My Halloween Decoration

To get into the Halloween Spirit I thought that it would be fun to hang the BUCK that Mitchell caught last night. (I really am not happy about it since it is hanging on my carport at this very moment, but it is at least covered with a tarp. I can just picture children coming up to the door to say TRICK-OR-TREAT and then they turn around and a dead dear is looking at them.)


I really am proud of him though! He has worked so hard to catch something and only had 7 more days to do so, so I am glad that it is over and we can get over this hunting phase for at least two weeks until it is Elk Season.


Lets go back two nights ago when Mitchell was hunting. While he was driving away from the property, after a frustrating night of not seeing anything, a huge buck jumped out in front of his truck and just stared into the headlights. Of course Mitchell's gun was in the back seat but after a minute of staring at each other he quietly got out of the car, went to the bed of his truck, took out his gun, put in a bullett, cocked it and as soon as he was ready to shoot it darted off into the dark woods. When he called all I could do was laugh, this has not been his year for hunting.


Last night he went hunting again to the same spot that he saw the buck the night before. He hunkered down by a tree and when he was ready to give up and go home he saw his long awaited buck and was ready for it this time. When he called me all I heard was heavy breathing and I asked if he was okay and he said, "I DID IT, I ACTUALLY DID IT."


My brother, Jared came at 10 last night to help prepare it. The rest I will leave to your imagination because it is quite gross. Thank you Jared for your help, I would not have been able to do that, and am very surprised you were able to.



As for pictures, I have a lot of them, but will only share this one so if you do not want to see just click off now.

This Made My Day!

(This morning I received this email. I have had a headache all weekend so this made my day! Thanks for sharing, Pam.)

The boss wondered why one of his most valued employee had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper. "Hello ? "

"Is your daddy home?" he asked.

"Yes ," whispered the small voice.

"May I talk with him?"

The child whispered, " No ."

Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"

"Yes."

"May I talk with her?"

Again the small voice whispered, "No ."

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?"

"Yes ," whispered the child, " a policeman ".

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"

"No, he's busy ", whispered the child.

"Busy doing what?"

"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ," came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"

"A helicopter " answered the whispering voice.

"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.

Again, whispering, the child answered, " The search team just landed a helicopter ."

Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, "What are they searching for?"

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle... " ME ."

Family...Isn't It About Time

I remember as I was a child our church came out with some commercials that always ended in, "Family, isn't it about time." They were so much fun to watch. My favorite commercial has to be the one where a son asks the father to come into their travel trailer because he wanted to show him something. After the father comes into the trailer, the door is shut behind him and they drive away, obviously on an overnight trip as a family. If that is the only way to get a busy husband away from work, I say go for it. (I could not find this commercial on the internet, but here are some other fun commercials that the church put out. http://www.mormon.org/homefront/0,15902,3865-1,00.html?src=tv)

This weekend was our family time to steal dad for a couple of hours. Luckily, he was willing and we did not have to force it upon him. We went to Tualatin and watched a Pumpkin Regatta. It is a race where HUGE pumpkins

are carved out and then people actually climb in them and race each other through a course on a lake. It takes place at a place called the Tualatin Commons where we used to live. We went to the first Pumpkin Regatta and there were about 100 people watching, today there were at least 2000.

Some of the contestants dressed up. The lady in Pink was dressed in a divers suit and you gotta love her pink flamingo in the back. She reminded me of Sarah Palin because she had her hairdo.

We then went to the park. Dad is the best at playing with the kids. He also gives the best pushes on the swings.

It is fun to watch the girls constantly say, "Watch me Dad." He is so patient and will watch. They enjoyed their special time with their father, and so did I.

A Hunting We Will Go

Mitchell has always loved hunting. As a young boy he would go to Utah every year with his father and bow hunt. He has been lucky enough to catch 3 deer with his bow. Since we moved to Oregon he has wanted to get back into the sport.

