How many dishes, pots, pans and utensils are dirtied when Nathan cooks shrimp cakes and pasta for dinner? ALL OF THEM!!!! This picture is after I washed all of them.

Nathan likes to get a little creative in the kitchen and decided to cook something a little complicated and new. While he fried up his shrimp cakes he told me to let him do it on his own and that I could go lay down and "relax". Yea, right. As grease was splashing everywhere I was supposed to relax on the couch and hope that they kitchen would be all right after he was done. Well, it all turned out, but he says he's never making fried food again. I agreed and told him simple meals are good too.

Haven't posted to my blog for several months now! Life gets busy--what can I say? Since last posting, Barton learned his job was being moved to Ohio. There were several factors that led us to decide not to move to Ohio and keep his job, so Barton has been job hunting for the last few months. As of today we haven't made a decision regarding a future job, but hope to make that decision this week or next. All the jobs we are considering are in the nearby area so we wouldn't be required to move. His job at Cardinal ends Nov. 9th and so he has a little time yet.

The picture at the top is from a recent trip to the city. It was a 90 degree October day and we walked from Navy Pier to the Shedd Aquarium so we could avoid another $20+ parking fee. Needless to say we got a little hot and tired and Justin got scared walking across a big bridge where the the joints of the bridge had gaps and you could see below you. From that point on there were no smiles from Justin as you will see in this picture! We also walked through the park where Buckingham Fountain is. That is quite a fountain. Kansas City may be known as the "city of fountains" but this fountain is the King of them all.

Memorial Day Weekend was a great weekend for our family! We went camping in Wisconsin at Pine Grove Campground. We camped next to a field of cows. They added a little to the noise, the aroma and the fun! The campground has a small lake where the kids swam, went fishing and cruised around on a paddle boat.

We also recently celebrated Justin's 7th birthday. He had a little party at an indoor pool with a few of his friends and his brothers.

Soccer Star!!

Today was an exciting game for Kempton's team. They remain undefeated and Kempton scored in today's game. Way to go Kempton!! During the game I had the chance to chase Bryan around the playground area next to the field. Bryan is now master of the slippery slide and also loves to swing. Nathan took along his stunt kite and got it stuck in a tree, but managed to climb the tree and get it unstuck. After that he moved to another field with less trees and had a little more success there, but found stunt kite flying to be somewhat of a challenge. Lucky for him we live in the "windy city" and so you don't have to "wait" for a day to fly a kite. Everyday is kite flying day.

The Lipstick Baby.
Bryan discovered that mommy's purse has some really neat things in it.....like lipstick. He only got it on his face, but then went and played in the pile of dirty laundry and got it on daddy's nice shirt. Luckily mom knows how to get those kind of stains out!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Today was "project day". Barton's project was working in the basement all afternoon.

Nathan's project was shooting off his homemade rocket as well as one from a kit. The homemade one didn't do too bad. It "squirmed" around a bit instead of going straight. It landed safely though and was a good learning experiment. The other rocket is now living in the trees near the high school. The wind blew it there.

Kempton's project was finising up his simple machines project of making a pinball game. Each student in the class makes one. They have two utilize three types of simple machines. Kempton has done a great job!

Justin's job today was his usual Saturday job.....that of using dad's old drill to drill hole after hole in some scrap wood. Now it's "holy wood".

Bryan's job was an easy one. Can I trade jobs with him for just one day? My project today was, well, what project wasn't my project today? Need I say I am tired out?!?!

***Pictured w/ Kempton is his friend Jeremy from next door.

Baxter Bunny

Nathan decided he wanted to work on his pet merit badge for scouts.....so this weekend we found a cute little Netherland Dwarf bunny. He is quite small and also quite cute. He doesn't mind being held so the boys are having fun taking turns holding him.

We had a great weekend filled with some sunshine and warmer temps. Kempton's hockey team played against the 1st place team and only lost by 2 points. For a lot of the game the score was tied. It was a really good game and for playing against the number one team they all did great! Next weekend is the final game of the season.

One more month until Bryan is old enough for nursery......I'm having a countdown! I don't get much out of sunday school or relief society as he is a handful, so I'm looking forward to him attending nursery. I'm hopeful that he will like it and not be clingy.

Toothless Wonder!!

Only one time in your life you can be missing both front teeth and be so darn cute and that is when you are about age 6 or so! Any other time and you'd probably be called a "hill-billy". While playing around with Bryan, Justin's tooth fell out this afternoon. The other one came out a few days ago while he was at school. The tooth fairy will be here again tonight!

