Tagged

Chelsea tagged me a while ago...I wasn't ignoring it, it just took me a long time to answer such simple questions...

3 Joys:

1. Looking forward to ONE day becoming a grandma!

2. Family Gatherings... preferably with food!

3.Roller blading along the beach in Sunny California! (While listening to my favorite tunes.)


3 Fears:

1. Tight spaces...yes I'm claustrophobic! ( When I was little, my brother and sister rolled me up in a fold away bed and it got STUCK! They had to get the neighbor to get me out!)

2. Total darkness

3. Loss of a loved one


3 Goals:

1. Completing my children's journals and getting them bound.

2. Overcoming my fear of flying. (Can I take drugs to do this?)

3. Completing my "re-certification" for teaching.



3 Obsessions:

1. "Kroger" brand sugar free vanilla pudding.

2. Getting my closets cleaned out and organized!

3. "Law and Order" (I know... but there's always at least ONE on TV)


3 Random Surprising Facts:

1. I want to write a childrens book one day...even if it is only for my grandchildren.

2.I started watching "Sex and the City" when they put the EDITED version on network TV. Even edited, I ended up changing the channel a lot...but I fell in love with the girls, their relationship with each other and the men in their lives. I haven't seen the movie, and probably never will, so someone will just have to tell me if Carrie and Big get married!

3. I recently found out that my parents thought I was the hardest child to raise! (This is understandable if you compare me to "perfect Sue"...BUT BOB?!!

I tag...Lou, Natalie, Katie, Lindsey and Nicole!

For The Young...and Young At Heart!

As I get online and check out the blogs, it occurs to me that "blogging" is really for the young! Don't get me wrong...I LOVE IT! It keeps me in touch with my family both near and far. I have better idea of what's going on in the boys lives through their wives blogs. (Boys generally don't give details unless it is car related!) I keep up with all my darling nieces and nephews and their families through their blogs and I feel MUCH MORE connected! I have even been able to stay in touch with some of my children's friends AND been able to re-connect with my dearest childhood friend! I truly do love it! I wish it had been around when I was raising my children. It is such a great way of 'journaling and scrap booking' all those precious memories...the ones you think you will never forget, but do! So, thanks to all of you! You will never know how grateful I am that you take the time to share your stories and that you allow me to be a part of them! I love you all!

Time Out!

Nick and Chelsea took a well earned "time out" from sales in New Jersey to join Chelsea's family on their family vacation to California. They had a great time and there and they were even able to spend a couple of days in Utah! Blake, Sean, and Steele all arranged to have Monday off, so we could play. To Steele's dismay, there was no sailing... (they were predicting "thunder showers") so we went bowling instead. It was a riot! I don't think any of us had been bowling for years! None of us had great form, but we sure great time!

These are our "Strike Faces!" Blake's strike face.

Sean's strike face... (Such enthusiasm!)

Chelsea's strike face

Nick's strike face! (Can you see his epiglottis?)

I look the most excited...

That's because I RARELY bowl a strike!

Where is Steele's strike face??? Steele didn't get a strike ) : BUT he did get a lot of spares and managed to beat us all in the LAST FRAME! We really had a lot of fun...mainly because we all got to be together. We are looking forward to August when Bry and Bre can join us and we will REALLY have all our family there together!

"Becoming Martha"

OK...not really, but this week I was quite domestic. I use to do a lot more of this stuff when my kids were little, but not too much any more. Part of the reason could be that "my boys" make fun of me for all this stuff! (In particular...Sean, who is looking over my shoulder right now saying "Oh man mom, I can't believe you write about that stuff!") Sad but true!

Thursday, I had a baby shower for one of the girls in our ward and I decided to try and make one of those cute "diaper cakes!" I loaded it up with diapers, onesies, bibs, binki's, spoons, booties and hats. It was fun...mainly because it was all pink! (A color I never got to use!)

And you can't be Martha without a garden! I've been working in mine a lot lately, but I had some extra help this week! Dalton LOVED weeding the garden. He kept saying, "Find another one Nance...GOT IT!"

Finally, it was Dalton's birthday, and Kristin put on the "party supreme!" She invited 10 three year olds to Dalton's "KILLER WHALE" birthday. She had "slip and slides", water ballon fights, (DJ was in charge of this!) wading pools, and blow up killer whales and sharks! She fed them all lunch and made each one of them the cutest "tackle boxes" out of egg cartons filled with "fish" candies and treats. I don't know how she managed it all, especially with the twins! (I think she'll downsize next year!) With all she had to do, I volunteered to make his birthday cake. I used to love to do this when my kid were young! So, here's the finished product! (It's suppose to be a killer whale, but it sort of came out like a cross between a whale, a shark and a dolphin! Luckily, 3 year old don't really care!)

He's The Man! (Steeleman, that is!)

