The Turkey Farm

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

Dust go to Sleep

2011-10-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

New ride

2011-05-29T22:53:00.000-07:00

Seats 9. YAY!!!!

One car family. meh.

Tahoe. YAY!!!!

Hair cut

2011-05-07T15:39:00.001-07:00

So, there are lots of hair styles made popular by celebrities; Princess Diana, Mary Lou Retton, Jennifer Aniston to name a few.

I however did not expect my daughter to emulate Terry Bradshaw.

Homework can be fun!

2011-02-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, so if you haven't heard me whine about homework, you probably haven't known me for very long. Today I helped my 6 year old do his home work. He was on a roll, so we tried to get ahead. We did rhombus second. That is a darn hard shape to draw. It kept coming out as a severly acute triangle. Parker insisted that it was a rhombus. Next we did square and worked counter clockwise. I tried to get him to stop drawing faces when we got to triangle. When he did oval, it looked so much like a "minion" that I was laughing so hard, I cried when he did the angry hammer head rectangle. :) I love that kid!

Parker's awesome 6th birthday. :)

2010-12-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

Cutie Pie

2010-12-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

One of my Girl Scout Sisters brought over some clothes and my girls found this wig. Zoey had a blast with it!

Alicia's first basketball game

2010-12-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

The girls did a great job on their first game. They held the lead for most of the game there was a lot of action. Though the lost it in the end, we all enjoyed it! Yay, Alicia!

Quote

2010-11-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

P to Mom standing behind chair: "Hey Mommy, Look! A spring popped out."

Mom walking around to see: "What?... Bwaahahahahahahahahaha!"

Some fun pics

2010-11-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

This is a fun picture of my little man dressing up for 50's day at school. I think he was a little mad/embarrassed about me taking his picture. It's almost as if he isn't sure whether or not to trust that I said he looks good!

This is Miss Zoey trying on mom's boots. They look like gogo boots on her. :D She had a hard time standing up in them!

Pine Wood Derby! This is Eli with his awesome car he made with Papa and Daddy. He got the "Green Machine" award. He was very pleased with his award!

halloween 2

2010-10-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

more to come. :)

halloween1

2010-10-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hooked on Books, not drugs.

2010-10-29T05:24:00.000-07:00

Mahala as Luna wearing spectrespecs!

Parker as Ron Weasley sporting ginger hair and a Molly Weasley sweater.

Eli as Percy Jackson with Riptide pen and Medusa's head in a bag.

What's up with the Turkey Farm...

2010-10-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

News.... well. We are finally all moved out of the old place as of Sat. We have been in the new place since August. :) The kids are doing well in school.

Alicia is fitting right in at her new middle school and loving the fact that there are several member kids in her school, and even a couple in her classes. :D

Mahala is missing her old friends and school, but is doing great at her new school. She has joined the Honor Choir, and any one who would like to see her perform should come to the Northwest Branch Library Sat. morning. I hear they put on a GREAT show! We're expecting it to be televised also. :D

Eli is doing great and seems to be enjoying his class. We have already begun finding ways to help him be even more successful! I'm very happy about that. We are blessed that he has another teacher that cares about him and is willing to go the extra mile.

Parker is having a great time being in school all day. His greatest disappointment is that he doesn't get to take his lunch every day. He loves riding the bus to school and has a classmate that lives next door/across the street from us.

And both boys are finally growing like weeds!

Lily loves, loves, loves school. She knows most of her letters already, and tells me when she sees letters that are in her school friends names. When we drive around town, she sometimes says that she thinks we are passing homes where her busmates live. :) She's so smart and observent.

Zoey is talking more and more and using more advanced sentences. It's so fun to listen to her. Hopefully someday she'll overcome her public speaking problem so everyone else can enjoy hearing her talk as well. :)

The 4 middle kids were in the Primary Presentation this past Sunday. They all did a great job. Parker made the cutest face at everyone when he got up. I think he was a little irritated that everyone was looking at him. :D

Paul is still enjoying teaching Art. He is especially fond of supporting Pioneer Football. :) I'm still a bit torn over that, being a Lions fan, but I am actually enjoying it too.

I am having fun in the new house. It is quite a challenge to keep up with double the square feet, but loving it nonetheless. I'm also doing a re-read of one of my favorite books to get ready for the movie. I'm so excited!

We're all looking forward to dressing up for Halloween this weekend. I hope to have some great pictures to post for next week. :D

Catchup: Zoey had a birthday

2010-10-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

Zoey turned 2 last month. She was so cute. This was her favorite present. She's very possesive of it, and watch out when she throws!
Here's the darling dress her Grandma Nancy made for her.

This last one is Parker showing off his new slippers from a lady in our old ward. :)

May?

2010-06-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

What happened? I totally missed May! I turned one year older, found a house to buy, and survived! Just so you know... if you've never bought a house before... it can suck a whole month of your life away! We're excited... and expecting to be closing on the house in the middle of August so long as the Seller doesn't get tired of waiting!

And just for the record.... It's HOT here!

Nerd Day

2010-04-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Every year, the kids have a "spirit" week at school to encourage the 3rd graders taking the TAKS test. The kids have lots of fun dressing up in fun ways. Today was nerd day, and Eli really enjoyed dressing up. With Eli and Parker growing so fast, there is no shortage of high water pants around here. (Please ignore the messy floor, and piles of clean laundry.)

First Prayer ;)

2010-03-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Dinner's in the oven. The kids have already set the table! I'm taking some time to go through old photos on the computer (Zoey loves to point out her Papa) and chill for a few minutes.

