Family Picture Day

Halloween 2008..............Finally!

Waxhaw Scottish Games

This Saturday we went to the Scottish games and of course had tons of fun!

The boys RULED the children's athletics with Aaron in First place for the Haggus hurl and the Caber toss and a Third place in the Stone of strength. Andrew got First place in the Haggus hurl and Nessie golf.

I got to wear my renaissance dress and John and some of the kids wore their kilts.

We can't wait until the next games!!

Katie's Christmas list

Anything Hannah Montana,
My roll over pet,
Make up,
Jewelery,
Hair stuff,
Teacher stuff,
play doctor stuff,
vet stuff,
A art book,
art supplies,
cowgirl boots,sise(11),
new shoes,
new blanket,
Webkins,
Blues Clues doll and
blanket and pillow
FURREAL Friend Bisckit,

Phone Pictures

I just wanted to note that the last few posts were all pictures from my phone.

Pretty goods pics, I might say.

The Loom at the Highland Games

The kids really loved the loom at the Highland games. The girls would like a small one for Christmas and Aaron just thought the way it worked was fascinating.

Ian's first haircut

Before....







After....
















Yes, this is REALLY the same kid!!!!!

A creek walk during the summer

One day during the summer we were driving around and decided to go to the little park by Costco. Never thought much of it, so we have never been there before. We figured it was lame because of the location. Well, were we wrong!!! it has an awesome creek and walking trails and even a playground. The kids had so much fun!
The picture on the play set is of the kids putting on a show for us that they rehearsed and performed.

The last one is the cool fish they caught!! yeah, it's plastic....so??


Enjoy the cuteness!

I am learning to upload video from my phone....let's see what happens

Katie's version of Heaven

Setting: John and Katie are sitting on the couch talking about what happens when we die.


John: Well, we go to Heaven. Do you know what that would be like?
Katie: No
John: It will be Paradise. Do you know what that means?
Katie: No
John: It will be like the best place you have ever been!
Katie: Oh, I get it! Like the Mall!



Yeah, we are in soooo much trouble!

"You think that's gross? Well, look at THIS!"

Last Friday Andrew caught Sydney's fingers in her closet door. It was pretty bad, lots of blood and all that. It never stopped her from sucking on her fingers though. I guess this is why we didn't notice how bad it was. Today, we realize that her entire nail was falling off, only holding on by the tiniest thread. I didn't dare try to pull it off though it fear that it would bleed again.

She kept messing with it all day. Pulling it back, showing everyone, trying to get everyone to kiss it.

Well.. the girls were really getting grossed out, and I was tired of hearing them squeal(like little girls)So finally I say "You think that's gross? Well, look at THIS!"
and I show them the pictures of my poor nephew's burnt hand.

be careful, it's really gross....

http://wwwdbryan-danielle.blogspot.com/2008/08/day-6.html



And yes, they stopped complaining about the fingernail. (was that mean?)

Amazingly......

My phone is working just fine!! I can't believe it! I did however take the time to use the backup assistant so that if that ever happens again I will not lose any information off the phone!! She is SOOO lucky!!!!!

AND.....

Never accidentally clean your face with nail polish remover instead of toner.

It makes your lips taste REALLY bad all day!!

....just and FYI

I got tagged with "The Five"

The Five....

10 years ago...

1. I lived in Richardson, TX
2. I worked for Chase Bank
3. The only children I had were my brother and sister
4. I was not married
5. I weighed about 45lbs less!!

5 things on today's to do list....

1. Go to Aldi (check)
2. Go to Costco (check)
3. Find a way to retrieve my contact list off my waterlogged phone (check)
4. Make a meal for dinner that was completely effortless (check)
5. Cause no bodily harm to my children while doing #1,2,3 and 4 (maybe next time)

5 snacks I enjoy....

1. Nuttella on graham crackers
2. grapes
3. Choc chip ice cream
4. John's brownies
5. Milano's and really cold milk

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...

1. with 6 kids does that really go all that far?
2. payoff my house
3. custom build a bigger house, with the best laundry room ever!! and hire someone to use
4. put away lots of money for mission's and college
5. tummy tuck, boob job, get rid of this extra butt I acquired somehow

5 places I have lived....

