Monday, June 11, 2012


 Saturday morning we left our home at 4:28am to head about an hour away to the church welfare farm.  It was still dark although this photo would beg to differ.  When we, Doug, me, Shannon and Allan, got there we found out we were clearing out irrigation ditches.  I'm sure S & A would have moaned and groaned, but their dad promised them a financial 'reward' for the work happily done.  (As previously mentioned they are earning money for a Student Council trip the end of July).  So, work they did - as you will see in the photos Shannon's work was a bit different then Allan's.  We had to dig out all of these nauseous weeds along, next to, in and around the canal.  The stickers would get in your glove and you could not pull them out.  UGH!!


 We tried this picture 3 times.  For some reason Allan's shovel kept getting in Doug's face.  Hmm.. Allan.
It's not funny Shannon.




Pig tails for me today.

 Also promised was a trip out to breakfast - wow, these kids are costing us a fortune!
 While Carolyn was running her full MARATHON in Utah, Allan had his breakfast/pancake marathon here.  He did well - with his assistant Shannon, helping along the way.
Now, an embarrassing story.  Last night we picked up Kevin's fiance', Jessii and her sister Millie at the airport, came home and had a few extra of Kevin and Jessii's friends over for Sunday dinner.  While they were wonderful to help clean up and load their dishes and put away food (Thanks Tanner!), all of the heavy duty Sunday pans and dishes were left to do today.  I had a meeting at 10am and with a few things to do this morning did NOT get them done before that time.  So I hurried and shoved them in the oven and microwave.  Believe me, they are jammed in there.



 I made a short video showing what my counter looked like after having washed the 40+ dishes and 24+ silverware, but I can't find it to download it.  I know you would all have liked to have seen that.  Sorry.  Just imagine my whole kitchen counter full to the brim.  And they are still there.  I'm pretty sure my kids did not come running home from Summer School to do their chores.  By 9pm another chore will be added for tomorrow.  hehehe......


Saturday, June 9, 2012



Sadly, I don't even remember the last time I posted and I know I should have looked, but I am so dang tired that I forgot.  I have been super busy lately.  I don't know if I mentioned this last time I was on here, but I had to prepare for our wards girls camp.  There were 21 girls - 6 leaders and one gentleman (to protect us from the  scary stuff).  He slept out in an RV while the rest of us slept in a 2 bedroom - 1 large loft cabin.  We were there for 3 nights and really had a great time.  It is mind-exhausting to have to plan and think for all that stuff.  Girls have to pass off certain requirements at camp.  Girls have to eat at camp: 3 meals and of course snacks each day....and a dessert each night.  Girls have to be nice - an extremely hard thing to hold onto for 4 days.....






Also a special visit from a sweet rap group.  They gave us some great stuff at camp!  Thanks girls- uh....rapsters.  Yeah, that's Shannon.  

On top of girls camp, I got a job.  I think I posted about it, but I am a stocker of grocery store magazines.  I have to tip my hat and say a big 'Thank You' to my mom, Shirley, for helping out last Friday.  What normally would have taken me 4+hours to accomplish, we finished in just over 2 hours.  She was amazing.  I was ready for her to say- 'Um....I'm leaving'.  It was fun working with her.  And I can tell I got most of my work ethics from her.  Thanks Mom.

Also, Kevin's wedding if finally a set-in-stone deal.  The date is June 29th, which is in less than 3 weeks.  Jessii, his fiance' is on her way here now.  She gets here tomorrow at 2pm.  We are excited, way excited.  Her sister, who has never been to America, will be with her and be the major 'chaperone' we needed for K & J.  And with her coming - although, she and sis will be staying in Kevin and her new home, we did major, deep cleaning.  Her family will be coming soon and we need places for them to sleep - and too, we will be doing one more 'renovation' spot in our home and then I hope to call it quits.  We are changing a smaller size bedroom, which is next to our bathroom/laundry room, into ONLY a laundry room, and  making a second bedroom a little larger.  All this and company JILL & JONATHAN coming from Hawaii!!  And bringing of course baby VIN!  Totally exciting!!!!  And in 5 weeks, Jason and Stacey will be getting sealed in the San Diego Temple.  It's a whirlwind of 'stuff' over here.  All of you are welcome to come join my world.



