Life AWAY From the Red Brick House...

Guilty Feeling

2011-06-12T17:32:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm feeling a little guilty - actually a lot guilty.... I haven't written a post forever! I really don't know what happened - I guess after a few months of being in DC, I finally got a life and no longer had time to write. That's not to say that those who post all the time don't have lives - I mean you probably have way cooler lives than me. It's just that writing isn't one of my favorite things to do so it automatically falls to the bottom of the list - even behind folding laundry. Yesterday Nathan even went so far as to suggest that maybe he should contribute once in a while which I would LOVE!! So here's keeping my fingers crossed.

Our adventure in DC continues - winter finally ended and so did our cabin fever. The household grumpiness barometer dropped dramatically. What can I say - a little warmth and sun does our family good. Thankfully we made it through the winter without any major illnesses which is surprising considering all the germs lingering in the metro and in elevators. That was a major schwoo for us. Jackson and Audrey began taking piano lessons which filled our house with music and additional nagging from the parents to "Practice"!

My lovely sister and husband came and stayed with us for a few days while they braved the January weather and saw the sights. It was so awesome to have them - I love to have people come and stay with us and it made me just a little bit homesick when they left.

Jane continues to be the challenging two year old that she is. However, due to the claustrophobic conditions in which we live she doesn't get away with anything and as a result, I think she will be fit for society in about six months. (okay, i'm kidding but really, I'm not)

Nathan is working so diligently learning the romantic language of Slovak. He is an excellent tutor as well and although I have yet to learn many necessary phrases in order to navigate through everyday life, he did successfully teach me how to say "I would like to buy 50 Snicker bars please". Worried, nervous, scared about moving there in two months you ask - nah, I think I'm all set.

Jackson and Audrey still have school for a few more weeks but lucky for us - we are flying home to Utah on the last day of school. Back to the things most familiar for us - See's candies, big gulps at Harts, BYU Creamery and Chuck-a-Rama (it's all about the scones baby). We are looking forward to spending the month of July celebrating our country's independence, Draper days and Pioneer day with our families. Sadly, Nathan has to stay here but hopefully we'll get to see him a few weekends (thank you skymiles!)

I realize this post is somewhat boring and a little disjointed but to add even more chaos - I have posted some random photos I've taken during the past few months. I hope it all makes sense.

Nathan's mother came out the second weekend in April and Nathan and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary in rural Pennsylvania. We stayed in our own little cabin at the Silver Springs Lodge. The highlight of the trip (besides spending time together -ahh) was touring Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water. It was breathtaking. Photos don't do it justice. It was really inspiring and while Mr. Wright's personal life was quite frankly a disaster - he was a truly talented man. He designed this house at the age of 65 and went on to design 400 other structures before he died. No retirement for this man.

You can take the man away from the city but you can't take the iphone away from the man.

We left for Pennsylvania about 6:30 on Friday evening - it was already dark and the further we drove from DC, the more foggy it became. It was a nightmare trying to get there in the fog. In my mind I just kept praying "don't let us die, don't let us die on our 13th Anniversary trip!" The fog stayed around all weekend and this is what it looked like when we drove home Sunday. I am taking a picture of McDonalds, and as you can see, you can barely make out the sign. Crazy.

The time stamp on this is March 14th, 5:45 AM!! Yes - Jane woke up early and found a cake box mix and begged me to make a chocolate cake. She wouldn't give it up and she kept saying "peeze, cake, peeze, cake". I mean honestly, I was going to make it eventually anyway and what the heck, 5:45 am was as good a time as any.

Audrey ticked off one more item on her bucket list - visit Georgetown Cupcakes. She and I watch the reality show DC Cupcakes and we have both been dying to go try it out. Well, we finally went but we kinda cheated. We went to the one in Bethesda because the one in Georgetown always has a really huge line. It still felt like the real deal, I mean the cupcakes were $2.75 each and they came in this really cute box and bag. Audrey was beyond excited. It's a 7 year old girl thing.

Jane enjoyed the frosting!

Walking around downtown Bethesda. It's so fun shopping with kids - so fun.

Jane and I had to run an errand at the LDS DC Temple. It's always so pretty there. Jane just loved waking around the grounds. She and I are little buddies while Jackson and Audrey are in school. The two Amigos.

Jackson annoyed I am taking a picture of him.

Often on Sunday's, we'll take a walk to this water park near us. The kids like horsing around while we are there as you can see from above. It is always very pleasant...until it's time to leave. As you can see below, Jane gets mad.

Here, she is REALLY mad. Parenthood is so rewarding.

I can't even stand to look at my blog

2011-01-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have blogged and when I don't write for many days, then I just dread going to my blog and viewing the blog list on the right of my blog and seeing that everyone I know has recently posted. They have in fact posted several times since my latest entry so it makes me feel very guilty and like a complete blogging looser.

So, to sum it up in a nut shell, Christmas came and it was wonderful. A day and a half later, the tree was undecorated and thrown out on the balcony to be dealt with later (possible fire code violation, I'm not sure). New Years came and we didn't stay up until midnight again. Woo-hoo, we are real party animals. The kids begged us to stay up but we assured them that really not much happens when the old year switches over to a new year and I was happy to realize that upon reading the paper the next morning, I was not a liar.

My New Year's resolution is to not set any. I am not saying this as a joke or as a way to be funny. I just mean that to me, it seems kind of ridiculous to put all this pressure on yourself that because it is January 1st, you are now going to accomplish all these many different and great things. If by chance you don't follow through, then you won't feel like you can start all over again until next year. If it works for you then forget what I said but if you are like me, then you at least know there is someone else out there like you!

I was thinking the other day how lucky my kids are to be growing up with all this technology available to them. They will never not know what Facebook, youtube or texting is. I mean how cool is that? Any friends they meet along the way in life, they will always be able to communicate with and in our current circumstance, I think that is pretty neat. I had friends growing up and in college that I wish I still kept in touch with, but because I don't know how to spell their name correctly (and honestly I'm not a good speller anyway), I'll probably never be able to reconnect (trust me, I don't spend hours upon hours on Facebook trying different combination's of their name). It's easy to find people you knew in high school because you had a yearbook but college is a bit more tricky (thank goodness for that because I could only stand to have four books full of ugly pictures and "stay cool 'till next year!" in my possession). Last night, Audrey chatted with her BFF's (her words, not mine) on web cam and then we all talked with my parents on web cam. It helped make the distance between us not feel so far. In the words of Napoleon Dynamite's brother, "I love technology".

We are still staying quite cozy in our tiny little two bedroom apartment and since it is so cold outside, our kids have created their own indoor skate park in the second level of the underground parking garage. I just keep thinking that it's all fun and games until someone doesn't make the tight corner and the next thing you know, I'm pulling a scooter handle out of the hood of that custom Mercedes parked down there.

Okay, now that I have at least posted something - I can stand to look at my blog again and hopefully I will be a bit more consistent in my entries. Just so you know, I love all of you who comment and I love to read what you think. I am just not sure how to reply back - do I post a comment or do I email you back? I have no idea about the blog etiquette but for all you potential FSO's who find this and would like to know more about anything (I really am not a font of information about the Foreign Service, I'm just sayin') I am happy to try and answer your questions. Just so you know, my husband is the Foreign Service officer so while I think that's really great, it's his job- not mine and I can only comment on just basic life here in Crystal City and the school my kids go to because that's what I know. Our life is anything but dull at the moment and certainly an adventure.

It's Christmas Time in the City

2010-12-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

I know I got a few weeks behind in my blog. Here's the low down on the past month or so...

1. Thanksgiving was shared with our friends and our next door neighbors ... Megan, Zachary, Kai, Lucia and Pandora (our favorite furry friend in the building). Megan and I combined our efforts and made a lovely meal but it must be said that her half of the meal was the better half of the meal. She is a foodie and a very good cook so we were well fed. As for my portion of the meal, lets just say the I brought the traditional green bean casserole and jello concoction along with a few other things but none of my recipes came from Bon Appetit (as in the gourmet magazine). I learned a very valuable lesson, always surround yourself with others who love to cook yummy food and you will never go hungry.

2. Jackson and Nathan converted our bedroom into the "Man Cave" (Jackson's words, not mine) for the past four Saturdays and a few week nights as well. I have mentioned this before, but Nathan and Jackson are HUGE BYU Football and Basketball fans (sorry women's team, only Men's basketball are on their radar). When the Cougars are playing, they stream KSL over the computer and either watch the game on TV or on the Web. Sometimes, they have our TV, desktop computer and Nathan's iPad all going at the same time while noshing on popcorn. Audrey and I have learned that it is better to leave the apartment when this is going on and head to the mall. Oddly enough, Jane seems to enjoy game day enough that she chooses to hang out with the boys over us girls.

3. Finally joined a gym. Nathan and I are not those kind of people that can just eat and eat and never gain weight no matter what they do. (Hate those kinds of people, try to avoid them as I just cannot empathize with them no matter how hard I try) Jane enjoys playing with the kids in the kid club in the mornings but those places are just crawling with germs. I try not to dwell on this fact too much as I run like a hamster on the treadmill.

4. Found my mecca - G Street Fabrics. Fabric stores make me happy but they make my kids sad, angry and impatient. How can one place be a sanctuary for me but a torture chamber for my kids? Such a shame they have no appreciation for the finer things in life.

5. Visited the National Geographic Magazine Museum with the kids. Fabulous! Gecko exhibit was awesome and the music exhibit was even more awesome. Recommend it to everyone.

