One Crazy Household

What I Got Done

2012-02-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

First Week of January:

Upstairs bathroom: shelves removed, primed and painted. Room Done. Check.

Allison's room gutted of junk.

Bedroom: shelf removed and hole in wall from security system patched.

Jacob's room: completely gutted. Primed and painted. Room Done. Check.

1/9 LaMon came over and patched up and painted woodpecker holes. Octagon window molding taken down. Took some thrift store items.

Anne came over and helped clean out Isaac's room some.

I Painted lots of brown trim. Scraped and primed back door frame.

Dinner from the LaClaire's.

1/10 LaMon cut brick molding and nailed up frame for octagon window. Filled the rest of the woodpecker holes. Caulked some areas. Took more stuff for the thrift store.

I Painted two coats on back patio door. Painted trim on front door and around garage door.

Went to Menards and bought more paint brushes and primer. Bought one 16' mason wood siding to fix warped board at the back of the house; cut to 10' and 6' pieces. Jacob and Isaac painted the board, but didn't dry sufficiently so they're in the basement drying.

Jacob and Isaac helped start a fire and burned up the the majority of brush and sticks in the backyard that have been building up for years.
1/11 Packed in the living room and tidied food storage under the stairs.
1/12 Worked in living room more, worked in bedroom.

1/13 Finished cleaning out bedroom.
1/14 Finished brown paper that covers the infamous MN mural, and fixed wall in entry way.
1/16 Prepped Family room for paint; primed green.
1/17 Cleaned out hallway, patched holes.
1/18 Cleaned out some of hutch.
Prepped and painted hallway.
1/19 Busy day. No time for house stuff.
1/20 Cleaned wall in Allison's room with Magic Erasers. Love those.
Packed up toys.
Scraped ceiling in bathroom downstairs, sprayed popcorn on, puttied nail holes.
1/21 Two coats primer in bathroom
1/22 Two coats paint in bathroom
(Yes, I know it was a Sunday. I needed to get the tape off asap; Ox. Mire.)
1/23 cleaned out downstairs bathroom cupboards.
Started to pack in office.
Put up new shower curtain. Looks great!
1/24 Packed up lots of kitchen and cleaned.
1/25 Filled holes in kitchen and bedroom. Touch up paint in Allison's room and kitchen. Took down toaster oven.
Justin: took down tv in bedroom. Working on door jams.
1/26 Painted holes in bedroom. Cleaned out laundry room. Took picture of laundry room(!!)
Cleaned freezer - Jacob did fridge the other day.
1/27-1/29 Photographed most of the house! Yay!
1/30 Packed half bathroom hallway closet. Cleaned kitchen. Worked on taxes a couple hours.

More house pictures

2012-02-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

Notice our new couch (the one with gum in it, thanks to a sleeping Ammon).

Old office, now Jacob's room. Massive transformation.

Beautiful glass door Justin picked out.
And the curtains. Sniff.

I love how this room turned out. Too bad we have to leave it only just shy of a year's completion.

I'm so sad to leave my garden. So sad. My newly planted fruit trees, blueberry bushes. Established strawberry patch and raspberry bushes. Not to mention my perennials. But now, maybe I'll be able to get some of these things for FREE from my daddy!

This has been a ~~good~~ GREAT house for our family.

GI Joe

2012-02-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

A past co-worker posted this of Justin on Facebook awhile back and I ran across it again. I think it needs to be cataloged in our family history.

He is clean shaven now and looks like a wee little boy with a double chin. He sported this beard about three months. He's coming home this weekend. Love him.

Party for my Girl

2012-02-04T13:40:00.000-08:00

I'm letting all four kids have one last birthday party with their friends in Minnesota.

I let Allison invite five friends (Grace was sick), so there were only four. Allison was in charge of the games.

Right now, they're playing "button button."

We went to McDonald's for ice cream.

It amazed me how long they could "play" with their cones. All kinds of games ensued.

Randomeness Dec-Jan

2012-02-01T03:49:00.000-08:00

12/1 I love doing these random posts.

We call them "meat sandwiches" in our house. Not to confuse them with the jam variety.

Getting excited for a holiday party tomorrow night.

I forgot how light it is at night when it snows. It seems magical.

Bought a new teflon pan and LOVE it! Can you hear my singing? Love it!!

The Cosby Show is funny.

Justin went to dinner tonight with his boss. We had tortilla pizzas/tortilla's with cheese and beans. Fancy.

I've never seen Casablanca.

12/2 I learned the first section of the Batman theme song to sing to Ammon when he wears a Batman shirt.
Or Batman undies.

Jacob and Isaac almost came to blows this morning. No school days here are loud and crazy.

Quote from Downton Abby, "No one hits the bulls eye with the first arrow."

"What would be the point of living if life didn't change us."

12/4 You're not going to believe this one...we left Ammon in the van asleep after church.

For 30 minutes. In 25 degree weather.

We sat down to dinner and I asked where Ammon was, and no one knew. Then Allison piped up that he fell asleep on the way home from church.

He was holding a soccer ball hunched over and toasty warm.
12/5 Justin and I bought a new couch at Ikea today. It was perfect.
At least the size is. Not sure on the comfort.
Allison cried herself to sleep because she is going to miss our old couch.
The one with holes wearing through the fabric and wires that poke you in your bum.
12/12 Phew! We're safe!
Found out early about ward boundary changes, and we're still in Shoreview ward.
I know there are lots of people who read my blog and never leave comments.
Had a fun day with the family yesterday decorating a gingerbread house, singing carols,
driving around and looking at lights...and even driving through a live nativity with a real camel!
12/14 I think I like Minnesota much more than I thought I did.
Made Oreo truffles tonight with Allison and Ammon.
12/18 Ammon asked if "hut" was a number.
12/19 Found on the 16th that our family is moving to Utah.
Justin had a wisdom tooth pulled today by a great friend, Nate.
He now has like, the worst breath ever. And he isn't in any pain.
I have about 25 pairs of shoes ready to leave the house.
12/22 I woke up to take Jacob to seminary and no glasses on my night stand. After crawling around looking for them all I kept thinking to myself, "I need my glasses. Man I can't see without my glasses; why don't I put on my glasses to look for them." Totally duh moment for me. Finally had to put in my contacts.
Made sugar cookies yesterday. Mmmmm. I haven't made them in at least a year. And now I remember why. It is SO much work, from beginning to end. But, oh so yummy.
Today is our Christmas Eve. We leave for Oklahoma on Saturday.
I don't know how I'm going to do all of this alone with Justin in Utah for 6 months.
Justin brought home Dominos pizza. It's a family tradition to eat pizza on Christmas Eve.
Cookies decorated for Santa. We have his name spelled out in cookies. (Alphabet cutters).
Sold our Thomas the Tank Engine toys today on Craigslist. Wahoo! Less toys to move.
Also sold a bunch at Once Upon a Child.
12/23 It's snowing on our Christmas day! Miracle!
There has been no snow on the ground.
12/29 In Oklahoma for 5 days now. I am sick. Sore throat and achy body.
Beautiful outside and warm. Kids are having fun getting to know their little cousins.
Ate at Fat Guys Burgers last night and got 2 of hugest order of large fries I've ever seen.
There is almost always a baby/toddler crying or pooping. Not used to that anymore.
I'm going to miss coming here for Christmas.
They have the best shower here EVER. EVER!!
1/7/12 Justin left for Utah today. Talk about sad. As soon as he closed the door, racking sobs wouldn't stop. Allison heard me crying and she started sobbing too, so we cried together on the couch. No one can ever doubt how much I love him. He is my best friend. This is going to be one of my biggest challenges to face.
I finished painting the upstairs bathroom and got it all back together. It looks great. It's nice to have one room completely done.
I've been working on Jacob's room/old office. I'm allergic to something in there so I've been sneezing and blowing my nose for three days now. I got one coat of primer up on the dark blue. Took me hours to get all of the shelves off, nail holes filled, sanded, taped. It sucks to know how much work I'm putting into the house and knowing we will not be getting a penny back from selling it, maybe even having to pay at closing. What a rotten deal.
Allison's favorite tape, some Disney nursery rhymes, broke today. She got very weepy over it.
So I didn't go to a soccer party at the Berges and watched High School Musical with her.
I love her compassion.
Ammon lost his first tooth.
I like Pixie sticks.
Pink Party Popcorn.
I think it's weird to put foot lotion on my hands.
Finished Jacob's room! Still has a blue-ish tint but I'm DONE! Only 8 more rooms + garage to go!
1/11 It's weird to watch pre-cell phone shows.
Justin went to a yoga class. . . . wait for it. . . . bwahahaha!
He's the most UNflexible person I've ever seen.
Ammon was taking his shirt off and he said, "I'm going to do this like a cowboy." He takes his shirt off and by the arm, flings it in a circle in the air.
1/12 Not as productive today as I'd have liked to have been. Maybe it's the lack of sunshine outside.
Jacob had his second "behind the wheel" today. Not much improvement from his last lesson.
Something else to worry about is how we'll be able to transfer his Drivers Ed to Utah.
1/13 I hate it when people with dogs think their dog is so unique. "My dog is nice, he won't..." "My dog blah blah blah..." uh huh. Whatever. I still hate your dog and I don't want it jumping on me.
Five days of seminary. Ouch. Putting me off my game.
I'm so thankful for Puffs with lotion. All this dust from cleaning out is killer.
Ding Dongs taste so much better foil wrapped.
I found my glasses! They've been lost for a couple of months.
I am so lonely for adult conversation/company. Netflix can only go so far.
1/14 Video chat with Justin makes my heart squeeze. I miss him.
Bought chocolate licorice at Walmart.
Covered the mural today. Sad to see that disappear.
1/15 ARGG! I keep waking up at 5AM.
1/16 Ammon got a cavity refilled.
1/18 It is so cold and windy. Seminary was even cancelled tomorrow due to wind chill.
1/20 I have hit a major slow down in terms of getting the house ready. So Tired.
I need a jolt.
1/21 The previous owners weren't fans of painters tape and sharp lines. Spent a good amount of time getting turquoise paint off baseboards etc. Primed bathroom.
1/23 Is it okay to eat taco soup at 9:32 AM?
Cuz it sounds yummy right now.
1/24 Get to pick up Justin in 45 minutes!!!
Celebrated National Pie Day at LaMon and Barbara's. Apple pie. mmmmmmm.
I'm getting fatter by the day. I can't stop eating.
It has been so nice to be in one state year after year and same job company for taxes.
Boo for next year.
1/25 It's like Justin was never gone. He completes our family. Snuggling is the Best!
1/26 Need. More. Sleep.
Did a newborn session tonight. She was an angel! As always, I'm scared to look at my raw work.
Ammon misses his Dad. It makes my heart squeeze.
1/29 Justin leaves tomorrow morning. Boooo!
Sold a bunch of photography stuff on craigslist.
Only $2000 in the red for my "business".
I'm 20lbs over my desired weight. Poop.
Less than three weeks until The Vacation.
1/30 I always get a start when I watch British tv shows and they drive on the other side of the road.
I'm so excited to eat the chips part of fish n' chips in New Zealand. I hope we can find a shop that packages them in newspaper. They taste better that way.
1/31 I'm loving a show my sister told me about called Doc Martin.
It's British.
Done with the first parent teacher conference this round.
Ammon is doing very well. Although, found out he's been trying to kiss a couple fellow students.

