Wilson's

August

2011-08-28T18:37:00.002-05:00

Every time we go to the farm store the kids always beg for overalls. Knowing they don't have enough pants for winter finally made me cave.

We went on an 8 mile bike ride in Manhattan a few weeks ago. The weather was nice due to the rain the night before, but that also meant mud and muddy puddles too tempting for a five and seven year old.

Camilla and Mary Emma and I went to the library's American Girl Tea Party. We had a good time.

This past Tuesday we went into Topeka to visit some museums. First stop was the art museum to see the Lego exhibit. We took a picture of the traffic light just for grandpa.

Next we went to the Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site for a couple more Junior Ranger Badges. I am always amazed when I go there how evil people can truly be, and how braves others are in the face of discrimination.

What's Your Name?

2011-07-26T13:37:00.002-05:00

Jacob taught Mary Emma to say her full name. She says it with such gusto we had to take a video of it for you all to see.

Enjoying Kansas

2011-07-26T12:40:00.004-05:00

We only have four more months here in Kansas and so we are planning and making lists of all the things we want to do before we leave. With a nice long prairie bike ride out of the question this past weekend due to the terrible heat, I suggested we take a day trip to Western Kansas to see some of the things we have been wanting to see. En route we came upon this bus/truck. Jacob turned the van around just to get a picture. Some of the things people have done with buses around here still amazes us.

The first stop was Pawnee Rock, a historic landmark along the Santa Fe Trail.

Here's a better view.

Next we headed to Ft. Larned National Historic Site. Where we had a Hansel and Gretel moment with Hyrum in the huge oven. Mary Emma was very worried about there being spiders in there.

Next we attached the boy to the old ball and chain.

Camilla in the schoolroom/church working on her Junior Ranger Booklet.

Here's a better view of the Fort from the cemetery. One thing we found interesting about the fort is that all of the soldiers were there on assignment from Ft. Riley.

As part of the historic site are wagon ruts on the Santa Fe trail. The children and I are standing in the ruts.

I read an article a couple of years ago about this grain elevator anomaly near Kinsley, KS. Most towns have grain elevators and several have the old wooden ones from the early 1900s but this ghost town has two within about a hundred feet from each other right off the track of the Attichson, Topeka, and the Santa Fe rail line. I have always wanted to see them and finally had my chance.

What Kinsley can claim.

We had fun and can now check a few more things off our list.

Down on the Farm

2011-07-26T11:52:00.002-05:00

This month we had the opportunity to pretend we were country folk. It all started with the Junction City Annual Rodeo.

Let me preface this. When I was four or five years old my brother packed me into his car to take me to see a rodeo. I was so excited, but when we got there he had gotten the date wrong. Although I forgave him, I have also longed to attend a rodeo ever since. So the other day when we were driving around town and I saw a sign advertising the rodeo the very next night I couldn't help but try to convince a very unenthused husband to take us. However, he loves me and so we went.

The kids got into the swing of things too and ran out to participate with the other kids in one of the events. They were supposed to run after a calf and pull a ribbon off it's tail to win. They didn't win but they had a good time.

Camilla has been mesmerized by the rodeo queens and other female rodeo contenders and now has a dream of riding in the rodeo. In this terrible heat wave we have had out here in the midwest, the girl invariably comes upstairs in long sleeves and long pants wearing the hat Jacob had on trek so she can look like a cowgirl. We have had a lot of tears lately as we make her go change into shorts and a t-shirt.

But as for my unenthused husband. . . he had a really good time too.

The next day some friends of ours were killing off most of their chickens and we were invited to come and participate and take home our kill.

Jacob the executioner was really intrigued by this part. Seeing a chicken killed was the whole reason he wanted to go.

Plucking the chicken. I compartmentalized this ordeal the entire time or I would never have gotten through it.

Camilla is a country girl.

Jacob gutting the chicken. Now that the ordeal is over and they are in my freezer, I simply cannot bear the thought of them. Perhaps Jacob will have to cook them too.

A Busy Summer

2011-07-10T21:18:00.006-05:00

In May we took a trip down to Arkansas to visit Hot Springs National Monument.

We were pretty excited about the possibility of seeing an alligator, but unfortunately we only heard them.

At Hot Springs in the old men's bathhouse.

Junior Ranger Badges.

We had planned to do a great deal of hiking in the Ozarks, but it just kept raining, and I got really sick. We never got to hike down to a waterfall, but we did see this double rainbow.

In June we went to a bi-plane show in Junction City.

Camilla was miserable, but Hyrum was in heaven.

In June we also had our annual fondue night. Camilla now wants fondue instead of a birthday cake.

In June Jacob was able to participate as an uncle in the stake youth trek in Oklahoma.

In June we also bought me a new bike, a recumbent. I no longer am in almost constant pain while I ride, and now I have to watch to make sure I don't leave the rest of the family in the dust! With me getting my picture taken, though, everyone else felt they needed equal recognition.

Hyrum in his fourth of July shorts I made for him.

I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, my bike!!!!!!

Mary Emma's fourth of July skirt I made.

Camilla's fourth of July skirt I made.

Notice Mary's finger.

July 1st Jacob was promoted to Captain, and on the 5th of July we had the ceremony.

The Cake

A better view of the skirts I made.

Look at the railroad tracks (captain bars) on Jacob's chest. Isn't he hadsome!

Bugs, Birds, Nutcrackers, Teeth, Easter Dresses, and The Declaration of Independance

2011-05-01T18:54:00.005-05:00

Here is what we have been up to for the last couple of months.

In March we went to the Insect Zoo at K State.

I took this one for you Jeanette.

Also in March, we went to Nebraska to see the annual migration of the Sand Hill Cranes. I was really excited but it turned out kind of lame. We were misinformed and missed being able to see the cranes up close, and we didn't bring binoculars either.

We did see some cool things though, like this beaver.

Mom, when we stopped to get gas on the way home from the temple a couple of weeks ago, we had to stop and take a picture. The midwest sure can be interesting.

It finally happened, Hyrum lost his first tooth. I told Jacob to not take his picture in front of the bathtub, but as you can see Barbie made it into the picture too.

Easter Dresses! For all the headache Mary Emma's dress gave me and the minor issues with Camilla's dress, they both turned out really cute. Hyrum is dashing in his new suit too.

We took a quick trip this week to President Eisenhower's Museum in Abilene to see The Declaration of Independence. It obviously wasn't the original copy, but was one of the first 200 copies made . You might remember the story of the guy who found it behind a painting he bought at the thrift store. This was that copy. It was really cool and was only here for a couple of days so we rushed over to see it after school this week. We couldn't take a picture of it, and so after the kids declared their independence on the wall outside (we all wrote our names on the posters they are standing by) we took a picture of that.

A Little Snow to Last for a Few Years

2011-02-27T19:52:00.003-06:00

We have made a decision. We are moving back to Phoenix and Jacob will pursue an RN. Thus, when it snowed this weekend, we decided to take full advantage, using two days to make a snow fort. We will miss the snow, but look forward to being with family again.

The Moon in Real Time

2011-02-17T20:20:00.004-06:00

I took these tonight from telescope. It was an amazing night seeing the moon that close and in real time.

I am soooooo sorry

2011-01-11T14:08:00.002-06:00

I just want you to know how sorry I am that I got into your make-up and spilled your perfume all over you bed. I am sorry I ate your lip gloss and gummy bears. Katrina, Michelle, Jeanette, and Mom I am sooooo very sorry.
However, I think today we are all finally even.

Camilla's New Skirt

2011-01-09T20:21:00.002-06:00

Yes, so I'm back on the blogosphere. I kept thinking I needed to go back and update everything from the past 7 months, and that just isn't going to happen; so I'm just starting from today.

Camilla kept begging me to take her to the store so that she could buy a "pioneer skirt" with her Christmas money. She loved how the ones down at the Mormon Pioneer Trail Center (aka Winter Quarters Temple Visitor's Center) are "twirly," and she felt confident that Walmart would have just what she was looking for. I was a bit more skeptical. She did however, get a learning to sew and craft kit from Santa and she really really wants to learn how to sew, so I decided we would just make her one. She sewed up the sides (first time on Mom's sewing machine, and boy was it exciting), and I did the rest, but it really turned out cute. It twirls great and she wore it to church today.

A Reason to Celebrate

2010-06-04T15:01:00.002-05:00

My parents have been married for 50 years today, and it is truly a reason to celebrate. They are a model for me to follow of determination, friendship, and forgiveness. As I have personally experienced, and observed, all marriages are hard. Although I cannot know what marriage has really been like for them, I lived with them for 21 years of my life, and have talked about them with my older siblings and I know that times were hard. I mention this because I want to say thanks for sticking through it, thanks for showing me that when it comes to the ones you love, you never give up. I remember asking my dad once if they ever thought about getting a divorce, and he told me that word was a bad word in our house in that it was something nobody was going to discuss. Thanks dad for showing me what marriage meant to you. My mother takes fabulous care of my father. She washes his clothes, cooks his meals, and always supported him in his job and callings without complaint. She taught me what it meant to be a support, and to care about another person more than you care about yourself. Thanks mom for showing me how to be a wife. Thank you both for making your marriage last and for allowing me to grow up in a home with a mother and father who honor their temple covenants. I love you. Happy 50th!

The Zoo and the Recital

2010-05-30T14:35:00.004-05:00

On Monday we went to the Topeka Zoo becuase it is free on my zoo membership that expires this week. I figured it was time to go check it out. Our friends the Tilley's went too.

Mary Emma checking out the tiger.

It was a beautiful day with everything in bloom, however, my allergies were so bad one eye almost swelled shut.
Although I was miserable, the kids still had a good time, and that's what counts.