Zoey just climbed up in my lap again.. She folded her arms and said,"AMEN! AMEN!" So I said "You want to say a prayer!" and whispered a short prayer of thanks in her ear. She shouted her amen. and then stared at me and said "EAT, EAT!", jumped down and pointed at the set table.

LOL... that kid is hungry.

Subliminal Messages

2010-03-12T21:08:00.001-08:00

Ever get a song stuck in your head? Well, so have I. We were all sitting around the table discussing the songs we had stuck in our heads (about two weeks ago). I had a song from Dinosaur Train stuck in my head. We all laughed and tried to avoid gettting stuck with someone else's tune. Then Paul said that he had gotten the same Kenny Rogers* song, Mary, Did You Know, stuck in his head every day in the shower for a very, very long time. I love the song, but they play it to death at Christmas time, so Paul is kind of over it to say the least. We decided that it was very weird, laughed and carried on.

Fast forward back to this morning and we finally discovered why!

Funny how our brains work isn't it. I have been wondering what sort of subliminal messages I've been getting and didn't know it! :)

*So... Yeah, if you've already read this before the edit... I don't know the difference between Kenny Rogers and Kenny Loggins. :P

Moley, Moley, Moley...

2010-03-09T19:18:00.001-08:00

Remembering my Pop today... Found this song (http://songsandhymns.org/player/?hymn=holy-holy-holy). Recently found out that this was the tune to which he sang about the moles all our family are blessed with. :) Miss him!

Pizzaria Randall

2010-02-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

We invited the Elders (missionaries from our church) over for dinner on Sunday/ Valentine's Day. We decided to do something interesting and fun. I think next time we'll have to work some kinks out to make it go faster, but it was really fun for me cooking with my husband and churning out custom made gourmet pizzas with homemade crust!

Our order form.

Two slices of my veggie pizza. I forgot the pineapple!

More snow stuff and a poem

2010-02-17T18:54:00.000-08:00

Our yummy snow ice-cream... Thank you Momma! I posted the recipe on facebook, and lots of people tried it with their kids. Amazing the influence one person can have on a generation. XXOO

My snow Angel.

This was the morning after. It's hard to tell, but those limbs were pretty darn close to touching the ground.

Heard today that maybe our snowman made the news. That would be pretty awesome! I have really enjoyed seeing all the snowmen people built and the creative ways they fixed them up with faces, hats, and buttons, etc.

We're linked together by rolled white snow
Stacked and packed in a vertical row.
Human nature leads us to create
A shape to which we all can relate.
With carrots and buttons, sticks and string,
This new population's awondrous thing.
-GinGin 2010

Will you cut my hair?

2010-02-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

Before:

After:

After being told, " At least you didn't get a picture of my pants!" (Nothing like a challenge! She was running away.)

Cleaning up!

Beautiful Alicia. (and stinker brother who has been dogdging the scissors for weeks now. Mwa ha ha ha, you're next son!)

8 foot snowman on the loose. Captured on Film!

2010-02-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

Once we were all home safe and warm... We had lots of fun enjoying the snow. Thanks to Andrew and Heather for coming over to help out!

Snow Babies

2010-02-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

Today, it seems as though we were transported through time and space to a more northern place!

Zoey's first time playing in the snow!

She liked it!

We built a little snowman.

Zoey thought it was a baby!

Everything's coming up Roses...

2010-01-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Mahala!

Retro Week on Facebook

2010-01-15T19:09:00.000-08:00

Just so I can share with my non-facebooking friends. A way back of me. :D

I think this is the coolest thing...

2010-01-06T19:13:00.001-08:00

I got a froglinks flyer from TCU today. When lo and behold, this was on the cover!

I cannot explain how awesome it made me feel. Back in the old days, my friend Nikki H. and I had to create a Senior Design project to complete our Computer Science degrees. Her dad worked for Tandy at the time and was developing hardware to allow the company to change the pattern of lights lit on the sides of the (then) Tandy Towers in downtown Fort Worth. So, we decided to help him out and write software with a GUI that would make it easy to program the lights for an average user. Having the software available for free helped him to get approval for the project.

We joked about including a "white rabbit" so that our names or TCU would be displayed on our birthdays. It was all just talk, but it was awesome to see that there was no need. This was just the BEST. So, here's a big shout out and THANK YOU to whoever was responsible for making that happen. I'm just a little fish in the pond, but it sure is fun to know I had a small part in that happening.

GO FROGS!

The BIG 1-2

2010-01-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Alicia!
Fun Party.

What can I say? I can't believe that it was 12 years ago that I was watching a 007 movie on Christmas and thought I was in labor and freaked out the the lady in the concession stand! Seems like yesterday.... well, maybe last week. haha

Yummy Butter Cake.

Check out the awesome cake stand Sister Tanner gave me! Got to use it for the first time.

Regular Santa

2009-12-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

Part 1:
Last night we had our annual Church Christmas social. It was a great night. Of course, the highlight for the kids was a visit from Santa. We've had a LOT of discussions about Santa lately at our house. After the party, I took Lily, our 3 year old, out for a drive. She asked me, "Mommy, was that the regular Santa we just saw, or...?" I told her yes, it was the regular Santa. (lol) She paused to think for a bit. "I didn't know he had hats and candy canes."

Part 2:
Today, Lily said,"Last night we saw the regular Santa, but I wanted to see the fake one." :( hahaha

Finally, we figured out it was because she was watching one of those Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen, and there was a fake robot Santa that she was hoping to see!

