Jake hard at work... Break dancing

Jacob is definitely our dancer. Always experimenting.

John speaks Iowanese!

We were taking a family trip into Idaho Falls last night when Jacob starts telling us about the Spanish he is learning in the After School Program. I was very impressed by what he could say, mostly colors, but had the tongue roll down pretty good. The John made a joke about people who speak only 1 language (hint, they're called Americans). Suddenly Jackson pipes up and says... "Dad, you speak 2 languages." This took us off guard, because technically, I know more Spanish than he does- if we're counting that as foriegn language experience in our home now. So he proceeds to tell us that John speaks Iowanese.

In case you don't know the joke around our house... John served a 2 year mission in Iowa- not a foreign one, or one he needed to learn another language for. But because he had so many stories to tell about the people there and their "culture" (that was foreign to him), we joke that he speaks Iowanese. I guess we never thought about the message that was giving the boys. SO... Then Jake catches on and says, "Dad, say something in Iowanese. Say dog." Hardly able to get it out without laughing, John says, "Them's mu kids." The boys, of course, think this is just the coolest thing ever, so they start asking him to say more in this new language. Instead of come in a sit for a while, he said, "Come in and take a set on the davenport." (or couch- in case you are lost like I was when we first got married). Then I said, "Say... go away, it's dark." and he responded with... "I can't say that one in front of the kids." (Another joke, because tracting in a place where it gets dark at 5:00 pm you don't always get a warm reception- which generally means you hear some pretty choice language yourself.)

Regardless, I laughed so hard, and knew right away this was going on the blog. If you want to hear some genuine Iowanese too, I'll have john "translate" and I'll post it to the blog for all to learn this new foreign language. :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I saved some of them!

I was awoken this fine snowy morning to 2 boys very worried that the power had just gone out. Not so much worry for the fact that the refrigerator and fireplace blowers didn't work, as much as the fact that they couldn't watch their cartoons or movies. SO I drag myself out of bed and decided that while they didn't have any distractions, it was a perfect opportunity to get the basement cleaned up. However, as I walk down the last few stairs I notice a smell coming from the bedroom with the fish tank. I turn the corner to see a murky mess, and no filter going (because of the power outage). I screamed, ready to beat the 3 year old, when Jackson says, "It wasn't me... it was JACOB!" I was 1st stunned, not because he is known for his good judgment, but he has known for quite a while that he is not supposed to touch the fish (as this has happened once before just after we got the poor creatures).

So I get to the interrogation and find out that he was worried that the fish wouldn't be fed, we have an electric feeder, because of the power outage. I was ready to apologize to him for losing it when he was really trying to help. Then I suddenly realized that the fish feeder is battery operated! I clearly see 1 fish dead and 1 fading quickly. In the course of the clean up I find 4 dead, while 3 fish and 1 recluse sucker fish made it through. What a morning. BUT... the power is back on so now I can clean all by my self while the kids are "distracted" once again. BOYS!!!

A few memories from when the weather was warm

Jake won a game against John and Jackson. He was excited, Jackson... not so much.


My kids don't use binkies when they are babies, but at about 3 they think they are fun to play with :)


Jamison learned he loved "Poppet doe" Translation- Chocolate Milk.


Uncle Brooks takes his BBQ very seriously! :)



Hearst Castle on my birthday while we were in California this summer. Thanks for joining us Neely!

We are still alive! Barely!