Wednesday was the rehearsal for the recital, as well as overpriced pictures. This is Camilla and Hyrum's dance dynamos class. (Notice Camilla's sleeves, I used old knee highs and sewed them in.)

Thursday evening was the performance. In this picture Camilla is the tallest girl, next to the boy on the right, and Hyrum is on the far left.

Chimney sweeps with face paint.

Both kids did really well. Camilla seems to have real dancing talent in that she hardly missed a step. She told me later " I love being on the stage!" I guess she takes after her old mom. I was also impressed with how well Hyrum knew the dances. He hasn't liked dance that much, and so I was surprised by how happy he was on stage, and how much he seemed to enjoy the performance. By the end of the recital (their 3rd number was the very last one) Hyrum was getting a little bored and started making up his own dance; I was laughing out loud by the end. So, the recital is over, and both kids seemed to have a good time, and Mary Emma even had some booty wagging going on in the aisle. I cancelled them for the rest of the summer, but by next fall, who knows?

Super Heroes and Chimney Sweeps

2010-05-23T13:28:00.002-05:00

The other day Hyrum told me he wants to be a superhero when he grows up and not a missionary. So I told him that missionaries have more power than any superhero could hope to have because they have the priesthood of God. "But," he said, "can missionaries fly?" "Well," I responded, "I flew all the way from Utah to Puerto Rico when I was a missionary." "No mom, not in a plane, I mean really fly." Oh well he had me there.

Camilla and Hyrum's dance recital is this week and one of their numbers is "Chim Chim Cheree." I had fabulous intentions of making Camilla a plaid dress and Hyrum a matching vest, but with Jacob gone, ideas like that never materialize. So, everyone else in the class is wearing cut offs, and a tie around the neck or something. Yesterday I got my sewing machine out for a few minutes and this is what I came up with. I think they look cute, and Hyrum gets to wear the hat my brother brought me from England after his mission.

Eight is Great!

2010-05-17T23:33:00.006-05:00

It's been 8 fabulous years. Here's to us:

I Love You!

A Few New PIctures

2010-05-16T14:20:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago after finishing up Camilla's geology unit I took her and Hyrum and two of the Tilley girls up to the Atomic Cannon near post to look for fossils. The hill was once underwater and it's pretty easy to find fossilized shells. We had a good time, although the wind was about to blow us off the hill.

Mary Emma's a big girl now, well partly a big girl. A couple weeks ago I decided she wouldn't sleep in the crib anymore. She loves her bed and her freedom, and I love that I don't have to climb out of bed as much anymore because she just comes to me.

Camilla is now continuing her tradition of carting around younger siblings in the toy grocery cart.

Hyrum was able to make gingerbread men for his preschool this week.

However I'm not sure, but I think I saw one jump off the pan when I turned my head and run away.

The dress. About twenty years ago my sister bought this dress for her girl at the thrift store. Since then her other girl wore the dress and then she passed it on to my other sister. Her two girls then wore the dress and then she passed it on to me. Camilla wore the dress.

And now Mary wears the dress.

Watch out Aubrey, once she grows out of the dress it's coming full circle :).

Doing What I Love Best

2010-05-09T22:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day! Mine started at 12 am with a baby who still wasn't asleep, and a little boy coughing and crying in his bed with a fever of 100. I was really tired last night and I thought to myself, "great, here it goes." When I woke up this morning to find everyone well, I thought "maybe it won't be so bad." Then we couldn't find church clothes, and when they were finally found wadded up under the bed and filthy, I thought, "alright then, let's just get to church." When we got to church, late of course, because the same little boy who hadn't put his clothes in the hamper threw a fit about wearing his suit coat that was a little short to cover up his filthy white shirt, I thought, "at least we're here." And then while eating her piece of Sacrament bread Mary Emma threw up all over herself. I got Mary Emma cleaned up as best as possible, and then practically had to tackle the deacons in order to get the water, I sent Camilla up to sit with another family, grabbed Hyrum and Mary and set off for home before she could throw up again. I went back after church to pick up Camilla and she wasn't there. She had told the family she sat with that they needed to take her home with them. However, I didn't know that. Although I figured something like that had happened, and I felt calm and comforted by the spirit, still I was looking for her for half an hour before it finally got back to me that is what had happened. They decided to keep for the rest of the day to give me a break, and Mary Emma slept all day and so Hyrum and I spent a lot of time together.

It was a good day because I was doing what I love best. My dear husband who always feels so helpless over there in Iraq tries to instill in the children the idea that presents don't have to come from the store, but can be nice things that you do to help. My Mother's Day gifts didn't come from a store this year (although I did pick up my flower after church while hunting for my daughter). It's rare that I get to spend quality one on one time with Hyrum. He's the middle child and for the last two years I've been homeschooling one sister while trying to keep the other sister from destroying my house. What a gift to just spend some time with him where he didn't have to share my lap with anyone else. What a gift to have Camilla come home from a day of playing with friends, and give me a big hug and tell me how much she missed me. It's good to be missed. What a gift it was when Mary Emma was finally able to keep down a piece of toast and I was the one who got her first smile of the entire day. And now to go in their room and see three of the most important people in my life, safe in their beds, well taken care of, and loved, I think to myself, "It's been a good day because I have done what I love the best, and that is being your mother."

The Best Two Weeks (sorry it's two weeks late)

2010-05-02T12:43:00.005-05:00

We sure had fun with Jacob home.

We went to the temple in Nebraska, and saw all of the lovely spring bulbs.

And we went to St Louis; stopping at this park in a little town on the way. We didn't know there was anywhere that still had a merry-go-round.

We visited the St Louis Zoo

and saw the beautiful flowers there too.

Then we took a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River.

We rode up the Arch and looked down on the city.

Then we hiked up to the mouth of a cave (the entrance is gated or we would have gone in).

That day Camilla, also finally learned how to swim.

Finally we came home and played in the backyard.

Camilla finally learned how to ride a bike,

and so did Hyrum.

On the day Jacob was supposed to leave, he missed his 7:30am flight (if you are not at the ariport 30 minutes early you don't fly, who knew) and they couldn't get him on a flight until 4:00pm. So, we went hiking again, except the kids rode their bikes, for 6 miles.

He returned safely to Iraq, and now we have the count down to him really coming home.

He's Home!

2010-04-04T19:44:00.002-05:00

Jacob arrived safely at 3:05 pm yesterday. We are having a wonderful time with him, and Mary Emma acts like he never left. In anticipation of him coming home though, the kids were driving me crazy, and so we headed to the zoo to pass the time. They were having an Easter celebration, and so we really had fun.

I tried to get Mary Emma to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap, but it just wasn't going to happen.

I did however get her in front of the daffodils.

We have had an enjoyable Easter. It was great having Jacob here for conference.

The girl's Easter dresses. I actually didn't buy them one this year seeing as how they both had perfectly nice ones that still fit. I like cheap.

It's Been Awhile

2010-03-21T14:40:00.005-05:00

Wow, life has been crazy for me ever since December. We have had straight sickness at my house all winter; nothing serious just keep catching stuff going around. The same has been true for the rest my ward, however, so I really can't complain too loudly. Anyway, here's my update.
Gymnastics:
This gymnastics place in Manhattan has open gym every Friday. To beat the winter stir crazies, we went one Friday in February and checked it out.

The kids had so much fun they are still talking about it.

Bowling:

Camilla started taking bowling lessons with the Ft. Riley Homeschool Group. I thought it would be good exposure to the sport for her, but she actually got pretty good for a six year old.

Homeschool:

Lately homeschool has meant practicing the culinary arts along with curriculum. Camilla loved making peanut butter to help her learn about halves and doubles. (2 peanuts in a shell, halve the cracker and spread pb on it)

Hyrum made muffins just like the muffin man.

Kids N Power Field Trip:

Camilla and Hyrum went on a field trip with the Homeschool Group to a Judo studio for a Kids N Power presentation. They learned basic self defense and rules for keeping safe.

Iraq:

Jacob has been doing well. At the begining of the month he participated in the Red Cross 5K run with his platoon.

Jam:

Hyrum made jam as part of his curriculum this month. As you can tell he really enjoyed this activity.

Cosmosphere:

We went on another field trip with the Homeschool Group, this time to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson (2 hours away). We were able to see an IMAX presentation, a live presentation on rockets (exploding things was a big hit with Hyrum), and a planetarium presentation. We also toured the museum. It was great to see Camilla get as excited about space as I do.

St. Patty's Day:

On Wednesday we had a Saint Patrick's Day party with our friends. Here is our fruit rainbow.

Master's Degree:

Exciting news this week. Jacob finally finished his Master's Degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution. He couldn't be happier to finally be done.

Zoo:

On Thursday we went to the zoo with our friends.

Welcome Spring:

On Saturday morning we awoke to winter rearing his ugly head one last time (I hope).

And so we are happy to be done with winter and ready for spring. We are also looking forward to Jacob coming home for R & R in just a couple of weeks.

One Crazy Month

2010-01-16T12:43:00.005-06:00

December was one busy month for me. I learned that I can't run faster than I'm able, no matter how hard I try. Nevertheless we had some good times too. Here is what happened to us in December:

Mary Emma discovered markers.

It snowed . . . a lot!

Snow surfing on the driveway.

Mary loves talking to daddy.

Sarah (Jacob's sister) came to spend Christmas with us. I am so glad she came, I had no idea how much I would need that break. Despite the snow, ice, and the cold we still made our traditional Christmas Eve hike. (It's really the only way we can get the kids to go to sleep).

