Post Family

2009-08-21T16:50:00.001-05:00

June 30th we flew to San Jose where we spent 10 days playing with Grandma and Grandpa Post and Jordan's sibblings' families. We had so much fun!

San Jose Children's Discovery Museum

Fireworks in the Backyard

Alexis, Brianna, Donovan, Carey

Dallin, Alexis, Kylie, Spencer

Swimming in the Hot Tub

Trista, Kolby, Dallin, Spencer, Alexis, Kylie

Jordan flew home from California to go back to work, but the kids and I drove to Utah in a car we bought from his parents. While in Utah we stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Salmon, Shana, and the Trumps for about eight days total.

With Uncle Robert's Family

Alexis & Mariah

Mariah, Robert, Thomas

Spencer, Jared, Trey

Trey & Spencer

Trista, Mariah, Alexis, Candace

Grandpa & Grandma Salmon, Trista

With Shana's Family

From Utah we traveled on to Aurora, Colorado where we stayed a couple of nights with my cousin Kim and her family. We had a lot of fun with her and Peter and their kids swimming, playing in the yard, and waiting out tornado sirens in their basement! No pictures this time though--I was a slacker.
Finally we drove home on July 21st. After 2100 miles of traveling alone with four kids, and three weeks of living out of suitcases it was so nice to be home! We loved being able to see so many of our friends and family, though, and are grateful to everyone who let us stay with them

Trista is 3!

2009-06-24T21:50:00.005-05:00

On the 16th of June Trista turned three! She's been waiting and waiting for her birthday, and it was especially hard for her to see Dallin, Spencer, and me all have birthdays over the past three months while she was waiting for hers. She's been asking to go to Chuck E Cheese's for her party, and we were happy to oblige. We invited a few friends from church, but mostly kept it pretty simple. Her favorite part was riding the pony... over... and over... and over again. I think she used almost every coin she had just riding that pony!

Trista chose princess cupcakes for her cake, and she did a great job blowing out the candles!

For presents she got some new dress-ups, a beach bucket, and a princess cell phone.

Daddy even left work for a little while to join us in celebrating Trista's birthday!

As you can see, it wouldn't have been a party without the party hats--Trista insisted on those! We love Trista so much and are so glad she's such an important, fun part of our family!

Bike Wreck

2009-06-23T09:48:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Dallin tried to take on the hot pavement with his face. I think it's clear who won.

His face actually looks much better today than it did yesterday. The kids were all out riding bikes, including my nephew Braden who is staying with us this week. Apparently Dallin was riding alongside Braden, going pretty fast, when he looked back to see who was behind him. He swerved into Braden's bike and consequently, bit the dust. The amazing thing is he doesn't have a scratch on any other part of his body, just his poor face.

As he was crying all he kept saying was, "I shouldn't have turned around. I shouldn't have been riding so fast. I shouldn't have been so close to Braden's bike." I kept assuring him that everyone gets in a bike wreck sometime when they're little, but he was so sure that he did something very wrong.

Dallin's leaving on an airplane to California today to begin summer vacation. We're supposed to have family pictures while we're all at Grandma and Grandpa Post's. I hope his face heals quickly!

Greatest Ever

2009-06-07T14:26:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Roger Federer for his championship win of the French Open today!

Jordan and I absolutely love Federer. He is amazing to watch and such a great sport. We've been rooting for him to win his 14th grand slam, and it couldn't have come at a better time than at the French Open. And it was so much less stressful to watch him play Robin Soderling today instead of Rafael Nadal.

My dream now is to actually see him play in person before he retires. Hopefully he still has a few good years left. I'll start saving my $$$$!

Spencer's 7th Birthday!

2009-06-05T22:14:00.009-05:00

The day after we got back from St. Louis, May 26th to be exact, was Spencer's 7th birthday! We celebrated by having a birthday cake at Grandma and Grandpa's while we were all together.

One of the things Spencer bought with his birthday money was a slip-n-slide. The kids loved playing on it the very first day that was warm enough.

Happy Birthday, Spencer! We love having your fun, carefree spirit in our home! You're such an awesome brother and friend, and an excellent baseball player as well! We love you!

(Enjoy the background in honor of Spencer--his favorite color is orange! He insists he wants an orange Bug for a car when he turns 16. I keep telling him he may not fit in it, but he's not convinced!)

Memorial Weekend

2009-06-05T22:02:00.004-05:00

Over Memorial Weekend we (my family, my parents, and Carley's family) went on a short trip to St. Louis. While we were there we visited the temple, the zoo, the art museum (very briefly since the kids weren't quite old enough to appreciate it), and the science center. The best part of all is that they were all FREE! Enjoy the following pictures of our fabulous weekend!

Fairy Tale Ball

2009-06-05T21:40:00.003-05:00

During the last few weeks of school the entire first grade at Bellview Elementary has been studying Fairy Tales. When the unit was over they had a Fairy Tale Ball, for which they got to dress up as any fairy tale person/creature they wanted. Spencer decided he wanted to be Aladdin.

The kids got to parade around the school for all the other students to see and then meet in the cafeteria to perform some dances they'd been working on for the parents. They performed about four different dances, including the Macarena and some others I don't know the names of. Here's Spencer doing one of the dances. You'll notice he isn't smiling. He appeared to be focusing very hard on getting the dances right. He was all business!

After the dancing was over we went back to the classroom for a tea party. Dallin and Trista were with me, and since all the other kids were going to be dressed up I let them dress up too (my apologies for Trista's mouth full of food--she, of course, had to say "cheese" for the picture).

Here's Spencer with his teacher, Mrs. Fordyce.

And here he is enjoying his snacks with the rest of his class.

And here's one more picture just because Spencer's so darn cute (and to show off the sewing and glueing prowess of his mom in making such a fine vest and hat)!

Pre-School Graduation

2009-06-05T21:29:00.002-05:00

All the kids are out of school now for the summer, including Dallin, who graduated from Preschool on May 16th. I've never been to a preschool graduation before, and I actually thought of opting out of it because I've always thought of it as a pretty silly thing. But in the end we decided to participate since Dallin had worked so hard to learn his songs and even memorize a Bible verse for the ceremony.

It ended up being so cute--we were so glad we went! The songs and the actions were lots of fun to see and Dallin was just grinning ear-to-ear the whole time. Here he is getting his "diploma" and shaking hands with his teacher, Ms. Diane. he attended His House Preschool, hence the little red house in the background.

Dallin did great. When it was his turn for his Bible verse he almost forgot it, but after he was helped with the first few words he remembered the rest on his own. Congratulations, Dallin! Now it's on to Kindergarten!

Bad Mom

2009-05-28T22:12:00.002-05:00

Quick confession. Tonight as the kids and I were driving home from swim lessons Alexis and Spencer were in the back seat hitting each other, teasing, tattling on each other, etc. I got very irritated, because I feel like every time we're in the car it's the same old thing, either between Alexis and Spencer or Dallin and Trista. I finally lost it and said and in a very loud voice (okay, I'll admit it, I was yelling, quite loudly), "SHUT UP AND KNOCK IT OFF!!!!!!!!" I knew I shouldn't have said it. I don't allow the kids to say it. I have no excuse. But don't worry--I was very quickly put in my place when Trista said, "Mom, why did you say shut up? You're not supposed to say shut up." Alexis was more forgiving. I apologized and told the kids I shouldn't have said it, but Alexis assured me that it was okay, it was just because I was really mad and sometimes that happens. Looks like I could learn a few things from my kids about how to be a better mom:)
P.S. Memorial weekend and Spencer's Birthday pictures coming soon.

Gimp

2009-05-21T10:45:00.003-05:00

So, I'm officially a gimp. My lower back has been sore lately, but I've been trying to work through it, still exercising and doing all my regular activities. Until yesterday when I was in my step aerobics class doing some extra end-of-class conditioning when I totally tweaked my back. I spent the rest of the day hobbling around, icing my back, and trying to find a comfortable position for sitting or lying down.

Today I'm feeling pretty much the same, but my agenda for the day was to do laundry, clean the entire house before the carpet cleaners come this afternoon, and sew a purple vest for Spencer's Aladdin costume he needs for tomorrow. I'm working at a snail's pace, picking up items with my toes when possible and getting up and down slowly while cleaning bathrooms.

But amid all my woes, Trista did allow me a bright spot. I've been telling her I can't pick her up, she can't jump on my back, I can't help her very much, etc. for the past two days. So this morning she and I were sitting by each other eating our eggs and toast when she decided she didn't want to eat anymore. She was starting to get off her stool when I told her she had to finish eating before she got down. She immediately leaned over, put her hands on her lower back and said, "Oh, my back hurts. I just can't eat anymore." It worked. She's watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse now while her eggs get cold and her toast dries out.

Trista & Zoey

2009-05-03T14:08:00.005-05:00

Zoey is Trista's cousin in Costa Rica. Zoey is only five weeks older than Trista, and when Zoey was here at Christmas they had tons of fun playing together.

Zoey loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and while she was at Disney World last month she bought a Minnie Mouse doll to give to Trista.

Trista was so excited to have her very own Minnie Mouse doll just like Zoey! We love you Zoey, and we can't wait for you to move back here this summer so you and Trista can play together!

Costa Rica

2009-05-03T12:54:00.006-05:00

Jordan and I had a great trip to Costa Rica last month. One of our excursions was as trip to Jaco Beach where we body boarded, played football on the beach, and burned the bottom of our feet on the hot, black sand!

Grandpa & Grandma Salmon, Aunt Terry, and my mom

Zoey, Jordan, Austin, Kaylee, Isabella, Angie

The next day eight of us (Grandma & Grandpa Salmon, my mom and dad, Angie, Aunt Terry, Jordan and I) took a four-hour drive to Volcan Arenol.

We stayed at a nice hotel with water slides and natural hot pools which we all had fun hanging out in together. While there we went on a hike through the rain forest in a natural park with hanging bridges and awesome foliage.

The next day we went zip-lining, so fun!

Jordan, Dad, me, Mom, Aunt Terry, and Grandpa with our zip-lining gear on, ready to go!

Jordan at the beginning of one of the zip-lines

One of the zip-lines over the rain forest (you have to look closely for the zip-line!)

Me just after take-off

My dad getting ready to go with the help of our guide, Delroy. Dallin was excited to hear that our other guide's name was Diego!

While in Costa Rica we also went to the San Jose temple, Volcan Poaz and downtown San Jose to shop. We celebrated my niece Kaylee's birthday, played tennis, and played plenty of Rook and a little Bananagrams. Thanks, Angie, for being such a good tour guide! We can't wait to go back someday!

Cute Kids on Easter Sunday

2009-05-03T12:45:00.004-05:00

Dallin is Five!

2009-04-08T20:36:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday to our darling Dallin. He's five years old today!

We celebrated last night by going bowling at Dallin's request.

