SEE SARI RUN

Peter Pan pose is Sari. (Actually that is a very disturbing tangle of legs there.)

Sari kicked into high gear and passed about 15 girls in the last 25 yards.

Mountainside Middle School (formerly Mead Middle) race.

Audubon Park race.

Run Sari run!

GETTING MY MONEY'S WORTH

Click to enlarge to read. Click here for previous applicable post.

RACHEL AND CHRISTIAN HOMECOMING

Tonight Rachel went to Homecoming at Mead High with her good friend, Christian Layman. The Layman family is in our ward and we think the world of them. His mom is hilarious and smart, his sisters are brillant and witty. Christian doesn't have a blog, but one of his amazing sisters does. You can check her out here. (Hope you don't mind Julia, let me know.)

Here Rachel is, waiting for Larry to finish the interrogation, errrr, interview with her date.

Here is Christian and Rachel right after the boutonniere placing stress.

Looking a little shell-shocked - Rachel and Christian in our livingroom.

Sari watches and learns ...

When we first moved to Spokane Sari was barely five. She recognized Christian's sweet, kind, gentle spirit right from the start and wanted to marry him for the first few years we lived here. She was heartbroken when Ben told her that Christian was too old for her.

We then headed outside for some more torturous pictures. The sun was RIGHT in their eyes. Perfect.

I have no idea what was funny, but I think this was the most natural picture we got of these two.

.

Ever helpful, Larry blocked the sun from their eyes.

Cathie, Christian's mom, has a hilarious picture of Larry interviewing Christian, as he does all of Rachel's dates. I will have to get it from her. Christian was really hamming it up.

Here is the group = Christian, Rachel, Paul, Rachel Sok (Elder Sok's daughter, from my mission for those of you who knew him), Ryan, Alyssa, Roman, and Jordan.

Cute shot of the girls in the group in the bathroom at Twigs. What did we do before our cell phones had cameras?

By the way, Rachel has not yet suffered actual death from the embarrassment of having her dad interview her dates, even though she thought she would. I highly recommend it for all you papas out there.

In case you wondered, I did sew the dress and I put in the zipper and hem Saturday morning because who wants to be prepared on that type of thing? Broken needles, wonky zippers, willynilly stitches - those are all things you want to deal with hours before the dance.

WORDLE

Have you discovered this yet? It's fun and it's free!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW

We took cupcakes to his preschool class. I don't know why I didn't get a picture of it. Duh. They were cupcakes. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Nothing fancy, you get the picture.

Of course Sari made a sign! And in a complete break from tradition, Matthew asked for spaghetti for his birthday dinner, instead of crepes. His siblings were all disappointed.

Matthew wanted a dinosaur cake again this year. (Oh, I didn't blog about his birthday last year - agg! Last year I did the Wilton Dinosaur cake pan. I am easily bored and wanted to do something different.)

I just love this picture of my three sons. (Anyone remember that TV show?)

Blowing out the candles.

In our family we do "Heavy Heavy Hang Over Thy Poor Head". Matthew wished Ben that he would be able to "do a good job beating someone up".

SO SO SO happy to see the last gift!

Yes! A storm trooper suit from Star Wars has been on Matthew's wish list for ... 9 months. He was so excited. Joseph about died of envy. (When the kids say they want something we say, "go write it on the list". The list hangs on the door to the garage and it gives Larry and I ideas for birthdays and Christmas.)

One of Matthew's toys was a little Indiana Jones dude and a German fighter. Ben thinks in the future he will look like this guy - short, uber-strong, and bald.

Following tradition, this is what everyone had to say about Matthew:
Larry: Matthew still likes to be held and watch movies with me.
Tif: I like that I get to hang out with Matthew all day and that he invited me to be a member of his club.
Rachel: (at work - sad! She will fill it in later.)
Ben: Matthew is not afraid to yell to get what he wants. (Not really in the spirit of this family activity, but whatever.)
Sari: I like Matthew's unique personality.
Daniel: Matthew is happy.
Joseph: I like that Matthew loves to play with me and that he sleeps with me.

Matthew is a delight and joy. I love that Heavenly Father blessed me with this son to be my last.