Camilla is showing off her hill climbing skills.

Our nativity.

Camilla as Glinda the good witch. Thanks to daddy for the present.

Hyrum using his new "dig truck" from santa to dig out into the backyard. (We got more snow Christmas Eve.)

No way we can get the wagon from santa into the backyard, and so eveyone gets a ride in the house.

Sledding with Sarah the day after Christmas.

Mary Emma hates her new chair from Santa.

Mary Emma refuses to be pleasant enough to get her picture taken in her Christmas dress.

Mary Emma still not cooperating, but three beautiful children regardless.

Camilla's Christmas List

2009-12-04T22:40:00.002-06:00

By the way, I have my computer back, and it is purring happily on my desk once again. I didn't lose any data, only a nasty virus.

No "Happy Thanksgiving" for this family!

2009-11-29T14:38:00.002-06:00

We had a terrible Thanksgiving this year. I woke up Thanksgiving morning to my computer crashing. It was none other than the blue screen of death, and the worst part was that I specifically planned on backing up my files this weekend. There went that. I had to take it in on black Friday, and I still haven't heard back. I am mourning my computer like it were a member of the family (how sad is that?). And yet, I am able to blog. Jacob ordered a netbook that I haven't been able to send him yet, and so thankfully I still have the internet. What I don't have is all the cute pictures and video I was going to post. Oh well. Life goes on.

As bad as my computer crashing was, I think Jacob had it worse. First of all he was given notice at the beginning of the week that he is being moved to another post. The person replacing him is female, which is very rarely a good thing in the Army. Jacob has felt like he has had great report with the MPs, and the members of the LDS group. He was hearbroken. Then their chapel caught fire and burned down. Then they didn't have any pumpkin pie at the DEFAC, only sweet potato pie. I guess it just wasn't our year.

On a side note however, Mary Emma is starting to act like she wants to grow up. She is finally using the sippy cup without a fight, and she is about to start walking. She took her first steps the day my parents arrived over a month ago, and then flatly refused to do it again. Well, this week she has started to "walk" on her knees, and stands unassissted, with a hesitant step here or there. I guess 13 months is the magic number for her.

Leaves and Art

2009-11-22T21:10:00.002-06:00

Camilla was sick at the beginning of this week, and was taking a nap on Monday. Hyrum was driving me crazy, doing everything to get my attention. And so I put his coat on him and herded him outside to do a little yard work. Normally Hyrum isn't the best at helping, he tries (sometimes), but when it came to raking leaves he was a natural, and was a big help.

He was a natural at jumping in them too.

Mulvane Art Museum

On Friday we went with the Ft. Riley Homeschool Group to the Mulvane Art Museum on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka. The kids got a tour and then proceeded down to the art lab.

The art lab was great, with things for even Mary Emma to work with.

After the art lab I took the kids back to the exhibits to take some pictures.

Notice the guns. I had to get a picture of them in front of the guns.

When we went outside they had just finished a sculpture they had been working on for several weeks. The artist, Patrick Dougherty, is world renowned for his "Stickworks." He had been onsite working with volunteers to create this sculpture. However, when we came out of the museum all we saw was that it was finished and the barricades had been taken away. A woman came up to us and invited the children to explore this work of art. They had a fabulous time running around, finding passageways and windows.

I had a great time taking their pictures. Unbeknowest to me, however, across the street was a group of people watching us. When we turned to leave, I noticed them, and noticed a sign for the exhibit with a picture of the artist. As I looked across the street, I saw that same man. I felt a thud in the pit of my stomach, but as I drew nearer he thanked the kids for giving the sculpture a test drive. Apparently they were the first to go through it. And so, oddly enough, in Topeka Kansas I met Patrick Dougherty.

First Lieutenant

2009-11-15T14:34:00.002-06:00

The most important thing that happened to our family this week was Jacob being promoted from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant. It seems so hard to believe it has been 18 months since I went to Georgia for his OCS graduation.

In this picture Capt. Wood is removing Jacob's old rank (a gold bar) to put on his new rank (a solid black bar).
Just look at that fabulous black bar!

Jacob and the other Lieutenant who were promoted with their certificates of promotion.

Homeschool my way and The Church in Iraq

2009-11-14T11:47:00.006-06:00

Sometimes I get bogged down by the monotony of homeschool. The addition facts, phonograms, the four year old who won't leave me alone, the baby who takes Camilla's pencil when she isn't looking. At those points when I survey my messy house along with everything else I start having visions of public school, and start to think that must be the most wonderful invention on earth. But then I decide to take a week like last week and regroup. Yes, addition facts, and phonograms are important, but they aren't the reason I homeschool. You can learn addition facts and phonograms very successfully at public school, but I homeschool for the things you can't get at public school, the education that goes beyond the classroom. And so on Monday we went to the Milford Nature Center to study biomes and habitats up close.

Mary loved the bobcats who were running around, and playing. You can she is pointing at them.

On wednesday I was able to combine a lesson on sculpture with Veteran 's Day. Afterall some of the most important sculpture in our world is in memorium.
At Veteran's Park

At the Buffalo Soldier momument

A happy baby playing at the park

On Friday we took advantage of a traveling Smithsonian exhibit that strangely ended up in our tiny town, called Journey Stories. The children really enjoyed the many interactive features of the exhibit.

At the entrance to the exhibit in the Geary County Historical Museum

Learning and having fun

Oddly enough on Saturday after coming home from a puppet show at the library, I found a robin's egg intact. It seems very weird to me to find one in November and not the springtime. If anyone would care to enlighten me, I would love to know what it was doing on my lawn.

And so the week ends.

And now for some more news from Jacob.
"This last week was certainly historic in nature for the Church in Iraq.Through a series of small miracles, Elder Paul B. Pieper of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy was cleared to come into the Iraqi Theater to organize the Baghdad Iraq Military District, and bring the keys of thePriesthood to this land for the first time in what is probably centuries. It is indeed wonderful to see the gospel move forward in this part of the world. In the words of Elder Pieper: "The Lord wants this military district organized and the priesthood to be here in Babylon on this occasion. We don't know His plan in detail, but this is His timefor such an event to take place."
There are approximately 1300 members of the Church sprinkled throughout the country of Iraq presently-a combination of military and civilian brothers and sisters. The new Baghdad Iraq Military District has been given the task to organize branches where they are merited and are to continue to utilize groups where needed. Anyway, it is an exciting time to be a member of the Church in Iraq."

A Visit With My Parents, A Happy Halloween, and News From The Sandbox

2009-11-06T12:58:00.005-06:00

My parents came to visit us from Oct 24 until Oct 29. We had a really fun time, and they sure helped me out (dishes, laundry, reading with Camilla, babysitting, the list goes on). Their visit also facilitated being able to make spudnuts (something I was dreading doing on my own).

As you can see, everyone is enjoying them.

Also, their visit coincided with Mary Emma's first birthday.

When thinking about what I would do for her cake, the thought "The Big Red 1" kept popping into my head, and I finally gave in. For those of you not at Ft. Riley, The Big Red 1 means first division, which is Jacob's division, but it goes a lot farther than that. It is a big Ft. Riley thing. And so Mary Emma had a military centric cake (did you notice it is also red, white, and blue.)

Mary wants to touch the candle.

Opening presents, well, not actually, all she is doing is playing with the ribbons, as we try to keep her over anxious brother and sister from opening them for her. It's her birthday, if she wants to just eat the ribbons, then let her!

She finally got one opened (with help of course).

Carving pumpkins was another task I couldn't handle on my own this year.

The finished project.

Sadly my parents had to leave before Halloween, but we had a good time anyway. If you can't tell, Hyrum is Spiderman, Mary Emma is a ballerina, and Camilla is a cat.

At the trunk or treat.

Now, news from the sandbox. As if being our church's group leader isn't enough, Jacob is now helping out with Catholic services. This is what he says, " The Catholic Priest is polish and speaks several languages and of course one of them is Russian. I discovered this last week. Leaving the Catholic service this morning he pointed to an LT sitting a little ways off saying, "she speaks Russian too." So I go over there and we speak in Russian for a bit. She is from the Ukraine, so we compared what cities we've been too and lived in, etc. I was given a calling in the Catholic Church today, Music Chair. I'm in charge of music. That means I pick the music and am in charge of the choir. Basically, I just play for the hour long service. Playing the church music is like playing out of a "Fake Book,"you know, the music with only the right hand written and I have to come up with the left. This is worse, there are no chords written above the staff or anything, so basically, I'm shooting from the hip. Wow, I just keep shaking my head. Life in the army is so full of variety and adventurous."

So Big!

2009-10-26T22:28:00.007-05:00

My dear Mary Emma, it seems so hard to believe that a year has really gone by. However, what seems even harder to imagine, is my life, without you. I love you so much my dear baby girl, but in honor of your birthday, the one thing that I love most about you is your smile.

You always seemed happy and content. Not crying for days after you were born, peacefully making the long trip from Maryland to Kansas in your first week of life. Daddy and I would look back at you and you would be quietly sleeping with your face toward the sun coming in your window.

And then you started smiling at us, and you won us over completely. A bad day would turn good with one look at you.

And then you started smiling at other people, and I began hearing from behind me in line, "Oh look, that cute baby is smiling at me." I still hear it. You are like a patch of sunshine, full of happiness, and you make the world such a better place by just being you.

You are full of life and joy.

And then you started sticking your tongue out, but that's ok, because it made all of us smile.

Who knew we would all need you so much this deployment, Camilla, Hyrum, and myself. After daddy had just left, he called and asked about you. I told him you were performing your role perfectly; healing our aching hearts with your overwhelming amount of love and joy.

