good time had by all I think. Definitely one to remember. It was a little weird though to go on a weeks vacation and not have the boats with us. We were all having some withdrawals and decided next time we would bring at least one boat.

New Goal!!!!

2009-10-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

I have realized that this blog needs some updating!! This is the only form of journaling and/or scrapbooking I do so I need to be diligent in keeping up with my family's happenings. So here's my new goal. I will post at least once a week about what's going on in our family. I expect you guys to hold me to this!! So be prepared for some updates coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!!

FAB Five Update

2009-07-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

My friend Jessica surprised me yesterday with my fab five gift. She made me the most stinkin' cute advent calendar. I have been coveting hers for awhile now but just too uncreative to make my own. I was so super excited when I opened it. She is an amazingly talented and creative person and I feel so blessed to have her in my life. Thank you so much Jessica, I will treasure it always knowing you made it for me. So is there a rule against counting down the month of July with it? I don't want to put it away in my decorations, I am ready to hang it up!! To those of you who are my fab five's, don't worry I haven't completely forgotten about you, one day I will surprise you.

June is over already?

2009-07-02T08:17:00.001-07:00

Here are some of our happenings from June. We took a day trip to the Bruneau Sand Dunes and had a blast. We took Nacho and he ran and dug all over the place. We ate our lunch on top of the sand dune and learned the true meaning of "sand"wiches! We had contests to see who could jump the farthest down the dune and then we saw lightening and heard really loud thunder so decided to play it safe and head down to the car. A good time was had by all.

Every June we head on down to the Eagle Fun Days Parade. It was super fun. We always sit in front of Opa's dental office and this year we had a barbecue while we waited for the parade to come. This parade is different though because about halfway through there is a wet zone. Those who don't want to get soaked have to move back about 50 yards to watch. Then the water fight begins!! It starts with the fire trucks and everyone gets soaked. Tucker is not missing out on the action. He got soaked!!

Jed, Hannah, and Zoe all enjoying the dry zone. This year wasn't that warm either.

Our crazy and beautiful kids just hanging out in the front yard enjoying summer.

We love to live at the lake. Every spare moment we have is enjoyed on the water. Hallie and Stella are taking a potty break while they wait for the next boarder to get ready. I didn't have my camera when they each surfed with Jed so no proof, but Hallie didn't love it, and Stella was grinning from ear to ear and was in the surfer stance and loving it.

Memorial Day

2009-05-28T18:39:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day at Black Canyon Reservoir

We went to Black Canyon on Monday for Memorial Day. We got there at 8:00 am and stayed all day until 9:00 pm. We were the first and last boat on the lake. It was awesome. My parents, my brother's family and my sister's family were all there. We all had plenty of boat time and there was glass galore! The water was a balmy 55 degrees though.

Just hanging out at the docks. Stella, Taya, Liv, and Zoe.

Jed was checking something electrical out in the boat and I caught Zoe helping him. How cute is that?

My Tucker man is becoming the big kahuna! He is really loving to surf, and I personally cannot blame him. In my next life, I will be a surf bum.

Aren't they adorable? A great time was had by all.

Band Concert

2009-05-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

Tucker had his spring concert for band on Thursday. I think they have improved tremendously since the Christmas concert. They sounded great!! Tucker has had his challenge with practicing but I think he needs a stricter mom for that.

This is my cute band boy. He started out the first semester playing the trumpet but then decided to switch over to the trombone. I think he will be glad to be done though, that trombone case is huge and he had to carry it back and forth to school.

Also, if you notice, Tucker got glasses. He says he can see so much clearer now! Just in time for 7 more days of school.

LOVE STORY meets VIVA LA VIDA

2009-05-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this. It is worth listening to!

Happy 6th Birthday Hallie

2009-04-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

April 23rd, 2009

We started out Hallie's birthday with peek-a-boo eggs for breakfast, per Hallie's request.

Then she got to open a couple of presents. High heeled shoes, oh my. One pair was almost too small so she decided to wait to wear them and go exchange them for a bigger pair later. When we went to trade them they didn't have any more but she found an even better pair that she had been wanting, yes they were "high heeled" too.

It was mom's day for co-op preschool so we decided to make a party out of it and go on a field trip to the zoo! It was lots of fun. We had a picnic lunch and cupcakes while we were there. We also saw the new Africa exhibit and now they have lions and giraffes!!

After the zoo, Hallie and mom went to Monkey Dooz (there is a separate post about this) for Hallie's birthday makeover, then we came home and had yet another celebration. This time with all the cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. She opened more presents and we had cake and ice cream.

