Happy 3rd Birthday William!!!

William celebrated his 3rd birthday yesterday. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner and we let him open his two small presents there. He got Toby and James which are trains on the Thomas and Friends show. When we got home he got a big train track and a Thomas train with it. He absolutely loves Thomas the train. Nathan went overboard with the track. He couldn't help himself. So we were up until about midnight playing with the trains. Needless to say we're all tired now. Someday I might throw a friend birthday party for him but for now it's just family.

More canning and random stuff...

I got together with my friend yesterday and we did a bunch of canning. We did pinto beans, white beans, 15 bean mix, dilly beans, dill pickles, and dill relish. We spent most of the day over a hot stove and I must say it was fun. I think I added 30 more quarts and pints to my last batch of canning with Rose. It makes good food storage. I finally learned how to use my pressure cooker so I have no excuse for not bottling things in it.

William and Ava are loving preschool. We went to back to school night tonight. I left Melissa with my friend Amy while I took William and Ava plus her son Westen. It was a little on the long side but fun. William couldn't sit still so that was a challenge but I guess that's to be expected...he is still 2 after all.

If anyone is a Big Brother fan, you know that tonight was the finale. I will only say (in case someone has it on DVR and hasn't watched it) that it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. Biggest Loser also started tonight. I haven't watched all of it yet but look forward to watching the rest in the morning. If you couldn't tell, I'm a reality show junky. I am looking forward to Survivor and The Amazing Race that start at the end of this month. I must say Big Brother is my favorite and I'm sad it's over. I'm sure I like it the most because it's on 3 times a week. I guess I need to get a life!

Tagged!

THE FIVE
10 years ago I:
1. Was just a Newleywed
2. Living in an apartment on Skyline.
3. Working at Matheson Equipment in Moapa (I miss that job)
4. Going to dinner, movies and enjoying no kids yet.
5. Had a better figure than I do now:)(not much better but better nonetheless)
5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Clean 2 cabins
2. Shop in Richfield for cabin stuff & groceries
3. Do laundry
4. Make taco salad for dinner
5. Read some of Midnight Sun on Stephenie Meyers website
5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Black Licorice
2. Grapes
3. Chips & Dip
4. Ice cream
5. Snack size snickers
5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Buy a new mini van
2. Build a new house
3. Pay off the bills
4. Visit every temple in the world
5. Buy a new wardrobe
5 places I have lived:
1. Logandale, NV
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. St. George, UT
4. Lehi, UT
5. Marysvale, UT
Five jobs I have had:
1. Babysitter
2. Waitress at Marc's Country Kitchen in Logandale
3. Dry cleaners (in Vegas & St. George)
4. Data entry at Novell
5. Receptionist/Office Manager
I tag...
1. Jill
2. Andrea
3. Leanna
4. Stacey
5. Lisa
Rules:Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Finally Finished!

I finally finished Breaking Dawn. It only took me nearly a month. It's hard to read when you have 3 busy kids. The only time I could find to read was at night and by then I was so tired. It was worth staying up for though. I was happy with the way the series ended. I think the author did a good job in tying it all up. I felt the end was rushed a little and Jacob's book was slightly boring but still liked it. Now that I'm in a reading mode, I've got to finish reading The Host. Hopefully it won't take as long:) By the way, I tried to upload a picture of the book to this post but I'm some kind of dummy or something because I don't know how. Any suggestions?

Weekend happenings...

William and Ava had their first day of school on Tuesday. I was really worried that William wouldn't want to get on the bus. I didn't need to worry. He had no problem. He got on and sat by one of his friends. Ava has to sit in the back because she rides in her wheelchair. Her teacher sits back there with her. They both love school and I love the break!


Melissa had her first birthday on Friday. It was fun to have the family here for that. I am a lame mom and didn't get a picture of her with her cake. I didn't even have a candle on it. I'll have to make a cake and take a picture so at least she'll have it when she gets older. This is a picture of her and her name sake, Aunt Melissa.

Some of the family showed up for Labor Day weekend. Rose stayed with me and we definitely labored! We spent most of the weekend canning. We bottled tomatoes, peaches, pickles, peach-raspberry jam, and cherry-raspberry jam. The picture is a sampling of what it all looks like.

Sick Kids...

I took Melissa & Ava to the doctor today. I know Ava has an ear infection because she has tubes and her ear is draining. Melissa doesn't have a full blown infection but it's starting so the doc put her on a z-pak. He put Ava on chewable amoxicillin and of course she doesn't like them. So I dissolve them and make her take it from a syringe. It never fails that she is sick when she's supposed to start or finish school. She was out the last two weeks of school because she had an ear infection and was so sick. In fact she lost 3 pounds and still hasn't put it back on. She's so skinny. The summer has been good...no sickness until now. William seems to be doing good. At least Ava will be on antibiotics long enough that it's okay to send her to school. She starts on the 2nd.

This weekend some of my family is coming. We are going to bottle some tomatoes, peaches, pickles, and hopefully green beans if we can find some. Rose is coming Thursday so we'll start before the rest (Melissa, Trisha & her family, Lance & Natalie, and my cousin Brooke and her family)get here on Friday. I've had the canning bug since I moved here but so far I haven't convinced Nathan to help me plant a garden. I have a pressure cooker, and water bath canner so I'm equipped but I just don't have the produce. Luckily there are farmers markets and friends that are willing to share. I'll have to take pictures and post next week. Until then, have a great Labor Day weekend.

So busy!

I feel bad I haven't posted for so long. We have had a crazy busy week. We just finished hosting a lunch for Mining Days here in Marysvale. We put on a smoked barbeque in the park. It was fun but a little stressful. It's the first Mining Days so we didn't know how many people to plan for. We overplanned a little but at least there was enough. Most of Nathan's family showed up for the festivities. They were all a great help. We're glad they all could make it. Nathan had a bunch of trail rides and we had a few guests in the cabins. Nathan also had an Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday. It was his first to conduct. It went well. He did a good job on his remarks. He is doing so good in scouts. I think all the boys really like him. I'm counting the days until preschool starts...Sept. 2nd. I can't wait to send Ava and William. I need a little break. I hope William likes it. Today was the first day of regular school. They only went a half day because the power was out. It was only supposed to be out for 8 hours but ended up being 12 hours. It wouldn't have been so bad except our pump on our well runs on our electricity so we didn't have power or water. I didn't realize how bored the kids get without tv. It's a lot of work to keep them entertained. Well not much else to report.