Have you ever wondered...

...what 1,200 pounds of food storage looks like???

Well, look no further my friend, because here it is!

That's right, we FINALLY made the plunge and got a nice start on our food storage. Am I the only one who has felt guilty for the past decade because I didn't have sufficient food storage? It's one of those things that has nagged me for so long, but I just didn't know how to get started. However, thanks to a local woman who spends probably hundreds of hours in organizing a huge multi-stake Walton feed order, I jumped on the bandwagon and bought some staples. Finally.

I'm not sure if I thought it would look like more or less than this, but I'm feeling pretty confident that my family won't starve any time soon. Need to borrow a cup of sugar? I'm your gal. Out of flour? Look no further. Heck, need a few pounds of raw wheat? Give me a call. I even have a wheat grinder. Of course, it's still in the box.... but we can figure out how it works later... right?

They Finally Did It

Well, it took five weeks of hard work but the kids finally completed these:

which translated into their receiving these:

Olivia completed hers a couple of days before her brother, so we got to make two special trips to Target to buy their new scooters and helmets. It was good for them to each have their own trip, complete with effusive praise for a job well done over the past several weeks, and speculation about how much fun they will have riding their brand-new scooter.

All told, I think it was a good experience for them. I'll admit, at times I thought fifty jobs may have been on the excessive side. Their interest and begging for more jobs to do waned after a couple of weeks, but they did complete all 50 jobs, and I wasn't easy on them. They had to work hard for these scooters. Which I'm hoping will help them appreciate these hard-earned prizes all the more.

This afternoon we went to the park just to give them a chance to break in their new scooters. They loved it, and I was so happy for them and proud of them for earning something they will use and enjoy for several years to come. Good job, kids!

Way Back When-sday

This is Ben one year ago. He was three months old.

I love his bald little head, and his happy grin. I don't think he looks a thing like he does now, but maybe that's because I see him every day. The only similarity I see is that he is super cute both then and now.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband who loves and supports me and willingly helps with the kids, even when it's supposed to be his day off. This is a guy whose kids adore him and, dare I say, prefer him over me. I think it has something to do with the fact that he plays Transformers and Rocket Ship and Ogre with them. I just make them do chores.

They sure look sweet, don't they? Wait a second....

Ah, that's more like it! I sure love these cute, crazy people!

Grandma's Visit

Last week Erik's mom came to visit for a few days. It's always fun to see Grandma. The kids love having visitors.

Having a visitor gave us an excuse to take some fun field trips. One day we went here:

It was beautiful.

We had fun digging in the sand, playing in the waves, and enjoying the view.

There was also a zip line there, which suprisingly, both kids went on multiple times. Guess they're growing up and they're not as scared as they once were. And from their huge smiles, I'd say they enjoyed it.
Another day we visited the Getty Museum. We've lived here for 3 1/2 yrs and finally visited this major attraction.



It was really beautiful and interesting. It was nice to expose our kids to some culture for once.

Thanks for coming to visit, Grandma! It was fun to see you!

Fun Family Times

We've had lots of fun things going on the past week and I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. It all started last weekend, when we drove down to visit Erik's sister and see this handsome guy graduate from high school. He is our nephew Jacob and I can't believe he is so grown-up already. Here he is with his proud parents.

We attended his Baccalaureate ceremony (I had never heard of it before, but it was basically a smaller ceremony with a few speakers and musical numbers) where his big bro, the recently returned missionary, was the featured speaker. David is pretty dang tall (7 ft +) so they had some difficulty getting the microphone high enough for him to speak into. Yes, that is a full-grown man next to him.

There were a heck of a lot of people there, and we were proud of how well David did on his talk. That's him way back there at the podium.

The next day was David's homecoming talk at church, which was also great. I didn't get to hear much since I was out in the foyer with Mr. Irreverent Wiggly-Pants, but everyone said it was wonderful. Here's our family with the the valiant RM.

There was lots of family visiting to see and support these two fine young men. We were all pleased with their accomplishments and are proud to call them nephews/grandsons/cousins.

A Whole Handful

My eldest son turned five years old yesterday.

