The new patio....Finally!!

One step closer to our new back yard!!

Corn Maze

I was able to go to the corn maize with Lizzie's class the other day.  I even took the camera to take pictures. Guess what?  I forgot to put the memory card back into the camera!!!! So no pictures. I was so mad! We had a great time anyway and after going through the corn maze and getting the smallest pumpkin I have ever seen, Lizzie spent her time in a big tube they had for the kids to play in.  I am really surprised she didn't barf on the way home! It was a beautiful day to go and fun was had by all!!!! 

Ten Yards of Gravel!!!!!!!

In case you were wondering what ten yards of gravel looks like or how it gets to your house.....

This is how ten yards of gravel is delivered into our backyard!

This is how about half of that is dumped.

This is how the other part is dumped.

This is what it looks like after it has been dumped.

This is the other pile of gravel!  And Wade being happy that it is here!

The driver was amazing at getting the truck around our backyard this morning.  I am feeling a little overwhelmed with all the gravel in our backyard, not to mention how much it cost. To comfort me Wade kindly pointed out that I now have something to blog about!  Thanks Wade! I feel so much better! 

Hobbit Day!!

Happy Hobbit Day to One and All!!!!

Hannah says that today is Hobbit Day! It is also White Chocolate day! So watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and eat white chocolate!!!

More Backyard

We are still working on the backyard. I just wanted to post all the hard work we did this weekend. Wade bought a truckload of gravel that will be delivered on Wednesday.  That sure lit a fire under us for sure! So here are the latest pictures.  We don't know how long we will have nice weather so we are trying to get as much done as possible until the spring!

This is a picture of all the weeds we bagged on Saturday.  It looked like we might get rained on so the kids were working fast!!! 

Look how pretty our dirt is!!!
The rock pile is like the blob it keeps growing!  Wade doesn't think the pictures really do it justice!

Wade started digging out the patio.
And he is happy about it!  He was like a machine he wouldn't stop!!  His hard work has paid off he got the ENTIRE patio dug out!

So the offer still stands- anyone who wants to come and help can! We are taking donations as well!!  Just kidding!  After we get the gravel to all the right areas then we will be digging out for the sprinkler system.  Once that is in we can plant grass (if it is too late this season we will do it first thing in the spring) and figure out what to do with the rocks.  Then we will spend the winter debating the plants we are going to plant and where.  We are so excited to get this project crossed off our to do list!  It will be so nice to have another place to hang out in the warmer weather! Then the BBQ's will start!!!!

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping

So here I am trying to figure out our meals for the next fifteen days. Payday is tomorrow and we desperately need groceries! I just want figuring out the lists to be easier on me.  This is probably an age old dilemma. How to make yummy food that everyone will eat without going out every night. Not that we have that many places to go out to eat here.  Luke would be happy with McDonald's every day. Then there are the nights that Wade and I are gone.  What do I trust Hannah to make while I am gone? Wade says mac and cheese probably isn't the best.  But come on once a week isn't so bad right? It isn't to say that Hannah can't cook, just when we are gone I don't want to have to worry about the numerous kitchen catastrophes that could happen. To add to all of that Wade and I are trying to be better at budgeting. So good food on a budget....wouldn't that be RAMEN? What does everyone else eat and how do you plan your shopping and meals?

We finished our garden!

This is what it looks like.

just kidding. someday...

This is our inspiration.

Lizzie Bored at Home...

Lizzie had to stay home from school this week because some kid at school gave her lice!! Yuck no fun for me! But Lizzie had a great time playing with photobooth. This one makes me laugh so hard! She is a funny kid!!!

Student of the Month!!

This is a shout out to my wonderfully fantastic daughter Hannah!! She got the great honor of being student of the month!!! Go Hannah!!! Go Hannah!! Go Hannah!!! The teachers nominate 2 girls and 2 boys from each grade and then vote on them. Hannah and her friend Hannah Larsen got it for the 7th grade girls!!! Good job Hannah we LOVE you!!!

The Backyard

The backyard is our latest project and the bane of my existence.  Next house we buy will have a yard that is landscaped! I didn't take true before pictures but these will give you an idea of the scope of the project.

This is the pile of rocks we have cleared out of half of the yard. That's right HALF of the yard!

This is the half we haven't done anything with.  No weed clearing or rock clearing, lovely isn't it?
This half is ready to go.  
This is the view from the back fence of the ENTIRE yard. Huge isn't it?!?

This is the view from the house of the ENTIRE backyard.
I keep hoping one day I will wake up and the yard fairies will have cleaned all the weeds and rocks out and leave all the supplies we need to make our yard beautiful!  But they haven't come yet.  So if anyone wants to come and help we will gladly accept!!!!!!!

