'Fantastic' Sam

After school today, I asked Sam if he wanted to finish his cutting and gluing activity that he started yesterday in school but didn't have time to finish. As he started to cut the last few shapes Livia asked if she could help him. So I got out more paper and drew some shapes for her to cut out too.



While they were cutting, Annie got a little fussy, so I took her upstairs, changed her diaper, fed her and laid her down for a nap.



I came back down to start lunch. As I was putting the dino nuggets on the baking sheet, Sam tells me, (all excited and proud of himself as he's speaking,) "Livia told me to cut her hair. So I did!"

I stopped. I looked at him and said, "Are you kidding?" I quickly went over to Livia as he smiled and told me he sure wasn't!

Sure enough...



Well, at least now we know that Sam will not make a fantastic hair stylist any time soon.



PS Since I'm fully aware that this could have been so much worse, I actually had to turn my head several times so they wouldn't see me laughing, since I was trying to show them I was upset so that they don't do it again. I guess we'll see how bad it is in a couple of hours when I need to comb her hair to go to the circus tonight....

Norwegian Babes

Way back in the mid 70s my Grandma and Grandpa Riskedahl took a little trip to Norway. They brought back a little outfit for their first grandchild (who happens to by my oldest sister, Ronda.) It was a quaint little outfit, highly comparable to a baby Santa Claus suit.

Well, my sweet mother, had a picture taken of Ronda in this little outfit. Then she had one for Leesa, then Jill, then me, and of course Andrew.

All growing up we had a line up of 5 babies in this little Norwegian suit. (And I'm still stunned that so many people would ask, "Which baby is this?" when they'd look at all 5. Really? You can't tell that's 5 different babies?)

Shortly before my oldest niece, Addison, was born, the suit was found again... and the tradition continues. And now all of the nieces and nephews get a picture taken in the little red and white suit.

Sorry for Sam's picture, I pulled it from his scrapbook. (The good news: I'm not 5 years behind on all scrapbooking!!)

Sam: (July 2006, 2 mos.)


And Livia: (Jan 2009, 4 mos.)

And now Annalee: (September 2011, 4 mos.)

And if you thought seeing 5 babies in a row dressed in the same funny outfit was an eye-catcher.... you should see grandbaby row... Annie is #13, and #14 is almost ready for his glamour shot too.

Lucky my mom has a really long wall downstairs.


UPDATE:
So my sister saw this post and asked if I wanted a picture she had taken of the kids playing that had all the pictures in the background. This is up to Liv's picture, so there are only 11 instead of 14.

happy little treasure boxes

My kids seem to like random "treasures" like rocks and sticks and random pieces of plastic they find in parking lots... and they always want to keep them, because they are "so special!"

My neighbor told me her kids do the same thing... so I made some cute little boxes for them to put all their special souvenirs in... and once it's full, well, no more special treasures get to be saved....

Here's the one I made for Liv's little friend, Jamison.


His sisters made theirs, but I didn't get pictures of them. And Sam's never actually got finished yet. (I'll get there....)

And here's Livia's:


Liv picked this paper, and I took the liberty to make it presentable for her. (She's not so awesome with scissors, glue and tape yet.)



And I actually had fun doing it! But now I'm worried she'll get my cute little box that I worked so hard on dirty, or break it or something....

Let it go, Sally. Let it go.

I spy. Finally.

I love starting projects.

And even more so... I love when I actually finish them!

In Relief Society (I'm embarrassed to admit this, but probably about 1.5 - 2 years ago) we did an activity to make I spy quilts. It involved 12 women who each brought 12 squares of 12 different fabrics (for a total of 144 squares per person.) Then we each swapped, giving one of each fabric square to all the others.

The night of the activity was spent cutting out the squares, then we were on our own. Oh, 2009, you seem so long ago...

But I sewed them all together shortly after, and even added a couple more rows of extra fabric I had at home. I sewed a back for it. I bought the batting. And I put it all nicely in a bag. Where it has stayed for a long time.

And last night, I did it. I finished it! Why did it take me so long to put it all together? Well, because I'm me. :)


The cool thing about I spy quilts is each square is accompanied by a little card with a piece of the same fabric on it. And you play little games with it. You can separate the cards and each team has to find its match, or you can do games with different colors or pictures. I was given a whole stack of papers with games to play with it. (Now I just need to find where I put the game ideas and the little laminated cards...)


When I was making the back, I was going to have to piece it anyway, so I decided to add an extra game back there. What kid doesn't love tic-tac-toe? I made little cards with Xs and Os as well.

So now I guess I just need to teach my kiddos how to actually play tic-tac-toe....

laborin' away at deer creek

For the last few years on Labor Day we have done a day of boating and jet skiing at Deer Creek with Jason's family. This year we did it the Saturday before, which was good thanks to the weather. (Last year was just down right cold on Labor Day, so it was nice to have lots of sun this time!)

