Monday, August 27, 2018

We had such a fun weekend!  The girls and I had a “girls night out.”  We went to Wal-mart and got some fingernail polish and snacks for the week.  The snacks included goldfish crackers, strawberries, Nutella with dipping sticks, and bananas.  Then we went to Chik-fil-a.  Jacinda loves their chicken nuggets and dipping sauce.  I got a yummy salad and Xadia got a kid’s meal with chicken nuggets.  After dinner, we went to Ulta beauty.  Jacinda and I got make-up.  Xadia got some awesome bath bombs.  The girls also spent some time in the perfume section spraying lots of perfume.  Jacinda inhaled too much fragrance and ending up in a sneezing frenzy.  Our last stop was “It’s Sugar.”  The girls went crazy for this store.  It was filled with candy and a few stuffed animals.  Jacinda got some candy.  She found these funny orange Donald Trump gummies.  They were shaped like Donald Trump with a huge head and a small body.  We laughed at their clever sight.  She also got some tiny jawbreakers and a Chinese soda with a clear ball in the bottle that does not come out.  It reminded me of tequila and the worm in the bottle that does not come out.  Xadia got some stuffed animals and an eye mask for sleeping.  She also got a candy pizza for Teagan and Jacinda found some candy sushi for McCabe.  I have the best girls.  They are so thoughtful and kind.  I love how they got some items for their brothers.

The boys were on a camping over-nighter.  They took Xavius and from the pictures, it looks like they had a lot of fun.  It was the first time Xavius fished and paddled board.  McCabe got to use his cast net and I heard that he taught the other boys how to throw it.  Tim said that McCabe was very complimentary to the other boys even if they did a bad throw.  Teagan was having a good time fishing and showing Jim Smith the different type of lures in his tackle box.

The kids finished their first half week of school.  They did not have much to say.  I kept asking them questions such as; “how do you like your teacher?” “Who is in your class?” “What did you play for recess?”  They gave one word answers.  It was so frustrating.  I want to know what their life is like and yet they don’t share much.  That’s ok…..I will keep asking the questions.

For back to school night, I had to see how well I knew Xadia's likes and interests.  I had to fill out the form without looking at her answers and then compare what she wrote.  When I told her about my answers, she said that my items would tie for first.  She also made me and Tim this cute little clay figure with a note that said: "I made mom and dad because they help me all the time."

Stake conference was wonderful.  We had a speaker, Brother Lithby.  I loved his talk.  Some main points to consider were: 1. Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?  He explained that we came to earth to get a body and to be tried and tested.  We all agreed to this plan in the pre-existence.  We knew earth life would be hard but also knew that we were capable of doing hard things so we agreed to come to earth to get our bodies and to be tried and tested.  The 2^nd point, Mothers are the nurturers in the home and the fathers are the protectors and providers.  These roles were set by divine design.  Mothers are the ones to comfort their children when something goes wrong.  They are better at doing that.  Fathers are more of the “buck up” mentality which also is important.  There is a fine balance.  The 3^rd point, why does the lord give us commandments.  God created the earth with a set a rules in place.  If you don’t follow those rules, there are consequences.  For example, gravity is a law.  If you decide to walk off a 40 story building, the law of gravity will be enacted.  The ground will come.  To help us be safe, He gives commandments.  If we follow the commandments, we will be safe. 

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018

     It is the first day of school.  I am so excited for my kids.  Teagan is going into first grade and has Mrs. Neilsen.  He is wearing his igloo of water just in case he gets really thirsty.  Xadia is going into 3rd grade and has Mrs. Peterson.  McCabe is going into 6th grade and has Mrs. Bell.  I took about 3 pictures this morning and this was the best one, even if Teagan is not looking at the camera.

Jacinda is going into 8th grade.  She is looking so grown up.  Where is all the time going?

This is a picture of the kid's second day of school.  They are looking sharp and ready to learn.

Sunday, July 29, 2018

              Had such a fun time at the beach for the 4^th of July.  We had a mini Fisher Family reunion at Doheny Beach.  We were camping right next to the beach in a pop-up trailer.  We had lots of fun.  We did tons of boogie boarding, Teagan was an animal and constantly boogie boarding.  McCabe and Tim did a lot of fishing.  They even went deep sea fishing. Xadia played a lot in the sand and Jacinda played in the water with cousins and Jaycee (her friend).

                The firework show was incredible.  I loved watching them in the air and their reflection on water.  We were fortunate enough to go to Lego Land Water Park thanks to Ben and Jacob Fisher.  They got us in for free.  Teagan loved the wave pool and the water slides.  The girls went to Disneyland with Kari and Jenny.

                Towards the end of the trip I felt successful because not one of my kids had a sunburn.  I spent many moments putting sunblock on my kids.  The biggest help was a face stick.  That was the best.  I usually struggle with the eyes but the face stick made it so easy.