As you can see, we bought a tree (our first real one in years) and made homemade paper ornamates. But I felt the tree was lacking so I bought a roll of ribbon at Costco and put ribbon all over it. Very original, I know but honestly, who doesn't love a Christmas tree with ribbon and paper all over it?? I think even the Grinch would come and take my tree 'cause ya just feel festive looking at it.

To give my apartment that real "oh, la, la" factor, I fashioned some large paper stars and paper chains out of decorative craft paper. As you can see, I gave this photo a fuzzy, softening effect just to portray to you, the warm, happy feeling we feel sitting under this festive canopy. Who says you need lots of money to make Christmas special in your house? Well, actually, I don't think you need money however, I do think you need to be tasteful vs. tacky and this is just me saying this but I think I crossed the line a little bit this year to the tacky side! Hope you're all enjoying this wonderful, yet chilly time of year!

"Houston, we have lift off"

2010-11-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

Well - after much guessing and trying to figure out where we could possibly be going - we found out yesterday in front of the rest of Nathan's piers and their family and friends that we will be spending our first two year assignment in Bratislava, Slovakia. We had bid it high but honestly didn't give it much thought because it is such a crap shoot as to where you will be assigned and on the bid list there are some great places but a lot of places one might bid medium and a lot one would bid low.

When we met with our CDO (career development officer) a few weeks ago she told us that where would be assigned would essentially come down to luck. When she said this, my stomach just kinda dropped because Nathan and I haven't traditionally experienced a lot of luck. I'm not saying we are not blessed because we are - we have a lot and for that I am truly grateful. I am talking about pure luck such as winning a game when playing with friends, winning the car or the vacation for two when you purchased one raffle ticket for $1 or getting a promotion at work when you've only been there for a year - that kind of luck, we are not so good at attracting. So honestly, when we talked about where we would be going, I was prepare for some crazy, off the wall place where there would be an element of some danger and a warning to not, at any cost, drink the water.

Imagine my surprise when they said "Slovakia, Bratislava, ... Nathan Ringger"! I was excited but admittedly knew nothing about this post, not even where it was located. When I saw how happy Nathan was, I knew it was a good thing and then when this nice lady sitting next to me looked notably disappointed and said that's the one they wanted, I thought it was probably a very good thing. From what I have researched so far, it is an hour drive from Vienna and is four hours from Germany. We can fly for $50 to many countries in Europe. This is so surreal to me. I can't believe my kids will be raised at least for a little while in Eastern Europe. When I was in college, I thought it sounded so cool to backpack through Europe, who knew I would one day live there with my peeps. Unreal!!

I know there will be lots of growing pains and difficult moments a head, but for now I am just so excited. We will move to our post in September of 2011 which is fantastic because we are on a great rotation considering we have kids and they won't have to move during the school year as we move from post to post.

Nathan and I feel like we can breath a sigh of relief because we no longer need to worry about feeling like our life is so up in the air. We have a plan!! Yea. Life is stressful until Flag day because all you think about is the "What if" scenario. I feel bad for those that didn't get anything they wanted and especially for those who got Mexico. All I can hope for is that you will get your dream post after this one!! So I guess I will be going to language classes with Nathan beginning February and learning Slovak (I am sure to use this language the rest of my life). Heaven help my instructor.

These are images I snagged from Google. Apparently this is a picture of old town Bratislava.

Bratislava is located between two rivers and many people who have been there have said it is beautiful. From the looks of these pictures, I would have to agree. Oooo - it even looks like they have a river boat cruise, now you're talkin'!

The Skinny on Crystal City Oakwood

2010-11-20T10:03:00.000-08:00

I decided to post the 411 on living as a family of five at the Oakwood in Crystal City. Prior to your move, the State Department gives you a list of Oakwood properties at several different locations and it is hard to know what ones are better and why. I would have loved to find out any information I could so I thought I would throw my two bits out there and see if it helps anyone in cyber world.

When we got the list of Oakwood properties, we knew without having to think very hard, we wanted Crystal City. Reason? LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! It's right in the middle of Crystal City, which is located in Arlington. We are two blocks away from the only Costco in Arlington (any family of five must have the capability to purchase ginormous grocery's and 25 rolls of toilet paper at once), three blocks away from the library, park and mall (Nordstrom for the ladies, Apple store for the men, food court for the kids). Best Buy and Nordstrom Rack are adjacent to Costco across the street. There is a Harris Teeter within walking distance as well but I hear that it's a more expensive grocery store so I usually hit the Shoppers grocery store once a week that is two miles away and near a Target.

The biggest benefit is the Metro right underneath our building - you don't even have to go outside to get your ride on! The Smithsonian is about 10 minutes away on the metro and so slick to ride - even with three kids and a super-sized stroller (however I do recommend not going during rush hour - you will enjoy your ride A LOT more). There is a Rite-Aid in the basement/Crystal City Shops and let me tell you, I had no idea I would ever buy as much as I do at a Rite-Aid. They have basic groceries (no produce) and milk. It's amazing what you can find there. Coming from the land of Wal-Mart, Super Target, Sam's Club and Costco- It has literally been years since I have been in a legitimate drug store but, they are a-okay with me. I even have a frequent shopper card!

The park is great for basketball, tennis and basic running around. The Mount Vernon trail is two blocks away (I know I keep saying that but we really are located right in the middle) and you can run/bike into D.C. or out to Mount Vernon if your little heart so desires. The Pentagon Row outdoor ice skating rink just opened up for the season so have no fear you ice divas out there, there is something for you too! There are a ton of dogs all around Crystal City so if you have a four legged friend you desire to bring with you - they will be loved and admired by all (unfortunately I can't say that about kids - people are not fans of kids around here). There are a total of 17 floors in the building accessed by three elevators complete with an Oakwood employee that sits at the front desk to answer any questions and to receive packages (yes, just like the movies).

There are many, many restaurants within walking distance and an especially delicious Kabob place that is open 24 hours (even tho I may not go there at 3am, I just love knowing that I can)!! A fantastic pizza delivery restaurant that you allows you to place your order online and they deliver right to your door - you don't have to talk to anyone and if you include a 20% tip with your order, the delivery person drops it off and and runs - he doesn't linger, hinting for more money. Very great pizza, very great service. We also order from Potbellies, located in the basement, and then pick it up when our order is ready. Great for a week night when you don't want to cook and you don't want to drag the fam to a hectic dinner out. I could go on and on about the restaurants but this gives you the idea that you will not starve while you are here.

Talking about food leads me to my next subject - working out. There is a gym in the Oakwood with a few treadmills and weights. It is what you might expect to see at a hotel - decent but not lavish. I quickly located a gym to join that is again, about 2 miles away and very easy to get to. It's LA fitness and it is brand new and very beautiful. They have a small daycare that is great for toddlers but not a viable option for anyone over 4 simply because they may get bored. Now that we know where we are going, I plan on joining the gym and trimmin' some of the A-100 5lbs! Vacation mode is over, time to settle in for the long haul seeing as how we won't be out of here until September.

This brings me to the whole elementary school situation. My kids attend Oakridge elementary which is a boundary elementary school and happens to be ranked higher than the other elementary schools nearby. School begins at 9:00am and goes until 3:36pm (early out day on Wednesday). My children ride the bus so they get picked up at 8:40 and dropped off a little after 4:00pm (bus stop is nearby but kids must cross a very busy road, I always walk with them). This is a long day for the kids but it is what it is. Apparently they have before and after school programs for elementary kids whose parents work but you pay for these and I don't know much about what happens there. If this is something you might be doing, rest assured that many kids participate in this and your kid will not be the only one in their class going early or staying late. The principal does not answer emails very well, if at all, but look on the school website, or call ahead to talk to the school Registrar and figure out all the paperwork you need to bring in order to register your children. Let's just say it is very handy the State Department makes everyone get physical exams with TB tests as well - very handy indeed as this is a requirement for anyone entering Arlington Public School System. The school is very used to kids moving in and moving out that the teachers are extremely accommodating. Very pleasant and happy to work with your child in whatever way necessary. Our son was in a gifted program in Utah and I am sad to say the gifted program is not as great here but we are making the best of it and his teacher is trying to challenge him where she can so I am not worried about it at all. Very Very Happy!

Much to our sadness, the pool here is an outdoor pool so we can't wait for the summer time to bust out the swim toys. We have gone over to the adjacent Marriott and gone swimming in their pool but it's not that big and you have to walk through their conference room area so it's kinda awkward trapezing through a sea of business men and women with three kids in swimsuits and flip flops on. There is also a life guard on duty that has to watch the pool at all times and when you are the only family they have seen in two days, you feel quite literally like a fish in a fishbowl.

There are really no negatives to living here but I am generally not a negative person and who can be negative when your housing is paid for? I mean honestly - I am not going to complain (very much). We are in a two bedroom that is small but has ample closet space. We even have a small walk-in closet in the master bedroom that a crib fits perfectly into so we are not able to fit any clothes in there but hey, Jane has her own room which is huge to us! (two bedroom turned three). Jackson and Audrey have a room they share together with two twin beds and I wish they had bunk beds because it would really free up the floor space but I don't even know if that would be an option here. The Oakwood always addresses any maintenance issues right away and the maid that comes in once a week makes everything look beautiful (until real life destroys it).

The building is pretty old and not like in a cool George Washington era kinda way, more like a Regan era kinda way. It has dated cupboards and furniture but it is clean and they just replaced my dishwasher yesterday so that's something anyways. Oh, and it comes with a fica tree that we may use as our pseudo Christmas tree this year (I can't bear to bring in something that will take up more space, like a bushy, needle-dropping tree).

Hopefully this will help some of you future State Department FSO and EFMs out there. You are welcome to email me with any specific questions. If you are a family with kids, please, please come to Crystal City! My kids want lots of friends so the more, the merrier!

