DM Everitt Family

Roy's 1st bath

2012-01-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

The entire family crowded into the bathroom the other day to watch Roy get his first official bath. It was a cozy time and the room was very warm. At first Roy really enjoyed the water and was very relaxed and mellow.

Then, when I started to wash him and move him around, he started to get a little angry.

He continued to be upset until I got his clothes back on him. It was a great family activity and the kids really enjoyed watching. The big disappointment was that he didn't pee in the tub like all of the others had!!!

Stocking Stuffer

2012-01-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

As you all know we recieved the most wonderful gift for Christmas this year. Baby Roy was given a stocking at the hospital to celebrate his arrival. We decided to take a few pictures of him with it.

Meme asking baby Roy if he'd like to participate in a photo shoot!
"This isn't exactly what I expected!"
Cute Christmas Baby
"Aren't I adorable!"
Another random shot for viewing pleasure.... I love my new baby brother!

"Lights"

2012-01-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

After Roy was born we had to take him back to the hospital to have his bilirubin levels checked. He was high and we had to keep going to the hospital to get his levels checked. While at home he had to be on special lights to help him break down the bilirubin in his system. Here are a few pictures...

A Building Beyond Measurehttp

2012-01-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year Wally gave Nelson a huge box of Lincoln Logs. They have had lots of fun playing with them. Here they are together "measuring" the building with their new tape measures that Santa brought for them!

Here they are with Deric (who is doing most of the building). They are still measuring!

The finished product (Wally didn't want his pic taken). It was so fun to watch Deric and the boys "building" together.

Carrie was also busy making her own little house. Meme decided to pose with her!!

And here is a random picture of Roy for your viewing pleasure!

Christmas Crafts!!

2012-01-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

This year, as always, we did lots of fun Christmas crafts and homemade gifts. I wasn't on the ball enough to take a lot of pictures but here are a few.

Jess showed all of the kids how to make reindeer candy canes and they got creative and made up some others including a Santa and an angel.

I was able to get a bunch of tree trimmings from a neighbor and made a homemade wreath... I LOVE to make wreaths!
I also (with some help from the kids) made some swags to deliver to all of our neighbors. Then the kids went to deliver them.
We made peanut brittle again this year as well as muddie buddies and candy cane popcorn. This was for teachers and friends as well as family. We made homemade wooden ornaments for all of the cousins too but I forgot to take a picture. We hope you had fun making things for others this year, we sure did!!

The Night Before Christmas PJ's!!

2012-01-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

It is a family tradition for us to open one gift on Christmas eve. The gift is always the same thing. The kids still get excited about it though. Here is the anticipation shot...
The "Yeah, PJ's" shot...
Everyone after showers in the new PJ's
Boys
Girls

I also made them all eye covers. If you know our family you would know why this was such a huge hit, and why it meant so much to the kids!

The whole event really wore some people out!!!

Hi Meme!

2012-01-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

I was, in almost all ways, glad that Roy decided to come early. I was however, very sad that my mom wasn't here for the birth. Roy is the only grandchild that she hasn't seen come into this world. Disappointing yes, but I suppose that it just makes him unique!

It was hard for Meme to wait almost and entire week to meet him! She came on December 31st, and here she is greeting Roy for the first time in the airport!
I am sure she loves him just as much as the others!!! It was a very sweet meeting!!

Coming Home!

2012-01-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

Roy came home from the hospital on December 26th. Here he is after his first washing. He looks so grumpy about the whole thing!!

This is his going home outfit. If you look closely you will see it has lions on it. A lion is the stuffed animal that I got for him when I found out I was pregnant.
This was his first washing. He was not overly excited to be cleaned off!!

Merry Birthday!!

2012-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

At 3:30 am Christmas morning I awoke to a surprise... my water had broken. Not only was this the first time I have had my water break at home, but our little one wasn't due to arrive for another two and a half weeks! Due to some complications we hurried to the hospital. Thanks to technology we Deric and I were able to watch the kids open their gifts via Skype on the computer. Later in the day 5:33pm to be exact, our sweet little baby Roy was born. He weighed 10lbs 2 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. What a special Christmas gift! Here he is with his dad for the first time!

Roy with his Mom, only minutes old. Notice the blood splatter all over... that is from the spray that occurred when Deric cut the cord (that has never happened before!!)

Later that night the kids all came to receive the greatest gift of the day... a new baby brother. Here they are seeing him for the first time. Individual shots to follow!
Roy with his Grammie Pam.

Christmas Concerts

2012-01-07T06:05:00.000-08:00

This year we had two different Christmas concerts to attend. Jessica's was first on December 15th. It was a performance called "candle light" and it has been a part of the Ephraim Christmas celebration for 70 years! Jess did a great job at her part!!

Sarah, Carrie, and Sam had a traditional school Christmas concert on December 20th. Each grade sang a song and then the entire school sang one together. I love that it is a short and sweet performance. I actually sat longer before the concert (if you aren't there early you don't get a seat!!)