Progress!

2012-01-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

I have two rooms I've been able to photograph so far! Many are so so close. Wahoo!

Which do you prefer? Vertical or Horizontal shots?

Hairy Angel

2012-01-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

Picture this:

It's cold. I mean c.o.l.d. Temperatures in the negatives with the windchill factor makes for a miserable day to be outside. I've just returned from taking Jacob and Isaac to the dentist for checkups, and thankfully neither had cavities. It's always nerve wracking to have Jacob drive and this day was no exception. I noticed my right leg was digging into the floor of the car; either to brake or punch on the gas.

So, I already had a heightened anxiety level. Got home at 5:15 and needed to take Isaac to the high school for a band concert (practice at 6, concert at 7). Since I'm off cooking while Justin is out of town, we scrounge up a quick dinner.

Right on time to leave, Isaac, Allison, and I bundle up and head out to the car. Here's where the fun begins.

It's cold. I'm on the grumpy side.

The sliding door on the passenger side won't close. What the crap! Seriously!? Yes, a few colorful words escaped my mouth. The door would not close no matter what we tried. After about five minutes, using my cell phone flashlight app (which I love), none of us could figure it out.

I made Allison stay home. I grabbed a dish towel and tied the door shut, blasted the heat, and told Isaac to put on one of the blankets.

We take off. Going around a corner, one of Isaac's drum sticks fell out the door. Can you believe this? I think if this had been on a sitcom it would have made for some good laughs but I was near tears. Isaac runs back to get his stick and off we go to the high school.

I tried to see if Justin could get in touch with our mechanic but they were closed.

I dropped Isaac off at the school, feeling like a terrible parent because I didn't want to leave the car in the parking lot with an obvious open door.

Driving home, feeling massively overwhelmed, I plead with Heavenly Father, I can't take much more.

And a name popped into my head that is our neighbor. I drive straight there and am walking up to their door, when Mitch drives up from work. I explain the problem and he said, "get in the car." Then he opens his heated garage and tells me to drive in. He takes about 10 seconds to fix the stupid door. A latch had been stuck. That was it. That's all. Stupid cold Minnesota weather. I'm assuming that's why it was stuck. He showed me how to fix it if it happens again.

He was my hairy angel that was an answer to my desperate plea to Heavenly Father. He has a big beard.

I know he's watching out for me and my family.

I was able to pick up Allison and we got to see the band concert in its entirety.

I did take a lovely hot bath to try and detox.

Dang - just noticed the time. I wanted to have lights out around 10. Waking up for Seminary is the pits.

A little Christmas

2011-12-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Allison and Ammon in their costumes for the Christmas Primary Program.

Neither Allison nor Ammon wanted to see Santa, but I made them. Chickens. Ammon asked for a gumball machine.

King of silly faces.

Ammon's new glasses. He was determined to get the ones with skulls on them. Harley Davidson.

Even though they're not the best fit, Mom and Dad decided it was better for him to get some he loved in the hope that he'd wear them with more dedication.

Randomness Oct-Nov

2011-12-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

10/2 I was cutting Ammon's hair and I told him to look up at my face. He said, "I'm looking at your chinny chin chins." Ouch. More than one chin?
10/5 Reading a book Ammon stopped and said, "I never heard my teacher fart."
Twice. Twice! I went to get a drink from my night stand and there was a box elder bug in it. Twice!!
Two different times. Two different cups. I flushed the first bug. Gross!
10/8 Played kickball and ultimate frisbee last night at the church with a few other couples. First time ever to play ultimate. Lucky me - I scored my one and only goal and it was the winning point.
Family pictures yesterday. We actually got one that will work! Unbelievable!
10/9 Can barely stand up. Sore thighs from kickball/frisbee golf.
Justin got the dumbest song stuck in my head all day. Listen if you dare. It's quite catchy.
10/10 Justin showed the kids the dumb song, so now it's stuck in my head again.
I'm really really really going to miss my friends when they move. Why do my friends always have to move?
10/11 I got a flu shot today.
11/2 That flu shot made me sick for two days. And a sore arm for four.
I almost got hit by a huge truck/semi today. He ran a stop sign about three seconds before I would have been there.
Jacob got his official drivers permit last week.
Jacob and Isaac (and Ammon) drank Mellow Yellow. They got it at a young men's activity at Chipotle.
Hard to turn lights off when Justin is out of town.
Love my new cell phone: Galaxy SII
Had to buy myself new pants because my others are now too small. Can we all say together:
"fatty fat fat."
I wish someone would help me get my house organized so I could keep it clean.
I also want someone to go through all my clothes and help me purge, then got shopping and help me rebuild the desperate wardrobe. I'm thinking Kristy :D
Have I ever mentioned that I hate. hate. hate waking up early? Seminary.
11-3 Putting kids to bed early. 3/4 fail. Jacob, the one I wanted asleep early, did succumb.
11/4 I survived a field trip with Ammon's first grade class to the Mill City Museum. In fact, it was enjoyable.
I successfully got the seeds out of a pomegranate by beating it.
Dinner with Justin at Acapulco. It's unusual for us to go to a "sit down" restaurant. LOVED it. I've been missing him lately.
11/5 Raked leaves with the ward today. We got done early so they helped us with ours. *smile*
Biked Elm Creek today with the Robisons. Didn't crash even once.
11/8 Woot!! Fun time shopping with Kristy! She helped me pick several fun new pieces for my wardrobe.
Movie with Justin. A tad too much swearing, but lots of laughs.
Popcorn was yumm.
11/10 Sneeze. Blow nose. Sneeze. This is my pattern the past month. I have allergies. But from what?
11-11 I love running into people that I know in random places.
11/12 Biked Elm Creek yesterday on "my" new bike. I'm only going to ride it a few times then Justin will sell it as a sample - probably. I quite liked it.
11/21 I had hiccups during family prayer. Ammon giggled at every hic.
Justin and I got the giggles over my Sean Connery Impersonation.
We have delved into our Christmas shopping.
Ammon has a thing for all things scary, Halloween-ish, or Goosebumps.
Allison babysat again today. She loved it.
11/22 Justin's soccer jerseys are orange. Bright orange.
Jacob babysat for the first time tonight for other people. The kids slept the whole time.
11/23 Isaac left a 2 gallon tub of vanilla ice cream out last night while we were at the soccer game, even though I looked him in the face and specifically told him to put.it.away. Turned into a positive by making .yummy dummy chocolate shakes. Yet another Dittmer crisis averted.
Ammon has been having pms the past few days.
I bought some "candy laces with toffee flavor" from Ikea. Not good. I had such high hopes.
Mailed Christmas cards today!
"I mustache you a question, but I'm shaving it for later."
11/24 I love sleeping in on Thanksgiving.
Found some great deals online today instead of fighting the crowds tomorrow.
Still planning on fighting crowds tomorrow at a few more select stores.
How far are they going to push the limits on Black Friday? Lots of stores are opening at midnight and even 9pm today.
Justin has the boys outside winterizing the yard.
11/25 What a day. Slept two hours last night and just woke from a three hour nap.
But did we get some gaaaaa-rate deals!
I loved how excited Justin was. Don't kid yourself. He likes shopping.
We braved Wal-Mart. It was bad. Very very bad. But were in and out in 15 minutes.
I wanted a Lego set for me. It had a key and owls.
We ate breakfast at McDonalds at 2am.
Justin bought new tires this morning for his work van.
We need a new alternator for our van. $500. We already spend $1500 on it this year. Poop.
I'm craving chicken lo mein.
Update on car stuff: Justin needs new tie rods along with tires so it's $900.
Justin changed the alternator and s-belt (which took him all.day). Yay!
We started the car and it's still making the rattle, so the car fix it place was wrong.
$200 + all the hours for nothing.
I DID come in useful helping Justin though :D
The kids are telling me I give them too many jobs.
Just wrote a scathing email to Barnes and Noble about their joke of a sale. Dweebs.
11/27 More updates on the car situation. Justin's ended up $1100. My car needed a water pump, which Justin also got fixed.
Got out tree put up tonight, but it was hard! We had to fix the top portion; half of it was burned out.
But it's up! Now for the fun part of putting on the ornaments.
Allison has a sick tummy today so we stayed home from church.
11/29 Had a fun day with Justin today. Love him.
I LOVE the sound of my kids doing their homework. Smile.
New kitchen dish towels.

Shots

2011-11-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

While I had my white paper set up for another shoot, I took a few random shots of Ammon and Isaac...

Fail

2011-11-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

Allison had "crazy hair day" at school. We tried the koolaid method but were unsuccessful. I'm kinda glad it didn't work. She didn't seem too disappointed and found another silly way to fix it this morning.

Soccer

2011-11-23T13:48:00.000-08:00

Rob Owens Lads.

That's the name of the soccer team is on this year. It's in commemoration of our old Bishop (who isn't old at all, just not our Bishop anymore, and he moved to Idaho - traitor).

So far they 2/2. They're doing very well for "older" guys.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T18:46:00.001-07:00

Pretty much a boring Halloween. About an hour before departure, the kids dug around through the two costume bins to try to come up with something new. Isaac eventually gave up and borrowed one from a his friend, Cameron (who he went trick-or-treating with).

Allison was a pirate for a friends party.

Ammon bought this skeleton hand at a book fair at school. He loves all things scary.

We were able to walk through a haunted maze during the day before it opened. This turned out to be perfect for our younger two kids (and me!). Justin, Jacob, and Dakota later went through it when it was dark, spooky, and with chainsaws.

Dakota (Jacob's friend - Captain America), Jacob (pirate), Allison (vampire) and Ammon (yet again a firefighter).

The kids loaded up on candy. Whoa. This was a Hollywood perfect neighborhood with hundreds of kids and parents with flashlights crossing streets.

Four separate piles ready for trades.

Justin and I were invited to an adult Halloween party the previous week. So much lauging!

Justin and I were Joseph and Emma. Kristy did my hair. Is there anything she can't conquer? Doubtful. And thanks to Erin for the dress.

Love it!

My favorite of the night: earthworm.

Minnehaha Falls

2011-11-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

Jacob, my dad, and I went to Minnehaha park on their last full day here.

We first stopped at Lock #1 on the Mississippi river. And yes, Dad you have been there before.

Then we drove over to explore around the Falls.

And finally a treat after.

