A Day in the Life of Us

Thai Kitchen BBQ House Party!!! Woo Hoo!! (Aug 6, 2011)

2011-08-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Party Pack that came for the Thai Kitchen house Party was amazing!! So much good stuff!!!

This party made such a great theme!! We had a BEAUTIFUL table!!! :) The food was all delicious too!! Fruit Kebabs with dipping sauces and dips made from dipping sauces... GREAT selection!!

Made some Ginger Teriyaki Stir Fry with ground turkey, cabbage, carrots, onions, celery and bell pepper and then stuffed wonton wrappers with it and fried till it was yummy goodness... served this amazing dish with the Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and the Fiery Thai Salsa made with Mangoes!!

Preparing the steak Kebabs!! We had Kebabs made with Chili Steak recipe, Chicken Satay, and Pork and Pineapple!! OH SO GOOD!!!

Trying one raw... uhmmmmm... maybe not... :P

The tiki torches were a big hit with the kids... I guess fire makes you cool...

The Party Tiki and Party Totem!!

Gift bags for the adults!! Complete with Thai Kitchen and Simply Asia Coupons, recipes and a YUMMY Pouch of stir fry sauce!!! :)

A few other Thai Kitchen products we decided to try!

Mixed Thai Kitchen dipping sauce (Spicy Mango) with some vanilla yogurt and a couple tablespoons of coconut milk for a delicious fruit & veggie dip!!Pineapple Pork kebabs!! Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Kung Pao Chicken Drumsticks

Marcy filling the Tiki Torches... she only messed up one. LOL!!

See?? Marcy can use a can opener and a salsa maker. :)

Checking on the Kung Pao chicken drummies...

Marcy & Stormy

Landon

Ronnie

Dwight

Landon

The prize dishes of the night!! Yummmmmmmmo!!!

Everyone ate until they were ready to pop!!! Mmmmmm....

We even filled up the growing boys!! :)

Billy ate till he passed out... :) It was a great Party!!! :)

The Z's Mardi Gras Party was a HUGE success!!

2011-03-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

The Decorations Went UP!

The masks were jazzed up for the ladies!

Even Abe got in the Spirit!

The Swordfish was Blackened! The table was set with Bourbon Chicken... Zatarain's Jambalaya...

Parfaits... King's Cake and King's Cake Cupcakes made with Rootbeer Cream cheese filling and Rootbeer Frosting (ala Zatarain's) Soooo Yummy!!

Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice Dip with chips and veggies, and a BEAUTIFUL Green & Purple salad from Patti!

Everything looked Good and smelled Great!!

The Shoe Box Floats arrives with the guests and the Parade Began!!

They came, they saw, they partied!!!!

Every Mardi Gras Celebration needs a King!! I present The King!!

We all had SO MUCH FUN!! :) Can't wait until next year!

Mardi Gras

March 8, 2011

Mardi Gras

2011-03-04T00:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we all bought the same mask... LOL!

Mardi Gras is going to be a blast!! March 8th, hurry up!!

I will post all about the party!! Don't miss it!

"Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!" (Let the Good Times Roll!)

2011-02-25T23:19:00.000-08:00

MARDI GRAS!!!( March 8th, 2011) or as we like to call it at our house, "Phat Tuesday!"

I won the privilege to host a House Party by Zatarain's (Bring Mardi Gras Home) and got an AWESOME PARTY PACK from House Party and Zatarain's!!

In this FAB and widely coveted Party Pack, I received a great Zatarain's tote bag, beads, masks, recipe cards, coupons for myself and coupons for those celebrating Mardi Gras with me, a box of Zatarain's Jambalaya mix, a box of Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice mix, a Bottle of Zatarain's Root Beer Extract, a bottle of Zatarain's Creole Mustard and a jar of Zatarain's Creole Seasoning.

House Party walks me every step of the way through hosting this party!! They have a great site to use as "Party Central"... send evites, track RSVP's, upload photos, share recipes... the encourage a big online presence... I have been tweeting and posting on Facebook!! This has been fun so far and the party isn't even here!!

CANNOT WAIT!! Stay tuned for Party News!!

If you want to follow along, check me out on Twitter or Facebook!

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!!

Especially can't wait for my King's Cake Cupcakes with Creole Cream Cheese and Rootbeer Filling!!! mmmmmmmmm...

And on January 3rd, the snow finally came

2011-02-19T21:11:00.000-08:00

Our long awaited snow storm finally arrived on January 3, 2011 to usher in our new year!! We waited and waited all through December as it seemed a very promising winter for snow... and so it was...

On the south end of the valley where we live we received a full 8 inches of snow!! Hooray for Ol' Man Winter!! He came through for us after all!!

The kids had a blast for days and days!! the snow lasted on some rooftops for several weeks!! On the ground it lasted about 10 days!! The day of the snow storm there were snowballs to throw and snowmen to build!! The kids played with the dogs (who also love snow, by the way!!)

Snowmen were built in the back yard and collapsed!! (On purpose and for the sake of collapsing snowmen!!)

And this giant of a snowman was build in the side yard... we watched him melt down to nothing over the days to come. The snow was such a treat for all of us!! Next time it snows I plan to show the kids how to stop rolling the snowball before they his dirt to make a "fluffy white" snowman. LOL!

Christmas 2010

2011-02-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010 was awesome!! Peaceful... restful... wonderful.

DJ and Ronnie were SUPER EXCITED about the RC Cars they got from their Grannie and Grumpa! :)

We waited for the snow...

and waited...

and waited.... sigh...

Dreaming of our White Christmas... but alas, it was not to be...

The chilly, sunny weather was just right for RC Cars... and that was ok with us.... for now...

No White Christmas in 2010... but a beautiful Christmas none-the-less.

Snow!! In MARCH?!?!

2010-03-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

OK, so March 9, 2010, it's supposed to be 55 degrees and a slight chance for rain... here in the desert we don't think to much about a "slight chance for rain" because it generally means that it may rain a half mile up but we won't ever see it here on the ground.