Mary Emma, thank you for coming to us, and for just being you.

Happy 1st Birthday!

All Aboard!

2009-10-18T19:18:00.004-05:00

We recently joined the Fort Riley Homeschool group. It's great to meet to new people, and they have really neat activities, including a field trip once a month. This month's trip was to ride the old 1945 train in Abilene. Because we were a school group, tickets were only $4.00 a piece for those of us over 2 years old, and free for Mary Emma. I couldn't let an opportunity like that pass us by!

Hyrum loved riding the train. In fact the day before he asked me if it was a diesel train. Honestly, where does this kid get this stuff!

This was the origianl coal burning stove in the train's kitchen. It had been donated by the Army, and I thought the sign on it that said, "coal is money save it!" Was great! Apparently it was put on the stove in the 1930's. (The engine was from 1945, but the wooden dining car we were riding in was from 1919).

The kitchen with a view of the dining car in the background.

I though this was great, my boy looking out the window of a moving train at a train in the distance.

The kids in front of the train we rode on. The orange on the engine is the original paint.

Outside the train station

The next day (Saturday) I watched the Tilley girls all day. We went to the park to pass some time.

Mary and Sydney having a great time.

A full swing set! I thought this was great! Every swing was taken by one of our group.

Mary, Sydney, Ethne, Addison, Hyrum, Camilla

Mary's laugh.

Nutrional School Supplies, Power Pants, and Black Cat Cookies

2009-10-12T16:28:00.003-05:00

I was thinking today, why don't they put multi-vitamins in school supplies, because it seems to me that my children prefer them to ordinary nutritional food. Camilla, give her a brand new pencil and within minutes the eraser is chewed off and ingested. Hyrum, loves licking the glue off the cap, licking the glue off his fingers, licking the glue off his papers, licking the glue off his sister's paper. Mary Emma, any crayons on the floor beware! I have lost, probably, at least two new boxes of crayons to her. And yet make them a sandwich for lunch and "I don't like that," "I'm not hungry;" of course you're not you've been snacking on school supplies all day!

You have probably heard of "power ties." Today on the way home from the store, Hyrum informed Camilla that he was wearing "power pants" which just happen to be red. You can see these amazing pants in the pictures below.

For our Home Evening Activity tonight, we made the infamous Black Cat Cookies. Infamous because they have been known to give my sister Jeanette a very bad day :). They were a lot of fun, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. In my sister's defense, however, I have to say that they are quite difficult to do with little children. Hyrum did burn himself, not badly, and there was a lot of whining about whose turn, and my constant vigilance to make sure no fingers were going in the mouth, etc. I only did half the batch with them, and then finished after they were in bed.

Hyrum awaiting his turn, and Camilla doing the smash down. (Notice she is sitting on the table, which made my plastic tablecloth buckle a little, and the pan burn a hole in it.)

Just happy to watch. (Yea right! She was screaming in her chair until I pointed the camera at her.)

Putting on the cat faces. ("But mom, I just want to eat the candy corns, not put them on the cookies.")

Their cat creations, with a scary roar face from Hyrum to go with them.

My best one. I know it looks more like an angry bear than a cat, but what can I say, I'm tired.

Alright, for anyone wanting to attempt this on their own, and like I said at first, it was fun, here's the recipe:

Black Cat Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
candy corn (for eyes)
red-hot candies (for nose)

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place 3 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets.
2. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch top of cookie to form ears. For whiskers, press a fork twice into each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from the oven; immediately press on candy corn for eyes and red-hots for noses. Remove to wire racks to cool.

News from Iraq

2009-10-12T12:44:00.002-05:00

I though what Jacob had to say today was pretty amusing:

"I always wondered what would happen if I found myself presiding in a church meeting and also the only one who plays the piano/organ. Yesterday was that day. Since I was just called and set apart a week ago, and the calling of my two assistants is in the works, I was all by myself on the stand and then I would sit and play the hymns for sacrament meeting. I already scrubbed the group of members for those who play, so I know no one is holding out on me.

One neat thing about being with the MP’s is I get to train with them. We have a M249/M240 automatic weapons range on Wednesday and, of course, I get to shoot 200 rounds per weapon just like all the joes. "

Shooting guns and playing piano, I think he's doing quite well.

THE NATIONAL PARKS: My Parks

2009-10-10T12:00:00.001-05:00

Plays and Pumpkins

2009-10-09T20:25:00.004-05:00

We bought pumpkins the other day at the commissary. I usually like to go to a pumpkin patch and all that, but it just wasn't going to happen this year. However, Mary Emma sure loves them.

On Wednesday I took Camilla and her friend Ethne to the Opera House in downtown Junction City to see a play of The Jungle Book. We were the first ones to arrive in the theater; I sometimes forget I live in a small town and you can get places five minutes early and be just fine. Oh well, the girls loved having the run of the theater.
As you can see by the two excited girls standing there, we had balcony seats. When I ordered tickets I was shocked to find the house nearly sold out (10:00 am on a Wednesday!) and those were the best seats we could get. I figured a school must be coming, but imagine my surprise when class after class of first graders came in. The entire theater was filled with first grade classes from Junction City and Fort Riley, including, ironically, my two girls in the balcony seats. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and Camilla is still talking about it, which means it was a success.

How we are doing

2009-10-04T19:15:00.003-05:00

Mary Emma is growing up so much. She is now 11 months and has started talking, she says: mommy, mama, daddy, baby, hiyah (which I think is a combination of Hyrum and Camilla"s names, it's really funny because she yells it at them) and meme which is either Camilla or her blankey, or both. Before you think she's some genius child though, she's not walking yet, and both Camilla and Hyrum were walking by now. I mean she does walk, she loves walking around my chair during school and pushing the toy grocery cart, but nothing independent yet. She's killing my back, though, so we need to start pushing it. She's a third child alright, a good talker and a bad walker, "Camilla put her down!"

Autumn is here and so we feel like venturing outside again. We dedided to check out the Salina Zoo, and then go shopping. They have the coolest thing at the bear exhibit. You crawl through these tunnels and then come up in this viewing hole right in the middle of the bear cage.

Up close with a cougar.

The next day was Hyrum's birthday. His big gift was a bike, and seeing as how the next day was Sunday, he got that present in the morning so he had enough time during the day to try it out.

He really wanted a spider-man cake. He has this thing for spider-man all because when he was two he had a spider-man shirt. He has never seen the movies or cartoons or anything, and yet he had to have a spider-man cake.

On Monday I took the kids to Baskin Robins to redeem their gift certificates that they got from my mother in law. Then we took the ice cream, and their bikes to the park. They sure had a good time.

Some beautiful poison ivy on the trail. Doesn't it make you want to reach out and just pick some of those leaves and take them home ;)

My neighbor Charlie was asking Jacob before he left if we ended up getting anything out of our garden besides marigolds. Jacob kindly defended my efforts by naming all the things (it wasn't much) we got from the garden. One thing he named was carrots. Well, I finally realized I never harvested my carrots, and sure enough there they were nice and orange and plump growing amongst the marigolds. We dug them all up, and this is the harvest. It's not a lot, but at least we didn't make Jacob lie.

A good friend of mine cut my hair this week. She did a fantastic job, and I just love it! Do you see all the curl in the back, it did that by itself. Looks like I'm pulling a Michelle.

Jacob sent us these pictures this week. He is doing well. He is now in charge of a prison which is mostly a way lay station for detainees going to be released. Funny thing is that he is now a platoon leader over MPs. Can he ever escape the MP Corps!

Today a stake representative (like a high councilor) came down to set Jacob apart as the group leader over their group (it's not quite a branch, but they have a pretty big congregation). I'm not sure how the whole stake thing works, but I think he told me that the Middle East is all one big stake. It's still hard for me to wrap my head around that one, or the posibility of Hyrum serving a mission out there, or a temple being built, but this is how it starts.

Other than that, Hyrum is sick. What a perfect Sunday to be sick for, though; I love the internet. Camilla also has officially entered the "Conference is boring" stage. Oh well, six more years and hopefully she will find meaning in it again. I spent most of conference yelling "Camilla, get back in here, you have to watch whether you want to or not," dispensing medicine, putting kids down for naps, and filling baby bottles, but at the same moments when I just felt like throwing something, I would be reminded that my children were being taught that listening to a prophet is not only important but essential. My job today was not to sit and actually get to hear the entirety of one whole talk, or feel the overflowing of the spirit, but to teach my children through example that one great lesson. And so it's been quite the week, but it's been a good one.

Turn Around and your 4

2009-09-26T14:18:00.000-05:00

The moment I saw you, I was won over completely. Here you were finally, the baby I had lost, the baby I had been promised I would raise, and I knew you, and I loved you at once. Now I have turned around and you are four years old. Well Hyrum, here are four things I love about you.

1. Just like with your sister, your daddy had to leave before you turned one. It was very hard for me and Camilla when daddy left the first time, but Heavenly Father knew that daddy would have to leave, and that Camilla and I would have so many needs, and so he sent you. You are the lovingest child, so quick to love me and need me. You filled a void then, and you fill it now. You still climb in my lap, you still think I'm wonderful, you still need me, and I love serving you. Hyrum I love being your mother.

2. You are intigued by the world around you. When you were little I had to have my eye on you constantly or you would run off to explore something (which was usually in the middle of the street). You are amazed by the world around you, amazed by the way things work. Sometimes I look at you and can swear I see the wheels in your head turning. I love how anxious you are to learn and I can't wait to be your kindergarten teacher next year.

3. I love how you can play by yourself. Your sister seems incapable of it, but you could just sit for hours playing by yourself. I like how independent that makes you, and how you don't need other people to be content. You are definitely a product of your father and myself, and I love it!