Hallie requested a Hula girl cake. So with mom's planning and designing and dad's artistic ability we came up with this.

Happy 6th Birthday Hallie! We sure do love you.

10 things we love about you

1. Your beautiful eyes

2. Your generosity. You share everything with everybody

3. Your deep sultry voice

4. Your passion for anything girly

5. Your love for your brother and sisters

6. The good example and friend you are to Stella

7. You can be friends with anyone

8. The fact that you came into this world with a frown, it was just so darn funny

9. Your strong will

10. Your desire for a clean room, even though your roomate is far from being neat

Monkey Dooz!

2009-04-26T09:19:00.001-07:00

Hallie really wanted to go to Monkey Dooz for her 6th Birthday so I scheduled a Birthday Makeover for her. First, she got her nails done. She picked a cute pink color with pink glitter sprinkled over them.

Then she got her makeup done. The lady said she wasn't even going to bother with the mascara because Hallie's eyelashes are so stinking long, thick and dark on their own (lucky girl).

Then it was off to the pink Barbie jeep for a little trim and a cute new do. She decided to get some hot pink highlights followed up with some sparkling glitter.

Afterwards, they took her to a fancy room with a decked out table and served her a brownie with hot fudge and whipped cream and a sparkling strawberry soda complete with umbrella.

Here is the finished product. I think she is really 6 going on 16! Oh I can't wait for her teenage years. It was a super fun time and she loved it all.

Zoe's Update

2009-04-13T17:46:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted an update on Zoe's broken leg like I said I would, so here it is. The Orthopedic surgeon said the break missed the growth plate, so that is good news, and at this age they heal really fast so she only needs the cast on for 3-4 weeks. She has an appointment on April 23rd to probably get the cast off!! She has been crawling around for the past week and a half and today she tried walking on it and decided it was okay!! So she is walking everywhere now, I just need to figure out what to put on the bottom of the cast to make it less slippery. My grandpa would say duct tape. Any other good ideas?

Easter Weekend 2009

2009-04-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend

We kicked off Easter weekend at Oma and Opa's house with a barbecue and an exciting egg hunt! Here are all the grandkids with Opa showing off their Easter spoils. They all made a haul as usual. Even little Zoe with her broken leg was able to crawl around and get some candy.

Then we came home and colored our own eggs for a hunt on Easter morning at our house. The kids colored 48 eggs!!

The girls are creating masterpieces with some chalk that the Easter Bunny brought them. We have a tradition of a no candy Easter at our house. We figure they get enough at the grandparents hunts. The kids hunt for eggs filled with coins and coupons for various fun things such as a trip to the zoo, a free room cleaning, or a date with mom or dad, etc. in them. This has been a hit our house.

The kids are sorting out their eggs at yet another hunt at my sister Katie's house. This one was sponsored by Grandma and Grandpa Shaw. We also had a yummy Easter Dinner together. Everyone from the fam was there including our cousins, the Muirs.

We are a tradition oriented family and here is another favorite tradition of decorating an angel food cake with every imaginable Easter candy there is, yes of course, Peeps too!! It seems as though no one ever ends up eating this though. Good thing there were lots of other desserts to choose from!!

In Memory of Grandpa Fun

2009-04-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

I just got word that my grandpa passed away this morning. He was an amazing person. Nicknamed by Tucker when he was little, and called by all, "Grandpa Fun". He truly was fun indeed. As I sit here pondering and reflecting my relationship and memories of him, I feel inspired to write them down, so what better place than this for all to see, how great he was.

I have so many fond memories of him. Some of the earliest are of visiting him in Brigham City, Utah and playing on all the fun backyard stuff he made over the years. Grandpa loved to weld and invent things. I remember a really fun steep slide, monkey bars, homemade treadmill made with pipes that rolled as you walked on it (if that's not an ankle breaker..), a rocket, a device that you lay on and it inverts your body. I also remember playing on a big inflatable something that we jumped and bounced on and used as a human catapult. There were the old VW Bugs that we pretended to drive (he had a love of VW parts), and the irrigation water that we splashed around in every watering day. I remember the big cherry tree we would climb up in and eat cherries until we were sick.

I remember going in his homemade dune buggy (from VW parts) up to the mountains and driving straight up them until it wouldn't climb anymore and then we would roll back down and drive through the creek. I remember sitting on his knee while he bounced me up and down and sang his signature song. "duh da duh duh duh duh da da". I remember him asking me all the time, "A penny for your thoughts, Maria". I remember his sound effect for trucks and cars as we played them, "dugga dugga dugga".