One more thing.  Doug and I, he was the gentleman that graced our camp out, celebrated our 33rd year anniversary up there!  Crazy right?  They surprised us with a 'delish' cake and cute plaque, that is hanging on my living room was as I type. I'll try to get a picture of it and blog it later.   It was so thoughtful of them all to think of us.  Thanks ladies!  And girls too!


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Mother's Day

 Yes, I know it's been over a week since Mother's Day - but this you're going to love!  I promise!!  I am getting to the age that a gift for Mother's Day is kind of embarrassing, albeit, I would never turn anything down because of the thought involved, but this year I requested that my children not give me a gift, per-say, but to write me a poem.  They could follow an Old Mother Goose type poem or go on their own and rhyme away.  I have had children in the past, write and present poems at school, not always to the teachers liking's, which I thought were cute.....right Kevin?   and so I thought that they might enjoy doing this.  Sorry if you didn't like it kids!  Although I only gave them one weeks notice and a promise of a financial reward (which we ended up not doing, just count all the meals I have fixed for you as a reward!)  (cheap, really cheap, I know), they all participated and in-laws too!  So, I am dedicating this blog to my kids and their courageous battle with rhyming!
Mother had a great big heart, with love to overflow:
And everywhere that Mother went, her love was sure to show.
She went about without the fame, doing unto others:
Expecting nothing in return, just like her Elder Brother.
Her qualities of kindness and charity, are only but a few:
These traits she taught now all lie within me and you.
And so she lives her life, oh are we so blessed:
We have such a great Mother, better than the rest.
This was from Jeff!  And yes, he printed it out with a heart already on it!  Thanks Jeff.  I retyped it because I wasn't sure you would be able to see it.
This next one is from Carolyn and I had to just scan it in because it's very rare that you get a cute picture of me, and this is a cute picture of me!!! She got up and sang this song in front of us all...."Four and twenty black birds" song!  Thanks Carolyn!
The next two are from Brian.  I will say Celynda also did it but I don't know for sure and I don't want to leave her out if she was a major part of it....so thank you to both of you!

GO OUT AND PLAY (Based on Come Out To Play)
Oh, my children, go out and play,
I've had enough of you today,
I'm not making supper, just let me sleep,
Go bother some other dear mom down the street.
It if gets late, you might want to call,
But really I won't miss you at all.
Wake me up when you're home so I know,
I won't really wake up from my sleep though.
I'll see you tomorrow, when I am well rested,
Now just leave me alone....and don't get arrested.

C-P-S (Based on Pat-a-Cake)
C-P-S,  C-P-S, at the door,
It's about Shannon, her neck is sore.
Did you scold her or slap her? Her eyes are very pink.
Be careful, Mrs. DeWitt, we'll throw you in the clink.

These next two are from my far-away Jill......and of course Jonathan if he helped!

She.....
She chases away a frown
     when someone is down.
She makes you smile,
     it's just her style.
She is a Robert Redford fan
     but married a better man.
She likes to dance
     with a little bit of romance
     (though some call it a prance).
She collects pictured hearts
     but hates when Doug farts
She, at 40 something, took a sky dive
     and thankfully is still alive.
She surprised me in Hawaii
     but may have told a lie.
She is an example to all
     even though she is small.
She serves all day long
     while singing a song.
She likes to be crafty
     while chomping on ice-y(?)
SHE, I could talk about all day,
     but I won't make you stay.
I just want you to know - 
     before you go;
SHE is my MOM
     and I think she is the BOMB!

Young Becky Sue (Old King Cole)
Young Becky Sue was a mother of eight.
A Mother of eight was she.
She yelled, "Do your chores!"
She yelled, "Don't be late!"
And she called, "Won't you come dance with me!"

Ev'ry child had a jiggle
And a very fine jiggle had she.

Fiddle dee, Fiddle dee
Fiddle dee, Fiddle dee
Fiddle dee, Fiddle dee
Went the jiggling spree.

Oh, there is none who would dare
Such an affair
With Young Becky Sue and her jiggling spree!

Jason's and then Stacey's

A lot can be said about a mother of eight
Who raised all those kids and each one turned out great.
Here's a few things that I've kept in store,
A message to you, Mom, from child number four.