Instead of rain, we were surprised to wake up to a beautiful snow storm!

The boys really enjoyed the snow!

They were so happy that winter gave us one last "Hurrah!!"

They got to run around and play in the snow a bit, made some snowballs, caught snowflakes on their tongues... we had a snow day!! That's two for the school year! A record!

I even got to wear my cool pink snow boots for one last time this winter!!

We all had such a good time!!

It was such a nice break and a great way to say good bye to Old Man Winter!

Our Christmas Letter

2010-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Time Once Again. each and every year I sit to write this letter. I try to include all the things that happened throughout our year; and every year I fail to get this letter out. So this year I taking a different approach to our Christmas letter. I have decided that you don't need to hear every grueling detail of every family member's life this past year. A lot of you already know a lot of the story. Just know that the kids are fantastic and well, Dwight and I are also well and we've got a great new dog named Bo.

We are branching into new things this coming year... finding our muse so to speak.

Dwight is working at his photography. He has featured pictures on his Facebook and Flicker pages. Next step, visit some art galleries and see where that leads and begin doing some portrait work to support the craft.

DJ is pursuing writing and has begun to write a novel about knights. He is into the 4th chapter.

Ronnie is an artist and while he simply loves to draw, he has decided comic books will be his contribution to society. He has completed one about knights and one about robots and he has another one about knights in the works.

I am working at my writing. My friend and I began a website which features articles by both of us each month.

We wish all of you blessings of a prosperous year and hope that your Christmas and New Year's Eve are wonderfully filled with joy and peace. We wish you health and happiness, safety and compassion. We pray for each of you each day and know that Heavenly father hears our prayers. God Bless you and keep you well!

Love, Dwight, Veronica, DJ, Ronnie & Bo 2009

Halloween 2009

2009-11-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

Halloween this year was GREAT!! We went to the trunk or treat at the church and also to Winery Road to trick or treat door to door...

The kids had a blast trick or treating...

they got tons of candy! We also took them to the Nugget where they had a haunted safe street. That was a lot of fun and all of the local businesses did a great job preparing a fun safe night for all the kids!

DJ went as a vampire and Ronnie went as a Jedi.

Billy was a Race car Driver and Bobby was a Zombie!

Kalen was just Kalen when we went bowling but he was a ghoul at trunk or treat! The Party was a lot of fun! And since I got my shoes back from Dorothy...

I was, of course, a witch! Errrrr... Disco Witch!

Happy Fall!

Punkin' Carvin'

2009-11-01T20:06:00.000-08:00

Punkin' Carvin' is one of our favorite things to do each year! For the last few years we have invited our good friends the Trimarchis to join in the fun!!

First they get a magic marker and try to out do each other with their design!

Then the knives get unsheathed and they hack away at the top...

...then.... OUT COME THE BRAINS!!!!

YUMMY!!!

PUNKIN' BRAINS!!!

Then more knives... oh, boys and their toys!

Careful....
Easy does it...

The finished products!! We had so much fun! It was Halloween so right after punkin' carvin' we went trick or treatin'!! We thought the kids would never sleep that night... but... surprise, surprise... they were exhausted!

So Much Has Happened!

2009-10-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I haven't blogged since May apparently... sheesh. Let me tell you what happened... I signed up for Facebook and we started the renovation on the living room. Facebook was so quick to upload daily pictures and so I gave brief updates several times a week because sitting down to blog seemed a daunting task.

We were so busy and living such a life with the whole house torn up and covered in plastic...

yet life went on... school went on... scouts went on... church went on...work went on... but the house was a construction zone! Oh, and we got a new puppy back then... the kids got her for Easter and there was the pup to train.
So, we got the renovation done, then we had a surprise party for Marcy & Patti for their birthdays (fondue and pedicures). Fondue at my house (newly renovated) and pedis with Oscar!

THEN we went to scout camp where Dwight and I both volunteered...

...and then Patti and I began our work on Divas on a Dime...

and THEN we went to Idaho to visit the fam and we were gone for 10 days...

and then there was more work to do on Divas and more work to do and more work to do...

Then I went bowling with the children one day and came home to no kitchen counters because Dwight surprised me and began installing the new counters we've had since the renovation began! (YEAH!!)
(Sorry ...forgot to upload a picture of them...) (But Dwight ROCKS!!)

Then there was more work to do on Divas and then we finally launched the website...

and the blog... and the the Facebook mini-blog and the Twitter micro-blog. So, here we are... almost Halloween and I last blogged in May. Well, now you are all caught up! I hope I can keep up with this blog... life is full... and life is good!!! :)

The New Fire Pit!!

2009-05-25T00:11:00.001-07:00

well, the new fire pit is complete!! (Yeah!!) and we christened it with our good friends Bob & Patti & their kids Bobby & Billy!

We roasted hot dogs & sausages ... the kids had a blast!

we topped the nite off with s'mores & star gazing... (nothing like melted chocolate and a big starry sky!!)

It was awesome!! We all had so much fun!! We look forward to many nites around our new fire pit! Summer... Fall... Winter... Spring... now all we need is a nice chiminea...

Patti even wore her favorite shirt to the kickoff!!

And Bobby was great at squishing necks! LOL Life is good!!! :)

Mother's Day Blooms

2009-05-24T23:57:00.001-07:00

The beautiful Mother's Day Blooms... Marcy bought me the lillies, the kids bought the roses... they bloomed ON mother's day. :) Thanks guys!!!

WEIRD SCIENCE!

2009-05-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

So, both eggs are the same... brown chicken eggs, both raw. Both cups are the same... just a simple Luminarc resaturant grade tempered glass. Both have room temperature water in them, both straight from the tap... Yet one egg floats and the other egg sinks!!!! Magic??? NO!!!!! Mad scientists!! (aka: DJ & Ronnie) So one day the kids come up to me and say, "mom, can we do a science experiment?" I ask if they have one in mind and they say, "yes and we have all the stuff!" Who am I to say no to kids wanting to learn in their free time?? They had been watching Beakman and I was thinking, "the Lord only knows what they will churn out!"

