Another Van

Zachary refused to get in the pool today at his swimming lesson. We signed him up for level 3 which was too advanced for him. His first day in that class freaked him out since the level of difficulity was too much for Zach. After the class I moved him down to level 2 but he has refused to go to the classes. It has been so frustrating for me because I don't know how to handle it. I don't think I should force him to go but I don't want to molly-coddle him either, he needs to learn to swim. Today I tried to be positive about his class and it seemed like he was going to get in the water until we approached the pool and then he changed his mind. Sarah is in Level 1 and her class is at the same time as his so I talked to the scheduler and moved Zachary down to Level 1. He said if he was taking a class with Sarah he would go so I am hoping that by moving him down to the easiest level he will gain his confidence again.

Saturday night Randy bought another van on ebay. He bid for an Astro Van not thinking he would win the bid but he did. Ugg! He said he already has a buyer for it so I hope he can dump it soon because I don't want to drive an Astro Van. Randy was debating a trip to California to pick it up but he called his mom and she happened to be in the general area of the van so her and her boyfriend Harrold will bring the van back later this week. It seems like it's working out. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Family Weekend

Monday night Sarah went home with Tiffany and Allen to spend the week. She was so excited and we had a quieter house. She loved playing with Sam and Danni and she just loved Tiffi and Allen. Sarah did not want to come with us.

Thursday night Mom flew up and arrived in Boutiful just in time to see about half of Zachary's soccer game. That was fun for Zachary.

Friday morning our family along with Mom drove down to Price to see Tiffany's pinning ceromny. WooHoo she is now a RN!! Congratulations Tiffany. After the cermony we rushed to her house for a quick dinner of pizza and then went to Sam and Danni's dance recital. They were so cute in their costumes and the did a great job on their dances.

Sammi's baptism was bright and early Saturday morning at 8:00am. Believe it or not we were all early. It was so special to see Allen baptize Sammi (3 times) and to see Randy confirm her. Tiffany made Sammi's baptism dress and it was beautiful. Sammi looked so pretty in her new dress. After the baptism Allen and Tiffany had their graduation cermony. Our family went to watch Ashton's State Gymnastics meet during the graduation and then went back for a luncheon with the family. Yummy taco salad and way to much food. We all drove back to Huntington to watch the rest of Ashton's meet and see her win her award. She did a great job.

Our entire family then went to Price for dinner and had mexican food. It was great to spend time together. I wish Katie and her family could have been there. We finally left about 9:30pm for our drive home. I bet Tiffany and Allen were happy to have their house quiet again and relax after a busy week and weekend.

I was glad to get home last night even though it was 11:00pm. I was anxious to go to our ward and get our house a little settled before the week started. Mom did a bunch of my laundry this afternoon before going home. Randy just took Mom to the airport to go home. I wish Mom lived closer to we could see her more often.

Tuesday Things

Sunday, late afternoon we returned from St. George. We drove down Friday afternoon to for Harrold's Saturday baptism. Rick and Mandee joined us for our trip and we had some good laughs. I had fun all weekend teasing Randy and Rick about their new stepdad and stepsisters.

Tiffany and Allen sept Sunday at Lagoon and came to our house just as we returned from down south. Sammi had a doctor's appointment at Primary's on Monday so they stayed over at our house and the kids had a ton of fun playing. They also picked up their new van and took it home with them.

Sarah called me yesterday and asked if she could go home with Sam and Danni for the week and we could pick her up on Friday when we go down for Sam's baptism and Tiff and Allen's graduation. She will miss her lessons for this week (swim, ice skating, gymnastics and preschool) but Randy thought she should go anyway. I packed her bags and she let with them last night. Our house is so quiet without her around and I already miss her.

Monday Madness

Randy had to drive this morning so I stayed home to get the kids ready for school before I came into work. I still got up at 4:00am to work for a couple of hours from home. It's now 7:30pm and I am exhausted.

I picked Sarah up from preschool and had a quick parent teacher conference with her teacher. Sarah is doing great in school. She really needs to work on her alphabet, sounds and numbers. I am still undecided about weather or not she should start kindergarden or not. Her birthday is August 17th and the cut off is August 30th so she is right on the line.

Sarah has swim lessons tonight and Randy came home from work early so we went to the Rec Center as a family. Randy took the kids swimming and I walked the track with Audrey for about 30 minutes. It feels good to know I excercised today. We signed Zachary up for swim lessons the same time Sarah is going which will be good to do it at the same time.

This week is "Turn off your TV Week" at Zachary's school. I am going to die. How am I supposed to not watch TV for the entire week? I realize how much I watch TV and it's entirely to much. Wish me luck.

Blonde Brownies

I want to make these this week, I think the kids will really like them. They sound yummy to me.

Blonde Brownies

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Measure 1 cup sifted flour. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift again. Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Mix well and set aside.Melt 1/3 cup butter. Add 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar and mix well. If shortening is used, add 1 tablespoon hot water. Cool slightly.Add egg (beaten) and vanilla. Blend well. Add flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing well.Spread in 9 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Sprinkle 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Selling Spree

This past week Randy has been on a selling spree. He sold our flatbed 4-wheeler trailer earlier in the week. The trailer was just to long for our needs. He sold the Honda Odessey which he bought me about a month and a half ago and last night he sold our camp trailer. The couple who bought our trailer came up to look at the trailer and decided they wanted it. We had about an hour to clean it out and they took it away. My kitchen and living room are now full of all our camping supplies and I'm not sure where to store everything. Today I plan on buying a bunch of totes to keep camping things in until we can replace the trailer.

When we bought our 4-wheelers last summer we talked about buying a Toyhauler trailer. Last week we went and looked at a few. It seems safer to haul the 4-wheelers in the trailer instead of on a trailer behing our trailer. Randy is anxious to get a trailer now, he is afraid we won't be able to camp all summer.

Growing

The other day Z and I were talking about growing. He asked me how people grow and I said they need to eat healthy, drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep. Z thought for a minute and then asked if when we were sleeping Heavenly Father and Jesus stretched us out and that is how we grow? How cute is that?