;)

2 words...

JENNA ROCKS!!!

Thanks for the awesome family pictures!

I'll get them posted shortly for all to see...

DUH!!!

Eric & I have a habitual problem of not putting our keys on the key rack, but instead, we put them in my purse, our pockets, the counter, even left in the car parked in the garage.

Today Eric needed to be at church early so he got ready, kissed us goodbye, and headed out the door only to return a minute later on the hunt for his keys.

We spent 25 minutes looking EVERYWHERE!!! Eventually, he was late. So, we told the kids that whoever found dad's keys would get $5!!! They jumped up and also started looking EVERYWHERE!!! After about 30 seconds I heard Harley yell "I found 'em!" Sure enough, she had found them. Guess where they were???

ON THE KEY RACK!!!

25 minutes of searching, for nothing!!! LOL!

Harley's very pleased with her reward. After all, it only took her 30 seconds to earn $5. :)

FYI

For future reference...

I found out how to get gum off the inside of the dryer today.

Just turn on the dryer & heat up the gum for a few minutes.

Then take a wet dryer sheet & rub.

It didn't even really take much effort, and it now looks better than it did before the dryer "chewed" that pack of gum! ;)

When I die, I want only one word on my headstone.

That word...

"SERIOUSLY!?!?!"

YW in Excellence

Our theme this year was "Rise to the Occasion!" I went and stole all my mom's antique kitchen stuff, plus used a bunch of my own stuff to decorate the display tables. It turned out really cute!

The girls did a great job of conducting, presenting, and participating. Our YW and their leaders both totally R*O*C*K*!!! Our personal progress leader spoke about "The Recipe" (a.k.a.- Personal Progress), and then I spoke on "The Ingredients"(a.k.a.- the YW theme & Values). Then the Bishop spoke about the Sanctity of Womanhood, and it was over.  Oh yeah...we also had the GREATEST cinnamon rolls! A lady in our stake makes all kinds of yummy baked goods, and she helped us out by making FABULOUS cinnamon rolls which added the perfect touch to our "Rise to the Occasion" theme. Thanks Bonnie Page! We owe you, BIG TIME!!!

It was a short, great meeting that went perfectly according to plans. If the feedback we received is any reflection on the evening...I'd say it was a total success! Thanks to all who helped to pull it off. Now we can breathe for a few months...until the next big event! ;)

I swear it works!

Chandler got the hiccups the other day. So I used an old family recipe... hold a cup of water up right and drink out of the opposite side than you would normally drink out of. You're basically standing on your head to drink. Once the water's gone, so are the hiccups!

 

I know it seems crazy, but I swear it works.

Try it next time!

DANG DOG!!!

We spent last Friday night and Saturday building a dog run for Tootsie, our 1 year old mini weiner dog. We were very proud of our results when all of the sudden...

She jumped over the gate!

SERIOUSLY?!?!?

 

Keep in mind that I said she's a MINI Dachshund, so her legs are literally, 3 inches long!!! If she stands up next to the fence, she can't even see over it! How can she jump over it??? Well, we thought it was that she was going to the end of the fence and getting herself up onto the 4x4 that we used. So I stacked a few blocks there to deter her. But, NO!!! She just moved down on the fence and jumped over. So, I guess we're back to the drawing board... UGH!

DANG DOG!!!

Tales to tell

Tater likes to hear herself talk. It's pretty adorable! So sometimes we just ask her random questions to hear what she has to say. Here are a couple from yesterday...

Dad: "With the current economic state, should people leave their $$ in stocks and bonds? Or should they pull it out?"

Tater: "Let it ride!!!"

Dad: "Why do we have Christmas?"

Tater: "Cuz if we don't, Dad will cry!"

Then we asked Chandler...

Dad: "Why is dad getting his MBA?"

Chan: "Cuz he wants to be the boss!"

We had a good laugh about that one. Apparently he needs a degree to be the boss 'cuz he just hasn't MASTERED it at home! ;)

Dad: "What is the government bailout plan?"

Chan: "A plan for people who want to bail out of America!"

Apparently he's taking this whole Obama thing really hard. ;)

Kids say the darndest things!!!

An angel's kiss...

 

Memory Day!

 One of my favorite quotes is,

"Sometimes we get so caught up in the THICK of THIN things, that we forget what's really important."