They head off into the kitchen and in minutes they have glasses and eggs and they are telling me, "watch this!" They took a magic marker & wrote an "s" on one egg and an "f" on the other. "Look, mom," they said, "the one with the "f" will float and the one with the "s" will sink!" PLOP! they gently drop the eggs into the water and TADA! the eggs do exactly what they said they would!

"HOW COOL!" I tell them, "so why does it work?" "Here's the trick," they explain, "We stirred a half cup of sugar into the one glass of water. You can't see it because we dissolved it, but it is there and it makes that glass of water more dense!"

Next they tried grapes... same results!

They were so proud of themselves! I love that they love to learn... that out of the blue they will want to read or do science or research something! They are such great kids... an awesome blessing... especially for a homeschool mom.

I Miss You Alex, Love, Sis

2009-05-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Pinewood Derby

2009-05-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

The Kids Had the Cubscout Annual Pinewood derby...

they built the cars pretty much all by themselves this year...

Dwight helped with a little bit but they did all the work including the paint!

I was so proud of them for what they had done, how well they raced and how much sportsmanship they (and all the other scouts) had. It was a really good time!

Gypsy has a new Grand- (uh) Doggy?

2009-04-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Meet "Freedom Tallon-Lesser"!! She is Grannie Annie & Grumpa Alan's new doggy! So... family history buffs... that would make her our little Gypsy's new Grand-doggy... right? Or is it Grandma doggy? How do you say that? LOL Anyway, I wanted to share with all of you the beautiful dog that Mom & Alan rescued from the pound. She is a staff mix... and probably too short haired to spend much time outside in the winter in upstate New York! Maybe they should move to Nevada? (Just thinking out loud- could happen!)

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-23T00:26:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhh, Spring Break!

2009-04-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

So, we took the week off of 'school'... or did we?

The Kids decided to paint a sticks to create a collection of "light sabers." Then, they battled! (Hmmm... they used their imaginations... and love of art & Star Wars to CREATE?!?!) They had so much FUN!

The kids have also been having fun playing with their new puppy all week... and teaching her new things... like how to stay in the yard! We've all had fun with Gypsy! We talked a lot about how important it was to be consistant in training the new pup. We trained her together so that she would learn to take commands from them... and they would learn to give the commands. The boys have never had a small puppy before! So, we also taught them about how their puppy differs from their older dog... she needs learn a routine and she needs to learn trust and she needs to learn her name and all the commands. She needs to learn her boundaries and WE need to teach them! She's a pretty smart dog and she is catching on quick! (So they learned about their new pup and how to care for her...they also learned responsibility and (to a degree) leadership... hmmmmm?!)

We have slowly but surely been getting her introduced to Buddy... they get along... mostly... LOL At first Gypsy was scared of Buddy, but now she's a brave little pup! She even tries to wrestle him and she has that little "playful puppy" bark that she gives him!

The kids also helped each other perfect singing the song they are working on! (Teamwork & Music on BREAK?!?!)

I'm so glad I homeschool my children... they still enjoy the simple pleasures in life and can entertain themselves with these. I never once have heard "I'm bored." They never sit around with no idea what to do ... tired of their video games and movies (they have limited tv, limited computer time & no XBox! I know, I'm cruel... whatever!)

We went to the nursery this week & the kids picked out flowers... at home they picked out where to plant them and PLANTED them... for fun, not profit... for the joy of flowers! We talked about the benefits of plants... how they offer shade and food and protection from the wind. They can help with energy costs, they clean the air and beautify the land. They are sometimes medicinal... or they can repel certain insects. We read about which plants grow well together... and which ones don't... we learned about the botanical names of our trees & bushes and discussed how those names can help you find out if two plants are related. We bought and planted veggie plants & a nut tree too! We planted some seeds too. We enjoyed the sunshine and each other's company. (Botany? Biology? Ecology? ON BREAK!?!?)

We went to a friend's birthday party where the kids played with the new puppy and had a water balloon fight and treasure hunt... ok, so maybe we're a little old fashioned at heart. They made some new friends and helped the hostess clean up. (Socialization on BREAK!?!?)

All I can say is we take pleasure in the simple things... and I love that we've learned that every moment can be a teaching moment... and the subject is LIFE!

Have a happy day! Enjoy!

Facebook-in'

2009-04-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

OK, so my mom is on Facebook... and my cousin... my half-brothers & one of my half sisters... likely other cousins too... my Gramma-in-law (the kids' G-G-Ma) (LOL), relatives of Dwight's who are now my relatives... friends from back east... friends from here... people who used to live here and now live back east... people who moved north... people whom I do business with and have never hung out with, not once, but who want to be my "friend" on Facebook... people who never email me or comment on my blog... all present and accounted for and writing on my wall at Facebook!! Geez!! Is that what it takes? So, now I'm on Facebook... and we shall see who joins me there. I guess it could be fun... but I can see how it could lead to an unproductive afternoon! Anyway, visit me at Facebook if you like... I'm too busy to get a different profile photo so I am using the same one from here...suffer through it, I have to! LOL I'll get a new one someday. There should be different pictures. OK, I'm off to update my resume.
Veronica Sproul's Profile

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A New Addition to Our Family

2009-04-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

GYPSY

OK, so we have a new member of our happy little family... I guess I need to change that picture at the bottom of my blog! LOL Her name is Gypsy and I was suckered into bringing her home by some cute little girl who said her dog had 8 puppies and her family couldn't keep them and the pound wouldn't take them and she wasn't sure what would happen to them! ARGH! I hate when cute little girls say that while they are holding cute little puppies!