"The Christmas Eve Show"

2012-01-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve this year our children gave us a wonderful gift. They put on a performance of a few different Christmas songs. They had been practicing for weeks. Part of the gift (for me) was the cooperation that they had been displaying for the entire month of December as they prepared for the "big night!" Here are a few snapshots of our show...

Sam, Jess and Sarah singing "Away in a Manger," "We wish you a Merry Christmas," and "Silent night" all of which Samantha hand wrote into their own song books.

Here is Jessica "helping" the boys sing "Jingle bells." Can you tell Wally is really into it!!
This was the main performance, the one practiced over and over (not that I overheard). The girls preformed "Rudolf the red nose Reindeer." Can you guess who Rudolf was played by? It was really cute and you could tell that they had so much fun doing it.
The final song was done by Jessica on her baritone. Sam makes a wonderful music stand don't you think!

Deric and I really enjoyed our show. It was indeed one of my favorite Christmas gifts. Having my children work together and have fun working to create a gift is such a wonderful thing. We are truly blessed!

Christmas Letter 2011

2011-12-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Holiday

2011

This year we write in gratitude for:

Our Family. Deric is now working as an Assistant Manager at Little Cesars pizza while he continues to go to school full time at Snow College. He is doing very well in his studies! Muria has been busy with many school events and the PTA, church activities, teaching lactation classes and the overall busyness that six children bring!

We have been so blessed to have a house full of energy filled loving children. Each has grown and changed so much in the past year. Jessica is now eleven and in 6^th grade at the middle school. She is enjoying band and playing the baritone. Samantha, almost 10 is in fourth grade. She is very social and is always having fun with her friends and siblings. Sarah, who is seven and a half, is very focused on her next birthday and getting baptized in April! She is in second grade and her passion this year is books! Carrie, six next month, will be asking Santa for her two front teeth this year! She is LOVING being in kindergarten. Nelson, four on New Years, is full of fun and energy. He is turning out to be quite the artist this year as he colors and cuts and pastes picture after picture! Wally is indeed TWO and we will just say he lives up to what they say about two year olds!!! He is full of energy and mischief, but he also loves to snuggle and play with his siblings. Last is Roy… due to make his arrival on January 5^th. We can’t wait to meet him and enjoy his sweet spirit!!!

Our Home. After being in Ephraim, Utah for a year now and moving 5 times we are soooo grateful for our new home. We bought it and moved in September 1^st. It is cozy with plenty of room for us.

You. Our friends and family that light up our lives and support us in all that we do. Our lives are so much richer because you are a part of them. Near or far, if we see you often or not, we love you and are grateful for you.

Our Faith. This time of year we reflect on what really means the most. We are grateful for our savior and what his birth and death mean for us. We are grateful to be able to learn of his teachings all year long.

We pray this letter finds you well. There are so many blessings to reflect on, these are just a few. May you reflect on the blessings in your life and find many things to be grateful for this holiday season!

Love, Deric, Muria, Jessica, Samantha, Sarah, Carrie, Nelson, and Wally

All I want for Christmas!...

2011-12-18T21:28:00.001-08:00

Yeah, she did it. Now Carrie can sing "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." She will have to do a duet with her cousin Evan who has a very similar smile right now!! She is very excited to be sporting this new look.

34 Weeks!

2011-12-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

I lost my camera battery and couldn't put this picture up right away. I was about 34 weeks when it was taken but I was measuring almost 42!!! Little Roy is definitely not so little! I am now almost 36 weeks and if you can believe it I am quite a bit bigger!!

One tooth..

2011-12-01T08:18:00.000-08:00

I am hoping that this is the first of two teeth to be lost this month by our cute Carrie (lost on Tuesday 11/29). She worked very hard to get this one out today. Now I have her working on the other. I'd love for her to be able to sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!!" The other tooth is quite loose so it is a possibility!!

One tooth down, one to go!!

Water Stop

2011-11-30T08:02:00.000-08:00

Jessica's middle school had another fun run just before Thanksgiving. I was excited to be able to help out with this one. Nelson, Carrie, Wally and I were the half way "water stop" helpers. It was a very cool morning (it is just 8am in this picture), but we had fun watching the runners come through. Most of the kids really liked Wally's penguin hat (which used to be Jessica's!).
It was a lot of fun for us, and Jess too. Here she is, coming to get her water. Good job Jess!! By the way, Jessica's goal was to do better than the first time. She was able to shave almost seven minutes off of her time!!!
PS they got hot chocolate at the finish line (witch we made it to before Jess!)

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T19:50:00.001-08:00

I LOVE Thanksgiving! I love the food, family, fun,... (it goes right along with my love of Fall!!) This year we celebrated the holiday at Deric's brother Ben's house. We had to bring some of the meal. This year Sam and Jess helped me by making their own deserts. It was fun to watch them do it all by themselves.

Sammy made this... a Maple Pumpkin Torte. It was OK but we agreed we'd make it differently or not at all next year.
Here are the kids at their own table!!
Younger kids table. I love the look on Chewy's face!! He did just get staples in his head!!
This is Jessica's desert. White chocolate strawberry tart. It was OK too, again not a keeper.
This desert was super fun and a keeper!! Sarah found it in a book at the library and Jess put it all together! It was a huge hit with the kids. The cheese went so fast, who would have thought!!
Gobble Gobble! Hope you had a Happy Day too!