Rhyme in Time kept me in Stitches

2009-12-10T19:00:00.001-08:00

Today, Parker was in rare form. Typically he has me pulling my hair out. We were on the way home from visiting a friend. The visit ended with me physically dragging him out to the van with a sleeping baby (actually 14 mo old, but still baby) in my arms. So, needless to say, when he kept "Mom--meee"-ing me, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear what he had to say. To my shock and amazement, he showered me with compliments; telling me I am beautiful, funny and good at cooking dinner, etc. I thanked him and decided I should return the favor. I told him that he was smart, good at rhyming, and making up words. I said just be careful, because some times your made up words are really bad words. (We have this conversation on a regular basis!) He paused and said, "You tell me if it's a bad word." So he began to rhyme while looking out the window.

P: Truck, puck.
M: (phew!) Yep. real words.
P: Sign, Bign.
M: Nope. New word!
P: Castle, Hassle.
M: Those are real words too.
P: Hassle? What does that mean?
M: It's when you bother someone and try to get them to do something.
P: You do that to Daddy all the time.
M: How do you know that?
P: Because Daddy says that all the time.

The end.

Snow

2009-12-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

So, yeah, we actually had a tiny bit of snow last week. Ya, in Texas! However, I would probably describe them as flying rain drops because it melted as soon as it hit anything and did not accumulate. Too bad. I love snow days.

Well, today I saw that it's been snowing up in Provo, so I miss my sisters. I wish we could build a snowman together and J, N, L and M could throw snowballs at me. So here's to dreamin'!

Hey Jonah! Can you throw a snowball to Texas?!

Love you guys!

The Grandpa Joke

2009-12-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa is one of the best joke tellers I know. In fact, he is probably the most prolific joke teller I know... with one exception. Four year old knock-knock jokes. But that's another story!
THIS story reminds me of him.

Yesterday I went on my monthly shopping marathon at Walmart. While struggling with keeping my 14 mo. entertained in the basket, and my 3 year old in close proximity, an older fellow drove up on his scooter and said hello. He jokingly mentioned that you start out on wheels (like Zoey) and end up on them (like him). He proceeded to ask me if I had heard "the one" about Buddy and Edna. I of course, had no idea if I had, so I had the pleasure of hearing it! So, now for your pleasure and enjoyment, a re-telling of the tale of Buddy and Edna!

Buddy and Edna were a young married couple. Every year, they would attend the same fair. One year they noticed that helicopter rides were being offered. Edna was so excited and wanted to go for a ride. After inquiring about the cost, Buddy responded with, "Fifty dollars is fifty dollars! Maybe someday, Edna."

Each year it was the same thing. "Fifty dollars is fifty dollars! Maybe someday Edna." The years passed by and again they began with the same argument. "Fifty dollars is fifty dollars!"

"Well, Buddy. I'm 85, so if you're gonna let me ride that helicopter, someday better come soon!"

The helicopter pilot who had listened to this argument for years interrupted them and said, "Now that's enough. I'll let you both ride for free on one condition. Neither of you makes a peep for the entire ride." Buddy and Edna agreed and off they went.

Now, the helicopter pilot wanted his money, because you know... fifty dollars is fifty dollars. So, he was doing all sorts of tricks, flying this way and that, and practically turning the helicopter upside down trying to get Buddy and Edna to scream. He had no luck and finally landed.

The pilot announced that this was the first time anyone had gotten to ride free. Usually, folks are screaming right off. Buddy replied,

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

"Well, I thought about it.... back when Edna fell out, but fifty dollars is fifty dollars!"

Turkeys

2009-11-26T09:46:00.000-08:00

Cool stuff about turkeys.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Books and Thanks

2009-11-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

Two great links for ya here.

Like to read? Kids like to read? Still have Christmas shopping to do? Check this out. Volunteers earn $10 per hour towards books! Shopped here before, but I hope to volunteer this year. Register so you can print a coupon before you go!

Xerox is doing this cool thing.

Yay! I fixed the blog. & pics!

2009-11-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

I think I like the way it turned out. Let me know what you think!

So here's a recent family picture or two. Which one is your favorite.

Hard to resist a picture with fingers up the nose. :)

I think Parker's about to sneeze.

Looks like somebody doesn't want be here. ;)

or here? I think Alicia was smiling mischieviously for a reason. hmmm.

Oh, and by the way, for my non-facebook readers....

Today I am humbly grateful that God answers our prayers whether we "want" the answer or not. Because of an answer I "didn't want", but followed, 14 years ago, I have Him to thank for EVERYTHING I now have in my life. Life is good!

A day in the life

2009-11-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

So, one day in September I think, maybe it was October already... anyway haha... I decided to document everything I did with photos. I got off to a pretty good start, but left a few things out!

I started out with this ugly box in my kitchen that was holding all my baggies and kitchen wraps etc... Here's some pics of my project. I was inspired by the tin cans my mom used to cover with fabric bits when I was little.

I baked some 5 minute artisan bread. Yummy and easy... win, win.

I worked on "fixing" Lily's hair again. Now it looks like a mullet. Oh well. She's still a cutie pie!

I chased this little one all around the house. She sure looks like her big sister Alicia.

Then I gave Paul and Eli hair cuts.

Then I slept for a looong time. ;)

I broke the blog!

2009-11-17T11:46:00.000-08:00

Alas, I tried to "cutiefy" my blog, but in a series of failed attempts, I discovered that I have no patience for that. So, somehow, my poor fishies have gone missing. If you see them, please send them my way.

Eventually, I'll get things back to normal, however, in the mean time please bear with my strange attempts to "improve".

Yay! Go Frogs!

