Monica's trip to the zoo...

Monica went on her kindergarten field trip to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake last week. She had several reactions ro the animals that I found hilarious. Her are a few of her comments and reactions:

* "The giraffe cages stunk! It was like they were 'tooting' a lot!"

* "The gorilla ate his own poop! Gross!" (as she is cracking up, of course)

* "I saw a pregnant elephant. I know she wasn't married because I didn't see a wedding ring."

My favorite has to be the elephant comment! She is such a funny kid!

While they have been off-track....

I know it's been a while since I posted. It's amazing what having 5 kids home with you all day can do. We also live in Utah so it's too cold to really go outside to play without spending at least 30 minutes collecting and dressing the kids in all their snow gear. So they do go outside to play some. The kids go back to school on March 2nd! Happy day! But then I do have to get up to make sure they do get ready for school on time. So it's a toss up. Earlier start to the day but I have a fewer number of kids home during the day.

But while they have been off track we still have play practices, activity days, Katelyn's preschool, doctor's appointments, and other fun stuff. And yet the kids always complain they do nothing fun while they are off track! I am not a activities director. My job is not to entertain them. Anyways, we have had some things happen while they have been off track...

We had Valentine's Day. They kids were off track the Friday before Valentine's Day and not too happy about it. So the day before I invited their cousins that live in the area over to decorate cupcakes. It was all very festive.

We had dinner at my sister, Karen's house. We celebrated the 2 February birthdays we have up here in Utah. Uncle Jody is...older and Ryan is 4. So it was a "Cars" party theme. Nikki made the best pulled pork for tacos. Yum-o!

We went to the Draper Temple open house. It was beautiful! Megan and Karly really enjoyed it. Karly wants to know why she couldn't be baptised in that font and had to be baptised at the Stake Center. Megan just wanted to know why there were so many Ordinance rooms. I told her she would find out in about 10 years. Here's a hint...kids under 6 don't find it all that interesting. Katelyn and Mikayla saw no point in it all and expressed it. Note to self: Next time there is a temple open house...find a babysitter for the kids under 6.

Mikayla is growing quite well. She is 50th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. She is an amazingly cute but "average" 18 month old. Her doctor did say he had never met another 18 month-old that could unscrew caps and open zip-loc bags though. Her sisters have named her "Trouble" because she moves a stool around the kitchen to reach things she can't otherwise.

Mike's mom and 2 sisters came to stay with us this last weekend. Kitty, Katie, and Brooklyn (Katie's youngest) flew in Friday night. Kim arrived on Saturday. Kitty's aunt was having a surprise 80th birthday party so they all came for the occasion. I missed the party because Karly had an asthma flare-up and we had to visit the urgent care. Karly is fine and the party was fun. Then Sunday night, with Grandma Kitty here, Mike and I were able to get away for the night! Very nice and relaxing time! At least for Mike and I. :) Kitty, Katie and Kim left on Monday.

Monday evening Mike and I got a another babysitter. Mike's co-worker passed away on Friday and his viewing was Monday night and the funeral was Tuesday. It was very sad. Cody was only 25. He had melanoma at 21 and had it removed. In March he was given a clean bill of health. Only to find in December that the cancer had returned and spread. It was now in his liver, stomach, spine, bones, and blood. He was a great guy and my kids really liked him. There were over 500 people at his viewing and funeral. He was the Roy High School girls soccer coach, a club soccer coach, and kids soccer coach. For someone who was only 25 he had touched a great number of lives. He is in a better place but we will miss him here.

Our friend, Linda, had her colon removed on Monday. She is doing fine and recovering nicely. She did not have colon cancer...yet. She says the at least she gets cancer in parts that can be removed.

Now that I list it all, it was a rather busy time off-track. Life with a large family is never boring! Wait... now the TV is not working right. Great!

SUCCESS!!!!!

Miracles can happen!! Okay, maybe I am over-dramatizing it. But I do feel that way. Here is why....KATELYN IS POTTY TRAINED!!!! Crazy!