I've been taught responsibility through lists full of chores:
Which especially came in handy while I was knocking on doors.
While serving on that mission, you wrote me every week,
Which encouraged me greatly when tracting looked bleak.

I know more about driving from riding with you -
Sorry Dad, but deep down you know this is true.
You kept me in line and I never did drugs:
Probably 'cause I knew you'd smell my shirt when we hugged.

I've truly been taught how to love and serve others.
Too bad I didn't use this to help my three brothers.
I always felt welcome when I came back home.
Even when it was just for food, I never heard you groan.

The best thing I learned from you in my life
Was how to pick the very best wife.
She's perfect for me and I know I'm not wrong;
'Cause there's a whole lot of you I see in her, Mom.


Many years ago, I was a guest in this house
Then only just friends with your son. - I never imagined he'd one day be my spouse.

Seven years later - I found myself here once more.
This time carrying a lot more baggage but you never asked me to explain the life I had before.

Thank you for accepting me and never judging me for my past,
For supporting Jason's decision to marry me - even if the wedding came a little fast.

Thank you for making me feel at home- an instant part of your family.
You are my mom while mine is gone - loving and accepting me for me!

You welcomed me with open arms and my rowdy toddler too;
You made us feel like family and for that I truly thank you!

You might all need to take a break - stretch out a bit......half of the kids are done (with extras thrown in) and only a few more to go, but you might need to stretch, check what's on TV, go get the mail, play a game on your ipod, but then come on back.....!  


Kevins......
To the One Who is Over All
I hope, dear Mother, that I can express
the feelings you bring of true happiness.
They come with scowls and a loud yell,
You'd think for sure we'd be in hell.

But we kids all know 
That this is how it must go:
We do things wrong, we do things bad
And it is not anger, but love, that gets mad.

Your love knows what is best
To help us pass any test.
Boundaries are set, rules are made
Which help our foundations to be laid.

We go to Dad to ask permission,
This next fact is no superstition.
His love is good, his love is true, 
That's why he sends us to you.

My habits annoy you, I have no doubt.
To farting at the table, Shan & Allan 'deserving' a shout:
Not cleaning the house and being lazy,
It gets repetitive, the days probably hazy.

As child number 5, I can see
That your love is equal to him her and me.
Through all my faults, I just want you to know
My love for you is deep, and I'll never let it go.

Katie - and Brandon for letting her be silly for me!

Mom, you are beautiful from your head to your cuticle.
Now that I moved away, that's the way it's going to stay.
But I really do love you and I will always be there for you.


Shannon's (a 2 pager)  <3 I Hope We Were Worth It
Day after day of cleaning and scrubbing
As kids we found ways to make it fun and unforgetting
(Brian was the best at it though).
They all started to grow up
Katie was about to turn 6
But then you went to the doctors
And found out you were having another little chick.
Once she was born you started to think:
She needs a friend who will be there to understand and to see
So you willingly had another child.
A chubby, little oddball, who was as funny as he could be.
As the years went by siblings would start to leave here and there.
There was no one left to play with. 
The list of our chores was getting more and more full.
Days grew longer and the nights were dark,
All you could hear was Toby's weird bark.....
Day after day of ENDLESS cleaning and scrubbing,
You ask us kids to help and just end up shouting.
You give everyone the silent treatment
And after a while we start to miss your voice.
You could care less about what we miss
All you want is for things to be done and dismiss.
You hate it when we touch your buns
And when we are loud during church, a ton.
You don't have the energy to chase us around anymore.
You obviously don't like doing the dishes or the chores:
(Like the cups with the gross milk ring at the bottom).
We love you regardless and are sorry for all the trouble,
Especially the problem of number 7.
Getting CPS on you and them coming after you by the double.
You have been a great Mom and we hope you believe it
Otherwise, I wouldn't have written you such a long poem.
As you can somewhat see it,
(unless you are wearing one of your bent up glasses).
With you around - days are such blasts.
Soon Allan and I will be gone
(Gee....that came fast)
After we leave, you and Dad, can fulfill your dreams
of traveling in the RV and having the whole world to see.
We will miss you dearly and hope you can come visit often.
You guys are our world, our sky, and our air;
We can't live without you.
I hope we were worth it, Mom.
Otherwise, this Mother's Day poem I wrote, was just another storybook rhyme.