With the end of winter and the onset of spring (summer now), comes all the springtime home repairs. The retaining wall is crumbling, the cooler isn't cooling, sprinkler heads are broken, the fence is falling and needs to be stained...not to mention the yard that has been buried under snow for several months is a mess! About this time a lot women would start searching the yellow pages for the nearest "handy man," but not me...I am lucky enough to be married to the superhero, "Steeleman!"
During the day, he is mild mannered jewelery salesman Steele, by night he ditches his "Armani" suit to don a pair of jeans and become Superhero STEELMAN! Able to lay tile with a single "swipe", repair retaining walls with an artists touch, rebuild a fence with brute strength, and repair the brand new cooler that "mere mortals" installed,( and he isn't even green!) I am in awe of his abilities! With the help of his dad and his brother, he built our home over 22 years ago. He'd NEVER done anything like this before, and I know he felt completely overwhelmed at times, but HE DID IT! I love our home...it not only carries all the wonderful memories of raising our children, it has Steele's touch everywhere!! More than his amazing abilities, he is a WONDERFUL husband and father who truly loves life! I am so blessed to be married to him! He is more handsome than the day I married him (The proof is in the picture!)












and he never fails to make me laugh! So here's to Steele! I love him more than my word can say and I thank him for the joy he has brought to my life...HE IS THE MAN!

A Mother's Moment!

Many years ago, a dear friend gave me a plaque that reads:
"There is a special place in Heaven for the mother of four boys!"
That's hung proudly on my wall for many years. I would look at it often when they boys were young and were in the throws of tantrums, fights, dented walls, holes in walls, snakes, spiders, mud, dirt, Nate, explosives, (notice I put Nate and explosives together...) girls, heartaches, cars, tickets, and accidents! Yes, I freely admit, there were plenty of times, I wondered if I would survive. But now, I look at each of them and I am so proud! So forgive me a moment of indulgence...
Congratulations to Bryan, who just celebrated his 29th birthday! He is in his LAST year of Dental School and NYU and will be starting the Honors Aesthetic Dentistry Program in the fall! He also holds down 2 church callings (he works with both the young men and the scouts!) In his spare time he runs, cracks safes, makes awesome Halloween costumes, builds his own lazer tag guns, and loves and adores his beautiful wife, Bre.
Congratulations to Blake, who has grown from a hot headed, short fused little boy, into a kind, humble and compassionate young man. He works full time and continues to work on his education. (Even though school has never been his favorite thing!) His tender heart and insight endear him to both his friends and family. He serves in the Elders quorum Presidency and he loves the challenge and thrill of sports like rock climbing, snowboarding and sailing.
Congratulations to Nick, who makes people laugh where ever he goes! He and Chelsea just celebrated their one year anniversary and are spending the summer months in New Jersey. Although he seems to live by the Larson Motto, "Everyone has to grow older, but you can remain immature forever," he has grown up a lot in the last two years! One of the things I admire most about Nick is his ability to always stay positive. Even if he is down, you rarely know it. His greatest love is his beautiful wife Chelsea and he is one happy boy since she joined him in New Jersey!
Congratulations to Sean, who is one of the hardest working teenagers I know! When he was in 7th grade, he brought home his 1st report card with straight A's. His cousin Brett jokingly commented that now he had no where to go but down! I think Sean took that to heart, and has worked tirelessly to maintain those "A's". Although he is the youngest brother, he is an example to all of us! He's looking forward to summer and the END OF SCHOOL. He'll be working, attending Boys State, climbing the Tetons and if Steele has his way...he'll be doing lots of sailing!
When they were young, I never thought I'd live to see this day! But I not only survived it, I'm stronger because of it. These boys are my life! I am proud of each of them and all that they have accomplished. I'm grateful for their strengths, their weaknesses, their similarities and their differences. Most of all, I am grateful for their love!

Spring Has Sprung...Finally!

It's been a LONG winter... and so far a pretty cold spring! (We had snow on May 1st.) Maybe that is part of the reason that I have been lousy about updating my blog. It seems all the things I wanted to blog about... I didn't get pictures of... or I ran out of time to write details. So I decided just to hit some highlights of recent happenings! Here it goes...

We had a fun Easter lots of family...and look at Chelsea's Bunny Cake!!










Here are some of the Easter Egg Hunters.



















We took our "annual quick trip" to California for the Long Beach Grand Prix! (I visited with Mom!)
But the boys didn't take the camera so I don't have any pictures of "hot cars!"

Nick moved to New Jersey for 4 months to do summer sales for "Apex." (Chelsea will be joining him soon!) Here's their "new digs!"

After 4 1/2 years of having long hair...Sean got a hair cut! (Handsome isn't he?)

Sean also went to Bountiful High's Prom! (Noooo, NOT with Jared) but they looked so handsome in their tuxes I just had to take their picture before they picked up their dates!

and FINALLY... Spring is here and we're starting to come alive again!