Humility

2010-11-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

Today was my birthday. I don't like this day. Every year I get one year older and discover a few more wrinkles that will be deeper by next year. Each year I pretend it doesn't matter - that my husband and children are the real gift but I honestly don't think I would mind the crazy surprise of say a really expensive pair of boots or the amazing bag I've only admired in the shop window knowing if I got close enough to smell the leather, it would forever linger in my nostrils and make me want it that much more.

This year my kids brought me breakfast in bed complete with a can of Diet Coke. They poured the cereal themselves and were so proud of their accomplishment and I love that! Audrey made a sign to let everyone know it was my birthday.

I think when your kids are little there are many opportunities to feel personal embarrassment. An example of this might be when your kid hits another kid on the playground or when they scream extra loud in the grocery store "You're HURTING ME!" and everyone thinks you're some crazy child abuser when in actuality all you're really trying to do is secure them safely to the shopping cart by buckling the seat belt! Or perhaps the embarrassment one might feel from a child simply making a sweet and loving gesture by attaching a sign with your ACTUAL age on it for all the world to see.

Yes, these are moments that might cause our face to redden and our hearts to beat a little bit faster. However, it is these same embarrassing moments, in addition to the countless others, that compound upon one another and cause us to be de-sensitized to personal embarrassment. What kids don't realize is that they are only hurting themselves because by the time they get to high school where image is everything - we parents have TOTALLY forgotten what that ever felt like. We have endured total humiliation so many times that we are completely comfortable with it and we no longer realize quite literally, "what is the big deal?"

So as I watched my lovely daughter attach this sign to our apartment door with a beaming smile and inside my head I'm screaming, "NO,NO, NO!", I calmly smiled at her and thought, "one day, I will pull up to your high school in some beater of a car and honk seven times for you until you finally jump in and I will not even be embarrassed because I no longer know what the feels like."

Day at the Museum

2010-11-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we went to the Smithsonian because the kids had Tuesday off (happy election day to me!). Since we live in Crystal City we just walked down stairs and took the metro to the museum - isn't that cool? It was a little tricky maneuvering the stroller on the escalator but I think I've got it down now. (Hopefully I'm not jinking myself by saying this!)

It was a little chilly but it was beautiful outside. I love spending time with the kids and they had a blast. Audrey had to walk a lot which was a challenge for her but she pulled through. It's a lot of fun riding the metro but it can get really crowed during rush hour so I made sure we didn't get stuck in that crowd.

We went only to the Museum of Natural History on Tuesday since every museum in the Smithsonian is GIGANTIC and can be a lot to take in. Once we walked in, I let Jane out of the stroller and she began running around like crazy and yelling "Audrey, Look!" Since we have moved, they have gotten so close. This is a bonus for me however, I can't trust Audrey to take full responsibility of Jane yet considering that Audrey can wander away from me at times and cause me to run around like a crazy, panicked mom worried she was carried away by some pedophile (this actually did happen and museum staff was involved in the perp hunt, Audrey was found and of course - had no idea she was missing. All I can say is BANANAS!)

Lucky for us, it was free admission to see the butterfly room. This would have cost us $26 so huge "ca ching" for me! It was amazing and the two older kids stayed in there forever. When we first walked in, a butterfly landed on Jackson's head and stayed with him the majority of the time. It was a fun thing for him since the night before he had been crying because he was missing his friends and Utah. He had such great friends so I can imagine how tough it must be for him. I moved from Montana to Utah when I was in the fourth grade so I can kinda relate but all in all, the kids have been amazing with the transition. They have made friends at school pretty easily and hopefully we can end up in an area where they will have friends nearby. Jackson's teacher just loves him so that can help in how you are perceived by your peers. Audrey moved back one year to first grade and is doing really well. I wanted to do this forever but Draper elementary thought I was nuts for wanting to do this. Oakridge (where the kids go now) thought I was nuts for wanting to do this but did it any way without any hassle and it has been so perfect for Audrey. She is just a natural leader in her class and has friends like crazy. I love that about her. She just told me that she was absolutely going to second grade next year and I told her I agree.

We weren't able to see all the exhibits just because we got tired but we did not miss the most eye-catching of all. Can you guess what this is?

That right! It's crochet and knitted coral reefs. Crazy right? Oh, I so don't spend too much time on my own hobbies....There were about 8 of these in different colors and arrangements. Creating this would drive me to crazy but then again, maybe you have to be crazy to create this. Hummm, food for thought. For some reason, it made us laugh but I truly admire the work.

And last but not least, I have to show Jane in her light up, plastic high heals. She is obsessed with shoes and loves this new pair I recently bought her. Audrey keeps trying to steel them which angers Jane to the 10th degree but I have a feeling that this fighting over clothes is only the beginning. (I know, what is up with the Binky right? I just took her whole world from her, if the Binky makes her happy, then so be it - I am positive she won't need it by the time she gets to college).

Weekend Musings

2010-10-31T18:48:00.001-07:00

This weekend was our first official weekend in DC and I know what you are thinking - we must have seen some amazing things right? Well the majority of our Saturday was spent waiting around for the Comcast cable guy to show up. Reliable Internet and cable is a must for this tribe. The past week has been very frustrating for our resident IT man but everything is working speedy now. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have Nathan to take care of all my tech stuff - I would probably still have the original cell phone I had in college and would be going to the library to use the Internet (no offense to people who actually go to the library for their Internet).

Then we decided to venture out to do a little shopping. We are still in the mode of hunting down and gathering our food. After a quick trip to Trader Joe's where everyone stared at my screaming two year old we decided to try a new burger joint. It's at National Harbor and it's called Elevation Burger. The view was spectacular and the kids loved watching the sail boats while eating their organic burger and olive oil cooked fries. Yes, for a measly $40 your family of 4 (Jane mooched off the rest of us) can also eat an environmentally healthy meal. The beef was real but I was assured the cow lead a lovely life and was gently killed.

We ended our shopping trip with Nathan running to Best Buy for a new router and the kids and I checking out the dogs available for adoption outside the Petsmart next door. This made us miss Buzz tons and the kids begged and begged for a new dog. Okay...here's some food for thought, if we could have a dog, wouldn't we have kept the perfect 5 year old lab we gave away 10 days ago? You would think that me explaining this to them would be enough for them to realize that they could not get a dog, however, this did not help. They kept begging and promising they would take care of it. The sad thing is, I so wanted to get a dog too. I have come to the realization that while no one in Nathan or my family likes pets, we are most definitely a pet family. I love animals!! They are so cute and they teach kids a lot about responsibility and unconditional love. We always had a dog in our home while we were growing up and I am so glad we did. I hope that when our life becomes a little more stable, we can have a dog again. My kids are keeping their fingers crossed. Oh, and a cat too. Audrey is my little cat lover so if we have a dog, we need a cat too. We miss you Buzz and Rose (the cat).

So that brings us to Sunday. Today was stake conference. I was not looking forward to it seeing as how our stake conference was two months ago. It's one of those things you don't love to do because you are in the chapel for two hours, trying to keep kids quite meanwhile not being able to listen because your kids are constantly asking you how much longer until it's over and that they need to go to the bathroom/get a drink. So having done this not that long ago, I was kind of dreading it. So I have to say the entire meeting was not exceeding my expectations until the end when Stake President Nixon (see why I wrote "stake"?) gave an amazing talk that really spoke to some of the things I have been thinking about lately. He talked about how we need to prepare for our destiny and not try to control our destiny. When we get out of our comfort zone, amazing things can happen in our lives. Because this can be difficult, we are forced to rely on Heavenly Father more and have faith in his plan for us.

This meant a lot to me because just this weekend, I really began thinking about everything the kids have had to give up. Their home, their neighborhood, their schools, their grandparents and cousins, and their friends. I started to feel bad that we basically took everything away from them and they really haven't benefited from this move at all. While I believe it will be beneficial to them in the long run, I haven't seen too many immediate benefits for them. During President Nixon's talk, I really felt like we were doing the right thing and we just need to continue to have faith in our decision. We are trying to have faith!

Later this afternoon, we went on a walk on the Mount Vernon trail. It's right next to this waterpark (this word means something completely different in Utah) and everything was really pretty - a perfect fall afternoon. It was so fun being together as a family. Audrey brought her itouch along so all the pictures you see here are her doing. Pretty great right?

Day 5 and we're all still alive

2010-10-29T06:19:00.000-07:00

So obviously I didn't write at all since my last post because it has been a whirl wind of excitement and chaos since we began selling 1/3rd of all our earthly belongings, scheduling packers and movers and renting out our home in Draper. Finding renters was the easy part, the fixing it up for them was the difficult part. It involved landscapers, painters, door installers and many many trips to Home Depot (as many as 5 in one day and I am not exaggerating- really, I wish I were). It's funny what you'll put up with until you see it through the eyes of someone else and then you're like "No way will they live with this! I better get it fixed!". I have a property manager that is on top of everything so I am very confident that this will be a good thing for us (I hope).

Since moving into the Oakwood Crystal City, I have registered the kids in Oakridge Elementary (seems like an amazing school), found the nearest library, visited my local Target and Costco several times (the mother ships) and taken the kids to the park to play on the playground and throw the football with Jackson. Oh and I can't forget the ward Trunk or Treat last night. It was fun for the kids to see where we will be attending church and meet a few kids. I met a nice lady named Katie who kind of gave me the real skinny on the ward dynamics so it was nice to get a better sense of how things are in the ward.