1. Highland Falls, NY
2. Teaneck, NJ
3. Dallas, TX
4. Plainfield, IL
5. Charlotte, NC

Ok so I don't even know if 5 people read my blog. So I tag anyone who reads this.

SOOO.......

Sydney through my phone in the pool today.

Well actually she threw Riley's purse in the pool and my phone was in there.

Isn't she a sweeeetttyyy!!!

If anyone wants me.....don't call my cell.

busy, busy, busy....

Well, we have been really busy still. We went to the Zoo the weekend before last. Sam and Robbie came with us. It was REALLY hot, but still a lot of fun. The have baby lions and they are so cute.

My car has been in and out of the shop a ton of times over the past 3 weeks. fortunately the repairs are covered under a $50 deductible and Carmax has been giving us a loaner. It is just really hard to find a loaner we fit into comfortably! I have learned that a lot of SUV's don't have trunk space. Hopefully they will be done with it this week for good.

We went to the skating rink with our friends, The Rains family, that was tons of fun and only cost $4 for us to skate for as long as we wanted because the big kids got coupons from school and the lady at the desk gave me one for Andrew when we got there.The cutest part was Sydney. She kept taking her shoes off and putting them on the counter to trade them in for skates. She just didn't understand that they didn't have any in her size.

We have been doing playgroup on Tuesday's at the pool. The kids really enjoy it. This is usually one place where non of them misbehave so I really enjoy it too. Aaron is feeling more comfortable in the deep end, so I am hoping that will help him to improve him swimming skills. He used to just start to panic as soon as he realized that he couldn't touch the bottom.

Sydney has decided the she is going to do everything that the bigger kids do. She sleeps in a big bed. We put 2 twins together and all the girls just camp out together. She copies just about everything, good and bad. And she sits on the toilet, usually right after she pee's in her diaper. She does managed to make it to the potty of few times a week to do the really nasty stuff, ya know, the poop. Which is good for me, one less poopie diaper to change is just fine with me. I don't have any hopes that she will be potty trained to soon but again it is cute to see her efforts.

John got called as Sunday School President this Sunday so I am sure that means we are about to get even crazier with scheduling. He doesn't have any counselors or a secretary though, so really it's not a presidency....it's a dictatorship.

The kids have been passing around some weird illness. The Dr. says its fifth disease, but there is really no way to check for it. just have to rule out everything else and see if they get the typical rash. The rash is really irritating to their skin especially if they go out in the sun. Great for the summer..huh? So each Tuesday I get a few kids with a really bad breakout and get to give them benadryl...I mean I HAVE to give them benadryl. They have also started doing oatmeal baths to help. I think I got too, actually that's were it seemed to have started. The joint pain is really bad some days and they said it could last for many weeks!!! It sux!!!

Last but not least, let's take a moment for an Ian update. He is 9 months old. 20 lbs. He can crawl, pull up on EVERYTHING, eats lots of baby food, stopped nursing last month (is just to independent to want anything to do with baby stuff), has 2 teeth (front and center) Is just plain happy as a pig in poo ALL THE TIME. It is crazy how he can smile all the time. My mouth would hurt!! He sleeps with the boys now, in his crib of course. And he is behind on his shots so I should probably make an appointment for him to go to the Dr. soon.

Well thats about it for us. Hope to read some fun stuff on all of your blogs!!

Random cub camp pictures

Daycamp Pics from summer 2008

A week at cub camp

The first full week off of school was by far the busiest. We spent 5 whole days at Belk scout camp for Day camp. It was so much fun! We did have a very exhausting week but it was well worth it. Because I volunteered to be an asst den leader Riley, Katie and Andrew got to go to what was called "pixie camp" The older ones did all the same stuff as the cubs. The younger ones didn't do some of the things like archery but did most everything else. Yes, they even let the adults participate in all the activities!