I suddenly realized just how long ago it was I updated the blog. Sorry to all you faithful blog followers. To be fair, in my very first post I put in a disclaimer that I wasn't sure how long I would keep this going. :)

It was a long, hot and technology deprived summer for us. We went to The Salmon River High Adventure Base to work again (Scout Camp). I know... I swore there was no way in HELL I would go back, but some offers just seem too tempting when your money deprived. I cooked again and John was the C.O.P.E Director (team building activities) and got to kayak every day too. I had a wonderful cook with me, which made our jobs way easier, but then the sickness settled in. It just wasn't enough for me to be hot, tired and dirty all the time, I had to add morning sickness into it(evening sickness in my case)

I found out I was expecting our 4th on July 5th, and the sickness stayed until into September. You know how when you get sick and your body associates the last thing you ate with that sickness, so every time you see or smell it you feel sick all over again? Well that is how I feel about Salmon right now. It took me years to even be able to look at BBQ sauce after Jackson, so it may be that long before I can even look back on this summer with fond memories. :) Oh... and did I mention that we are supposed to be having a GIRL!!! :)

The boys had the time of their lives though, just to spite me I think. Jamison was funny to watch adjust to his surroundings. There was a soft dirt patch in between the kitchen and the cabin we slept in. If I ever lost him, almost without fail, I could find him sitting in, rolling in or blowing the powder dirt all over himself. He was never clean! The other two made friends with the camp directors boys and played video games all day. Normally this would bother me, but it kept them safe and clean while I cooked during the day. Jackson did get to go real kayaking this year though. John took him down a flat stretch of water and while it scared to poop out of him once or twice, he loved it too. He even talks about holding his own kayaking class for the neighborhood kids this next summer. :) I guess that's what we get for getting him his own kayak.

Anyway... sorry for the big delay in contact. I hope to get some pictures and video of the summer on here soon.I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday season and remembers to put Christ front and center in their lives.

Family pictures or a free for all?

I find it so funny how cute pictures seem to just come natural to some families and not so much to others. Ours falls into that "not so much" range. Never fails- if I schedule family pictures someone will be naughty, ornery or fall down and get facial stitches the day before. Fortunately,on this occasion, we just had the naughty and ornery boys. As much as I was not impressed with the overall photos, I thought the progression of my 2 year olds moods was too funny not to share. Jackson and Jacob really tried to be troopers, but with Jamison screaming in your ear or climbing all over you, it was a pretty tough job.

Funny View of Education

This is a funny view of how a lot of teachers feel about "No Child Left Behind". My teachers really liked it anyway. :) If the link doest show, go to this site- http://www.notonthetest.com

Random pieces of us

A fun FHE activity


And now for the test...


Bath time at the Snell house has to be supervised now... The bubbles were much bigger, but mom turned off the machine before she went to get the camera


Jamison learns a new trick


Swimming in Blackfoot- just after this, Jackson tried climbing up the red slide, slipped and broke his front permanent tooth. Needless to say, I love our Dentist who graciously came in on his Saturday evening to fix it. I'm sure we'll pay for it, but what a guy!


Dad showing off his skills as a kayaker



AND...

Snow in April?

The Circus Came to Town

Jacob got to be a clown, fitting I know, for his class circus. He really hammed it up.



There's my hottie! :) He doesn't let me get pictures very often- he's afraid I'll put things on the blog... Where would he get that idea?

We are alive- I promise!!!

Ok, Ok, I can read your thoughts "She said she was going to be better at keeping the blog updated- so much for that!" The end of the school year tends to be my backed up, busy time at work so I am tired when I get home. That coupled with a sick baby and husband, and crazy 5 year old who climbs to the tops of back stops in rain boots and an 8 year old who only wants to play, and not do chores/homework... You get the idea. Things are finally settling down so I thought I would update while I had a free moment.

We are in count down mode to summer break, California and Salmon-(where the adventure really begins). Jackson is heavy into baseball right now. He loves it! The most exciting thing this year is not only seeing his improvement from last year, but that he's not the smallest one in the league this year :)



This is my "Major Leaguer"- He's actually pretty good at catcher.



He realized, almost too late that he wasn't going to make it, so we went back to 3rd- Smart thinking...

May 3rd was Jakes birthday, but we had a training for Salmon, so the boys got to play in the Blackfoot pool all morning. They had a blast!



I know what your thinking again... Mandie's child wears a life jacket? But yes, their California genes haven't kicked in yet. The Idaho gene seems to be the more dominant.