The kids loved it!

Then we came home to enjoy some birthday cupcakes!

Look at that face. Do you think he's happy?

Today he got to open his birthday presents. He got a golf set, a Diego rescue pet, and a Diego packpack spray gun.

Dallin, we're so glad you've been part of our family for five years now! We love your bright smile, your goodness and helpfulness, and the overall joy you bring to our family. Happy Birthday!

Playing with Nate

2009-04-02T15:24:00.011-05:00

We watched Nate for a little while today while Carley had a job interview. It was nice outside again, so we all played in the back yard together. This week Alexis, Spencer and Dallin started swim lessons. Hopefully this will help get us ready for summer--I'd love it if Dallin and Spencer could swim on their own soon!

Last week Grandma and Grandpa Post and Great-Grandma Nielson came to visit during Spring Break. We had a lot of fun playing games, watching movies, and just spending time together. I never got around to getting the camera out--I'll have to do better when we're in CA this summer.

Then we went up to Missouri over the weekend to visit my parents. Mom and I shopped a little bit, and Saturday afternoon we had an indoor Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. It was a cold rainy day, and it even snowed Saturday night. But by Sunday afternoon it was beautiful outside again. I'm having a hard time figuring out this weather lately. Hopefully it will get warm and stay warm soon!

Speaking of warm, in two weeks I'll be in Costa Rica! Jordan and I, my mom and dad, Grandma and Grandpa Salmon, an my Aunt Terry are all going for about a week. I'm looking forward to the vacation and the warm weather!

2009-03-24T08:53:00.005-05:00

We've had really great weather lately and have been to the park several times. My tulips are starting to bloom, we have our house on the market again, and the kids are on spring break. That's the past month for us in a nutshell. Happy Spring!

Spencer pushing someone on the tire swing (just in case

you were wondering why in the world he's standing like that)

Hero

2009-02-26T19:33:00.004-06:00

Sometimes my kids surprise, even shock me. This evening was one of those times. You may know from past blogs or even our most recent Christmas letter that for years now Dallin's least favorite time of day has been dinner time. No matter what I've fixed for the past two to three years, if it had the title "dinner," Dallin despised it. He much prefers "kid" food, like chicken nuggets, french fries, ramen noodles, PB&J, macaroni and cheese-you get the picture. We've had many dinners that involved crying, gagging and even the occassional throwing up. But we've stuck to our guns and had a hard and fast rule that he is given a little bit of everything and then must finish his plate, especially if he wants anything else to eat later [like ice cream, one of his very favorites along with donuts, cookies, fruity candy and all other sugar-laden anti-health foods. To his defense, he also loves fruit (could it be the sweetness?), especially apples.] On a few occassions his big sister Alexis has felt so bad for him that she's come to his rescue and finished his dinner for him just so he wouldn't have to miss out on a special treat. However, dinner time has gotten a little bit easier for Dallin lately--I think he's finally realized he was fighting a losing battle--and he has recently begun to finish his dinner without much complaint.

Dallin, standing next to Trista's plate of unfinished food.

This evening was like most others. Tonight I served spaghetti, and Dallin was having a bit of a hard time finishing his plate. Trista was having an even harder time, and the rest of us were finished and up doing dishes while the two of them were still at the table. Finally Dallin finished, and as he rinsed his plate I told him that he could have an ice cream sandwich for dessert. Trista's ears perked up at that, but still, she just couldn't make herself finish. She was whining and crying about how she couldn't eat but she wanted ice cream and so on. I was quite successfully tuning her out. Dallin ate his ice cream sandwich, and then to my amazement walked over to the table and began eating Trista's dinner for her! When he finished he said, "There Trista! You can have an ice cream sandwich now!" My heart just melted. What a sacrifice for Dallin, who could barely choke down his own dinner, to finish his little sister's for her so she could have the ice cream sandwich she wanted. And what an example Alexis has been in the past to do the same for Dallin. It's nice to see signs that they actually do love each other--a lot! What sweet kids! I'm so grateful for moments like these.

HIS and HERS

2009-02-09T12:46:00.006-06:00

I thought this was an appropriate tag since Valentine's Day is this week.

HIS and HERS
This is just like 25 things about me,except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you AND your spouse!! And of course,tag people!!!

1. What are your middle names? Arlene and K. (just the initial, no actual name)
2. How long have you been together? We'll celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss April 24th! We dated for six months before that.
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? 4 days--we talked on the phone a few times and I loved his sense of humor. I couldn't wait to get to know him better and see him in person!
4. Who asked who out? Jordan invited me to a hockey game but I had to work. In the same conversation he mentioned a football game and I had to REALLY hint to him that I wanted to go before he finally asked, "Oh, would you wanna go?" Duhhh!
5. How old are each of you? I'm 31, he's 34. I always tease him that he's an old man because he's soooo much older than me. Especially now that he's becoming more distinguished (aka--getting gray hair).
6. Whose siblings do you see the most? Mine. His live further away.
7. Do you have any children together? Yes, two girls, two boys.
8. What about pets? No way! And we're both in agreement about that!
9. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Making enough time for just us while having four young children.
10. Did you go to the same school? High school, no. University, yes.
11. Are you from the same town? No. I grew up in Missouri, Jordan in California.
12. Who is the smartest? Since I consistently score higher (by one point!) on the online IQ tests, I'd definitely say I am. But he applies himself more.
13. Who is the most sensitive? Probably me.
14. Where do you eat out most as a couple? Chili's--it's cheap and it has bottomless chips and salsa for my frugal husband.
15. Where is the farthest you have travelled as a couple? Cancun.
16. Who has the craziest exes? I guess me.
17. Who has the worst temper? Hmmm, that's a toss-up. We both get worked up about different things.
18. Who does the cooking? Definitely me, but I don't mind. He brings home the bacon and does a lot of other stuff around the house.
19. Who is more social? Some might think Jordan is because he's so funny and makes people laugh and feel comfortable. But I think I am because I like to go out more and be around people and he'd really rather just stay home.
20. Who is the neat freak? Neither of us. We're both pretty clean, but having four kids has made me less of a freak about things--I just accept now that messes happen.
21. Who is more stubborn? We both are--it's so hard to be humble, to be the first to say "I'm sorry." Especially when I KNOW I'm always right!
22. Who hogs the bed? Jordan, he usually ends up in the middle, which is fine in our king-sized bed, but not so great when we go somewhere and end up sharing something smaller.
23. Who wakes up earlier? Jordan. He usually wakes up around 5:30 to workout before work.
24. Where was your first date? A BYU football game.
25. Who has the bigger family? Neither. He has three sibblings and I have three sibblings. This made it pretty easy to decide to have four children of our own.
26. Do you get flowers often? No. I used to think I wanted them, but now I'd rather spend the money on other stuff, and he knows that.
27. How do you spend the holidays? Usually with my family, because they live closer. But if his family would hurry up and move here, we'd split the time with them as well!
28. Who is more jealous? I am.
29. How long did it take to get serious? Not long. After the first couple of weeks we were together everyday, and we were engaged within three months of our first date.
30. Who eats more? I depends on which of us is trying to "be good" at the moment. Right now, I do.
31. Who does the laundry? When we got married Jordan told me, "I like to clean bathrooms and do laundry." It's great! I usually wash and dry the loads, but he's great about folding everything while watching TV.
32. Who is better with the computer? Jordan, by far, especially the technical parts like setting it up and programming and stuff. And I really don't want to learn. I tell him that's the reason I keep him around:)
33. Who drives when you are together? Usually Jordan, but sometimes I do--especially if I don't feel like giving turn-by-turn directions to somewhere we've been before. He's not good with directions, and he's the first to admit it. He's good at a lot of other things though!

Now I'm tagging Angie, Becca, Carley, Kim, Aimee, and Crystal!

Ice, Ice Baby

2009-01-27T15:02:00.008-06:00

Since we're iced in with no school today and no place to go, I figured it's a good time to catch up on my blog. We started getting freezing rain yesterday afternoon. School got out an hour early, and by last night they had already closed school for today. We just found out it's cancelled tomorrow as well, since the rain is supposed to continue and temperatures are staying in the teens at least until noon tomorrow.

I've been wanting to do an update on the kids, so maybe I'll go from youngest to oldest.

Trista is into dressing up and Dora lately. Here she is with an army hat on with her Dora slippers and Dora panties (not sure what happened to the rest of her clothes). She loves to watch Dora, answering questions and dancing along with the show. She found her two Dora swimsuits from last summer and has been dragging them around along with her Dora blanket. Today she was carrying them around in the toy baby carrier as though they were her baby dolls. She's also very attached to the little wooden necklace that Angie's family gave her for Christmas and has been wearing it day and night for a week now. She calls it "Zoey's necklace" and often tells me she misses Zoey. The other day she found Alexis' play makeup.

She came in my room with Alexis' purse full of makeup thrown over her shoulder and said, "Where's Lexis, Mommy? I very pretty!"

Apparently she thinks all cosmetics should be applied in the general area of her mouth.

Dallin makes me laugh a lot lately with all the crazy things he says and does. Here he is holding the photo album full of pictures of him as a baby. He's been getting it out everyday in order to admire himself and show everyone that he "was the cutest, happiest baby!"

Also in Dallin news, I'm making a prediction right now that he will grow up to marry a blonde. He seems to be very partial to pretty, blonde ladies. We watch The Biggest Loser together, and every week when he sees Tara (a blonde contestant who was a plus-size model) he reminds me very adamantly that she's his favorite. Then we were in Target the other day when two cute college-age girls walked by. Dallin blurted out (definitely loudly enough for the girl to hear him), "I like that girl right there, Mom. That girl in the green, I like her a lot!"

Spencer loves playing the video game Austin brought him at Christmas. It's just an old Super Mario game that he plays on our Nintendo 64 (I know, we're a little out of date in the video game dept., but that's the way we prefer it), but Spencer has really been enjoying it. He likes school, especially playing soccer at recess, and he's looking forward to hopefully playing on a baseball team this spring.

Each night (well, most nights) we read scriptures together as a family, and I've been really surprised lately at how much Spencer actually learns and remembers from what we read and talk about. Half the time he's messing around and doesn't seem to be listening at all, but it's nice to know that he is retaining some of what he hears. He keeps telling me that all he has left to do is learn to cook, then he'll be ready to go on a mission.

Alexis..., well, Alexis has been, ummm, what I'd call quite cranky lately. She seems to oscilate between very happy and excited, and crabby. Isn't this happening a little early? She is still very helpful at times though, especially with Trista. She loves babies and can't wait to be old enough to babysit on her own. Today Carley, Chuck, and Nate are here since their power is out, and she's been helping to entertain Nate. She and Carley also had a short hairdressing session together.

All in all we're well and happy and looking forward to some warmer weather. Until then I'll just be happy that at least we still have electricity!