He was famous for building things. His specialty was bathrooms. If you needed another bathroom in your house, grandpa would show up and build you one. He would see the need for something and just run to the store and buy the materials, come back and build it. When he came to visit us one time he built us an "A frame" playhouse with a storage shed underneath. We had many years of fun play time with that. It still resides at my parent's house. He literally built his own house (not the first time) with his own two hands, at the age of 80.

He has sent Jed, me and all of my children birthday cards every year since I can remember, not once forgetting. Each card filled with words and thoughts about each individual because he took the time to know each and every child's own personality.

I feel so blessed that I was able to go visit him a few weeks ago. My mom and sister and I drove down to see him for 3 special days. He was his old self, and we chatted and sat and listened while he watched his great grandkids throw rocks into his creek, and play in his backyard complete with all the earlier mentioned toys. He was always his happiest watching his grandkids. Even though he didn't feel good and was on oxygen he decided that one of his pocket doors in his house needed a doggy door in it so he installed one while we were there. He never slowed down. I cherish that time with him and am so grateful I have those memories.

He will be greatly missed as he blessed the lives of so many people and made everyone feel so completely special and like we were his favorite. I am so thankful he is my grandpa and I had the chance to know him on this earth. I am grateful that he is now with my grandma who has I'm sure, been waiting patiently for their reunion. I look forward to the day when I can give them both a huge hug. Goodbye grandpa fun, I love you and you will be missed.

Tough Break

2009-04-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Jed and I were able to go skiing together on Wednesday. He drug me around to places I didn't even know existed up there. At one time I was scooting next to an 8 foot drop off into a creek on the right and straight up mountain to the left. It was a little disconcerting. Needless to say there were a few times I was cussing him but all in all it was fun to ski with him.

We had left the kids with a babysitter and when we got back around 6:00 we noticed something was not right with Zoe. She was super sad and crying hard and when I set her down she fell to the ground. Jed noticed her foot was super swollen and black and blue. So we managed to get somewhat of an explanation out of Stella who said she fell down some stairs with her. So we took her to the emergency room and found out she broke her tibia. She now has a cast on and we are headed to the orthopedic surgeon later today to make sure nothing else is wrong. Poor Zoe. She had a rough night and seems to be in a lot of pain. I will keep you posted on what we find out today.

Happy Birthday Jed!

2009-04-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

Jed celebrated his 34th birthday on Tuesday. He requested beef and barley soup and pineapple upside down cake. So after soccer practice we celebrated a bit. I am so grateful he was born 34 years ago.

10 things I love about you

1. Your blue eyes

2. Your black hair

3. Your smile

4. The fact that you are willing to work so hard for your family

5. The amazing father you are to our kids. You're a great "girl" dad. Good thing. :)

6. Your romantic side

7. Your willingness to help me with anything no matter what

8. Your cooking

9. Your ability to fix EVERYTHING

10.Your love for adventure

Spring Break

2009-04-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't really posted for awhile because our camera is broken and I haven't been able to take pictures, but I did want to post some of our happenings lately so I can remember them later on. This is my only form of scrapbooking.

Our kids had Spring Break last week and we made the most of it. On Monday, Jed took the motorhome (courtesy of his parents) and the kids up to Bogus Basin, our local ski hill, to ski all day. Zoe and I met them up there later to have a bonfire and roast hotdogs and marshmallows. We also went sledding down one of the runs since it was after hours. That was a blast. We hiked up most of the way and then sledded down. We went so fast I got a brain freeze!! Then I took the girls home and Jed and Tucker and his friend Cole spent the night and skied the next day. Tuesday night we had a family sleepover at our friends house and then went to a hot springs the next day. Thursday we took some time to relax and recoup and the kids played with some friends and then Friday was a fun filled day. First we started out bowling. Stella kicked our trash with a score of 95. All day long she referred to herself as "the winner". In fact, when she went to bed that night she said, "Well, I guess it's time for the winner to go to bed now". I am glad she didn't let it go to her head :-). After bowling we took our kids to a new Brazillian grill that we love. They had a blast. They bring around all kinds of meats and grilled pineapple and they have an all you can eat huge salad bar as well. Stella even tried the chicken heart. Hallie's favorite was the pineapple. After lunch we went to the movie theater and saw Monsters vs. Aliens. Jed fell asleep and I wanted to. Tucker liked it though. I would say, don't waste your money unless you are dying to see it. Then on Saturday we had soccer and and they played some more with friends. Sunday was a day of recouping and when it was time to go back to school the kids said they needed another spring break to recover. I think that makes for a successful spring break don't you?