Jason fell in love with the jet ski (different than a wave runner... didn't know these things existed, you kneel or stand instead of sit.) Which I realized I never got a picture of, which is funny since Jason was on it half the time we were there! I went on it for a short trip, and it really is pretty fun! Until my legs fell asleep cuz I'm not adventurous enough to stand...

The kids of course loved it. Even Annie enjoyed the day. Until she got whacked in the head by an AWOL frisbee... And no, she wasn't in her car seat ALL day, just when she napped. And a little bit here and there.



Livia didn't want to go near the water or on the boat or anything since it's "too scawey" and "my don't like it" which she says for EVERYTHING!! So she hung out by the snack table instead....


Sam found his cousin Andrew (who is behind him in the water) and we hardly saw him again. They were inseparable, playing in the sand, playing in the water, he loved it. Andrew did convince him to get in the boat, but that only lasted less than 10 minutes... just enough time to go rescue Aunt Shelly and the gas-less jet ski and bring them back to shore. Then he was done boating....


On the way home, we found a little friend that our nephew, Brigham, apparently put in our towel. This little guy was climbing up Livia's window, and due to her over-exhaustion, she was not a fan.... Then he found her car seat. That's when freaked out progressed to terrified...



You can see the caterpillar a little bit on the side of her carseat. And who knew anyone could lift their legs like that!
I should have been a good mother and rescued her right away, but I thought it was too funny. She was scared he was going to bite her. When I gave it to Sam, all was well in everyone's world again.

4 months later....

My sweet little baby is four months old! I can't believe how fast time flies!


She's still sweet as can be... but it's hard to think of the sweetness with her frequent night time mommy needs. Lately she's been waking up every three hours or less during the night. It's not making me a very pleasant mommy....

We'll be working on that this weekend, since we'll have three straight days of no need to wake up early for work or school. I'm not excited about that. But I am excited to start sleeping most of the night!

K-star Sam

I can't believe I'm old enough to have a child in Kindergarten! Where does the time go?


Sam was pretty excited to go to school. On the way there, he kept saying, "Mommy, I can't wait til my first day of school!" Well, wait no longer my child....



I've always rolled my eyes at people when they say the cry when their child starts school. "Whatever," is my usual thought. I've been so excited to have a break from at least one child I could hardly stand it!

Then today came.

And now I understand what they've been saying.... because as we were crossing the parking lot to the playground and I was quoting Nemo, "First day of school! First day of school!" And Sam wanted me to say it again... I couldn't. Because I was fighting back a few tears. And I finally understood.

They are bittersweet tears. Bitter because I need to face the fact that my little boy is growing up. And sweet because I am facing the fact that my little boy is growing up. He has so many amazing opportunities and experiences awaiting him. A journey that he can enjoy and learn and grow from.

Raising children is such an awesome job! To be their mother, their teacher, the one they look up to and love and respect. And now turning them over to another responsible adult... well, that was a little harder than I expected.

Annie's blessing

Last week was Annie's Baby Blessing. It was a very beautiful blessing and a special day for our little angel. We had several family and friends with us that day and it was a nice reminder of how truly blessed we are. We have such wonderful people surrounding us and I'm so thankful for each of you and the influence you have on us and our children.

Here are a few photos of Annie in her dress that my mom made for her:




The white squares was the fabric from a dress my mom had made me when I was a little girl. The flowered squares were from a blouse that belonged to my mother. And the lace at the bottom of the portion with the squares belonged to my Great Grandma Riskedahl.

So in her dress was fabric/lace that belonged to Annie's mom, grandma and great great grandma. Which I think is pretty darn neat. :)

happy birthday america!

Happy 4th of July!!

I am so grateful to live in this wonderful country. We are so blessed to have the rights and freedom that we do.

Yesterday at church, for the closing song, we stood and sang "The Star Spangled Banner." For some reason I can't seem to make it through that song without getting emotional. (The same thing happened last year too!) Just singing the words and thinking of our great country's history, and the wonderful men and women who sacrificed so much to make our country what it is... I am just overwhelmed with gratitude and joy for my blessings.

And I love fireworks! I'm so excited for fireworks tonight. We watched a few last night of our neighbors until Annie was not so happy. And tonight we'll go over to some friends and have homemade ice cream and fireworks.

I hope everyone has a blast this 4th!! And God bless America!

old man tuttle

Tuttle, my little town, has turned 100 years old. The weekend of June 17-19 was its birthday party. Obviously it was the party of the century!! J/K.

Tuttle is rapidly dying so this was probably the last big celebration it will ever have, which makes me so sad! I used to love going to Dairy Days!! (Which later became Community Days... either way it was a highlight of my summers growing up.)

For the last 12 years I haven't lived in Tuttle though, and getting home for the celebrations have been difficult and limited. Last year when I found out about the Centennial, I told Jason we will need to be making a trip there in June 2011. And we did! And I was so happy to be there!

Here's a little summary of our vacation:
Friday 6-10 We left in the afternoon going as far as Idaho Falls and stayed with Jason's brother, Troy and his family over night.