2009-11-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

From Drop Box

The Truth Fairy | Overstuffed

2009-11-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

This is really lazy blogging, but at (SPOILER ALERT)The Truth Fairy Overstuffed you'll see a nice entry that I feel I could almost have written myself. :D Reminds me of my little sisters somehow.

Good to Know, and Thank You!

2009-11-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

So, a while back I broke one of my cards and had to request a new one. Unbeknownst to me, I had to select a new pin. When I tried to use it for the first time this morning on a basket of groceries, it did not take my old pin! Panic! Well, I figured that I just needed to call to select a new pin, but, of course, I left my cell phone in the car. The nice CSM at walmart suspended the transaction and I went to fetch it, fix the problem, and head back to the customer service desk to pay for my almost $300 of groceries. When I got there, the young lady who had been behind me at the checkout lane was waiting for me and asked if everything was ok. I told her I just needed to set my pin, and I thought I would be ok. I thanked her for asking and she left. When I got to paying for my groceries, the customer service woman told me that this young lady had offered to pay for my entire order! What a blessing to know that there are still people in the world that would do that for a stranger. So, this is my shout out to that nice lady, and all of you nice people who are willing to help strangers! You're awesome, and Thank you for being so generous and kind!

:D

2009-11-01T11:15:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that I love my new shoes! (AND they were on clearance!)

Halloween 2

2009-11-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

Not a vampire. This is the Vampiress. Just ask her if you don't believe me. ;)

The chef!

No, this isn't me, it's Ginny Weasley

Dinosaur hunter turned Dragon hunter when he saw someone in Dragon Costume.

Halloween

2009-11-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

The clown

Tinkerbell... um sweet but sassy?

The nerd (or technically the 80s nerd, since the real nerds are super rich computer dudes right?)

The nerd's 80's girlfriend. (Ok, so really I bought those purple shoes for my costume, but I LOVE THEM. I want to buy a whole new purple wardrobe to go with them... It's the horned frog in me!)

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-10-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

Found this while blog trolling. Very talented lady made these Costumes.

Let there be light!

2009-10-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

This past summer, there was a balloon incident where a balloon got wrapped in the light pull chain and caught in the fan. Then the chain got ripped off to where you could not reach the last ball of the chain inside the switch. I tried to get at it with needle nose pliers, tweezers, the little connector thingys, and who knows what else I tried. Eventually, I decided that once I got the kids room cleaned up (this was about 3-4 months agot) that I would bug my daddy and have him help me change out the switch on the fan. Well, the kids got their room clean last weekend. Yesterday, I went in to check on my nephews playing. I looked up at the light and was filled with sudden inspiration. I'm not sure if it was the lost tooth, short sewing stint at R.S., seeing dental floss in the hall, the Spirit, or watching Kung Fu Panda ;), but when I looked up at the light, I knew I needed to make a slipknot in a piece of thread and the problem would be solved! You can see the end result in this picture. (I'm pulling on the chain.) I was so happy to have figured it out I called Paul and told him I was allowing him to bask in my awesomeness! LOL

Mahala enjoying the light so that she can read a comic book.

Zoey enjoying the almost clean room, and picking up remnants and shoving them in her mouth! I say what do you have in your mouth? Then she spits it out and shows me! I hate that...scary.

He looks so sweet and cute and docile in this picture. LOL Just random I know.

Blog Rewind... Zoey's first birthday highlights

2009-10-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

Cutie in her new outfit!

She loves this noisy train. It's like her own personal ipod. She likes to dance to it.

She enjoyed destroying her oreo cake!

Lazy Blogging...

2009-10-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

Check out some pictures here to see what's been on my mind. (http://picasaweb.google.com/grandall74)

Also, I love picasa... It looks for faces in pictures and helps you identify them. Found some pics of people I didn't even know I had.

GinGin

Lily's party

2009-08-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

My favorite artist (Paul) did a pretty good job on the Calla Lily at the bottom right, though he says he prefers using media that allows him to utilize value in a drawing. :D I did the rest, and found a great new frosting that's not too sweet. It's a Wilton product that mixes up from a powder. Love it.

Tinker bell ruled the evening.

Check out the awesome tutu Grammer made! Perfect for my little sassy girl. By the way, Rock Stars wear sunglasses, sing and dance, and they dance with weiner dogs.... Life according to Lily. So there she is with her weiner dog!

I have lots more pics, but they are still up loading. You can see them here.

Totally pooped!

2009-08-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

Somebody fell asleep cleaning up his mess. (He and Lily flooded the bathroom floor from the sink!)
Daddy went to check on his progress and found this.

Lily's new laptop

2009-08-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

We bought a new "green" carpet sweeper the other day. Part of the cardboard packaging wrapped around the bottom of the sweeper. You can see it in the picture. Lily brought it to Grandma Nancy today and told her it was her new computer while pounding away on the "keyboard". We thought that was greatness, so I added a visible keyboard for her with my "magic" marker.

Here you can see her sending an email for her Grandma.

Here she is showing it off for the camera.

Fake Camping

2009-07-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

So we went Kamping last weekend at the KOA. Paul and I agree that it is fake camping because, well, for one there was no dirt. Look at that beautiful lawn we pitched our tent on. We had a little cabinet to lock stuff up and electricity for our fridge. It was a very nice stepping stone for our first official summer camping trip with 6 kiddos.

Zoey didn't really appreciate us setting her down in the grass to play... at first. So, to our delight, she decided that walking was preferable! She took more steps holding my one hand than she has ever taken holding two hands at home. Such fun!