School Pictures 2011

2011-11-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

We always do fall family pictures so I don't worry about the "school pictures" as much. I do like to have them done so that I can get a class picture for the kids though. Here are the girls pictures for this year. I allowed them to pick out their own outfits and how they wanted their hair.

Baby Roy, 30 Weeks

2011-11-23T22:05:00.000-08:00

I have neglected to post any pictures of our new little one (or really not so little one). Our soon to be third terror!! I have to say that the ultrasound machine is one of the most barbaric ones I have ever seen. The pictures aren't great but you can make out the profile on the top two, his feet on the bottom left and his hand bottom right. We are so excited to welcome this guy into our family. Even Wally now points to my belly and says "Roy" ? Then he looks through my belly button to see him!!

Fun in the Snow!

2011-11-22T20:47:00.000-08:00

When you wake up on a Saturday morning and the ground is just more than dusted with snow you...

Eat some warm yummy homemade apple spice pancakes!
Go through all the winter clothes and make a huge mess in the living room.

Then you help your brother with his boots...
Sit and enjoy the yummy taste of the snow...
Build a snowman...
Pretend you helped build a snowman...
Really work together and build a baby snowman...
And just enjoy the time in the cold with your siblings!
Ta Da!
Then of course you must go inside and enjoy some of this...
And make a wet crazy mess like this...
That is a way to enjoy the snow that barley lasts one day!!

Addicted

2011-11-21T21:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in three days! Something is wrong with my computer (that has all of my pictures!). I keep trying but I keep having issues. I am going to have Deric look at it for me soon, but he has been sick for a few days. So please stay tuned... there will be more posts in the near future. I am writing this now because I became slightly addicted and I feel I just need to post before I go to bed! (I feel a little better now!!)

Carrie's Joke!

2011-11-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

Carrie has a really fun personality. She is really evolving into quite the little jokester! She is a lot like her big sister Sam, and like her Dad!! Tonight she couldn't wait to share a joke/poem with us. Everyone laughed... I hope you enjoy it too!

I am a big fat turkey.
You can't have my head.
I'll sit with you for dinner!
(We'll have duck instead!)

Fall Band Concert

2011-11-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

Tonight Jessica had her first Band concert of the year. It was short and sweet and to the point, I love her band teacher!! Jess plays the baritone and every time I tell some one they ask what it is. So, here you go...

The baritone horn is a member of the brass instrument family.^[2] The baritone horn has a predominantly cylindrical bore as do the trumpet and trombone.^[3] A baritone horn uses a large mouthpiece much like those of a trombone or euphonium, although it is a bit smaller.

Here she is waiting to play...

She did a great job (she is the only baritone player in the 6th grade band). Her dad was even able to leave work for a little bit so that he could see her play. We are proud of you Jess, and all your hard work!

Blogging Spree!

2011-11-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

Well folks, I have been on a blogging spree. I felt like I needed to catch up a little this year so I have forced myself to sit down every night and blog something! This post will be my 30th post in a row, 29 days in a row (I did two on one day!) But I have to be honest. I am so tired today that this is all you are getting! Maybe I will have something better tomorrow... so please check back! I am literally going to bed and hope to be asleep by 10pm, lately it is closer to 1am!! Good night!!

Apples!

2011-11-14T20:46:00.001-08:00

Hmmm... did I mention previously that I love Fall. The air, the smells, the TREATS! One of my favorite things about fall is the yummy food. I love apple or pumpkin anything! I absolutely adore apple cider. Since I left NH I haven't had any REAL cider until this season. (Well actually it is almost real, I can still only get the pasteurized version!!) So I have been enjoying it A LOT!

I have also been enjoying yummy treats like this one that Sammy made. Tonight was her dinner night and she wanted to make a desert too... apple pie was her request but we found these and decided to make them instead. These Apple Bundles were super easy and very yummy. This picture shows a double batch!
Recipe:

2 granny smith apples
1 11oz pkg of bread stick dough
1 orange
1 Tbs butter melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, cut and slice the apples into fairly thin pieces. Lay out the dough and roll 3-4 slices of apple in the dough. Arrange apple bundles in a baking dish. Zest orange to measure 1 tsp and set it aside. Juice orange to 1/3 cup and pour into pan, but not over the bundles. Spread melted butter over bundles. Mix zest, cinnamon, and sugar then sprinkle over bundles. Bake for 25-30 minutes. ENJOY

We enjoyed ours with a bit of vanilla ice cream and a slice of orange...

This last picture has nothing to do with apples or fall but I figured that I had better put a picture of the kids in this post or I might hear complaining from the grandparents!! The kids are painting projects for the Reflections program... I will blog about that more later!

Moving Walls!!