A nice day out.

Mom and Dad

2011-11-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

My parents haven't visited my house in two years, exactly two years. It was a treat to have them for a week. My mom is great to help with mundane household tasks and I gave my dad a honey-do list which kept him beyond busy the entire week.

I don't tell them often but I love them so so so much. Apron strings? Yep very attached.

My birthday

2011-11-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

Alrighty peeps. I'm officially out of my early thirties and now into my late thirties.

36. I am 36.

I did have a nice, make that pretty darn good birthday though, considering the girth of numbers I am now.

I went with my Mom and Dad to Gerten's and bought three fruit trees (Honeycrisp, Sweet 16, and a plum). My mom has been having chronic coughing for months and months and had a fun little puke episode so we all got so smell vomit on the drive home. Poor mommy.

I am so beyond excited to have my own little orchard now in my back yard. I've put it off because it's so final. Buying a house wasn't final, but the trees have been. Am I really going to live the rest of my life in....Minnesota?

The kids plus grandpa and I went on a walk on this gorgeous fall day in the field by my house.

What wasn't gorgeous were the gnats.

I was spoiled by my great friends and family this year.

Love you guys!

My mom made chocolate cake. I didn't have to make my own this year...a rare treat.

Allison and Isaac bought me Skittles which I love. And I mean love.

I was even doorbell ditched!!!

This is going to be a great year. I can feel it!

You've got...

2011-10-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Crazy Hair.

My kids love this story by Neil Gaiman, Crazy Hair.

Ed Week 2011!!

2011-10-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

I wish I had written about this week soon after it had happened to hopefully capture the magical feel I had all week. This was - hands down- one of the best times of my entire life.

Me and Erin in front of the Provo temple. It was amazing even just walking on the grounds; what a peaceful feeling there.

We are matching buds. I think this might have been after a couple hour bout of giggling the night before. We must have become linked in our color/fashion.

In one of my classes I happened to sit by a bit of a strange lady. After the class, she stood up to leave and was pulling a ahem. wedgie. out. She got right into it and proclaimed, "come on! Get out of there!" When you're sleepy and tired, late at night this is extremely funny.

I was able to have a quick visit with a dearly missed family, The Owens. They used to live in MN (as our Bishop) and moved to Idaho.

One of my besties, Tina. We had so so so much fun. She stayed with me the last night in the dorm then headed to her house the next day/night. We got to spend the entire day together : D

View from the restaurant in the top of the Joseph Smith Building.

Snarf.

Big enough sandwich?

I've finalllllly been able to cross off my list to do a live session at the Salt Lake City temple. Loved it!

Summer's still here

2011-10-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

A friend let me borrow an awesome lens so I got out for a few minutes to play with it.

Allison and Alyssa

Cameron, Isaac's friend.

Fun Picture

2011-10-07T17:59:00.001-07:00

I had to share this picture Justin took while we were getting ready for the real family pictures. I LOOOOOOVE it.

I wish he were in it.

Jacob

2011-10-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

I brought Jacob with me to be my "helper" at a photo shoot at Long Lake. Here he is sporting his new tennies.

He drove all the way to the Lehmans for seminary this morning (about a mile). It sure is scary. REALLY scary.

Randomness by JoAnne Aug-Sept

2011-10-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

Aug 29 -Did the whole MN fair thing with Justin today. It was surprisingly calm and nice. Yummy food too.

Back to school night for the next two days.

Allison had her first babysitting job today. She was so super excited.
Aug 30 - Lazy day. Took Jacob to his back to school night to get his schedule.
Justin is in Sioux Falls until tomorrow night.
Sept 7 Just saw a hummingbird out my office window! Amazing! First ever in Minnesota!
First day of school for Jacob (yesterday for the others) so MY first day !!!!
Listening to some acoustic Tinashe on You tube.
Jacob started Drivers Ed tonight. Holy. Crap.
9-28 I asked Ammon if he'd like to come read books with me. He said "only if you make me a smoothie."

A little Geocaching

2011-10-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

In between General Conference Sessions, we drove to Elm Creek Park reserve to play at the awesome park (if you haven't been, you MUST go see this park) and to find a few geocaches. It's fun to find a family activity that all the different ages enjoy.

They bring little doo dads to trade. So exciting for them.

The kids new cell phone has a pretty good gps on it.

First day of school Pictures

2011-09-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

These were mostly after school which is now a Dittmer thing, instead of the morning. Early morning seminary made that choice for us.

Long Lake

2011-09-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

We took the kids (sans Jacob who was in drivers ed) to Long Lake for our first and last beach visit for 2011. It was superb! Hot, not many people, warm water. Fun!

New cut

2011-09-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

Allison got the cutest haircut today.

I LOVE it.

Thanks Kristy!

My new love.

2011-09-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted one and couldn't pass up a fantastic clearance at Lowes last week. It was supposed to be an easy install, but it took Justin half the day...there are always complications. It was nice to clean under the over too.

I wasn't sure how it would work with the shorter kids, but so far so good. Ammon has yet to use it, which is probably a good thing.
It is tempting to want to buy new appliances (dryer and oven) but both work okay. Our oven had my favorite burner not working for the past couple of years and it was finally fixed last Saturday. No complaints from me anymore. Thanks my handyman, Justin!!

Scouts

2011-09-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Isaac is working on his bicycling merit badge. Today is his final 25 mile ride then he (and Jacob) has the whopping 50 miler left.

Debut

2011-08-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

What the family has been waiting for....

Need to add this one of me and Camille. Love her.

Mom and Dad

***

This family photo event was surprisingly painless. We had everyone in attendance minus Bruce's wife, Lynette, Kirsten, and Justin. Not a bad turn out.

These were taken on Old Main Hill on USU.

Day 3 Uintah's

2011-08-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Still alive. I didn't get much sleep either night so far. For some reason, I couldn't fall/stay asleep and my hips hurt mighty bad. Plus Ammon woke up 2/3 nights with night terrors in the boys tent. The first of those nights he came to sleep with Allison and I. Our tent is small. But I got so see the stars and they were breathtaking. Literally. So there was a happy moment to being woken up in the night time.

Nate added some excitement on Saturday morning. He was practicing with a funky sling shot that Grandpa brought. He nailed himself with a fist sized rock in the shin. We heard this thump sound, Nate kinda acted hurt, but macho, then he kept going and flung another rock. Then he noticed the blood. There was lots of it. He hobbled over to the fire and everyone was like - whoahhhhhh. uh.

Shawn was great, the Eagle scout that he is. He had a nice first aid kit to the rescue. Plus Bruce had a razor to shave off Nate's hair for the bandage. It was a small hole, but very deep. He was sooooo stinking lucky it wasn't worse.

Shawn made a teeter totter for the kids. LOVE!
Here's a short video clip.

I even tried it for a minute.

Bruce enjoying his fish.

Dad has a small notebook he keeps in his back pack to write about his adventures. Nates accident was jotted down soon after. Grandpa couldn't wait.

Dax brought a regular sling shot.

Campsite.

Yes I did fish. And I caught one! It only took about three hours, but it was a first for me. No, I did not touch it, and yes I did put it back. And it was a small trout. Any more questions?

Light sticks.

Day 4 Going Home

We got packed up in a very decent hour, and left our site by 9:30 AM.

Hiking out was a breeze. Hiking over fallen logs and rocks uphill was tough, but not a problem for us! No whining by any of the kids the entire four day camping trip. I'm so glad my kids got to spend lots of time with their cousins they rarely see.

Made it back to the cars and drove a couple hours.

We ate at Pizza Hut then back to Logan by around 4. About two minutes after we pulled in, Justin drove up. We hadn't seen him for three weeks. !!!

Day 2 of Uintah's

2011-08-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, we all made it alive through the night. No major loss of blood from mosquito bites and no bear attacks. We headed off to Tamarack lake.

Andy had to cast a line before we even hit the lake.

Allison caught yet another fish. I believe this was caught in two casts.

Isaac also caught another fish. Notice the knot on his forehead from a mosquito bite. Ammon had one in the same place, just as swollen.
We kept hiking around the large lake, stopping to cast in every little cleared area, trying to reach the snow on the far end. We eventually did. Bruce whipped out some heavy duty plastic and some other gadgets to make a sled. The kids loved it. I hiked up to get some water from a spring. Delish mountain water.

Allison ate one of the trout. She said it tasted okay.

Bruce had anything you might think you would need on a camping trip. Then add to that list. This man was PrePared. He gutted all the fish and was sad to see one let go. He was nice to cook the fish Allison ate.

...And We're Off!

2011-08-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

After months of planning and many emails and phone calls, the backpacking trip to the Uintahs came to pass. It all started with Andy. He wanted to take his two boys on a shorter trip, but it had to include a lake for fishing. It ended up with a nice group on Thomson folk.

We woke up at an early and dark departure time of 5 AM. Andy literally carried out his boys still sleeping and buckled them in the car. Uf duh. I rode with him, as well as Isaac, Allison, and Ammon. They watched The Pink Panther on our DVD player.

Our group sans me. 12 boys, two girls.

Kevin and Nate. Two peas in a pod, these two studs.

Need I say more?

We ended up hiking a little over one mile to Hidden Lake. We had our own decent sized small lake with fish in it, a great campsite and an icy spring a few steps away. Perfection.

Except for the mosquitoes. In some of the pictures you can see some of them flying around.

A. Noy. Ing.

Andy caught the first fish. What a beaut.

Isaac also caught one of the first fish. He was peer pressured into actually touching the slimy thing.

Mosquito nets/Hair nets were almost a must if you wanted to keep your sanity.

Isaac.

Shawn.

Andy.

Garrett.

Sap seeping out of a log on our fire.

Green Canyon Hike

2011-08-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

After our KFC picnic at Elk Ridge Park, most of us went on a hike in Green Canyon. Well, we didn't actually hike too far. We explored the witches cave and by then it was starting to get dark. Plus there were a few mosquitoes out and about.

Bruce

Dad and Andy. Notice the white marshmallowy tectured object in Dad's collar.

Gavin found a $20 bill on the trail. That was one excited little guy.

Andy, Trevyan, Gavin, Garrett, and Clara.

My Thomson Family

2011-08-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Rachel and Tyler

Bruce and Andy

Ashlyn and Rael

Marshmallow Armageddon!

Dax, Gavin, and Garrett

It was mostly the grandkids against grandpa this year. I walked over to take a few pictures and could hear my dad occasionally let out a giggle like a little kid.

Clara thought it was fun too. We teach 'm young in our clan.

Tina McBeena

2011-07-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love {My Tina}. She is one of my top besties ever. I'm so glad she moved to Utah from Washington so I get to see her every summer. Tina just gets me and all of my weirdnesses. I get to spend some time with her later in August at her new house -yay! Her kids are beautiful and so well behaved. Both of our kids get along well which is an added bonus.