P.S. I think that when your baby turns 5, you have to claim the fat as your own.

HAVE YOU EVER

been following a car thinking, "Gees, why do you have a license, Moron?" Only to see the person driving and discover that you know them?

I'M GONNA COLLAPSE

but not until Saturday night

ANY WAY YOU WANT IT

Last night we saw CHEAP TRICK, HEART and JOURNEY in concert, after a quick dinner at Cyrus O'Leary's (- and may I take a moment to recommend the Parmesan Chicken sandwich?) My ears are still ringing (and that is with the earplugs).

I've never been a huge Cheap Trick fan, but I did love the checkerboard stuff. It totally took me back to my long coveted and awaited totally tubular checkerboard Vans and the awesome Rock 103 hoodie that I just had to have and forced (coerced, whined) my then boyfriend to buy for me. (Thanks, Kenny, that's about the only good memory I have.)

Well that's Ann (?) from Heart. They did a great job. She only cracked on a couple of notes. She did sing "Barracuda" and I had Rock Band flying through my head for the rest of the night.

And now ... Journey! It was FABULOUS! I had a hard time watching the Filipino singer (it was totally bogus dude), but he sounded just like Steve Perry! Of course Neal Schon rocked the guitar like he always has (gnarly, fer shure).

While I am sorry to report that I couldn't find my favorite chick from the REO concert (spaz), I did see some noteworthy people:

I would like to thank these two sweeties for FOREVER RUINING Journey's new song, "When You Love A Woman". Their slow dance and hug afterward will have me baby barfing for days. The guys around them really dug it, which will also have me baby barfing for days.

Okay, there are three blond chicks in a row (one of them in front of the brown haired chick). There was a little old lady behind them who couldn't stand up and see the concert so she called an events person over. There was quite the discussion for a while there. It resulted in the little old lady not seeing one moment of Journey, as these women were determined to show her they had the right to stand up for the entire concert. The lady in the brown hair spent a great deal of time making out with the man next to her (he left separately) and that I will also have me babybarfing for weeks to come.

Oh yeah, I think the hair was real.

These guys, too. Growl.

Some women's husbands. You can dress them up (and alike) and you just can't take them anywhere!

You see what I mean?

Here the boys are, being good. They wonder why Charmaine and I sit between them? It's not just because we want to talk (which we do).

Larry and I.

Charmaine and Tracy.

We love these guys. Like, if they moved, we would totally stalk them and bring them back. Tracy was our home teacher about four years ago. His companion could never come so he brought his wife and kids and little did we know that it would be the start of a perfect fit friendship! Additionally, their daughter, Journey, is Sari's bosom friend. Jack and Kylen (AC and DC) are Joseph and Matthew's preferred friends. Poor Meridian (Foreigner) and Daniel - but maybe someday they will get married!

WEEKEND UPDATE (I have tried to fix the font for the last 45 MINUTES! Sorry, I don't know what is wrong!)

On Monday night MaryMary called and said, "We are coming over!" The kids cheered for a solid half an hour. They (and Larry and I) adore Mary and Jared and their darling children and we were so happy they came over!

Rachel's friend, Ann, had a birthday and we made her this candybar card. My favorite line on it is "Shakin' your Laffy Taffy". Snaps to my sister, Teilani for that line and trust me when I say, her reenactment of how that song came about had Rachel, Ben and I laughing with tears running down our faces for the rest of the night.

Rachel had a race at 7 Mile. It is just gorgeous there. Her hips are locking and clicking frequently, which causes her a lot of pain. She came home and had her semester nervous breakdown (earlier than usual this year) and I persuaded her to take a few days off from running and to not go to Missoula next week. Rachel was also officially asked to Homecoming by a sweet boy in our ward named Christian. She has always thought of him as a little brother (although he is older than her) and is happy to go with him. Her big stress right now is that she finds a group that will treat him with kindness. It is heartbreaking to me how some kids who have known Christian all his life, and even have siblings with disabilities, do not treat others with the respect and kindness they deserve.

Every parent has to volunteer once a month at Whitworth Preschool. I was happy that I got mine over with quickly. Matthew loved having me there and I stepped on him several times because he was stuck to me like glue. This is him on the slide at the playground.