2011-11-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

First, I have to apologize for the mess you will see in these pictures. Moving walls while living in a space really creates a disaster! It will all be worth it though!! We, Deric and I, spent most of today moving walls, dry-walling, adding outlets, and over all just trying to get some rooms on their way to being finished. I am too tired right now to post much more about it. I do now have an office between the family room and the soon to be older girls bedroom (there was not a room there before!) I am loving the feel of the changes, all good things for our family. I am also sooooo grateful for my husband and the knowledge that he has. I NEVER could have done all of this without him! I also know he is doing it for US (me and the kids) so that we will have a nicer home, thanks so much honey!

This picture is the new office wall that just went up.

The "closets" that you see in this picture are now gone to create a bigger toy area for the kids. (I am not crazy, there is a huge storage area with shelves and closets just to the right of where these closets were!!)
Check back for updates later... it already looks so much better than it does in these pictures, I am just too tired to take the pictures!!

"You need shoes on to go outside!"

2011-11-12T21:19:00.001-08:00

If you know me at all you know I usually don't wear shoes unless I have to. My children and I go barefoot as often as possible. (We do have a no bike riding without shoes rule though!) And if we are wearing shoes they are sandals of some sort!

The problem now is that it is getting a lot colder. Now we need to wear shoes when we go outside (I do miss So. Cal. and wearing flip flops all year!) So the other day when Wally was headed out the door barefoot I called to him "you need shoes on to go outside!" Reluctantly he came back in the house. It wasn't much later that I went to help him and couldn't find him anywhere inside. Then Jess pointed him out in the back yard. What could I say... he was wearing shoes and he had a jacket!! Too bad the jacket wasn't ON him, and the shoes look suspiciously like MINE. Amazingly he could walk just fine in them!

Ninja Swords

2011-11-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

After Halloween I took the little kids to Walmart to get a few things. Of course everything Halloween was reduced 75% off. Included in the bins was a sword set that Nelson had drooled over when we were trick or treating just a few days before. Luckily for me 75% off meant that they were just under TWO dollars. I was able to sneak them under the cart and buy them without him knowing. Then I told him if her was willing to do a big chore I would get the swords for him. The next day I let him know that he would have to wash all of the fingerprints off of the walls. He spent the next few hours with a rag wiping EVERYTHING down!!! I was proud of his hard work, and he was so excited to earn his Swords!! Here is a not so great picture of him with them.
Carrie felt like Nebo would make a good Ninja sidekick for Nelson!

"Child Proof"

2011-11-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

Wally loves to get into the refrigerator. More than once he has dumped something very messy on the floor. I got smart and put a lock back on the door to make it child proof. All the other children know how to open it. For the last few weeks I have been chastising everyone for leaving the door unlocked, "not me" was always the one to blame. Then, two days ago I found out "not me" really meant "Wally"... check out what he can do. This picture is actually of him locking the door after unlocking it and getting the juice out of the fridge. So much for a child safety lock (and for me being so smart!!)
PS... pretend you don't notice the sticky spots where the old locks were!! Thanks!

I want candy!

2011-11-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

We really enjoy the fun of Halloween in our house, including trick or treating. I do not, however, enjoy all of the candy that we end up with (6 bags of trick or treat candy is a lot!) So for a few days the kids get to eat some here and there, then we have them pick a few of their favorites and the rest is put in bowl (all together). Here is a picture of SOME of the candy. We (meaning Deric and I) will enjoy this bowl for a few days and then what.... this year we are going to donate it. To whom we are not sure, but I know my waistline can't afford to keep it around too long (not that I have a waistline right now!!) Any how, what do you do with all of your candy?

Brr... it is getting colder!

2011-11-08T19:59:00.001-08:00

As many of you know we have always had our wonderful dog Maggie. She is a great companion and from the beginning had been little trouble. This year, to appease my pleading husband, I finally relented and we got a new puppy. Her name is Nebo (after the huge mountain we can see from our house.) She is a miniature dachshund, and she has been a little trouble, but if you know anything about her breed only a little trouble is a good thing!

I snapped this shot today of her snuggling with Maggie. She is so little and has no real fur so she gets cold very easily! I love that Maggie has finally accepted her, she was not too happy when we brought Nebo home.
This is one of Nebo's favorite places to be. Now that it is getting colder she is always shivering! This spot blows warm air and it has a nice little mat to lay on!! (Her favorite place to lay is next to a human, any human that wont torture her.)

Flowers

2011-11-07T07:41:00.000-08:00

At the parade on Saturday our local Drug Store handed out roses to all of the ladies standing on the route. It was really no big deal, but it meant a great deal to me. You see, I love fresh flowers. I know that they aren't practical, that they are expensive and die quickly, but I really love them anyway. Look at how beautiful this rose is. It adds a warm sunny glow in my kitchen while the weather outside is cold and gray.

In-N-Out

2011-11-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

I added these pictures a LONG time ago. Not long after we visited California in April of this year!! They have been sitting here for a while but the message is still the same. In-N-Out rocks! We love their never frozen, made fresh to order menu. While we were there Deric's brother Clark treated our family to the yummy goodness...

We had a picnic outside, and to add to the fun the kids put on a puppet show... Dinner and A Show!

Mmm... yummy goodness.