What's better than an unexpected flip? One done on your birthday!

SLideshow of the life of The Savior

http://www.eastvalleyproductions.com/blog.cfm?postID=31

My sister just sent me the most beautiful picture slide show about the life of the Savior I hope the link works for you- I cried at work. If the link doesn't show as a direct link, I also have a link to it in the sites I frequent section of my blog. Enjoy!

Warning... Injury Photos to follow!

I have finally joined the ranks of injured tri-athletes. I am told all the great have a scar to tell about. Notice the nasty bruise on the other leg too. The funny thing, the spot where it's th worst, I seem to have pinched a nerve so by all the road rash near the bottom I have a numb spot about 2 inches in diameter. Cool hugh?! Jamison looks at it and says "No,No owie Mommy"

Ok, here's the story... It was my first time on a bike- outside- since my last Triathlon in August. I had just talked myself out of turning around after about mile 2- it was still really cold even though it was sunny. I had just warmed up so I continued on to Sugar City. As I was trying to round a corner to head home, a car was stopped at the intersection ready to turn so I couldn't cut the corner. I went around the car, but hit some loose dirt in the middle or the road and slid on my knee for about 6-8 feet to the side of the road. Luckily the woman at the intersection hopped out to help and an off duty EMT saw my bike on the road and stopped to help too. I am a firm believer in helmets anyway, but now I also see the wisdom in padded riding gloves- they are not just for wiping sweat or looking tough. My hand would have been just as eaten up as my knee. I was able to keep my chest and head from hitting and sliding along with the bike with my hand too. Thankfully, I only have some soreness in the pad of my left hand.

I asked John to see how far I had gone once I was home. He jokingly says, "It says 9.3 miles, but I'm betting more like 9.6 because of the skid." He also says he thinks we should invest in a pair of leather biking pants for my next ride ;)... Thanks for the support honey! Dr. Brady has looked it over and says other than a good scar and story, I should recover just fine.

Pine Wood Derby Here I come!

I promised a video of the Pine Wood Derby and I can now deliver. We are the far car- who wins by the way. I did in fact say "we". Who do you think put the most time and energy into the car? Of course... Mom and Dad!

Spring is in the air

We haven't been able to have so many outings this winter, so when we get a chance to be outside, we take it- especially the boys, and especially Jamison.

Happy Easter !

This was the extent of our Easter weekend. We did have a fun egg hunt at Grandma Rogers. Who's idea was the sugar coated warm peeps though? Oh Yeah! Grandpa- because he knew the parents were taking the grandkids home afterward... sorry for my blabbering... You can mute me if you like.

Check out the video...

I got the you tube link of an artistic elephant from a friend in an e-mail and decided it was cool enough for my blog. What a trainer- do you think they work with potty training toddlers too... I added more posts though, so now the you tube link is closer to the bottom.

Confessional

I have a confession to make for all to see... I am a habitual blog surfer.

I find it interesting to look at pictures of complete strangers and wonder what their lives are like. The thing I find funniest is that 99% of the time I can pick out an LDS blog even without reading about them 1st. Crazy! Here is the silliest part. Sometimes i will even leave a message on someone's blog- just to say I stopped in and liked what I saw on their blog. For a former"Bad Blogger" I think I've gone way overboard. I am very impressed how prominent pictures of temples are on their sites though...

Also, notice the automatic blogger sign up at the bottom of my page. This is cool. Put in your e-mail address and when I add a post, you'll be notified about it, so you don't have to catch up on several posts at once or to have to keep checking with nothing new added (another feature kifed from a fellow blogger's site.)