Fab Five

2009-03-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

FAB FIVE!!!!

OK! So this is how this works..

The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me for you. My choice made especially for you. Of course there are some restrictions and limitations :~

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It will be done sometime this year.

4. You have no clue what it will be.. It may be a story. It may be poetry. Or an article on the proper form for completing push-ups. I may draw or paint something. I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not I, not you, that's for sure. ;-)

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

6. I will send it anywhere! It doesn't matter where you live!

The catch? The catch is that you must repost this on your own blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!!

Oh and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!!

Mary Poppins Remake?

2009-03-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

We are in a co-op preschool and this was my week. It was Dental Health Month so we made mouths out of apples, peanut butter, and "smarshmallows"(Stella's word). It was a lot of fun and pretty yummy too!

I was downloading some pictures from my camera to the computer, when I noticed these pictures on the camera. I am not sure who took them but I think they are hilarious!

I think she would make a great Mary Poppins if they decide to do a remake.

2009-02-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

This is my Valentine of 14 years. He is still just as handsome and I am even more in love with him today.

We had a busy Valentine's Day this year. All the kids woke up to find special Valentine surprises outside their bedroom doors, and then they were off to go skiing. Tucker had a race up at Bogus so Jed took the kids who wanted to go. Look at those cold red cheeks. We don't know where he placed, but he says he did his best.

Then in the late afternoon we were off to another of Hannah's gymnastics meets. She did really good. She got her personal best on the beam, and came in 4th this time in the all around. Great job Hannah.

Every Valentine's Day we have a family tradition of getting Chinese food and bringing it home to eat it at the table that is decorated with fancy glasses (not a single one broke this year :-)) candies, and candlelight. We finish dinner off with homemade chocolate dipped strawberies. I love spending this special day with all of my Valentines. Unfortunately with our busy day we had to put off our dinner until 8:00, and our little Zoe just couldn't make it that late. We missed her at the table but maybe that contributed to our success of no broken glasses. Then we all snuggled up together to watch Madagascar 2.

Hope each and everyone else had as wonderful of a day as I did.

Stella's Birthday Continued

2009-02-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

Stella started out the morning with some Birthday Fruity Pebbles, and got to open one present. Drum roll................. It was a Build A Bear gift card! So I took her there later in the day so she could "buird" (her word) one.

When we got there she got to pick out whatever animal she wanted. I think she picked out every single one by the time she actually picked out the ONE. She picked out a dog.

Then she got to push the pedal to put stuffing in her dog and pick out a heart and give it a kiss and a wish and stick it in her doggy. She also picked out a noise that the dog would make if you squeeze its paw. Stella being Stella, picked out a loud lion sounding roar instead of a dog barking.

Here she is giving her new doggy a bath and a brushing. Then we were off to pick out new clothes for it. She decided the dog would be a girl.

Then she got to get on the computer and make a birth certificate. She named her new dog Marshmallow.

Here is the finished product. Isn't she cute?

Stella wanted a giant sugar cookie with frosting and sprinkles for her birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Stella!

2009-02-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY STELLA!

10 Things I love about you

1. Your contagious laugh

2. Your beautiful new hairdo (more about that later)

3. Your ability to have fun all the time

4. Your sweet spirit

5. Your blue blue eyes

6. Your friendly personality

7. Your facial expresssions (priceless)

8. Your snuggleability

9. Your loving affection

10. The way you pronounce your L's (dubber bucker anyone?)

Oh yes, I promised more about the hair. Well, she got a little gum in the ends of it and her wonderful cousin thought he would be so helpful and cut it out for her! I was gone at the time but my mom was babysitting and said they were so proud of the job they had done. Needless to say, we had to take her to get it evened out later. She had to get about 6 inches cut off. No worries though, it suits her perfectly and her hair still swings when she walks. Love you Stella!

5th Place in the All Around!

2009-02-02T12:46:00.001-08:00

Hannah competed in the Gem State Invitational this weekend. She did awesome. Now when she competes her nerves are calm and she can focus on her skills. Here is a rundown of how she did.
Vault - 8.75 (5th place) Bars - 8.2 (6th)
Beam - 8.1 (6th place) Floor - 8.1 (4th)
All Around - 33.150 (5th place)
This is only her 2nd real meet! We are so super proud of you Hannah!
Here is the video of her bar routine.