Christmas

2009-01-07T16:24:00.010-06:00

We enjoyed a really fabulous Christmas season! I thought I'd share some pictures of all the festivities!

Our home teacher (actually his wife) made us this huge sugar cookie gingerbread man. It was sooooo yummy (I absolutely LOVE sugar cookies)!!! They brought it after the kids were in bed and I couldn't resist eating some of it immediately. Jordan was afraid that at the rate I was going the kids wouldn't even get to see it, so he took this picture just after I ate the first arm. The kids did get to see it the next morning, but between the beginning and end of school that day I managed to eat the rest of him from the neck down. I'm not kidding. I can't believe how little self-control I have. I even put the whole cookie sheet in the oven to "hide" it so I wouldn't see it everytime I walked through the kitchen, but as it turns out, it's not that hard to open the oven door and break off another piece. Thanks Ashley--it's your fault I've had to hit the gym so hard this week!

Angie and her crew got here on Friday before Christmas and stayed with us until Tuesday. Isabella, Alexis, and Kaylee "hanging out."

Before we went up to my parents' for Christmas we opened gifts over the phone with Grandma and Grandpa Post. Thanks for the books and the $$$!

Dallin (with his new book from G&G) and Trista.

We travelled to my parents' house Christmas Eve day to spend a few days eating, playing, and celebrating Christmas.

Becca with Jacob dressed as a shepherd for their family's part in the Christmas Eve Program.

Alexis, Kaylee and Bella doing their song and dance for the program.

Alexis wrote a Christmas story that included everyone at the house as one of the characters.

Trista, Grandpa Smith (who had dermatitis on his nose just in time to look like Rudolph for the Christmas season!), and Grandma Smith.

All of the grandkids gathered in front of the tree for a picture.

Dallin(4), Spencer(6), Jacob(2), Kaylee(9), Isabella(6), Alexis(8), Trista(2), Braden(11), Zoey(2), Nate(1), and Austin(12)

All the kids on the stairs at 6:00 Christmas morning, waiting to be told they could come up and see what Santa brought them.

Everyone looking at their new stuff!

Zoey and Trista each got a new stroller to push thier babies around in.

Trista

Dallin, Jordan and Vicky

Angie and Dustin

Carley, Chuck and Nate

Mom making cranberry salad for Christmas dinner.

Jordan (pronounced JERDEN, very loudly, in a low scratchy voice) and Jacob

Trista and Aunt Becca

The Prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas

2008-12-11T14:17:00.004-06:00

Those of you who've read the book will know that I stole the title for this blog from The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio which I read a few months ago.

Anyway, just wanted to mention that I've become the prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas; more exactly, the radio prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas. I'm an avid radio-listener, my radio is on ALL the time when I'm in the car or kitchen, and over the past two weeks my listening has paid off!

On Black Friday I was at a stoplight in between stores when I flipped radio stations and heard "Be the 9th caller right now and win a $20 gift certificate to Old Navy!" I thought, "What the heck, I'm stopped at a light anyway," and dialed the number. Busy. Dialed again. Busy. Dialed one more time, and what d'ya know? "You're the 9th caller, congratulations!"

Then this past Tuesday morning I was listening as I cleaned the kitchen when the radio station decided to have a contest for listeners to call in for Christmas Karaoke. They wanted people to sing their favorite Christmas Carol--the funnier the better. Since I really have no shame when it comes to competition, I decided to call. I must have been desperate, because I kept getting voice mail or a busy signal, but continued trying off and on for about an hour. Finally I got through and was able to sing the most nasally version of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that I could muster. I was able to save my family and friends a little bit of embarrassment by only giving my first name (let me tell you, Jordan was PROUD when I told him about it), but I guess thats all down the drain now that I'm telling YOU! At the end of the competition I was named one of three winners for the day--yahoo! a $10 restaurant gift certificate and a Christmas CD! (I would have thought my dignity was worth at least $20, but I guess I overestimated.)

All of this winning lately reminded me of the previous prizes I've won from radio stations--that's right, these are not the first of my radio triumphs. The winning began in high school when I won some pizzas and soda for being the correct caller. And a few years ago I won a small prize pack and had my name entered for a trip to the final four. But the VERY BEST radio victory came about nine years ago when I lived in San Jose. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire had just become really popular and so, of course, the radio station I listened to began their own version of the game. One day I was the lucky caller. I answered the first two question correctly and opted out of the third to win $300--that's right $300!!!!

And so, my advice to all of you who think that you're just not lucky enough to win, is that if you listen to the radio enough, push redial enough, and really, really want it bad enough, you too can be a Prizewinner. BEST OF LUCK!

Thankful

2008-12-05T09:08:00.007-06:00

I know I'm over a week late since Thanksgiving was more than a week ago, but this morning I'm feeling thankful for my kids and wanted to mention two thing in particular.

I'm thankful for Trista, because she's always so thankful! I was reminded of this a few minutes ago when after getting her dressed I helped her into the chair and covered her with her favorite blanket, ready to watch Dora, and she said, "Thank you, Mommy." Most of you know that as a Mom you don't really get all the "thanks" you deserve. But from Trista I get a lot of thanks. Some of them are for such little things--like simply answering a question. One example--this morning, after dropping off Alexis and Spencer at school, Trista asked, "We going my house, Mommy?"

"Yup, we're going back home now."

"Oh! Thank you, Mommy!"

The second thing I wanted to mention is how great it feels when my kids get along well or do something nice for each other without being asked to. This was the case recently with Alexis and Spencer when they decided to write a love note to each other. I was really touched by Spencer's note to Alexis, and while it doesn't really seem to be true most of the time, I'll definately save it and treasure it, and use it to embarrass/hold against him when he's older.

In case you can't read it it says:

Thank you for everything. I love you with all my might. You are my best friend. I will never hate you and you will never hate me. Because I love you. I would never ever hate you. I have to say this again. I love you and I will always love you.

Little Helper

2008-11-25T14:39:00.008-06:00

Today Trista and I did some Thanksgiving baking while all the other kids were at school. After making the pumpkin bread we started on the dough for the rolls. I sat her on the counter next to the mixer and the canister of flour. Before I knew it she was dipping her finger into the flour and licking it. I didn't really say anything the first time--I assumed she'd realize that white flour alone just doesn't taste good, but I guess she thought otherwise. Back went her little finger several times, and finally she went for a whole handful. You would have thought it was sugar the way she was just eating it. Gross! Who wants to eat a whole handful of flour? I kept telling her to stop and that it was yucky, but she just didn't agree. She'd eat a little bit of flour, then spread some on the counter and drag her finger through it and say, "Pretty, it's pretty Mom."

Consider this your warning if you're having Thanksgiving dinner at my house: Your roll probably has a little bit of Trista in it. Eat at your own risk!

Later, on the way home from preschool, Dallin and I had an interesting conversation.

Dallin: Why is your heart right here (pointing to his chest)?

Me: I guess Heavenly Father decided to put it in our chest to keep it safe. Our ribs help protect it.

Dallin: Chests stink.

Me: Well, mine doesn't.

Dallin: Yes, it does. Heavenly Father made our chest stink so that if bad guys come and they try to get our heart, it will stink. I can smell it right now.

Me: Maybe you just have gas.

Where do kids come up with these things?

Third Annual Cancun Vacation

2008-11-25T12:27:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago Jordan and I got to go to Cancun for our third annual vacation together. We really love getting away, just the two of us to relax and reconnect. This time while there we took a 3 1\2 hour bus ride to Chichen Itza to see the Mayan ruins. It was a fun and educational trip!

On the bus trip back we stopped at a huge natural well that you could take stairs down to and then jump from the ledge inside into the water. The pictures are kind of dark, but hopefully you can see the vines that are hanging from the opening above ground all the way down to the water. It was beautiful!

For me the highlights of the trip were no cooking, doing dishes, or cleaning up for an entire week; going to bed early and getting up to play tennis, body surfing in the ocean, reading Jane Eyre (for the first time), and of course spending time with my Honey! Can't wait 'til next year!

Flintstones, Meet the Flintstones

2008-11-02T21:15:00.007-06:00

We had a fun, exciting, candy-filled Halloween. Hope you did too!

UNSPECTACULAR ME!

2008-10-29T21:59:00.006-05:00

So, it turns out I've been tagged. Actually I was tagged a week ago but just realized it today. I was tagged by Maren Hufford, a friend from church.

Here are the rules:
"MY UNSPECTACULAR QUIRKS"
1.Link to the person who tagged you
2.Mention the rules on your blog
3.Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you
4.Tag 6 bloggers by linking to them
5.Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Okay, I like to think of myself as an exceptionally normal person, so this is tough for me, but with a little help from my hubby I have come up with six...

1. I am a SINGER..not a professionally trained singer, or even ONE THAT SOUNDS GOOD, but a singer nonetheless. I know EVERY WORD to EVERY SONG played on top 40 radio stations from about 1980 on (and even some from the 70s!). So no matter what the occassion, time of day, or topic at hand--I can almost always burst out into a song that matches the moment. If you happen to pull up next to me at a stop light you will most definately see me SOULFULLY CROONING along to my radio. And, yes, I listen to and enjoy Delilah.

2. I often relive my "GLORY DAYS"... in my sleep. When I'm awake I don't necessarily think of high school as the glory days or wish to relive them in any way. However, my subconscious wishes those days were back--usually WITH A TWIST. I can't count how many times I've dreamt that I was back in high school, playing in the state champtionship game with my old basketball team... NINE MONTHS PREGNANT... with Jordan and my three young children cheering me on from the sidelines.

3. I am a nervous LAUGHER. Whenever I am scared, nervous, or just don't know how to react to something, I LAUGH. Case in point: A few months ago our family went swimming. At one point Dallin swam out too far from the edge and began struggling underwater for a few moments. I was able to grab him and lift him out and he was fine, but as soon as it was over I started LAUGHING. Jordan (probably having flashbacks to a few summers ago) was freaked out and disgusted that I was laughing. He was mad at me for days. Of course I don't think my child almost drowning is funny, but my reaction in those situations is always laughter--definitely not my best attribute.

4. My EARS do not match. If my hair is pulled back and you happen to see only the left side of my face, you'll notice a normal ear, round at the top and average sized. However, if you catch a glimpse of the right side you'll see that the Lord blessed me with one SPOCK EAR. This ear is roughly the same size as the other, but is quite pointy at the top. Wierd, I know.