Thursday night was bookclub. We have rarely had a book that sparked SO much conversation. This one did. We discussed the ideas and topics in this book for a solid 2 1/2 hours. (We can always talk that long, but we don't stay on topic.) Finally, exhausted we left. Only to continue the discussions in the cars on our rides home. Fabulous. Terrifying. Emotional. Heart-breaking. I just can't believe how lucky, no, blessed, I am to have been born where I was, to the parents I was born to. What am I doing with that stewardship? Not enough.

Larry took the little boys to soccer on Saturday. Mamu got there and decided that he didn't want to play. Larry captured his expression perfectly on his cell phone camera.

Fortunately, Mamu does what Larry does, so Larry went out on the field and started kicking the ball and Mamu followed him. Eventually Larry was able to return to his seat.

Joseph also had soccer games today. He LOVES soccer. I LOVE his toothless smile!

Go go Joe! (Name that show ...)

Friday afternoon I left with the Mead Choir to the Choir Retreat at Camp Gifford on Deer Lake. Once again, snaps to Larry who handled the home front so fabulously and without a guilt trip so I could go and spend time with just Rachel. It was so fun for me to see her interacting with her friends and to meet some of her friends.

This is the cabin we stayed in. It has two bathrooms in it, too! Yay! It was a super small group this year - only 16 kids, usually there are about 65. I think part of it was that we only had three days come up with the money. Also, this year, they have a new choir teacher. The fabulous Ann Fennessy retired to take care of her aging mom and I think some of the kids are having a hard time with the change. She did leave rather large shoes.

Their new teacher, Mike Saccamonno, is a Mead alum. He directed the traveling Broadway shows, Annie, The Producers, and MammaMia. After years of that he decided to come back to Spokane and he now teaches at Mead High. I think he is an amazing teacher and did a great job with team building at the retreat.

Mr. Saccamonno divided that kids up blue eyes and brown eyes and they were evenly split. (Everyone was singing "Springtime for Hitler" from "The Producers" so that is where that came from.) They played a lot of games. Here I captured Rachel being nailed in dodge ball. Brown eyes lost at every game. They weren't really team players and didn't use strategy.

It was cold and windy on the waterfront, but that didn't stop the teenagers from getting in the boats. I had to laugh at Mariah and Rachel. They were texting, sometimes each other, but mostly their at home friends, while they were paddling on the boat. And ARG!!!! Rachel!! Where is your life jacket??? It was very choppy water. I did not want to go in after anyone.

At one point, these three boys, Matt, Kenny, and Mike sat on the dock and sang "Unchained Melody". They have beautiful voices and I love that song anyway.

These same boys are so ... (put your word here after looking at the picture) ... They swamped the canoe on purpose. It was good for me to see how boys act. It was good for Ben for me to see how boys act.

Mr. Saccamonno,Rachel, Sara, Lisa, Hannah, and a boy watch, from the warmth and safety of the dock as the Michelotti twins try to fix their swamped canoe.

Later that night they had a grab bag of dress up and played more games while in them. I thought Rachel looked smashing with her Pippi Longstocking hair.

They kids painted rocks, gave them names, a history, and personality. They had to carry them with them everywhere they went. If you left your rock, you had to sing and dance at the next meal. It was very funny watching a bunch of boys singing, "I'm A Little Teapot" and found out that some of the girls don't know the story of "Red Riding Hood". At the end of the retreat, around the campfire, Mr. Saccamonno did a great analogy that I can not replicate now about the rocks and individuals in the ensemble and treating yourself and others with intent, paying attention to how you live. It was good. Trust me.

It wasn't long before the paint was being used for it's undesignated purposes. They also raced matchbox cars on the floor with straws. He set up teh contest like the "Sweet 16". The kids LOVED it!

Sadly Rachel lost to Cody and was eliminated in Round one.

This was the A team, or the team I was responsible for. I think we have here - Katie and Rachel, Brandon (who was all about the jazz hands in almost every picture), Nate, and one of the Michelotti twins - Matt or Mike. I can never remember which one is which. They are not identical and I still can't remember!

Rachel on the giant swing.

Rachel and Mr. Saccamonno climbing the rock wall.

