Gotta Love Home Depot

Bill's birthday was coming up and Lauren really wanted to do a party and get him something.  Because we had family in town, we took him to Famous Dave's BBQ.  I thought, since he has a lap top and sometimes he brings it into bed, he might want a lap table.  Lauren thought that was a great idea.  She started looking online and discovered that they were a lot of money and not really what we wanted.  So, because she is just like her dad, she pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and began to draw an idea to make one herself, cup holder and all.  When she begged me to get the sander and all the tools out, I knew I was in trouble.  Two reasons...the first, I had no idea how to use any of them.  Second, he keeps most of them in the bed of his truck.  My boss gave me a great idea.  Love her!!!!  Take Lauren to Home Depot and have them help.  That's exactly what we did.  I took Lauren and her drawing to our nearest Home Depot.  We had help from three different people.  The lumber guy helped us pick out a piece of wood.  He cut it to her specifications.  Next we needed to find hinges.  It took two people to help with that.  What they suggested and what we bought, we actually took back and got what Lauren wanted in the first place.  Just regular hinges.  She stained it a mahogany (we ruined a paint brush and therefore, had to buy him a new one).  It was beautiful!  The day before his birthday we were able to put it together (without the cup holder).  We just needed a drill gun.  We did have to ask Bill for that.  She did a great job.  She actually listed that in her Faith In God book under talents.  It was fun to see her working on it and daddy loved it.

Winter Soccer

 

Luke and Lauren are playing soccer again.  This last weekend, Luke scored three goals.  He was so excited.  Lauren's team played in the rain.  They had to end it at the half-time because it was so cold.  What a trooper.  The last game is this weekend.  They will definitely miss it.  Can't wait for the fall.

On The Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth day of Tina's Birthday...

Her true loves gave to her... (Sorry, I forgot to post this)

13 Baker's dozen (yummy chocolate chip cookies!), 12 Christmas Prayers (a book), 11 Dozen red roses, and the rest you all ready know.

It was the funnest birthday ever!!!!!

We also had fondue on my birthday with some friends in our ward. That was a lot of fun.

On the Tenth Day of Tina's Birthday...

her true loves gave to her...

10 pair of socks, 9 hot tamales, 8 5 n diners, 7 movie tickets, 6 Friday dates, 5 CHOCOLATE KISSES!, 4 Christmas cards, 3 MP3's, 2 lovely sweaters and a dinner in an Applebee's.

On the Eighth and Ninth Day of Tina's Birthday...

On the Ninth day of Tina's Birthday her true loves gave to her 9 Hot Tamales (yes, 9 big boxes), 8 Five N Diners (gift certificate to 5 n Diner), 7 movie tickets, 6 Friday dates, 5 chocolate kisses, 4 Christmas cards, 3 MP3's, 2 lovely sweaters and a dinner in an Applebees.

On the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh Day of Tina's Birthday...

I am playing catch up...

On the seventh day of Tina's Birthday her true loves gave to her...7 movie tickets, 6 Friday dates (don't know what they are. They are each in individual envelopes and I can only open one when we go on a date), 5 chocolate kisses, 4 Christmas cards (Myra Rich, Juanita Washburn, James and Marianne, Bill and then I got one from my mom so it was actually 5), 3 MP3's, 2 lovely sweaters and a dinner in an AppleBees.

On the Third Day of Tina's Birthday...

"Three MP3's, two lovely sweaters and a dinner in an AppleBee's".

I picked out two sweaters from Eddie Bauer tonight. They are simply lovely!!!!! Can't wait to pick out some songs from iTunes. Hmmm! What shall I get?

On the Second Day of Tina's Birthday...

What a surprise! "To: Mom. To (she meant "two") lovely sweaters and a dinner in an AppleBees." I got a gift certificate from Eddie Bauer, my favorite clothing store. Can't wait to go shopping!!! Thanks Bill, Luke and Lauren for making everyday until my birthday fun!

On the First Day of Tina's Birthday...

Yesterday, I was taken to AppleBees for dinner by Lauren, Luke and Bill. They gave me a card that said "To: Mom. On Tina's first day her true love gave to her, a dinner in an AppleBees. We Love You". I wonder what today will bring? They are so creative!!!!!

Soccer

The kids have been playing soccer here in Laveen for the past 7 weeks. Each week there has been a practice, separate for Luke and Lauren, and then games on Saturday. Every week Lauren has had a game at 8:30 in the morning every Saturday and Luke has had games starting from 8:30 to 10:30. The last game, Lauren could not play because she had strep throat. She was very upset. Each got an award and there was a pizza party for the families. We met so many new people. It was a great season!

Luke a Tiger Scout

Because daddy is so involved with scouting, Luke has learned to develop a love for it. He couldn't wait to start scouts. We found a Tiger pack that meets in the Laveen area at the Baptist church. He has made some new friends, gotten some patches and experienced some new activities. Here is a picture of his troop at the corn maze in Avondale. All of the families got to go and participate. Afterwards, Bill, Luke, Lauren and I went to the pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin. There were so many to choose from. We finally found the perfect pumpkin. Mom also found a fairy pumpkin. It is a little different from the regular pumpkins. I'll have to take a picture and post it on this blog. Fun times!

Happy Halloween 2009

Aren't they cute?! Lauren dressed up as Elizabeth York, wife to King Henry VII, and Luke is a Knight. A friend of ours (Peter Thatcher) took these pictures at a Ward Halloween party. Here is a picture of the front of our house.


We had so many plans for Halloween, however, mom was sick. The kids ended up trick-or-treating for about an hour with dad and had a good time anyway.

Lauren's Best Friend is Moving

Lauren's best friend, Emily Parker, is moving to North Carolina. Lauren got to spend the night one last time at the Parker home and while visiting, Lauren and Emily made up this handshake. How cute are they?

