Are vacations really worth it????

I know it looks like there is something inside there holding up all this laundry BUT unfortunately there isn't! IT IS ALL LAUNDRY!!!!!!!! I'll talk to you all later...If you can't get a hold of me then you'll know where I am!

More....summer fun!

The Big Race...
We ran as a family in a race in our area. A and C ran a 5K and all the kids ran a 1 mile. They were so excited! We started getting in shape back in April. Even our little 4 year old would work out with us! The kids looked forward to our runs and it got me up and off the couch too.


This is A and C starting out. Can you believe that C beat his dad!!!


This is D's big finish... he ran so fast I couldn't keep up with him.

This is M's sprint to end!!! She did great! She really likes it when she beats the boys!

E was a big surprise! He won 1st place out of his whole age division and won a 20 dollar bill!

E and D enjoying their medals! They were so proud!

Beware....summer posting!!

I am so behind! We have been having so much fun this summer that I have not blogged all summer! I made a goal to blog every day this week to highlight some of the things we have been doing. If I don't document it...it all disappears out of my memory!!! :)
Today I am going to blog about my summer chores program. It is working AWESOME! We have been consistent and really do finish our daily chores every day. I decided that in the summer (when I have more time with the kids) I will introduce new jobs and teach how to do them. So far, we have learned to clean bathroom completely, learned to sort and fold laundry and organize their rooms!!! They are getting it. Here are their job charts!


Each child has their own chart with jobs for each day. I have decided that if I give them jobs that can be accomplished within a couple hours (if they actually do them)they won't get discouraged. The key for me is... not to nag. I have found something that ALL my kids want... "SCREENS"!!!! So I tell them that if they want to watch TV or play the computer then they have to do their jobs. I don't nag or ask them to do it. At first some of the kids didn't do their jobs and went without TV/computer ALL DAY! I told them that I didn't want them to waste their time watching TV anyway! :) Soon they realized that I am serious and they decide on their own to do them. IT WORKS GREAT!!! This is the first summer that I have actually followed through with my summer ideas! Another "key" to making this work is ...when you are done with the jobs...really be done! Don't add anymore jobs! JUST PLAY!!!! It has been such a fun summer! I am going to be sad when school starts!

Even cooking skills are fun when your housework is done!!! This is a creation from J! They were so good! It is peanut butter cookies with melted chocolate and marshmallows!! YUUUUMMMMM!


More to come tomorrow!!

A New Life....

Well, you all may think that I am just being dramatic BUT I am serious...my life has changed. No more kids whining in the kitchen at 5:00 while I am trying to think about what we have in the kitchen so I can make a nutritious meal for dinner. No more temptations to call my hubby to pick up a pizza on the way home, and most importantly our meals are nutritious and delicious! How is all this happening, you might ask? Well my Mom gave me 30 freezer meal recipes! All tried and true for the freezer so they are actually good. It took me an entire Saturday but it is SOOOOOOO worth it!! I love the recipes because the cooks tell you what order to do everything so that you can cook 30 meals and piece them together all at the same time. It is incredible! Also, I saved $150 last month on our grocery bill, just because all the recipes are made by scratch. Sooo....there you have it. My new life! Now at 5:00 I sit by my oven watching my dinner bubble, hug my hungry kids, and set the table!:)I LOVE it!!!!




30 meals all in one freezer! Yay me!

The only problem is the mess I have to clean up from my new life!


If you are interested in changing YOUR life, check out my mom's stake blog. It is linked to mine. Under my favorite blogs!

Riverfront Property?

So I woke up this morning to see this.........











Don't get worried, this happens every year. But it never ceases to amaze me. We live on a mountain so we get all the snow melting water right through the yard. Our house is built up on a hill so that we can always avoid the drainage. The rest of the year it is just grass. But it's kind of cool huh. My kids were trying to float the "river" on their sleds. But after one "trip" and they decided that they would wait until summer! BRRRRR!

Learning the BLOG

This is life before church, during, and after church! Doesn't it look fun!

The first day of school! Just me and D are left at home! He's sad and I am enjoying life with him alone! School makes me a better mother! Don't ya think??

So Here I go, after following all of my friends blog, I decided to get on the bandwagon. I hope I can make time for it. So who is following the market???? That is all we are thinking about anymore. Life is Changing !!!!
Kids are good, today is the last night soccer game for C. We are excited because it is supposed to snow this weekend. Fall in Idaho is pretty non existent. HOw was conference? I loved it! I needed it! Well, that's it for today!