OK, so as you can see, the boys are very upset with me for bringing home this little fur ball... and Dwight is equally upset but he won't let me take pictures of how upset he is.... all I can say is he can't stand the dog and he picks her up in the air and wiggles her belly back and forth telling her she's so cute... it's some new form of animal cruelty and that's why he won't let me get a picture, I think.
She was kind of shy the first day.

(We got her on Easter Eve) She was nervous to eat when anyone was too near and she took a morsel from the dish and then backed away to eat it. She had her tail between her legs and she didn't know what to make of the house... but she has made herself right at home... she has a little box to sleep in until she is a little older and we will get her a pet bed like Buddy's... oh... Buddy... yeah, Gypsy is scared of him but he seems receptive to her... but she will climb on top of your head to get away from him! She seems to want to get to know Zen (our cat) who wants exactly NOTHING(!!) to do with her. She is a lab mixed with retriever, so good for kids, pretty smart... nearly house trained already and only here since Saturday afternoon (2 days). She whines to go out and doesn't have an accident if you let her out right away. She knows where her bowl is and her bed... and where to go to escape from the kids' overwhelming affection! I swore she was dark brown with a little black, but she may end up being only black when her puppy fur is gone... if you look at the pictures you can see that the top of her head and her back is dark brown (like dark chocolate) but her belly and face are black... she looks black in the sun but she looks brown in the house... it's weird... and cool. I guess it's ok if she turns out to be a black lab... but I really wanted her to be dark brown. LOL Anyway, she's great... and she loves it outside... and if nothing else, she is an incentive to get the gates up!

HAPPY EASTER!

2009-04-11T11:21:00.001-07:00

I love Easter! I always have... it's so , mellow and laid back compared to other holidays. There's reflection and family togetherness; it's so special. There are no manic shopping trips searching for the perfect gift... no huge party to plan... no elaborate dinner that takes days to eat...no giant crowd to feed... no costumes... Nothing to distract you from the day... It's just Easter...the focus is Christ... Our Lord and Savior... and the miracle of His Resurrection... and of course, The Atonement... the decorations are simple and springy and fresh... the kids get dressed in beautiful Sunday clothes... Easter (unlike some other holidays) is always on a Sunday... so to me, that makes it easier to focus on the REAL reason for the holiday... and I always reflect on how I will one day be reunited with the ones I love who have passed on before me. That doesn't mean it's all solemn and somber... there's holiday fun too... there's hunting for eggs and the Easter basket and a yummy ham dinner... coloring Easter eggs. Holiday fun, to me represents the JOY I have for the Savior's love. And when I grew up there was Easter pie to make (sausage pie)... my family now doesn't eat Easter pie... DJ's allergic to the cheese, Ronnie say's it's too spicy & Dwight can take it or leave it... I would make it for myself but it is a lot of effort and money for me to consume WAAAAAAAY too many calories on my own! Anyway, I wanted to wish you all a Happy Easter and may you feel the Savior's love for you. You are blessed and you are a blessing to me. Enjoy the picture show of our egg coloring!

DJ's Bag to Save the Planet

2009-04-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

This is the bag that DJ designed... the kids are getting so good with the computer! Here's the link to the shopping bag that DJ created. You can vote once per day per design, so vote everyday until May 15th! Thanks!

http://www.designareusablebag.com/vote-for-designs/bag.aspx?BagId=7811&banner=smiths

Our Bag Could Help Save the Planet!

2009-04-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

A local grocery store (Smith's) is having a "design a bag" contest where you can design a reuseable bag and submit your design. Once your design is submitted, you, your friends and family and anybody who sees and likes your bag can vote on it to win... you can also have your design uplaoded and purchase the bag you designed. Well, I thought it would be fun so Ronnie and I sat down and designed the bag you see here. DJ & I will sit down and design another bag later which I will post on the blog. Please take a minute to vote for our bags to win! You can vote once each day until May 15th! Here's the link to use for the design you see here! Thanks!

http://www.designareusablebag.com/vote-for-designs/bag.aspx?BagId=7588&banner=smiths

One Month at a Time

2009-04-06T23:49:00.001-07:00

OK, so when we went to Vegas, it was conveniently the last day of March. Good news! We have been talking a lot of about eating better and getting more exercise so we can be healthy. So, DJ protests that we are in Vegas and now we will be forced to eat fast food. He says, "I don't want to eat junk!" I told him I was not going to stop someplace that was going to cost $50 for lunch and so we were going to eat fast food. He said, "OK, but after this, I don't want any more junk!" I agreed to one full month with no fast food since the very next day would be the first of the month. We shall take it one month at a time. We made a pact as a family to not eat fast food for the entire month of April... so far, so good. We have been making sandwiches to take with us, Smith's had a sale so we bought 15 pounds of assorted apples and another 10 pounds of oranges and we are trying to eat healthy all month. If I don't lose any weight this month I am going to cry. LOL By the way, I should have gotten us a $50 sit down lunch because Fatburger cost us $33 and Ronnie was still hungry when we left there! (SIGH)

Calico Basin... Where It All Began...Sort Of

2009-04-06T22:41:00.001-07:00

Well we had to make a trip to Vegas to get the underlayment for our wood flooring and a trip to Vegas generally has to be justified by saving more than what we spend in gas to get there for us.

So... the underlayment was going to save us about $30-40 over buying it in Pahrump... I decided we need to stop at the International Market... I buy Olive Oil there. A gallon of EVOO is $12.99 versus the $22-35 it is in Pahrump (WOO HOO!) Not to mention I can get things there that I can't even BUY in Pahrump... we decide to stop at the Dollar Store which saves me quite a bit... Have you been there? The Dollar Store at Spring Mtn. & Rainbow? I can get 9lbs of red potatoes for $3... I get 3 bell peppers, either red, green or orange for 99 cents... I get a 1lb bag of plums for 99 cents... they have a bag of lemons... you got it 99 cents! There are about 10 lemons in that bag! A 3 pound bag of white onions... 99 cents. OK, so you get the picture... we more than made up the gas money on this trip... not to mention I paid a bill that I usually pay by phone and spend $5 to pay check by phone. So, the icing on the cake for that day? Dwight says, "let's go to Calico Basin on our way out of town." (!!!!)