Such a great family!

Allison

Aiden

Ammon

Robyn

Emma

Some slip-n-slide fun.

They had fun playing ds linked together.

Look at all those kids!!!

Goofballs.
***

Plus a random shot of Allison wearing a burka (from Pakistan) and Grandpa.

Visit to Smithfield

2011-07-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

I always like to visit my Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Earl.

Their house and yard have good childhood memories for me. I also like to show my kids a real working farm.

Family Fun

2011-07-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

We hung out with my brother Shawn's kids the other night and were able to paint some t-shirts.

My kids absolutely LOVED doing this.

I freaking love my niece, Corinne.

Jacob's shirt in the making.

Corinne helping Ammon paint a Plants vs Zombies shirt.

Isaac got carried away on his shirt, but he likes it.

My shirt rocks.

My nephew Nate who just returned from Argentina on his mission.

Later that night we watched a show called Idiot Abroad. Hilarious.

Lagoon!

2011-07-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

Grandpa, Jacob, Isaac, Allison, me, and Dax (cousin) had a great time at Lagoon. Not too super hot all day, the only tears were from this ride, Wicked. Allison was a little freaked out, but then also hit her head. She ended up liking it in the end, except for the head bump. This was my FAVE ride - SO great! All the other kids liked it too which was amazing because it's scary! We lost our bounce-back tickets on this ride. They flew out of Grandpa's shirt pocket. I love that my dad is game for any ride.

It's funny to me how my kids favorite rides are the oldies, tilt-a-whirl and the speed scrambler.

I did puke Arby's later in the middle of the night. Curly fries. Not fun.

C to the power of 2

2011-07-12T22:39:00.001-07:00

I had the best time with two of my nieces, Cortney and Corinne. I LOVE these girls! There was lots of laughter and even tears. Shaved ice and Crazy bread. Three bodies on a hammock with blankets that smelled of grandmas house. Grandpa thinking he was being sneaky. I won the contest. Secrets divulged and memories made.

I love family.

A Lovely Saturday

2011-07-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

It was a hiking morning! Jacob, Isaac, Dad, and I met up with Gideon and Ginger to conquer the Crimson trail in Logan canyon.

Logan river is raging this year and there is some flooding happening.

Steep trail.

Utah can grow some manly dandelions.

Gorgeous vistas all along the way. My dad, as always, is insightful about interesting plant and geographical things. We figured it was about a five mile round trip trail. The river trail had lots of flooding, but made for some exciting bush whacking and hopping on wobbly rocks through a couple of flooded areas.

***

I took a glorious nap in the living room with Mom's glorious fleece blanket. I was waking up in that blissful state and heard Allison come in with a friend, Bella looking for a popsicle.

Allison: Be careful when you open the door. Sometimes stuff falls out.

Allison: Did you find a grape one?

*bang*

Allison: Cramma.

I guess I need to explain this better.

Ammon used to call my dad Crampa (and his other one too) which fits him because he often has leg cramps.

I decided we should call my mom Cramma because she's always trying to cram things in the fridge or cupboards etc. This little episode with Allison cracked me up.

***

Walk with Ammon and Isaac. There was a nice thunder storm this evening that cooled it off and made it smell divine outside. I love to go for walks in the evening here. It's nice and cool, there are sidewalks, and I feel safe.

We didn't go far, Ammon wanted to bring his red bike (we forgot it last year so there was a happy reunion for him and all the other kids).

A somewhat drab sunset for Cache Valley, but even this is still amazing.

Isaac did a handstand that got out of control...

and he fell over backwards and knocked the air out of his chest.

Visiting the Great Grands.

2011-07-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

This morning, I took the kids to visit their only living great-grandparents, Phil Cardon and Bonna Lue Pack Cardon (after over a decade of marriage, I still have a hard time remembering to call her Grandma Cardon).

My kids like to go there and play in the back room or outside on the swing set. Grandma always seems so happy to see us and gives us hugs when we first get there and on the way out. They are both looking well, although Grandpa Cardon has had lot of his legs/feet removed due to diabetes.

In the afternoon, I took Jacob and Isaac to get haircuts from Corinne while I got a pedicure. We had an hour to kill so we went to Somebody's Attic (thrift store). They were having great sales so it was hard to leave, but we got Jacob to Shawn's work only a few minutes late. He was excited to be earning money. He thought he'd earned some good money until I told him about tithing and half to savings for his mission. He laughed after he redid the math and seemed okay with the results anyway.

Ammon sorted a new batch of tumbled rocks into piles according to certain traits: big, tiny, clear, pretty shapes, and items (ones that looked like something)

Took the kids and grandpa on a walk after dinner.

Loving the sprinklers.

Grandpa introduced the kids to the edible "cheese weed."

A face painted reflector on Saddle back mountain (can be viewed from my parents front window). I noticed that there is a new addition this year of a mustache.

Dad saw three people he stopped and talked with. Fun to know so your neighbors and have people wave when you walk by. I looked at a house for sale and dreamed of how it might be to live in North Logan. There are so many things I'd miss about Minnesota, but I'd loooove to be near family. Plus when it rains, it smells soooooo dreamy it's almost hypnotic for me.

We watched slides again tonight, taking in NZ trips 1 &2 (not loving the boy haircuts when I was 8), 4H animals in the 80's, family reunions, and other random events and trips.

What is so magical about slides?

There is something different about viewing pictures in the dark on a huge white background vs looking in a book or on a tv, hearing the whrrrrr of the slide projector and the chinky noised when it's changing to another slide. Kids being nerds making shadows on the screen.

Not to mention my dad asking for a light to be turned on.

And tonight had even more excitement.

Isaac was laying/lying on the floor and said, "spider!" got up and was too slow to get anything to squish it with before it crawled under the wood burning stove. We went back to watching slides, then about five minutes later, I noticed it on the ceiling. Dad was in charge of its demise this time, so he got out the favorite old swatter, smacked it, and of course it fell on the ground, but he couldn't get it off the carpet. He flipped it up in the air which resulted in the spider going airborne until it landed on the couch right where Isaac was sitting - the room erupts with laughter.

Tradition!

2011-07-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

One thing I miss about being near Logan is the tradition of visiting the cemetery on Memorial Day. I try to make a stop and pay respects with the kids once a year. This year we came more prepared with flowers from my dad's awesome garden.

We've only made it to the Logan cemetery so far, but there are quite a few relatives buried there. (Delsa and Irwin Thomson, Arlo, Arlene, Norma, Grandma's parents, Alma and Veda Dittmer, Don Pack, Gray Thomson.) I think it's good for my kids to see me and my parents cleaning the headstones, placing flowers, and telling stories about their ancestors. None of them groan when I tell them where we are going. In fact, they all seem to enjoy it.

Jacob liked taking the petals that fell off and make decorations on the headstones.

My dad had two siblings die young. Arlene was only three days old. If she had been born in more modern times, she could have been fixed by surgery. Arlo was 9?, younger than my Dad, may have died from complications of cystic fibrosis from reading accounts of his health history.

He also had an Aunt (Norma) die when she was 8? years old. She had been climbing in a tree with her sister (my grandma) even though they had been told not to be in the tree previously, and she fell and was impaled by a fence post.

They also have a cousin, Gray, who was stillborn who would be eleven.

I asked my kids if they would put flowers on my headstone when I die. Of course, the good littles that they are, said yes.

***

Ammon got a haircut from his cousin Corinne who is in beauty school. He was mad about it though. I didn't tell him where we were going so when we got there, the pouts came out in full force. Even Corinne couldn't get him out of it. We stopped for a smoothie at McDonald's after.

Jacob worked at Shawn's company, Brave USA, his first job!

Mom made a fantastic dinner of peas, fruit, delectable bread, and perfect chicken legs.

Walked down the street to look at a Ward garden my dad is in charge of and saw some childhood friends, The Andersons (Ruth I hadn't seen in at least a decade, Roger, Nedra, and Tim). I love that family.

Ate a Fat Boy with Allison (dreamsicle) on the hammock.

Watched slides for over an hour. It's so fun to hear my kids reactions to old photos. We watched some with my first trip to New Zealand (1983), trip to California to pick up Bruce from his Mission, random house pictures, and some of my parents travels. My kids LOVE these. Isaac kept making comments that were making my the grown ups bust up. That kid has an interesting way of thinking, he does.

2011-07-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

My Mom has a thing for shopping and I might have inheritted a small amount of her love for it as well. Our first stop of the day was at the DI (Deseret Industries, a church run thrift store). It's always fun trying to find treasures and scour the newest racks that come out.

Mandarin Garden for lunch. Tiny spicy chicken was still amazing, but I ordered chicken chow mein and it was NOT what I was expecting.

Isaac, Allison, and Ammon started working on their cabashon with Grandpa this afternoon, then tonight, all of us went mini golfing with Shawn, Stefanie, and Corinne. Ammon has been asking to go for a long time, so this was a treat for him. You can never got wrong with mini-golf.

Logan Canyon

2011-07-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

We got up and left fairly early on July 4th so I wanted to stop and hike the Limber Pine trail with my older boys. It's short: only a little over a mile, but I needed to get a Logan Canyon fix.

There's the 2000+ old Limber Pine tree.

Grandpa explained to us the difference between a pine and a fir tree. Do you know?

These tent caterpillars entertained the boys for a quite some time with their dancing and twitching.
Here's a clip.

Grandpa always on the look out for interesting things along the trail. This time it was fossils.

I love hiking with my dad.
***
Made it home!
The kids went immediately downstairs to check out they toy room. Jacob was excited to see a new addition of a few new hot wheels and legos.
Justin guilted me into taking the kids to see fireworks, so we headed to Hyrum later that night.
We parked in the McDonald's lot and all slurped on smoothies while the fireworks went off.
So American. Fireworks and McDonald's.

More Camping

2011-07-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

The next day, we did a little more digging around the blue forest area and found some small pieces, but nothing great. Went back to camp, ate, had a lovely nap while the kids whispered whilst playing rummicube, packed up and left.

Nice campground right by the river, but man were the mosquitoes bad.

Isaac, Allison, and Ammon had fun playing in the flooded river catching minnows. Ammon liked washing his hands in the mud.

Hunting for Rocks

2011-07-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

The plan was to meet my parents in Fontenelle, WY at a "derelict" store, camp, then hunt for blue forest petrified wood at noon. We were only two hours behind schedule, so not too bad. But, it was for a great reason.

I was driving in the middle of no where Wyoming and saw a sign that said something about Martin's Cove. Huh? Then another a few miles later. What? I didn't know that was here! So we stopped and had a short visit. Well, we tried to keep it short but those friendly missionaries like to chat :)

We all pulled carts around a gravel pathway, watched a movie about a pioneer that crossed the plains, visited the museum, the blacksmith shop, and the fort.

Ammon hitching a ride.

