Johns Incredible Pizza

Last weekend we took the kids to John's Incredible Pizza. We had a great time. The pizza (though not incredible) was good. The games were great and the rides we so fun. Bowling was a hit and we had a great time. The only person who was not happy was Liv. She was so mad that she could not ride on all the big kid rides... there was a lot of crying on her part. She was so sad that she had to watch while her brother and sisters went on the rides. There was only one ride for her. She loved it. We had a fun time.

SleepOver

Gloria was invited to a friends house to spend the night. She REALLY wanted to go- but we had to say "No". We do not allow our kids to spend the night at other peoples homes. Ever. For personal reasons, we just don't do it. We do, however, allow our kids to have friends sleep here. I know... it sounds hypocritical (is that a word?), but when we have kids here we take a lot of precautions. 1. We keep the kids busy, busy, busy until they crash into bed to sleep.

2. All girls, including little sisters who tattle-tale, sleep in the same room.

3. I sleep on the couch outside of their room.

4. We set alarms.

These are things that we do to keep the kids safe and keep them out of mischief. So, we had Gloria's friends over to spend the night last weekend to make up for her not being able to sleep over with her friends the weekend before. We had a great time. We let the girls ride the quads until it was too dark to be outside. Then we had cheese pizza for dinner. We then made sugar cookies and decorated them. Then we did some dancing and singing with everyone. After that, we played cranium until 11:00 pm!! The kids loved it- everyone played, including Travis. There was a lot of laughing and giggling involved. Then we put on a G rated movie and watched it until the kids fell asleep. In the morning when they woke up at the crack of dawn- we pulled out the shrinky dinks and made jewelry, key fobs and magnets. Then the kids went outside and jumped on the trampoline, rode bikes and skateboards until their moms showed up. It was a successful sleep over and we had a great time. I am glad that Gloria has made such good friends that are so sweet and nice, they play so well with her brother and sisters, which makes us so happy! We have been blessed that Gloria has always found great friends with good values.

CAmi, again

Cami: Mom, can I have some warm soup, please? My temperature is "Hungry".

Olivia

Mommy: "Cami, what do you want to be when you grow up?".

Cami: "You know, a Princess".

Mommy: You are already a princess.

Mommy to Olivia: Are you a princess, too, Olivia?

Olivia: No!! I am a MONSTER!!!

Then she puts up her hands and curls her fingers and starts growling. GRARHH (her monster sound).

I am laughing hysterically at this point.

Daddy comes back to the table and

Olivia says "I am a monster" and continues to growl for Daddy. We laugh and of course I have to say this..... We created a MONSTER!!!

I love our little monster.

Dental Visit

Last week Gray's teacher asked Travis to come to his class and discuss dental education and talk about dentists in the community. We had a great visit with the class. The kids asked some great questions and loved looking at the pictures of rotten teeth. Travis demonstrated the correct way to brush and floss. We gave the kids toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss to take home. We have done a few other class visits like this. It is a lot of fun for the kids and for us, too!

Grayson's birthday party

It is a lot easier to do a party AFTER the holidays, than DURING the holidays. So, here we are in January and we finally got around to a party for our 7 year old son. We filled up our 10 passenger van with kids (most of them boys!) and we filled up our 8 passenger SUV (again, mostly boys- a very rare occasion for us, as we usually have ALL girls and ONE boy- Gray loved having all those boys around). Then we headed to Fresno, where we met up with more of Grayson's friends from school and some friends from church. We rented out a local bounce house arena. The kids had a BLAST!! The adults got involved in the fun and had a blast, also. It was nice to not have to stress during the holidays to get his party done. He picked out a chocolate soccer cake, only one cake at this party! Olivia loved every minute of the bouncing. She could race through every obstacle course and do it on her own. Cami was having a ton of fun and whenever she saw the camera pointed at her, she would automatically stop where she was and pose for the camera. Gloria was allowed to invite 2 friends, the girls had fun racing down slides and through courses. Grayson was in HEAVEN. There were so many boys there. He was able to rough house and wrestle and jump and race with tons of other boys. It was so much fun for him. We were able to pick up a lot of his friends in our vehicles to help out other parents so they wouldn't have to drive so far to get kids to the party. We had the arena all to ourselves, doors shut and so we were comfortable taking that many kids without their parents. The kids were all very well behaved and we loved having all of his friends there! Afterwards we brought 14 kids to our house for a massive play date.... so much for having a party at another location to keep all the mess for someone else to clean up, but how could I deny the birthday boy the opportunity to have his friends come over? They opened up his gifts and played and played and played. It was a lot of fun, a very different dynamic from the normal "girly" dynamic we have here. The girls enjoyed the different dynamic, also, and got involved in all the swords and nerf guns and transformers, helicopters and cars. It was a great day.