Rachel on the zip line. When I did this I had the almost overwhelming urge to sing, "I Believe I Can Fly...". I didn't out loud, but I was in my head.

At the campfire the Saturday night. What started out as a group of people who only knew one or two of each other, really came together, I think. It was a great trip!

I really enjoyed spending time with Rachel one on one. She is a blast and very funny and witty, a lot like Larry in that she is quiet about it, but really knows how to deliver a good one liner. Thanks Rachel and Larry! Love you both!

Sunday was the Primary Program and for the ... 17th time, I have wished that I could sneak in a camera. This year, if I had been able to, you would have seen pictures of Matthew with his shoes and socks off, swinging his shoes by his shoelaces. He also nearly got his head stuck in the choir seat he was sitting in (turned around and buried his head and the seat comes down, does that make sense?) . Thank goodness Lyn Cummins raised seven children and has fast reflexes. I don't think the poor woman had one moment of peace, sitting next to Mr. Matthew.

I ADMIT TO SHEDDING A TEAR

8:30 am

10:00 am

11:30 am

12:15 pm

12:35 pm

I confess, I got misty-eyed as I left.

Part of it was that Matthew just looked so small and sweet and four (five in 9 days) years old just seems so young - let's try 10 or 15 years old for preschool. I haven't even peed by myself at home in nearly five years. Matthew has literally been my CONSTANT companion (a lot like the Holy Ghost, but whinier).

I also realized that a part of my life that I thought would NEVER end, had just ended, with me walking out of that room. "No kids at home" for 2 1/2 hours a day, three days a week.

SO WE WENT TO RICHLAND FOR THE WEEKEND

but first we stopped in Cheney for the Blackhawk invitational, a high school cross country race. Rachel's hips are "clicking" and "locking" (any ideas all you runners out there?) and so she didn't have her best time, but she did fine and frankly, I wouldn't be able to run up the first hill (the little boys are rolling down it below - you can't see the grade in the picture) so I am so proud of everyone who finishes!

Matthew a punch drunk walk after that roll!

And here the girls are. My camera with the awesome zoom is nearly dead so this is about the best I got.

After we got to Richland, we FINALLY sang Happy Birthday to Rachel and did her birthday cake! You can see Zina (Steven's) REALLY likes her spaghetti in the background.

Christa, Katie, (both Linda's) Sari, and a faceless Steven singing Happy Birthday to Rachel.

Zoe and Kaelynn (Steven's), Dad and Mom with Rachel and Zina in the foreground.

Joseph, Camry (Linda's), Zane (Steven's), and Linda at Rachel's cake lighting.

It took Rachel four tries to blow out the candles ... hmmm ...

Here's a better picture of Zoe, Kaelynn, and Zina.

This is a boy who needs a dog! Joseph loves on any dog that will let him. Jean's dog, Nephi, was no exception!

Matthew seriously slept like that for I don't know how long. Maybe this is why his head is so big?

A more comfortably sleeping Joseph, with Nephi on the lookout.

Grandma and Grandpa's house always has lot of good cereal! All three boys LOVE the Sant grandparents' house. Larry reports that when Grandma brought out the He-Man and Masters of the Universe toys the little boys thought they were in heaven. I remember watching He-Man and the Masters of the Universe with Teilani and Jason. Also, thanks to Grandma, Joseph got spaghetti every day, almost every meal. That is Joseph Heaven.

This is why I have no idea how Lance's talk went: (Although I heard from several people that it was outstanding!)

Matthew decided he wanted "dum" (gum) when he saw Ben making a chain out of some wrappers. I didn't have any. Larry didn't have any. Ben didn't have any. Neither did Rachel. Eventually, I had to take Matthew out. I looked around the Jadwin Chapel, which has got to be the most confusing building ever built, and there were no empty rooms. We went outside. Matthew stood against the brick wall and kicked it and yelled, "I want dum" and "I want DADA!" for well over 20 minutes. Once he was quiet for FOUR minutes, he got to sit on my lap until the end of church.

After church we went over to Kathryn and Randy's for lunch and delicious food. They built a beautiful addition on the back of their home and it is perfect for entertaining large crowds, which is totally Kathryn's thing.