Can you guess what the weird thing on top of the china cup is? I'll tell you at the end of this post.

All the kids got a prairie diamond ring from the Blacksmith shop.

Isaac cracks me up. He had a scab that made a smiley face and thought it was so funny. He even later told Grandma and Grandpa about it.

It is always so fun to see my parents and my kids' reaction to them (both sets of grandparents for that matter). We got parked, hid in their trailer because the mosquitoes, even though it seems impossible, were worse than Minnesota. By far. Wow-eeeee.
In 90 degree weather, we headed out to see if we could unearth some great discoveries.

Ammon carried this bucket around until it was brimming with rocks. He was about a block from the truck in not the easiest terrain to navigate and kept asking help to carry it back. I told him that he would have to and to go through it and choose his favorite rocks to keep. A little bit later I looked up to see him with his elbows up to his ears straight out carrying the bucket in 5 feet increments. A determined little guy.

The best thing found was a horny toad, now named Squirmy. He has brought so much happiness to my kids, specifically Isaac and Allison. I was jaw dropped to see Allison hold a lizard. They have developed true feelings for this reptile and wavered whether to let him go or keep him. So far, it's a keeper.
Answer: so the gents wouldn't get their mustaches dirty. Why aren't these made today?? Brilliant!

Trip to Utah

2011-07-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Saying goodbye to Dad is always hard to do. Only three weeks apart this year.

Allison is holding Bob. Bob is Isaac's monarch caterpillar that we've adopted and are taking with us. He went through a couple of names, Chomper, Munchie, but Bob it is. We found new leaves for him this morning. It's hilarious hearing the kids talk about how he eats and poops and what he's up to. My poor kids will never have a dog or cat, so odd pets will have to do.

Stopped for a 15 minute hike on the Wrinkled Rock trail. Isaac counted mushrooms and flowers. All the kids were obsessed with the rocks: mica schist and quartz crystal make for a shiny trail.
Exploring is amazing. There were a few precious rain drops that made it smell heavenly.
When we were driving into the trail parking lot, I got super excited to be in the West and mountains and started clapping and shouting for joy. Isaac said, "Mom drank too much caffeine."

Jacob LOVES hugs from his Mom. wa wa wa.

Horsethief Lake. Wish I'd had my "real" camera out, but loved the raindrops on the lake. This is the cliff jumping lake we've stopped at a couple of time.

Jacob found a pie shaped rock.

Ammon really does love me. He wanted to get down to cross the stream.

Justin has earned us a free hotel stay and so we used it on this trip. We picked the hotel and had to only pay taxes, about $7, I got checked in and the pool is out. Holy lame-ness. Building frustration in Mom. So the kids watched a Phinneas and Ferb show on tv.

Can't leave Bob in the hot car, so he got to watch the movie too.
***
As of this afternoon, surprisingly after a McDonalds lunch, I've started uphill and feel much better. Only mild body aches and stuffy nose. I'm seeing the sun through the clouds.

Jacob is 15. Yes 15.

2011-06-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

It is a rare thing when people believe me when I tell then how old Jacob is. I still get asked frequently if we need to get a babysitter. But indeed, he is 15 this year. We weren't able to schedule in drivers ed yet, but it's coming soon. You can get a permit in Minnesota when you turn 15. Ca-RAY-Zeee!

We did donuts again for his birthday. He loves them. I might have made him a cake but I have caught a cold that would make Satan cry. We leave for Utah tomorrow (if I get a good nights' sleep and feel a smidgen better).

Notice the missing arm on his glasses. We have to wait until August for insurance to kick in.

Ammon is 6!

2011-06-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

We had presents first thing in the morning. It was an unusual day where we had nothing set in stone so were able to have a true family day for Ammon.

Ammon is a HUGE gum lover.

A new ball for his favorite place: the tramerline.

First recognition of what his present is. Can you see the happiness? Love!

After presents we hopped in the car and drove to Elm Creek Park Preserve (about 20 minutes away) to a fabulous new park. Jacob tends to overuse the word "epic" but this truly was.

Ammon top of the climbing rock.

HUGE climbing gym.

This is a lovely concept and a fun swing. There was a line so we only were on it a few minutes.

Oh so dizzy! And so much laughing!

This place does make you feel like a kid again. Justin and Allison were on one side of the teeter totter, and Ammon and I on the other. Justin got a kick out of making us smack our butts down.

New outfit :) And no I did not ask Justin to take this. As if. Sheesh.

After a non-eventful lunch of Wendys at a park, Justin dropped me home so I could work on editing pictures, then took the kids to see Cars 2 (free tickets yay!)

Ammon's cake of choice this year was ice cream cake. ***
Happy Birthday my boy!

Last night I heard him talking with his sibs, "I don't feel six, but I look six."

2011-06-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

One of the best merry-go-rounds in the world.

Went for a walk on a lovely wooded path.

(Jacob stayed home with a friend so that he could go to summer gym/phy ed.)

Video clip of Ammon's first mountain bike ride.

I love this pic of Ammon even though it's creepy, which is why I like it :D Got his skin sagging from the jump.

Boys practicing skid marks in the gravel. This was huge for Ammon since he still doesn't know how to use his brakes.

Isaac scraped his upper lip on the bottom of the pool doing hand stands. Justin made him a mustache bandaid.

Mom and Dad Photo Shoot

2011-06-26T16:11:00.000-07:00

Last but not least, Jacob, our photographer.

Minneapolis Nature Valley Crit

2011-06-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is our third annual family outing to the Nature Valley Pro race in Minnapolis.

The kids don't last super long watching the bikers, but they love to get free samples.

Our good friends, the Robison's met us there.

Nate and Justin.

Hell's Kitchen/Scripture Study Group

2011-06-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Oxymoron title?

I'll let you decide.

It was Erin's birthday on the day of our group, so we decided to celebrate by going to Minneapolis to a fabulous restaurant called Hell's Kitchen. Swanky and hip for sure.

Birthday Girl!

Here is a group of amazing ladies that are helping me maintain a spiritual level in my life plus add a huge amount of girlie time -minus Becca :(

Allison's award day

2011-06-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

Allison with Ms. Byl. She's been an amazingly great teacher for Allison this year. Her scores jumped enormously.

Allison was invited to be a part of a math challenge. She got 3rd place!

End of school madness

2011-06-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

It seems like there are always projects and tests that pile up at the end of school.

Jacob made a pinata in record time.

Ammon had Kindergarten graduation last Friday. We videoed the songs but there were no major mishaps but lots of cuteness around.

I love the I love you sign.

Does he look just a little proud?

His Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Kristen Sorenson.

Checking for papers before going home in his inbox.

Jacob and Isaac both had band concerts (Jacob's was 1.5 hours) and Allison has an awards assembly on Monday. Busy, but fun times.

June Randomness

2011-06-04T13:36:00.001-07:00

6/4

I cleaned out two kitchen cupboards today and filled two garbage bags of Tupperware for the sale.

Made about 14 pints of strawberry freezer jam and 4 pints of strawberry syrup, oh and strawberry lemonade.

Jogged with Justin 1 1/4 mile then jumped in the pool with our clothes on.

Well, Justin jogged with his swimming suit on.

Hahaha.

Had great friends (the Grays) over for dinner and played like kids on the trampoline.

6/5

Taco salad for dinner and it was yummy.

Jacob came up the stairs whining that we were having it again.

Boo hoo.

Becca, Helen, and Simon came over for awhile to visit.

Love those guys.

Gearing up for the Garage Sale this week.

Yes, it needs to be in capitals because it's going to be BIG.
6/7
I had Ammon wear flip flops to school today. He said, "these are hard to criss cross apple sauce."
I love the smell of waffles in the house.
6/13
I cannot keep on this house when kids are home for the summer.
Got to eat out twice today for Erin's birthday.
Bought petunias and impatiens for the gardens.
Our pool is green.
Justin is still amazing me after 15 years of marriage at how awesome he is.
Sold almost $600 at the garage sale!
Use that money to buy tires for the car and new shocks. Boo.
Found out today that I get to go to Education week at BYU this August!
6/14
Jacob is taking summer gym, which works out great for him.
Remembered the trash today! Forgot last week so it's FULL!
Did a Rainbow wash yesterday so the car is clean in and out : )
Luckily Isaac's nose isn't broken after Jacob decided to kick him in a fit of rage.
Three plus mile walk in the rain tonight.
Then a smoothie and a large fry from McDonalds.
Used frequent flier miles to get ticket to fly to Utah for Ed Week. Nice!
6/15
Went out to lunch at a Mexican eatery today. It was okay.
Helped the boys distribute bark around the flower beds at the church.
Started getting a headache tonight.
6/16
Garage sales with Laura and Jen.
Started to clean out the garage and got sidetracked with a fire.
Those mosquitoes love us.
One of my favorite nights.
Hot dogs, smores, happy kids. Ooooh plus pruners.
I love pruners! They make me go crazy!
I smell like camp fire. Ewww.
6/17
Minnesota makes the BEST thunder lightening storms.
Nature Valley Grand Prix road bike race tonight.
6/18
Got Ammon's five cavities filled today. Thanks Nate! Rock on!
Perkins is a surprisingly great restaurant.
Spent a bunch of money on myself today. Not normal.
I got two new outfits and love them.
Played family games tonight.
6/21
AmericInn Wausau
Drove by lots of scenic farms.
Menonites have accents.
Bought raspberry and blueberry yogurt covered pretzels at the Menonite store.
Jacob is staying at Dakota's while we're gone.
Ammon is learning how to use his breaks on his bike instead of his feet by doing skid marks in gravel.
Forgot underwear and my medicine. Mostly worried about the underwear bit.
I'm itchy all over.
Allison cloncked her head on the slide, then I did later today.
Isaac scraped his upper lip on the bottom of the pool doing walking hand stands.
Justin and I wanted to buy him a mustache bandaid but none in Walgreens.

A few of Jacob

2011-05-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

Went for a little walk with Jacob and made him pose.

More Randomness by JoAnne

2011-05-01T17:14:00.001-07:00

May 1

It's my brother, Kent's birthday.

Strawberry crepes for dinner.

I'm finally able to breathe with my mouth closed!

Good family home evening with a roaring game of Nertz.

Read Pres Monsons talk about how we need to stay on the path and not stray.

Good personal scripture study tonight. I love Mosiah.

May 2

Bruce's birthday. Wow. He must be getting old haha.

Had such a fantastic scripture study group today. So much better when I study.