It's hard to believe it's been five whole years. Caleb has added so much to our family. Five of my favorite things about him are:

1. He is a peacemaker. When his sister started to cry because he wasn't playing with the toy she gave him for his birthday, he willingly went over and started to play with it. Once when he and I were playing Monopoly and I started running out of money (secretly rejoicing inside because that meant the game was almost over), he offered to give me some of his money.

2. Caleb loves to have fun. If there is fun to be had, he can find it. When he sees other kids playing at the park, he easily asks if he can join in. He's always asking "What are we going to do today that's fun?"

3. He is silly and easily laughs at himself. He doesn't mind making a fool of himself to get a laugh.

4. He mispronounces words and I don't correct him because it's so adorable. He'll say "be-structions" instead of "instructions"--how cute is that?

5. If Caleb had to choose two food groups to subsist on for the rest of his life, he would choose chips and treats. The boy loves his Cheetos, and can often be heard asking for a treat before 8:00 in the morning. If I didn't feel a parental responsibility to say no, I would totally pull out the brownies and gorge on them along with him.

For his birthday, we had a small family party. He chose funfetti cake with orange-colored frosting and gummy bears on top. He arranged the gummy bears himself.

Make a wish!

He also got some good loot. We've especially been having fun with the marble run the past couple of days. He seemed concerned when I told him I was going to play with his toys when he's at kindergarten in the fall because he got such fun toys. "Just play with them a little bit, Mom, and don't break anything, OK?"

His greatest wish for his birthday was to go to Chuck E. Cheese. So, I braved it with the three kids during the crowded, sweaty afternoon.

Erik offered to meet us there after work, but I figured it was less painful to just take them so I wouldn't have to listen to him ask every five minutes when were we going to go. And after seeing this face, I'd say it was worth it.

Poor Ben was so tired. He was missing naptime.

Luckily we were in and out pretty quick. I love that they can be so happy with one crappy little toy and a mini tootsie pop apiece. Ah, to be young and have low expectations!

We've had fun discovering all the new and improved things Caleb can do now that he's five. "I think you can jump higher now that you're five." "Can I run faster now that I'm five?" "Mommy, I think I can pump higher on the swing now that I'm five!" Yes, buddy, it's true. I think you really can.

Happy Birthday, kid. We sure love ya.

It's Really Over

Way back in August, on the first day of school,



it's hard to believe the last day of school will ever come. It seems so far away. But come it does, and the past couple of days have brought this school year to a close for us. Say good-bye to our preschooler and first grader,



and hello to our new kindergartener and second grader!



It's amazing to me how much they changed from the first day of school to the last day of school.

Let summer begin!!!

Way Back When-sday

I found this one of Olivia when she was 1 1/2... I think she looks so much like Ben here! She was dressed up as a teddy bear for Halloween. She had--and still has--a very special teddy bear. Back then, Teddy was her constant companion, everywhere she went. He even sat on the table next to her highchair. Now he hangs out alone in her room until bedtime. Thus, the teddy bear costume. I can hardly remember her this young. And it's fun to see resemblances between siblings.

Note to Self:

Wait until AFTER the Family Home Evening treat is served to bathe the baby and get him all ready for bed.

Otherwise, you'll just have to do it all over again.

Way Back When-sday: My Shrimpy Hubby

I was looking through some old pictures last night and giggled when I came upon this one that was taken at our wedding reception.

If you haven't ever met my husband it won't be very meaningful to you. But, I assume most of you have. Erik is in the middle in this picture, and he is 6'3". Now, that's fairly tall. He's usually among the tallest in the room at any sort of gathering.... that is, unless the gathering includes his family.
These are Erik's brothers (and one brother-in-law who has been in the family since Erik was 10). My family and I thought it was so hilarious that Erik looked so short and we kept taking pictures. Erik and his brothers didn't get it, but they gamely posed for the "in-law paparazzi."

I still get a kick out of the fact that most places we go, Erik and I are one of the taller couples, and in my family we are both the tallest of our gender by a couple of inches apiece. But when we get together with Erik's family, we are the shorties. My neck gets kind of cricked from looking up so much.

Green Monster

This is what happens when the baby gets ahold of a green marker and the older brother and sister are in charge while Mom and Dad are upstairs getting ready in the morning.

"Don't take it away from him, let him keep chewing on it! It will be soooo funny!"