Monday, November 2, 2009

"Mother of the Year"


Okay, sheesh, I know I do a lot of things that qualify me for the **sarcastic quotes ** "Mother of the Year Award", but this one takes the cake -- I took 1 (one), yep, uno, picture of Halloween this year. It happens to be of Todd in his classroom during his Halloween party at school. I have no idea how I managed to not take any pictures of the other two kids. What in the world was I thinking? Sometimes I amaze myself! The kids promised they would put their costumes back on and let me snap a picture tonight. FHE will be on awesome parenting skills. :)


They truly looked adorable, though I have no proof. Todd was a Newsie (who else LOVES that movie???), Kate was Shirley Holmes (Sherlock's lesser known, but highly intelligent little sister), and Jack was the ever popular dragon. We had a wonderful night. I love it when Halloween is on Saturday.


I also love the night Daylight Savings ends. It's the best day of the year, don'tcha think? :)

Arrow of Light

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A big congratulations to our awesome scouter, Todd! He recieved his Arrow of Light Award last Tuesday night at Pack Meeting. He turns 11 a week from today and is so excited about being an 11-year old scout. We have had a wonderful cub scouting experience. A big thank you to his wonderful leaders and the Cub Masters for our pack. We are blessed to have very dedicated, knowledgeable and conscientious den and pack leaders.

Upward and onward!!!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Three Months, New Show, No Sleep!

I'm so excited!!! I auditioned for the role of "Narrator" in our community's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" last weekend. Last night I went to callbacks with three other awesome ladies, and I was offered the part!!!! I have wanted to play that part FOREVER!!! As an added bonus, it's the perfect family show, so if Brad can free up his schedule, he has been recruited to play one of the brothers and the kids are part of the Children's Chorus (except for Jack-Jack, who will be the show's mascot, I suppose!).

The show goes on the end of January/first part of February at the King Fine Arts Center in Burley. Hope you can all come and see it!

It will be a very busy three months, but the fact that we can be together as a family while we do it is a huge bonus. I hope the kids know what they're in for (of course they don't. What, am I crazy?! There will be some very tired and cranky moments, no doubt, but in the long run I think/hope we'll make some really wonderful memories together.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Dude Looks Like a Lady

Okay, so I'm not really a pet lover. I'm sure you already know that about me. Brad is exactly 95% less enthused about pets as I am (severe allergic reactions may have something to do with that). But we were adopted by this funny little kitten that showed up in our back yard in June and refused to leave. After a couple of weeks of wishin' and hopin' that the cat would go back where it came from, and a couple of weeks of listening to the kids fall hopelessly in LOVE with this funny little creature, I finally broke down in a moment and weakness and let them feed it a can of tuna. Well, obviously, if there ever was a chance of the cat leaving before that moment, we had just put that notion to bed. Okay, whatever, we can have an outside cat. Fine. I can handle that.

Well, Kate named her Mittens. She's been a sweet cat, very mellow, and only tried and succeeded in sneaking into the house a few times. The kids have enjoyed her immensely.

Brad and I thought we had better get her to the vet for the basic shots and "the operation" so we didn't end up with lots of little Mittens' running around. So last week I loaded her up in the car, picked Kate up from school, and headed to the vets. During the exam the nurse became completely perplexed as she looked at the cat. First she confirmed what we thought, that Mittens is a girl. Then she took a second, third, and fourth look. Then she started probing around (something I'm just not willing to do). Pretty soon she found a boy part, but not the accompanying boy parts (please don't make me say it). She was very perplexed so she called in the vet, who came to investigate. Long story short, after some intense yowling on Mittens' part it was determined that SHE is a HE, and if you want to get really technical, an IT.

He came to us as a kitten, but apparently was just old enough to be neutered before he showed up on our doorstep. So, a big THANKS to whoever fixed Mittens, (who is now known as Mitt around these parts!). We are relieved to know that we won't have anymore little furballs running around here!

Just as a sidenote: Kate was so distressed while they were examining Mitt. She tried so hard not to cry, but couldn't quite hold in her emotions. She is such a sweet, sensitive, caring little thing. She really ADORES animals. She'll probably have a houseful when she's an adult. Poor little kid, she's got a couple of meanies for parents! Just to prove what a gem Brad is, though, he's agreed to build a cat house for Mitt so he can survive the winter. Kate is elated!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Welcome Winter!

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Scouter-Boy



Todd earned his Webelos badge last week at pack meeting. We're so proud of his efforts. He'll earn his Arrow of Light sometime later this month in preparation for entering Boy Scouts next month. I can't believe he's almost finished with Cub Scouts. Time does indeed fly.
**A Special thank you to Kate for her awesome photography. :)

5th Grade Field Trip

Do you remember the thrill of "Field Trip Day" at school? I do, so it was really fun to relive those memories as Todd prepared for his 5th Grade trip to Craters of the Moon National Monument. I was going to accompany him, but Brad managed to get the day off so they could spend the day together. Talk about a great dad!!! Todd was so excited to have him along. They had a great day together. Enjoy the pictures. :)

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Uncle James Came to Visit!

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

A Peaceful Sunday Morning Idea

I don't know how many of you have had the opportunity to listen to the Mormon Channel radio station. I LOVE it!!!! Rather than listening to the station live, I have my list of favorite features that I just download and listen to at will. These segments are available as podcasts that can be downloaded into any number of programs including iTunes. You can subscribe and iTunes will continue to download new podcasts every time they become available.