Rub a dub dub...

2009-01-26T08:01:00.001-08:00

This is my girls favorite thing to do every morning! I took the picture a little late, because the bubbles were about a foot high when they started. If it doesn't have a gazillion bubbles then it just doesn't count as a bubble bath! They used to take an hour long shower every morning until we got the gas bill and it was $400. I think we were using our hot water a little too much, so we had to switch to baths but they were more than happy to as long as it involves bubbles.

Nachooooooooooo LiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiBre

2009-01-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

We have not formally introduced our new little gift from Santa. This is Nacho. He is a chihuahua. Tiny but Mighty!! As you can see, Tucker is very proud of him. Tucker loves to have him sleep in his room with him every night. Which is way okay with me because I don't have to get up with him. Tucker loves it. Another boy in the house. He is super protective of Nacho too, which he has to be because Stella just loves to carry him around all day and Zoe loves to hold him and tell him "NO Nacho!" all day long.

Nacho says Hola!!

My Ski Bunny

2009-01-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

A great day had in the clear blue skies. This is our youngest skier, Stella! She is awesome. This is her 3rd season and she is all over the hill. She loves it and always asks when we are going skiing again. I don't make it up there much since Zoe isn't quite old enough yet, so now all my kids can ski faster than me!

New Years Eve

2009-01-01T15:06:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

I know what resolution Zoe will have this year. No more binky!!!!!

Zoe and Liv chilling out. Their future's so bright, they gotta wear shades. Liv is holding our new little Nacho!

Of course what would a party be without a chocolate fountain!

Zoe and Hallie did not make it to midnight, but here are some that did!! Thank you Katie & Troy for hosting! Oh, and Troy, I triple dog dare you to eat another mushroom!! Ha ha..

Simpson Family Christmas 2008

2008-12-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

Our kids woke us up at 3:00, 4:30, 5:00, and finally we got up at 5:30. Zoe was not a happy camper, she wondered why in the world she had to get up in the dark. Hallie said she felt "funny", and we realized she had a high fever. But it was Christmas morning and no one wanted to miss it.

Our kids always wait on the stairs until we are ready with cameras and stuff. You can see how great Hallie was feeling.

Santa brought Stella her girl baby and boy baby!

Santa delivered a Webkinz black poodle to Hallie!

The biggest surprise of all!!! Santa brought us a puppy!!! Here the kids are greeting the newest addition to our family. He is in Jed's arms, it is so hard to see him because he is tiny. He's a chihuahua and his name is Nacho, in honor of his Mexican heritage and our family's love for Nacho Libre.

Our family has formed a band. We got Rock Band for Christmas and everyone has been rocking out ever since. It is super fun!! Now I think I can play the guitar and sing, watch out!!

The Love Letter Tradition

2008-12-28T18:09:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we started a new tradition. Starting at the beginning of December I printed up a bunch of stationary with the words, "I love you because...", and got a sparkly red mailbox. I told my family that during the month they could write love letters to the other members of our family and stick them in the mailbox, and then we would read them on Christmas Eve. They were pretty excited about it. Stella wrote many love letters throughout the month, and others just wrote one to each member. These are pictures of us receiving our letters on Christmas Eve and getting ready to read them aloud. It was a wonderful night and I know everyone felt special and loved. This is definitely a tradition we will carry on.

This is Jed writing his last minute love letters. I had a couple last minute letters to write too

(Christmas Eve sure does sneak up on you fast).

Happy 2nd Birthday ZOE!!

2008-12-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

Zoe's birthday was on the 20th! Our baby turned 2, I can't believe it! She was so excited opening her presents she was shaking. We also had our annual Shaw family progressive dinner that day, so it was a day full of partying.

When she woke up she got to open her HUGE present! She unwrapped the whole thing all by herself. It was a roller coaster!

Hey guys look what I got! She would not let anyone else have a turn, she proudly declared that it was "MINE!"

Zoe LOVES cookies, so I decided to bake her a giant one for her birthday indstead of cake.

This was her first ride on her new roller coaster!

Santa Update.. Yes he made it down!

2008-12-21T20:46:00.001-08:00

The fireman were able to save Santa (of course) from the roof and get him safely down and inside where he could let the children sit on his lap. He also brought lots of presents for the good little boys and girls.

Santa is not Zoe's best friend yet..

This is Hannah asking for a beam, bars, vault, and springboard!!