A Who? (Red Ribbon Week)

2011-11-06T09:02:00.000-08:00

She does look a little like she belongs in Whoville right? This is Jessica, all ready for "crazy hair" day during red ribbon week at school. I really should have taken more pictures. The elementary school did it one week and the middle school was the next week. They had PJ day, sports day, red day (and more).... all to symbolize saying NO to drugs. It was a fun week and all the girls gladly participated in each day. This, however, is the only picture that I took... sorry I will do better next time.

Let it SNOW... Snow college homecoming!

2011-11-05T20:28:00.001-07:00

Today was Snow College's Homecoming celebration. And we, as many of you know, are now a college family!! We started the celebration with the parade down main street. Here the kids are waiting for the parade to start.
Go Snow! Actually it was spitting snow the entire time (rather fitting I thought).
And it was quite cold! Wally managed to stay warm though.

The real reason we were there (besides the candy that was thrown at us!!), was to see Deric on the float he helped build (and when I say helped I mean he did a LOT of work on it.) Here it comes!
Hi Daddy!
It was his idea to add a little character to this ticket booth. All of the edging was hand cut. If you look you can just see the tops of the girls heads in this picture!
After the parade we went to the "tailgate" party, which was inside because it was sooooo cold. Here are the kids with the badger and badgerets!!
This was the best part of the party... the indoor obstacle course. It was free and the kids just about wore it out!! The little boy in red isn't an Everitt but he is with us a lot.
Wally was scared to go through at first but soon got the hang of it.
It helps that big sister was there to encourage him.
Nelson got better at this the more he went. Wally never could get up to the top of the slide :(
Sam and Nelson enjoying the other blow up... a boxing ring.
They also had face painting, free popcorn and cotton candy. It was lots of fun. When we left we drove by the stadium where the game had already started. Go Badgers!!

A little of this, a little of that!

2011-11-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

I went to do a new post tonight and I am having problems getting my main computer going. So I am using Deric's laptop and I happen to have put these pictures in a few weeks ago. So this post is exactly what it is titled... a little of this, and a little of that!

Here is our little Wally Golly, or Wally the menace! He loves to get into my pots and pans and decided that this one makes a great hat. He wore it around for the entire afternoon.

I found Carrie and Nelson like this the other day. Wally was taking a nap and I was cleaning my room. They were being very quiet so I went to investigate. This is what I found. It was a proud mom moment, and I was lucky enough to have my camera close by. They didn't even know I took their picture.
Carrie made this cute little butterfly during her first few weeks of Kindergarten.

Jess asked us over and over to hook the bike trailer up to her bike so that she could pull Wally when they were out riding. I found a spare attachment piece and was able to do it for her. She was so excited! Then Sammy wanted in on the action. For a while she would ride Jessica's bike but then we got her an attachment piece and now she can hook the trailer to her own bike. They love to give the other little kids rides!
More randomness... the kids had a "Walk to School Day" early in October. The Snow College cheerleaders and Badger were there to greet them. You can see Sam, Sarah and Carrie in their school shirts. Nelson is also standing with them.
That is not blood! I went to give the children ketchup the other night and I opened the bottle and spilt it all over Nelson and the table. He thought it was pretty funny.
Sorry for all the randomness. Hope you enjoyed it though!

Double the Posts

2011-11-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Today will be day 17 of the 20 days in a row of posting I decided to commit myself to. That will double my entire year of posting. I suppose I have been a huge slacker this year. It has however been hard to keep up with the computer being packed away a LOT of the year!

Tonight I am tired thought so this is going to be a quick post! Here are two pictures of Nelson doing Apple prints (that turned into hand prints) for pre-school. He had tons of fun! We did this while Wally was sleeping!!

Annual Family Pictures (2011)

2011-11-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

As most of you know we have family pictures taken every year (not that I don't take lots of pictures all year long). They are our way of charting the growth of each of our children, and we love to send a family picture to everyone at Christmas!!

We also took a few extra of Wally for his "two year" pictures! He was not very cooperative. In all of our years of taking pictures we have never had a child that was uncooperative. It is always a point and shoot event with little hassle. Wally changed our record! He would not be bribed or consoled. He had a major tantrum... but we are good, other than some blotchyness and one photo to prove it, you might not have guessed that he gave us such a hard time. So with out further ado...

Wally age 2 with his best pal froggie!
Wally being shy!

Here is the proof, this is what he did almost the entire time! We told the other kids to be grumpy too... Jess thought it was funny!
Trying to get a good shot!
The children in age order
Jessica 11
Samantha 9
Sarah 7
Carrie 5
Nelson 3... his picture to me shows the most growth... where is my toddler boy?
Wally 2

You will have to wait until Christmas to see all of us together!!!...

Hectic Halloween Day

2011-11-01T19:40:00.001-07:00

Trick or Treat! Wow, to say that Halloween was a crazy day for me would be an understatement. It was however lots of fun even if it was go go go all day! It actually started the night before with... more treats. I am a "room mom" for each of my elementary school children and I volunteered to bring in treats and help with the class parties. I made 84 of these fun candy corn rice crispy treats (that I found at Kraft.) I did modify slightly by adding the chocolate to the back. I think everything is better with chocolate! I was so blessed to have the help of my husband with these. He moved, measured, and just supported me while I made them, it was so much more fun with him there!!