5. For over eight years now I have been a severe SURVIVOR WANNABE. I was pregnant with Alexis when the first season of Survivor aired. Since then I've given birth to her and three other children, all the while wondering just how I could manage to GET ON THE SHOW (and what would I do with my family while I was gone for two months?)! It's really the competitive part of me that just KNOWS that I could be good--I could win every challenge and be friends with everyone along the way. In the beginning I also really wanted the MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE, but over the years I've gotten more excited about the challenge and the prospect of getting away! Somehow starving, being eaten alive by bugs, and having to eat live worms or pig intestines while being surrounded by 15 other kooky people has begun to sound like a VACATION. Could it have anything to do with the fact that I have four young children? (And are there any volunteers to put together my survivor application video?:)

6. I am POSITIVE that I was meant to be a PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER--I just somehow got mixed up and put into a family that didn't play and didn't have the money to teach me to play. I started taking lessons three years ago and fell IN LOVE with the sport. And I'm just sure that I could have been good, SO GOOD, but instead I'm just an almost-middle-aged, average (or below) , 3.0 player who tries hard, but usually gets my butt kicked. Oh well, at least I get to wear fun tennis skirts while doing it!

Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze

2008-10-28T13:08:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago the kids were out of school on a Friday and Shelly Smith from church organized a "field trip" for us to a pumpkin patch and corn maze in Missouri. It was a bit of a drive to get there, but the kids had so much fun--we'll definately make it a yearly trip from now on!

There was so much to do! First we watched an educational video about all the uses for corn. It was a little bit too much information for some of the little kids. They wanted to play with the pumpkins instead!

After the video we went on a hay ride and then the kids road the "Cow Train" that was pulled behind a tractor.

All the kids enjoyed playing in the cornbox--like a sandbox but with corn instead. Alexis and Trista made "corn angels."

Dallin's favorite part was pumping water down the trough to see if his duck would reach the other end first!

There was even a cave for the kids to explore.

Other attractions included wooden slides that the kids rode down on potato sacks or boards, basketball, a corn cannon, the corn maze, a small, stinky petting zoo with chickens, pigs, a goat and a sheep (Trista was very interested in looking but DID NOT want to touch!). We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the tables provided, and by the time we left all the kids were worn out and enjoyed a nap on the ride home!

Happy 8th Birthday Alexis!

2008-10-13T21:56:00.006-05:00

Today was Alexis' birthday! Hooray, she's finally eight! She's been looking forward to this day for so long, and she's so excited to be baptized soon. We have her baptism scheduled for Saturday, October 24th. Grandma and Grandpa Post aren't able to come, but we're looking forward to having Grandma and Grandpa Smith and Great Grandma and Grandpa Salmon here for it.

For Alexis' birthday we had a "tea" party on Saturday. She and her friends got to dress up; then they each painted a tea cup and saucer and had lunch.

After lunch we sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake and ice cream. The cake, invitations, plates, etc. were all Hannah Montana themed. We even had Hannah Montana music playing, which every little girl at the table knew all the words to. It was kind of relieved to see that my daughter isn't the only one infatuated with Hannah Montana.

Then today after school I took all the kids over to the mall and let Alexis pick out some stuff at Clair's (she was given a gift certificate by her best friend Sydney).

After that we got a small treat at Candy Craze, a new outfit for her dog at Build-A-Bear and then went to Chuck E. Cheese to play games for a little bit before dinner. Alexis' dinner request was pancakes, eggs, and bacon, and after dinner she got to go on a little daddy/daughter date with Jordan. Throughout all of the afternoon and evening activities Alexis was sure to tell anyone who would listen that today was her eighth birthday!

As a bonus I'll include a copy of the poem I wrote for Alexis in order to try to win a free birthday party for her at Jump Zone. It's nothing fancy, but she enjoyed it!

Ode to Alexis
Alexis Post is turning eight

Her family really thinks she's great!

Oldest of four, she helps out a lot

Playing with and reading to the younger tots

She's an excellent student who works very hard

In class and on assignments she goes the extra yard.

Alexis loves to sing, play piano, and dance

Wants to be Hannah Montana--just give her the chance!

We love you Alexis, as a daughter and sista',

Love Mom, Dad, Spencer, Dallin and Trista!

Happy Birthday Alexis! We love you so much!

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

2008-10-01T21:46:00.008-05:00

I haven't blogged for a while, so I thought I'd write a little about what I've been up to. September was a busy, yet relaxing month--I guess most days seem more relaxing now that I'm not working.

Becca came to visit near the beginning of September for her 10-year reunion, and she ended up deciding to stay with me a couple extra weeks since Brad was on a very busy rotation. It was nice having her company. We played some tennis, a lot of rummy, and way too much policeman. By policeman I mean that we had to spend a good deal of time tearing Trista and Jacob apart. Everything was great at the beginning, but after a day or two Trista starting getting very territorial and mean and would try to hurt Jacob whenever he got in her way, had one of her toys, or even breathed. Poor Jacob! Several times she left claw/scratch marks on his little cheeks and nose. By the end of the visit Jacob was very good at fighting back or even just walking up to Trista and hitting her for no reason, as she had done to him many times. Sorry for teaching him bad things, Becca--I hope he doesn't start doing that to his friends at home!

Jacob and Trista during one of their rare moments of getting along

Trista, Dallin, Jacob, and Spencer in the bathtub. Of course, Alexis had to be in the picture too!

Jacob, eating a cookie and donning Spencer's vest--a hand-me-down from Spencer's other cousin, Braden. While he was here, Jacob really took a liking to Spencer. The first thing Jacob would ask for when he woke up in the morning was "Fencer."

So now that Becca is gone I've been trying to buckle down and get some sewing done. I've haven't sewn anything for a few years, haven't really wanted to, but I decided to sew Alexis a dress (actually a skirt and shirt) for her baptism this month. Of course I chose a pattern that wasn't the simplist--a tiered skirt with gathers, shirt with gathered sleaves, etc. So far I have it cut out but haven't actually begun sewing.

As if that wasn't enough, a few weeks ago the kids and I were talking about Halloween and I came up with the wonderful idea of sewing costumes for the whole family to wear for Halloween this year. Jordan and I have never dressed up with the kids before, and we've never had a family theme, but last year several families at our church Halloween party wore themed costumes so I thought it would be fun to join in. I'm not letting the cat out of the bag as to what we're planning to dress up as yet--you'll have to check back later for pictures (that is if I actually complete Alexis' outfit and six costumes in the next 24 days!). Ugghhh! What have I gotten myself into?

Spinach Shakes

2008-09-14T21:19:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago I was talking to a few of my health-conscious friends and they told me that they had begun making spinach shakes for their families. Apparently when spinach is blended up really well and you add yummy stuff like berries and bananas you can't even taste the the spinach! So I decided to try it, and here are the results:

Trista and the other kids really liked it and drank all that I gave them!

Jordan didn't like it quite as much (of course, this could be because I also added protein powder to his--this must have just put it over the top!).

The verdict: it is a good way to get your kids to eat spinach, especially if they love all types of drinks as much as mine do; husbands may be a harder sell!

Sunny California

2008-09-14T20:18:00.014-05:00

So, I'm finally getting around to posting our pictures from our fabulous trip to San Jose in August. We got to do so many fun things and had a blast spending time with Jordan's side of the family.

We took the Lightrail to downtown San Jose to the Children's Technology Museum

Dallin doing his best Popeye immitation (he kept making this funny face for some reason!)

Trista and her cousin Kylee

Spencer loved learning about this pulley system

Kylee and Trista enjoying a snack while waiting for the movie on the HUGE Imax screen

I got to see my college friend Larisa, who I hadn't seen in about five years.

Larisa and her three kids and me and my kids (minus Alexis, plus Kylee)!

We spent quality time hanging out and Grandma and Grandpa's house!

All the kids watching a movie in Grandma and Grandpa's bed

Jordan's sister Ashley and her husband Carey and daughter Brianna

Family Home Evening together

FHE

Alexis and Brianna

Alexis and Kylee eating popcycles and apples in the backyard

Going Somewhere

We went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk where we got to enjoy $.75 rides, drinks, hotdogs, and cotton candy. This is one of our favorite things to do when we visit California!

Of course, all of these activities wore us all out, so we definately needed a few naps!

Jordan and his brother Stuart

So much fun! We can't wait to do it all again next year!

Stinky Sunday

2008-08-26T10:56:00.004-05:00

Sunday at our house was interesting. Late in the afternoon Alexis came sprinting out of her room yelling at the top of her lungs. Apparently Spencer (AKA Sneaky Stinky One), had been down the street playing and found a small spray bottle of Liquid Bum (I've cleaned up the name to avoid using a swear word on a family website). It literally smells like a very stinky bum, basically like poo. So what would any six-year-old boy who found such a treasure decide to do with it? He very quietly went to Alexis' room and proceeded to spray down her entire closet with it. Seriously, when I walked into her room the smell was quite overwhelming. I literally gagged when I was putting the clothes in the washer. A couple loads of laundry, two wide-open windows, and half a bottle of Odo-Ban later her room was once more liveable. I hucked the rest of the bottle of stink over the back fence into the field to get rid of it (I definately didn't want it stinking up my garbage can!). Jordan and I were furious with Spencer--luckily Jordan took care of the dicipline. However, shortly after the incident I began to see the funny side of it--not that I'll let Spencer know for quite some time. But think about it--if you were a mischevious six-year-old boy with a slightly overbearing, often bossy older sister and you found a bottle of Liquid Bum, what would you do with it? Alexis' stuff didn't stand a chance!

What's Going On

2008-08-04T21:13:00.006-05:00

Here's a little update about what's been going on around here the past week or so.

Angie and her kids went back to Costa Rica on Thursday. My kids were sad to see them go. Alexis, of course, was crying on the way home from the airport (she's hates goodbyes and loves her cousins), but they did get to hang out a few more times this week before they left. Together they decided it would be fun to dress Nate up as a girl. I think it was mostly Alexis' idea.

Spencer and Dallin spent most of Friday wishing they were dead. It all began with Spencer's statement that morning, "Mom, I can't wait to die."

"What? Why?"

"Because I can't wait to see Heavenly Father!"

Dallin quickly followed suit, reminding me several times throughout the day that he couldn't wait to die and live with God. Luckily his thoughts stopped there, but Spencer's went deeper. Some of his questions included:

1) How old do you think my spirit is?

2) If I died right now would my spirit be the same size as I am right now?

3) When I die will my spirit wear these same clothes?

These are fun questions to try to answer, since I'm the mom, and moms are supposed to know everything. I probably taught him some false doctrine because I ended up telling him that spirits are just spirits and don't have bodies, so they don't really wear clothes. But later I was thinking about it and realized that when angels and spirits have visited the earth, people have been able to see them, and they are usually, definately not naked (that would be scary!).

Friday night we rented a movie for the kids--Barbie Mariposa. Yes, they were all excited about it, even Spencer, who was chanting "Barbie Mariposa, Barbie Mariposa" over and over as we stood at the RedBox (I love that thing!).

Saturday morning Jordan and I played tennis and on the way home we stopped to get Krispy Kreme donuts. Trista enjoyed eating hers with some yogurt.