Our weather is finally nice again. The upper 40's bring out all the kids in the neighborhood for lots of bike riding and chasing. The snow melted and a possum was hanging out in the yard as well. The kids "chased" it by walking....that's how slow this thing was moving. Maybe he was still thawing out from the colder temps of previous days.

Good Read....
A friend recomended a book to me recently and I really enjoyed it. The book is "Finding Noel" by Richard Paul Evans. If you click the link below it will take you to a description of the book. You can probably find it at your local library. Evans is also the author of "The Christmas Box" which I'm sure many are familiar with.


http://www.caseproof.com/rpe/findingnoel.php

Doe, a deer, 3 female deer, right in our very own backyard!

I can be startled quite easily and that is why I jumped when I looked out our patio door and saw a deer staring at me. I took a closer look and discovered that two of her friends were in the yard with her. I quickly grabbed my camera and got a picture of them. From time to time we have seen them running through our yard in the evening or early morning, but never at 10:30 a.m. I think they came out of the woods to soak up some of the sun and try to get warm. Soon after I took the picture they headed for Hendrick Lake. At first I thought maybe for a drink, but the lake is completely frozen so perhaps for some ice skating instead!

Pinewood Derby 2007

This past Thursday was the pinewood derby for pack 173. Kempton worked hard to make his car look nice and go fast. He came in third place and had a lot of fun racing against the other boys.

On another note...it is FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZING here in Chicagoland. I have not felt this kind of cold since living in Rexburg. It is painfully cold and not going to warm up for a few days. Today it is in the negative (-1 on the way home from church). Last night our electricity went out for a few hours. Barton and I happened to be gone and the kids were home taking care of each other. Shortly after we left home my cell phone rang and it was our neighbor calling to say that the boys were at their house because there was no power. We hurried home to rescue the boys and Barton used the battery from our trailer and an inverter to power a lamp and give us a little light. We were prepared to fire up the generator and hook it to our furnace if we needed to, but the outage only lasted about 2 hours.

The "stair master" (aka Bryan) has slid down dozens of times now! Mommy is much less worried now about a bad fall and all bedroom and bathroom doors must remain closed throughout the house. A bouncy ball is BryBry's favorite new thing to play with. He wants to eat his meals w/ it on the high chair tray, go places in the car w/ it on his lap and take it into the crib for naps.

Nathan survived and thrived the Klondike Derby last weekend (a scout campout and sled race done in below freezing temps). The temperatures dipped into the single digits, but that didn't chill his camping spirit, it just made him bundle up and tough it out. He loved his skiing experience earlier this month and wants to go more often. He's trying to figure out a way to earn some money and buy his own skis......I'm sure he will find a way because he's Nathan!!

Kempton has conquered his strep infection, but still has a bit of rash remaining on his back. He is feeling 95% better. It took a lot out of him, so it will take a while to get back to 100% himself! This weekend Kempton will be building his pinewood derby car for the race that will be next week. Unfortunately Kempton's ski experience wasn't as fun as it could have been. He got altitude sickness and had to stop skiing about halfway through the day. He enjoyed what little skiing he accomplished and wants to go again!

Justin performed in his first orchestra concert last night. It was a fun experience to hear 50 first graders playing violins, violas and cellos. As seems to be common is our household, Justin's list of least favorite things to do includes performing, so he was glad to have the concert OVER! We went out for a treat after the performance and I think that made it more enjoyable for him. Donuts and milk can smooth over lots of rough spots.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I haven't done this since June, so hopefully I can remember how it all works! I am still new to the blogging way of life but thought I would try to update it more often.

We just returned from a visit to Kansas City. We had a great time there seeing Grandma and Grandpa and also getting to visit Grandma Ashton is her new apartment. She has a very nice place and says she just loves it there. Nathan got to go skeet shooting with his two uncles and enjoyed that very much. Justin and Kempton went to the Legends with Dad on Saturday and they visited the place there called "T-Rex" and then went for a treat a Culver's. Saturday evening was spent with some of the Reynold's family playing games, eating dessert and Kempton and Justin getting reacquainted with Colby and Ethan Reynolds. All the boys learned to play "RUMMY" and so we spent some time playing that with the grandparents and aunt and uncles. Our drive home wasn't too bad. Ten hours in a car isn't the funnest thing to do, but we watched movies and played hangman and the dot game. The weather was perfect for traveling. Bryan didn't fuss too much, but sitting 10 hours in a car seat isn't his favorite thing to do.

Tonight the washer and dryer are going full speed ahead to get ready for the trip to Colorado on Wednesday. Let's hope that there are no more blizzards so our trip won't be ruined. Barton has business in Denver on Thursday and then Friday they ski with Dan (Barton's friend and co-worker) and Derek, their cousin and Mom, Justin and Bryan will hang out with Grandma and maybe see a movie!