Stella was SUPER excited to see Santa and couldn't wait to sit on his lap! She asked for a boy baby and a girl baby.

Hallie really wants a Webkinz for Christmas, and was so disappointed that Santa didn't bring it to her at that moment.

Tucker is still not too big to sit on Santa's lap. But the price of his wish list IS getting too big.

Santa is stuck on the roof!!

2008-12-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

We were having our annual Christmas party at the fire department when they got a page that there was a man in red stuck up on the roof! Oh no!! We all ran downstairs to see what was going on and we saw this!

Santa Claus was stuck up on the rooftop! Could the fireman save him?

Watch this video to see the bold rescue.

Does Santa Claus make it down safely? To be continued...

The Snow Dance worked!

2008-12-17T18:12:00.001-08:00

The snow dance! Hey it worked!

We love to play in the snow!

Do I put my mittens on first or my snowsuit?

I want to go outside too!

Hannah was giving her sisters rides on her snowboard down the little hill in the common area. How talented is that?

Gingerbread Architects

2008-12-17T11:36:00.001-08:00

We decided to get together with our good friends, the Bruneels, and construct some fancy gingerbread houses. There was a ton of candy, frosting, and creativity. I think some of the candy even ended up on the gingerbread houses!

This is our finished gingerbread village. Don't they look cute?

This is our Stella, she decided to turn herself into a gingerbread house and spread frosting all over her shirt! Surprised? Me neither.

Zoe's diet consists of strictly candy, so she was in heaven! Her candy never even made it onto her gingerbread house.

The 3 Musketeers, in all their glory. All the candy they could want at their level and no one telling them no! I have a cute picture of Eli covered in frosting but it wouldn't upload.

The artists, formerly known as kids, creating their edible masterpieces. They worked so hard on them and the finished products turned out so cute! My kids brought theirs home and had them eaten in about 2 days. Whoops, I guess we won't have a gingerbread village at our house.

12 Days of Fitness

2008-12-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know if any of you are interested in this, but here is a link in case you are. http://www.12daysoffitness.com . If you are at all into health and fitness it is worth checking out. Everyday for the next 12 days you'll receive an email about anything from diet and nutrition, mindset and motivation, fat loss, to female fitness to mom's workouts to men's bodybuilding. They will send info on rapid fat loss routines, six-pack abs programs, back pain rehab, and lots of other things. These will be either PDF files, downloadable audios, and some videos. This is all free without any catch. These fitness professionals just wanted to give back during this holiday season and they are trying to reach a lot of people. So check it out if you are at all interested. Have a great day!!

"Mom, Buddy IS real!"

2008-12-10T07:19:00.000-08:00

We had a special visitor come the day after Thanksgiving. He let us know that he was here on an errand for Santa. He is to watch over us every day and report back to Santa at night to let him know of our kind deeds, and misbehavior. We got to give him a name, but we are not to touch him, so his Christmas magic won't go away. Our family voted, and gave him the name Buddy. Fred came in a close second. Santa gave him strict orders not to talk to us, but he can watch over us and follow us around to school, and other places, so long as he does this secretly. Every morning when we wake up he is in a different spot and my kids love seeing who can seek him out first. Well, Hallie, who is 5 years old, proclaimed one day early on that Buddy is not real, mom, he is plastic!! So she was a nonbeliever until, one morning when she woke up, Buddy was watching us from the ceiling fan 16 feet off the ground (Zoe actually found him first that day). Hallie stated very excitedly, "Mom! Buddy IS real, because no one can reach up there. He really can fly!". So we are here to tell you that the Christmas magic is alive and well here at the Simpson home.

I've Been Tagged!! 8's....

2008-12-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Brittany tagged me so here I go...

8 Shows I like (we only have 6 channels and I don't watch them)

1. Ok, I occasionally turn on the Today show in the morning

2. What about movies? How about Ocean's 11

3. Ocean's 12

4. Ocean's 13

5. Teen Witch (anyone seen that one from the 80's?)

6. Elf

7. Dan in Real Life

8. Oh, I did used to love Alias when it was on

8 things that happened today ( it's only 10 am)

1. I exercised with Tucker

2. I wrote a blog post about 8 things

3. I bathed my 3 girls (still haven't done their hair)

4. I packaged up 4 things I sold on Ebay

5. We did our Christmas traits of Christ chain ( we are working on sharing with others today)

6. I made sack lunches for my kids

7. I have wiped Zoe's nose about 10 times

8. I played Wedgits with my girls

8 Places I like to eat

1. Brick 29

2. Fudruckers

3. Yogees!!!!!!!!!!

4. Taco Time

5. Mona Lisa

6. Lock Stock & Barrel

7. PF Changs

8. Mai Thai

8 things I am looking forward to

1. Increased peace in our home ( I read a fantastic promise from Marion G. Romney that if we will read from the Book of Mormon everyday personally and as a family "the spirit of reverence will increase, mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow, and the spirit of contention will depart. Righteousness will increase and Faith, hope and charity will abound in our homes and lives". So we have made a goal of reading from the Book of Mormon everyday!!