This next photo is so that you can see the nice pavilion we got to use 1/6th of for our camp site. I'm thinking of haggling for a big RV site if we ever do the KOA thing again so we can pitch 2 tents. Also, you can see that it was awfully hot there and we decided shortly to pick up our tent and move it over to the opposite side. For some reason, I thought that was incredibly fun carrying a tent down the road. Moving all our other stuff was considerably less fun. Oh, and also, because it was so hot, I have NEVER seen my husband drink so much WATER before. It tasted fabulous because it was ice cold. :D

See those goggles Mr. P. Lee is holding? Miracles I say. We had access to a nifty little pool while we were there. The first day, there was quite a bit of grumbling about not being able to swim underwater and catch the pool torpedo, and no less sputtering from unwanted water in the mouth. The next day, we had picked up these little miracles and our children turned into fish. I love goggles! I just wish I had some pics from the pool for you, but I was afraid Lily would throw it in along with all the other stuff she tossed in the pool. :S

All in all, we had a great time, but are desperately hopeful next summer for REAL camping which apparently includes mountains, cold nights, low humidity, igloo water jugs, and lousy bathrooms. (I drooled over Amelia and Jordan's Flicker pics)

Webcam

2009-07-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

So, my new computer monitor has a webcam and microphone built in, so if anyone wants to see my ugly mug and talk to me while my children dance in the background and stick their faces in front of me, feel free to let me know!

At the Movies

2009-07-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

So we went to see Aliens vs. Monsters or whatever it's called at the dollar theater last week. We loved it!

But leave it to me to find something to blog about in the bathroom again. One of us commented about the hot air dryers in the restroom there. "Why are there pictures of people drying their hair on those things?"

To which one of us replied, "Well, you know I wash my hair in the bathroom EVERY TIME I see a movie." Bah!

Must be for gas stations, bus stations, and airports.

July 4th

2009-07-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

So, that was some of the fireworks we saw last week at our early fireworks show.

Saturday morning, we got up early to go to the Annual 1st ward (ok, so it's Saginaw now) 4th of July Breakfast. It was great to see family, friends, and familiar faces. Ever since I was a kid, every year we would go to this traditional event. (B. E. makes the best pancakes) Yesterday as I talked with my Grandpa A. about it, he let me know that my Grandma A. started the tradition about 54 years ago. I never new she was the one who started it, which makes it all the more special to me now that I know!

Happy Independence Day!

Another Gardening Photo

2009-06-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

I love my girls, and I love taking pictures with the light filtering through the trees!

Woo Hoo!

2009-06-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Yeah, after tons, and tons, and tons, and tons of hard work and sacrifice, Paul has earned his full teaching certificate. We are waiting for it to come in the mail!

Congratulations to the Chief Turkey! We love you!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

To my wonderful husband who shared his Father's Day Present, always makes me laugh, and makes sure that all of us remember to have some fun.

AND

To my Daddy who likes the weird present I got him, makes yummy floats, and made his kids come running with Yabba Dabba Do!

Mommy, why's there a booger on the chocolate milk?

2009-06-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

Click the picture to zoom in.

More Lost Photos from Easter

2009-06-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

Confessions of a Lost Camera...

2009-06-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

Zoey on Easter

Zoey Today

My Beautiful Rose

2009-06-18T23:55:00.000-07:00

We have been guest gardeners at a couple's home in our ward. This is a shot from there. It is stinkin' hot here, and the kids enjoy using umbrellas for shade. It does help a bit, but mostly I think they are fun to spin on your shoulder. ;)

We are enjoying the gardening in spite of the heat, and are grateful for the chance to share some cherry tomatoes. Yummy!
P.S. There are a bunch of new posts below.

Random Sweetness. :D

2009-06-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

My grandma used to give me pink popcorn when I was a kid. I LOVED it. I can't remember if she made it, or bought it. I am currently obsessed with trying to recreate it! Here is one of my many attempts. I must say, the attempts are yummy; which is why there was hardly any to photograph. (I wish I could find my good camera so that the pic would look yummy too!) I got bored on Sunday and decided to try root beer flavored popcorn. That was a big hit with my dad. :D

I have a lovely pink flowered seersucker blanket that my dear friend made for Zoey. Zoey LOVES it, and so do I incidentally. She was playing peek-a-boo by herself in the back of the car the other day. I tried to capture that, and didn't, but this is cute too.

I love my new shirt!

2009-06-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing special to say, but I love my new shirt. It makes me feel good even when I'm not wearing it!

Eli-boy

2009-06-18T23:26:00.000-07:00

Eli lost his first tooth. Well, he lost the first one that he didn't pop out by accident. (Remember when mom said don't pull those legos apart with your teeth? She was right!) Currently, it is actually really lost. We plan to write to the toothfairy to explain the incident. :)

I found this when I downloaded the images from my phone. I posted it here, just so you can see what kind of a ham my son is. I don't know who was shooting this, or how he figured out how to take videos, but, well, there it is.

Cabelas

2009-06-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

So, we are totally cheap, and decided to have some free fun with the kids by heading north to Cabelas. Here are some of the things we saw.

I know that's not a hippo, but did you know more people die from hippo attacks than croc attacks? Or, well, something like that. :P

I think I should post this on my mirror for days when I don't like the way I look so I can be grateful I'm not a warthog.

Eli said that this was the sad part.

Ooooh, Everybody's got a water buffalo...

Our Mascot!

Please forgive the last photo, but I got the giggles when I saw this.

Ward campout... aka my birthday!

2009-05-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

We ate lots and lots of marshmallows, enjoyed the flowers, and loved the family and friends.

