In the beginning...

Eric was 14 and Marla was 10 when they met.  Their families had cabins in the same community just outside of Lake George, Colorado.  Eric liked to fish and ride his dirt bike.  Marla liked to hang with her sister, Shalah, and Eric's sister, Kirsten.  Being the youngest, Marla often got left behind as Kirsten's 3 wheel ATV could only carry 2 people.  Eric's dad felt sorry for Marla and made Eric take Marla wherever the other girls were going.  To a 14 year old boy this was not the epitomy of excitement, but he obeyed. For a couple summers, on the weekends, one could find Eric toting Marla around on the back of his dirt bike.  Years later, Eric ran into Marla again up at the cabin, and well, she had grown up.  After much effort on Eric's part to swoon Marla, he finally had won her heart.  A never ending love story commenced.

Who We Are

As a Family, we all enjoy being together and having fun!  We are all about FUN!  We have 4 dirt bikes and a 4 wheel ATV which we love to take to the mountains and ride.  We have an RV that we jump in and roam the country in together.  We are NASCAR fans and love to watch and attend races.  (Eric and Colton are Jeff Gordon fans, Marla and Daniel are Jimmie Johnson fans, and Joshua and Dylan are Kyle Busch fans)  The boys are all into sports.  Eric coaches Colton's little league baseball team and manages his own fast ball team.  The boys all play baseball except Daniel who is a great gymnast!  Marla, well, she drives everyone from place to place and possibly gets a glimps of a practice or game every once in a while.  Eric and Marla have recently taken up a new hobby of scuba diving as well.  As if all this wasn't enough to keep a family busy, we are very active in The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints.  We all stay busy with the callings and activities that the Church offers us!  Our lives are truly blessed with love for each other, love for our Savior, and love for life!

Monday, November 2, 2009

The funny things kids say.....

So, we went to the Museum of Nature and Science today.  Grandma came along.  It was fun.  My favorite part was looking at the animal dioramas with Dylan.  We were in front of the polar bear exhibit when I asked him, "Where do the polar bears live?"  He just looked at them and then up at me and said, "Right here."  Duh!
We are home now.  I am heading to bed because I am getting a headache.  Dylan just said he had a headache, too.  I asked him where it hurt.  He said, "It hurts in my stomach" as he pointed to his throat.  That is quite the headache, huh?
Times like these make me love being a mom!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

I need professional help!

So, writing is my least favorite subject. It is my biggest weakness as a homeschool mom. Fortunately for me, I have friends! Today, my friend Ashley Sorensen came to help the boys with some of their writing assignments. So glad she came! She has been a high school English teacher, but took the year off because she is pregnant with her first baby. It's good to have friends!
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Monday, October 12, 2009

Pain in the ..............heads!

My kids have been home for 15 days now!  I have had a headache on all but 3 of those days!  REALLY?!  I don't need more pain killers.  A tazer would probably do the trick!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Politics

"It is fast approaching the point where I don't want to elect anyone stupid enough to want the job." ~~~Erma Bombeck

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Erma Bombeck

A friend of mine asked me who Erma Bombeck was. My simple answer is "My hero." A housewife, mother and humorist author, she makes me laugh at disasters (especially other peoples) and realize that I am not alone in this crazy life of motherhood. (Funny, I became a fan as a teenager.)  She past away in April 1996 (when I was pregnant with my first child) of kidney cancer. I remember that being a very dark day in my life and I cried. I didn't know how I would survive motherhood without her. Luckily, she left a legacy of wisdom and laughter behind.  I have decided to try and post quotes from Erma Bombeck on a regular basis.  Here is the first one.

"Housework is a treadmill from futility to oblivion with stop offs at tedium and counter productivity." ~~~Erma Bombeck

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

"They're baaa-aaaak!"