Katie, Sari, and Christa

I almost got a picture of Ben!

Camry and Rachel.

Can you see Joseph in the tree? Matthew and Joseph pretty much lived in the trees, like the monkeys they are.

The boys in Grandma and Grandpa's tree in their backyard. On the way home the boys and Sari said they wanted a tree like that in our yard. I told them I wanted one like that too. I didn't have the heart to tell them it took about 40 years for that tree to get like it is!

Here is another tree picture - this one of Joseph and Sari and what must be a Rhoten relative in Kathryn's backyard.

At last! The reason for our trip! Here he is: Elder Lance Rhoten.

Headed off to Mexico City East, after a brief stay at the MTC in Provo. He did a great job breaking his leg resulting in plates and pins but he is ready to go on time, which is a miracle in and of itself. We will miss his sweet smile but we are so proud of him and his good example.

This is a sight for sore eyes - Spokane coming in from the east. Can you see the pretty hills and trees behind the city? Ahhhh ... home again!

MATTHEW'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL

As many of you know, Matthew will soon be gracing the halls of Whitworth Preschool. We went to orientation on Friday last week. Here's a little taste of what Matthew will be doing: (Today was Orientation)

Matthew gets cubbie! Complete with shoes section AND a shelf for drying V.I.A.P. (very important art projects). Notice his cute little name tag. He takes that off the rack on his way inside and once they know everyone's name, he will start to hang it on his cubbie. (In this Protestant preschool they pray in the middle of the day and they always pray for, BY NAME, the kids who are not at school that day. So sweet!)

We all know how much Matthew LOVES Mr. Potato Head (click here for that post, if you missed it)! Looks like this one even has potential for Rabbi Snookie - can you see the beard?

Who doesn't love an etch-a-sketch? Besides me. I always got too frustrated. So did Matthew.

One of two art projects available. The color of the day - red, the shape (different project) - circle!

Love the cardboard bricks! No, Matthew didn't have to go potty, he was worried because some little boy without good manners (kneeling in the corner) walked over and kicked down Matthew's tower. Little stinker! Matthew rebuilt it to this, but let's face it, the first one was better and after the destruction, Matthew just didn't have it in him to do it again. We moved on to:

The chalkboard! Woohoo!!!

After circle time, sharing time, snack time, and more, it is time to put on your backpack, hang up your tag and say good-bye.

This is Mrs. Paula. She is about Sari's size. She was Joseph's preschool teacher two years ago and I absolutely adore her! We are really excited for Matthew to have this fun experience!

PROUD TO BLEED BLUE!

As you may have already deduced, there is a SMALL rivalry in my family regarding the universities of Utah.

This is just a little salt in their wound ...

I am sure that you have all heard about the SPANKING that BYU gave UCLA. And that was a smack-down to remember.

Can you believe they actually got Moroni in the photo? With all his stealth and war experience while here on earth, you wouldn't think he'd be caught so easily.

That's right, we bleed blue, baby! (Except Ben, he bleeds red, thanks to Teilani)

GO COUGARS!!

AND THE WINNER IS...

Drumroll please ....

Pause here while Joseph sounds out the word. Can you tell who it is by looking at his mouth?

YAY Jennifer!!!!!!

I first met Jennifer at Wymount Round Deux. She lived downstairs from us and her oldest is my Sari's age. About the time we decided it was time for child #5 and I mentally could NOT function with that many bodies in the apartments, and we moved, Jennifer had a baby girl that she named Sari. It is a good luck name because her Sari is just darling, too! Anyway, CONGRATS Jennifer! Your prize (and your dolphin from last fall (???!) will be coming your way soon!

Previous prize updates:

SO, after the last contest, where Elizabeth, my former mission companion (not Elizabeth my new blogging friend) won, I was a little distressed. Here is why: Elizabeth can do anything and everything. She INVENTED crafty. Her fingers work magic. What could I possibly give her that she couldn't do herself - and better? Added to that problem is that Jason and Kim both left hilarious comments and so they won runner-up prizes. Let me tell you about my sister in law, Trina (Jason's wife). You could give Trina a cinderblock, a rubberband, and a fork and she could make a wind powered fountain. I am NOT kidding (back me up here, Tisha and Tristie - Trina's sisters). Seriously. She can DO everything. Reroof a house? Done. Sew couch cushions from silk worms she grew herself? No problem. I could go on but you get my drift. Kim is not much better. She works at Stampin' Up, so what she cannot do for herself, someone at work can. They have actual craft days there.