All in all I love discovering all the new things in this new place I am living. I can't get over the fact that everyone dresses in dark colors and very serious business attire (I'm talking about the ladies here) and most women don't wear makeup. I get it, it's not for everyone but coming from Utah where a trip to the grocery store is a full on fashion show, I'm just a little surprised. Yesterday I walked over to the Pentagon City mall and with my bright Blondie hair and my bright orange stroller - I stuck out like a sore thumb (I'm sure many were laughing their butts off just watching me).

So here I sit in my little two bedroom apartment and I am waiting for maintenance to come and check out this crazy disgusting smell that is coming from underneath my children's bathroom sink. It is so funky, it smells like a rotting fish is stuck behind the drywall. Ewe gross is all I can say about that. This weekend I will post some pictures and some more about what has been happening but I can't right now as our Internet is highly unstable and totally sluggish! UGG!

Good bye riding lawnmower...

2010-09-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

Isn't this tractor a beauty? Five years ago, we were so excited to have a large yard - we ran down to the nearest Costco and bought this big, bad, yellow and green grass cuttin' machine. It was but a mear few months later when the joy and triumph of purchasing (in blood mind you) our own little half acre of the planet wore off and we were left with weed ridden flowerbeds and grass that grew so fast it required mowing twice a week. Ahh, the American dream of home ownership.

Today, we sold our little mower to another man who reminded us of ourselves five years ago. He obviously had purchased a fairly large amount of land that would require the additional purchase of large lawn care equipment. He was excited and felt he had gotten a good deal - I can only hope he has a greater understanding of his yard then we have had of ours (why weeds why??) - oh, I hope we didn't curse that thing!!

One Month to Go

2010-09-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, reality has slapped me in the face tonight and now I can't sleep. Nathan will begin his job in D.C. - one month from tomorrow. 30 DAYS!!! We have done nothing - I repeat nothing to prepare for our departure from Utah. Our goal is that the kids and I will join Nathan in D.C. the beginning of January. If this is to happen, we need to contact the movers, have a garage sale and prepare the house to be rented - indefinitely. Nathan and I have resolved ourselves to sit down tomorrow and develop a game plan. Why does this not seem real to me yet?? Why do I think that the moving fairies will magically take care of everything for me?

Nathan told me that there have been times for him when the plane lands in a new country and he thinks to himself "I don't want to be in this country, why am I getting off this plane here??". Okay, No - I don't want to hear that - he is my rock, my mister adventure who finds the good in any country, even the desert of Iraq - he can not tell me he has those thoughts because then I might think it's okay to have those thoughts and I cannot do that!! Don't panic, don't panic, don't PANIC!! I have that same feeling I get on the Tower of Terror at Disneyland when you know that the ride to the top has stopped and now your seat is going to drop out from underneath you and I am thinking to myself "I don't like to feel scared - why did I even get on this ride in the first place?" YIKES!!

Beautiful End-of-Summer Days

2010-09-21T20:42:00.001-07:00

I love this time of year. You know that fall is right around the corner but the days are still warm enough for shorts. If you look at the top of the mountain, you can see the leaves are changing but everything is still green at the bottom. The mornings are crisp and cool and require a light jacket. It is once again just perfect to have lunch outside and go for after-school walks with the kids and the dog. Amazing right?

We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the valley - I try to run the Draper trail several times a week and finally I just stopped to take a picture of some of my favorite views. The sunflowers are in full bloom along the trail - how amazing right??

We love walking over to the school next door and throwing the Aerobie to Buzz - that dog will run for miles to retrieve it. It's like he can't help but run after it - even if he's exhausted. Sometimes the sprinklers at the school will be on and he just goes CRAZY! Instant dog shower- I'm off the hook for bathing the dog that week.

Just another Thursday

2010-09-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Jackson had rain gutter regatta tonight for scouts. He was disappointed that it wasn't pinewood derby because our troop for some reason has never done it and he was dying to create one with his dad. This is his second time making a boat and after the last time we did this, I was honestly not looking extremely forward to it. This is something a father would usually help his son do and it is by sheer luck that both times, Nathan has been out of town for this blessed event so it is up to me, the non-scout, to help him create his boat.

I will not go into the particulars because I love my child very much and that is all that matters but someone was not a happy sailor after his boat failed to adequately race down the rain gutter. If you have never had this happen to you with your son, then you are living your life right. I hate the fact that he was so excited for this competition and then the whole thing ended on a sour note. I am very proud of Jackson that he created his own boat - from the sanding and shaping down to the spray paint and design (it was VERY hard to give up control of the spray paint!). There were some boats that were obviously the creation of a parent and so at least he can say he did it on his own.

Last night Audrey stayed up WAY past her bedtime trying to wiggle her tooth out. All I remember is being woken up (it was not light outside) by my very bubbly 7 year old with her exclaiming "MOM! I pulled out my tooth all by myself - dad didn't even have to help me this time!!" This is a sign of maturing in our household - when you can accomplish one more task independent of a parent. Being the sweet girl that she is, Audrey thought she should leave the tooth fairy a note with some candy and her tooth attached to it. How thoughtful - what tooth fairy doesn't like a fun size box of nerds?

* Notice the different size and shape of teeth on her crown - Audrey doesn't miss a detail!

Happenings from the past 6 months

2010-09-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, do I have some explaining to do or what... Yes, I do. My life has been kinda crazy but lots of fun too. I keep on looking at my last posting and that was the day that my crazy story begins but before I get to the life changing event that most of you know about already, I am going to give a quick rundown of things that have happened and then I am going to be posting a lot of photos during the next few days with simple captions. This is simply for my own family history and will not be super entertaining. I am going to start with all that has happened this year.

January
- Made my cousin's wedding dress
- Finished Jackson's room (we are talking installing and painting bead board people!)
- Major health scare for Audrey. July of 2009, Audrey was diagnosed with NF1 (look it up on the web if you want the real skinny), during a followup eye exam in January at PCH (Primary Children's Hospital), vision was not as good as previous visit - concern there were tumors on optic nerves. MRI was done and it was confirmed that yes, there are tumors on optic nerves. Panic set in - much fasting and prayers by family and ward members as we learned that if tumors grow, she could go blind. Treatment, if needed, would be chemotherapy. After we met with the oncologists at PCH, it was determined to wait and see, it seemed to them that tumors were very slow growing if growing at all.
- I came down with a nasty case of Shingles (okay, this really hurt bad!! Stress brings it on - need I say more)

February
- Nathan in DC for a few weeks as part of his Masters program. Big snowstorm kept him stranded there for many moons. Missed him tons
- Jackson completed third basketball season playing Junior Jazz (kids sports are so fun to watch, I don't know who is more entertaining, the kids or the parents all I can say is "take it down a notch okay?"
- Nathan and I celebrated 13Th anniversary of our engagement

As you can see, Audrey's favorite past time is dressing up in MY shoes and scarves - I'm happy my closet is so entertaining for her... This particular dress up session, she had ripped a page from my Nordstrom sale catalog, pointed at the model in the photo and exclaimed "I want my hair and makeup to look EXACTLY like hers does". One hour later and BAM - a close copy of the photo - should I show this photo as an example of my work when I apply for a job at the MAC counter at Nordstrom??

March
-Steph came to babysit Brandon's kids while he and Debbi were so fancy and went on a 10 day romantic vacation. Stephanie and I had too much Diet Coke, too many kids and too much fun.
- Went to my friend's Alias themed birthday party. It was crazy and amazing. My friend Kamille is the ultimate party animal but in a very appropriate LDS standards kinda way.
- Nathan learned that he had passed a series of exams and interviews and was ultimately invited to join the U.S. State Department Foreign Service (more details on this later). I was soooo proud of him! Way to go hot babes!

April
- Spring Break (I honestly don't think we did anything as Nathan had started to seriously work on his Thesis for his masters program)
- Celebrated our 13th Anniversary. I love Nathan tons and can't imagine my life without him. One thing for sure, he keeps me on my toes and he is always thinking of our next adventure - this way of life may not be for everyone but it is just perfect for me.
- Had to buy a new computer (okay, this is a major expense) - our computer sits on our kitchen counter top at home and we use it everyday - for EVERYTHING!! We finally killed it and had to bite the bullet but I really love our new one.
- Audrey had another round of MRIs and eye exams- everything seems to be stable and normal according to the doctors. Prayers are being answered!

May
- Nathan had to go to a conference for work so he brought me along (yea me!). We went to San Francisco and Monterrey, California for 5 days while my beloved sister Bobbi Ann babysat all my kidlets! Okay, it was soooo much fun. We shopped, ate yummy food (thank goodness Nathan is a foodie - I always eat really well with him) and saw the beautiful ocean. This was a perfect way to kick off the summer.
- Nathan and I mountain biked Corner Canyon several times in May and June. The trails are amazing and it's fun to have something we both enjoy. We are lucky to live minutes from some of the best trails in the state! No car necessary!
- Visited the international Pez museum in Erda, Utah. It is AMAZING!! Thanks Brent Beezer - the curator - quite talented.
- Tons of stuff to attend for my kids - dance recitals, piano recitals, end-of-year programs for school. May is by far the busiest time of the year.