Ahhhhh, Calico Basin... when Dwight and I were dating we spent no less than 3 days a week at Calico Basin rock climbing and hiking! The place is so special to us... that's where we fell in love... or at least where we admitted it. When we would climb he would give me a hand up... and it was special. If you've never rock climbed, then you really can only imagine the trust you have to have for your climbing partner. It sure is a way to build trust. It is a place that you have to have faith sometimes... and we knew those hills like the back of our hands! We used to go there for "the short climb" when our time was being rationed and it would only take us 45 minutes to take the summit. A friend once told us we climbed like goats and though she felt she was in better shape than us, she couldn't keep up. We used to sit at the top and look out over Red Rock...or to the other side, Vegas... and just sit. It snowed on us at least once... April 1997. That was incredible! We were in shorts because we were climbing & working up a sweat!

It was a chilly day on 3/31/09, the kids were with us and we were all so excited to hit the hills. We knew that the state (BLM) had done some work over there at Calico Basin... they had moved the parking lot further down the hill, they built a board walk up to the meadow... but what we saw actually saddened us. The board walk circles the entire meadow and there were signs all over forbidding us to step a toe onto the grass where we once picnicked as daters... and on the far side A FENCE!! We used to pull right up to the lot near the spring, race across the grassy meadow and hit the hills.

Two words... rock freckles... that's what we call them... apparently these spots on the rocks are iron deposits and they are fragile. Where the iron begins to deposit it continues to accumulate and it is fragile. (FRAGILE?? It's IRON fused to ROCK!) Anyway, you can still hike here, you can even still hit the hill... the trail now begins down by the lower parking lot... you cannot cross the meadow, or picnic there. It's a wetland and needs to be preserved. Children will no longer chase lizards through that grass. Strangers used to get together for an impromptu game of softball or soccer. Those days are gone. They cannot get to the spring rushing forth from the rock and see the tadpoles. It is sad to me that we have to put up fences and signs because people can't just be respectful without being told to be. The Calico Basin we knew is no more than a memory.

A Few More Birthday Pictures

2009-03-29T23:55:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR DJ...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

HE'S TEN!! I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT! I REMEMBER WHEN HIS WHOLE BODY WASN'T MUCH BIGGER THAN HIS HEAD IS NOW! LOL

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DJ!

2009-03-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

DJ's 10!!!!!! (Omigosh! DJ's 10!!!)

2009-03-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I can hardly believe that DJ is turning 10 tomorrow! Some people are shocked when their children hit a certain age because it means that THEY have hit a certain age... for me, I could care less how old I am, honestly. I'm not "old" because I don't feel old. But I can't believe how much time has passed so fast... too fast. Has it really been 10 years? Wow! I guess it has.

I am proud to look upon my boys and see how they have grown... they are so smart and so independent. They each have a blossoming testimony that I had the blessing of helping them find. They each have such interests and plans!

But I'm a little sad too... did I do all I could so far? Enjoy them as much as I could? Do I remember enough? Have enough pictures?

This journey with DJ started more than 10 years ago. I remember when he was in my belly... I read him Dr. Seuss books and sang to him. I remember the Christmas that I was pregnant with him and we lived in a little apartment in Las Vegas. I wore a red shirt, tied a ribbon around my giant belly and took pictures. We sent them out with Christmas cards and called them "DJ's first Christmas Picture"... we have ones of Ronnie too... and DJ is next to my giant belly... their first Christmas picture together! I remember like it was yesterday when DJ got his first tooth... and when he lost his first tooth... and how Grannie spoke to the tooth fairy and DJ got a fortune for that tooth! (it's nice when Grannie visits!) I remember when he went to Sunbeams! I remember taking him to the park to learn to ride a bike where there was soft grass to land on. I remember his first day in Cubscouts... all like it just happened! And there is so much in between!!

So, now my boy is ten... well, in 26 hours he will be... lets not rush things. I am gushing with emotion... I told him that ten was special, but the years before were special too... you are a one digit age for only 9 years... then you turn 10 and you are a two digit age for the rest of your life unless you turn 100! He laughed... he's still glad to be turning 10. It's a big milestone for him... he's proud to have made it!

We had a small party today...our friends Tim & Cris came out from Vegas. DJ got to pick whatever we did... so we went to Sandbaggers Indoor Mini-golf & when we got home we made homemade pizza... I bought his favorite toppings... we watched Indianna Jones (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and had cake and root beer. Tim & Cris will spend the night so it all ends in a great time sleepover. I wonder if anyone will sleep!

Oh, and while the cake came out good... the icing was another story. I tried one of those "bags" of colored frosting to make writing on the cake & decorating it simple... not so simple... I should have done it the old fashioned way! LOL I was squeezing it and the icing was pretty durned thick... I was not having an easy time getting the decorating frosting through the decorating tips!! So... naturally... my nail went through the bag! Frosting had NO PROBLEM pouring out of that hole... so I made frosting "streamers" all over the cake! Yummy... and messy... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DJ!

Nobody Guessed Right Yet

2009-03-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

Nobody's guess is right yet... but Kristi's guess is closest... though I won't say WHICH of her guesses is the closest! LOL Keep guessing... I'll let you know what it is soon. (OOOOOOOOh, SUSPENSE!)

Guess What THIS Is!

2009-03-26T22:27:00.000-07:00

Without the Pan it looks like this... and feels like igneous rock (lava rock).

It's edible, as demonstrated by Bob... hey, Bob... we haven't heard from you today... it WAS edible, right?

This is what it looked like in the pan... it started out... as many things do... as a good idea... it took 45 minutes to chisel it out of the pan...