Basically, what I was trying to say is that I was just stumped for a few weeks about what on earth I was going to do for these over achievers?!

Did you know that it takes a plastic bag like 10,000 years to dissolve and it uses A LOT of petroleum products to produce? My house is full of them and while I reuse them until they fall apart ... ugh. That's when I decided on these fabric bags for my contest winners!

The one with the orange trim is what they look like all folded up in their little case so you can toss it in your car, purse, diaper bag, man's man bag, or what have you. These bags hold three 2- liter bottes just fine. They were the prototype and I think that I have gotten better at making them - but these are what will be going out ... at some point! I love the khaki toile print and they are sewn in french seams so they should be nice and strong!

Thanks for participating! It was fun for me to read all the comments!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!

It's my baby's birthday. Rachel is seventeen. Ben was kind enough to point out that next year she will be an adult. This song, by Abba, but in this case, sung by Meryl Streep, sums up my feelings on this day of celebration! (Try to ignore the picture and just listen to the words.)

Here is her birthday post that I did last year.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You have been a blessing and a delight to Dad and I! We are proud of the person you are, all you've done, and who you are becoming. We are so glad to be your parents. We love you!

You had to know that Sari was going to make a sign!

This morning she took crumb cake muffins and orange juice to Seminary. When she went out to the car in our driveway, this is what she found:

She almost melted on the spot! Turns out Clayton left it there at 3:30 this morning, on his way to work.

Matthew and I took a little trip to the school parking lot and decorated the car Rachel drove today. Matthew was very naughty, I mean, exploring his boundaries the whole time. In fact, today he is listed for sale on Ebay.

The other side pretty much looks the same. Can you see the balloons tied to the antenna?

We also had a balloon bouquet delivered to Rachel during school. The DLC does balloon bouquets as an ongoing fundraiser and it is a greatly used project that parents and students use all the time. Thank you Big Cat Balloons!

After school and cross country, we had a quick dinner of crepes, mashed strawberries and whipped cream. This is my Grandma Hathaway's recipe, and believe me, she can cook! Most of the kids request this for their birthday dinner.

Notice Ben emptying out the can of whipping cream. That is what he does. He can't stand a bottle with stuff still in it.

We were rushed in giving Rachel her presents because she had to be to work at 6:30. Welcome to life, sweetie. Sometimes you have to work on your birthday. Ben did Heavy-heavy hangover and Rachel wished him "a successful wrestling season". Ben said in his sweet, silly, high-pitched voice, "Oh good, I was needing that". It was funny. You might have had to have been there.

Larry and I giving Rachel her "big" gift (how do you compete with the WICKED tickets from last year? You just can't.) But she LOVES LOVES this hair product and it is a small fortune, especially with how often she uses it, so we save it for gifts. Sort of like getting socks and underwear for your birthday, isn't it? Really expensive socks and underwear.

We even ran out of time for cake, candles and singing. We will do that tomorrow.

Larry ended the evening with a trip to McDonalds for a McFlurry which he delivered to Rachel's work at 9 p.m. She came home at 10:30, absolutely exhausted, with tons of homework left to do and school pictures the next day but I think she had a great birthday!

KARMA, FATE, FUNNY - CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL ...

Guess what book Sari's 7th grade English teacher has decided to read aloud to the class?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (to my blog) - contest closed

One year ago today I started blogging. To celebrate this great occasion and the friends I have made or kept in touch with and the family I have reconnected with, I will be having another contest! (And I am mailing Elizabeth R.'s gift out this weekend for winning the 100th post contest and I will be posting a picture of it here soon). So, go ahead and leave a comment about your favorite blog or post (doesn't have to be from me) or why you like blogs or blogging - I will enter your name into a hat (or a bowl or what have you) and you just never know, you might win something COOL!

The contest will close in about one week.

Are you still here? Go! Leave a comment! Don't be shy!