10 years ago......

  This picture was of my Dad and Hannah on the day she was blessed. Honestly it was pretty hard trying to find a picture of him with actual clothes on.  He liked to hang out in his underwear!

   
Yesterday was the ten year anniversary of my Dad's death.  He would have loved that he went out with a bang, literally.  I have a firm testimony of the Plan of Salvation and I know that I  will see him again. So I have decided to share ten things about my Dad that I love and or miss about him.

1. His laugh- He had a great laugh and usually if he was laughing I was too. If he was watching a movie and he started laughing I would laugh even if it was only funny to him.  Luke has that same kind of laugh and I believe it starts in their toes.

2. His hugs- For those of you who knew my Dad he was a large man.  He would give us these huge never ending hugs that would swallow you up!  They always made me feel safe and loved.

3. His compliments- On Sundays or when I would get ready for dances he would always tell me I was beautiful. I know he did that with my sisters as well and I think it made us all feel special, I know it did with me!

4. He never said "I don't know"- Even when he didn't know the answer to a question he would still try to answer it and usually at length.

5. He talked to everyone- Cashiers, people on the street, everyone! 

6. His firm belief that the grocery store had a scanner that scanned your wallet as you walked in and no matter what you needed to get it would be the exact amount of cash you had. I believe this as well!

7. His help with school projects- which for me usually ended up being something made out of sugar cubes. A castle and a pyramid both made of sugar cubes. It was fun working on it with him but I think he enjoyed it a little more than me.

8. His love of trains- I remember at one point growing up that the living room was taken over by his huge train table.. But it was so cool and you could see the happiness in his eyes when he was "playing" with his trains. I know we drove him crazy when we played with the match box cars and drove them across the "train tracks" which stopped the train.  I still think it is fun and I will always think of him when I see a train!

9.His egg pan- he loved fried eggs.  And he had a pan that he had perfectly seasoned so the eggs wouldn't stick.  He would be so upset if someone wrecked the balance of that perfectly seasoned pan. To this day when I have a fried egg turn out perfectly I think of him.  

10.His sense of humor- I think I might get some of mine from him.  Like when we would be driving through a neighborhood and there would be a sign that said "Slow Children" he would say something to the affect of "that is mean they would say that about their children, let alone post a sign about it". I still giggle a little when I see signs like that. 

There is so much more I could write about him. I just know that I love him and I miss him.  He was a pretty good Dad and I am blessed to have known him and inherited just a few things from him. 

Lizzie might be a Grandma

This is what Lizzie wore to school today.  She added the bow to her dress.  Wade says she looks like a grandma.  At least she has her own style!  We can't wait to see what she comes up with next!!!!  Lizzie cracks us up all the time!!!!!

I wanted to make sure you saw the bow she added to the dress.  It is a bow I made for her hair!
Here is a picture of her full outfit.  Nice bag, right? She had the book To Kill A Mocking Bird and her eye glasses case in it. And she insists on wearing black patent leather Mary Janes.  She wouldn't get any other kind of shoe for school!

Rainy Days

This weekend was stormy here in Roosevelt. Late Friday night and early Saturday morning the skies opened up and it started pouring like someone had turned on a faucet. Just before six a.m. there was a huge crack of thunder that shook the house. It sounded like something exploded. It woke Wade and I out of a dead sleep. Within seconds the kids were in our room and the power went out. 

Luke kept saying that it was War of the Worlds and the aliens were coming to get us. (He probably shouldn't watch movies like that anymore.) 

What do my kids do on rainy days?  Luke and Lizzie play video games and watch movies.  Hannah makes foil hats for her and her beanie babies so the aliens can't read their thoughts!

I don't think I should let her watch the movie Signs anymore........

At least she took pictures of herself !!!!!

Just like the old days.

We are working on our backyard.  It is huge and has a lot of weeds and rocks.  We have cleared the weeds and are working on the rocks.  Last night we had the kids helping us.  So as Wade and I were finishing up I sent the kids into take their baths and get ready for bed.  I could hear both of them in the bathroom.  The bathroom window faces the backyard and was open.  So I go in and Luke and Lizzie were in the bathtub together. Lizzie looks and me and says "I miss the olden days when we had a bath together. Do you remember the old days Luke?"

Ah the good old days!

Congratulations!!!!

Pehrson is getting MARRIED!!! To Kate!  We are so excited for them.  Pehrson is the oldest of the Allen grandkids.  Pehrson is a really great guy and we are really looking forward to meeting Kate! Especially Luke he can't wait to meet his new cousin!  We are looking forward to going San Diego for the wedding in December!!!  Our family loves road trips!!!! I guess we got our new "BMW"(Big Mormon Wagon) just in time.