We love the science museum.

We had some days off last week so we went to the Science museum. We had fun. Kylee didn't want to go so she went to an Imax movie that was "just ok, whatever"(accent implied). Well, life is busy so I will update more later. Here are some pics.........

Chimney Rock Rocks!

Last Sat. we went hiking with the Frizzell family to Chimney Rock near Lake Cunningham in MD. Brenden had a fit the whole way up but the rest of us had a great time. The colors were beautiful and the hike wasn't too hard or too easy. As you can see, the view from the top was breathtaking. There was one rock that was a little difficult to get to. Taylor, Rich, Becky and her sister, Katie all jumped over to it. Somehow Chay managed to get on top. I think he was the only kid brave enough to get up there. Actually, Dylan wanted to go but I wouldn't let him. He just has no fear. The kids and the rest of us had a great time exploring and Brenden eventually cheered up:) More to come later....

Happy Halloween!!!!!

We went to visit some friends today so we could trick-or-treat with them. Our kids love to dress up! Tonight they ate as much candy as they wanted but tomorrow is the first annual Stockwell Candy Exchange. We will see what happens! To be continued.....

Pumpkin Carving

My kids love to carve pumpkins. Over the years it has gotten easier. I remember having to carve whatever they thought of in their heads while they stood there playing with seeds and making a mess. Now they play with seeds and make a mess but they are carving themselves. I love seeing their creativity come out as they realize their pumpkin dreams.

We got our pumpkins at the Walmart "pumpkin patch". They were huge and totally cheap! I had to bribe them with ice cream and a trip to the Halloween store. I think Kylee still likes being a kid because she is the one that wanted the "real thing" the most. Tonight is our "trunk or treat" and we are excited to dress up again. Woohoo!!!!

Ooooh La La!!!

This is Dylan's new favorite saying and I think it applies to my new purchase......red shoes. Not just any pair of red shoes but 3.5 or 4 inch red patent peep toe pumps with a stacked heel. Whew! Boy do they look good too. Well, Taylor likes them;)

So, you are probably wondering where I have been. Well, Brenden started going to a new school and I just never got back into the swing of things. So, here I am now. We have had a busy and sort of not-so-eventful summer. We bought everyone season passes to King's Dominion. Here is a video of our kids doing this crazy ride - the Extreme Skyflyer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A83M0a7MWsg

Our kids are all going to this new school, Richmond Waldorf School. You can check it out if you want:

http://www.richmondwaldorf.com/

It's very different from public schools but so much fun! Well, I am starting to feel very tired and I need to finish up my lesson before I totally crash. Ta ta!!!

Silly us!

My kids are soooo funny! After the little boys go to bed then we can have some fun. Check us out!

MOM'S DAY!!!

I love being a mom!!! I wouldn't have it any other way. Life is crazy, suprising and fun with kids in my house. It's weird to think that I was ever without them. 12 years ago I gave birth to my first baby (my only girl). Most days are fun but some definitely have their challenges.

So, today I want to thank my mom for giving birth to me, raising me and supporting me as an adult. I love that she taught me to have fun and be adventurous. I love that she taught me to be independent. I love that she taught me to listen and make my own choices. She is a fantastic woman for putting up with me and the rest of us girls. Thanks for making the Strawberry Shortcake blanket so I can be warm when I am sick. I love you mom!!!

Thanks to my kids and hubby for getting a bunch of my favorite things for Mother's Day. I love you guys. YOU are my favorite things in the world!!!! XOXO

What a day!

No pic today but I just wanted to say WHEW!! Our Young Women (I mean me) are having a yard sale. It is tomorrow morning and it has been so much work. Hopefully it will go well.

I have also been busy with Brenden and his school. We have embarked on a new adventure! I will have to write a novel about it next time.

He finally lost it!!!

Well, Chay finally lost it - his first tooth!!!! He was so happy! Just about all his friends have mouthfuls of holes. He waited so patiently too.

It is so great to see my kids getting older. I love celebrating their many great moments with them. Being a mom is really about enjoying all the great times and getting through the bad without getting scathed. Let's hope there are more good than bad.

Kylee had a great time taking these photos! What a great big sis!

APRIL FOOL'S!!!