Cell Phone Art

2009-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

So, probably Paul and I might have a debate over whether or not this is actually art. But! It is definitely fun.

1. Whip out your cell phone with camera at night.
2. Aim at street lights, neon signs, etc.
3. Wiggle your phone like crazy in different patterns.
4.Snap a shot.

It's kinda like when you tried to write your name with sparklers as a kid.Have fun!

P.S. My fav is the ? one. :)

Zoey's jumper

2009-03-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of cute shots of Zoey in her jumper. It is hard to catch her smiling when she's jumping.

The first pic is a good representation of what she looks like when she is in "observation mode." She's just looking around with a neutral expression. When she jumps she grins like the second pic. :)

Yucky Carpet?

2009-03-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is one of those kinda embarassing blog posts, but oh well. We live in an old house, with old carpet and 6 kids. They are messy. (Especially the one that doesn't count as a kid.) So, we have icky spots on the carpet that don't seem to want to come out no matter what we do.
Then along comes Grammer with a great product called Folex. I love it! The first time I used it I followed the directions and used my fingers to "agitate" the spot. Er... I agitated lots of spots, ah... enthusiastically, and um, rubbedtheskinoffmyfingers. SO.... if you use this, I recommend a stiff brush.

Just to show what it does, the first pic is before.

The second is after less than 5 minutes of spraying the center and scrubbing with the brush.

The last pic is after 15 minutes of taking the first photo. This is including the time to run back and forth taking pictures and shooing kids away. If I hadn't run out of Folex, I would show you the finished product. (I only had a little left to start with, it goes a long way.) So, that's my "soap box" of the day! Off to go buy more Folex!

2009-03-19T12:54:00.001-07:00

Zoey and I had some fun the other night. It starts out dark, but I clued in and adjusted the light. Toward the end, I figured out that she would grab the blanket herself if I started with the "where's the baby". She's soooo fun! 6 mo. today!

more randomness

2009-03-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at "5 minute artisan bread". Very salty. It tastes better when I follow the recipe right! Makes super great pizzas.

Parker before his hair cut... looking like his uncle Gareth.

After his Hair cut... with "Dragon Horns"

stuff from Feb

2009-03-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

Zoey eating her first cereal.

Mahala getting crowned as an AR Queen.

Do you see the cool sword the principal (in blue) used to tap them on the shoulders. Too cool!

AHHHH! Just... AHHHH!

2009-03-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Go here to get to see it full screen.

Catch up post

2009-02-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

I'm not such a good blogger lately....

Um... let's start with Alicia. She just made the jump rope team at her school. They practice everyday, and I think that they will go to competitions and stuff. Only 20 kids were allowed on the team out of the whole 5th grade. We are proud of her! Whoo Hoo! Here she is next to a donkey. I wonder which one is more stubborn. (probably the one taking the picture.) There's another one of her valentine for a soldier. Pretty cool, huh?

Mahala is our little singer and made it through final auditions for the Texas Girls Choir. She was very excited to be accepted. BUT... she is already in the school honor choir, and when she realized she'd have to give up her reading club too, she decided to cut back. She was a real sport about the whole thing. She's awesome! This picture is of Mahala and her cousin J on a midway ride. I think it was the Lady Bug.

Eli loves doing his homework on the computer. This makes Mommy happy because it doesn't take hours, and hours, and hours, oh, and hours to finish. He even does extra because it's so fun! I'll bet Momma wishes they had a pc when I was in 2nd grade. Were they even invented then? I'm old!

Parker is 4. I'm not sure if I have to say anything more about that! lol Actually, he is lots of fun when he's not spazzing out. He's always surprising me with his stories about his "dreams" and his interesting pretending games. He's a little, no, a lot small for his age, so the endocrine doc has ordered a growth hormone level test on him on April 20. I just know he's going to hate that.

Lily is a wily, independent, giggly, stinker, 2 year old. She's smart as a whip and loves to say EVERYTHING she hears. She follows her big brother around like a puppy dog, and copies everything he does. Her favorite thing to say is, "NO! I'M DOING IT!" She's working on potty training herself. I just finished (I hope) with training Parker, so I'm pretty much letting her take the lead on this one. She's just as adorable as always, and could probably get out of any trouble by grinning. Someday, I hope she grows some hair. You can see her showing off her pigtails down below.

Zoey is 5 months old. She can almost sit up on her own. She has the stomach muscles, but not enough control yet. We haven't found anything motivating enough to get herto roll onto her stomach from her back yet, but she is very good at rolling to her back. She always has lots of smiles, and has just started giggling when we tickle her. So fun! If you haven't already seen Paul's post on his blog, you might not already know that Zoey is a huge Led Zepplin fan. We use Stairway to Heaven to get her to calm down if she's screaming in the van. Yeah!

Paul is doing great teaching. He amazes me, because I would probably just lose my mind with that many kids everyday. It takes a really special person to teach high school. I can't tell you how many times he's told me stories that made me want to apologize to my H.S. teachers.

I am, as always, trying to find new ways to keep the household chaos to a minimum. I found some microfiber rags at Sams. (My mom told me about these before, but they feel weird, so I didn't try them right away.) I bought a mop that works great, and when I saw FlyLady promoting her purple ones, I decided to give them a try to see if I can save money on paper towels. I figured that at 9.88 for 24, it wasn't a bad deal. They work GREAT for washing dishes, cleaning that nasty greasy stuff that builds up on the hood above your stove, and for cleaning up spills. Mine are flourescent Lime green, so they are easy to spot around the house.

Also, I love spring. It may not technically be spring yet, but here it is. It's beautiful, and the weather is great. It makes me remember why I love to be outside.