The tray for Carrie's class. (We also handed out stickers)
The bags to hand out in Sam's class (she didn't have a party). And Sarah's class needed drinks so I provided those for her!
After class parties and a fun parade we headed home to get ready for the evening festivities! (Jessica was able to wear her costume to school as well). We cleaned the van and decorated it for our church "trunk or treat" chili party. Then I got the kids dressed and took pictures...
Here they are!
Wally the Froggie (with his sisters wand)
Carrie our Sweet Witch!
Our peace keeping sheriff- Nelson (who is missing his badge and you can't see his spurs!)
Sarah our beautiful Mexican dancer.
Aye, our spirited Pirate! (and her trusty parrot!!)
And Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's Friend (who looks suspiciously like Jessica!)
Off we go to trick or treat! It is a little crazy here because there is not a specific time to go... kids started door to door just after school. This picture was taken at 5pm and we went to a few homes, all of which gave out candy! After we went to the city's 1st trunk or treat... it was nice but they have some glitches to work out. Then we went to our church party. We ate chili and then trunk or treated again, this time in the dark! It was an overall great day!
And Oh, I almost forgot... Baby Roy had his first costume as well. He went as a pumpkin!!
(Thanks Mom for all of the costume accessories and Wally's froggie costume! We love you!)

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T20:10:00.001-07:00

I just got home and put the kids to bed. Today was beyond full. Full of fun, candy, parties and overall running around. I will be posting pictures of everything but here is a quick picture of my cute kiddos to keep you happy!! I hope you had a great day as well.

Halloween Cupcakes

2011-10-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

I love to make treats, especially fun ones for my children. So when they needed people to bring cupcakes to the annual carnival I gladly volunteered. They were needed for the "cupcake walk" game. Knowing it was Halloween themed I quickly looked for some ideas online. Not surprisingly I found some I really liked on the bakerella website. Here is my finished product. They were super simple but fun. All of the children helped me make the spiders and the dirt ones, they were so easy!

Yummy, what treat is next!!

Beck Family Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Beck Family Pumpkin Farm. It is a charming farm just off the beaten path in Centerfield, UT. I was lucky enough to follow along with Carrie's field trip to the farm yesterday. We had a great time learning about pumpkins, the different kinds, and even picking one out of the field. Nelson and Wally had a great time pretending to be kindergartners! This first shot shows the "feel" of the area quite well.
There was a straw maze that the kids loved. Hi Carrie!!
Which way should I go?
Nelson finished in a snap and was pleased to find candy at the end! Did I mention that it was quite cold!!!

To get to the pumpkin patch you have to walk through a gourd tunnel. I love these gourds, I want to plant some of my own!
Carrie picked out her pumpkin right away, little was her first requirement!
The kids all picking... That is Nelson in the blue right in front.
I loved the seeds, green is always fun!
Thanks for sharing your field trip with us Carrie!

Cherishing the moments!!

2011-10-28T20:59:00.001-07:00

In my last post I talked about "cherishing the moment" and enjoying my children as they are right now.... can I change my mind already!? OK, not really, but I certainly wasn't thrilled with this mess that I had to clean up yesterday. I use these little hair ties on the girls EVERY day, and I LOVE that they are all organized in a little container. Then a few days ago I went in the bathroom and found them dumped on the counter (I had no idea Wally could even open them!!) I spent a long time reorganizing them and stuffing them back into the individual slots. Then yesterday I went into the bathroom again and this time they were ALL OVER the floor!! Here they are swept up with all the other things that were on the floor! They are in a baggie now, all jumbled together... I will not re-organize! Sigh, the sad part is that who is really to blame here, probably me (said sheepishly)! Oh well, their are certainly worse messes that I am sure to have to clean up tomorrow!!!

Sister has the camera!

2011-10-27T20:42:00.001-07:00

I found this on my camera the other day. One of my daughters played dress up with her brother and then took a picture to capture the moment. This picture really made me think though. My children are growing too fast. This cap and gown may be too big right now but someday.... I can only pray that I will cherish them at this time, in the stage they are each in, because they seem to grow in the blink of an eye!

Footprints on my soul

2011-10-26T21:08:00.001-07:00

Being a mom is perhaps the hardest thing I will ever do in my life. It is challenging in ways that we cannot know until we become a parent. But it is, on the flip side, the most rewarding thing that I will ever do. I strive to be the best Mother I can be, to make my children happy, healthy, and to help them create a bond in our family and with our Father in Heaven. It is exhausting most of the time and I feel I often fall short of my goals. But I keep trying and as I do the children reward me in little ways that make it all worth it! The other day Nelson, Wally and I went out to the back yard in the early morning. Dew made our feet wet and I noticed these footprints after we went back inside. I couldn't help but take a picture. Here we are at different stages, me leading them. But they are the ones leaving footprints on my soul! ... and I cherish them!

"Fall"

2011-10-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Autumn is by far my favorite time of year. I love the crispness in the air, the baking, the crunch of the leaves... honestly I could go on forever about why it is so great. I am grateful to now live in an area where there truly is autumn. We have been enjoying all the aspects of this season including the leaves falling off of the trees. We have spent a lot of time playing in them here are a few pictures...