Shoot'em up Lauren!

While in Taylor, Arizona during the 4th of July weekend (2009) we did many fun things while visiting Sarah and Ed. The kids enjoy shooting. Lauren looks like a natural. So like her mom!!

Bill (not having fun) at Girls Camp

This happened over the summer at girls camp. I guess the sisters felt like they needed to get Bill back for something. (LOL!) You'll have to ask him the story. We sure did miss him while he was gone.

When Lauren was modeling...

I came across the name of one of the companies that used Lauren as a model. I checked out their website to see if she was still on there. Sure enough, she was. Check out Siemens website and scroll to the bottom.

Call me Jane!!

This is the tree on the front east part of our house. That's Lauren at the top and Luke at the bottom. Lauren would be swinging from the vines if she could. She has no fear and she loves the outdoors. Luke wants to do anything she does. Maybe one day he will be at the top of the tree. Just wait and see!

Luke is a Wyatt wanabe...

Luke's teeth tend to be loose for a really long time. This was no exception. Finally, daddy talked him into taking it out with pliers. Does this sound familiar, Wyatt? What a brave little boy!!! He got a gold $1 coin from the tooth fairy. Man, she's really rich these days. I only remember getting 25 cents.

Bill's New Church Calling

Last week, Bill was sustained as the new Young Men's President in our ward. So, as of today, he currently is the High Priest Group Leader and the Young Men's President. He has not been officially released as the HP Group Leader. Talk about busy! Anyway, he will be a great YM's President. He has a lot of good men underneath him and they are excited to work with him. Lauren, Luke and I are really excited for him also!

Bill's Project

Here is what Bill has been working on lately. It's the Hercuwall system and they are building a home for the Habitat For Humanity. You will see in the background another building going up. Bill said that the walls using the Hercuwall system went up with just a few men and in a couple of hours, while the garage (in the background) took more men and more hours to complete. That's awesome! I can see why Luke would want to be just like his daddy!!!

Cowboy Luke!

If someone is getting their picture taken, Luke is right there. What a ham! Here he is sporting his unbreakable (very important) glasses and his cowboy hat. I bet he was wearing it because daddy was wearing his. He loves his daddy!!!

Yesterday, Luke told us that he wants to be like daddy. He wants to build and help daddy and wear a hard hat. Gotta love him!!

He is starting to wear his prosthetic more. We'll have to get a picture on the blog for all to see. He is wearing it at school more and he has lots of help from therapists on how to use it properly. We're hoping he'll be able to write better, feed himself easier and do anything else that he wants to do.

Yahoo! Go cowboy!

Lauren's Special Project

Lauren loves to do little projects! Recently, a baby in our ward had surgery and was in the hospital for quite a while. Lauren wanted to tie a quilt and wanted to give it to the family. The baby has since gotten out of the hospital and it took a month or so to finish the quilt, but here is the final product. She gave it to the family today.

We had the material on hand and had just a little bit of batting. She, with some help from me, cut it out. We borrowed a small quilting frame from Diane Richins and Lauren tied it all by herself. Because my sewing machine is not working properly at the moment, we had to ask Diane again for help. Lauren was so excited to finally finish it. She was able to mark off one of her goals for "Activity Days".

Her next project is a doll. We'll have to post it when she's done.

The kids started school...

Their first day back to Eagle College Prep Elementary was August 3rd. They couldn't wait to start. Luke went back early for some "reminders" and Lauren was jealous. Into the second week of summer school, Luke was ready for "real" school and he wanted all of his friends to be there.

Lauren's new 4th grade teacher is Mrs. Elgar. They have a pet lizard and her teacher loves science.

Luke's new 1st grade teacher is Mr. Surian. They have fish and possibly soon a new hermit crab.

I'm starting to get a complex. I wish they wanted to be with me as much as they want to go to school. I guess the friends and fun of school life win over being homeschooled by "mom".

Bill had the camera so we were not able to take a picture of their first day back. The second day then became the third and so on. Needless to say, no first day pictures. They look so cute in their uniforms. Can't wait until the school takes pictures and they ask for a lot of money to get just a few. We'll have to see what this year brings.

We still love the school, even though they doubled the number of students. Drop off and pick up are CRAZY!

Camping Trip on July 24-26, 2009

We recently got back from a camping and fishing trip to Woods Canyon Lake. We went with some friends of ours, the Case's. We posted a slide show to the blog so you will have to go to it to see them. We had a wonderful time and the weather was beautiful. The kids really wanted to go fishing so we took them to the crowded lake and let them "practice". It was fun watching each of them cast their own lines. Even Luke figured out how to do it. We also had a little visitor that would come around to collect the food. You will see pictures of a chipmunk. He got close several times.

It rained on us a little the first day. On Sunday, it poured and it forced us to pack up quicker than expected.

We tried out a new recipe with our Dutch Oven. It seemed to be a hit because we thought we would have leftovers the next morning and we didn't. It was a Caramel Apple Crisp. We put whipped cream on top, however, vanilla ice cream would have been good also. Next time we will bring our ball.

We continue to love our little 50's trailer. We have big dreams on fixing it up some day, however, for right now it works. From a broken window to nails poking out on the inside of the trailer to opening the door with a screwdriver and three of us (Tina, Lauren and Luke) sleeping on one bed, it still is fun and it keeps us warm and secure. We love it!

Lauren's $50 Savings Bond

While at the "Scholar Night" we were told by Lauren's teacher (MaryGrace Barber) that she had been selected by her teacher, administrators and PTA to receive a $50 Savings Bond toward her education. She received it because of her character, grades, and leadership. Each class selected one student. She was so excited, as were we! She has a great start towards her future. At this point, she wants to go to college and her selected career is Zookeeper.