June
- Nathan in DC for 2 weeks to finish up his program
- Jackson went to scout camp and BYU basketball camp (he loved this! Thanks Mom and Dad for letting him stay at your house during this) What a blast. He met all the players and got autographs. It's so fun to see your kids on cloud 9!
- Bobbi Ann and I took our kids to see Stephanie in Boise. It was so fun but I swear- all we did was feed our kids and clean up the mess, feed our kids and clean up the mess! Steph - you are the perfect hostest and I now have changed my opinion of Boise.
- Lots of swimming at the pool! First tans of the summer.
- 300 Soldiers from Nathan's Batallion deployed for a 1 year tour to Iraq. This was most people's second deployment. It was so inspiring to go and to be a bystander this time around. It was quite emotional for me. That night many families in Utah watched TV before they went to bed and had no idea that 300 soldiers left for their deployment and 300 families went to bed without their loved one. I remember that feeling very well. I am so grateful for all the men and women who continue to serve our country and I feel so honored to be married to such a great man who felt it was his duty to serve many years ago when he joined the Utah National Guard at the age of 21 and began ROTC at BYU.
The man in the middle of this photo was the one deploying that night. This is his third deployment while serving in the Utah National Guard. Many years ago, he started operationgive.org - a non-profit organization that sends toys and school supplies to children in Iraq. Nathan and I both agree, he is a very cool guy!

July
- Fourth of July breakfast with Nathan's side of the family at Cherry Hill farm, bar-B-Q with our own little family that night and patio-of-fire with a few fireworks. Perfect Summer day and night!
- Celebrated Draper Days with parade and fireworks. Both our families came and we had a blast
- Nathan's Graduation in Washington D.C. He got his Masters in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence Agency college. Congrats mister smarty pants! My dad, Stephanie, Nathan's Mom and Dad, all came out for the festivities. What a fun trip we had (us and the millions of Boy Scouts that were there for the National Jamboree - I've never seen so many scouts in my life nor do I ever hope to again!)
- Celebrated Audrey's 7Th Birthday at America's Great Pizza Company of Draper. It was fun and she is the ultimate party princess but my digestive tract was out of sorts for a week (I promise I am NOT exaggerating!). I don't think I will visit that place again for a while.
- Audrey began a two week session of swim lessons- she will learn to swim by the end of the summer!!! I am committed to this goal - even if she could care less!
- Audrey went back to school for one week of Chinese immersion camp. This will be her second year of her Chinese immersion program at Draper Elementary. This will come in handy in the future when all us Americans are working for China, paying back the loans we've racked up in the past 8 years - she'll be our official translator. Oh ya, I know you're jealous...
- More doctor visits with Audrey but everything seems to be stable - thanks for your continued prayers!Here are a few pictures of the kids on the Fourth of July

Annie and Scott (yes, a former model) moved in July to Omaha for school. I miss you guys tons!!

Draper Days is such a fun event - it lasts all week but on Saturday night they launch fire works from the elementary school next door. We have a front row seat from my back yard. It's perfect. George, our next door neighbor, hires Leatherby's Ice Cream to dish up ice cream for anyone who wants some. I discovered Jane in the back yard, all by herself, eating her ice cream.

August
- Nathan was in the Ukraine for two weeks compliments of Uncle Sam.
- Jane turned 2!
- Jackson turned 10! Double Digits baby . . .celebrated by taking cousins to seven peaks water park. Nathan made it home just in time for the splash down. I am realizing I am becoming such a wimp in my older age - could only handle the boomerang once and yes - it is exactly like what it sounds like - A giant half pipe for inter tubes and you launch into it with a MAJOR drop off. Yikes. Brandon and Debbi had the raw end of the deal - I took their kids to the water park and they got stuck with my grouchy Jane. It was fun just playing with the kids all day. Thanks Bobbi Ann for your parking pass and your Tube rental pass. So fun!!
- Nathan and I took a couples retreat up to Park City. We read, worked out, saw movies, ate at Spruce (okay, this is a very yummy place - great place for anniversaries, grown-up birthday celebrations and romantic dinners with your honey - you won't be disappointed!) Thanks Alyssa for staying with the kids. You are such a professional nanny! They loved it.
- I, Tammi Ringger, ran my third 1/2 marathon. Debbi and I ran the Hobble Creek 1/2 marathon and I got my best time ever! This was very unexpected as I was not very diligent in my training this summer. Sometimes I do get happy surprises!
- Nathan received his start date for the foreign service - we were so excited! October 24! Washington D.C. for initial training and then onto our first assignment - it could be anywhere in the world- there are 250 Embassies and Consulates worldwide so there are a lot of options for us out there. I would love New Zealand or Australia but who knows, it could be Canada!! (For the record, I have nothing against our neighbor to the north but it just doesn't seem very exotic- sorry my fellow Canadians)
- First day of school for my Jackson who is now in fourth grade and Audrey who is now in second. Sorry Jane, that means you are stuck with me and me alone for 8 hours a day. Should I be offended that on the first day of school when you looked through the window and saw Audrey walking home, you ran out the front door, screaming her name with your arms open wide as if she holds the very key to your continued existence? Needless to say It's taken some getting used to having the kids back in school. We both miss them but boy, I can sure get a lot more cleaning done now that we are not constantly on the go, chasing down the next bit of summer fun.

September
- Sun Valley family reunion with my parents, siblings and their families. What a blast - I love Sun Valley and this year was just perfect! We ate yummy food, ice skated, spent a day at Red Fish Lake and did a tiny bit of shopping (when you have that many ladies - you're going to sneak it in there somehow), watched the BYU football game and had a hot dog roast (Jane is not a fan of fire and smoke - she spent the entire meal in the truck watching a movie on my phone! When Jane has had enough of anything, she yells "Show, Show, Show, Show" until I turn on a movie for her. I am embarrassed to say this happens at least once a day. What 2 year old will sit and watch a Barbie movie all the way through? I know I should be more diligent then I am at distracting her from spending so much time in front of the TV but she has a short fuse and she is my third - enough said.
- Jackson began flag football - we won't let him play tackle so this will have to do. He is really great but what is even more amazing is he really understands the game - all the plays, the rules - all of that. He and Nathan have so much fun watching the BYU football games (well, except last week- lets not think about that game against Air Force!!) and all last winter they attended all BYU basketball home games. I think they've gotta be some of BYU's biggest fans.
- Audrey started dance again. She just loves it.
The ones who started it all - Mom and Dad. Thanks for a wonderful vacation! We love you. You're an awesome couple and so good looking too!

It isn't Sun Valley unless grandpa take you to the candy store. Each year my dad takes all 13 grandchildren to the Sun Valley candy store and he lets them pick out an assortment of candy. All year they talk about going to the candy store. They can't wait! What a fun tradition.

Here's the candy man himself!

Jane is a outdoorsy gal to the core. She is happiest when she is in the fresh air amongst the flowers and trees!
Aunt Steph with a few extra kids.

A family that skates together, stays together - put that in vinyl and stick it on your wall!!

Audrey has an obsession with band-aids and we were at the campfire site and she kept saying over and over "I need a band-aid for my owie, I need a band-aid for my owie". All of us were busy getting dinner ready but grandpa dug around in his car and finally found a band-aid. He also found an extra something and put it on her nose and told her it would stop her from snoring. She wore it the rest of the night!

Jane loves to get in the bed of my truck - I think she is well on her way to being a back-woods redneck.

Well obviously there will be more to come as we get closer to our official moving day. I want the kids to stay in school here through December and then we will move with Nathan. We decided not to sell our house due to the highly depressing real estate market so we are going to try our hand in the rental market. If anyone knows of anyone looking to rent a home in Draper, send them our way! I hope I will be better at posting on this blog - but I have to say, it's kind of indicative of the way I do things, I have 12 journals around my house with the first 4 pages written in and then nothing so I am honestly not surprised that my writings here have been sporadic as well. Please excuse the bad spelling and grammar - writing is not my strong suit.

Audrey and her best friend Daisy. They had to take a photo with their parasols of course!

UP!

2010-03-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is so funny....
Okay so Brandon, my brother and his wife, have been out of town for the past 10 days. My sister Stephanie has been staying with their kids while they have been on vacation. Yesterday, she was picking my niece up from dance when she gets a call from her daughter who is at the house.

"Mom, there are some balloons stuck on the house and we can't get them off."
"What? Okay, whatever, I'll deal with it when I get home."

She pulls up and see this! Apparently some used car lot is missing their balloons and flags... (I'm sure there is one more jobless person out there because of their lack of knotting skills).

You have to know them to understand but let it be said that this instantaneous white-trash decoration could NOT have happened to a better person. Steph is letting it stay put as a sort of welcome home. They are going to die! Don't worry my OCD-neat-freak of a brother, we may tease you but we still love you guys!

Life's little annoyances

2010-03-25T14:34:00.001-07:00

Okay, today I finally caught up on my reading of every body's blog (shame on me for taking so long). I love reading every body's blog but I have to say...not a huge fan of the music thing. I have a very simple mind and for some strange reason - I cannot read and listen to music at the same time. Sadly enough, I just have to mute my computer. Don't worry- it's no biggie but I wonder if I am the only one to have this problem? Probably.

Today Jackson's friend that we carpool with informed me that there is a merit badge in scouting for video games. Seriously? I'm sure they just thought up one more badge the Boy Scouts of America could make money on. Did you know that every badge is $3-$4? Even if there were 1 million boys participating in scouting, that is $4 million for one badge that probably cost them 3 cents to make. I swear, Boy Scouts is a rip off. Jackson loves it and I think it is so fun but do they really need a badge for EVERYTHING?? Apparently the person who came up with this latest badge thinks so. Oh brother!

Bacon - eeww gross!

2010-03-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am not one to eat bacon but last night I made a really yummy tomato basil soup that requires you to cook five strips of bacon at the beginning and it gets blended into the final soup. Anyways, while I am making the bacon, I am thinking how gross it smells so I open a window - it doesn't really help but after a while, I just start to smell all the other ingredients in my soup. Two hours later, Nathan and I are watching Survivor (Heroes Vs. Villains-so intense!) and all of a sudden I smell bacon and I realize it's in my clothes! The smell permeated my clothing - Nathan smelled it the whole time I was smuggled up to him but he never said anything - a case of true love but also so embarrassing for me. If I stink, please tell me - I'm a big girl - I can handle it (except for the times that I might be feeling rather sensitive- don't you DARE tell me then).