In order to keep this from happening, we have started a new tradition in our family. We call it "MEMORY DAY". This is a day that we will do once a month, organized by a different person each time. Sometimes it will be a specific activity, sometimes a service project, and sometimes just a low key activity that we'll never forget.

This month our "Memory Day" activity was a straight face contest which Tatum actually won, followed by a breakfast in the park, then a trip to see "High School Musical 3". At the end of the day, we asked them all what their favorite memory was, and they each had their very own. That's exactly what we were hoping for.

Here's a peak into our 1st "Memory Day"...

Straight face contest- Chan vs. Harley

Tater's winning face.

 

Park activities.

I hope every "Memory Day" is this memorable!

 

Baseball boy

We're nearing the end of the Fall baseball season. Chan's got a game Saturday, then a playoff game on Tuesday. Then, we'll have a break until February, when it will all start up again.

He's really learning alot and doing well. We're very proud of how much he's been able to learn, and how well he's developing his baseball skills.

Here are a few pics from his last game...

Isn't he cute?

Memory Walk 2008

Every year the Bird descendants get together to raise funds, and then walk in the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in Phoenix. Grandma Bird died 6 years ago after a very long battle with the devastating disease. So we support the cause every year. This year our walking numbers were small due to family changes, and moves, but we were there with our banner held high in memory of our wonderful Grandma Bird, and her amazing husband Grandpa Bird. It's because of him and his wonderful care for her that we were able to have her in our lives for as long as we did. We love you both!

Here are a few pics from the event...

Chan & Shelbs carried the banner.

Tater getting a lift from Papa Jameson.

Grandpa Bird giving Harley a lift.

Chandler joined the band on stage for a song after the walk, and got a free cd for his performance.

 

It was a good day!

 

Harley's Haunted House Blues...

A neighbor across the street did a haunted house this year. It was more geared toward teens and older, but here's what Harley had to say about it...

Harley: "Dad...When we went trick or treating, the neighbor house had NO TREATS...JUST TRICKS!!!"

Dad: "REALLY!?!?!"

Harley: "Yeah... And I didn't want any of THOSE tricks! They were scary!!!" (major eye roll)

 

Halloween!

So much has happened around here the last few days, so I'm going to play catch up with a few posts in a row. SORRY!

Halloween was fun! My preschool party went great, and the kiddos looked adorable in their costumes. I even dressed up for the party, (which I hate doing)! I went as a witch and Eric kept telling me it was a shame that I decided not to dress up this year! He's such a  BEAST!!!

Halloween night we went to a block party that has become a tradition for us. Thanks Vlamings for organizing such a fun party!

After that, we went with folks from the neighborhood to Trick or treat. It was so much fun to watch the kids. This was the first year that Tatum really got what was going on. She kept yelling, "This is the best day, EVER!!!" It was pretty adorable.

After that we headed over to Aunt Tracie & Uncle Rob's house for some chili & cornbread to counteract the large amounts of candy that had been ingested. Once again, thanks for organizing a fun party, Hallidays!

Here's a family picture taken at the block party. I love this picture!

Happy Halloween!!!

Growing pains!

Today I was doing laundry. When I went to hang Chandler's new shirts on the kid sized hangers I've been using since his birth, I suddenly realized, (thanks to his recent growth spurt), he's graduated to...

REGULAR SIZED HANGERS!!!

It's a sad day for this mom who refuses to accept that her kids are growing up! :(

She's famous!

Shelby keeps telling everyone that she's FAMOUS!

We opened up the Chandler city "Break Time" magazine, and there was a picture of Shelby at her dance recital in July. This is a magazine that advertises community classes and events, so all of Chandler received it.  Here's a snapshot of the page she's on. She's 4th from the right.

We've had a few comments from friends who got it.

She's just happy to tell them,

"I'M FAMOUS!!!"

Trick or Treat!

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween! We sure did.

I'll post pictures of the kiddos soon.

But for now...

He SCORED!!!

Chandler has been playing little league baseball since July. He is really enjoying himself, but is really having to work hard to understand the game. He has never played baseball before, and because of his age, he started into "Kid Pitch". So it's been alot of info to ingest all at once. But he is really doing well. His batting stance ROCKS now. He looks so cute up there. :) (I'll get pictures soon! The dang umpire keeps getting in the way of my pictures. Rrrrrrr!)