OLD YUCK - OPEAN

The first day of school I went to Old European. A delightful breakfast restaurant in Spokane. The last three out of four times that I have there I have gotten very very sick. Hence my new name for it - yuck-opean. Get it?

Don't these look delicious? Don't be fooled. Once you've puked so hard you have black eyes and the whites of your eyes are red (and it scares the tar out of your kids to look at you and frankly, scares you too, to look in the mirror and your husband asks you not to leave the house because you look like you've been beaten with a board about the face), you will rethink it!

Actually, I think it's the orange juice. It's supposed to be fresh squeezed and the three times I got sick I had orange juice OH! and I had the maple syrup. The one time I didn't get sick I didn't have the orange juice or their maple syrup.

But that's not the reason for this post. Hello, have we met? I like to digress and tangent and ramble? Right. That's me.

THIS is the reason for the post ... I was checking out my friend, Shelli's blog. She is just a cute little pixie of a thing, full of energy and happy thoughts. Her latest post said that her sister had a new blog with recipes. So I thought that I would check that out.

(Here's where this comes full circle to the beginning of the post - because I was SICK) I was just surfing the web (instead of being productive) and read Krista's whole new blog and her mom's whole blog about additives in food.

The recipes look fabulous and it was interesting to read the additives in food. I especially liked that she names brands that are additive free - so helpful! But reading her mom's blog was like so interesting - like pages from my own journal - many symptoms of being intolerant to additives in food.

Check out the blogs I've linked above and see what you think ... Made a lot of sense to me. I knew about the big MSG but didn't know about all the little ones. Something for me to think about, anyway.

WELCOME AVERY!

My dear friend, Utah (aka Kristina Edwards) had her baby today at 11:24 a.m.! Avery weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds, 1 ounces and only 19 1/2 inches long. She is darling! Kristina and Heber are doing great! Congratulations!!! Doesn't she look so cute - Utah I mean. (This is actually the most tired I have seen her look - EVER) I am telling you all, childbirth does not even faze her.

"ALL DRESSED UP FOR SCHOOL" (know the artists?)

First day of school here in Spokane: (To see how much they've changed click here and brace yourself, Sari is a different person!)

Joseph is in first grade!

Daniel is in 5th grade already. Where has the time gone?

Sari - a 7th grader already! AAGGGGG!!!

At least he isn't scowling this year. It is a big improvement. Ben in 10th grade!

Rachel is a Junior! AND she's driving herself and Ben to school (and early morning Seminary!) Thank you Heber and Utah!!!

The Sant kids waiting at the bus stop.

Here it comes! We love our bus driver and have actually added him to our Christmas gift list. I have a really touching story about him. I will add it at the bottom of the post.

Joseph and his new teacher Meg Baker - we are SO HAPPY that he has her. She is FABULOUS!

Daniel and his new teacher, Mrs. Himley. Sari had her in 4th grade and now Daniel has her in 5th. We are so excited! She is an excellent teacher with a highly developed sense of humor.

After all five kids were dropped at their various schools, Larry went to work and Matthew and I went to Old European with Jan, Stephanie, Trudy, Debra, Julie, FayeLisa, Terrie, and Kuulei. When we got home from breakfast Matthew sat down on the couch and said, "I'm going to wait here for Joseph's bus." Poor kid, he still had almost five hours to go!

This is what four days without a dryer looks like. We are $110 poorer but getting dry clothes!

Here is the story of Kevin, our bus driver: I have a friend whose son has the kind of cerebral palsy that makes you all tight (opposite of Daniel's) he has botox shots and wears a botox pump but he still walks with a pronounced limp and one arm curled up to his chest. Jonathon got off the bus one snowy day and fell into the snow. Kevin pulled the bus over and got out, helped Jonathon up and CARRIED him to his front door. When Trini answered the door, she saw that Kevin, who was holding Jonathon, ALSO has Cerebral Palsy! She called me in tears to tell me the story and I cried, too. The image of the crippled bus driver carrying the crippled boy was more than my heart could take! (Teared up just writing it! I wish I was better with words, I would have you ALL in tears!)

The title is a song by the Beach Boys.