2. Teaching my children the TRUE meaning of Christmas

3. Family skiing and togetherness this winter

4. SUMMER!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to wake surf again

5. Completing a Triathlon

6. Seeing my children marry an eternal companion that treats them wonderfully

7. Getting out of the diaper phase

8. Backcountry snowboarding with my husband

8 things on my wish list

1. a big bonus room for Hannah to do all her gymnastics in (we are tired of being kicked in the face)

2. I want to become a personal trainer in the near future

3. seeing my children marry in the temple

4. establishing a house of order

5. getting to the temple more often

6. going back to Hawaii (every winter would be nice) sorry Jed, had to throw that one in for you

7. that we and all of our friends and family will survive this rough economy

8. that Obama hadn't been elected president

8 people I tag

Whoever wants to participate in this is tagged.

Uh oh, is there a Wii-aholics Anonymous?

2008-12-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

Hallie has discovered the Wii as of late. She loves to play Mario Kart! She is so good at it, she can come in first place most of the time! When we play it as a family she is pretty hard to beat. So this morning I happened upon Hallie and now Zoe playing. I just had to snap a picture of this cute racing duo. Notice how Zoe is trying to sit exactly like her big sister? How cute are they (um, minus the crazy hair, mismatched pj's and dirty faces).

Attitude of Gratitude

2008-11-29T06:43:00.000-08:00

As I pause to give thanks at this time of the year, I am overwhelmed by the numerous blessings that my Heavenly Father has bestowed upon me. He has blessed me with my soul mate. Jed really does truly complete me. I am amazed at how at 19 years old I wasn't mature enough to look for the things I really wanted and needed in a husband, yet my Father in Heaven was watching out for me and gave me Jed who is everything and more. I am so blessed to have five healthy beautiful children who strive to choose the right and seem to teach me everyday about living the gospel. Tucker especially has taught me so many times about faith, charity, and obedience. I am so grateful to have him as our daughters wonderful example.

At the time of this shaky economy I am so thankful that Jed has steady employment with the fire dept. We don't have to worry if he will still have his job in a week. Although his granite business has seen a sharp decline I am grateful that we are given this opportunity to pause and realign our needs and wants. We can establish a budget and live up to the challenge of keeping within it. My testimony has grown with this trial. I know that this is a blessing in our life. Heavenly Father still knows us and loves us and is still showering us with blessings. It has made my testimony of tithing grow.

I am so thankful for the Gospel in my life. I am thankful for a true living prophet in these latter days. The times are so uncertain and scary, but we have a prophet to look to for guidance and to have peace in knowing that what we are doing is right. I am grateful for the tools the apostles give us to stay strong and steadfast. I know that if we continue to do what we are asked, then we will stay strong and our children won't stray far. I am so extremely grateful for that blessing. I love the temple. I love the peace you feel there. I love leaving the outside world for a bit so that I can feel that calmness, and receive personal revelation. I only wish that I could attend more often.

I am thankful for all of our extended family. We have the blessing of having everyone live close by. I love that my children can have such a close relationship with their grandparents. I feel so blessed that they have them as examples and to learn from, as well as their aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am also thankful for the wonderful friends in my life. They are great examples to me and are always there to lend me a shoulder to lean on if need be.

Yes, I am truly blessed. I am thankful for this time to pause and give thanks. I know I need to do it more often. Thank you to all who read this.