And we went to the stock show on the last weekend it was open (avoid this if you can, all the animals are gone except for the 4H kid stuff). I saw this sow with her piglets. They were squealing like crazy. I know how she must feel! lol

:D

christmas pictures... really late.

2009-01-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

Ginney's Favorite Veggie Tales Songs.

2009-01-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

I love to sing this to my babies.

This one is just fun!

Christmas Tag

2008-12-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

From Missy:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? paper for christmas and most weddings. Bags for showers, parties, etc. Walmart sacks for pretty much anyone in my family. You know I love you if you get a gift in a Walmart bag. :)

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, growing up we cut down our own and I loved loved loved this tradition. However, my mom always said we were allergic to it because we always coughed when the real trees were around so now I believe in fake trees. (I'll just amen missy's answer with one addendum. PRE-LIT)

3. When do you put up the tree? Day after Thanksgiving or whenever I get around to it. (Amen)

4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever. Probably ASAP this year, since it's in the way.

5. Do you like eggnog? Pretty gross, but somehow I can tolerate the stuff from Braums.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably my Kodak instant camera. I still love photography.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband, because I can never remember what he wants or surprise him.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Parker

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. It grows every year.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Well, I think it is classier to mail, but I might actually send something if I did the email...but I just saw some random blogger person saying what a waste of trees it was to send cards, so really email is earth friendly. I guess I'm just doing my part. (Amen)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Non-tangible, but... my boyfriend/fiancee not showing up for Christmas was the worst. (In retrospect, it probably turned out to be the best since we split up after that and I ended up with my wonderful husband instead!)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Not sure I have one, but Fred Claus is hilarious!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Varies. Some years it's summer, but lately, most shopping gets done the week before Christmas.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Maybe, but I can't think of a specific instance.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cream Cheese Mints and those strawberry things mom made out of jello.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes and I like only white. I like the idea of red, but it makes the tree look a little creepy. I miss the multi-colored lights with funny lamp shade thingys on them and clumps of tinsel everywhere.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night. I love singing Angels we have heard on High though.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? At home for Christmas, but would be nice to travel around that time and visit family now that Paul has 2 weeks off every year.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?Both. Christmas eve at the Randall Grandparents, and Christmas day everywhere else.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Traffic, cold, and crowded stores.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like those twirly ribbons on the tree. My favorite is currently gold. ( but I might have to bum some purple one's off of April N. next year.) ;)

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? grandpa's picnic ham

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? a swirly electric cleaning brush thingy so I can clean my carpet with Folex.

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Maybe April N.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

It just isn't Thanksgiving without The Turkey Farm.... ;) Hope you all enjoyed your turkey feasting today.

Wimped out

2008-11-26T12:01:00.001-08:00

So, last night we decided to have a family campout in the back yard. We had so much fun eating hot dogs, chasing dirty shoes out of the tent, roasting marshmallows, and eating smores (dragon food!). Then we all snuggled into our tent with just a little less room than we wanted, but hoping for coziness anyway. We curled up under our blankets and tried to sleep. The kids were restless, and Zoey was cranky from her shots, but eventually everyone settled down. Then the temperature went down too. Holey Moley... it's been a long time since I camped out in Utah, don't know how I ever slept there. I think the temp was in the high 40s, but some time around 1:30 or 2:00 am. Mom and Dad decided go ferry all the little ones inside so we could sleep in our nice warm bed. I know... we're total wimps!

Next time... Air Mattress and long johns will be in order.

-Ginney

P.S. I'll put up some pics later.

My little Gray Kitty

2008-11-26T11:36:00.000-08:00

My Great Grandpa Holley used to sing a song like this, but I'm pretty sure that in his version, "Alas, my poor kitty was drowned."

OH WHERE, OH WHERE IS MY KITTY?

Oh where, oh where is my little grey kitty?
I've hunted the house all around
I've looked in the cradle
In under the table
And nowhere can kitty be found.

I saw a boy trundle away a small bundle
And carry it down to the brook
Perhaps it was kitty, so cunning and pretty,
I think I'll go down there and look.

I'll take my hook and go down to the brook
To see if my kitty is there
And if I find that my kitty's been drowned
Oh, then I'll give up in despair.

Your little grey kitty has not been drowned
I've found her and brought her to you
But before you take, a promise please make
That you'll not blame the boys anymore.

from http://www.outer-chaos.net/songs.htm number 66

Anybody remember more of this one:

"Humpty Dumpty, diddle o day
sit in the corner churnin' away..."

Sung while bouncing a child on your knee.

-Ginney

In the interest of balance...

2008-11-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a funny one.

"She did it."

2008-11-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

I know I'm gonna make my sisters cry, but I've been trying to find any video clips I have with Grandma's voice. Here's the first one I've found.

Tagged

2008-11-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

So, Heather Tagged me way back when. Guess I should check the blogs more often!

The Rules: Answer the questions using only one word. Then tag others.

1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your significant other? funny
3. Your hair? frazzled
4. Your mother? prayerful
5. Your father? determined
6. Your favorite thing? grins
7. Your dream last night? weird
8. Your favorite drink? gatorade
9. Your dream/goal? house
10. The room your in? living
11. Your hobby? feeding
12. Worst fear? insanity
13. Where do you want to be in 6yrs? texas
14. What you're not? working
15. Muffins? tops
16. One of your wish list items? books
17. Where did you grow up? Texas
18. The last thing you did? email
19. What are you wearing? holes
20. Favorite Gadget? camera
21. Your pets? kids
22. Your computer? Dell
23. Your mood? lazy
24. Missing someone? siblings
25. Your car? Chevy
26. Something your not wearing? contacts
27. Favorite store? hobby
28. Like someone? McCain
29. Your favorite color? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. When is the last time you cried? unknown

ok, um. I tag April and, er anyone else who reads this!