Acorn Wreath

My friend found this great idea for a wreath on line. I loved it!! So, I had to make one. So cute. I have debated painting it another color, but now I think that I will make another so I can have a couple for different seasons!!

for a tutorial on how to make this wreath... go HERE

Our Trip To Utah

I wanted to get some more of our pictures from our Utah trip posted... we really had a great time. The kids love visiting their family. I love visiting our family, also. It was a fun trip.

On a sadder note, my Grandpa passed away yesterday. I do not know my Grandpa Browning very well, but he was my mother's father and I feel a family type love towards him. I have not seen him in 3 years. My kids don't even remember him. He has always lived in a seperate starI am sad that he is gone and that we were not closer to him.

Quads and Horses

Our friends have a ranch with horses. We love it when they invite us over. This time we took our kids' quads and let the kids ride around and they had a blast. It was FREEZING!! We bundled up tight. The horses are so sweet, they were even trying to get in the car with us to warm up!! Livee loves the horses- Cami is warming up to the horses. We got to watch our friend do some serious riding on some of the top bronco's in the nation- It is always a fun way to spend time as a family and with our friends. The weather was foggy and in the 30's!! I felt like I was in Utah. I don't like to be cold. The only reason Travis talked me into going with him this time (I usually let him take the kids and I stay home to get things done, as I have allergies to animals and cold weather) is because we invited a family that just moved here and I wanted to get to know them a little better. They are a sweet family and we are excited to have them here.

100 day goals

Last Monday for Family Night, we had a lesson on "Goals". I was inspired by the new year and decided that my kids were old enough to set some goals. We talked about how when we set goals and accomplish them, we grow. My kids are still pretty young, so we decided to set a goal for 100 days. The older 2 were pretty excited and said that they hope that when the 100 days are over they will keep doing their goals. Me too!! So I had everyone make a chart with 100 squares on it, and decorate it- if they wanted to. Every day that they accomplish their goal, they get to cut off a square. After all 100 squares are gone, we will get a family reward. The kids have all done a perfect job this week, so far. Hopefully their enthusiasm will continue. Gloria's goal is to read her book of mormon for at least 5 minutes a day. Grayson's goal is to practice his reading for 15 minutes a day. Cami is going to do and finish her 100 reading lessons (we have started multiple times, but we have not finished the book one complete time, yet). And Olivia and I set a goal for her to spend 5 minutes of learning time with mom every day. WE can work on colors, numbers, shapes, letters, whatever I feel she can do! My goal is to practice my piano for 10 minutes a day. We all have our goals set and we are working hard on our 100 days!!

My Mom

My mom is such an amazing person. Definitely an over achiever and a people pleaser. Everyone who knows her, loves her. She loves the Lord and she everything that she does proves to Him that she is on His side. If I had to pick just one word to describe her, it would be CHARITY. I have strived to follow in her footsteps because she is a tangible example of what I hope someday to become. I love her.

My mom started a blog.... I love reading her blog. I feel a little closer to her when I read it, as I do NOT enjoy talking on the phone, I don't get around to calling her as often as I should. This is the link to her BLOG. Right now she is doing some recipes and I love cooking what she is cooking... as she is an excellent cook. So, check it out! I have also asked her to post her activities that she does for her primary classes each week and that she does for the scouts- also her Family Home Evenings that she does with the families, dinner parties she hosts, all of the stuff that I think is so interesting. I don't know if she will, but I will keep checking because she always goes over and above any thing I would ever think of!! I love you mom!!

Day 12 Remember our Family Motto

"No Empty Chairs"

We Hope as you see this plaque you will remember the 12 days of Christmas and remember the service, family traditions, testimonies, supporting our extended family, music and the real reason we celebrate christmas, to have fun with your families, your ancestors, the temple and to always have family night and our family motto, "No Empty Chairs" and WE LOVE YOU!!

Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful 12 days of Christmas. It is a wonderful tradition and we love you so much. Thanks for all you do for us.

Day 11 Remember Your Ancestors

This is a start of a book of family stories that will grow each year. Our hope is that you will enjoy these stories and as you read these stories you will want to learn more about your family and where you came from.

We received a book with the stories of each of the 6 children's nicknames and births. There are also some storied from Mom and Grandma and Great-great Great grandma. The kids have enjoyed reading these... we are not quite finished, but almost.

day 10 Remember to Support our Family

Today we received a matching tie for each boy in the whole extended family and a necklace for all of the girls. The ties have CTR on them for Choose To Remember and the word on the necklace is Remember. On the first Sunday of each moth we will all wear our matching ties and necklaces (Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles and cousins). This will be our effort to show support for our family. On this day we will think of our family and pray for each individual person, especially those who may be in need.