Here are some pictures of the kids, trying to be cute and begging me to take their picture.

Sunday evening Alexis and I spent some time together making a treat for the family. She chose thumbprint cookies, which were very tasty. She named them "Jelly-Bellies" and enjoyed putting the strawberry jam on them at the end best!

Now it's Tuesday night. Jordan is out of town overnight and gets back tomorrow evening. We plan on leaving our house Thursday morning at 2:30 so we can make our flight out of Tulsa at 6:00 am. We're really looking forward to spending a week in San Jose at Grandma and Grandpa Post's house!

Today was my last day of work for Maybelline. When the kids go back to school in a few weeks I'll have a lot of spare time on my hands. I'm planning to fill most of it with tennis! And of course I have the 10K coming up on Labor Day weekend that I'm still preparing for. I'll post pics of our Cali trip when we return. Happy Summer!

A (Busy) Day in the Life

2008-07-24T21:25:00.005-05:00

We had a busy day today, but somehow I found a little time to take a few pictures. We began the day with trips to the dentist for Alexis and Spencer. In between, while at home I noticed Trista preparing to dirty her diaper. I quickly got her attention and, as I have several times recently, rushed her to the bathroom to try going poo-poo on the big-girl potty. She's alway happy to try--or should I say happy to sit on the potty and smile. She'll sit there with a fake smile glued to her face for about 30 seconds, at which point she throws her hands in the air, yells "Yaahhhh!" and attempts to jump off the toilet and flush it. I really believe she has no idea that she's actually supposed to DO something while on the toilet besides look pretty. Lets hope this changes soon!

She'll love this picture when she's 18!

Shortly after the potty incident I was walking through the house and saw this.

I remembered seeing something similar in another area of the house yesterday.

I guess I need to start putting my shoes away since obviously Trista is very interested in doing exactly what Mommy does. I'll have to be a better example!

Later on after lunch, Aunt Carley and Nate came over so we could watch Nate while Carley had a job interview. Trista was napping (lucky for "Nae Nae" since she sometimes likes to maul him) and Alexis was gone to a movie with her cousins, but the boys were very helpful with him. Dallin tried to entertain him by having Nate watch Thomas the Train with him, and Spencer even fed him his bottle. As soon as Alexis got home she wisked little Nate off to the babysitting room (most commonly know as her bedroom, which incidently she wanted to remodel as a childcare center today) where she took care of him until Aunt Carley got back.

Angie and I then began making cookies so we would have an easy dessert for everyone (17 of us total) after church on Sunday. After Angie left Trista was helping me bake the last of the cookies while preparing dinner for the missionaries simultaneously. I went out to the garage for a moment to get something from the freezer, and I returned to this.

I had told her she couldn't have any more cookies since dinnertime was getting close, but apparently she saw her opportunity while I was gone and just couldn't resist. For a moment she tried to hide the evidence by covering her mouth. But when I asked her what she was eating she quite easily confessed.

Amid all of these activities I have been working all day (in two-minute increments) on a talk I am giving in church this Sunday. I just finished it, and since now I've finished this too, I'm going to bed!

Trip to Kentucky

2008-07-16T20:56:00.008-05:00

Last week the kids and I took a roadtrip to Kentucky to visit my sister Becca, her husband Brad, and their little one, Jacob. We loaded up Tuesday evening and drove two hours to my parents' house in Missouri to spend the night. Then we hit the road on Wednesday at 8:00 am and made it to Louisville just after 6:00 pm. We caravanned with Angie and her five kids, so the kids switched out vehicles on each of our stops and stayed pretty content.

Our first activity was a trip to the park on Thursday. The kids had a lot of fun playing together.

On Friday we had a blast going to a Atlantis, a waterpark with waterslides, a wave pool, and a kiddie area with shallow water and small slides. We packed a lunch and stayed for about four hours, definately long enough to wear us all out. I didn't take my camera with me, but you might check Angie or Becca's blogs in the near future for pictures.

On Friday Angie took her gang to the Lousiville Slugger bat museum while Becca and I and our kids hung out at home and rested. In the evening we went on a quick outing to the mall where I let each of the kids choose a small toy or treat. Alexis chose a Webkinz, which she had been dying for and bugging me about for months, Spencer chose a watch, which he too has been asking for unceasingly, and Dallin and Trista chose a Ring Pop and Skittles, respectively.

The kids were all really good on the trip and enjoyed spending time with their cousins. Now that Carley, Chuck, and Nate are here we're looking forward to next summer when Becca and Brad move closer and Angie and Dustin return from Costa Rica so that all the cousins will live nearby. We're also looking forward to our trip to CA in three weeks to see Grandma and Grandpa Post and two other cousins, Kylie and Brianna. Isn't family great?!

Celebration Weekend

2008-06-16T13:18:00.010-05:00

This weekend we had a lot to celebrate! Saturday was my birthday, Sunday was Father's Day, and today is Trista's second birthday. My parents came down for the weekend to help us celebrate, and we had fun playing games and hanging out.

I bought a small pool for the kids last week and on Saturday it was finally sunny enough for them to use it. Who knew they could have so much fun with a foot and a half of water?

On Sunday after church Matt and Crystal joined us all for dinner, so we had three fathers in the house to celebrate their day with us! Since we couldn't be with all the dads we love, we want to send a Happy Father's Day shout out to our Dads and Grandpas who we couldn't be with yesterday. We love you Grandpa Post, Great Grandpa Post, Great Grandpa Salmon, and Great Grandpa Smith! We're so blessed to have so many great men in our lives to look up to!

After dinner we celebrated Trista's birthday with cake and ice cream.

For all of you wondering about her answers on yesterday's blog--yes, two is her favorite answer right now. We've been quizzing her lately on how old she would be on her birthday, and of course the answer is two. She now thinks that "two" is the best answer for every question! As a family we have a lot of fun with it by asking her all sorts of math questions that have "two" for an answer.

"Trista, what's 1 + 1?"
"Two!"
"What is 1 x 2?"
"Two!"
"What is 10 - 8?
"Two!"
"What is 690,456 / 345,228?"
"Two!"

She's a genius! Happy Birthday Trista! We love you and we're so glad you're part of our family!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

2008-06-15T18:23:00.007-05:00

Happy Father's Day to Jordan, the best husband and dad in the world. For Father's Day we thought you'd like to learn what the kids think about you. Here are the results of our question and answer session:

How old is your dad?
A: 33
S: 33
D: 33
T: 2

What do you like best about your dad?
A: He’s nice
S: He has the priesthood
D: He kisses my fat face
T: Two

What is your dad’s job?
A: He works for Wal-Mart
S: He types on the computer a lot
D: Cleaning up
T: Two

What is the most important thing in your dad’s life?
A: His wife
S: The money he gets for us
D: Going to the workout
T: Two

What is your favorite thing to do with your dad?
A: Talk to him
S: Play baseball
D: Swimming lessons
T: Ummm, two

What is his favorite thing to do?
A: Give me hugs and kisses
S: Spank us
D: Play with me
T: Two

What does your dad like to eat?
A: Drumsticks
S: Meat
D: Macaroni and cheese
T: Two

How much money does your dad make at work?
A: $100 a day
S: $10
D: 30
T: 2

What does your dad love most about you?
A: My blue eyes
S: That I’m cute
D: He gives me kisses
T: Two

What is your dad’s favorite color?
A: Hot pink!
S: Hot pink
D: Hot blue
T: Two

Why did your dad marry your mom?
A: Because I wanted grandma and grandpa to be my grandparents
S: So he can have children
D: Because he loves her
T: Two

What do you want to tell your dad?
A: One thing, Happy Father’s Day!
S: I love him
D: He loves me
T: Two, two. Ummm, Daddy. Two

Costa Rica

2008-06-13T14:46:00.002-05:00

Costa Rica Trip

2008-06-13T13:23:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm finally posting pictures of my trip to Costa Rica! Amy, Angie, and I had so much fun! We stayed for a few days in a hotel near the base of an active volcano. The hotel was great with nice pools, water slides, and hot tubs with natural water from nearby hot springs. During the day we got to zipline over the rainforest and also walk through part of it on trails and hanging bridges.

After that we went to the beach where we were a little bit disappointed by all the rain. We still hung out at the pool and had fun, we just didn't get as much sun as we had wanted. The highlight of my time there was when the bongo drum player from the Latin band came over during a break in their performance and told me that I was "muy bonita." However, he followed this up by saying I was too "grande" for him. He must like "big" women though, because he continued to stare at me and smile for the rest of his performance that night and during lunch the next day. It was kind of flattering, but mostly uncomfortable. Those Latin boys are very forward!

We also spent some time with the Irlenborn family and went to another beach. Angie was great to drive us around everywhere and be our tour guide and translator as well. Overall it was an awsome trip. I can't wait to go again next spring!

Anecdote

2008-06-13T13:10:00.003-05:00

On Sunday we were driving home from church in Jordan's car when Dallin asked if he could roll down his window.

"Not right now," I said. "Wait until we get off the highway and then you can."

We kept driving and as we got to the end of the off-ramp Dallin piped up--

"Is this the low-way?"

"The what?" I asked.

"The low-way. Are we on the low-way now? Can I roll down my window?"

Alexis

2008-05-01T21:28:00.005-05:00

I've been blogging for several months now, and I think I've done individual blogs about each of the kids now except for Alexis. So, without further ado--here is Alexis with her new hair cut!

She wanted it short in the back and long in the front, a lot like Kaylee's hair, and she definately got it! We had it done at the local beauty school (because I'm cheap and needed to get three kids' hair cut that day). The lady definately cut it very short in the back, I think a little shorter than I expected, but Alexis is happy with it and that's what matters most.

Since this blog is all about Alexis I get to brag about her a little bit. She has really been a huge help to me lately. She's always been great with her younger sibblings, but she is just so helpful with Trista lately. She plays with her and takes care of her, helps her eat her freezie pops, reads her stories, and takes her outside to play. What a great big sister! Alexis is still doing great in school and enjoys going each day to learn and participate. She has also been taking piano lessons since Christmas and is progressing well. This week she was so excited because for her master class she got to play a duet with her teacher in front of all the other students!

I love my Alexis and am so glad to have her for my oldest child. What a blessing she is to our family!

My Buddies

2008-04-22T21:22:00.002-05:00

Today I just wanted to mention a few things that have been going on around our house. Dallin and Trista have each developed new addictions. Trista's new passion is "Doro," better known to most of us as Dora. She asks to watch "Doro" first thing in the morning and during any other lull in the day. For a couple of weeks she would even cry out "Doro" instead of "Mom" or "Dad" when she got hurt or sad. Watching Dora seems to make everything better. We have a video tape with about 8 episodes taped on it, and I must admit that I've let her watch it too much, but it's just so nice to get stuff done! I think she's getting tired of the same old episodes though. However, she did pick out a "Doro" swimming suit the other day at JC Penney.