4. Hyrum we have had a frustrating year. We moved, we gave you a little sister, and daddy deployed; and lately we have been seeing a great many tantrums around the house and sometimes mommy has to get mad, but Hyrum I want you to know that I love you no matter what. I do not care what you do or how you do it, I love you and I will love you forever. The thing I love most about you, is that you are Hyrum, my darling boy.

Happy 4th Birthday Hyrum!

An Eventful Weekend

2009-09-23T12:53:00.003-05:00

Camilla's Birthday

We started off our weekend on Friday with Camilla's 6th birthday. She got the day off from school (one of the perks of being homeschooled), and had a candy land cake, which she helped me decorate.

Because daddy is in Iraq, she got to have the Tilley girls come over. One of the night's major highlights was getting a matching shirt with Ethne.

The "big" gift, however, was roller skates. She has been wanting some since we lived with grandma and grandpa, and this year was finally the year. As you can see, she decided to change her clothes as well.

Touch A Truck
Saturday morning we went to a library sponsored event called "Touch A Truck" where they had several large trucks you could climb in. Hyrum was in heaven!

The school bus was definetely a highlight, especially for our homeschooled kids who think they are totally gyped for not being able to ride a bus to school. Not like I got to ride the bus to school, we lived too close. Oh well, they were thrilled to actually see what it looked like inside.

We see these huge farm trucks coming down the road all the time. Their wheels are so big it almost looks like they could drive right over you.

Apple Days
On Satruday in the afternoon we went to Apple Days on Ft Riley. It's an annual event also called Ft Riley Open House. The main attraction is the homemade pies they sell that are made with Custer's wife's secret recipe. I bought a pie, just to see, and it was good, but didn't even compare to my mother's old standard. But there were other things to do as well.

They had helicopters you could climb in, and that was the highlight of Hyrum's day. He is still talking about it.

Another type of helicopter.

We had a good time, but by Saturday night I was completely beat. I looked like a zombie at church the next day. Nevertheless, we had fun.

6 Things I Love About You

2009-09-18T10:58:00.010-05:00

It seems like just yesterday that I saw you for the first time. You looked up at me with those big blue eyes, and then you started to cry. And now you are 6! You're tall, and beautiful, and smart. My dear Camilla, here are six things I love about you.

(Camilla one day old)

1. You are such a big helper. When I married daddy I had no idea that every other year he would leave, and that I would have to raise you kids much of the time by myself, but Heavenly Father knew and so he sent you. I don't know how I would do it without you, you just know how to take care of the other kids, and they look up to you as an example, and as another mother. Although I do have to remind you a lot that I am the mother :)

(Camilla on her "real" first birthday, we celebrated early because Jacob was in Basic Training on her actual birthday)

2. You are full of good ideas. You have really learned how to manipulate me, and can usually get your way by giving me a well thought out argument, and reasoning with me in a mature fashion. You have good brains.

(Camilla's 2nd birthday)

3. You are athletic and adventurous. You love excercise and running, and hiking. I love how you aren't afraid to try new things, and how you work at them and work at them until you get it right. I will never forget how hard you worked at the monkey bars, and the hula hoop, and how you can do both well.

(Camilla's "real" 3rd birthday, once again we celebrated early because Jacob was leaving for Iraq right before her birthday)

4. I love how you have learned to see the beauty in everyplace we have lived. I thought when we moved to Kansas away from the mountains that you loved so very much in Colorado, and the ocean in Maryland, and Grandma and Grandma and Grandpa in Arizona that you would never come around to seeing the beauty here (you hate the wind), but then yesterday you told me that Kansas is the best place to live. Keep that attitude and you will go far.

(The day before Camilla's 4th birthday)

5. I love how you love learning about the gospel. You love singing Primary songs, and love saying the prayer. You know it's important to be reverent during church, even if you're not perfect at it. And you love to the see the temple. Nothing makes me happier than to see how much you love the temple.

(Camilla's 5th birthday)

6. I love how loving you are. Yes, you have your other moments too, but at the end of the day you are always so quick to give a hug and kiss. You love to hug Mary and Hyrum. When you talk about Grandma Wilson or Grandma and Grandpa Jones you always say "Oh, I just love her," or "Oh, I just love them." You are just so loyal, and Camilla I just love you too.

(Camilla's first day of school this year)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU BIG 6 YEAR OLD!!!

(Camilla on Sunday Sept. 13, 2009, she had just gotten out of the bath and her hair was curly just like it used to be)

A Visitor in the Garden

2009-09-17T13:30:00.003-05:00

Look what I have living in my flower bed.

I actually think it is quite pretty, although I don't know what kind of spider it is.

Eat your heart out Jeanette!

Raising my Father and a Little Mischief

2009-09-12T18:32:00.009-05:00

Raising My Father

For those of you who don't know my father he is the type of guy who loves putting things together, fixing things, and figuring out any type of mechanical problem. He is also the man who was always assembling our Christmas presents almost before we could get them open.

Well dad, I'm raising you.

My son Hyrum Ray, who we ironically named after my father Ray Jones, is just like my father in that he has a fascination with putting things together, fixing things, and the toolbox. On Thursday I bought a new vacum (yes Jacob, that small one from Maryland was driving me crazy, and so I put it downstairs). I told Hyrum not to touch the box. He opened the box. So I told him not to take anything out of the box under any circumstances. I came back to this . . .

(he assembled the vacum all by himself)

Hyrum is a very very obedient boy. He truly is a model of good behavior, until something comes in the house in a box, or the toolbox is opened. I shake my head, but I can't get mad because I realize he just can't help it. The urge to put things together, and to use tools is just too strong; he simply can't fight it.

Raising a Little Mischief

On Friday in the space of about a half an hour, Mary Emma did this . . .

(ate a green crayon)

And this . . .

(pulled all the kid books off the shelves; you can tell she knows she was being naughty)
What a cute little mishcief!

Iraq

2009-09-05T09:26:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let you all know that he made it safely to Iraq.

She Did it Again!

2009-08-30T20:28:00.002-05:00

Well, tonight before dinner Camilla pulled the other front tooth out.

She is holding both teeth in her hand.

A Couple of Things

2009-08-30T15:57:00.004-05:00

I talked to Jacob last night and he is doing well. He also gave me his address in Iraq, which is:

Jacob Wilson

B/701st BSB

COB Speicher, Iraq

APO AE 09393

U.S. rate shipping still applies. He isn't actually there quite yet, but will be pretty soon. I would tell you all when, but this is an open blog, and I don't know if any of you are insurgents :).

And, to answer some of your questions, I am not moving to Phoenix, but will be staying here.

Also, today Camilla finally lost it . . .

her first top tooth that is. Not only that, but she pulled it out herself. Good for you Camilla! Her other front one is super loose, and so maybe this Christmas we will be singing "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth."

Boots on Ground

2009-08-27T01:05:00.003-05:00

Early Tuesday morning (3 AM) we said our goodbyes to Jacob.

11 o'clock tonight he called to tell me that he is now "boots on ground" in Kuwait where he will spend some time before going over to Iraq. He's doing well, and we are doing well back here. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Good Weather Adventures

2009-08-23T18:08:00.005-05:00

The weather this weeked was absolutely perfect, highs in the upper 70s and sunny, which facilitated us finally doing what we wanted to do before Jacob ships out.

He really wanted to try out kayaking, and so on Friday we rented a kayak.

Iactually did like it better than the canoe, but what a workout!

Becuase the temperature was so cool, no one was in the swimming area, or at the lake at all, which meant the kids could give it a spin around in the shallow area.

On Saturday we did the entire River Walk Trail with one way being 4.8 miles. We went a little further to the lake, and so all in all we walked no less than 10 miles. We left at 10:00AM and got back at 4:30PM. We had a great deal of tears on miles one and two, but had running and laughing on miles 9 and 10, go figure. Anyway it was great fun!

Our Newest Adventure

2009-08-09T15:50:00.002-05:00

For years now Jacob has wanted to go kayaking. When he found out that Outdoor Rec. on post had some you could rent, he has been determined he was going to rent a kayak before he goes to Iraq. Well, we discussed it, talking about just him going or him and I going, and then he went to outdoor rec and found out that some of their kayaks roll, but while there he saw some canoes. Well, he decided to put the kayak thing on hold, and thought we as a family should go canoeing. So, on Thursday we rented a canoe, and went on quite the adventure.

Canoes are very unsteady and the slightest movement makes them rock like crazy making you feel like you are going to tip and fall out, but thankfully we didn't.
I was nervous practically the whole time, especially because we had Mary Emma with us, even with her life jacket on I was worried, but soon the rocking of the boat didn't get to me anymore. Jacob was having the time of his life, but the kids would cry and yell at each other when either of them moved and the canoe rocked.

After we finally managed go against the current and get back to shore, I took Mary Emma out and the kids got a chance to row, and Jacob got to tip the boat over. We all really did have a good time, and look forward to trying out a row boat next time.

Another Eventful Week

2009-08-03T16:03:00.003-05:00

For any of those not aware, Jacob is leaving for Iraq in just a couple of weeks. The days are limited and so are the funds (after our vacation), and so we are finding as much to do as possible close by and for free. This is what we did this week.

We found an incredible hike that starts at Moon Lake on post. It's beautiful, and challenging. I think it's our favorite Kansas hike so far.

The only problem with it is that a tree has fallen down right in the middle of the path, and you can't go around it because of the poison Ivy, so you have to go under it.