Happy Autumn to you!!

Jess Turns Eleven

2011-10-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

It seems like Jessica was five just yesterday, and now she is eleven. She is an amazing young lady full of great ideas and helpfulness. I am so grateful that she is my daughter and that we are enjoying this journey together. Jess is also a sensitive girl, much like her mom. Last month we celebrated her birthday and I thought I'd share a little of her celebration with you!!

Jess loves owls and penguins. This year she asked for a penguin cake. It came out a little rough but she liked it so all was well!

For her party 10 of her friends came over for games crafts and fun. Here Deric is demonstrating how to stack marshmellows on a popcicle stick!
Playing "face the cookie" only one girl got it in her mouth (without using her hands)!
The winner of the can/paperplate stacking.
Jess attempting to stack marshmellows.
Sammy after the "flour" game! This was our finally game and we were going to play it outside but it was raining. We did it anyway and made a huge mess but had lots of fun!!
Make a wish!!
Then it was time for presents! All the girls sang a song and bonked Jess on the head with a gift, it was really cute.

"Heavy, heavy hang over. Thy poor head. What do you wish, with a bonk on your head!"
The whole gang (minus Carrie who refused to get in the picture).
On her actual birthday (a few days later) Jess opened gifts from Us, my mom and sister. I think she got a lot of good stuff. She asked for more earings and she got a lot!!
Happy Birthday to my wonderful daughter! We love you!

Hoppy Birthady Two Year Old!

2011-10-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today our family went from seven to eight! It was a beautiful sunny day and everything went so well. Little wally was born just after 4:30 pm, a handsome healthy baby boy. We were all so excited to welcome another little boy into our family. He is steadily becoming a better and better playmate to his big brother. And BOY are they boys!! I am getting a full dose of the difference and they are sure keeping me on my toes! I am so grateful to be the mom of this little guy. Happy, or should I say Hoppy Birthday Wallace!

Two years later and he still LOVES his stuffed froggie! Here he is... The birthday boy!!
Wally got many gifts but the best was his new motorcycle from Meme and Poppy!! He rode it around as much as he could today. We were worried that he would need it to go to sleep (luckily that was not the case!) *Note, the PJ's have froggies on them!
After dinner today we enjoyed cupcakes with Wally. "Hoppy Birthday!"
These were so fun to make!
This picture was taken after Wally blew out the first candle, or maybe it was the drool that put it out!! (Thankfully we all get our own cupcake!)
Yummy, not so bad, thanks Mom!
Here he is trying to put the candles back in, and blow them out again!
He went to bed a happy little two year old!!

To the temple with Grammie

2011-10-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of October Grammie Pam came to visit! We has a great weekend relaxing, enjoying each others company, and enjoying yummy food! On Saturday afternoon we decided to visit the Manti Temple. It has a beautiful property and we thought it might be a good place to walk around and get some energy out! This rock is on a pathway behind the temple, the kids insisted I take a picture!
Outside one of the Eastern facing doors.
As we were walking back to the car Grammie pointed out this photo op. Seeing this picture reminds me how lucky I am to have such great kids, who are such good friends. They may have their moments but they love each other so much and really get a long pretty well most of the time!
Before we left I took a picture of the kids with Grammie!
A lot of the rest of the weekend was spent playing games! They LOVE to play board games with Grammie!!

Jessica's First 5K

2011-10-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Jessica ran her first 5K. I took the little kids and went to watch her cross the finish line. Wally kept asking "where's Jess?"
Here are Carrie and Nelson Waiting for her to come down the road.
And here she comes, big smile and all!!
A much needed drink with two of her friends. Great Job Girls!!

Mmmm, acorns!

2011-10-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

The other day Deric was looking at my facebook page and noticed a friend had posted a picture of the cutest little acorns. I was looking for a fun treat and decided to try them that day!!

You start with a lot of these, unwrapped of course!
You need a little chocolate to put them together! (It is yummy to eat with your fingers too!)
Add some mini nilla wafers or bite sized nutter butters, and a mini chocolate chip stem (and a little patience).
And soon your mouth is full like this!!!
Unless you keep making them like this... (like your supposed to!)
The end result is this!! A happy camper with a cute acorn treat!!
Here is one with a card I made for a thank you we were giving out.
Here is the entire "Thank You" platter. (Some people from our church helped us empty our storage unit!)
These were super fun and easy. The ones pictured above have nutter butter top but we made them for he kids to take to school and used mini nilla wafers and they were just as cute. (Sam has a child with a peanut allergy in her class so nutter butters were out of the question!)

Our House, part two

2011-10-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

WELCOME! Imagine you have just stepped through our front door, and here you are in our family room. The door you see leads to the one car garage. You can also see a glimps of our dining area.