Dallin has two new passions. He recentlyy figured out how to play games and visit websites on the computer and he's loving it! For awhile we could hardly drag him away to eat, sleep or leave the house, but the newness is wearing off and he's remembering his other hobbies. Speaking of hobbies, Dallin got a new floor puzzle in the shape of a fire truck for his birthday.

It really sparked an interest, and for the past few weeks he's spent probably at least an hour a day working on puzzles. He's always asking me, "Mom, will you get the hard puzzles out of the closet for me?" Here is a picture of Dallin working on his "hard" puzzles.

Today he even got the 100 piece Spongebob puzzle out and did it with just a little help from me. He's even gotten Trista interested in puzzles. She works on her wooden cut-out puzzles while he works on his.

Little Helper

2008-04-13T16:51:00.003-05:00

Trista is quite the little helper. One of her favorite things to help with is unloading the dishwasher. Our usual order of operations is: first she puts the cooking utensils in the drawer while I put the silverware away. Then she puts the sippee cup lids and tupperware lids away while I unload the bottom rack. When we get to the top rack she stacks the plastic cups while I do the rest.

Oops, she dripped a little bit of water on the floor, so she grabbed the dishtowel to wipe it up!

What would I do without her?

Tulips and Two Pics

2008-04-06T16:26:00.012-05:00

I LOVE TULIPS! Tulips are my favorite flower, and I've gotten to enjoy them a bunch lately! Last fall I planted some bulbs in front of our house along with some pansies.
I only half expected even a few of the tulips to bloom, considering I didn't follow the directions about the right type of soil and some other conditions. But to my surprise, about a month ago I saw little green leaves and stems sprouting out of the ground!

The tulips are in full bloom now, and I love it! Everytime I pull into the driveway I pause before entering the garage just to admire them.

Then on Tuesday I got an extra surprise when Jordan brought these tulips home for me. I'm in Tulip Heaven!!!

Here are a couple other pictures I took this week.

Where do you sit to work on your computer? Apparently Jordan prefers to sit on the toilet and use the countertop for his desk. He was actually watching Dallin and Trista while they took a bath. And here is one of a sleeping Spencer. He fell asleep watching TV before bedtime one night this week. He was so worn out!

Easter

2008-03-30T10:15:00.001-05:00

St. George

2008-03-30T09:03:00.007-05:00

My trip to St. George was fabulous! I left on Monday, the 17th and travelled all day, three different flights to get there. I arrived at 9:00 pm. Shana picked me up at the airport and the fun began! We stopped on the way home to pick up a few groceries for the week and then went on to the beautiful vacation home she and her husband own there in St. George. We talked a little but went to be pretty early so we could get a good start to the next day.

Tuesday morning we had a tennis lesson with an amazing tennis pro/instructor named Dave Smith. He was really great and I feel like I learned a lot in just three short days. The lessons were outdoors and the weather was beautiful! We had our lesson and then Shana and I played against each other a little bit. She beat me every time we played--she's definately better than I am, but it was still so much fun! We were trying to be healthy so after tennis we went home and ate a big spinache salad and then headed to the spa for a two-hour couples massage. Talk about Heaven! It was definately the best massage I've ever had! After that we came home and rested for awhile, got dressed up, and went to a really nice restaurant called the Painted Pony for dinner. It was a good thing we ate a healthy lunch, because we didn't do so well for dinner. We shared a delicious brie appetizer, and then I had a super tender steak with mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and broccolli for dinner. We topped it all off with some amazing banana bread pudding. Then we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and went home to begin watching Pride and Prejudice (the long version), which I had been reading but had not yet finished.

Wednesday morning started with a healthy breakfast and tennis at 9:30. We played for almost three hours, got a little sunburned, and then stopped at a fresh Mexican restaurant on the way home for a yummy Mexican salad. We watched some more of the movie and then went shopping at the outlet mall in the afternoon. We found Shana a couple of spring dresses since she didn't have one actual dress in her whole closet, and bought some cute things for the kids at Gymboree. We stopped at a sandwich cafe for dinner and treated ourselves to Cold Stone Creamery on the way home where we watched a little more Pride and Prejudice and went to bed.

Thursday morning began much like the others. Tennis from 9:00 until 12:00, and then we hit another Mexican restaurant for lunch. By this point most of our healthy aspirations were out the window, and we shared a quesadilla and a HUGE basket of nachos which we could hardly even put a dent in. Then we headed to the spa again, this time for a sports massage and facial. The sports massage was awsome, but somehow I had scheduled a body scrub instead of a facial for my second treatment. I really wasn't interested in the body scrub so they let me cancel it, and I went outside and layed on the grass in the sun for the next hour while Shana got her second treatment. It was so nice and relaxing--I think I even fell asleep for a little while. That night we ate at a really yummy local pizza place and then finished watching Pride and Prejudice, which we both loved.

sans make-up on the way home from the spa--yikes!

Friday morning we got up early and went to the 8:00 session at the temple. We had time for a quick breakfast, a short drive up the hill to the red rocks where we took some pictures, and then it was off to the airport to drop me off. It was such a wonderful, relaxing trip, and so much fun to spend time with Shana! She's one of those amazing people who just inspires you to be a better person. I can't wait for our next trip!

Catching Up!

2008-03-05T21:36:00.004-06:00

It's been so long since my last blog I guess I have some catching up to do! February was a busy month for us. It started out quite normal, but then got crazy just in time for Valentine's Day. Jordan's Grandpa Nielsen passed away on the 10th, and Jordan was asked to give the eulogy at his funeral. So he flew out to California on the 13th (Wed.) and was able to spend the weekend through Sunday with his family there. I heard he did a wonderful job with the eulogy and actually learned a lot about his grandfather in the process. I was really happy for him that he could go and have that bonding time with his family.

Meanwhile, we had invited a few kids from church and school over for a Valentine's party on the 13th. We didn't invite a ton of kids, 7 total, so I thought it would be pretty easy and low-key and planned to do the party by myself. Luckily one of the other mom's ended up staying, 'cause boy did I underestimate the challenges of throwing a party for 11 kids age 8 and under! We played some relay and other games with balloons and decorated Valentine cookies. The kids had a blast!

A few days after Jordan got back, his parents came to visit for few days. We always love it when they come, and the kids adore spending lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa Post. However, their mother was a slacker and didn't take any pictures, so she'll have to make up for it with lots of pictures when we visit G&G in California this summer.

With February already over, Jordan and I made a plan to go to the temple on Saturday. We are in the Oklahoma City temple district, so it takes us a full 3 1/2 hours to get to the temple (not to mention about $8 in tolls) That's just one way, so we usually make a whole day of it. We left our house at 6:00am, drove straight to the temple, and finished at the temple at about 12:30pm. Then we went to eat at Macaroni Grill (one of favorite places) and stopped at a mall on the way home as well. When we got back into town we went straight to Stake Conference where we heard some great messages about marriage and family, and we finally got home at around 9:30pm. Although we did a lot of sitting, Jordan and I had a great time, and I really enjoyed spending the entire day with my husband. It's rare that we have that much time together, without interruptions from children, and that time helps me remember what a fun, intelligent, entertaining, and loveable husband I have.

Alright, so now it's March, and my much-anticipated trip to St. George is only 12 days away! I'm meeting my college friend, Shana, there and we have lots of fun stuff planned. We're going to take a few tennis classes, go to the spa, shop, eat yummy food, watch chic-flicks, sit in the hot tub, and just relax (if there's any time left for that)! Because I'm flying out of a rather small airport into another small airport I have several layovers making for about a day of travel each way, so I'm needing some suggestions on books to take along with me. What have you been reading lately? I'm also open to suggestions on movies that Shana and I should rent while we're there. The only one on my list so far is Casablanca--let me know what you recommend!

Bonus picture

Bits and Pieces

2008-01-30T21:17:00.000-06:00

Just a little update today. Life is good but very busy. I feel completely worn out today! Alexis and Spencer have been sick this week--I hope the rest of us don't get it! The kids have been really great lately and I've found myself often thinking how grateful I am for them and for Jordan. By the way, Jordan finally got his promotion last week--HURRAY! He's a director now and still learning a ton and doing a great job in the real estate finance dept. at Wal-Mart.

Alexis started piano lessons a couple weeks ago. It's kind of been a struggle because it's not as easy for her as school has been so she actually has to work at it. She gets frustrated very quickly when she can't play a new song perfectly the first time or she doesn't understand something and then she wants to quit, at least for the moment. I hope it gets better because I really want her to learn to play and I'm not going to let her quit!

Spencer has been such a sweetheart lately, reminding me how glad I am that we made it through those tough couple of years with him. He was such a stinker sometimes--getting into everything he wasn't supposed to, drawing with black permanent marker on the white cabinets, deliberately defying me while I was looking right at him! He's not perfect, but he's soooo much better, and he's so sweet with Trista. I love to watch him play with her and help her and take care of her. He's such a good big brother! Spencer's funny quote of the week is, "Dad, can I get a credit card? I want a credit card. I reeeaaally need a credit card! I love credit cards!" (Does he even know what a credit card is?)

Dallin keeps me laughing, except when he makes me want to cry every night at dinner because it's such a struggle to get him to eat. He still hates "grown up" food and wants kids stuff (chicken nuggets, ramen noodles, hot dogs, etc.) for every meal. We have to monitor every bite of food and are always waiting for the very loud gagging sound he makes just before spitting his food back out half the time. Will this ever end? He does have a lot of redeeming qualities though. He's very righteous. He wants to say the blessing at every meal, and Jordan has been talking to the kids about praying every morning right when they get out of bed. The other morning at breakfast I asked the kids if they prayed when they woke up. Dallin burst into tears because he had forgotten. He was sobbing, totally distraught, and wouldn't believe me that he could go back to his room and pray and it would be just the same. Dallin's quote of the week is, "Well, when can I have a girl in my bed?" (In response to Trista sleeping in Alexis' bed instead of her crib one night.)

Finally we have Trista. Trista is so happy, fun, and good natured. Everywhere we go (the gym, the babysitter, the nursery at church) people are awed and amazed at how good and happy she is. I'd like to take credit and think that it's because I'm such an impeccable mother, but sadly I don't think that's the case. She's just been an impeccable baby (and toddler). She's finally starting to talk more. She says "tan to" (thank you), uh huh, Tih Ta (Trista), and our favorite "I do!" The whole family goes around asking question after question--"Who wants a drink?"

"I do!"

"Who's cute?"

"I do!"

"Who has a stinky bum?"

"I do!"

Sometimes you don't even have to ask a question. Lately she's been eating a TON (she must be having a growth spurt), so everytime I mention a meal or I'm in the kitchen getting something out of the cabinet she just pipes up--"I DO!" We love it! And we love her!