On Saturday we went to Homestead National Monument. It's just over the border into Nebraska, and it doesn't charge admission. The monument was set up in the 1930's to honor those who took advantage of the Homestead Act, and is situated on the first homestead under that legislation. It was really interesting, and we all learned a great deal.

Camilla under the windmill.

The one room school house, which is also part of the monument.

You can also see the kids earned yet another Junior Ranger badge.

I took this picture while Jacob was talking to the Ranger about the possibility of him becoming a National Parks Ranger. I guess being a veteran is one of the best ways to get in. So who knows in 15 years when he retires . . . :)

I don't know what those red ferns are, but they sure are pretty. I never knew how beautiful the prairie was until we moved here.

On the way home we stopped at all those places we see on the way to the temple but never have time to stop and explore.

This is another one room school house in Marysville, KS.

Camilla and the little red schoolhouse.

A demonstration sod house. I can't imagine how they lived in these tiny little houses. This one was complete with the spiders and everything.

The more places you go, the more random things you see. I only wish I had been there to see that thing come traveling down the highway.

Here we are in Waterville or Blue Harbor, I can't really tell when one ends and the other begins. We had to stop, a real teeter totter! It's been years. Unfortunately, none of us could play on it for long, as there was a yellow jacket's nest in one of the metal holes. We all played on it, but pretty soon they started coming out, and I thought it best we leave. Oh well. Camilla took the picture, she's getting quiet good.

Ummm . . . Are you sure that's a good idea?

2009-07-29T12:07:00.001-05:00

Mary Emma's favorite spot

2009-07-26T16:50:00.003-05:00

At least she loves books

Our Last Week of Block Leave

2009-07-19T21:08:00.003-05:00

This was Jacob's last week of block leave, or the leave he gets before going to Iraq. Don't worry he doesn't leave until the end of August, but still we tried to take as much advantage of opportunities for memory making for us all.

We are hiking around Milford Lake, about ten minutes or so from our house.
Mary Emma loves being in the backpack. She is like this the whole time.

On a hot summer's day, who could resist the temptation?

Trying to get gas in Kanopolis, a tiny town not even off a highway.

While driving around town, we saw this.

At Mushroom Rock State Park

Mushroom Rock State Park gave us the perfect opportunity to finally photograph the kids on the hay bales we literally see everywhere.

Hiking at Wilson Lake State Park

Swimming at Wilson Lake State Park.

We sure had fun this week, and now we are planning for Jacob's R & R while he is in Iraq. That's the thing about the Army, he isn't home for dinner every night, or home every day in fact, but when he's home, he's home.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

2009-07-12T17:45:00.010-05:00

We had a great vacation this year. Long and tiring, but fun.

We started off our journey going through Nebraska to see Chimney Rock. There was a huge storm coming, but we managed to see it right before the storm hit.
We also decided that this was a good time to feed Mary Emma. So Jacob was feeding her dinner, and the kids were playing about 15 feet away, when out of the grass came the hugest snake I have ever seen. Hyrum started to cry, and Camilla was oblivious to it until she almost stepped on it. We couldn't get to the kids, the snake was between us and them, and we didn't want to frighten it by getting any closer than we were, when a sweet old lady traveling with some friends was able to guide our kids to safety. It was not a rattle snake but was at least four to five feet long. After that we all left.

The motel was the highlight of the trip for Hyrum. He kept wanting to go back to the hotel. As you can see, he isn't the only one glad to be out of the car seat.

Well we have seen enough bison this trip to last for a lifetime. This buffalo at Wind Cave National Park just decided to walk out right in front on us.

Wind Cave is known for it's boxwork, and here is an example.

This was the first cave Jacob or I had ever been in and we really enjoyed ourselves. Maybe spelunking could become our new hobby ;)

Needles Highway is really cool. Lots of cool stuff to drive by and lots of cool stuff to drive through.

Along Needles Highway we took a climbing break.

Crazy Horse

Here we are at Badlands National Park, on some crazy hike that ironically I picked. Let's just say I spent most of the hike sliding around on my bottom.

The kids loved the hike though; once again it included a lot of climbing.

When Mary's had it, she's had it.

Jewel Cave National Monument, was beautiful, but freezing, and we lost the kid's jackets somewhere along the way. (Not in the cave, but somewhere else)

Jewel Cave National Monument Nature Trail.

At Mount Rushmore. We got there at 9:00 pm for the lighting, and the place was packed; but then they all started to leave in droves. Finally we were able to take our family picture without anyone else in it.

Police officers in North Dakota are mannequins in broken down cars on the sides of the highway in towns of populations of less than 400 people. Seriously we never saw one real police officer in North Dakota.

At the badlands of North Dakota, Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This was one of the best National Parks we have been to because, it wasn't crowded, and it was beautiful.

We saw wild horses, bison, and prairie dogs.

And a happy baby finally getting out of her car seat.

And wildflowers all over the place.

And another snake! This one wasn't as big, wasn't a rattler either, but it slithered right out in front of me this time. You can see it in the grass.

We didn't get to go through the Bismarck North Dakota Temple as planned, but we did see it. I think we even woke the temple president because someone was eyeing us through the drapes across the street.

Apparently you can't go to North Dakota without posing by the world's biggest buffalo, or in other words a huge fiberglass eyesore.

Whenever I see poison Ivy I will think of Minnesota. I have never seen so much of the nasty stuff in my life. Here we are giving the kids a lesson in knowing what it looks like.

Minnesota, the land o' lakes and rivers.

And wildflowers.

And humid greenery.

And toads. I caught him myself, and managed to stay out of the poison ivy doing it.

At Pipestone National Monument working on Junior Ranger booklets.

Pipestone was incredible. Well worth visiting.

Seriously this ranks as one of the most beautiful hikes I have even been on.

Mary loves hiking too.

The oracle. Can you see it?

Mary Emma got a Junior Ranger badge too.

This was our last stop off before home, just two hours away. Mary had to eat, so we stopped at a park. Consequently, Camilla managed to lose this little necklace she had bought at Pipestone National Monument a few hours earlier. We searched and searched but to no avail. So, our trip ended in tears and heartache, but other than that we had a good time. Also, this now makes 29 states that Jacob and I have been to.

Hope you had a Happy 4th

2009-07-05T14:55:00.002-05:00

Our 4th started with a visit. Jacob found it downstairs, and we think it came in when it stormed the night before.

Don't worry, he killed it. Poor thing.

Then we had a barbecue and attempted to burn down our house. Because fireworks are highly illegal in Arizona, I tend to go a little overboard when I live in legal states. But we did have some nice ones. Jacob enjoyed playing with them for the first time.

I specifically avoided ones that said they shot into the air. Oooops.

Ethne and Hyrum. Hyrum was explaing to Ethne the whole time how they work. "You see, you light it with fire, and then run, and then whooosh!" He is so my dad in miniature.

This picture is deceptive, so don't worry mom, she isn't touching the sparkler. I actually had it quite out of her reach, and we were being very careful. She sure liked it though.

I wasn't aware, however, that she got so excited she spit up all over herself.

As far as big fireworks go (you know the big big ones like they have in the shows), apparently you can buy them here. People were setting them off in their driveways. Who knew, and I was worried about the ones I bought that shot just a few feet in the air. We really had a great time, though, and thanks to our friends for sharing the evening with us.

Gone Fishin'

2009-07-01T11:06:00.004-05:00

When I was a little girl (4 or 5) I bought my dad a fishing pole. He wanted one, and so mom decided, that gift could be from me. From that point on I was always fascinated with fishing. Well, we never got to use the pole; and dad, don't feel bad I really do understand. Life gets busy, and sometimes you live in Arizona, where there really aren't a whole lot of places to fish. Jacob was the same way. Growing up without a dad, the opportunity never arose to learn. Well, then we moved to Kansas, where fishing is a big deal. We bought a license, we bought some poles, and had a great tutor (thank you Kent). This is the result.

Jacob caught a fish as soon as the bait hit the water. Some people have all the luck.

Hyrum was so excited, he could hardly wait his turn. Of couse he wanted to reel in as soon as the pole was in his hands.

No, I didn't catch anything, only Jacob did, but the scenery was beautiful. Oh well, there's always next time.

Camilla and Addie Tilley.

Jacob's first fillet.

The fish tasted great, and you can be sure we will go fishing again.

OOOOOOOOOOOOklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains

2009-06-22T13:25:00.005-05:00

We have a goal to visit every state in the United States. So far we have both been to over half. On Saturday June 20 we went to Oklahoma for the first time.

The weather was stormy, and the roads were slick. Just outside of Wichita, this diesel didn't make it around the turn onto the freeway. It seemed like everyone was fine, but what a mess.
The most unique state sign I have ever seen. Usually they look like a road sign, but not this one.

At the Oklahoma City Temple. Jacob and I were both able to do a session.

This truck is meant to be like this.

Hyrum was loving all the wacky semi trucks we saw on this trip.

This is actually Kansas, but look at that wheat.

Oklahoma was quaint. Seemed quite sparse, even Oklahoma City, but it was pretty. We liked the quiet roads, and fields of wheat and corn.

Crawling

2009-06-22T10:50:00.003-05:00

Mary Emma finally started crawling on Thursday June 18. Make sure to turn the sound up, you get really funny commentary from Camilla.

Our Growing Mary Emma

2009-06-18T17:33:00.003-05:00

I love my blankies! (and my thumb.)

I love sharing with daddy (if only I could actually get some of that popsicle.)

I hate vegetables, and dinners, but I like fruit!

Super Starz

2009-06-18T17:31:00.002-05:00

The kids made these glasses at library storytime.