Oh, in this picture, the pan is tilted up and there is a liquid that appears to be UNDER the stuff that will pour THROUGH it ... see the puddle? Right where the light shines... yeah, that's liquid, not spot light.

In this last picture, the pan is flat. THIS shine is all spot light.

If you would like to guess what it is, leave your guess in the comments. I will reveal all after I get some guesses. LOL

Oh, and, uh... Bob... call us. Thanks!

About Scouts

2009-03-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

WOW! The kids are growing up so fast! I can't believe that we went to our Pack Meeting tonight and DJ graduated from Bear to Webelo! He will be 10 on Sunday. It seems like only yesterday it was his first day of scouts and he had just turned 8... the day before that he was learning to walk! (Small sob in my throat)

Ronnie is a Wolf this year... and today he was the caller in the flag ceremony... Life really is bitter-sweet... it really is. I could not have been more proud of him... he was so reverent during the flag ceremony... he takes that job very seriously and acts with total respect and dignity while caring for Our Flag. He knows all of the rules regarding the flag and follows them to the letter.

Anyway, this month DJ & Ronnie both earned the Mathematics belt loop and DJ also earned a Music belt loop. Ronnie is going to earn a Bicycling belt loop and both boys are going to earn the Computer belt loop for next month...

OH... and they got their Pine Wood Derby cars tonight! Pinewood Derby will be April 30th. The boys are excited to make their cars. Their Dad will help them a little, but they have to do it mostly on their own. They each made a car last year, but this year Ronnie is a real SCOUT! Well, he was a scout last year because we were doing the Tiger scout book, but he wasn't in the scouting program at the church since they start at 8 years old. So, needless to say, there is a special excitement about the derby this year... it's the first year these two brothers will be officially entered together... for the same reason, there is a special excitement about scout camp this year too.

Anyway, DJ has a big road ahead of him... the church scout program is slightly different from the BSA program. The church has the boys in scouts at 8 years old and they are only Webelos for 1 year... that Webelos book is THICK! It's generally a 2 year book and these kids have to pass it all off in one year... they can do it. They do do it!

We work on scouts a lot as an integrated part of their schooling. I mean, why wouldn't you? I want the boys to learn about computers... why not earn the belt loop? Same with mathematics, astronomy, geology, geography... anything! There are so many things that you can set a goal for and reach it in Scouting... and the boys like it because it's just "scouting"... it's a break from "school." To me, the difference is just a word... they learn & they enjoy it.

Each of the boys has a goal to make Eagle. I think that is a great goal. You would be surprized how much that will benefit them later in life. Not even just the dedication that it takes and the values they will reinforce through the Scouting program, but even college entrants paperwork and (later on) resumes look good with that Eagle on them! It's a perk... nobody makes Eagle because it looks good on a resume... that's why it looks good... it points to certain character traits that are desireable in a young man when they make Eagle Scout. I want my boys to be that kind of young man.

So My Boys Want to Blog

2009-03-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so now I'm super cool (as if I ever wasn't) because I blog. Even my boys notice how cool I am... they are super excited about the blog and they want to learn how to blog and so I'm going to teach them everything! I teach them how to open a blog, we go over internet safety... I tell them their blog has to be private so only the people we invite can view it or leave them comments. I help them set up their e-mail account, their blog, teach them how to upload photos and move stuff around. I show them where to get designs for backgrounds and I promise to show them how to make a video and a slide show and we will get their blog up and running "This is awesome!" I think to myself, "my boys and I are really connecting and they are growing up and we are sharing." It gave me SUCH a good feeling. Then we get to the name of the blog and the description of the blog and I let them pick eveything... so they name their blog: Fort Sproul and the description says :"Just Tryin' to Be Like Dad" ...
Like who? Like DAD? Ok, I want my sons to look up to their father... but when's the last time he blogged? *sigh* It's not a competition... I guess. LOL *rolls eyes and goes back to blogging*

Baby Oil Rocks!

2009-03-24T20:02:00.001-07:00

OK, so maybe not for the reasons you can think of, (moisturizing after the shower, of course) but I still think it's pretty darned great! AND some of you may not even know about this... so, I'm going to share it! I learned about using baby oil to polish my stainless steel sink a while back from a friend. Her sink was always so shiny and clean looking and I asked her what she used... I had tried many commercial stainless steel cleaners and my sink still never looked like that... I was sure she would tell me she just never washed dishes in it or that she ordered some fancy expensive product from Europe or something like that... but, no, she said "baby oil!" The next day I ran right out and got a bottle for a DOLLAR at Family Dollar and I never wasted five bucks on stainless steel polish that doesn't work ever again! I always have a bottle of baby oil under my kitchen sink!
So Anyway, My friend Marcy and I sometimes clean up rentals and even if they are clean when the tenant moves out, they are never squeaky clean. The windows always need cleaning, appliances, there is always hard water build up etc. So, even a clean house needs to be cleaned all over... it's like a hotel room. So anyway, we cleaned this house last week and the people who lived there were smokers... and maybe not dusters... not to put anyone down... but there was a dusty film on every square inch of that house. We cleaned and cleaned... and it's an older house so it has wood paneling and wood laminate cabinets and wood laminate doorway moulding and all. Well, after it was cleaned... it really needed another going over. There was just so much dust that after everything was cleaned with cleaner and water, there was still a little film on everything... even though everything got rinsed with clean water after the soapy water. So, today we go back and try to remedy the problem... we brought glass cleaner, furniture polish, magic erasers, baby oil & lots of rags. We started with the clean water again... then we went to the polishes... the furniture polish did a pretty good job... but I started in the kitchen with the baby oil.