                This past week, Chris and Tricia (and family) came to visit.  Before their visit, we met them in Jackson Hole for some river rafting down the Snake River.  We had a blast.  I was very worried about Xadia and Teagan, but they did great.  Teagan was so happy.  He kept cracking Chuck Norris jokes.  He obviously is picking up on McCabe’s habits.  The kids loved playing in the water when the river was calm and then jumping in the raft when the guide said to get in.

                On the way home, Chris hit a deer and damaged his car.  I felt so bad.  Tricia was really shaken.  After a night of sleep, she felt better in the morning.  Fortunately, there was no deductible and the insurance rented a car so they can get home.

                Jacob had an encounter with a spider and reverted back to a 5-year-old.  He was screaming and calling for his mom.  The kids decided to have fun and shut him in the food storage closet with the spider and turn out the lights.  Finally, the kids let up and Jacob was let out of the storage closet.

                The kids had many fun days at Farmington Pond swimming and fishing.  One night we ate cinnamon rolls and watched Tim and the family be interviewed on the news about technology.  Tim had everyone in the house call him the “tech expert.”  It was so much fun having the Fisher’s out our house.  I was sad when they went home.

News article of Tim and the family about technology

https://www.ksl.com/article/46367445/3-tech-experts-share-how-they-monitor-their-own-kids-online

Monday, June 25, 2018

Life is really good right now.  I love my family and the joy they bring.  Summer is always so fun because we get to spend time together in the evenings.  We have been busy planting flowers and making our yard beautiful.  We recently planted some foxglove, dianthus, daisies, and veronica.  In 2 years the yard is just going to be gorgeous and full of color.  Xadia was my little helper as we planted over 42 plants and weeded the rock wall.  Tim was the bomb planting the dianthus near the house.  Oh I love the vibrant color of the dianthus.

It has been really hot.  Teagan got a little inflatable pool and uses it every day.  He loves to run around the yard and then jump in the pool.  I like to sit outside and watch as I listen to the waterfall.  

The other kids are usually inside playing the computer or doing something else.  Xadia has started making cardboard candy machines.  It is a simple structure with a slide opening that allows M&M’s or skittles to fall out.  Jacinda and McCabe have both taken a liking to baking/cooking.  Yesterday I came home from work and McCabe was cooking steak.  The day before that, Jacinda had made some chocolate Rolo cookies.  I am quite pleased with their ambitions.

Yesterday I celebrated my one-year work anniversary.  My co-workers took me to lunch.  We went to the Desert Edge.  I had a veggie and turkey sandwich with pasta.  It was so yummy.  Tim just moved his office home.  It is interesting to see what the future holds for his job.  We are expecting him to be riffed the beginning of August.  At times I get a little anxiety thinking about him not having a job.  The rest of the time I leave it in God’s hands.  

At the moment, we are all pre-occupied with our California beach trip.  This is our time to see Tim’s side of the family.  The kids are excited to see their cousins.  I’m excited to sleep in the sand next to the ocean.  McCabe is excited to go fishing and Tim is excited to be near the water.  Sometimes getting ready for a trip can be stressful.  McCabe says he need new cowboy boost to wear on the fishing boat (what????).  Xadia needs a swim shirt.  I need to plan for food since we are camping.  At the moment, I don’t want to think about it.  I will just pack the day before and take it as it comes.  That is all the energy I have.

Monday, June 18, 2018

School is out and the kids are so happy.  We made treats for the teachers as a thank-you.  I hoped they enjoyed their apple cupcakes.

Life has been so busy so I am taking my lunch break to write in my journal.  We had the opportunity to clean a cabin at camp Piuata.  It is located 30 minutes east of Kamas.  We decided to make it a camp out with the family.  It was so beautiful.  When we arrived, we went straight to work.  There was a lot of mice droppings (gross!).  I was saying a silent prayer that the haunta virus would not get us.  After cleaning the cabin, we went exploring.  I loved the smell of the pine trees.  We had a great time looking for fossils and catching frogs in the pond.  When nightfall came, we mad hot cocoa and saw a bat.  Tim got a fishing pole and swirled it in the air to see if the bat would go after it.  Sad to say, the bat knew better but Teagan thought it was the neatest thing.  There was no cell phone coverage so we got to enjoy the great outdoors.  We slept on cots in the cabin.  Around 3:00 am I had to go potty.  Stepping outside and gazing at the stars was amazing.  I was so tempted to wake Tim to enjoy the beauty with me.  But, I let him sleep and I walked to the bathroom. 