SUMMER'S LAST BLAST!

This past week was our last week of summer. This is a little of what we did:

I made blackberry jam and syrup from the blackberries in my sister's yard. Super yummy! Thanks, Teilani!

Charmaine, Rachel, and I picked peaches at Walters You Pick. This is us on the "Fruit Loop Express". I love Walters. It is expensive but I like that it is locally grown and all the money goes straight to the farmers. Plus, the fruit is so delicious!

Charmaine's mother-in-law gave me a bunch of her empty canning jars. Look how cool these are:

And look how beautiful the finished product is:

Turns out you can bottle happiness! I just know that it is going to be so fabulous in Black February to go open a bottle of this heavenly goodness. (Who am I kidding that they will still be around? Ben eats a quart of these almost everyday after school until they are gone.)

The kids had a great time at the Primary activity. It was supposed to be outside, but since it was rainy and cold they had it in the gym. I felt bad for the Primary leaders but they did a great job!

Joseph is second from the right. Sitting with his homeboys and eating lunch.

Matthew was sitting with Joseph and the boys but wanted his own picture.

Daniel, in the white shirt at the back with his homies.

I took the kids to Dart-Lo for one last swim and we were the only ones there!

It was really nice because the kids all played so great together! The lifeguards let Ben use the floatation device to catch Joseph as he jumped off the diving board. Joseph's confidence really soared with all the attention from his big brother.

Sari and Ben started teaching the little kids how to swim. They were very patient. It was one of those afternoons that makes you glad you didn't strangle them on the way over, after all.

Eventually the Johnsons - Tearsah and Samuel joined us. Kuulei canned 6 cans of powdered milk for me at the cannery this night. It was a life saver since I just plumb ran out of hours in my day.

It wasn't all fun and games as a couple of my delightful children were a little mean to each other one afternoon and got to spend the rest of the day learning how to get along. I was totally bummed that Larry had already done the dishes. (Yes, that is duct tape - no it isn't stuck directly to their arms. I made a cuff first.)

Ben spent some time with the minnions of kids in our yard teaching them the finer points of "crack the egg".

Rachel and Ben cooperating on Guitar Hero!

This year Joseph's age group in soccer gets to have a goalie.

Here he is practicing that fine art.

We love that our kids and the neighbors love our yard! This has been the view most days this summer!

On Friday we had our last Lake Day of the summer. ((((Sad!)))) I just love the Pugh's lake house. It is so relaxing! Here are my boys with Daniel Palmer at the volleyball net.

At the end of the dock. It was windy and cool but the kids had a great day anyway.

Matthew hung out in his ... laundry basket full of life jackets. This last day only had us, the Palmers, and Jan at the lake. It was still a lot of fun and very relaxing.

I also took the older kids school clothes shopping (Plato's Closet had a friends and family day and it rocked!) and bought school shoes for all the kids except Rachel. But we bought her new running shoes (a small fortune) so I am not feeling so bad about that. Sari also got new running shoes because she wants to do cross country in 7th grade (went cheaper here, hope I don't regret it). I am so glad that I bought all the school supplies back in July! I paid the registration fees and did a bunch of sports physicals. I took Daniel to the orthodontist. I went visit teaching and I cut the three little boys hair.

Larry did some home repair and was busy all day on Saturday (any ideas on how to keep kids from hanging on the curtains and pulling everything out of the wall will be gratefully accepted - and we already tried electric shock and it didn't work - so suggest something else!). Today Larry and Ben helped the O'Donnals finish painting their house.

Sari ran in our annual Stake 5K Fun Run! Go Sari!

Today was also our ward's annual Labor Day picnic which I was in charge of. Thank goodness for Terry DuPape! He BBQed chicken and we all loved it. We were light on salads and heavy on desserts, but everyone got plenty to eat. The Palmers did a pinata and the kids LOVED that. The boys (young and old) played football on the field and Larry found out (again) that he is not as young as he thinks he is. We have a great ward! It was such a fun party! As usual 20% of the same people did 80% of the work, but I am starting to get used to it now and I am much happier not expecting as much.

Oh, and our dryer quit drying. Curses, cussing, fouling ...

Tomorrow (Tuesday) school starts ...