-Ginney

2008-09-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some more posts with video this time. Enjoy!

Newest Randall

2008-09-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well things have been crazy wonderful, but now I have a few minutes to post some pics of Zoey and the gang! (movies will follow soon)

Pictures:

Memory Tag

2008-07-19T22:05:00.001-07:00

I saw this on my sister's blog and thought it was pretty cool. Probably my favorite "tag" yet.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Can't wait to read the memories!!

Zoo

2008-05-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today, all of us gals and all of their kiddos and spouses and my 2 that aren't in school went for a trip to the zoo. We had a great time, and these are some of my favorite pictures.

Ghost

2008-05-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

So, I was digging through old B&W photos I took. I just had to share this picture of the time Amelia was scared by a ghost while watching TV and eating popcorn. (wink, wink)

Photo ops

2008-05-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

I love piddling around with my camera now that I've got a new battery working in it! (Thanks Momma and Daddy)
I decided I needed to get some more B&W shots, so I chased the little ones around for about half an hour. These are my favorites.

What a couple of stinkers! This is Parker and Lily getting caught trying to play with the buttons on the computer tower. It has a little mini screen that they love to look at.

And yes... probably my children almost always have dirty faces.

Remembering

2008-04-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

"Oh, my!"
'Now...'
Velamints
Necco Wafers
Pretty purses
Lipstick
Lotion
Baby whisperer
Handkerchief babies
Pretty nails
Smiles
Washing dishes
Walks
Baseball
Photo Albums
Kitchen drawer
"Is it raining there?"
Valentine cookies
Chocolate chip pies
Love

All Hail Broke Loose!

2008-04-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well... after Eli's show we heard there was a tornado about 30 minutes east of us. So we high tailed it home. The Weatherman... er person said that we'd either get a twister, or hail.

We took an impromptu poll and decided that hail would be better. Thankfully, Heavenly Father agreed. Here are some nice pictures of the hail after it stopped beating on the house. Fortunately, we didn't get any baseball sized hail and all of our house windows are intact. The sirens went off in our city, which sent all of our kids heading for the closet. We had fun snacking on Monkey Bread and popsicles to keep them distracted. I got to tell the tale of the "Hail Storm of 1980" with our broken windows and soaked clothes. I was only like 6 at the time, so maybe it was accurate. ;)

Eli's Music Program

2008-04-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

Every year the kids have a music program. This was Eli's first time in a music program since he's in Kindergarten. He was really cute and the program was great. I have a couple of pics of them getting ready and one during the program. I actually made some videos of the songs they were singing, but either my computer, or my camera got messed up because the kids sound like chipmunks and I can't see much in the video anyhow. Oh well!

Texas Rangers Baseball

2008-04-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, we went to a Texas Rangers Game. We had lots of fun. Maybe you can tell from the second photo that we were way, way, way up in the nose bleed seats, but once I got used to being up so high, it was really fun.

All of the kiddos... not just Lily, enjoyed stuffing their faces with snacks. I'm glad its not like the movies and you can bring your own junk food.

Toward the end of the game... last three innings.... Miss Lily got really tired of sitting in laps and having about 3 inches of walking space. It came down to whatever would entertain her. In case you didn't know... she is obsessed with shoes. A real Imelda Marcos, this one is. Anyhow... she was quite amused by the fact that I took pictures of her shoes and showed them too her.

Alicia's Aye Aye Habitat Diorama!

2008-04-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

How Cool is this? Alicia had to make a diorama for a research project in her 4th grade class. I think it turned out excellently!

My Travels

2008-04-03T06:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that if you are one of my devoted readers, you aren't checking to see a map of my travels, but alas, that is all I have to post today.

create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

6 Things about me.

2008-02-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

Ok... Missy, my knife weilding sister, tagged me.

1. I hate variegated string/thread/yarn. I am not sure why. Especially when it is in multiple colors. It is completely random and unpredictable what you're going to get out of it. I can't stand it. I know... I'm psycho. It's kinda ok for somethings that other people make, but I don't even like to touch it.

2. I have always wanted to learn to paint and to be a photographer. For some reason, that didn't mesh well with my curriculum to become a computer programmer. So, I pretty much considered it a miracle when digital cameras came out on the market for me to tinker with. For some reason, I have a real soft spot for water color painting.

3. I threw a basketball at my future husband before I met him. I shoulda known then he was a good catch.

4. I have to listen to Enya when I am in labor or having an anxiety attack.

5. I am desperately cheap. I have to have holes in my shoes, knickers, jeans, etc. before I'll buy new ones. I don't mean, oops I have a hole, time to go shopping, I mean.... "Shoot, I have had a hole in these for 6 mo. I better replace them pretty soon." Also, I justify getting my car inspected one day late, because over 12 years, I'll save 40 bucks. That's more embarrasing than the holes!

6. One of my favorite things to do is to check for mail.

Woo Hoo!

2008-01-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

We are so excited! Paul got the job! He will be starting out as a long term sub for art, then hopefully go to a teaching contract. Can't believe I'm going to say this, but ... Go Bos!

Ward Christmas Party

2008-01-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

I meant to post these earlier. These are some great pictures from our ward party. Thanks to the many folks who made this possible. Lots of fun. Take a close look at Santa. ;)

Lil' Conductor

2008-01-02T09:51:00.000-08:00