One day at church last year Mitchell was telling our good friend about how he went hunting a couple of times and did not get anything. Our friend told us that he had his buck opening day and was home by noon to watch the football game. Wow, was Mitchell distraught. He spent all season hunting and here this guy tells him that he catches his deer opening day. Our friend has some property that is about 8 miles from our home and he allowed him to hunt his 180 acres.

The first morning of hunting, Mitchell saw 22 Elk (it is not Elk season right now) , the next morning he saw two Fawns, and the day after that he saw 12 Elk, but no Bucks. I was determined to see the elk so I have gone to the property a couple of times and no luck. I went once with the girls and we sat for about an hour just looking around. It is so peaceful and beautiful. To tell you the truth I am beginning to think that I am bad luck because every time I have gone there has been NADA, ZILCHO, ZIP!

Yesterday I thought it would be fun to have a date night of hunting. I wanted to see what Mitchell did and I really wanted to be there if he got anything. We had a great time walking around the property. We saw a lot of elk, deer, coyote and even bear tracks, but no real live animals. It was just nice to be alone with my husband, doing something that he loves to do.

I know he will catch something, I just have to be no where around so he can.

A Gold Medal Kind of Week

I bought medals for my soccer kids, but then realized that I did not buy enough so I gave them to Hailey to play with. She has been walking around the house giving everything and everyone a gold medal. Teddy, our dog, got a gold medal over his neck after he successfully went potty outside, Lindsay got a gold medal because she was being a nice sister, Ashley got a gold medal because she is a good drawer. I think that I need a gold medal this week for just surviving. It has been a GO GO GO kind of week and it will not come to a stop until I am done with this blogging class on Friday (which I still need ideas for, see my prior post).

On Friday morning at 4 am Mitchell leaned over and told me that I had to be at the airport at 8 am to pick a surprise up at the airport. You do not tell me a couple of hours prior that someone is coming to my house and think that I am going to roll over in bed and do nothing about it. I jumped out of bed and cleaned until I had to leave for the airport.

Guess who I picked up? Krissy and I have been friends since I was 11 years old. In 2003 she left to serve a mission in the Iowa Des Moines Mission and that was the last time that I had seen her. It was about time, I guess you could say.

My friend, Tina, invited us to go to a really fun corn maze with the kids. Lindsay, Ashley, Connor and Taylor all ran ahead of the adults and we lost them for a moment, but they were smart and started throwing their jackets into the air so we could see where they were at. The girls were able to pick out their pumpkins and I bought some delicious corn. Thanks Tina we had a great time!!

Later that night our family had family pictures scheduled with our good friend Jen who takes amazing pictures! It had been 6 years since we took a professional family photo so it was about time. I can not wait to see how they turned out.

At 11:50 PM my parents flew in for Ashley's baptism. Since Krissy was at our home, Mitchell and I were able to pick them up without our kids. It is always so good to see them. Hailey was really excited to have a "sleepover" with Grandma and Grandpa. Too bad they came in so late that Hailey was sound asleep, but they were able to play in the morning.

Saturday morning was spent getting ready for the baptism, talking and hanging out with grandma and grandpa. It was nice having four other adults in the home so I did not have to get the kids ready by myself.

At four was Ashley's baptism. Heather's and Jared's family were able to join us at the church along with some of our closest friends. Ashley was one of five children being baptised, but it was situated so that we met as wards so it was more personal that way. When you are baptised the wording has to be just right and you have to be totally immersed underwater. The first time Ashley's hand came up so Mitchell had to do it again, but Ashley did not mind. While in the dressing room I asked her how she felt and her answer was, "Wet". I had to laugh. My father was able to confirm her and he gave her a beautiful blessing.

I made Ashley a slideshow for her to remember her baptism by. I hope that she remembers this day and the feelings that she felt for the rest of her life. The song, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me," is her favorite Primary song.

Following the baptism we went to our Ward's Fall Harvest Festival where the kids painted their pumpkins, had a cake walk, ate desserts and they played a couple of the various games. The fishing game was a hit and the girls came home with three live goldfish. This should be interesting with our cat. Hopefully he will not find them while we are not home.