Saturday 6:11 Drove. And drove. And drove. For about 14-15 hours. I love portable DVD players.

Sunday 6-12 Went to church. Had a little birthday party for my nephew Andrew, who turned one the day before. We were able to see lots of our extended family. And Annie ended up with a sun-burned little face. :( (Sorry no pictures so far.) Stayed the night again at Aunt Donna and Uncle Mike's house.

Monday 6-13 Did a little shopping with Leesa... mostly groceries, but I did buy a new sweater, skirt and shoes just because! The we went out to the farm.

Tuesday 6-14 Out at the farm.

Wednesday 6-15 Donna came with her usual breakfast for the kids:

Yes, that's right Cheetos and Oreos for breakfast. Only Aunt Donna gets away with stuff like that!

But my kids are weird. Sam had one cheeto and got distracted by the four wheeler and left. Livia decided to go with Frosted Mini Wheats instead. (I wasn't about to tell them what they were missing out on though...)


My dad asked Jason to mow the yard. (Silly Jason thought he meant the lawn.) No, on a farm, a lawn and a yard are not the same thing! He was out there for about 5 or 6 hours mowing the entire farm yard. Luckily it was a riding mower!

As you can see, it hasn't been mowed yet this year. Yes, I know it's June.


Thursday 6-16 Jason spent most of his days on the farm (other than mowing time) with one of these firesticks in hand. He's thinking he used about 1000 22 shells. Among other ammo for 2 more guns. Crazy head.


Uncle Duane introduced the kids to his little abandoned calf.

But Livi wasn't thrilled with the hand sucking moment. (I used to love that as a kid.)


Uncle Duane is a favorite when he gives the kids 'scooter' rides.


Friday 6-17 Pictures from this day are on my phone. My cousin, Ashlee, and her hubby, Steve, had a vow ceremony in their church. With a little reception afterwards.

Saturday 6-18 Tuttle's big day. It started off with a parade. And it was probably the biggest parade ever to drive down this street! It took almost an hour, which is really long for a Tuttle parade... especially since everyone only went through once this time!

The one in the middle is my daddy-o. This was the start of the parade.


Here's a shot of the street. I was surprised how many people were there.

What's a parade without a port-a-potty...

The kids got way too much candy!! And loved it.
My cousin Beth was in the parade with a couple of her horses, so she let Sambo get a little ride afterwards.


There were several fun things going on through the day, like Turtle Races, foot races, egg toss, ya know, fun stuff like that. Sam's highlight was the bounce houses (where he stayed for about 3 hours) and the free stuff stand. My 4th grade teacher passed away a couple of years ago, and apparently at her family reunions she always had fun stuff for all the kids, so her 3 children decided to carry on that tradition for the centennial. They had cotton candy, balloons, temp tattoos, bracelets, and popsicles, all for free.

The "highlight" of the day was the professional wrestlers that came. But you had to pay for that, and frankly I wasn't that interested. Plus the kids were exhausted by then... so we went home. But here's a picture of my whole town from in front of the school looking down Main Street. Yes, that's right... that's it, that's the whole town! (Now you can see why I surprised that the parade managed to last a whole hour!)


Ahh, my old playground! This is where I went to school K-12th grade!

Sunday 6-19 Happy Father's Day! Went to church then drove. And drove. To Casper Wyoming where we stayed the night at a little motel.

Monday 6-20 Drove. Oops, 30 minutes in the wrong direction. Turned around, said hello to Casper again, then drove and drove and drove again. And I still love DVD players. And parade candy.

We got home about 5 pm and I was surprised how different the yard looked! The roses were in full bloom and the trees had completely filled in in the back yard. It was a welcome sight and it was good to be home.

I have so many wonderful memories of my little town, so it's sad to see it die. But I was happy to get to see a few of my classmates and other friends while I was there. I know it's not Jason's first pick of where to go when he takes a week off of work, but he loves me enough to let me have that time there. (He's so wonderful! He didn't even complain!)

It almost makes me want to move back there. Almost. Then I remember the winters and the spring flooding... I guess I'll be happy where I am...

I had a feeling this would end up in my bag...

We just returned from ND yesterday. I'll post about the week soon.

(For anyone who is confused about the whole dog thing, you can check out this post from a couple of years ago for the story.)

bunny collection

Here are some current pictures of our dozen bunnies. The 9 babies (introduced here) are getting pretty big, they are 8 1/2 weeks old now. I thought I'd share a few photos, because let's face it... there aren't many things cuter than baby bunnies...

5 of them are lion heads, which means they have extra long fur around their faces. So. Cute.

One tan and the one orange-ish lion heads:

These are 3 of the 4 that aren't lion heads. The 4th one is another black one.

The gray lion head:

The black lion head:

One of the two tan lion heads. This one is the fluffiest, and his long hair is white so he looks like he wants to be Santa Bunny or something. (He's my favorite.)

As cute as they are.... it's time for them to move out! Anyone interested in showing your kids how much you love them by getting them a bunny?