If gymnastics were easy, it would be called football

2008-11-22T21:28:00.000-08:00

Hannah had her first in house gymnastics meet today in preparation for their first real meet in a couple of weeks. She has been doing gymnastics on and off for a few years now. In August, she got serious about it though and joined a team. She practices 2 nights a week for 2 1/2 hours each! Her coach wants her coming a 3rd day but I just can't bear to have her gone another night. She started at a Level 4, which is pretty good to begin with. There are gymnasts who have been there awhile and are at a level 5. Hannah is only 1 skill away from moving up. We got to watch a level 10 gymnast compete today and it was so amazing. I can totally see Hannah there someday. She has a lot of natural ability and she is built just like a little gymnast. Have you seen her guns? Ask her sometime and maybe she'll pull them out. At home, Hannah is never at a standstill. She is either on her head, hands, in the air, or on the trampoline practicing double and triple backflips. She has even turned our couch into her own personal vault. She is begging her dad to make her some bars and a beam for Christmas. I have posted a video of her floor routine today, which she told me she got an 8.9 score for. There were real judges there and everything. I was so proud of the way Hannah did today. She didn't even act a bit nervous. Way to go Hannah!!!!

Wanna Smooch?

2008-11-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Zoe enjoyed a breakfast of chocolate peanut butter fondue and strawberries! She was having so much fun dipping and eating I just had to get a picture of her.

Disney on Ice

2008-11-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

My parents took us all to Disney on Ice on Friday night. It was so much fun! We saw all of the Disney characters! Hallie and Stella's favorites were of course, the Princesses. I think Hannah even said she liked the princesses best. My favorite were the Incredibles! Jed, Tucker and Zoe opted out and went to the ski swap instead. I am sure they had just as much fun there. Thanks so much to my mom and dad for making it possible for us to go. I know my girls will never forget it. You will have to ask my dad sometime about the cost of spun sugar!!!

Katie and Troy and kids and Brandon and Britt and kids also came with us!

I am a Child of God

2008-11-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

Stella loves to sing all of the Primary songs, but this one is her favorite! She is now working on memorizing "Called to Serve", I will keep you updated.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

We had a super fun Halloween this year! Tucker dressed up as Eragon and Hannah was a baby. Hallie decided to be a BSU Cheerleader, and Stella was the infamous Nacho Libre! And Zoe was going to be Tinkerbell but due to her behavior as of lately, we decided to throw her in the monster costume to match her new personality (there are two extra neighbors in the picture). We started out at the Trunk-R-Treat at our church and then went up to our friend's house in Hillsdale for some more fun. We have heard rumors of huge candy bars being handed out there so the bigger kids went to see if it was true! They came back with tons of candy and also confirmed the rumor. While they were out trick-or-treating the little kids and the adults visited, ate yummy soup and partied. Thanks to the Bruneels for hosting everybody. After we got home I asked the kids if they wanted to leave their candy bags out for the Halloween fairy. Everyone but Tucker agreed, so they picked out their 10 favorite pieces and left the rest for the Halloween fairy. They were surprised in the morning when the fairy had replaced their candy with a fun game. Tucker on the other hand ate himself sick and has since slowed down on the intake..

Chancho. When you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. Just for fun.

2008-10-28T08:19:00.001-07:00

This is Stella's Halloween costume this year. She loves Nahco Libre. She has the whole movie memorized. I think she pulls it off rather nicely don't you? Hug hug, kiss kiss, hug hug, big kiss, little hug, kiss kiss, little kiss.

1st Day of School

2008-10-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

This year Tucker is in 6th grade! I can't believe he is a middle schooler. Hannah is in 3rd grade, and Hallie is in Kindergarten!! Hallie seems much to small to me to start kindergarten. Every time she gets on the bus I think to myself, "she should stay home with me, she's too little to go to school". But of course, Hallie thinks otherwise. She is so "big"! And Stella is a busy woman. She goes to a preschool co-op two days a week and then to Grandma's preschool for an afternoon. I miss her when she's not around. Zoe misses her too, she walks around like a lost puppy looking for a friend. Everyone but mom is excited for this school year. I really like when my kids are at home. I miss them all day long.

My Triathletes

2008-10-26T21:49:00.001-07:00

In August, my husband and kids participated in a triathlon. I was so proud of all of them. It was my husband's first one. He was amazing, finishing in just under 3 hours. It was Stella's first one also. She was so cute. I ran with her and she ran most of the way. Tucker, Hannah, and Hallie are old pros. This was their 2nd year participating. It was on Tucker's birthday and he still wanted to do it. I was so proud of them. I am thankful for my family's good health, that they can do things like this. Staying fit and active is important to me, and I feel so blessed that my family agrees!

It's Official, I am a blogger!

2008-10-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

Due to the constant "encouraging" of family and friends, I have decided to start a blog. I think it will be a good way to share pictures of our family and journal our life's happenings. So be patient and forgive me if I take awhile to figure this whole thing out. Feel free to give me some tips and pointers too. Like, how do all you guys have such cute pages?