Following church on Sunday we went to Tillamook and to Oceanside. It was absolutely gorgeous! It was low tide so we could walk out and see a lot of the tide pools full of sea anemones and starfish. Earlier that day someone wrote "Will You Marry Me" in the sand. I wonder if the answer was yes.

Before heading to the airport we dropped by the Portland LDS Temple. Since it is closed on Monday's it was so peaceful and quiet. The grounds are full of beautiful flowers and water fountains. I love living so close to a temple!

It was a fun, exhausting and exciting week full of many memories that we will remember for a long time.

Blogging Help

I have been asked to give an Enrichment Night Class this Friday on Blogging. Can you please tell me some of your favorite blogs, reasons why you blog, anything that you think that would be helpful at this class would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!

It Works For Us

My father is a Special Education Teacher and works with children that need help with reading and such. When I was younger I loved to go into his classroom and write on the chalk board and look at his treasure box. His treasure box was amazing full of a lot of fun toys, pencils and erasers. His students had to work toward receiving a treasure by receiving stickers on thier sticker chart.

At my childrens school they have a reward system in place called "GOTCHA's". Whenever a student is "caught" doing something nice, or being good, they receive a Gotcha. This Gotcha is then signed by the student and placed into a box that the whole school shares. On Fridays the principal choose 7 or so gotcha's out of the box and the student then gets to come to the office to choose thier prize. Over the years my girls have received quite a few gotcha prizes and they really enjoy it.

Obviously rewarding your child for good behavior is a good thing, or it would not be done at the schools. I used to do marbles where you give a marble for good behavior, but then take away a marble for bad behavior. I told my father about this and he said that you never take away their marbles because they earned them, you just do not give more marbles if they are being bad.

For the past couple of years Hailey has slept in my room. She would start on the couch, end up on my floor, then in my bed. I usually would just change my position and sleep at the foot of the bed so that I would not wake her up if I moved her back to her bed. This caused for many sleepless nights. One night I was done with it so I came up with our own reward system in our home. I made sticker charts and each night that Hailey slept in her own bed, she would receive a sticker. After receiving five stickers, she could choose a prize from our treasure box. This treasure box is amazing and it works wonders with our children. I got it from Oriental Trading Company. Here is the link:

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=5/919&mode=Searching&erec=8&Ipp=16&No=16&D=treasure+chest&Ntt=treasure+chest&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&y=10&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&x=15&sd=Treasure+Chest+Toy+Assortment

I have also added box my own things that I find that the girls would like like bubbles, anything from Dollar Tree and, thanks to my sister Heather, the idea of Happy Meal Toys. Now instead of buying a big meal at McDonalds, I get a happy meal and stick the toy in the box. You can also include certificates good for a playdate with Mom or a day that they do not have to do their chores. That would work wonders in my home.

Lindsay and Ashley also have thier own sticker chart. They get stickers for doing their work without me asking them to, overhearing them being nice and not backtalking. I am a little harder on the older girls then Hailey so they only have a couple of stickers. I need to be better with that. For now, I will enjoy that this is working and I am seeing the benefits in my childrens behavior in our home.

Some Tips that I have found if you choose to do a reward system:

1. The first day I was sticker happy so that my girls understood why they got stickers, and they were excited to get a treasure on the second day.

2. Put the treasure box up high so they can not take anything out of it, or peek at all of your new finds. I keep things a secret when I put them into the box, it makes it fun when they get to choose and there is something new.

3. If you do stickers, hide the stickers so that your 4 year old does not add to her reward chart without you looking. It makes for an unhappy mom, and child.

4. Be consistant. I find that if I give one child a sticker, I better look to see if the other child is doing a good behavior, or I will hear about it. (If they ask for a sticker, I do not give them one. I tell them that they can not ask for a "Gotcha" at school, so they can not ask at home.)

What kind of reward system do you have in your home? I am always up for new ideas.