It started about 2 weeks ago. She ran out of diapers and I could not find the new ones I bought. So I decided to not put too much effort into finding them. She is a stubborn one remember. We did not have a lot of accidents because that child has a bladder of steel. She would just hold it until we put the pull-up on her before bed. And she would use this time to poop also. That's right, she would hold it for hours at a time. Crazy child. She would keep asking for diapers but I would tell her we did not have any her size and the only ones we had were baby Mikalya's. So for a few days we would have her going on the potty but it would be once a day, every other day. Then we moved to once a day on the potty. Then a couple days later we moved to twice a day on the potty. After a few days of the twice a day potty status, we bought her a new Barbie. Now we have moved up to her using the potty on her own and even pooping in the potty! So now we owe her a Cinderella doll. Bribery at it's best! :) She has not had an accident in a week. She may use the pull-up to poop in in the morning, but I'm okay with that. She wakes up dry most mornings and uses the potty in the morning. So I don't think that she will need pull-ups for long!

Happy day! I'm sorry if this is a gross blog entry about bodily functions. But this is a huge milestone and I hope it continues without her regressing!

Good to know....

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 244 films on this list.


( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 3

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 10

( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far:11

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 17

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 19

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG
Total so far: 25

(x) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( )Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
(x) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total so far: 28

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( )The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 29

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( )Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 34

( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Ocean's Thirteen
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremacy
(x) Bourne Ultimatum
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x)Curious George
Total so far:43

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 48

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( )Sideways
( )Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
( ) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 54

( ) X-Men
( ) X-2
( ) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
(x) Shrek 3
Total so far: 63

( ) Swimfan
(x)Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
(x) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 67

( ) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 70

( ) Basketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 71

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 73

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
( ) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) 28 weeks later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
Total so far: 74

( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 74

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 80

( ) The Matrix
( ) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
( ) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
(x) Dead Poets Society
Total so far: Now Add them up and...80

So supposedly, I have a life! Right!!! I mean I do not like scary, horror, or really suspenseful movies. Add in the fact that I do not watch rated R movies (okay I had a rebellious phase in HS and college), that knocks out over half of the list. Good to know according some movie list I have a life! How funny!

6 ramdom things about me....

OK, Sherry, you asked for it! Here are 6 random things about me...

Here are the rules:


1- Post the rules on your blog
2- List 6 random things about yourself.
3- Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
4- Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
5- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.


1. I do all the family laundry in one day. I start the first load about 8:30 in the morning and finish about 6:00 at night. There are generally about 8-10 loads on that day. My laundry day is Monday. I wear old jeans and a t-shirt on that day and don't go many places. I fold after the kids go to bed and put them away. I have tried doing laundry all during the week. It does not work for me.

2. I am a picky eater. I don't like mushrooms, onions, and some other things. I am big into the textures of foods. I only like milk chocolate. It has to be candy. I do not like white or dark chocolate. I also do not like chocolate ice cream, shakes, or pudding. It's the texture thing.

3. I did not get my driver's license until I was 21. Insurance was (and is) way expensive where I grew up. I couldn't afford it. I had a boyfriend with a car my senior year. Then I left for college in Rexburg, ID. You could walk everywhere. I did not get my license until March 1996, while I was dating Mike and 8 months before I got married.

4. I was on the swim team in high school. I was on varsity my freshman year and DQed my first race. Oh, well. I never lettered either. I swam for 3 years. I did every stroke at some point. I was consistent and dedicated but never really fast. I still do love swimming. At Ricks, the gym reeked of chlorine and I loved it. You would open the doors and smell it. I miss not being able to smell it on my skin. Crazy, I know.

5. I barely bought a blow-dryer last month. I have not had one since college and I didn't like it then. Megan got a flat-iron for Christmas. So I went and bought one so we did not have to wait for her hair to air dry. So we have the first blow-dryer in our house, ever. We still don't have a curling iron.