Audrey's first tooth fairy visit!

2010-03-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

Audrey lost her first tooth about two weeks ago. She went to bed about 8pm and at 10pm, she walked into our room and told us her tooth could twist all the way around. Nathan did the final pull and it was out! What a cutie. I can't believe she was quietly working on it all that time in her bed. In the morning however I could believe it - her bed looked like a crime scene. There were spots of blood everywhere but hey - no pain, no gain. Now her piggy bank is just a little bit fuller. Actually it's not. That money was burning a hole in her pocket. We went to the mall and I introduced Audrey to a store she had never been in before . . . Claire's Boutique. She was in heaven! She had to touch every item in that store. We were there for an hour before she finally chose her item. A beautiful heart necklace. My little girl is growing up!

Know any Hypocrites?

2010-02-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

How do I teach my children that they are being hypocritical when they aggressively insist I recycle every box, paper plate and discarded tissue yet they themselves declare a perfectly white and untouched piece of paper to be unusable if it has a slight wrinkle. Every morning they leave their bowl of almost-all-gone cereal with enough leftover milk for a small rodent to bathe in. All clothing must be washed if it has been on their body for five minutes (I can identify said clothing by finding it oh-so-conveniently on the floor).

I am so gratefully to our increasing liberal school system for brainwashing MY children on the importance of recycling - however, would you mind mentioning that they don't have to use a new cup every time they need a drink of water? My dishwasher and water bill will thank you!

I have thoughts . . .

2010-01-12T19:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, so today as I was racing Audrey and Daisy (Audrey's friend) to dance, I passed by one of those impromptu, side of the road blanket stands. You know what I'm talking about - the scene always includes some old brown, customized van from the late eighties (they have blinds on the windows), a plastic, collapsible beach chair and a questionable guy sitting in it, just waiting for his next customer. Mean while, every fuzzy, polyester blanket he has is flapping in the wind on portable clothes lines.

As I drive past these blanket stands, I find myself asking the same question in my head "Who in the heck buys those blankets!?" Okay, so if you notice, there are always a few with a wolf howling at the moon, some with super heroes plastered across or a Native American scene. Once in a while I will spot the Disney trifecta (Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Cinderella) but not very often- they must be in high demand. Today I noticed one I had not seen at previous blanket stands - Marilyn Monroe from the waist up on what looked to be a king size blanket - Oh boy. Seriously - I would love to know the thought process one goes though in purchasing this kind of item . . . "I need a new blanket for my bed. If only I could get something that was made of synthetic materials, fuzzy on the top but smooth underneath and jeez- it would just be perfect if I could get one with a few deer on it. Yes, that would truly make me happy."

I hope I did not offend any of you with my comments. Just remember...these are my own personal views and do not reflect the opinions or views of others in the Red Brick House.

We are the champions, my friend!

2009-12-22T21:11:00.000-08:00

Jackson was in heaven today. I honestly think Las Vegas is his favorite vacation destination (yes, we really don't travel much). BYU blew out Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl and so all the BYU fans rushed the field. Nathan just sent me this photo from his phone and I had to post it. It is with Colby Klausen (I have no idea on the correct spelling) and he felt like he met a real life celebrity. Here's my little guy with one huge football player. Jackson, Audrey really misses you and keeps asking when you are coming home. Nathan, Jane has walked into your office several times today saying "Da? Da? Da?" What can I say, we three ladies are missing our men! Drive home safe tomorrow and we can't wait to see you. XOXO

Yes, I actually do care about this blog....

2009-12-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

My boys just left for their annual pilgrimage to the Las Vegas bowl game to cheer on the mighty Cougars. I honestly can't think of two bigger fans of BYU sports. They bought season tickets for BYU basketball and once (sometimes twice) a week they head on down to the Marriot center, grab a cougar tail (a really long maple bar) and very intensely watch, discuss stats and cheer for their team. Nathan is such a great dad, I hope Jackson realizes how lucky he is!

So what am I to do? Well, Audrey, Jane and I are going down to my parents to spend the night. My dad is having surgery today and I just wanted to be there to help my mom take care of him. She has been having a lot of problems with her knees and I think she could use a little help. Honestly, old age is not for wimps! I did not coin that phrase but once I saw it, it stuck. I love my parents and I wish them less doctor visits for the upcoming year.

I have totally neglected my little space on the world wide web for some time now and it has been really difficult even wanting to start blogging again because I feel I must write about all the things that have happened since my last post. So here I sit and start pondering what has happened and quite honestly, my mind is drawing a blank ----- yup - not much up there. So don't worry, you don't have to read about all the stuff that apparently didn't happen. The one thing that did happen is Jane finally decided to walk. . . okay, run. It's amazing - she never plays with toys, she just walks around my house, stopping only for meals and for naps. She does spend a large amount of time in my pantry and as a side effect, I change a unusually large number of messy diapers. She is so fun and sweet - she knows a few words such as "sit" (I guess that's a given with having a large dog) and "meow" (thanks to Rose the cat for that one). Babies are fun we just can't wait for February 8 (Nursery - yea!).

Jackson has been very busy with Junior Jazz basketball this season. He loves it and their team is really quite good. He plays on a team with a bunch of his friends from school so it is a lot of fun hanging out with the other kid's mom's who have actually become really great friends of mine. Total bonus. Audrey is, as always, still one of a kind. We can't imagine our house without her - she is so kind and is always drawing little pictures for me. I often bypass Nathan and ask her opinion about an outfit I am questioning - she gives it to me straight up. She has yet to encase her foot in a sock of any kind this winter - if it is really cold outside, I will bribe her to wear tights but they have to be footless. Once a California girl, always a California girl.

I have been in my sewing room nonstop this season. Sometimes I wonder if everything is right in my head. I made Christmas dresses for Jane and Audrey and there was a lot of tulle and lace involved and Audrey even had a little black wool jacket. I took some photos but I don't know if you can see all the detail. Then, a few days ago, I decided that I too wanted a new dress so I made just a simple red wool dress, classic Jackie O style. Nathan was impressed and said that even rich people don't dress their kids this nice. Maybe that is why we are not rich, I just would have no need to sew. Finally, one of life's burning questions has been answered.

Well, just in case I don't post again before Christmas, I want to wish the few readers I have a very Merry Christmas. I love the holiday season and truly a highlight for me was being able to do Black Friday with my sisters. For the record, Stephanie did invite Brandon (our brother) and Debbie (his wife) but neither of them had the desire to get up at 4am and fight the crowds. Bah humbug. We had such a great time laughing and laughing and looking totally unkempt and homeless the entire time. I can't wait till next year. They should have a Black Friday every six months but honestly, what would we shop for in July? Fireworks and hot dogs at rock bottom prices!

A case of the giggles...

2009-11-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

I am in desperate need of a dress form - you know - the kind professional fashion designers use (as seen on project runway). I am constantly looking on Craigs list and KSL classifieds for a used one but because they are pretty pricey - once you buy one, you're not likely going to sell it for pennies (boo for me).

So from time to time I will google "dress form" and view website after website trying to decide which dress form would be best - just so I can narrow down exactly what I am looking for. Well today, because I am just confused as to what would be best I "googled" what is the best dress form for designers. One of the first pages that pop up is this link to the Threads magazine (magazine for sewers like myself) detailing how to make your own dress form so I think "Wow, now that would be a lot more economical! I think I'll check this out".

So as I am reading through the instructions, I am seeing that basically it involves putting your body in a cast and then cutting it away and using the shell as a dress form. I am thinking "Okay, so does this really work? It seems kind of crazy." Then I proceed to scroll to the bottom of the page where people have left their comments and about the third comment down, I see in large capital letters . . .NEVER MAKE A PLASTER BODY CAST!!! Okay, this ladies post made me laugh so hard and I have laughed several times through out the day. Maybe I'm crazy and It's not as funny as I think it is but you just have to read it. What lengths we seamstresses will go to!
Here's the link:

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3659/clone-yourself-a-fitting-assistant

Okay peeps - More photos of fashion show

2009-11-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

So I thought I put this link on my last post but apparently I am too technically challenged to make that happen so here is my second attempt to direct you to this link. It is a link for all the professional photos taken at the Fashion Remix fashion show. Not only can you see better pictures of what I did but you can see pictures of all the creations. So cool - definitely check it out.

http://gregneilphoto.smugmug.com/Fashion/Fashion-Remix-2009/10101705_3vezp#693731053_qVyeA

Have a great day

Halloween is over so I think I can now get on with the rest of my life!

2009-11-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

I honestly think October is the busiest month of the year! How many times did I have to get my kids in and out of their costumes? And what exactly is the message of Halloween?
"Gimme, Gimme, Gimme and then when I do finally get my boat load of free candy, I am going to be grouchy and grumpy for a few days - Happy Halloween MOM!"

Really, my kids are pretty good. They went to some houses in my parents neighborhood and were pleased with what they got - they weren't too greedy. One house we went to gave out fresh cotton candy. They were making it in their driveway - What a great idea. We ate it as we went from house to house. So much fun.

Another house we went to displayed over 60 intricately carved pumpkins. I wish I had my camera with me. They were AMAZING but honestly I have to say that carving pumpkins is just about my least favorite activity. It was fun to look at but gave me a headache to think about all that carving. But hey - at least that person enjoys it. If you've had difficulty discovering your special talent - I can give you this ladies address (I'm just sayin').