I'm still working and being Mom. I'm looking forward to my two trip this spring. In March I'm going to meet a friend in St. George for four days of "girl time." We're going to go to the spa, have some tennis lessons, go to a show, eat good food, shop, and whatever else we want to do--KID FREE! I'm actually really getting spoiled, because then in May I'm going down to see Angie in Costa Rica for about 10 days--by myself again! Speaking of all this girl time--I've been wanting to post this picture of Angie and I with some friends we got together with at Christmas. Aren't girlfriends (and sisters) the best?

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-18T17:24:00.001-06:00

Christmas

2008-01-13T22:08:00.001-06:00

We had so much fun with all of my family at Christmas!
All of my sisters and their families as well as Grandma and
Grandpa Salmon (and even my cousin Crystal with her hubby
and baby) were at Mom and Dad's house. So fun!

Booty and the Blessings

2008-01-09T22:16:00.000-06:00

So here is a picture of my booty....

Sorry to disappoint, but I wasn't talking about that booty. I'm talking about my booty like a pirate's booty or loot! It seems like every day I come home to boxes at my front door from Maybelline. Usually they're filled with boring stuff like papers, coupons, free samples to pass out. But yesterday I opened up a box and found this stuff inside! It was like Christmas all over again! Nevermind the fact that a lot of it is in colors that I wouldn't choose or that won't match my skin tone (I'm thinking of making a trip to Wal-Mart for an exchange), I'm just excited to get free stuff!

While on the topic of Maybelling and my job, the second part of this blog is in regards to some blessings I received that I wanted to document (since this is as good as it gets in the journal department for me). Just before Thanksgiving I finally got a key to the Maybelline storage unit in Bentonville. It's just a small storage unit filled with boxes and fixtures and random stuff, but I'd been trying for a couple months to get the key from a very busy lady who works around here for Maybelline putting together the Wal-Mart Maybelline walls. Anyway, I got the key one morning in November and went to the unit to look for a few things, and had the hardest time with the lock! It was an old rusted padlock, and I could hardly get it open. It was even harder to get it shut! I struggled and struggled and finally put the small key down on the cement outside of the door to work on getting the padlock locked. Finally! it locked and I was on my way!
Fast forward to two weeks later, the beginning of December. I made a quick stop at the storage unit to pick up an eyeshadow tray I needed to replace in a store. I jumped out of the van and put the small key on my keychain into the padlock--or should I say "tried" to put it in. No matter which way I turned the key or how hard I wiggled the padlock the key wouldn't even fit into the hole! I was getting desparate when I finally remembered putting the small key on the cement the last time I was there while struggling to get the padlock locked. Had I remembered to pick it up? Was this key on my keychain even the right key? If not, what is this key on my keychain, and even more importantly, where is the key to this storage unit that I just got two weeks ago? YIKES! I got really worried for a minute, thinking of what an idiot I would look like calling the lady back and telling her that I'd already lost the key--after using it only once!
I got back in the car where Dallin and Trista were waiting for me and I said, "Dallin, we need to pray!" So we did. We prayed that I would be able to remember what I did with the key and that when I did I would be able to find it. As I finished praying I felt like I should start driving. So I slowly made a circle around all of the storage buildings, just to make sure I was even at the right unit, and ended up where I had been before, in front of the correct unit. But as I stopped the van, I looked out the window and my eyes went directly to a place in the gravel where a small gold key was barely poking out of the dirt and rocks. I jumped out and grabbed the key. I couldn't believe it! Well, I could believe it because I know the Lord answers our prayers, but I was so excited! Was this the key I had put down a few weeks ago while wrestling with the padlock?
I put the key into the old rusted padlock and, VOILA, it fit! And, DANG-IT, that was about it! I couldn't turn it at all, couldn't even get it to budge! I took the key out and tried it in the adjacent units' locks (just to see if it happened to be to another lock that wasn't mine) but it definately didn't fit in those. It had to be my key! So I tried again, to no avail. "Okay, that's it," I thought. "I need to pray again!" So once again I prayed, "Please, let me able to turn the key, let the lock open, let me get in! Please don't make me have to tell the other lady what an idiot I am!"
I tried the lock again. I put the key in, wiggled it a little bit and AAHHHH (picture the clouds opening up and angels descending with some really pretty background music)! The lock opened! I got in! I got what I needed, very carefully put the little gold key onto my keyring this time instead of on the ground, and was on my way. I am so blessed! I was/am so grateful that he helped me with something that in the long run is so trivial, but to me at that moment was so important.

ISN'T THE LORD AMAZING?

Cancun

2007-12-12T20:57:00.000-06:00

Hola! In November Jordan and I got the chance to go to Cancun for 5 days/4 nights. It was so great! We thought five days would be enough, but we found ourselves wishing we could stay longer, much longer! The weather was perfect, low 80s everyday. We did an all-inclusive deal this time and loved it. We had great food and got to enjoy all the pina coladas and strawberry daquiris we could handle (virgin, of course)! First is a picture of us at one of the restaurants, and next is one of the pools we hung out by with a swim-up bar at the right side of the picture.

We got up early each morning to play tennis while it was still cool. The weather, the ocean, the grounds--everything was so beautiful! Here are pictures of the court we played tennis on (if Jordan had zoomed in just a little you would be able to see me on the court too), our hotel, as well as one of the many peacocks that roamed around the grounds.

The best part was the ocean. It was great to lay out by the water and just listen to the waves crashing. It was also tons of fun to go out in the water and "ride" the waves, although a few times I didn't time it right and instead got flung to the bottom while the water tried to rip my swimsuit off.

The one excursion we did was to go parasailing. The views from up there were amazing!

The whole vacation was perfect, everything went flawlessly except when our maid played a little trick on me. Let me explain. As I said before, we got to have as much to drink as we wanted, so I found that everytime we'd come back to our room I needed to use the bathroom really bad (I'm sure that's a suprise to everyone since I usually never have to go). I would basically whip the room door open and run to the bathroom as fast as I could. The trick was that on one occassion that I did this the maid had been in and cleaned the room while we were gone and had left the toilet lid down. Well, I didn't stop to turn on the light. I just yanked my swimsuit bottoms off, plopped down and started goin'. Oops, too late, the lid was down. It made for a good laugh though, a little entertainment, at least for me. Jordan didn't think it was quite so funny.

In conclusion I'd like to recommend that everyone visit Cancun as soon as possible! We're hoping to go again next fall--it's hard to beat the value and we don't want to risk going somewhere else and just not liking it as much. Our whole trip including gas to the airport (we left from Dallas), childcare, hotel, food, taxes and fees was under $1500. If you want more info. on how to get a good deal let me know! Adios!

Thanksgiving

2007-12-04T20:35:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving was lots of fun this year! We went up to Mom and Dad's where Becca and Jacob as well as Aunt Terry and all of her girls joined us for the Holiday. We had lots of good food and game playing and it felt a little bit like old times when we would have Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Bevans' every year! Next we're looking forward to Christmas when all four of us girls and our families will be at Mom and Dad's. It will be crowded, but the more the merrier, right? Here are a few pictures I snapped around Thanksgiving.

Near Death

2007-11-14T23:11:00.000-06:00

Before going to bed tonight I wanted to share with you the two near-death experiences I had today. Okay, so I wasn't really near death, but a deer and two of my fingers were!

Early this morning, right around sunrise, I was driving on a small, windy road, kind-of in the middle of nowhere (heading to the town of Harrison for work) when I came around a sharp curve and saw a large doe (a deer, a female deer) at the side of the road. As soon as she saw me she took off running--right across the road in front of my car! I started to hit the breaks when I noticed another deer standing where the first had been. Suddenly that deer took off running as well! I slammed on the breaks (I had been probably been going about 50mph) but really thought I had no chance of missing her. I braced myself for a collision with the deer and a totalled car (they were both pretty big does!) but to my utter astonishment felt only a small bump when the deer's hind leg barely kicked my front bumper. The dear continued running, apparently uninjured, and I continued on my way, heart pounding and adrenaline pumping!

My second brush with death today happened tonight at home. After dinner I was doing dishes. At one point I rinsed a bunch of food off of some plates into the drain and then turned on the garbage disposal. I then reached for the dish rag to wipe the sink out and didn't see it. I figured it must have fallen down the drain and reached my hand in to find it--with the disposal still on! How dumb is that? I definitely was not thinking clearly--I think I was tired. Well, after a moment or two of the blades painfully hitting two of my fingers I pulled my hand out, expecting to see blood and a trip to the emergency room to reattach a couple of fingertips. But I was pleasantly surprised to see no blood--the skin hadn't even been broken! Luckily I have a four-year-old garbage disposal with what must be the dullest blades imaginable, because my fingers felt a little bruised and sore but they weren't cut! Even so, that's the last time I'll stick my hand down the drain when the garbage disposal is on!

Someone was definitely watching over me today, saving me from these near-death experiences!

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-06T13:45:00.001-06:00

Alexis dressed as a princess

Spencer dressed as a ghost

Dallin dressed as a race car driver

Trista dressed as Little Bo Peep

Spencer

2007-10-29T20:36:00.000-05:00

This blog is all about Spencer and his day. Spencer's day did not start out very well, nor did his Daddy's. I left for work at 6:00 this morning and Jordan was in charge of getting the kids to school and the babysitter. All went well until Jordan tried to leave and the van wouldn't start. It's been idleing differently and we've been thinking something is wrong with the alternator. So anyway, Jordan ran across the street to get the neighbor to come jump the van and Spencer decided to follow. However, he only made it as far as the street, where somehow his right eye made direct contact with the pavement. Don't ask us how, we don't really understand it. Just know that he is a five-year-old boy and somehow these things tend to happen quite regularly. So Spencer's school day began with a tardy slip and an ice pack.

The rest of his day went well though, and after school the kids and I went out to the front yard where I got busy planting tulip bulbs and pansies in the flower beds. At one point I looked up to see Spencer hammering a tennis ball into the ground... with an actual hammer. It made me wonder, but I just kept on planting. The next thing I knew he'd gone into the house and came back out with a cup full of water which he poured on top of the tennis ball. Finally I asked, "Spencer, what are you doing?"

"I'm planting this ball so we can grow a new tree and get a lot more tennis balls!"

He was quite disappointed and a little bit skeptical when I tried to explain to him that not everything grows on trees, some things are man-made. Ahhh, such are the disappointments of childhood.

Shortly after the tennis ball incident, I was continuing to plant when Spencer came out of the house with a piece of paper and a crayon. He lay down on the cement and began to write. I could hear him whispering the words, "I have money."

"Mom," he said, "how do you spell 'have'?"

I helped him spell "have" and then he asked for help spelling "money." When he was finished he proudly picked up the sign and said, "There, I'm finished. Tomorrow I'm going to sit out in the street with this sign on the ground in front of me."