Here is a recap of the week. John left for CA on Monday morning...really early. I got up at 5:30 did what I had to do to get ready. Woke the kids up at 6:30 got them ready had breakfast and was out the door at 7:30 to drop Sydney and Ian off at Sadie's house for the day. (Only the potty trained siblings can come.) We were up at the camp by 8:15. Started the day with the flag ceremony at 9 and that was following by swimming, crafts, lunch,either sling shot, bb gun shooting or archery, sports, nature activity, and then finish the day off with some fishing and then the PM flag ceremony. we got home at around 6 had dinner, baths and then bed. except Wednesday when I scheduled a pampered chef party by mistake! and Tuesday, when I had to go to walmart and buy the stuff for the party. Melissa Presslar came and helped me out that day....Yeah Mel!!!!

The group picture is of the boys in my den. I cant see the picture so the names are in no particular order. Aaron, Neil, Cole, Adam, Aidian, Timothy, Tucker, Ian, Garrett and Quinn(not in picture)Me and Anita...why do I always look like I am missing teeth or like my dentures have fallen out or something in pictures.


It was tons of fun! I can't wait til next year!

To busy to Blog

Well I thought this summer was just going to linger on and on forever with nothing to do and 6 kids to entertain. BOY, was I ever WRONG! We have been so busy, done so many fun things and I haven't had a moment to tell anyone about it. :(

Day two..........

So today was not so bad. We got up at normal school day time because Aaron, Riley and Katie had dentist appointments this morning at 9. Then we went shopping at Costco. Bought lots of groceries for next week. We will be at Cub Scout Day Camp and I have to make sac lunches for the four oldest and myself. and we got John his Father's Day present.

The girls played outside most of the afternoon when we got back with Sydney and Andrew going out to play for short periods of time up until dinner.

Sam came over to help out so I could go food shopping and go to a Cub Committee meeting. I ended up not going shopping because it started to rain SOOO hard that I didn't think it was worth it.

When I got home, Riley, Katie and Andrew were the only ones awake and watching TV. Not so bad, like I said.

Now here are a few things I learned today..............

* Going to Costco with 6 children causes lots of attention.
* Going to Costco with 6 children and meeting your friend and her two kids there causes even more attention.
* Sydney will eat ANYTHING once.
* Going to Costco with 8 children takes a very long time.
* You really can manage to feed 8 children lunch just with the samples they give out at Costco. (this really could cut down on the food bill, I think I am on to something)
* Ian does not like rain drops on his face.


I wonder what tomorrow's adventures will be??...........

The last day of school

Today was the last day of school and we all went to have fun at the class parties. Really I just ran bounced around from class to class missing most of the excitement because I was in the wrong class at the wrong time. It was fun still. The little ones enjoyed getting to play and I only had to take one home early(Riley). The other two wanted to stay and play with their friends for the afternoon. Here's pretty much how the day went.

-We got to the school and I remembered I forgot my camera in the car.
-I left Sydney and Ian in Aaron's classroom and went to go get it.
-I took a couple of pics of the kids in their classrooms and then let Sydney out to play...this is where is gets exhausting...

-I get a sandwich "Where is Sydney? oh man, Katie can you get Syd she just went out the door."
-We start to play games "OOP Katie, there goes Syndey again can you go get her"
-Go to the bathroom with Andrew, talk to a teacher, "OH Man, Where did She go? Did you see Sydney? Walk up and down the hall. Find Sydney in the arms of one of the Assistant Principals. "Thanks, Sorry"

-Now we go into Riley's room and try to watch a movie of field day that one of the Dad's made. "hold on, I gotta get the girl"....."ok, I'm back"..."ooo, she figured out the door, there she goes"..."ok, I'm here again"...."hey, could you grab Sydney, she just went out the door again"

-Now I realize that I don't see Andrew. Make Aaron go up and down the hall for a good 3 minutes looking for him until it hits me that after we went to the bathroom, we ran into one of his friends and I ask that Mom to keep Andrew so I could keep an eye on Sydney..."ooopsie, I forgot. never mind Aaron I know where he is. Sorry!"

This continued on like this from 11am to 1pm when I finally left and Sydney passed out in the car. And just so you know, Sydney doesn't sleep in her carseat! and I only live 1.1 miles from the school. She must have been exhausted.

Now here are a few things I learned today.........