5/3

Ammon sneaking into a bag of Skittles. I say to him, "do you think I look stupid?
Ammon, "no. You kinda look fat though."
5/4
What to do, what to do. A whole day in front of me with so many possibilities.
Walked about two miles tonight.
Found two cute Sunday outfits at the Salvation Army today.
Ammon found a tick on him so he gets a lollipop.
Made waffles for breakfast.
5/5
Isaac's room is done (except for the closet). I feel like I needed a hazmat suit to go in there.
Oh boy. Jacob is mad at me. I threw out some of his precious trinkets.
5/8
Tried calamari tonight for the first time. I needed to get this down for future generations.
I also ate the biggest grape of my life.
Justin saw a futon on the side of the road on his bike ride today.
At midnight, we drove over and picked it up; hoping to fix it for Isaac's room.
Justin found only one tick from the extravaganza so far.
I hate ticks. Also noted for future generations.
5/9
Waffle and scrambled eggs for my Mothers Day breakfast.
Fun home made cards from the kids.
Rained so we couldn't do our annual walk in Eloise Bulter Garden, so ate din din at our house tonight with LaMon, Barbara, Kate, Dave, Rebecca, Helen, and Simon. Taco salad.
The entire group went for a walk in the neighborhood.
Fatty fat fat.
Dental exam stats: Isaac 0, Allison 1, Ammon 5.
5/10
So hot today, which was fine except for the sweat dripping from my nose and down my chest.
Trying to decided if we should put Allison in band.
Lawn got its first haircut today.
5/11
Orange Julius with strawberries. Oh yeah.
Young Men vs. Old Men soccer match.
5/12
Unique dinner for us tonight: hamburgers.
Played Plants vs. Zombies with Ammon
5/13
My neighbor has flamingos in their garden.
5/14
I would love to do a Skittles taste test.
Justin finished his 100 mile gravel bike race today with only mild hypothermia and numb extremities.
Minnesota Mormon Chorale concert tonight went well.
No friends or family to see concert = bummed out JoAnnie.
5/15
I love the look of concentration on Ammon's face when he does buttons.
I wish I could bottle it up.
Laid down for a few minutes and woke up two hours later.
A little annoyed at self. Wanted to spend time outside.
5/18
Could this day any more beautiful? I submit that it cannot!
A big day yesterday. I bought bowling shoes for Justin and I.
Oh and a dresser for Isaac.
And I sprayed the grass.
And a full bed for Jacob.
Ammon says the cutest prayers. So simple and heartfelt.
5/24
Headache three days and running (not a migraine).
Justin is out of town Monday through Wednesday.
Then Friday through Monday on the annual backpacking trip to the North Shore Superior trail.
Isaac had a band concert tonight. He got to play the cymbals and a gong.
I can feel a shift in our life coming, but not sure what it will be.
Hope it's a good one.
5/31
Eight more days of school.
Got lots done yesterday: mowed lawn, pruned trees, put up pool.
Jacob found a tick in the washing machine. Alive.

Easter pt 2

2011-04-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

Allison and Jacob decorating eggs.

Isaac and Ammon

Isaac. They only got 5 eggs each this year. Which reminds me. We still have them in the fridge. Egg salad sandwiches for dinner?

***

We have a Dittmer tradition, stemming from Justin's childhood.

Each child gets a designated color and all children have the exact same number of plastic eggs. We have never been able to do this outside, so this year was unusual that way. It's typically in our living room. Justin and I hide them according to age/difficulty. It's fun to see them find other siblings eggs and not be able to tell them. It usually takes about an hour to find all the eggs.

Jacob and Ammon searching for eggs.

No. Isaac doesn't have a puke bowl.

I love the look I caught on Allison's face. This is when she heard that Ammon had found the special egg. It's got a funky design and is one that anyone can find but has no treat in it. For some reason this is really really cool to them.

Ammon's stash. You can see the stripey egg on the right. This year, Allison was unable to find one pink egg. I think the ants will get the candy this year.

Lunch at Uncle Grandpa's. We wandered down to the lake for a few minutes. What a gorgeous day!

There is also another fun tradition at Lamon and Barabara's. Everyone picks a hard boiled egg and then you choose a neighbor to smack ends with. If your egg cracks, you're out. If not, you keep on smacking other people's eggs around the table.

Pretty dang good cake if I do say so myself. Hmmmm. Maybe I should go make another.

Ammon the Football Player. He has squishy blocks in his shirt.

Easter 2011 - pt 1

2011-04-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

Annual Shoreview Ward Egg Hunt

This year it was inside. Not sure if it was the rain, or because the Blaine ward had eggs outside first, but inside it was.

We went to the Rotary clubs annual egg hunt near our church. We've gone in the past. Not sure if we'll do it again. It's a lovely community project, but a bit of a joke.

There's a huge metal slide at the park. It wasn't so great today; a little rainy and cold.

This might give you an idea of why I think it's a joke. There are hundreds of kids waiting for the count down on this soccer field riddled with eggs. When it hits "1" all eggs have disappeared within about 30 seconds. So much work for such short wahoo! Ammon got four eggs.

One had a prize ticket in it. He won a Transformers egg dye kit. Can you say excitement?

I'm being cynical. I have a scratchy throat and feel ick.

It was fun for Ammon regardless of how many eggs he got or his prize.

2011-04-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Had a couple pictures I wanted to share from today.

Ammon got himself ready for school today wearing shorts and penny loafers. It was only about 35 degrees outside. He said it wasn't cold. Ammon rocks.

This evening, I went for a walk with Justin and Ammon. Not much to say except it was nice, although chilly, to get out.

Spring brings...

2011-04-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

...change.

Allison decided she wanted a haircut. Isn't it adorable? I think it suits her personality perfectly.

Thanks Kristy!

Not Isaac

2011-04-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

I don't even quite know where to start with this post.

I have only recieved a few random comments of this blog. They're always from friends and family.

Well I got this doooozy the other day on the story of Isaac's bulling incident:

"Your Isaac accidentally flung a pencil that hit this boy, who also just happened to mishear an insult from Isaac? Yeah, right. Mom, your Isaac is a little bully, and this time he picked the wrong victim. Sounds like apologies are due on both sides."

Okie Dokie then.

I was stunned.

Jaw dropped.

This random reader does not know my Isaac if he said this. I can barely see where he might could come to this conclusion. Maybe I didn't illustrate it properly??

Regardless, I had Isaac read it, along with the other supportive comments (thank you!)

I asked him what he thought.

Isaac: it makes me kind of sad.

Me: Why?

Isaac: Because, maybe he's right.

Me: What do you mean?

Isaac: Well, I didn't apologize after I flung the pencil.

(What a good little Isaac)

Me: Okay. That's true. You should have apologized. Did you do it on purpose and call him names?

Isaac: No, but I should have apologized.

I love that! He saw his fault in the matter, and could see how it might have ended differently.

Isaac a bully? Dude, you've got the wrong kid pegged.

Say What?

2011-04-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine the other day said something that hit a nerve. It was in a public place with lots of other friends and she made a comment about a guy that had been there the previous week and played an April Fools joke on us. He acted rude and loud and obnoxious.

Well, this week as we were talking about the joke, she made a comment that she thought he had Aspergers and got a few giggles out of some surrounding people.

I thought, "huh? say what?"

That was a stinging comment.

I sat and mulled this over the rest of the night. When I had a chance to talk with her alone I told her that I have a son with Aspergers syndrome and it offended me when she used it like having autism is something that is laughable. I didn't quite say it like that. In fact as soon as I said I have a son with Aspergers she immediately began to cry and felt horrible for what she had said.

I was certainly not mad at her for I'm know I've said things that have hurt people with no intention to do so.

What hurt was that my son is a joke to people.

I don't want people to judge him for being "quirky," but because he is amazingly different. Autistic people tend to be misunderstood. I hope with all of the surge in diagnosis and media that is will be more accepted and understood in the future. There is even a prime time show with a child with Asperger's syndrome.

What is normal anyway? There is no such thing. It's what makes us such unique fascinating creatures.

I love my Jacob and even though he is the toughest part of my life, he's mine, and it's my right to be the only one who gets to give him a hard time (haha).

He likes the way he is. Just today he told me that he doesn't care what people think about him.

Bravo Jacob!

Randomness by JoAnne

2011-04-08T23:48:00.001-07:00

April 9, 2011 about 2 am

Muskrats have ugly tails.

Justin's necklace from Florida broke after three years last night in bed.

I like wearing my original sapphire wedding ring.

Sapphire has two "p"s

Going to Time Out For Women tomorrow.

Going to probably sleep through a fair amount of it.

I'm so glad spring is here.

I'm happy I have a healthy body to rake leaves.

The blister isn't my favorite though.

Time for lights out.

April 10

Justin and I have been digging fresh broccoli - cooked - lately. Tasty.

I've been sad the past few days. I want a best friend.

It smelled like rain outside all day, but didn't rain.

Justin and I made super yummy stir fry for dinner.

My jammies are comfortable.

My parents might fly out to visit.

They haven't been here in a year and a half.

My messy house is getting me down.

Isaac loves hot sauce.

Justin has had a monster sized cold the past few days.

I saw a pileated wood pecker yesterday for the first time.

The kids are all waiting downstairs with popcorn ready to watch Groundhog Day.

I took three hour nap today and had major action packed dreams.

I don't want to clean up dinner.

I don't like putting left overs away.

I often like to eat left overs for lunch the next day.

My self talk is deplorable lately.

My kids have been cute today.

Hmmm. I might need to retract that last one.

Our whole family squishes onto one regular sized couch to watch movies.

Ever since I've been sick last week I don't want to make my favorite kettle popcorn.

This is good and bad.

4/10

Justin brought me a waffle in bed this morning.

We forgot it is fast day.

The boys are getting in to playing scramble/boggle on face book.

My left leg fell asleep sitting here.

There was a thunderstorm last night. First of the year.

I have a basket of folded laundry sitting on my floor.

It's been there over a week now.

Allison is pretty great at putting clothes together.

We have to leave for church in half an hour and I want to go back to sleep.

Maybe I should feign a headache today.

Then I'd feel guilty.

There was a woodpecker on our house again this morning.

It is so hard to not get mad at Jacob.

The boys are using the word 'retarded' at each other.

About time to get out the bar of soap and make a fine lather.

hehehe

I'm soo soooo soooooo glad we don't have ward firesides on Sundays anymore.

I need to find a way to earn money.

We need to finish up our taxes soon. Only five days away.

That money is for a vacation to New Zealand. Woot! Woot!

I am having a huge doubt that will happen. Boo! Boo!

I feel a huge guilt that we should save that money for the boys missions.

Allison loves her high heels.

I got a new calling today. Troop Committee Chair.

I love Skittles.

4/11

It is gorgeous outside, only a little on the chilly side, beautiful sunshine.

Then why do I feel so sad? I'm not usually a crier.

I hate library fines.

Chicken noodle soup is the bomb.

I can't believe I'm looking at Drivers Ed for Jacob.

I didn't realize he could have a permit when he turns 15.

Some &*@^%&@ animal is eating my spring greens.

Isaac and Allison are in their swim suits going to do water balloons on the trampoline.

4/12

Finished out taxes last night. Over $9k!!!

New Zealand here we come!