I knew it would do a good job on the sink... then I took the rag and did the counter top with it... I really thought I would have to clean it again after that, but it polished it to a shine (see behind me in the picture). I ran in to the master bathroom where Marcy was trying to get the film from the tub with a magic eraser and said to her, "Check this out!" and I did the bathroom countertop & sinks. "WOW," she said, "let's try the tub!" A few squirts and wipes and the tub was gleaming! "I have to do the other bathroom now!" I yelled and went running through the house... the other bathroom then gleamed! I said, "Hey, I almost want to keep cleaning now!" I used that baby oil soaked rag all over that place!! On the wood laminate cabinets, on the door frames, on the window tracks, screen door, everywhere!! I even used it on the linoleum by the front door that was so old and scuffed it wouldn't shine... and guess what, it shines!! We were amazed!! Then as we were leaving I told Marcy that for the first time my hands weren't screaming in pain! They were so soft from the baby oil instead of dry and irritated from rubber gloves and cleaner! I told Marcy I'm going to put baby oil under all my sinks, not just my kitchen sink!! Yeah baby oil! LOL

Offensive Countertops

2009-03-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

OK, so my kitchen counter tops are nothing short of offensive! Seriously, that's the word I would choose... OFFENSIVE! So, why embarrass myself by posting them here for the world to see? Because that is about to change and I am SO EXCITED!!

Let me first say that I love our "home" but our "house" leaves a few things to be desired... it has been a work in progress since we moved in...TEN YEARS AGO!
When we first moved in we had brand new carpeting and brand new linoleum floors in the kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms. It was nice... newly painted... but we still considered that there were some things to fix. I was pregnant...very pregnant...and we were in no hurry to fix up anything but the nursery... which looked fantastic, but rarely slept our little bundle of joy... but that's a WHOLE other story! Anyway, we got the nursery fixed up, moved our things in, and TA-DA a house becomes a home. Three days later we cooked and ate turkey that had mostly thawed in our freezer and had to spring for a new fridge! (ARGH!!)

Well, the first thing I thought we would do was paint the kitchen because mauve and peach are NOT complimentary colors no matter WHAT they tell you in design school... yes, my kitchen was mauve and peach... HORRENDOUS and with the offensive countertops... which were less offensive then but not by much. Next I thought we could replace all the base board moulding. It wasn't ugly, it just wasn't THERE!! And let me ask this: who puts down new carpet and linoleum with out putting in baseboard moulding? I'll tell you who... the guy who was hired by the guy who sold us our house! So we needed paint and baseboards and we're ok to start there...

Until the first rain storm when we found out we needed a roof and some new windows and ...BY THE WAY... the proper way to install a window is NOT to screw it to the outside of the house and put window frame moulding around it! (again ARGH!)

So, have you ever felt like everything going on in your life is ALWAYS in phase one? OK... we get the above problems remedied and the linoleum in the kitchen begins to separate at the seams and roll up right in the middle of the kitchen!! It's only about 4 months after we move in and the guy who put the floor down even agrees that that should not be happening! He promises to "send a guy to fix it" and he moves away before we ever hear another word about it... so first we cut and patch it and later we go get some linoleum and I spend three days scraping up the rolled linoleum from the kitchen and laundry room, sanding the floor and installing "sticky tile" linoleum which looked really good for a couple of years. I cut out and replaced a cracked tile here and there... it was working... until recently...

I had plans to replace our kitchen floor late last spring with the THIRD batch of linoleum since we moved in when dear husband Dwight decides he will put in a nice new wood laminate floor for me!! (YEAH!!!) I so love my wood laminate floor (and my husband)!! But doesn't it make my counters and cabinets look YUCKY?!?!?! (HEAVY SIGH)... and don't even get me started on how OLD the carpet looks next to this beautiful French Oak wood laminate floor! It's so nice and so easy to care for and so pretty when I polish it with the rag mop... (SIGH).

So, we do what normal people do, we declare war on the rest of the house! First we cut a much needed hole in the living room wall to put in a coat closet and make our house a true three bedroom instead of a fake one:

Then we decide that we must save up to be able to rip out all that carpeting (except the bedrooms) to install wood laminate in the rest of the house! Well, recently my mom gave us a very generous gift and we finally went and bought our laminate!
They were having a sale at Home Depot! It was less expensive than the stuff we had been hoping to buy from Lumber Liquidators and since we did not have to drive to Vegas to get it we saved a bundle in gas too!! I am so happy that we are getting this project started!

AND... We had some money left over too... so what did we buy YOU GOT IT! NEW COUNTER TOPS! (YEAH!) Thanks Mom!! we couldn't have done it without you!! Stay tuned for the updates on how the house looks...

Uh-oh, do you think the new floor & counters will make the cabinets look cruddy?

OF COURSE THEY WILL!! I guess I know what we'll be doing next!

SIDE BAR: The Outside of the house is not exempt from our little "fix it" projects. Can you guess what the following is a picture of?

Maybe it will be our new Barbecue Cabana! STAY TUNED...

HAPPY SPRING!

2009-03-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Duck Pond in Early Spring!

2009-03-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Calvada Duck Pond. We haven't been there in quite a while and so we went with our good friends Kalen & Marcy. It was a blast!DJ, Ronnie & Kalen fed the ducks and fish and ran screaming from the geese... the geese really weren't happy about the screaming... so they ran honking from the kids! It was pretty comical!

It was such a pleasant day! The weather was pure springtime! We went through 4 loaves of bread and 3 rolls of film... well... 2 1/2 rolls of film.

Marcy mentioned that she thought Home Depot should go into that park and do a community project... It really could use some nice benches and picnic tables... and some of the grass needs to be replanted. I guess the geese and ducks are pretty hard on the grass. (I will say, the park was cleaner than the last time I had been there... and cleaner than Honeysuckle or Petrack parks!)

We do love the bridge though... it's the coolest spot to watch the fish jump up and get the bread!
I told the kids that we would come back in a month or so and there may be ducklings!! We love the ducklings too! What else is there? Turtles!! (YEAH!) Very green water! (EWW!) Big trees for climbing! (YEAH!) and sometimes a snake! (YIKES!)

Valley of Fire!