Yes, I feel almost like I am in the movie Polergeist!  I have been overtaken by less than angelic spirits and I don't know where to run and hide!  The boys have been back a week now.  I spent all last week fighting a very long migraine!  Spent one night on the floor by the toilet, vomiting my guts up and wishing that I was just a speck of dust!  Of course, they behaved wonderfully for Nana and she had very little problems with them.  Why are kids always a treat for everyone else and a trick for the parents?  Afterall, I gave them life!  Although I did just about rescind that blessing a few days ago!
We have busily been trying to get back into a routine.  Schoolwork is not all caught up yet, house is back to looking like.........I am already exhausted of all the rest and relaxation that I took in while they were away.
General Conference this weekend was a nice little spark of sweetness in our home, but alas, it is over and the boys have forgotten any sense of charity towards one another.  I was able to escape to the Temple this morning with a friend and do sealings.  How precious are the moments one can spend in the House of the Lord.  If only I could have stayed there!  At least I was helping those beyond the veil to have celestial family opportunities!
As I write this, they are playing a game of baseball in the backyard (PE class) and one of them came running into the house with door slamming open and another in chase, yelling and screaming about rules of the game!  Uggghh!  Where is the little girl who wants to quietly play dolls with me?  Calgon!  Take me far, far, far away!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Missing my kids

Ok. So it has finally happened! They have been gone since September 2nd, and I am ready to admit that I am kinda missing my kids. Not all the noise and mess and contention that comes along with them, but the sweet moments that make your heart leap with joy and make you smile. Here was one of those moments. This is a picture I took just a few weeks ago of Dylan. We had gotten home late from somewhere and he was sound asleep. Of course I insisted that he use the potty before I put him to bed. Who needs a bed? Not him apparently! I came back to tuck him in a while later and here he was, still using the potty....sound asleep. You just have to laugh. That's the part of my kids I am missing right now. They get home in two more days.
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

More snow!

How I wish we were somewhere like Tennessee!  I am so tired of this snow in September!  It is reported that we, here in Castle Rock, may get 2-10 inches of snow today!  What is up with that?  It is truly bumming me out!  Anyway, not much to blog as the kids are still in Missouri.  Just to note that I heard from Colton this morning that he lost a tooth while attending the Andy Williams Show.  Two kids losing teeth this week.  Keeping that tooth fairy busy, I suppose!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

First Snow of the Season

It happened yesterday.  I can hardly believe that such a beautiful day on Saturday (in the 80's) could disappear so quickly and turn to snow on Monday (30's)!  I am too sad about the summer being gone!  On the bright side, Joshua lost his very first tooth on Sunday.  An event that has been most awaited for!  A happy phone call reached me as I was leaving church.  Yea for Joshua!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A Happy Birthday!

Yesterday I turned 36.  I don't feel 36.  Where did the time go?
I got to sleep in and then Eric took me to brunch at Le Peep's for my favorite, Eggs Benedict.  We then went to Superior, Colorado for Eric to play in a baseball tournament in honor of young man who was killed in an auto accident.  It was an all day tourney, so I consider myself a pretty nice wife for letting my husband play on my birthday, however, I really enjoyed it as I sat in my lounge chair and listened to "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen on CD under the shade of a tree.  It was quiet, relaxing, and enjoyable and the perfect weather.  On the way home, Eric picked up some bbq to take home.  We cuddled and watched a movie.  I am very fortunate to have a best friend like him.  It never ceases to amaze me at how much I love spending time just being with him.  He was concerned that my day was nothing special and there really was no pomp and circumstance, but I assured him that just being with him made it the perfect day.  It truly was a happy birthday.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The little things in life

I realized yesterday how the little things in life can make such a difference.  For instance, Eric and I have been home without the kids for 5 days now and I have yet to take out the trash in the kitchen (usually once daily if not twice!) and I have yet to run a load of dishes (usually twice daily), I did the initial laundry from out trip and tidied up the house and have not touched it again!  I do hope my children understand how much I love them, but love the thought of empty nesting!  I promise that when they have their own families, I will come visit AT THEIR HOMES as often as possible!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Time to blog

I have wanted to start a blog for a long time now, but have lacked the time it takes to set one up.  I have finally found some!  Eric and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Aruba where we did 11 scuba dives.  We had a fantastic time and made some good friends.  The boys were picked up by my dad right before we left and wisked off to Branson, Missouri to stay with them.  They are still there!!!  Alas!  I have some time to myself!  After all these years of having the boys around 24/7/365 (downfall of homeschooling), I am finally able to have time to blog, scrapbook, sleep, read, watch chick flicks.....the list goes on and on!  So far, I am enjoying every minute of it!  The peace and quiet is heavenly!