And also another huge accomplishment: put away all the snow clothes!!!!!

Ammon walked in the door and noted how clean the entry way was.

Finished Allison's binder (cloth covered with cross stitch initial). Hope she likes it.

The birds are chirping today.

Jacob and Isaac are in a super heated screaming match downstairs.

4/13
Allison got the cutest haircut today from Kristy Abrahamson.
My daffodils are blooming!
I got to watch Helen and Simon Robison today. So cute!
Glad my pms bout is on the down hill. That was some scary stuff.
Laura came over and went on a walk with me through the field.
Then we watched Pillow Talk.
I love Doris Day.
I can't turn the lights off.
I have to get Jacob off to Seminary in about 5 hours. Poop.

4/14
Didn't go to bed until 1am.
Made for a yucky morning.
Ammon got himself to the bus; none of the kids missed the bus.
I did a craft project today, but it's not turning out how I envisioned.
Ammon was putting on his flip flops yesterday and said, "these work better without socks."
My dishes stink.
I did the vinegar thing on my shower head. It's like a brand new one.
Hulu is great.
What a lazy day.
Jacob doing a spanish art assignment: [I chose him because] he's the only one who doesn't do porno.
I need to get over myself.
4/15
I surprise myself at my ignorance I have of the world.
I'm usually glad of it though.
While I know it's important to stay up to date on some things,
I don't even want to know about most of the others.
I'm glad I'm not camping tonight.
Justin will be home tonight after a three day trip...
for about five minutes.
I'm going to party with some chickies.
I'm taking strawberry shortcake.
4/16
Excited for Justin to come home this afternoon. He's been gone since Wednesday.
I slept over with Ammon and Allison at the Gray's house last night. Fun times fun times.
My teeth hurt from that cold popsicle.
Thinking and rethinking if I want to do the whole photographer thing.
4/17
Will the kids ever NOT play video games Sundays? You'd think they'd learn.
Headache still there from yesterday.
4/18
I won a whole bunch of photography type stuff from a blog give away!
There are still nice people out there.
Sea salt and pepper kettle chips are nom nom nom.
Justin loves his bike rides.
4/19
I have a clean bathroom!!
Now if I could get off my butt to do other stuff.
I guess I did get a few photography things done :)
So much drama around here.
Bicker. Whine. Complain. Cry. Jeering. Oy Vey.
4/20
Joy oh Joy! Did my last night with Activity Day Girls.
Fun girls, but time to move on.
Root beer float ice cream is dreamy.
4/21
Not sure how I feel about some of my "new" shirts. Or my instyler.
Going to be a busy day.
I had cinnamon toast for breakfast.
It's sunny today! Yippppppeeeeeeee!
I need to plant my peas soon.
Who wants to come do my dishes. And laundry.
Not to mention all the other cleaning type things.
Time to go volunteer at Allison's school.
I love when the street sweeper comes.
My headphones hurt my ears.
4/22
Good Friday/Earth Day woop woop. i'm so over earth day.
Going to the temple with Justin :)
"It's not a tumor"
This is the second time we've left the kids while we go to the temple.
The kids cell phone is lost. Again. Surprise surprise.
4/23
Finding awesome 80's movies to have the kids watch. Gremlins. Honey I Shrunk the Kids. E.T.
Went to the church egg hunt this morning.
I like naps.
4/24
Playing "MASH" with Allison.
I should really not be eating this ice cream (root beer).
Allison and Ammon both told me that I'm fat tonight.
It was a great Easter. Fun baskets. Egg dying.
My only regret is not having a family home evening centered on the Atonement.
4/25
Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day!
I've got a scratchy throat today.
Justin is in Wisconsin until tomorrow night.
4/26
I wish I had Skittles right now.
Maybe I'll go make that fantastic popcorn.
My scratchy throat is way worse today. I've lost my voice.
Plus I feel ick.
I know it's wrong of me, but I like the rain outside.
Those were yummy breadsticks.
4/27
Allison is home today with a sore throat and runny nose.
I'm feeling marginally better today, so that's nice.
I found the kids' cell phone in the bottom of the washer.
Justin got it to turn on. Not sure it's going to work though.
I'm stressed about getting Jacob to do his Eagle project.
Enough of the clouds already. Bring on a sunny day please.
I bought myself some Skittles at Target today :D
Nice walk with Justin, regardless of a few snowflakes.
4/28
Homemade chicken noodle soup is on the way for din din.
I allllllmost burned the bread by watching a dumb show on hulu. waaaaa!
I have flour all over my face from making noodles. It feels sandy.
I'm gonna toot my own horn. That soup tastes amazing.
Wahoo! Got another prize in the mail. This time it's a camera charm necklace.
Choir was fun tonight. Good times. Even if my voice is all kinds of crackily.
4/29
Wahooooo for a sunny day finally!
Lawn fertilized. Raspberries pruned. Cushions on chairs.
4/30
Justin got a huge gash above his eyebrow today at soccer bonking heads with a guy.
He used super glue to close it.
I got queasy just looking at it.
As Justin says, "it's raining like a mama lama outside."
Dominos for dinner.
I want to learn my camera more/better.
Brewsters Millions tonight.

and a little more of Oklahoma.

2011-04-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

Taco Bueno is a must. They have good mexican fare, plus Red Fanta at their soda machine. It makes me smile eating there.

We went on a hike, while Justin mountain biked on the blue pond trail. I love that Isaac wasn't phased by two miles. Justin is training them well.

Always on the search for the elusive skipping rock.

Doesn't Ammon make the best poses ever?

More of Oklahoma

2011-04-05T00:15:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. The weather! It was so nice! We left 34-40's to enjoy the 50-70's. Sigh.

Justin, Ammon, and Jimmy.

First time meeting Thomas (four months old).

Brittany made me this awesome jar of photo props.

Jimmy. Someone get this kid a washcloth stat!

Grandma and Grandpa let the kids pick out fish and name them. This fish tank was a huge hit with the kids. They spent tons of time sitting in chairs chattering back and forth about what each of the fish were doing.

Love these guys!

Allison is a super baby sitter. She took Atticus for a walk around the block. Also, our first time meeting him (20 months).

Ammon getting on his skateboard groove, trying to do a kick flip.

Allison had a thing for bugging Alex. He was good to try to keep her at arms length at all times.

Alex playling frisbee in the front yard.

Allison played ball with Allicus for ages. This boy loves balls. He has a lot of similarities to Ammon at this age: bottom scooter, rubs blankie on nose, loves balls. He's a very quiet boy and so cute!

Honest Abe

2011-04-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

Justin.

He couldn't tell one little tiny white lie.

And it ruined a fun surprise...

I decided a few weeks ago to drive to Oklahoma for spring break with the kids. We hadn't been there in a year and a half so we were overdue. A couple days before lift off, I was falling asleep in bed and had an epiphany - Justin should come with us and surprise his family! So we talked about it, a lot, and after he got affirmative confirmation from his boss, we decided to make it a go.

So the night before we were to leave, he called his dad to see if they still would like the speakers we wanted to get rid of and his dad asked Jusitn, "are you bringing your bike down" not ever guessing Justin wasn't coming in the first place.

Well, goody-two-shoes couldn't lie, so everyone found out our fun surprise. Ah well.

Jacob and Legos. Like a bee to pollen.

Ammon loved the cats there. He would seek one out and walk around with it. I love his hands in his pocket too. What a little man.

Justin did indeed bring his bike with us. Who can't love a guy in spandex?

Who can say 'no' to those eyes???

We went to an art museum in Tulsa with Joey, and also met up with Alex there. They had a great children's program, one of which was making cars out of clay. They also all got art boxes with a sketch pad, pencil, and eraser.

Big comb?

Squish!

Joey. Need I say more?

Spring is here! ... almost

2011-04-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

Just look at those beauties! Heavenly Father gave us such a wonderful creation as the first early blossom of the year.

Ammon got a new bike for Christmas and this was the first time on it. He didn't forget how to ride over the winter! He took right off, no probelmo. I was worried because he learned late in the fall last year, but he did great!

Allison finished up her last day of skating in phy-ed (or for us 80s folks, gym) and was excited to roller blade.

We went to the park which was still covered in snow. A. Lot. Of. Snow.

I taught Allison something I learned in elementary school last year, which she loves to do now. No flipping over or anything, just swinging upside down. Fun times.

Super Sweet Game. All you need is a row of swings.
Here's a video and another one (this one is better).

Gorgeous day out! I'm still not up to par. Five days now. The stairs at the University of Minnesota for the robot competition about did me in this morning. I have about 75% less energy than normal and my appetite is a little shaky, but I'm up and about. Yay!

Panthinators!

2011-04-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Jacob has been involved in FIRST Robotics this year.
It's a robot competition.
He's in a high school team that has to build a working machine that will do a specific task against the other teams' robots. He's been working on this for several months and the culmination of all their hard work ended today. It was a major time commitment for our family and he didn't even go to several of the meetings. They met every week Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for over two months. I must be honest and say that Jacob was not a huge contributor. He was one of the kids in the back ground. He had ideas that occasionally listened to, but he needs someone to guide him and keep him on task. There were a few kids that were, not exactly bossy, but very controlling of everything. This is very much a 'take it and run' kind of program, but he LOVED it. Hopefully next year, he'll have more of an understanding of the program and put himself out there more.

Here are some pictures:

Jacob explaining one of his ideas with our mentor Eric B.

Most of the group is pictured here. These tubes were the types used in the competition.

Our robot is out there, red side. Team #3699

I love this one. There were bright lights scanning the crowd.

They finished in 27th out of 60 teams. Nice job fellas!

These boots were made for....anywhere.

2011-04-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

I am one hottie.

Justin and I went out with some friends the other night and I asked him what he wanted me to wear. His canned answer is "the leopard spotted boots."

Justin bought me these precious gems a few years for .99 at a thrift store, even in my size 8 (and they're not even uncomfortable). I did wear them once for a quick jaunt out to the store when I first got them, or maybe it was a movie. Whatever it was it was short and dark out.

They've been sitting in my closet wasting their styalized perfection and I thought "why not? This should be fun."

So here is the outfit I wore.

Smokin' right? haha!

I loved seeing my friends reaction and the best was the waitress who commented on them (which I won't put on here).

Definitely the boots for any occasion.

*This post is so full of sarcasm it might make explode.

Update on Isaac

2011-03-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

I've been sick, and I mean sick the past couple of days so my attitude might be off on things.

I'm not sure how I feel about how things were handled with Isaac and Jake (the meanie) at his school.

Isaac did finally "remember" that he'd been bothering Jake (it sounded harmless to me, but I wasn't there) and I guess there was also a mis-communication between them about something. Isaac was goofing off and accidentally flung a pencil and it hit Jake, which ticked Jake off when people laughed.

Jake also misheard and thought Isaac called him weak, which he didn't, so got even more ticked off.