2009-03-19T00:18:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Valley of Fire Day Trip

2009-03-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have lived here since 1994 and have never been to the Valley of Fire! I have been to Lake Mead near the east entrance, to Moapa Tribal Enterprises at the west entrance, to Mesquite to the north of it and Vegas to the south of it and yet... this is the first time I have ever been to Valley of Fire... and now it is on my list of favorite places to be!

So, how did we decide to go to the Valley of Fire? I got an e-mail from Cap'n Dave Einstein (real name) who is a paleontologist/dinosaur hunter. I get his e-mail updates and he is usually taking part in some dig that is open to the public in southern Utah or something... this time his email said he was giving a lecture called "The dinosaurs of the Valley of Fire". It was a half hour lecture about all the cool fossils that have been found in the Valley of Fire!! The kids were instantly excited when we told them what we were doing and a phone call, and e-mail and a couple of ham sandwiches later we were off! (welll, it wasn't quite that fast... but it was quick) We invited our good friends the Lauders and we all caravaned up there. We went to the lecture... very cool and Cap'n Dave had a bunch of great pictures and cool skulls and teeth to show us all. Not to mention all the great info he gave us including where we could see some fossilized dinosaur tracks which we got some great pictures of!! He also told us that there were 83 steps leading up to the famed Atlatl Rock.

After the lecture we went to Mouse's Tank... so named because of the 1920's gangster who fled into the desert to avoid the law and he holed up near this natural reservoir! The tank is a spot where the rain will collect and can remain for months. We took the half mile hike down to see the murky water... and the walk was nothing less than amazing with all the petroglyphs lining the canyon walls! Beautiful!! Such an amazing site! We took many pictures.

The rocks at Valley of Fire are just about the most red rocks I have ever seen. The red is such a deep color it's almost unbelievable!

We drove all the way to the "end of the trail" at White Domes and then headed back... as is they way with any of these fabulous parks... one day just isn't enough. On our way back out of the park we stopped at the famous Atlatl Rock, climbed the steps, and saw the most amazing petroglyphs alongside the dinosaur tracks. To be truthful, the pictures I took of the tracks were better that the ones that Cap'n Dave showed!

We also stopped at the Beehives... they are giant rock formations that look like beehives and we made up stories that they were actually fossilized beehives that gigantic bees used to live in...CREEPY! I think I saw that movie when I was a kid! It was a wonderful day!!

Happy St. Pat's Day!

2009-03-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Red Rock Adventure

2009-03-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

Well, when Grannie & Grumpa came for their visit to Las Vegas... for the wedding and all, we took a day and toured Red Rock Canyon. I can't believe I moved to Nevada in 1994 and Grumpa and Auntie Phyllis had never been to Red Rock while visiting! When I lived in Las Vegas I went to red Rock nearly three times a week to hike and climb!

Well, we all went for a little hike, took in the beauty of Red Rock, had a light climb... it was a very nice day. We oooohed and aaaaahhhed our way around. Dwight and the kids and I can never get enough red rocks... we usually jump at the chance to go anywhere there are red rocks... we just love the way the desert touches us. (As long as we can shower afterwards. LOL) Hiking and climbing are definitely two of our most favorite things!

The Wedding of the Century!

2009-03-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it all happened so fast... Grannie Annie & Grumpa Alan tied the knot! We were all stunned at the announcement! Some exclaimed, "But it's only been seventeen short years! Why rush things?" Okay... so maybe that's not EXACTLY the way it happened.

After seventeen looooonnnnnng years... most of which we all approved of each other... Alan Lesser & AnnMarie Tallon (aka Grumpa & Grannie) tied the knot at A Special Memory Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas... on Friday February 13th, 2009! AND... in true Friday the 13th fashion, there were a few hiccups...
The limo was a half hour late; the chapel had told him that the bride and groom would be at the Marriot in Las Vegas... there are 9 of them... and he was given the wrong cell phone number to contact the groom! Then the line at the marriage license bureau was 45 minutes to an hour long (which would have made them over a half hour late to their own wedding!) And the very worst thing of all... once safely in the limo grannie noticed that DJ was wearing BLACK socks with his white tux!!!

I thought she would cry right then and there, but we all reassured her that no-one would notice... except cousin Mary (who was nice enough to take pictures of the offending socks).

All in all it was a beautiful day, the ceremony was beautiful, the reception at Sergios was nice after the wedding was all out of the way. The food was spectacular and OMIGOSH!!! Where did they ever get a black wedding cake?? It was divine!

Who was there? well, The Vada Kin, Auntie Phyllis, GGMa & GGPa, Cousin Bobby & Cousin Mary (who was going to sing to the happy couple but I think she forgot), and Big Al & his lovely wife Jean.

Just Getting Started

2009-03-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have read some cool blogs. I suppose I know some interesting people. Their lives seem so fascinating here online. I am hoping that my blog can do for my family what their blog does for their family... immortalizes them and makes them seem so interesting that you just want to BE them... and most of all, it makes them IMPORTANT... OOOOOOoooohhhh; the magical blog!

Alright, so, I'm kidding around. Seriously, I don't know why I began this blog other than our life speeds by at... well, at the speed of life and we need some place where people can keep up with us. They can't always catch us on the phone... with the family so spread out, the time zones being what they are and everybody being involved in everything; WHO has time to call? If I am thinking I have the time to get on the phone just to have a little chat, it's usually at an hour that most people would hang up on me! I love snail mail... I likely send more snail mail than anyone I know. It keeps us in touch... and isn't that what it's all about? That really is it in a nutshell. This blog will help me be better with my journaling and keep all my family and friends up to the moment in our lives! Gone are the days when I will have to ask, "Didn't I tell you...?" NO! I will simply send you a link to my blog and you will get updates as fast as I can download photos... which, by the way, varies from day to day. Ahhhhh, life in the semi-rural town.

So, I guess, sit back, enjoy and as I get this figured out... well... we will learn together.