So, today was April Fool's day. Taylor and I had a great time playing a huge joke on our kids. We pretended to send a letter to us (the parents) from the school district. Taylor scanned a letterhead and I wrote this:



Over the past several years our school board has noticed a significant decrease in overall student performance. We feel that our current school schedule is inadequate and is not meeting the current needs of our students. So, in order to fully comply with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, we will be moving our schools to a year-round program. School will not end on June 13 as previously released on the calendar but will continue until July 11 followed by a 3 week break. School will then resume on August 5 preceded by a teacher workday on Monday August 4. Our schools will adjust classes to follow a quarterly schedule.

As always, we are working hard to ensure your child's complete education. Thank you for your continued support of our schools and teachers. We will be releasing more complete information in the following weeks followed by a public board meeting on Monday May 5, 2008 at 7 pm.

Our kids were so mad that they weren't able to have a full summer. The best part of it all is that we were able to get our neighbors in on the joke. Their girls were REALLY mad about it. All the kids started texting their friends to let them know about the stupid decision the schools were making. We finally told them and gave them cookies to ease the humiliation. All the adults had a HUGE laugh! HEEHEEHEEHEE!!! I think we parents are in for some payback next year!

I have just been hanging around. Last week was spring break. Taylor had to go to Chicago on business and I took the kids to Maryland. We played with our good friends, the Frizzell's. We stopped at King's Dominion on the way home. What a gorgeous day we had. We rounded off spring break with a trip to the science museum. It is fun to have fun with my kids. I like it so much better than making kids do homework or handing out consequences. So, who can I hire to take care of the dirty work?????

Almost Spring!

Well, it's almost spring. Tomorrow!!! I love spring! My yard literally explodes with color. First, the daffodils come out. Soon followed by all my pretty flowering trees. Can I hire someone to clean my house so I can spend all my time outside playing?

I made these cookies tonight for our Young Women's activity:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beths-Spicy-Oatmeal-Raisin-Cookies/Detail.aspx

I love hanging out with the girls. Although, I pay the price. My house is usually a mess when I get home. Oh well. I will just go outside tomorrow and ignore it:)

Ho hum

Well, I don't think I want to bore everyone with my boring life this past week and a half. The best part was that my mom came to see me (and my kids-mostly the kids, I think). We had a good time. Gma Dries took Brenden and Dylan out on their birthday dates. Very cute! Dylan chose chocolate everything and Brenden got legos. We took a little walk to the lake on yesterday with all the kids while Taylor took a nap. She was only here for the weekend and is on her way back to see Lorna in Northern VA. My assignment for next time is to think of a project to do. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Today, I would like to spend all day scrapbooking but I have to keep my house clean and my kids in line. Life must go on and so must the vacuum!!!

Brenden is 9!!

I think it is so neat to see my kids get older and wiser. Today is Brenden's birthday. I can't believe it has been a year since he got baptized. He has done a ton of stuff. I am trying to remember what those things are. He lost a ton of teeth. He grew about 6 inches, I'm sure. He can now put together a box of legos in 3 seconds flat. (I haven't watched him, but it seems this way.) I love him so much.

Off the couch and cookin'!

This post is for you Marianne! -

I like cooking. In fact, I would love to cook a ton and then have a magic fairy that comes behind me and cleans up the HUGE mess I have just made. And then, like a commercial, everything is not just clean but actually sparkling. Alas, it isn't so. So, I will continue to stack my dishes and hope my hubby comes to help before I go crazy.

When my husband I and I first met, Taylor did most of the cooking. He loved to try new things and I didn't. Well, like all good things should, he rubbed off on me. I love trying new recipes now! One of those recipes that is now one of our staples is this one:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1185388

I made this tonight and....victory! I have defeated my friend Marianne in something! My friend Marianne is a great cook and baker. Everything she lays her hand on in the kitchen turns to edible gold. Tonight, her daughter said that my roast chicken was better than her moms. So, Marianne, you may be in Hawaii, but I get have your lovely daughter's company AND her compliments. Now, if I could just get your recipe for cinnamon rolls...............

On the couch again!!! -HAHAHAHAHA!

Well, my friend Marianne is in Hawaii and I am at home sick on the couch. Luckily for me, Taylor is a great hubby AND still in town. I feel better than I did yesterday and hopefully I will be way better tomorrow. It is so interesting to be here and see life happening around me.

This week

Well, I know it has been a week. Really, I have been putting off writing something. I went to a funeral yesterday. It was for my friend's 3-month-old baby. She had a heart defect and other complications. It was bittersweet. Many times in life we don't know what to say and I think this is one of them. Hmmmmm..Brie without words..what a quiet world. My kids are keeping me busy as well as my house. Today I am going to take Dylan to swim lessons, pick up my friend's daughter in Fredericksburg and plan Family Home Evening. I don't think I will list every other little thing I have to do to keep my house running and (sort of) order. Now what is for dinner............................?