* Ian prefers breast milk to formula when drinking from a bottle.

* If you take the mattress out of the crib you can gain 4 inches depth and prevent a child from climbing out for a little bit longer.

* Sydney is weird is likes to sleep on wood.

* Sydney gets into EVERYTHING that is not sealed, locked, bolted down or in some way secured.

* The blue Inspector Hector plaque detector mouth rinse doesn't stain the sink or counter top, even when the ENTIRE bottle is spilled and left there all day.

* Sprinklers are so much more fun when placed under a trampoline.

* The cat REALLY doesn't like it when Sydney's steps on him.

* I think Summer is going to be longer than I had anticipated!!!!

My two Mom's

I am standing in the bathroom putting on my makeup getting ready to go the school for a PTA appreciation luncheon. Which I didn't want to go to because I would have to wake Sydney up early and not give Andrew a nap, but it was nice and I am glad I went even though I had to hold Andrew for the first 30 minutes because he fell asleep in the car on the way there.
Anyway, Andrew comes in dressed with his batman cape and mask and makes a cutting motion like he has sliced me in half vertically with of course the sound effects to go along "ffffssshhhhht"
I looked at him a little confused and sad because why would he want to cut me in half? Have I really failed so badly as a Mother that even the 3 year old is plotting to rid himself of my daily tortures?
He then looks at me very sweetly and says "There Mom, now there are two of you to help you make dinner!"

awww, how sweet is that? In a really weird kind of way......but at any rate at least he recognizes how hard it must be to complete even the simplest of tasks around here.

A speacial guest

Hanna Montana made a special appearance at our house and sang with the girls. Thanks to Nellie and Jessica for making this possible! The girls will remember this for a LONG LONG time!

The Girls Bridging Ceremony

Daddy Daughter Dance 2007

Ross Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family photos - Free family tree

Ross Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free family tree - Family history

I've been "tagged" by Dani....

I was tagged by Dani

This is an interesting one...

Here's how it works:

1. Pick up the nearest book (one of at least 123 pages)

2. Open the page to 123

3. Find the 5th sentence.

4. Post the next 3 sentences

5. Tag 5 people.

okay, the book closest to me is: Teachings of Presidents fo the Church

What can we learn from the story told by David Whitmer on page 116? What experiences in your own life have taught you that you must be worthy in order to use your spiritual gifts? Review the section that begins on page 117.


OK now the other book that was under this was fun too.....



1. Pick up the nearest book (one of at least 123 pages)

2. Open the page to 123

3. Find the 5th sentence.

4. Post the next 3 sentences

5. Tag 5 people.

okay, the book closest to me is: Ty's tricks

Tip if you really want to save some cash, find several gallons of paint with the same sheen(flat), but not necessarily the same color,and mix them in a 5-gallon bucket. We call this boxing the paint, and it should always be done with the same kind of paint. This is a way to create a color from several others.

Ok so I don't know alot of bloggers, so I will tag Sam, Molly, Jen-lee, Rebecka and that's all I got.

Christmas in Hilton Head

This past christmas we went to Hilton Head Island with My parents (Dad and Step-Mom), some of my sister's and one of their Husband's and a nephew. It was ton's of fun. The girls had cute matching PJ's ( Kate's on the right - looking at the pic) and Little boy's did too. That is Evan and Andrew.

I put a not so good picture of what the room looked like before we started opening, but for anyone who was there knows this picture does not truly depict the mound of gifts that were there. It was crazy!

You can also see the our 5cent yes .05 Christmas tree. We went to walmart and I just had to have a real tree so I said let me just go look and see how much they are. When I got out to the tree's they were marked$5.oo. so I knew it was meant to be. We brought the little taggy thing to the register in the garden section and the girl at the register was so frazzled,she didn't know how to ring up the tree she called for backup and noone came. She rang us up and put in .05 by mistake and couldn't get a a manager to help so she said "Just take it for the .05." I would also like to point out that the picture of Sam, Nikki, the girls and Aaron is taken after we came in from the Pool. Now I do love some snow at Christmas, but this was fun too. There was just something about swimming after opening presents that was lots of fun!