Another Important Thought on Swine Flu Prevention.

This was from my dad in Mexico. He always has sound advice. He's never led me astray yet, and that holds true even for pig kissing.

Remember: "Only drink and smoke if you have to to impress your friends." More good advice from my amazingly wise father. Thanks, Dad.

They said they were making friends with a cat.

A meal fit for a king.

Dale made a delicious dinner tonight: Ribs, funeral potatoes, green beans. Logan was really excited about it. He took double helpings of EVERYTHING!
This is Logan after enjoying his meal.
Sadly, besides this, he ate exactly one slice of a french baguette, although skip calling CPS; we did give him a full plate of food .

We have been trying to get him to eat for about...seven and a half years. Supposedly, he is supposed to be past his eating issues, but sadly, no. Friends came over for dinner a couple of weeks ago, and brought the weirdest food...homemade white bread. He wouldn't eat it. I'm just hoping that the "He'll eat when he gets hungry" method won't be the "He'll pass out if you don't give him more spaghetti" method!

I guess I have to trust the professionals....I'll keep you updated!

Spring...Wake up call

While I was in Palmer for a baby-shower and last minute shopping for my friend Katie (the shopping situation was desperate. She had 3 sleepers, and she's having her baby tomorrow. It had to be done!), Dale had all the kids at home. They got so much done, it was ridiculous.

First, they got the living room cleaned up and ready for our "new" computer desk. They mopped all the floors, cleared out the hall, scrubbed the bathroom, did 2 loads of laundry, AND got all the dishes done.

Then they left the house to run errands. Sam's club, Petco, (didn't find a dog, though.) Home Depot.

Then they came home and raked the front yard, did a general driveway spring cleaning, and best of all.....TOOK DOWN OUR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!! Whoot whoot! They've been up since 2006, so it was time.

Then they got to play, and play they did. Here is how pathetic our current situation is:
A couple of things to note in the above foto. First, notice how nice Elle looks in her boots? Except they are not boots, they are muddy tights. Before I came home yesterday she owned exactly zero pairs of shoes. That's because she just barely learned to walk, and she has only walked inside till yesterday. That is because the whole city was covered in ice until the middle of last week!

Second, don't you love Logan's bike? He's had it for 3 years. His legs are short, but not THAT short. Might be time to graduate out of the 12" model, ya think? He should have worn a mouth guard in case his knee cracked his jaw. He did wear a helmet, though, good boy!


Here is Rebecca being...Rebecca. She made a cage out of old tomato fencing (is that what it's called? Who knows?) She is dragging a sheet behind her for some unknown purpose. I think Sarah is just wondering what the heck she is doing. We all wonder that a lot, honestly. She is so creative!
And here's Elle in her new "boots". She was happy to be outside for a change!

And another. I couldn't pick between the two poses.

So what have I learned?

**If I want to come home to a sparkling clean house and a lights free garage, leave town for a Saturday and leave my SuperDale in charge.

**Logan really needs a new bike.

**Fifth children don't often get new things. Or old things. Like shoes, for example. By the fifth child, everything is pretty much worn out, and frankly, I'm not that excited about girls clothes anymore. Sad, but true.

**Rebecca would be perfectly entertained and happy to play with....anything.

and finally...

**The Christmas spirit really can last all year long. Just not this year.

Thanks, Family for working so hard! It's going to be the Summer of Wow! for sure!

Elliotte and the Egg

Now, I like this girl. She's cute and she likes egg. That is also one amazing vocal by yours truly. I smell an Oscar for best musical on a blog! ;)

Lily's thoughts on the Easter Bunny

Here is my first attempt at publishing a video on my blog. We'll see if it works...



Well, how do you like that. Wasn't the video I thought I was uploading, but still, it's a good one! I was considering uploading this one, anyway, so that settles it! I'm going to have to do another one....

Eastah-Time!

Well, Easter has come and gone again. The bunny came, the bunny saw, the bunny conquered.

The fun started when we went out to Palmer, where our long-time family friends live, to decorate our, hold on, let me count....(Hum a little tune while I do the math...) 108 hard boiled eggs. Lily was slightly daunted by the task in front of her...


...but was able to push through. (I got a million great pictures of this kid. She is SO photogenic!) Don't you LOVE the woods in the back window? So love where I live, just in case I haven't mentioned that in the last five minutes. Little update for ya. Anyway...

p.s. How great do these braids look? My first semi-success in the french braid department! Here hair looked great for church Sunday, even her ends were curly (naturally so), but I forgot to take pics. Sorry.


At first, it was just Lily and Mia working on their eggs, with Katie and I helping, which was nice. Then the other 8 people in the house joined in, along with the two dogs.


Here's Willow, the new puppy, couldn't resist adding a pic as she's so cute, besides I miss my dog. Oscar was also hanging around, the Hansen's giant tall black dog. Elliotte kept telling him to "sit" and then she would give him a treat and "pat" her on the head (and by "pat I mean "beat as hard as possible" saying, "Good dog!" Except she's sort of hard to understand. The most interesting part to me was that although Oscar is black, just like Olive, and they hung out a lot, she NEVER called him Olive. Poor Oscar. He kept looking for his friend Olive the whole time we were there.

Here are what the other kids were doing...I also got some great vidoes. I'm debating trying to upload one. In the meantime, you'll just have to imagine all the great fun, not to mention the amazing noise level.
Isn't Elle cute when she's dressed? She had a great time with the eggs, both Saturday AND for the hunt on Sunday. Happy Easter!