Conference and Pumpkins

CONFERENCE

I planned on doing the same thing that I do every year for conference which is I usually have the girls watch one session and they always have to watch when our Prophet speaks. I always get grumbling, children falling asleep, fighting, and loud talking. This year I was prepared. I have received a couple of fun emails with fun conference packets for the kids to do while watching conference. I gave them to the girls thinking that it would keep them company for a little while. I have to report that they sat through the WHOLE thing, even my 4 year old. WOW! AMAZING! I was even really into it helping my girls tally how many times certain words have been said. So far Jesus Christ is our #1 word. That children's choir was amazing. I love the last Saturday Session! I just have to say I am so excited for conference tomorrow, I may actually be able to watch it without interruption again.

ROLOFF FARMS

Each year the girls beg me to take them to Roloff Farms to get pumpkins. I am always hesitant because they are the family that are on TLC's Little People Big World and when it shows pumpkin season on their show, the lines are really really long. I decided that in between sessions of conference, since it was not raining, we would give it a try. It truly did not dissappoint!

They have a tour to their Western Town that you can go on where you ride in a trailer in the back of a tractor. Everyone was really excited so I bought the tickets. Once we walked into the line Hailey freaked out. There was NO way she was getting in that trailer and she was not going to listen to me. We then got out of line and started walking back to the front entrance when I noticed that Amy, the mother, was taking pictures with people and talking with them. I thought that she would be the best person to talk Hailey into going. She told Hailey all about the fun things she will be able to see like the pirate ship, the castle, the western town and she would be able to ride in a fun trailer. She told Hailey that it is a little bumpy, but was a lot of fun.

Once Hailey heard that word BUMPY she freaked out again. We decided to take her home and get a babysitter to watch her, since I already payed $26 for these tickets I was not going to forgo the tour. So, she had fun with the babysiter, and we had fun going back to the farm to go on the tour.

Western Town was really neat. Our friends Peggy and Ron were greeting people there so we were able to take a fun picture with them.

They had a jail house, a mail room, a church, a mine shaft and a saloon. (My kids would be in heaven if they lived on this farm. If you saw the show, you would know what I am talking about. They have a full volleyball court, really nice basketball court and a huge soccer field all on their property, not to mention a lake that they can go with their paddle boats on.)

After the tour we decided to see one of their new exhibits the Pumpkin Family House. It was adorable and was my favorite part.

While we were in the pumpkin patch looking around for the perfect pumpkin a camera man came up to Lindsay to ask if she wanted to answer some questions for him. She was too shy so Ashley did it. It happened to be our Channel 6 News so we were excited to see if she would be on, but she wasn't. Oh well, it was fun anyways.

After the camera man from the news station was finished interviewing Matt and Amy, they came over to take a couple of pictures with the fans. We were lucky enough to get one.

What a fun experience we were able to have. They are such a fun family and I am honored to know Peggy and Ron, the parents of Matt. We will make sure that we go to the farm every year during pumpkin season and hopefully Hailey will go with us next time.

A Wonderful Woman!

During my life there have been a couple of people who have really touched my heart in a way that I will remember for the rest of my life. Geri Mahaffey is one of these people. Many of you have had the wonderful opportunity of meeting her. If you looked up Charity in the dictionary her picture would surely be right there. She is one of those people that truly cares about others and would do anything for them.

The other day her daughter, Kelly, (who happens to be one of my best friends), called to tell me that her mom, Geri, has breast cancer and she was going to have to have a mastectomy. The first thought through my mind was WHY HER? Why will she, and her family, have to go through this? She does not deserve it. Through prayer I realized that she will be fine and that there is a reason behind this.

Yesterday was her surgery and so I was worried and praying for her all day. I was able to speak with Kelly and she said that all went well and that Geri wanted to say hi to me on the phone. The first thing she asked me was how my girls were doing. It was amazing that she went through so much just 2 hours prior and she was asking how my girls were doing. She is such an amazing woman and holds a very special place in my heart.

To read more you can check out her daughter's blog at: http://ekwest.blogspot.com/