Last game, he finally got the concept of leading off and stealing bases. He stole 1st and 2nd, and then walked in for the SCORE!!! This was his first chance to score this season. He was so happy, and so was I! The stranger next to me said, "I don't know who's happier... Him, or you!" Apparently I got a little worked up, too! Oops!

Go Chan Man! We're glad you made it home!!!

On a side note... We discovered through Chan playing baseball, that the arm he compound fractured 2 years ago was now preventing him from being able to open up his baseball glove. So he's been doing physical therapy to get his range of motion back. We didn't realize it wasn't there. DUH!!! He's doing a great job, and is getting really far, really fast with the PT. Hooray!

To relax, or not relax...That is the question!

You know your life is crazy when you only have 2 hours on a Saturday with no place you have to be, and you're THRILLED to have that much "free time" on your hands!

That laundry might get folded after all...

or maybe NOT!!!

"Be cool about FIRE SAFETY!!!"

This week in preschool we've been talking about Fire Safety. This year I have a preschool dad who is a fireman. So I asked him if he would come in and talk to the kids about Fire safety. When he showed up on Wednesday, he brought all his gear to put on. That was really cool for the kiddos. It was great for them to see that underneath all that gear was still just Zoe's dad.  He even let one of the boys try on the gear. It was really fun!

Then as he wrapped up, the

FIRE TRUCK showed up!!! I didn't know he was having them come, but we are SO glad he did! They were awesome!!!

They opened it all up and let the kids climb around on it. Then they opened up all the different compartments and showed the kids the tools they use to do their job. It was SO awesome! The kids were in heaven, especially the 2 boys. I had one child absent that day, and was really sad about that. But when they gave us coloring books, pencils, and Junior fire hats, they left extras for her.

Thanks Jim for making  the whole experience extra special for the kiddos. I'm sure they'll always remember to

"BE COOL ABOUT FIRE SAFETY"!!!

 

Krissi Lu's Designer Rags

Of friend of mine has a business making SUPER cute burp rags.

If you're in the market...check 'em out.

Small world

Last night at mutual the Laurels were talking about their Seminary teachers and how cool they are. They have 2 teachers at Basha High. I knew that Bro. Trent Allen is one of them. Some of you may know Trent, but if you don't, and you grew up in my neck of the woods,  you may know his wife Rochelle (Ainsworth) Allen. I told the girls that Eric & I both had connections to them, cuz their younger sibs were some of our very best friends. Then one of the Laurels said her sis-in-law grew up with Rochelle. What?!?! I asked who it was and she said Kristin (Tait) Barrett. No way!!! My fam &the Tait fam have been close for years, and Eric's dad & Allan Tait are cousins. (I think that's the relation.) CRAZY, huh! 

After talking about our Tait family connections for a while we got back to who the other seminary teacher was. Come to find out, it's Bro. Peter Larsen. What?!?! HE WAS MY SEMINARY TEACHER!!! Our Bishop is an institute teacher and knows most Seminary teachers, so I asked him if it really was the same BL(that's what we called him) that was my teacher. He said he knew that he had taught in Tempe, but didn't know where. So I sent my Laurels to school today with the mission of finding out if it was the same Bro. Larsen.

I just got a text from one of them, and it is!!!  And he still remembers me and my fam. (Is that good, or bad???) I'll have to go over and say "hey" sometime.

What a small world!

Harleyism 101808

We went to pick up our babysitter on Saturday evening. They had just overseeded their yard. It was "skunky"!

As Harley got out of the car the conversation went as follows:

Mom:  Harley, be careful and go around the grass.

Harley:  Why?

Mom:  Because it has yucky stuff on it.

Harley:  Why?

Mom:  So it will grow.

Harley:  Well...Why are they trying to grow cow poop?!?!?!

Life never gets very dull with her! Or with any of them, for that matter!

Future politician!

Chandler is really interested in all the political goings on lately. He even stayed up last week to watch the Presidential Debate. What 9 year old gives a hoot about a debate? Chandler...That's who!

He's totally stressing over the current presidential choices, and is totally worried that McCain isn't going to win. He even said,"What's gonna happen to this world if Obama wins?" Good question, dude!

He came home on Friday very excited because they are going to do "KID VOTING" on election day. He is so excited he can hardly stand it. Maybe the rest of us should take a lesson from his book, and be a little more excited to flex our citizenship muscles.