This is the view from the other side. (You can see the front door.)
Sorry this picture is so dark. This is the dining area and the sliding glass door to the back yard.
The view of the dining area from the kitchen.
In the living room if you walk in and go to the right you will find yourself in this fabulous hallway!
The first door on the left is the bathroom.
Two views is important since it is such a large room!
Across the hall from the bathroom is the Nursery which is now Wally's room, but in a few months a new baby will move in!
Just down the hall on the right is Sarah, Carrie, and Nelson's room. This will eventually become Wally and Nelson's room and the girls will move to a bedroom downstairs!
It is a work in progress!
The master bedroom is at the end of the hall. It isn't huge, but it fits our furniture and we are grateful for that!! Cali (the cat) likes it just fine!
Here is the master bathroom. After living in homes with only one bathroom it is sooooo nice that Deric and I now have our OWN bathroom, no kids allowed (if you look closely you will see I don't follow that rule very well)!!
That is all the tour for now. Part three will come soon including...kitchen, backyard fence, and the downstairs!

Carving Pumpkins!

2011-10-18T08:44:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, grab a pumpkin (and maybe some clothes!) and join us for some fun pumpkin carving!
Don't be shy, it will be fun!
But move quickly, these pumpkins are heavy!

First we will start with a little instruction from dad.

After cutting the top, we have to scoop out the insides!
While dad cuts top after top...
We keep scooping and scraping...
And inspecting to make sure it is all clean!
Then we carve! (Actually we made our designs on paper first!) This sure is a messy job!!!
But all the hard work is worth it don't you think! Can you tell what each of our pumpkins is??
... and the finished product! Ooooo, so spooky!!

Our House, part one

2011-09-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

No more moving for us (for a little while anyway!!) It is official, we have bought a home, and we are so grateful to be in our cute new house. Here are just a few pictures of the yard. Part two will give a tour of the inside, but I'd like to put a few more things away first!!

The front yard

The back yard

More back yard!! You can see we don't exactly have a ton of land. We are putting up a fence to keep the dogs and kids in (hopefully), and the other ten million neighborhood dogs out!! Notice there is a one car garage... yeah!

There is a right of way behind the house. It is the neighborhood bike "zone." Our children have joined right in . There are some cars but they all know to keep an eye out for kids!

Moving Again!!

2011-08-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends!

We will be moving yet again this upcoming weekend. This move however is a good one. We will be closing on our own home on Thursday morning, and moving is asap after that. The decision to buy a house came from our constant need to move since we have been here in Ephraim. We are hoping that this will be the final move while we are here. Stability for our family is a must and it seems that we have finally achieved it!!

It is due to all of the moving and such that I have been a huge blogger slacker. There have been so many things that I would like to share and haven't. I am hoping that once were are some what settled that I can get back on track and document some more of the wonderful events in our lives and more importantly the lives of our children. Until then thanks for your support and love and patience!!

Love , Muria

Moab, UT

2011-08-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hi, just in case you may have been worried we did not dissapear from the face of the earth! Life has just been more crazy than usual and blogging has been on the back burner. Summer vacation is almost over and I may find more time to catch up when I am back to a "schedule". Until then... here are a few pictures from the short trip we took while my mom and sister were out visiting us in June.

This one is of Wally and Vinny at a nice little rest area we stopped and had lunch at on our way to Moab. It was just on the edge of Fish Lake National Park. We didn't intentioanl dress them the same, it just worked out that way!
When we first got to Moab we went to Dead Horse Point. It is a beautiful spot that overlooks the Colorado river. Here is the entire crew!! (even the dogs got to come!)
Meme with her grandchildren!
The one arch we actually walked out to. It was a short fun hike for the kids. It is a small arch but we really enjoyed it.
Hiding in a crevice.
This is just before we hiked out to the arch. It was very sunny and hot!
Amazing

We just had to stop and take a picture of this sign for my family... is this anything like "moose crossing?!"
The Family after a potty break on our way out of the park, on our way home!

LA Zoo!

2011-05-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

While we were in California last month we were invited (thanks a bunch) to go to the zoo with the cousins! It was a really fun afternoon filled with neat animals and crazy kids.

I took a few pictures of the animals, but mostly of the kids.... here is Jessica waiting for us to get moving to the next animal.
Sarah, smiling in between wines about how much walking we were doing.

Checking out the flamingos.
Group shot? Here are all the kids looking at the crocodile or was it an alligator...?
Sammy with her favorite animal!

Carrie had to have her picture taken with the gorilla.
Which meant that Nelson did too!
We tried to get a group shot of all the kids before we left, we will just say that this is the best shot we got!!
On our way out! Wally with proof of where we were!
Looking at animals is exhausting work!!

Say cheese... or bubbles!

2011-04-30T21:22:00.001-07:00

I had Wally and Nelson in the tub the other day and thought I'd try some manual pictures (after some coaching from my sister in law Christie!) They aren't great photos on a technical leval, but the boys, especially Wally, were ready to have pictures taken.

Say cheese Wally, or in this case Bubbles!!

You too Nelson!
I like the shadow in this picture. Wally is such a ham!
Check out the water frozen in mid stream! Wally thinks that Nelson is a riot :)
This shot was taken a few days later. I had given the boys a bath and Carrie got in while I put them in their clothes. Wally snuck away and jumped back in the tub! Here he is, all proud, in his very HEAVY diaper.