One of my kids' favorite things to listen to is the Scripture Stories podcast. A moderator meets with a group of primary aged children and they read stories from the scripture readers, then discuss the lessons learned, the feelings and motivations of the people in the stories, and the decisions we make in our lives that are like the decisions faced by those people. All my kids enjoy this, but Kate (7) especially loves it. She sits with her reader and follows along, answering the questions posed by the moderator right along with the kids on the podcast! It's adorable, and very gratifying watching her learn to know and love the people in the scriptures. It is emphasized quite often that the people in the scriptures are real people, which is such an important concept in this age of cartoons.

For the adults in the house, some of my favorite podcasts are "Legacy" and "History of the Hymns". We are so blessed to have this wonderful resource. If you're so inclined, take a minute to subscribe and enjoy a peaceful Sunday morning, afternoon, or anytime.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

More Vacation Pictures

Alright, fair warning: THIS SLIDESHOW CONTAINS 144 PICTURES OF OUR VACATION TO YELLOWSTONE. Feel free to skip through if you don't have time to watch the whole thing. :)

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Family Vacation '09

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The Wilson's spent Labor Day weekend in Island Park, Idaho and Yellowstone National Park!!! We had an absolute ball together. Because so much time was spent in the car we had lots of "togetherness" that could have been awful, but was actually quite wonderful. We had both Brad's and Todd's Ipods so we traded music back and forth introducing each other to our favorites and singing and laughing a lot. We played "I Spy a license plate" and managed to find plates from 47 of the 50 states plus for Canadian provinces. The only states we failed to see were North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maine. Darn!!! And yes, we DID see a Hawaii license plate while we were at Old Faithful. Crazy, huh?!! Anyway, that was a fun way to review all the states and kept us all occupied.

We picnicked in some beautiful places and hiked all over. The kids were amazing -- they did that energizer bunny thing that kept us all going and going and going! Kate's favorite part was when we visited the lower falls and walked down the long switchback trail. She counted her steps all the way back up. Todd's favorite part Old Faithful. He timed the eruption and tried to figure out some way get close enough to collect a water sample. Didn't happen (darn)! Jack loved everything except the really stinky, steamy hot pots. Those were pretty scary. Luckily, Dad carried him on his shoulders!

All in all we had an incredible time and can't wait to do it again. :)

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Great Summer Readers - Principal's Walk

Todd and Kate both participated in their school's summer reading program. They went to the school library twice a week and read and tested on AR books. They really enjoyed it and it was a nice way to keep them fresh for the new school year. As a reward they were each invited to participate in the Principal's Walk. Brad worked from home on each of the mornings they were being honored so he could be there for them. What a great dad!!! :)






Thursday, August 20, 2009

Rock Climbing at the Fair

I wasn't feeling well so Brad took the kids to the Cassia County Fair in Burley so they could climb the rock wall. They had the best time! Todd was pretty fearful... he inherited his mother's fear of heights -- but he overcame his trepidations and successfully made it to the top 3 times. Kate was the one who really wanted to go (she wore a skirt when we were there the night before so she couldn't do it then). She scurried up and down that wall several times with no problems. She apparently inherited her Dad's climbing abilities! All the kids were impressed with their Dad as he scaled the wall. He really hasn't climbed much since they've been born. Too much to live for, I suppose!


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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Rupert West Stake 10k





Our Stake President is an avid runner, so he challenged our stake to get in shape and run a 10k with him. We started training at the beginning of the year. The kids and I ran/walked the 5k, but Brad ran the 10k. He's been training really hard and he beat his best time. He was AWESOME!!!! We were all so proud of him. Way to go Daddy!!!!!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Lake Cleveland FHE










Last night we took the Jeep up the mountain past Pomerelle ski resort to Lake Cleveland. We had a picnic and then hiked around the lake. It was gorgeous! We all had a great time. I had to laugh at our little safety kids, as we were preparing to leave Todd was packing his own bag with flashlights, bandaids, neosporin, pocket knife, leatherman, slingshot w/rocks, sunscreen, and bug spray. Kate insisted upon bringing the GIANT first aid kit. :) She did scrape her leg, which Todd then doctored up for her, so all the preparation was not in vain. It's nice to know they're looking out for us.

My Favorite Thing Lately

Lately I've walked in on the kids several times laying in one another's beds (sometimes all three kids!) reading stories together. It's a really sweet scene. Jack loves it so much when the big kids take the time to read to him. It's strange that he allows them to do it since he's in a really independent phase right now. Periodically we hear quite a bit of yelling and screaming when things don't go his way ... these little moments of respite are heaven sent.

Pack Meeting

Thanks to some hard work on Todd's part and an especially wonderful den leader (and his wife) Todd has earned quite a few segments and pins this year in Webelos. It's hard to believe he won't be a cub scout anymore in just a few short months. When did that happen?


Kate manned the camera at Pack Meeting. I thought she did a great job. :)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Park Valley 24th Celebration: Part II

Todd and Hannah rockin' the 3-legged race!

Todd with his prize money -- $0.50!!! Inflation is real, I'm pretty sure I only got a quarter when I was a kid.


Kate and Chloe showing off their winnings.

Jack cried his eyes out when he didn't win his race! Maybe he'll be our athlete. He's certainly got the competitive spirit and thirst for victory part down.

Kate's ready to run!

Our little miracle boy, my nephew Brigham, ran darn near every race with utter joy just 4 short weeks after having undergone open heart surgery. Miracles do happen. What a blessing.

Kate prepping Briggy at the starting line.

Jack and Lily racing against the old kids. I LOVE the determination on both their faces. Who cares if the other kids are twice their size!

Jack at the starting line.

What a tease!