Isaac is still claiming he didn't do anything intentionally wrong, but it seemed like the Vice Principal got the story wrong as well. The VP told me that Isaac had been antagonizing Jake and calling him names; Isaac said he got it wrong. I'm sure there was more to the story, as there always is. I'm not saying my Isaac is innocent.

Anyway, the end of the story is that Isaac got out-of-school suspension and had to fill out some paperwork about bullying.

He thinks Jake got the same punishment as him. He didn't miss any days of school.

THAT is what I don't know what to think of.

What do you think? I'd love to hear other people's reactions to this and if I'm off.

It seems to me that a person who beat up someone else should have harsher punishment than the antgonizer.

T. O. 'd

2011-03-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling quite put out.

Not as much as Isaac is right now, but as a parent, I'm unhappy.

Isaac came home from school with bloodshot eyes from crying stating that he'd been beat up at school.

A boy in one of his classes punched him in the head in the hallway, then later in the day, in the locker bays.

My poor little Isaac has a welt on his forehead and a purple bruise and a scrape on his cheek.

He was too embarrassed to tell a teacher because he didn't want to cry in front of them.

Even if he had been bugging this kid like crazy (which Isaac proclaims he has no idea what he did to provoke him), he shouldn't be getting sucker punched in the head over a dozen times or at all.

Where were the teachers? Other students to help?

Justin and/or I is going to go in with Isaac tomorrow to meet with Mr. Young at the school. I called the school immediately when I found out the details from Isaac. The assistant principal acted like this was a big issue and would be dealt with. I'm hoping from some past experiences that Justin and I have learned a little and can do our best for Isaac. We read up on the school's bullying policy.

I started the day off with a migraine; Ammon's second day home in a row due to a fever/cough/runny nose; mega laundry day; trying to finish editing a session (NOT done at all yet); planning a trip to Oklahoma over spring break; and then Jacob having a severe meltdown tonight.

I don't know if I can handle another day like today. I'm praying for strength to be the best mom I can to my kids.

On the up side, I taught Allison how to play Dominion. She picked it up super quickly and likes it. Yay! My new all time favorite game.

Recoreder Concert

2011-03-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Allison's 4th grade recorder Concert. Not what I was expecting at all. They had back up booming tunes. I volunteer on Thursday's for 45 minutes so am getting to know her classmates :)

I love the "Hi Ms. Dittmer!!!"

10 year Photo Shoot

2011-03-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

I took Allison out on a cold Sunday for a quick photo session. She is such a happy go lucky girl. Skipping in the snow with no complaints.

Goofing Off

2011-03-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

I practiced on Ammon and Allison when I got my paper set up for a couple sessions this month.

Quest

2011-03-07T12:21:00.000-08:00

Justin and I are on a quest to make the perfect dish of Sesame Chicken. We spent quite some time in the grocery store finding ingredients. We have only tried one recipe so far and it was okay but only 2.5/5 stars.

Christmas Break Boredom Buster

2011-03-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

Allison saw this huge ball in the Menards ad and just had to have it. She got the other sibs to contribute money and we drove all over the twin cities trying to find one in stock.

I promised them we'd go to the church gym some time over the break. Meikjn and her three daughters joined us for the mayhem.

It took a LONG time to get this blown up even using the air compressor.

I even got in. Who can resist a huge colorful ball? It was toasty warm and static-y but hugely fun with Ammon. So many giggles.

Then we got to take the air out. Also time consuming. Hope it lasts in the summer for awhile. How fun would this be down a hill?

New Office/New Bedroom

2011-03-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

Justin cutting the carpet in the wrong place. Woops.

Cutting it in the right place.

Framed wall! Yay!

Doorway to the new office.

Putting in insulation. All three boys "fought" over who got to hammer in the staples that didn't quite go in all the way. I wish they had this zest for other household projects.

***

We are now basically done with the office. Painted, trimmed, carpet relaid. Just a couple other touch ups and it's complete. We started moving a couple things today. It's a HUGE job to move everything. I walk in the old office/Jacob's future bedroom and can't stop sighing from being over whelmed. Things are taking over my sanity and happiness for life. Ahhhhh!

Camp Salie Take 3

2011-03-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Our ward has a tradition three years running of a family scout camping extravaganza at Camp Salie. It's about an hour north at a 4-H camp with rustic-ish cabins, but very clean and nice.

Jacob playing Othelo with Bro LaClaire. Games are a must. This one room meeting cabin gets quite noisy at times but is a perfect place to hang out.

There is always a gift exchange and this was the coveted item this year.

Who doesn't want a barbie?

9th grade band concert

2011-03-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Jacob has already had I think three previous concerts to this one. That's a LOT of concerts.

It wasn't written on my calendar, so I had no idea of an upcoming concert. Jacob says to me at 6:37 pm "I think I have a band concert tonight."

Okie dokie then. I checked the school calendar and luckily it was at 7:30 pm and not 7:00. He had to dig his black pants out of his laundry (he does his own) and put on his white concert shirt, but we made it to the school by 7:00.

Justin was out of town so I "got" to sit alone and "enjoy" the music. The concert was an hour and fifteen minutes. That's LONG!!!!! But they did a pretty decent job.

I was so proud of Jacob doing a few solo parts in a song. Rock on!

Isaac's a Teenager!

2011-03-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's happening to me! Two teenagers now. Gasp!

Isaac had his friend Cameron over. Cameron probably spent more on Isaac than we did, or at least a close call. What a nice friend. He bought him the new Pokemon Black for DS.

If comics are around you know where Jacob will be focusing his attention. This was the wrapping paper from Cameron's gift. We haven't had the Sunday paper for a few months. Poor Jacob.

Isaac requests an ice cream cake for all of his birthdays. This isn't ice cream, but a frozen Hershey's chocolate cake.

Allison watching the candles melt.

Cross Country Skiing during Christmas break

2011-02-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

Justin bought himself a complete set of cross country skis so we went out as a family (minus Allison who was at Grace's) to Coon Rapid Dam and rented skis. It's always some type of drama getting the family in the car, with snow pants etc, then finding the right sized boots, skis poles, out the door....but not to mention getting the boots on the skis. I was having a rainbow of curse words going through my head trying to get Ammon and I clipped in. I haven't gone skiing since college, maybe 15 years ago. This was also different because there are groomed trails that I've never tried before.

Ammon was awesome for sure. The only time he whined was when he was hungry which a quick Snickers bar remedied.

After we'd gone about 45 minutes, the rest of the crew turned around while Isaac and I ventured on around the loop. Justin looked at the map and said it's about the distance we'd already gone, so not too much more....uh so not true. Isaac and I started off merrily skating along for a long, long time. Through beautiful woods. We found a trail that many other people had skied on and adventured out on that. I fell in the snow and it was deep! Like I mean deep! I had a hard time standing up. Isaac fell too, but he was wearing snow pants. I hadn't planned that Ammon would actually ski, so wore regular clothes.

A sweat started in. We kept pounding out the trail. Took a break to share a package of Smarties. Finally the trail took a turn, then went straight again. Then finally it did turn. We got to go over a bridge which is always fun. Took a few minute break to sit on an icy cold to the buns rock bench and enjoyed the beauty around us. The Mississippi river was in front of us, untouched drifts of snow, birds flying.

We did eventually finish and were glad we were able to accomplish it, but it was long. Found out later it was two miles. And I must say I did pull several muscles, but it was fun to have some alone time with Isaac. He is a cheerful child. Easy to laugh.

Other pictures...

I love this hairy man.

Last day ++

2011-02-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

This one awesome machine. It has 100 flavors to mix and choose from. We were told we could try samples until we found one we wanted. You could pick one flavor and it was immediately ready to dispense with no lingering flavors from the last one. Justin chose a Peach Fanta. mmmmmmm

Bit of a rest outside the parks.

Jurasic Park had an awesome kids area. 5 stars.

This was the best weather day of all. We found a quiet spot in the afternoon and lazed around in the sunshine. We also had bought a Meal Deal at the Lands of Adventure park which meant we could basically eat until we puked. We got our moneys worth.

mmmm french fries.

It wasn't long enough of a trip and didn't fulfill all of my vacation desires, but we've had some super fantastic ones in the past. I'm super glad we did this and loved spending time with my honey.

***

We found out that night that Grandma needed to get home to take care of a medical issue so we changed out flight to a 6am one. This had us getting home at 11:15 ish. Kent and Genie picked us up at the airport, drove around to the ticketing and we dropped them off. Not much of a visit.

Justin and I made it home with 15 minutes to spare before Ammon got off the bus.

It was nice/sad to see Ammon cry because his grandparents were gone. Makes me know he was well taken care of.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for all they did. It was THE BEST to come home to a clean house! One of my most requested gifts for my birthday :)

US day two

2011-02-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

Up bright and early again with a quick donut stick and juice breakfast.

Surprisingly annoying simulator ride for me. My neck muscles killed from all the coasters yesterday! But my favorite line when Homer was going down a coaster was "my boobs are hitting me in the face!"

Jaws ride was way lame ride but needed to be done.

JoAnne in front of car #3. Delorian from Back to the Future. Yes you do see a fanny pack. It pains me to see it but there were many times each day we were praising its value.

We bought tickets to see Blue Man Group and it didn't let us down. What a fun show! I highly recommend it. One problem I had was the I forgot my contact so luckily had my emergency set in my overnight bag to use, but the prescription seemed off and made it hard to see distances. So I wore my glasses that night, which meant I STILL couldn't see distances very well and missed out on reading some of the funny things they had going on.

No problem sleeping at night.

Universal Day One

2011-02-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

Up Bright and early.

We headed straight to Hogwarts and weren't disappointed. Notice the crooked chimneys. The detail was A. Maze. Ing.

We shared one cup of Butter Beer. It was too chilly to try the frozen kind. It was too sweet for me, but fun to try none the less.

Heading into the Lost Continent

Justin's favorite ride, my second favorite. This is the bomb of a roller coaster. He has been looking forward to this ride for months.
We didn't get a picture of my favorite: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. Best Coaster Ever. You could choose your tunes to rock out on to boot.

JoAnne in front of car #1. Justin loves the eyebrows (not mine!)

Got my picture taken with Wolverine. I don't think Hugh Jackman is under that mask.

We ate lunch at the famous Mythos restaurant. It was a great atmosphere and didn't cost us anything more than the fast food fare in the rest of the park. Justin ordered fish tacos.

Me, a cheese sandwich kids meal with FRENCH FRIES, my staple. Notice the Mr. Pibb for keeping a headache at bay. We did too many rides at once. I thought it was great being able to get straight on all these rides with no wait time, but our tummies are too old for coaster after coaster.

Content Justin.

Amazing architecture.

JoAnne in front of car #3. Run!!!

Fun tiring day. I should not have worn my sandals but it was fun to have my new pedicure be seen for one day.