Easter was not a huge deal this year. We made sure to celebrate the resurection of the Savior and lessen the influence of the Easter Bunny.While more meaningful, it made for a rather dull blog entry. On Saturday John's mom had an egg hunt set up around her house (we still have several feet of snow on the ground outside...). That was fun. At each bowl of eggs they came to they had to answer a question about The Savior first. I it was funny, and rewarding, to see the older grandkids wait for the younger ones to answer first- to make sure they were right. The younger kids had no hesitation and knew most every answer lightning fast. I was proud of them. A funny moment came when one of the younger talking grandkids was asked something like, "What does Heavenly Father want us to have..." I believe the answer was a testimony, but she looked at what the prize was, pointed at it and said.."That right there". Too funny.

Our camera is doing funny things right now, so I can't get the pictures/video from Easter or Jackson's first Pine Wood Derby off the camera yet. I will post that as soon as I can. Take care and happy Spring!

Toward the end of summer we had a fun get together at Aunt Heidi's house. It's a hill made for activities such as these. What a fun memory.

Prince Jackson saves the day!

Jackson's class just participated in the Utah Festival Opera. It's an opera created by the children- completely. Sets, music, lyrics, costumes... It was so amazing! Granted, it was done by second graders, but it was pretty creative. Take a look - when I get a file that fits... his royal picture is on the right for now.

Meaning of life

I had the pleasure of attending the Temple tonight with John. I was looking forward to that peaceful feeling that accompanies a trip like that. It was my first session in the Rexburg Temple. What a wonder it is to behold. Feeling so peaceful has made me reflect on a project I heard about this morning my favorite local radio station (Klassy 97, KLCE). Wayne (yes Wayne, I've listened so long I feel close enough to be on a first name basis.) was talking about a book he picked up where the author compiled hundreds and hundreds of 6 word life statements from various authors and other people. I was so impressed with how profound some of them were. 6 words doesn't seem like a lot, but it really can summarize a lifetime of experience. I'm going to try to create a link to KLCE so you can read some yourself. Wayne's even made Liza cry a bit (Yes, Liza and I are on a first name basis as well.) In the spirit of peace and contentment I feel tonight I thought I would give some a try myself. Here goes...

1. Laughed, Loved, Cried, Tried, Failed, Enduring
2. Do Good Things Is Our Motto
3. Searched My Soul And Found Him
4. A Quiet Song Calms My Fears
5. Put The Vase Down Now Son!
6. I Don't Like Living With Regrets
7. I Am A Child Of God
8. I Prefer To ... Run, Bike, Swim
9. Not As Bad As I Thought
10. I Love My Family And Friends


You know... it isn't as hard as I thought it would be. I am quite sure you can be much more poetic than I have been, I like how concise it is. If you post a comment to this, I would encourage you to give one a try yourself.

Just when I thought it was time for bed...

You know those commercials where the kids overflow the bath tub and water spills out all over the bathroom and then the ceiling breaks and all the water floods the house... Well, minus the floor caving in and flooding the whole house, I now know it can really happen. I was just about to close and save my latest post and go to bed, when I hear John say, "What the..." really loud. I go down stairs to see that Jackson had left the sink water running after he had gotten a drink about 30 minutes before. At that time I told him to turn off the water and go to bed. Apparently he thought the water could turn itself off so he just closed the door instead. SO much for going to bed early- but Thank heavens for a wet vac!

Jackson turns 8!

To the average person in the world, turning 8 doesn't mean much, more than turning 7 or 9 but to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, turning 8 is a big step in life. With that, Jackson turned 8 Feb. 10th and was baptized a member of the church on March 1st. It was a good day for him. His Grandpa Rogers bore his testimony, his Aunt Heidi gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and he had plenty for priesthood authority surrounding him, by way of uncles and Great uncles, for his confirmation. Jacob even got in on the action and gave a very nice, and independent, closing prayer. My babies are growing up fast! Being that the next day was fast Sunday, we asked him if he would like to fast with us. He didn't quite understand what fasting meant though and thought he had to go all month without food. Needless to say, or Family Home Evening lesson the yesterday was on fasting. Thanks special to our family and friends who made it such a special day. We love you!