In case you couldn't tell. . .Jackson is BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and Audrey and Jane are BYU Cheerleaders. GO COUGS!
The few pictures that follow are ones I took when we went to Cornbellys. I love that place - it was so much fun. They had an entire barn filled with corn kernels that the kids were able to just dig and play in (like sand). So great - kind of pricey to go but I have to say they had so many fun activities that it was worth it.
Who doesn't like to have their picture taken on a plastic cow?
Apparently Audrey. Thanks for not smiling.

They had princess dress ups for the little girls. That was Audrey and her cousin's favorite station. The dressed up and then did a little performance for us. I love this age!
Jane LOVES anything to do with wheels. She climbs on the kids bikes and has me push her around. She would not get off these go carts and I had to keep pushing her on them. It's okay - I'll do anything for that gummy grin of hers - even break my back.
Jackson participated in some serious races on the go carts - he even beat a few grownups. Go Jackson!

Finally! It's all over with! Fashion Remix is a sucess!

2009-10-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, now do you see why I have been so busy and holed up in my little red brick house for the past few months? So in August of this year, the BYU interior design department came to me and asked if I would help them out a little bit. They had to create at look using fabrics usually found in the interior design industry and make them into something wearable that could be sent down the runway. There were about 15 design firms who were paired with suppliers/manufactures in the interior design industry. Luck for us, we were paired with Silverstate - they are a wholesaler for interior fabrics. It was so much fun - at the beginning of this process, we were able to go to their showroom and choose any fabrics we wanted to use. We choose 20 different fabrics and used a total of 25 yards. Granted, there are a lot of scraps, however, that was very generous of them. In the end, they will get the dress to display in their showroom. I hope they enjoy it! I made the pattern and sewed the entire ensemble. It was so much work but so much fun.

Thanks to my family for putting up with huge messes for a few months, cheese tortillas for many nights and crazy moments for lots of weeks. I love my hubby so much for supporting me in all I do. He let me take the best room in the house and make it into my sewing room (otherwise known as my "happy place"). Jackson and Audrey are constantly excited to see what I'm working on next and were majorly bummed they could not attend the fashion show. Jackson is always telling me I should be on Project Runway. I love being a celebrity in my own home!
Back stage with some of the models and other designers.
This is Katy walking down the runway. I was back stage helping out so thanks Mom and Dad for snapping these photos.

The big reveal. The crowd wend crazy when she dropped the skirt. Great job Katy! (she's a student employee in the Interior Design Department at BYU. She is majoring in Ballet - lucky for us she's beautiful, tall and a natural performer!)
Models posing at the end of the catwalk! So FIERCE!

Casey was the MC for the event. He was funny and it was obvious he was not used to this thing- He did a good job though. I still miss him on the radio " 101.5 The End" is just not the same without him. Oh, I forgot to mention. We did win one of the three major awards - we won "Best Ready to Wear" and we will be featured in Salt Lake Magazine. This dress above won "Best of Show" and I have to say, it deserved it. It was made from wood veneer and it is a work of art. Well done!

I have to say major thanks to my good friend Lori who showed up to this event solo to cheer me on and then the next day she and my good friend Kamille took me to lunch to celebrate. Thanks you guys! I woke up the next morning feeling like "okay, now what?!" so you saved me some postpartum depression.

Kourtne, I will now work on getting you those photos of you and your beautiful children. I now have some extra time on my hands.

Ann, I will now call you and chat for a while - I loved your Birkin post on your blog - you know me, anything fashion I obsess about.

We Are PATRIOTS, Sir Yes Sir!

2009-09-21T20:30:00.001-07:00

Last week was a busy one for the Ringger family - it was Nathan's drill weekend but every September, they have what is called Governor's Day. In lieu of September drill, the Governor of Utah inspects the troops so they all march out onto the field in Rice Eccles Stadium at the U of U (booooo!) and they parade in formation and the Governor inspects them (you have to understand that this is just a ceremony - he doesn't really look that close-I actually thought it was quite funny watching him walk up and down the length of the field.). The entire thing takes about an hour but every year, soldiers pass out because it is quite hot on the field. We saw two carried off on stretchers.

My dad and my nephew, Tyler and came with us. When Tyler returned home, his parents asked him how it went and he said - "Good. Some guys died though." Oh dear, I hope he's not scarred for life. If he begins saying, "I see dead people", then we know there may be some lasting effects of Governors Day.

I love my dad! He loves anything to do with the military. Every once a while I remind my kids that grandpa served in the military too - just like dad. But to put it into perspective, I have to tell them that he served a long time ago - before they had home computers and cell phones. They immediately are sent into silent reflection and awe for the people who lived in such a time they like to refer to as the "dark ages".

From the moment we got there, Audrey's eye immediately staked out the most girly thing happening and her eye was drawn to the face painting booth - so from that moment on, I was constantly nagged with "When can I get my face painted? Is it time to get my face painted? What if they leave and I can't get my face painted! Does dad care if I get my face painted?" Over and over again I heard this so finally, after only holding out for about 5 minutes (I know, I'm going soft already), I relented and let her do it and she behaved perfectly afterwards. This is a photo of her before the face painting - do you see why I just give in?

Jackson and Tyler are always so cute when they are together.

Ahh, a family moment - one for the Christmas card that we NEVER send out.

Okay, so the evening before Governors day, they always have a military ball. I actually like getting dressed up and going out. Our cute neighbor, Angela, came and took these photos for us before we left. I know, what are we 16 or something? Who are we kidding, we know we are hanging on to the proverbial "Thread" but I have to document that once-upon-a-time, we did look youngish.
P.S. I know your wondering and yes, I did make my dress.

No, I'm not dead - just overwhelmed. . .

2009-09-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know all of you think that I probably gave up blogging for good like so many others do but I can assure you this is not true. I just have had so much going on lately and amazingly enough, not a whole heck of a lot to show for it. So here I sit, with a tall glass of Diet Coke and the two liter sitting near by, ready to update you all. Since I last blogged, I am now minus two kids for 7 hours a day. I have to say, that first day of both Audrey and Jackson being in school all day long was a tough one for me. I looked at Jane, Jane looked at me and we had no idea what to do for an entire day by ourselves so - I did what any other insanely sad lady would do - I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned my carpets for two days. Here's the thing - when Nathan was in Iraq and had come home for his two weeks of R&R, the day after he left to go back to Iraq, I did the same thing - I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned my carpets for two days. As I was cleaning my carpets this last time around, I did some deep reflection and realized that must be how I deal with changes in my life - I deep clean the carpets. It's challenging, requires a lot of physical effort, and it makes everything look fresh and new again - an immediate positive reaction that I can control! See how therapeutic that all was? And all for the low price of $30 a day - much cheaper than a therapist.

Audrey is thrilled to begin school - can't you tell? I actually think she is more bummed out that I insisted she wear a matching outfit on the first day. Don't worry Audrey, you can be fashionably challenged tomorrow.

Jackson is ready to get back to work. I think he is excited at the idea of being around more boys on a regular basis - with a family of 7 girls and 1 boy living next door and Audrey being the equivalent of a cruise ship social director, he has seen enough picnics, fashion shows, tea parties and girls playing house this summer to last a lifetime.

The week after school began, we realized that we definitely needed a break from all that hard school work so we went to Sun Valley for Labor Day. Actually, my family has a family reunion every year up there. It was so much fun! Jackson worked really hard this summer and finally saved up enough money to buy the Mountain bike he had been drooling over (we seriously went to the bike shop several times this summer just so he could look at it). I was glad that he was able to buy it before Sun Valley so we could do of mountain biking while we were up there. He is quite good at it and is not afraid of any terrain. Jackson, Nathan and I are really getting into the sport so hopefully Jane and Audrey will eventually like it too (yes Audrey, we can put ribbon streamers on your mountain bike).

Sun Valley was a blast! I love it up there. I wish we could go up there more often than we do. What a great time we had. I love my brother and sisters soooo much. Brandon always offers the comedic relief to any situation and he would do anything for any of his sisters- you are the best brother any girl could have. My nieces and nephew are so adorable and so much fun for my kids to be around! My parents have four children, 13 grand children and only two of those grand kids are boys (can you say DRAMA as these girls turn into teenagers?).

We all went ice skating one morning and it was so much fun to see the kids trying their best to figure it out. Sun Valley has an outdoor ice rink that is open all year round and professional skaters come and preform there in the the summer. Here are many photos of us showing off our stuff.

Audrey had a hard time getting the skating thing down so I tried to do my best to teach her what with my professional abilities and all. I even tried to eavesdrop on the lesson going on and get some tips to teach my kids (see photo below) but I think the guy was wise to me because when I came around he'd just skate off with his private lesson! Jeez - you're already making a boat-load of money off your private lesson - can't you share the love??

This is the Sun Valley lodge - have you ever seen Stephen King's "The Shinning"? I saw it on TV once and this is the lodge in the movie - very scary show - I don't recommend it.

I had to get at least one photo of Stephanie. She refused to be photographed the entire time and seriously, I get that but I think she still is a hot mama even preggers. This was a look we all got a lot during our family reunion weekend. Steph, you're a trooper! We are so glad you were able to still come to SV. Good luck with baby #4 (She is giving birth today even as I write this).

I continually razzed Marcus about his plaid jacket (in his defense, he borrowed the jacket from my Dad, honestly Dad, can you explain this purchase to me? When is it ever okay to buy a plaid jacket?)

The two guys

The gang's all here.

Debbi always looks perfect.

The Young family is represented well - Leia's soaking up the rays.

Brielle was such a champ - she would fall and get up, fall and get up and she never cried or complained! What a trooper girlie!