As for Chandler,he's all about the issues.  "Cuz that's what we like to do as a band is talk about the issues." (reference for all of you Flight of the Conchords fans out there.)

Don't forget to vote on Nov 4th!!!

Halloween is here!

The kids have been bugging me to "decorate" the outside of our house for Halloween.

Seriously?!?!? Who decorates their house for Halloween?!?!?!?

Who does? Well...since I caved, WE DO!!!

Sometimes the reaction is worth the effort. I got a huge hug and "THANK YOU!!!" from all the kids. And all it took was some simple $2 spider's webs, caution tape, and pumpkins.

Come by and check us out. We're haunting it up around here! ;)

More Tater tot!

Today she's allergic to

"DOORS and FANS".

I'm just waiting for the day when she's allergic to people.

That would get really interesting!  ;)

Allergies!!!

Tatum has decided that she has allergies...she doesn't!

 

Harley: You wanna play house?

Tatum: Sure, but I can't cuz I have allergies!

Harley: Oh really!?!? What?

Tatum: Kissing & pumpkin bread!

Harley: Then we just won't eat pumpkin bread or kiss while we're playing, K?!?!?

Tatum: K! Let's go!!!

 

I'll let her keep thinking she's allergic to kissing if it means she won't be kissing any boys any time soon! :)

 

Millions of peaches, peaches for me...

Ok some will get my musical reference in the title. I had to smack Eric to keep him from changing it to a Steve Miller band line...anyway.

Last week we bought 3 boxes of UTAH peaches from a lady we know.(UTAH peaches are the best out there, except for the ones from Rik & Heidi's trees in Washington.) Eric kept laughing because he said we'd never be able to go through that many peaches before they went bad. I was planning to learn to can whatever we didn't eat. We ended up eating & sharing 2 entire boxes, leaving only 1 box to can. They were just soooo yummy!

I had never canned peaches before, and had no idea what I was doing. I was really nervous about it. So Eric helped me tackle the remaining box today. I've always heard that canning is a pain, but we were pleasantly surprised! We were able to do it all in just a few hours.

Here is the result...20 jars of UTAH peaches. Hopefully they'll get us through to next year when peaches are back in season...or maybe not!

I'm actually looking forward to doing it again next year!

Quad trip

Eric took a couple days off work to play as a fam for Fall Break. We took the quads out for the day. It was so much fun! Chandler graduated to driving the big quad. He looks so little on it, but is so good about following the rules and staying safe. Shocking, huh!?!?

Harley learned to drive the small quad by herself. She's not quite as safe, but let's be honest...we did name her "Harley". What can we expect?

Shelby spent alot of time giving Tater rides around the tree. she's a great big sis.

Tater doesn't expect much when we take the quads out. She's just happy to be there to play in the dirt. But, she always looks cool doing it!

Eric & I just have a great time watching the kiddos having the time of their life.

We are so lucky to be able to have these fun times with our awesome kids! They are always so appreciative, and we gain a new appreciation for them every time we go! We love you, munchkinators!

Gold Medal Girl

Shelby has been doing awesome at gymnastics.  This week she even earned a gold medal for perfecting her back walkover. You should have her show you sometime.

You go girl!!!

When did they get so big???

Chandler is now mowing the lawn.  

 Shelby regularly makes breakfast for the family, and is really good at coordinating the clean-up.

How do we keep them from growing up??? Any suggestions?

Support our families

I was led to this website by my sis-in-law. It's a place where you can get a car magnet for free that supports the family.

Support our Family magnets

For those who live in AZ, don't forget to get registered to vote. Your almost out of time to get it done. You can register online at the link below. We need to make marriage between one man & one woman part of the AZ Constitution! It's so important that we keep our families safe!

Register to vote

5 more temples!!!

General Conference R*O*C*K*S!!!  What an awesome 1st session!

I don't know why I'm surprised by the announcement of 5 more temples to be built all around the world. I guess it just always amazes me to see the work moving forward. Even in countries where we thought it would never be.

What a blessing!!!

Only time will tell...

As many of you know Eric works for Wells Fargo... Wells Fargo announced they are buying Wachovia Bank late last night. This has caused quite a stir at Eric's work. The work forces are similar in size and has launched quite a bit of speculation. Hopefully it means more opportunity in the future for Eric and other employees but only time will tell... check out the link below for more info on the purchase.