I didn't really look closely at the sign--I thought he had just written "I have money," so I didn't understand what he was doing.

"Why do you want people to know you have money?" I asked.

"No Mom," he explained. "My sign says 'Can I have money?' I made it because I want people to give me money."

I still didn't understand and began lecturing him that people don't just ask other people they don't know for money.

It turns out I was wrong.

"Yes they do Mom," he said. "In California they do. You know, the old guys, they sit on the street with a sign so that people will give them money."

Apparently Spencer has aspirations of being a bum... We've taught him well so far, haven't we?

October Update

2007-10-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was general conference. I have to admit that I only saw or listened to two of the four sessions, but what I did hear was great and I'm looking forward to reading all the talks. I especially liked Sister Beck's talk Sunday morning entitled "Mother's Who Know." It was very inspirational and reminded me what an important job I have as a mother. It also made me feel, as talks about motherhood often do, a little guilty--it made me wonder if I'm doing enough, if I'm a good enough mom. But just when I start to doubt Heavenly Father sends me a little reminder from my one of my kids. This one came from Alexis. We had a nice Sunday afternoon together, went for a walk as a family, had dinner together, etc. Then before bed we read scriptures and Alexis offered the family prayer. Alexis has praying down to a "T" lately. She puts her prayer voice on (you know the voice that's an octive higher and goes up and down a little bit like a roller coaster with each sentence), and prays for everything that is important to her. The best part is that lately she's been thanking Heavenly Father for everyone in the family, individually. She's "thankful for Trista and that she's so adorable, thankful for Dallin and that he's so loveable, thankful for Spencer and that he's such a good brother to play with, thankful for me (Alexis) and that I'm such a good big sister, thankful for Mom and that she gives us food, and thankful for Dad and that he works for us." It makes me laugh that she feels like the most important thing I do for her is get her food! I guess I'm at least getting that part right!

On Monday night we carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening. It was fun, but Jordan and I definately aren't very creative. Oh, well, the kids enjoyed it and we even toasted the pumpkin seeds for our treat.

Yesterday was Alexis' seventh birthday. She had a party in the morning with a few friends from church and school. The girls beaded necklaces, then had cake and ice cream, and then we opened gifts. Alexis got the Barbie Island Princess DVD, a dress and shoes, and some goggles (for swimming class) from the family; money from Grandma and Grandpa; and two Barbies, a jewelry box, and a gift card from her friends. It was a fun day!

Family Pictures

2007-10-03T21:18:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, it's been a while since I last posted something. But I've been busy... you know, new job, four kids, out of town, etc., etc. Anyway, here are some pictures of our family at Silver Dollar City. Grandma and Grandpa Salmon are here from Utah and they and my parents came to Silver Dollar with us. It was a great day. The kids were all so good and we had lots of fun!

As you can see, the highlight of Trista's day was the fact that the park is landscaped with many tiny walls that were the perfect height for her to back up to and sit on--all by herself!

The rest of these pictures were taken a few weeks ago when the kids and I were out playing in the yard together. You can clearly see that Spencer and Trista are going to be the next Roger Federer and Justine Henin (except cuter!), respectively.

The Little Red Hen, a Toy Story, and Other Fables

2007-09-12T13:06:00.000-05:00

School's in, we're back in the swing of things, and all the kids are well again (knock on wood!). Alexis is enjoying first grade, Spencer loves kindergarten--especially since his best friend Josh is in his class, Jordan and I started taking a tennis class together, and Dallin and Trista are enjoying their "school" day (Mother's Day Out) on Thursdays. Life is good!

The Little Red Hen

As you can see I've included a few pictures of the kids cleaning the bathroom. The first shows how Alexis really feels about cleaning the bathroom. In the second she's hamming it up for the camera. Anyway, I've been trying to make sure the kids learn that part of being a family is helping take care of our home. Each morning before school they must make their bed and clean their room. And on Fridays they sometimes have extra chores like vacuuming or helping clean the bathrooms. We also try to teach them about money and tithing by giving them an allowance. Every week each child gets one quarter for each year of their age.

A couple weeks ago I was preparing dinner when Alexis came into the kitchen. The conversation that followed went something like this:

Vicky: "Alexis, can you please set the table for dinner? We're almost ready to eat."

Alexis: "Why do I have to do it? I have to do everything, etc., etc."

Vicky: "Because you're part of this family, and being part of a family means we all have to help out. If you want to be able to eat as part of this family you need to help by setting the table."

Alexis: "Do you mean like the Little Red Hen?"

Vicky: "Yes. In the Little Red Hen the duck, the dog, and the cat all refused to help make the bread, so none of them got to eat it."

Alexis: "But the Little Red Hen's children didn't have to help, and they got to eat the bread!"

Vicky: "How do you know?"

Alexis: "Because, Mom, I read the book."

At this point I stopped in my tracks and quickly went over the story in my mind. It was all I could do not to laugh. She was right, darn it! The Little Red Hen's chicks didn't have to help--she made the bread herself and then called them to eat it with her. How did Alexis get to be so smart? And how could I be so dumb? Do you know how many times, when I didn't want to do something around the house, my mom brought up the story of the Little Red Hen? And did I ever think about the fact that the chicks didn't help? No, never!! So, all you parents out there, this is a warning to you--you're children are probably smarter than you are. Be careful what you say or you may end up fumbling and saying something dumb like:

Vicky: "Yeah, well, uh, this isn't the Little Red Hen and, uh, her chicks were probably spoiled and no one liked them, and, uh, you just need to set the table anyway."

Toy Story

I'm starting a new job next week! I'll be working for Maybelline, about 15 to 20 hours a week, visiting stores (mostly Wal-Mart) to make sure the Maybelline and Garnier products are stocked and displayed correctly. Most of the stores are pretty close, but a few times each month I'll have to travel about 280 miles round-trip. That's a lot of driving, but these days time alone in the car is like a vacation! And I'll be getting paid to rock out to the radio--one of my favorite things to do anyway!

Last week as we were driving I was explaining to the kids that I got a job and what I'd be doing. I told them that I get to work with cosmetics and that I'll even get free stuff sometimes. Alexis was excited about this and asked if that meant she could have some new lip gloss. Spencer was less impressed, and after thinking about it for moment he said, "Hey Mom, why don't you just quit that job and get a different one working with toys. Then we could get a lot of free toys instead!" Now, why didn't I think of that?

Other Fables

Just kidding--I have no other stories to tell today. But I will include one more picture of my Dad and Trista. We've been able to spend a lot of time with my parents lately and are planning a trip to Silver Dollar City together soon. Maybe I'll take some pictures...

Back to School!...kind of

2007-08-28T17:38:00.000-05:00

After a fun (but somewhat long) summer, school began again last Monday! I couldn't wait--I was worse than the kids! I could finally get back into a routine, back to the gym regularly, even have peace and quite during naptime at home! But, oh, no--that was not to be. On Monday both Trista and Dallin managed to throw up all over the van on the way home from the gym. It seems there was a "bug" going around, and lucky us, we got it! After scouring the van Monday I decided I wasn't willing to risk it Tuesday and we stayed home. On Wednesday, about 15 minutes after I had dropped the kids off at school I got a phone call from the school nurse. Spencer's eye was a little red and, sure enough, he had pink eye. So he was home for the day getting drops in his eye every four hours. It turns out I got pink eye as well and have had the pleasure of wearing my glasses for five days now while looking at everything through a red, crusty eye. But Spencer was back to school Thursday and I thought, okay, now I'm going to get things done. So I went visiting teaching that morning, only to get a phone call during the first visit, once again from the school nurse. Alexis had a stomache ache and felt like she was going to throw up. Just as I got to the school and walked her from the lunch room to her classroom for her backpack, she made a beeline for the bathroom where she had a turn at throwing up. I guess the bright side is that it wasn't all over my van or my carpet:) So Alexis was home Thursday and Friday (although Friday I think she was just playing hookey). The weekend went well, though, and everyone felt fine. So Monday morning I dropped the kids off at school and headed to the gym for a round of TurbKick (kickboxing). As I left the gym my cell phone rang. It was none other than the school nurse (we're getting to be quite good friends by now). Apparently Spencer was sick and threw up all over in his classroom. Surely by now the entire staff at Bellview Elementary thinks I'm a terrible mom who has chronically sick children but sends them to school anyway.

However, today was a good day--no calls from the school nurse, and we even had a playdate with Dallin's friend David at Chick-fil-A. I'm attaching one more picture. This one is of Trista before church a few Sundays ago. Isn't she cute with her little Cupie Doll hair? I wonder if she'll ever have enough hair for a real "do."

Summer Vacation

2007-08-15T21:52:00.000-05:00

This summer we once again went to San Jose, CA to visit Grandma and Grandpa Post and see some cousins as well. The trip was great once we got past the long plane ride during which Trista pooped all over me. Luckily it happened at the end of the flight and we were soon on to better times.

We got to do a lot of fun stuff in California including lots of swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool, an Oakland A's baseball game, trips to Gilroy Gardens, the Wharf in Monterey, and the Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, shopping at the Great Mall and Ross (Vicky and Aunt Adrian's favorite part) and toys and games with the family. Believe it or not, I'm so horrible at actually taking pictures that I only took 9 pictures during the whole trip. Maybe this blog will motivate me to become more of a photographer. These are a few pictures I took while we were at the Wharf in Monterey where we got to enjoy clam chowder soup bowls, carmel apples and huge lollipops. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for all the hugs, treats, and fun times!

On the way home we had a layover in Denver. We had to get up at about 6:00 that morning and were all kind of tired and crabby. We were sitting there waiting for the next airplane, being shushed by a sleep-deprived Daddy, when Dallin very innocently asked, "Daddy, are ya happy?" "Yes, I'm happy," answered Daddy, in a not-so-happy voice. A moment later Dallin piped up again. "Are ya happy, Daddy?" This made us all giggle, and Daddy answered in a more pleasant tone this time. By the third time--"Daddy, are you really happy?" we were all laughing and feeling happy. It's amazing how an innocent little question from a three-year-old can put things back in perspective. We're so thankful for these little spirits and the reminders of what life is really about!

Post U Up

2007-08-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, so the Postal6 family blog is now up and running! Congratulations! Now you can all read the juicy details of our lives! Thanks, Becca. This will be a great way to keep in touch and journal at the same time!

The picture above proves that yes, there is a reason for the name of our blog address. This represents any moment of a typical day at our house. From left to right are Trista (1) Dallin(3) Spencer (5) and Alexis (almost 7). We have had a busy, fun summer but it all comes to an end on Monday when Alexis and Spencer begin a new school year. They and Mom (especially Mom) can't wait! Tonight we shopped for backpacks and school supplies and on Thursday we'll go to the school for an ice cream social and to find out who their teachers will be. The kids have been sick this week with fevers and pink eye, so hopefully everyone will be better by Monday!