The Poptart Mistake

2009-06-10T11:54:00.002-05:00

Growing up we never had "sugary" cereals, as my mom called them. We had the basics, oatmeal, cornflakes, shredded Wheat (the big kind), Grape Nuts, etc. I'm the same way. I'm not big into heavily processed foods, and I won't buy that sugary stuff my kids are always bringing to me from the bottom shelf of the cereal aisle. With the occassional exception of Peanut Butter Crunch or Cocoa Pebbles for Jacob, we eat pretty healthy breakfasts.

Well, yesterday I bought Poptarts. I had a coupon, they were on sale, and Jacob is California for another couple of days. Why not give the kids a treat. They were thrilled, and when I woke up this morning, very tired, not feeling very well, and in a hurry, it seemed the perfect morning to do a quick Poptart breakfast. After the novelty of getting them out of the toaster was over, and after they had taken a few nibbles around the outside where the frosting hadn't covered, they were through. Hyrum started to cry, "but I wanted cereal for breakfast." Camilla drank her milk and said, "I'm done." And so I threw their easy and fun breakfast in the garbage and gave them what they really wanted, nutrition. Maybe Jacob will eat the rest, because I'm not toucjomg them.

Potatoes in Kansas.

2009-06-08T23:19:00.002-05:00

Just want you all to know that the potato alarm went off today. Now don't worry, it wasn't a real potato, just the practice alarm they sound off every Monday at noon. It's good, however, to know that we will be warned in case a real potato ever does descend on Junction City.

(Hyrum has no concept of a tornado, and so he calls it a potato. Today when the alarm sounded, he got so excited, "it's the potato!" I often wish I could crawl into his imagination to find out what he is actually envisioning. Does he see a giant potato descending on the city, or perhaps potatoes raining down on the city, or better yet, a wily potato sounding an alarm as a sort of game where we run down the stairs as fast as we can? I love three year old boys.)

Baby Baby

2009-06-07T22:59:00.003-05:00

There is a chimpanzee baby at the zoo.

The two babies found each other quite intriguing.

I love my bath

2009-06-07T22:56:00.002-05:00

Mary Emma absolutely loves her bath. From the day she was born until now, she is happiest in the bath.

I survived my first year of homeschool, but did Camilla?

2009-06-07T21:50:00.003-05:00

Here she is, not even five years old, my brand new Kindergartener at the school of mom. We are at Mt. Vernon, commonly referred to in our home as George Washington's House. It seems now like forever ago, when we were in Maryland, when Mary Emma was in me, when I was probably the most clueless homeschool teacher on the planet, but I survived, and yes, I think she did too.

The decision to homeschool isn't easy, actually I think it has been, and in a lesser degree continues to be, the hardest decision I have ever made. Harder than going on a mission leaving Mr. Perfect behind, harder than deciding to marry Mr. Perfect (actually that really wasn't all that hard), harder than putting Jacob on a plane and sending him off to Iraq. The decision to homeschool means you are putting your precious child up for an experiment, and you don't know if you are going to ruin them in the process. Like a friend of mine says, as she is about to embark on this homeschool journey, "what scares me is that I won't be able to blame the teachers, or the school anymore." We homeschool because we love our children, not that unhomeschooled children aren't loved, but we homeschool to make sure our children get the education they need and deserve, we don't homeschool to ruin them, and we are so often so afraid that we will. So, did I ruin Camilla this year, let's find out:

Camilla can read, and can read really quite well. She stuck with it, although it was very hard. There were so many mornings, I would be sitting in my rocking chair (our only real piece of furniture in Maryland) with a heating pad behind my back because my back contractions were so hard, and Camilla would have to stand next to my chair to do her reading lesson. And there she would stand, diligently, frustratingly, tiredly sounding out letters, then words, then sentances. Now she can pick up a beginning reader and read almost every word. I couldn't read when I left kindergarten, didn't ruin her there.

She knows her states from Arizona to Colorado, and then all the way across the I-70 to the Altantic Ocean and back to Kansas and on up to Nebraska. We have a map on our kitchen wall and she muses over it, reliving all the places she lived last year, and visited. Although I wish my first year of homeschooling did not have to involve four moves, because I think much of my failure stemmed from that; nevertheless, there were many teaching moments. Our kindergarten field trip wasn't just the zoo, it was a ferry ride to New Jersey, driving around the national mall, Gettysburg, Virginia, and really learning how many days away Kansas is from all our loved ones.

The last lesson in her math book was an assesment. I thought she would fail, because we had done lesson after lesson over these concepts, and she just couldn't get them. She passed with 100%, I was shocked, and pleased.

So, did she learn stuff, yes, I think we can say she did, unfortunately I think I learned more than she did.

Organization. . . whew. . .is key. Yes I knew that nine months ago, but not to this degree. I didn't really know how to be organized, or what would work with me. Now I know, and I will be ready.

Curriculum: I guess I really did need that expensive text book after all. I bought it finally, thumbed through it, and wondered how on earth I had every missed realizing it was there. (The text book is the Core Knowledge teacher's guide). As a result did I miss a lot of stuff I should have covered, oh yes! We get to play make-up next year, which is fine. I have the resources I need, so that shouldn't be a problem. Still it would be nice going into next year knowing I had covered everything.

And so you see, I guess I didn't ruin her after all. I suppose we are all better for this year. I look forward to next year, and strangely I'm more excited to do this next year, than I was to start this year. I love being her teacher. I love being able to give her a great big hug when she does something well, or pull her to me and kiss her forehead when she is discouraged. I love that I was there to hear her read her first words, and that everyone in our house now, Hyrum and Mary Emma as well, are a part of this education. I wish Camilla didn't have to be the first, the guinea pig, the one who gets the bum end, but Heavenly Father knew someone had to be first, and I know he chose her for his own reasons. She's a trooper, and I love her.

But after all is said and done, this is my biggest consolation, she could not have started school this year anyway, because of her birthday. So, according to the state of Kansas this next year is her first year of school :).

This was taken her last day of school, Friday June 5, 2009

(there's supposed to be a tiger in the background).

More fun with Mom and Dad

2009-05-29T23:23:00.003-05:00

It was mom's turn to be in seventh heaven today. I took her to a one room schoolhouse right past the Milford State Park entrance on US 57, I think. You can't go inside, well the inside is all torn up, but you can look through the windows.

We have seen these wildflowers growing everywhere. They are very pretty, anybody know what they are?

Fun on Ft Riley

2009-05-27T23:02:00.002-05:00

Military bases are full of fun, free, suprises. Ft. Riley is no exception. I took my parents there to see the sites.

Dad is in seventh heaven to be standing on a real Union Pacific engine car. He would have stayed there all day if we had let him.

Custer House was better than I expected. Although Custer never really lived there (he lived in quarters that burned down not long after the turn of the century), the house was decorated with period furniture, and the tour made me really appreciate the way the military treats us now. Honey, if we had lived back then, I wouldn't have let you join the Army!

I'm sorry, but the most interesting and fun part of the Cavalry Museum was the elevator. That thing was so old and so tiny, it scared us half to death. You can have your roller coasters, when I want a thrill, I'm riding the elevator at the Cavalry Museum.

Geary County Historical Museum

2009-05-27T00:09:00.002-05:00

Another free and very cool place to go is the Geary County Historical Museum.

Dad is trying to earn a little extra money shining Hyrum's shoes.

The world is our classroom.

Stereoscope

Photographic Irony

Sometimes you're just too tired.

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T23:58:00.003-05:00

This is my dad, Ray Jones standing with Hyrum and Camilla.

Each and every grave had a flag, even for the civilian family members who also died. To all those who serve, and to all those who have died, we promise to not forget.

(These pictures were taken at the Cemetary on Ft. Riley and
Buffalo Soldier Memorial in Junction City)

Milford Nature Center

2009-05-26T23:43:00.004-05:00

Last week we went to the Milford Nature Center with the Tilley family. (Milford Lake is a manmade resevoir about10 minutes from where I live, and adjacent to the lake is a free Nature Center that we thought was really cool).

"She wore the dress, and I stayed home" (From the song Sisters, by Irving Berlin)

These are baby fish scrambling to get food.

On the Nature Trail. Beware of ticks, Hyrum had one on his sock, and Poison Ivy, the trail is full of it, though we didn't partake of it's fury. Otherwise it was fun.

It's Allergy Season Around Here!

2009-05-26T23:40:00.002-05:00

Some cute pictures from last week

2009-05-26T23:22:00.002-05:00

At the Manhattan Zoo

At Home

The best 7 years

2009-05-17T23:15:00.003-05:00

7 Reasons that these 7 years have been the best:

1. I did all 7 with you, even the times we were in different states, parts of the country, and on different continents, we were together in ways only you and I can understand.

2. You have loved me unselfishly, even through all the times I haven't loved myself. You have stood by me uplifting me, and I don't think you even understand how much I depend on those sweet simple loving words you so effortlessly say to me.

3. You have helped make this a marriage partnership with the Lord. You keep your temple covenants, you honor your priesthood, you teach our children, and you lead our family in righteousness. Bless you for blessing us.

4. Your serious, and seriously I need that. Even though you don't like to dance, and you don't get even half as excited as I do about volcanoes, you do remind me what is really important. I wouldn't change you, not at all.

5. You make my life exciting. Alright, so you leave me a lot, but I'm not complaining. I have traveled clear across the United States, you let me serve a mission in the Caribbean, I have future opportunities to see more and do more than I ever could have hoped in my wildest dreams, and it's all because of you. You gave me the adventure I thirsted for as a girl, and yes I don't like you being gone, but like I always say, "something has to give," (and you know you love checking countries and states off your list too :).