I will post some more Christmas pictures at a later date. Gotta get Bryan to bed....

Spring in Northern Illinois is really surprising us!! We have had the most beautiful days recently and that is really making up for the very dismal winter that we had.

We took a trip to Nauvoo on May 19th-20th. We had a wonderful time enjoying the sights, playing along the Mississippi River and staying in the Nauvoo Log Cabins. We rode the new oxcart ride, as well as the horsedrawn wagon you see pictured. Justin got another mini horseshoe because it was his birthday and we all got horseshoe nail rings! The gunsmith shop was one of the fascinating highlights also.

Now the kids are out of school for the summer and it's been non-stop bike riding, frog catching, dog chasing, water spraying, wrist spraining, fish catching, beach going, zoo visiting, cat sitting FUUUUN!!

Barton is on his way with finishing our basement. Today he purchased all the lumber for framing and stacked it all downstairs then rearranged all the stuff down there so he could begin working. This time he has promised to hire someone to do the sheetrock, but will likely do everything himself because that is what he enjoys.

Here I am Blogging again!!! I just love to use that weird word, BLOG!! Another week has flown by at lightening speed. Barton gave another fabulous gospel doctorine lesson today on Joshua! He even had two props/object lesson things that he used. One was a homemade snare that he made to illustrate that satan has snares that he can trap us in. The other was a single sheet of paper and a hymn book. He asked someone to put the book on the edge of the paper to hold and support the book. Of course you have to roll the paper up to make it possible. He was illustrating Joshua supporting the children of Israel. Fun and learning for all who attended his class.

I had a "Stampin' Up" party last week. Had about 8 people come to my party. We made two cards and ordered the stuff that we wanted. Someday when I get time I will sit down and make some cards with my stamps. It's a fun little hobby when you have time.

The boys are counting down till when school is out (June 7th is the last day). They're anxious for summer. Both Nathan and Kempton have scout camps they will attend and hopefully we can take a trip to Omaha and Kansas City around July 4th.

We worked on some more landscaping this weekend and what a job that is. We are hiring someone to help us with part of it so it will all flow together nicely and things will be planted to get the right amout of sun and water. I meet the landscaper next Saturday at the nursery to pick out all my plants. I'm excited to have it coming together.

Barton and the 3 big boys will go on the father and son campout this coming Friday and Saturday. Tonight Justin was talking about what they could have for dinner on Friday night. It was so funny to hear him thinking out loud. What he wanted the most was barbecue baked beans!

Our family is looking forward to a short Nauvoo trip May 19-20. We are staying one night in some fun cabins. Take a peek at them, they are really quite something to read about and see where they came from. The website is: nauvoologcabins.com.

Well, here I am hopping onto this blog train! I don't want to get left behind. Just hope it doesn't go too fast for me.

Today I had my first exercise class at the Y. I am enrolled in "The Mixx" which is a mixture cardio workout and strength building. I really had a fun time and look forward to my next class. I was afraid that I would not make it all the way through the class, but I surprised myself and still had energy to load up the kids in the car and drive home. The 200 crunches that they do in the class were my biggest challenge, but I'm going to work hard to improve a little each time!! I'm also signed up for water aerobics

We finally have 3 trees planted in our yard and it looks quite pretty. One is a river birch (with 7 main stems), a pink flowering dogwood and a redbud. Our next task is bushes and hopefully some petunias or something like that.

Kempton had his first orchestra concert last night and he did fabulous. He only began playing "arco" (w/ the bow) one week ago, so he really practiced hard for one week so he'd be ready to play 5 new songs. Beginners start out plucking the strings and then transition to using the bow. He's quite the little musician and makes me proud!! He wants to sign up for summer orchestra which should help keep him challenged and working hard.

SOMEONE (thank you very much) who was here on Easter weekend got Justin hooked on toast, honey and cream. That is what he had for lunch today!!

Nathan has turned into the pro fisherman. A few days ago he caught 5 bass in the pond at the other end of our street. He is now practicing the "catch and release" method for which we are grateful. He's no longer dragging a bunch of smelly fish home to show off.

Bryan is the little "roley poley" boy. He rolls all over until he bumps into the furniture and can't go any further. He is really starting to enjoy baby food and sits up in the high chair to eat.

Barton's doing pretty good, but looking for a surgeon who can fix his back (again). I don't think he will let it get so bad before getting it fixed this time.

Our home in Kansas FINALLY has a contract on it! YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! We are all so releived and happy to have that behind us.

Ann and Clan