Funny, funny Allan.........

Dear Mother, you assigned us to rhyme, 
But I ran out of time.

Again.....thanks to all of my children!  I love you all so much!  


Monday, May 21, 2012


the whole 'cruise' gang!  Looking forward to our next one...Alaska
Holding hands!  Ed and Gayle

Brad and Brenda


Julie and Isabelle (is that a sad face we're seeing?)
Xander is doing okay!

 I love this first photo of Alan and Linda!  The second one was more to catch the scenery!

 Of course a heart was spotted.....As I had to stand at my, um...I forget what it's called....the place where they give you instructions about how to put on your life vest in case we crash, etc., the flourscent light had a paint mark on the corner.  Yep, a perfect heart!


This one I think was in my crock-pot after cooking our roast.

Okay, this is good.  As some of you know I am into Pinterest.....a lot....and some of the comments on there are about how lame we 'pinners' are by just sitting and pinning neat things but never really doing much about them.  So, one of the things I pinned was this ant pesticide that for sure would get rid of ants.  You take 1 cup of sugar, 3 Tablespoons of Boric Acid and 3 cups of warm water.  Soak cotton balls in a lid, maybe even dribbling some of the 'juice' along the side of the lid, and wah-la the ants will come.  And come they did.  Our counter color is one where we don't always see the ants until they are attached to a piece of bread we are about to eat ( I know, you all went....eeewww.....) and so I wanted to give this a try.It worked!  This was the first day.  We still had a few ants the second day, but by far less.  I love it!  

Also, I haven't blogged too much because of a few reasons.  I got a job.  Yep, a real job.  I am a stalker.  I stalk magazines at 2 Fry's grocery stores in the area.  I'll see if it's worth staying, but I like it so far.  I work 2 days a week, about 4 hours each of those days.  It's slightly embarrassing to put out publications like: Enquirer, Soap Opera Digest, the Examiner, but of course I get all the fun ones too.  
Also, I have working my buns off, yes, I need to lose weight from the cruise food, but I really haven't seen to much success there yet, but it feels like I'm working them off, for girls camp.  I am the camp director once again this year.  It is a ward year, so we will be staying at a cabin,  more of a rustic cabin this year instead of the wilderness Stake camps.  The cabin only has one flush-able toilet so we have rented a Porta John.  They will only be allowed one flush visit a day - other than that it's out in the outhouse for the rest of the time.  If we had to pay for it out of the budget, we are going to make them use it, by golly!   We are still tweaking a few things like these name things, but all in all I think we are ready and anxious to go!  Maybe anxious to get it over with?  
My Mother's Day blog will be coming soon!  

Monday, May 7, 2012

Cruise Highlight

 Doug and I  have returned from a Mexican Riviera Cruise where we were with 2 of his sisters and his 2 brothers and their spouses, for 7 lovely nights.  The highlight of the cruise


sexy leg stance (to hook the harness)
besides the food, and the wait-staff, and of course the free entertainment, and 
my favorite people watching time, was a Zip-Line
course in Puerto Vallarta.  there were 12 lines all together and it was amazing.  As you can tell by the brown trees it wasn't their lush rainy season, but it was fun.  Here in this picture is me hanging upside down with one of the 'lineguys' riding tandem.  It was quite the experience and I loved every minute.

 This was the last zip right over a small creek and they would bounce the cable to splash you at the end.  Doug didn't get splashed....hmmmm.
Then after going down all the zip-lines thank goodness they had mules for us to ride up the mountain.  We had a great time with most of the family and missed those that couldn't come.  But thanks for the memories!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Fun in Hawaii

Go back and read the blog about us surprising Jill if you haven't done that yet.  Here we are in their apartment having a little bit of fun.  We were so excited to be there with Jill, Jonathan and of course little Vin! 
 Vin was sleeping now, but Doug tried this with him later and he didn't like it one bit. 

Surprising Jill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-qneeoPkaY&feature=youtu.be

I hope this link works.  I'm still struggling with this new blog.  The reason we are so quiet (after the first yell), was that Vin was asleep!  We think we totally surprised her....luckily she hadn't read a text message from Jason asking if she was sitting around with Mom and Dad.  Longer story there, but not necessary for right now.