6. You saved yourself for me, you saved all of yourself for me. I don't think it could have happened, you and I meeting like we did if you hadn't been as true to me then as you are to me now. I can't imagine the nightmarish life I would be leading if somehow you and I weren't worthy to meet at that birthday party, and at the CES Broadcast. What if you hadn't served a mission? I'm shuddering, time to move on . . .

7. You are my best friend. You treat me kindly, you understand me, you support me and you're just plain fun to be around. Who else will pause a movie for me just so I can discuss some historical detail. Who else would be so patient with my ADD issues, when I sometimes just plain forget to do the dishes or wash the clothes. But it doesn't matter because we are friends, and we laugh at each other, and sing old Michael Mclean songs, and spot each other on the organ, and watch the birds from our kitchen table, and get the kids and the backpack in the van in a moments notice to go hiking, and both enjoy unpacking our books more than anything else, and know that if we ended up on a desert island together we would actually hope nobody would come looking for us. You are the friend I longed for, and now have spent the seven happiest years of my life with. Although you are in California, and I'm in Kansas, Happy Anniversary! I love you, and I will never stop loving you.

Fondue

2009-05-17T23:00:00.003-05:00

Two years ago Jacob took his two weeks of leave over our five year anniversary. I had been saving my money and had a coupon so that we could go to The Melting Pot, which is a fondue restaurant. We went two days before he was supposed to fly out and when we got up there, they wouldn't let us in the restaurant because they were having a monthly ladies night. Needless to say disappointment wasn't a strong enough word to describe the way I felt. Well, we discussed it and knew that was our only chance to go, and so we decided who needs a fancy shmansy restaurant, we would use the money to buy a fondue pot (and still had some left over to go to Olive Garden) and do fondue at home. And we did.
The other day Camilla found my fondue pot and asked what it was, and so I thought hey, it's anniversary weekend, Jacob leaves for California for a month on Saturday, Friday night, let's do fondue. And we did.

The first course, the cheese course.
What Mary Emma was doing while we were eating the first course. Notice her diaper sticking out of the rails too.

Our marinated meat, second course.

The dessert course, and best course, chocolate fondue. The kids weren't big fans of the other courses, but they loved this one.

Teeth

2009-05-17T22:49:00.003-05:00

We think it is so funny because the only two teeth that Mary Emma has are the only two teeth that Camilla is missing.

April was a busy month

2009-05-17T18:53:00.006-05:00

In fact April was so busy it has taken me over a month to post anything!

Easter was freezing, as you might be able to tell. Mary Emma didn't seem to mind, but she was the exception, not the rule.

Freezing and raining I might add. That was one brave Easter bunny to go out and hide all those eggs.

I love Hyrum's primary teacher. She comes up with the cutest stuff, and such a cute boy to go along with it.

We put in a garden, the kids helped, and they got all muddy . . .
. . . so we let them hose themselves off with freezing cold water!
Jacob's mother came to visit and we took her all around to the church history sites. It was a first for us on most of them too.
This first picture is from the Independence Visitor's Center. It was alright, but the missionary giving us the tour was a little bitter she wasn't proselyting, and was bound and determined we were going to give her names (although it would be much more practical to give the sisters in our own ward names), oh well.

I know I'm a downer, but Liberty Jail wasn't as neat as I thought it would be either. It was interesting, but I think I have felt the spirit a lot more reading the accounts in the Doctrine and Covenants and watching the seminary videos, but now I can say I have been there, and that was cool.

If you ever go to one church history site in Missouri, make it Far West Temple Site. There is no one there at all, the grounds are beautiful, and you can see in every direction all the emptiness of what were once a people's hopes and dreams. It is truly a sacred site.

After Jacob's mom went back to Phoenix, we decided to check out Milford Lake. It's pretty cool. Check out Camilla's ponytails.

So, those were the good parts of a very busy, I'm glad it's over, crazy month.

New Tooth

2009-04-09T20:20:00.002-05:00

Mary Emma finally has her first tooth. She is very late for a Wilson kid, but the tooth painfully broke the surface today.

Easter Bunny

2009-04-03T00:16:00.003-05:00

We had a visit today from someone we weren't expecting to see for another week.

The kids came running to get me, "there's a rabbit in the back yard!" I went running too, and sure enough they were telling the truth. I said, "it must be the Easter Bunny coming to see if you are being good." And then, oh the horror on their faces, Camilla asked, "were we being good Mommy?" "Yes, I think you were."

Later I sent them on an errand to see if they could figure out what the rabbit was eating in our yard. It worked, they left me alone for a little while, but then came back with wild stories of eggs in the tree. So there you have it, the Easter Bunny has found us in Kansas.

Why I Should Trust My Mother

2009-04-01T10:23:00.002-05:00

As far as I know, there are only two dishes my mother refuses to make for my father. The first is liver and onions and the second is corned beef and cabbage. Poor dad. Well even though St. Patrick's Day was a couple weeks past, I decided I would try corned beef and cabbage this week. I mean, could it really be that bad? Well, Jacob and Hyrum ate it, and Camilla and I pushed ours around on the plate. Needless to say mom, I will never make it again. Unfortunately I was really hoping I would like it, but I guess there just have to be some dishes a wife must refuse to make. I will try to trust you better next time.

Welcome Spring!

2009-03-29T17:22:00.011-05:00

You know it must be spring in the midwest when on March 28th you get more snow than you got all winter! It was, however a perfect day for sledding. We even decided to take Mary Emma. We put her in the little backpack carrier, and atached her to Jacob. So much for thrills, though, she slept the whole time. We did manage at one point, however, to get all five of us the sled, and we thought the extra weight would make us go really fast but in fact it only made us sink and go really slow. If look closely, you can see each one of us.

After sledding we decided to come home and build a snowman. The snow was quite wet, and so it was perfect packing.

And so here we are with Elder Frosty, the perfect end of a perfect spring day . . . well maybe not a perfect spring day, but certainly a unique one.

Immunizations and Tornadoes

2009-03-24T12:34:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Camilla had her five year old "school" shots and Mary Emma got her first round of baby shots. I was really impressed with Camilla that she didn't jump off the table at the first prick, but patiently allowed the LPN to give her three more with hardly a complaint. However as we waited the mandatory 20 minutes in case of an adverse reaction, her temper flared. "I don't every want to get any more shots, ever again!!!! OK MOMMY!!!" Poor thing, she has one more to go in six months, but then she's done till she's 11. Well, I explained to her that without the shots she could die (with Jacob in combat zones, we talk about dying all the time), and she decided she didn't want to die. Afterwards, we went for the traditional ice cream, that I remember getting after my school shots. Jacob was hoping I was suggesting the half hour trip into Manhattan to go to Dairy Queen, but no such luck, I opted for the five minutes away Sonic and the dollar menu. I gave Camilla the day off from school expecting her to be lying on the couch in agony, but I was quite mistaken:

As you can see, the wind was blowing quite fiercely yesterday, and continued to get stronger as the afternoon progressed. With Camilla not doing school, I decided to actually spend some time downstairs with my sewing machine. Ironically all three kids were downstairs with me, when the phone rang, Hyrum wasn't quick enough to get it for me, and it rang again. "Honestly Jacob," I thought, "can it be that urgent." Well, the tornado alerts were going off at Ft. Riley and the Commanding General was releasing the entire post to go home, or to get in the bunkers. I wasn't too uptight, I hadn't heard the alarm here, but he did finally convince me to go outside and look at the sky.

Well to me it looked like a pretty standard stormy sky, but from his perspective at the top of the hill it was a picture perfect midwestern thunderstorm sky. Oh well we didn't get any tornadoes, just a few shingles in our backyard from our neighbor's roof, and some hail, but the threat was real. And so I guess if polio, measles, mumps, and rubella, etc. won't kill ya, tornados might. Welcome to Kansas!

We Love Duplo Blocks!

2009-03-24T12:24:00.005-05:00

On Saturday Jacob and the Kids decided to try and build something using all of our duplo blocks. This was the result, with the exception of the wheeled pieces. However, by the end of the day the building was on wheels and was being driven all over the up stairs.

They Grow So Fast

2009-03-18T12:54:00.004-05:00

This is Mary Emma yesterday.
and

This is Camilla when she was a baby.

It seems so hard to believe she is five!

Camilla's New Job

2009-03-18T12:36:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Jeanette's 25 Random things about herself, reminding me of days when we stomped on cans and watched them fill that old garbage can by the side of the house, I thought "hey, that would be a good way for my totally self motivated oldest daughter to earn a little cash." So, on Saturday complete with a bag tied to the stroller and hand sanitizer we set out to see if we could find any cans. Well, as far as I know and have seen, there are no homeless people in Junction City. I honestly don't mean to make fun of the depravity of other people's lives, because they do a great service in keeping our earth beautiful because of the need for ready cash. Well, because no one else is doing that service, you would be surprised to see how many cans there really are here. Jacob was appalled, and almost couldn't look when our little five year old Camilla would come bounding up to us, completely elated, holding a beer can that was spilling on her shoe. "She will live; it's good for immunity," I said, as he was already handing out the hand sanitizer (and he's the one in the Army!) Anyway, just from our walk we picked up 20 cans. Camilla talks about it all the time and can't wait for us to get enough so that we can take it down and turn them in for money. Five year olds are frustrating to say the least, but they sure are fun.

2009-03-18T12:35:00.000-05:00

Just for Jacob, it is 12:34.

2009-03-13T01:21:00.001-05:00

Here we are!

2009-03-13T01:18:00.002-05:00

It is currently 1:00 AM and I'm finally getting my blog up. My goal was to get it up this week, and so here we are . . . exhausted hoping this baby goes to sleep soon.