                The morning was gorgeous.  We were making breakfast as the other ward members arrived to clean the other cabins.  Tim was making egg, ham, and English muffin sandwiches.  I was getting warm by the fire.  I was thinking about how beautiful the day was and the fun time we will have fishing.  My thoughts were over taken by McCabe coming over and saying, “I got some bad news.”  I wondered to myself, “now what in his 11-year-old mind could be bad news.”  “I locked the keys in the car.”  Yep, that was bad news.  Plan B went into immediate action.  We bummed rides off other ward members.  Once home, we got the spare keys and drove 1.5 hours back to camp.  The boys went fishing and I drove back home.  I was so tired I fell asleep.  After my nap, the girls (Soli, Jacinda, Xadia) and I went to the Mandarin restaurant for a nice Chinese dinner.  Then stopped by avalanche snow for a Sno-cone.  It was a fun evening to spend with the girls.

                This past weekend was father’s day and celebration of our 19^th wedding anniversary.  Tim and I went to Wendover and watched a tribute to the beach boys.  It was fun to dance and sing along to the music.  I also got to eat a hug éclair.  It was sooooo good.  Margaret stayed with the kids.

                Sunday we celebrated Tim and the good job he is doing as a dad.  He got candy bars, letters, and a tie (with the kids on it) for father’s day.  The kids are very fortunate to have Tim as a dad.  He is very loving and does a good job teaching the kids about the gospel.  I hope one day the kids realize how good a dad Tim is.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

          It is not very often I get to have a girl’s night out.  But when it happens, I love it.  The girls and I spent a night in Eden.  We rented a condo.  We ate microwave dinners.  Played a “sleep over party” game.  I got a funny card.  I had to act like a teenage vampire that just ate garlic.  Another silly card was have a dance party for 2 minutes.  Xadia got a card that said, “Explain how to make spaghetti with an Italian accent.”  She did not know how to do an Italian accent.  So I had her say, “that is a spicy meatball,” with an accent.  It was hilarious.  We all took a turn saying “spicy meatball.”  After the game, we went hot tubbing and then got in our pajamas and watched “Coco.”  We also ate junk food.  I was really tired after the movie.  It was 10:30 pm.  I needed to go to sleep.  Xadia wanted to play the game again.  I told her she could play with Jacinda.  She ended up going to sleep.  In the morning, I slept until 9:30.  The girls made a smoothie and cinnamon biscuits for breakfast.  It was really yummy.  We watched “The Little Rascals,” and ate.  We then cleaned up and went home.  It was a fun time with my girls.

                It is not very often I get to go on a field trip.  I got to go to the zoo with Teagan.  He wanted his dad to go instead of me because I went on the zoo field trip with the other 3 kids.  Too bad for him.  But we had a good time.  We visited all the animals.  His favorite part was the playground.  The boys in our group played for an hour.  After the playground we saw the polar bear and the seals.  The boys loved that exhibit because they can the animals under water and above the water.  Just before leaving we bought cotton candy.  When I asked Teagan what his favorite part of the zoo was he said, “the playground and cotton candy.”  Forget about all the neat animals.  He is just a simple boy. 

Sunday, May 13, 2018

      Happy Mother's Day to all those beautiful moms.  I love being a mom.  I love it when my kids give me home made cards or fresh cut flowers (weeds) from the yard.  Today was so special.  I woke up to Teagan snuggling next to me.  Then I was told by Tim not to come downstairs because of a surprise.  When I finally got to go downstairs, I was served breakfast.  There was bacon, eggs, biscuits, smoothie, and a heart shaped pancake on my plate.  I truly felt spoiled.
     After breakfast, I opened my gifts.  Xadia and Teagan both gave me home made cards where they saw what they liked best about me or how they would describe me.  I laughed because one of Xadia responses was that I liked to "sleep."  Oh how true that is.  Being a mom can wipe you out.  After breakfast we got ready and went to church.  The kids sang primary songs to their mothers. This was the last year McCabe will sing a mother's day song to me in church.  He is growing up so fast.
     We ate lunch and then played two rounds of one night ultimate werewolf.  The kids always cheat at this game.  Tim's favorite saying is, "cheaters close your eyes."  What is really supposed to be said is, "players, close your eyes."  After the game, Tim and I got a nap.  After being abruptly woken, the family headed over to Nastia's house to give them a ladder.  Nastia is moving to Kansas.  I wanted to stay and update my blog/journal.  So here I sit in an empty (and messy) house.  The house is messy because I have not lifted a finger today and it has been great.  But come tonight or tomorrow it will be cleaned because I don't like to live in filth.
     It has been a happy mother's day for Tim.  He finally got the truck he has always wanted.  It is a beauty.  Here the boys are unloading potential campfire wood.  This was the first major use of work for the truck.

We will also be using it for the lawn business.  Each week we mow several lawns.  This will make it easier to pull the trailer.  The kids just walked through the door.  They are back just in time for AFV (America's Funniest Videos).  However, McCabe made a suggestion that he wants to watch the 3 Amigos instead.  This is a movie I got for Mother's Day.  It is one of mine and Tim's favorites.  I guess we will take a family vote.