6. I never ditched in high school. Not once. I was the 4th from my family to go to that high school, so we had quite the reputation. But I did use it for my own means. It's amazing what teachers will let you get away with if they know and like your family! ;)


There you go! Six things about me. I'm not very exciting, that I know.

I tag....

Stacy
Jen
Crystal
Rebecca
Krisanne
Brandy

Some really old pictures....

I used to ask my mom where all the pictures of me when I was little were. She said the back then they did not do photo prints but slides. So must of my childhood is on a series of slides at my parents house. But for Christmas my little sister, Sarah, send me a flashdrive with a lot of family pictures that she scanned and copied for everyone. Very cool gift!! Last year Sarah and her husband, Hayden, sent us CDs with pictures of my Grandma and Grandpa Wayman (my mom's parents) when they were growing up. My Grandma Wayman passed away in March 2000. My Grandpa Wayman just passed away in August 2008. Very cool presents that I will treasure! But these are some pictures of me from "back in the day"! :)

My three older sisters and me. Karen, Susan, and Becky.

Susan is holding me. I am maybe 3-4 months old.

I am assuming this is Easter 1975.

I am about 4-5 years old here.

I am wearing my favorite shirt at the time. I wore it so much the wording faded.

My Grandma Wayman gave it to me. It says, "You're no bunny till some bunny loves you!"

Beck and I in our Easter dresses that Grandma Wayman made us. I think it is Easter 1979.

Man, my mom looks tired! No wonder! Check out the number of kids around her and my dad!

Karen, me, Becky, Mike, Susan

I loved my mumu! Wore it all the time!

My dad and I on my baptism day!

February 1983.

I would post more but quite frankly they are quite scary. Glasses are not a good look for me! I have had them since kindergarten. The glasses back in those days are ugly by todays standards. I always tell my kids they are lucky to have the cute frames they have these ays! My hair is always short in these pictures because I would twist my hair in to knots. My mom got sick of dealing with it and chopped it until I was old enough to take care of my hair myself. Fast forward 25-30 years and I am dealing with the same issue with my 4th daughter, Katelyn. Like mother, like daughter. My mom is laughing about it now!

Please help a great cause!!!

I copied and pasted this entry from my friend's blog. Please help. These are good friends of Mike and I. Sherry's husband, Darin, and Mike were missionary companions in Uruguay. You can contact me or Sherry with any recipe you would like to contribute. My email is mkjacobson@msn.com and Sherry's is at the bottom of the post. Thank you!!!!

*********************************************************************************

I started this blog http://sugarandspicecookbook.blogspot.com/ (this is also linked under My Blogging Buddies Sugar & Spice Blog on the side bar) so that I can compile recipes for a cookbook I am creating on behalf of my niece, Miss E.

Miss E. was born with Spina Bifida, a common birth defect where the skin does not completely form around the spinal cord while in the womb. Miss E. is an amazing little girlie and requires 24 hr. care by her parents and nurses...

Her family is in need of acquiring a van that is better suited than their current vehicle to transport Miss E. to medical appointments and check-ups. Miss E. requires various medical equipment as well as a car equipped with power sources. With the proceeds of the cookbook, we hope to help her family with such costs...

Here are the GUIDELINES.....
Please post the following:
-your favorite recipe or recipes.
-a SHORT 1 paragraph memory of this recipe.
-your name & state (if you are willing).

Categories I need recipes for:
This is not all inclusive...if you have any other household or cleaning tips, other recipes that do not fall under these categories please submit them!!!
Appetizers
Beans, rice, and grains
Breads
Desserts
Eggs
Fish and shellfish
Meat
Pasta
Poultry
Salads and dressings
Soups and stews
Vegetables
Vegetarian cooking

PLEASE HELP US GET THE WORD OUT....YOU CAN POST ON THE SUGAR & SPICS BLOG OR EMAIL ME AT RIDGECREEKHOMES@MSN.COM, IF THAT IS EASIER!!!!