Wells Fargo to buy Wachovia

He’s a superhero!

Eric just called to tell us that he got a promotion today! HOORAY!!!

This is one of those cool promotions that come with more $$$, more bonus, but not much more responsibility.

However, anyone who knows Eric knows that he's already doing the responsibilities of 3+ men. So it's probably a good thing that he didn't get more responsiblities or he might just spontaneously combust! Eeeeewwwwww!!!

I am so proud of him. He puts 110% into everything he does. Right now he is leading 3 projects at work (Typically a person would run 1 at a time, but not Eric. He runs 3!), going to school at least 2 nights a week, doing a ton of homework and studying, running our STEWDEV business, helping a friend with some side work, serving as Financial Clerk in our ward, covering for me when I have YW responsibilities, helping to maintain the house, attending baseball games, plus taking care of our family needs.

He must be a superhero, because I'm convinced that's the only explanation for why he can remain standing at the end of the day.

We are so proud of you, Rico!

To us, you'll always be SUPER DAD!!!

2½ weeks

Friday was the start of our Fall Break. The kids are out of school for the next 2½ weeks.

If we don't plan things to do we're all going to go crazy!!!

I love having them out of school, but I can't stand 2½ weeks of TV!

Anybody got any fun, cheap, easy ideas of things to do with 4 kids?

Keep in mind that it's still 101 degrees
outside, and I cannot
handle the heat! So anything outdoors is definitely out!

Seriously?!?!?

I know this is Arizona and all, but seriously…It's almost the end of September, and we're still having triple digit temperatures!

101…Seriously!?!?!?!

As I sit here, it's 9:00PM and 90 degrees.

UGH!!! I'm soooo over it already!!!

Gangsta' meets violin???

Gangsta' meets violin???

I've seen these guys on the show "America's Got Talent". They are amazing!!! Nobody is going to ever convince me that a single mom from the ghetto can only raise gangsta's. This lady bought these kids a violin when they were 10, and it took them all the way through Juliard and beyond.
HOORAY FOR MUSIC!!!

The tradition continues...

As my siblings can attest, for literally my entire life, my dad was either in a Bishopric or a member of the Stake Presidency. (That's a whole other story...) Every Sunday morning we would get up to the sound of my dad saying "See 'ya in church!", as he headed out for his millions of Sunday meetings. It became a joke around our house, and people started saying it every time they'd leave the house. Going on a date, out with friends, to mutual, to work, to a football game... always the same thing..."See 'ya in church!" Ahhh childhood memories...

Now back to the present day. ..The last few weeks I have left as early as 7am on Sunday to attend my YW meetings, leaving Eric at home to get everyone up and dressed to leave without me. (Keep in mind that means he has to do hair for 3 girls.) He has done an awesome job! This week I even came home to a clean house and dinner in the crock-pot. I'm so spoiled! As I've left for my meetings, it has been funny to be on the other end of the phrase. "See 'ya in church!", I say as I leave. That phrase has come to mean so much more. Now it means begging the kids to be good, and help dad/mom because they're seriously outnumbered.

And so the tradition continues...

"See 'ya in church!"

Date night

Eric & I barely pass each other in the hall anymore; with school, work, preschool, callings, kids, gymnastics, baseball, scouts, etc... So we took the time last night to do something we really enjoy...We went to a concert! We are BIG music lovers, and whenever a good band comes to town, we love to go see them. Last night was Augustana, Maroon 5, and Counting Crows. It was AWESOME!!! Augustana and Maroon 5 ROCKED!!! Counting Crows was really weird, and we ended up leaving before they finished cuz' they were not even very good. Oh well...Like I said, Maroon 5 ROCKED!!!

Thanks for babysitting, Vicki!

Trip to "Dr. B"!

Last week we took all the kids to get their teeth cleaned. This was the first time we've had everyone successfully get their teeth cleaned without any melt downs.

Eric's friend from high school, Spencer Bramwell, is our dentist. Everybody calls him "Dr. B". He and his staff were awesome, as always! The kiddos had a good time, and I think any fears of the dentist chair are finally gone for good. Hooray!

They even got to help with the "vacuum thingy".

Tater was the only one with cavities. That's a miracle in itself! ;)

Show us those pearly whites!!!This is the best I could get out of crazy Harley!

Thanks, Dr. B and staff!!! See ya' in 6 months.