My legs hurt:(

So, today I did tons of stuff to make up for the day, well, you know, that I had yesterday. I won't go into all the details. The one thing I wanted to do was get my kitchen mopped. Looks like there is always tomorrow. That is, if I can do it early in the day before my legs start aching.

Mostly want I want to say today is how thankful I am for my husband. I think he gets me. He just knows what I need exactly when I need it. What a good guy! Thanks babe!

More couch time???!!!

I can't believe I am on the couch again!!! Actually, I don't feel well again today. No, I am not pregnant! Dylan is running amuck...but is being relatively good. So far, he has played playdough, puzzles, rescue heroes and the latest is lazer tag. The bright spot of my day has been that my friend Lynne had a baby. Benjamin Jr. She says he is just as cute as her little girl, but I will have to see to believe. If I am feeling better tomorrow then I will go check him out:) Hopefully I will get some dishes done and dinner made. Then I will feel worthwhile.

And while I was writing this, Dylan developed a poop issue that I need to solve now. (sigh!)

Try this yummy recipe - it's at allrecipes.com:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chip-Banana-Muffins-2/Detail.aspx

What a weekend!

Wow! I didn't feel like our weekend was that crazy but maybe I just live in a constant state of crazy. We had a primary breakfast at 9 am and Taylor and I went to Panera to eat - no kids! I can't believe that all of them are in primary right now. Then Dylan went to a birthday party and the other boys got haircuts. I have no idea why Brenden decided to have a huge fit about getting it done. He sat in the chair with a scowl on his face the whole time. At least he was still:) Oh yeah, we went with Aunt Liz and Chay's friend Lindsay came too. On the way home we listened to the Beastie Boys - Chay and Lindsay were rockin' out! Sunday was interesting. I picked up a used dresser on Sat. and got it all ready to be painted. I left everything on the lawn so it would be easy to get back to. After all, it wasn't going to rain. When I got back from my meetings after church, I found a huge branch fallen from a tree in our yard. It had totally demolished one of the drawers:( There isn't even a way to salvage it. Oh well. So now I have to find another dresser or try to fix this one. I am bummed!!!!!! Branches kept falling due to the really high winds and now our yard looks like a war zone. I am glad that it isn't 10 feet closer to our house. Whew!

Can you argue with a 4-year-old???

A spidey suit, a spidey cape, 2 light sabers (almost 3), snow boots, and a lunch box with a spidey water bottle, a star wars guy, and 3 race cars. This is what we whittled today's collection down to. The only requirement is that Dylan has to be able to carry it all - all the time. So what if 4-year-old's aren't rational? I'm not. What fun it would be to leave the house without brushing your teeth, wearing a costume and toting almost all of your favorite toys, without anyone giving you any grief?

Today we got Dylan's haircut. He was soooo good!!! Maybe I will post a pic of his cute cut later. We are off on a date - dancing at church and a late dinner at the Boathouse. MMMMMMMMM!

P.S. Sorry about the turned pic. It is right side up on my computer but not on here. Try clicking on one of the rectangles below it.

Still on the couch

Man! Why are there some days (I mean, weeks) I just have to be still for a while and sit here unshowered, unfed (does coke count?), and uninterested in doing what I should? I usually feel better if I take a shower but don't I have to get off the couch first???

Last night we put together our 72 hour kit backpacks. We still need a few things for them and, other than rain ponchos, we are all set. Taylor had the brilliant foresight to buy some MRE's. They were so easy to stick in our backpacks. HOORAY!!! I love being prepared for something, even if I don't know what it is. My only concern is that our kids wil sneak into the candy bars. I will tell all when that happens. I predict finding candy wrappers in the guest room and chocolate smeared on the guest bed and Dylan's face.

Well, I have a to do list at least 6 inches long and, if I don't get off my duff, I'm sure it will keep growing. Time to shower and get moving!!!

Laid on the couch

This morning I got PMS frustrated with my kids and watched TV from my couch a good portion of the morning. I like Tim Gunn, even though he is incredibly gay. Hmmmmm, maybe his gayness makes him more likable. Thank goodness that Dylan had a swim lesson or else I think I would have stayed there all day and eaten the rest of the pan of rice krispy treats I made last night. I am trying to figure out how to get everything done in my house and then have it stay that way (without paying a maid). I will let you know how that goes. Now....what's for dinner (and...will the kids like it)?