Kendra and her roomie Alyssa opted out on the skating thing - aren't they beautiful?

Our cheering section of all the lovely ladies.

Audrey had it after a while - she was a little frustrated. Good thing Grandma was there to make things better.

The man room - this is where the guys hang out and watch the start of the football season - Jackson says it's the best time of the year. Go Cougars!

Stephanie's girls were so cute on Sunday - I loved their outfits so I thought I would take some photos of them - they are darling!

Future chemist or lunchroom lady - you decide.

I am going to have to leave this post as it is and call it good. I will post more photos and commentary about the Ringger family later.

UPDATE: Stephanie did have her baby today. The name is Savanna Ray and she was born 7lbs 3 oz. Mom and baby are doing brilliantly! Well done Steph!

What the WHAT??

2009-08-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

The other day I was surfing the J.Crew website (I love J.Crew sooo much - some day, when I am very rich, I will be one of their BEST customers). I had left it up on the computer and in come the kids starving for lunch (that's right, me as a negletful mother haden't fed them a whole two hours - they're worse than a newborn).

As Audrey sits down at the bar, she looks at the computer and says "Oh mom, you look just like her!" she exclaims as she points to a blonde model on the webpage. (okay lets be honest here, I am no model but to a six year old, no one is as pretty as her mom - I love this stage!!)

By this time, Jackson has sat down to eat and is now also looking at the computer. Audrey changes the web page and another model pops up and she says the same thing "oh mom, she looks just like you too!"

Jackson says, "Dude, no she doesn't, she has a girl-stache."

To myself I am thinking, "What the what?? How in the heck does he know what THAT is or what it would even look like??"

Audrey says "What's a girl-stache?"

"It's when a girl has hair on the top of her lip." Says Jackson.

Audrey then turns to me, "Mom, do I have hair on the top of my lip?"

Geez - thanks Jackson! I can't wait for those teenage years. . .

Welcome to the world baby Nora!

2009-08-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd day on the earth baby Nora! Today we got to meet the newest addition to the Kourtne and Travis Ringger clan! When she was born, she weighed in at 7 lbs. 6 ounces and was 19 inches long. I understand that almost-3-year-old big brother Will was kind of weirded out by seeing his mom in the hospital with a new baby in her arms. Don't worry, it's normal for you to be weirded out by a girl - it's going to happen a lot in life.

What a beautiful baby. The kids and I gazed and marveled at her for about 40 minutes and then Nora decided she'd had enough of sharing her mom and wanted her all to herself. Jane is currently in baby-destruction mode so she was confined to the stroller the entire time. After 40 minutes of not being the center of attention, she was ready to go (see below). Congrats Travis and Kourtne - she is beautiful and perfect in every way.

Jackson the Bear

2009-08-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Congrats Jackson on becoming a Bear! Isn't scouting the best thing ever?!! It was fun for us to have Nathan for a full 7 hours when he returned home from Korea and before heheaded to Washington D.C. We did however have a very important pack meeting to attend during that time. At least we could be together as a family.

If it is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder- then I am really, really, really fond of Nathan by now.

We love you babe! Don't forget to say hi to Barry and Michelle. XOXO!

Even Audrey came to support her brother (of course we had to wear 'Very Berry' lipstick - it's one of her staples)
Getting awards is a major highlight for Jackson - good job buddy.

Listening in on conversations from the back seat...

2009-08-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Audrey: "When I grow up, I'm going to have a cat and some kids."

Jackson: "What about a dog Audrey, don't you want a dog?"

Audrey: "No Jackson!"

Jackson: "Why not?? Dogs are great."

Audrey: "Because it will bark at all my visitors."

Thinking to myself: How can a six year old be more logical about a dog than I was 3 1/2 years ago?

"I'm 9! Hey did you know I'm 9? Ya, oh ya - I'm NINNNNNNNNE!"

2009-08-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Jackson has been very disappointed that it has taken me this long to post his birthday blog. His birthday was last Friday, August 14th. Okay Jackson, here it is in all it's glory. I sincerely hope you like it. Unfortunately, Jackson's dad was out of town for his birthday so I tried my best to play super mom to make up for it and honestly, it has taken me this long to garner enough energy to finally write about it.

Nathan and I actually surprised Jackson with his own room as an early birthday surprise. The week prior to his birthday, he spent with his grandpa Bob so we painted and put up bead board in his absence. Grandma was away on a trip so grandpa took care of Jackson all week long shuffling him to and from his BYU Sports Camp (many thanks dad! You're the best). I think they had a great time bonding and I know Jackson really had a great time both at the sports camp and just hangin' with grandpa! When he got home, he asked me a million times if he could go again next year - hopefully he didn't ware out his welcome with my parents. (I don't think so because they invited us to dinner with them yesterday - we ate yummy fish my dad caught a few weeks ago in Alaska)

On Friday morning, Jackson got to go golfing with the scouts. Henry, Jackson's friend, invited us all up to their pool to go swimming with them in the afternoon. When he got home, we opened a few gifts and then he packed up for the ward "Father's and Son's" outing. Thanks to David Lindford for taking Jackson - his son was away at a camp of his own and couldn't make it back and Jackson was missing a father so they decided to go together- David didn't want to miss hanging out with his friends and Jackson didn't want to miss hanging out with his so it really worked out. I love great neighbors/friends! I don't know what I would do without the Lindfords it's just like having my family living next door. I surprised Jackson and sent up a big birthday cake with David and had him bring it out after dinner. Jackson was so surprised that when they brought it out and started singing - he thought "Wow! What a coincidence! I wonder whose birthday it is?" Jackson said he had a great birthday and I'm glad he felt special - isn't that what a birthday is all about?? I love you so much Jackson! I can't believe you're NINE - as you have said before "It's my last year in the single digits, better live it up."

Thanks for the FANTASTIC party you threw my kids. We all had a great time. The food was wonderful and the company was fantastic. The kids all loved their gifts and your generosity. We love you. Here are some pictures from the party.

It rained so hard on Saturday - it was cold and wet all day long (I'm afraid to think that fall is on it's way) Audrey, of course, didn't bat an eye at the bad weather outside, it just gave her a chance to dress up!

Pictures of Jane and her fist pigtails (or are they devil horns - sometimes I don't know....)

A few nights ago, we had pancake night - Audrey had made quite the artist statement with hers. It's called 'the flower' and 'the smiley'. Everyone should have an eccentric artist in their house!

It's the final countdown

2009-08-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Summer is winding down fast (Wah wah) and we are trying to squeeze every bit of fun out of it that we can. So what did we and the rest of Utah county do on Tuesday?? That's right, we just had to hit 2 buck Tuesday at Thanksgiving point gardens. It was beautiful but word to the wise, you might enjoy it just a tad bit more if you go when most of the children are in school. If you haven't ever been to the gardens there, they are beautiful! I can see why they charge so much to get in - they have to hire lots of people to maintain it. If you haven't been, go while it's cheep- this deal only lasts through August.

Jane just loves to swim - she even dunks herself under water - that can be fun and a little scary at the same time. I have to really watch her around water. Thank heavens she has to have food about every 10 minutes or else my whole body would look like a raisin after we were done - she would never get out!

Happy Birthday Jane

2009-08-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

On August 8, (which happened to be my cousin Chelsey's 1 year wedding anniversary - you're no longer newlyweds!) my sweet baby Jane turned one! What a day that was - I celebrated by running the Provo river 1/2 marathon! That's right - at 4:45 am, Debbi and I woke up and our coach Brandon dropped us off at the starting line. We didn't actually begin the race until 7 am so I was really glad Debbi and I decided to do it together - I don't know who I would have talked to for two hours until the race finally began! My sweet husband and children were waiting for me at the finish line, cheering me on! What an accomplishment. One year ago on that day I was giving birth to a baby! My that year went by fast. I am not sure of my exact time but I am pretty sure I finished around 1:44:00. It seemed to go by a lot quicker then that time so I guess that's a good thing - it would have been awful if it dragged and dragged.

On a sad note, a week ago today (that would mean last Monday for those of you who don't want to figure it out) I woke up to find my service door into my garage opened and my truck door wide open - I asked Nathan why he left the truck door open and then we both gasped! We new immediately we had been robbed. They took my purse and Jackson's scripture bag. I was so sad - all week I talked about it. For some reason I just couldn't let it go - poor Nathan, he had to hear me talk non stop about it. I just felt so violated! What IDIOTS!!! I have to say that I know we should forgive and forget but COME ON - I just cannot forgive these IDIOTS! Okay, that is all I will say about that - really, I could go on and on but you don't want me to - (to my surprise, my wallet was recovered - albeit empty- and Jackson's scriptures were recovered too- minus one scripture bag - If I am going to look on the bright side of things, I am grateful these idiots are apparently not LDS as I am sure we would never have seen the scriptures again because as we all know, you can never have too many sets of scriptures)

Okay so back to Jane's wonderful first birthday . . . I was so wiped out after my race that we decided to celebrate it on Sunday morning since Nathan was leaving Sunday afternoon. Thanks to my sweet parents, Jane did actually get to open a present on her birthday here are some pictures . . .

"Hey, I know I'm new at this birthday thing but I'm preeeety sure that your hands shouldn't be all over my presents."

"Mom, do you think you could at least try and slick down this mop before you take my birthday photo? I mean really - I can't be lookin' like this in my wedding video montage!"

"Ohh, I love this bear - now what else did you get me. . ."

"Okay, hands off, just let me have a moment here."

"Is this really for me??"

"Really, really?"
"Let me just eat my way through this balloon - it might be faster!"

We were able to enjoy my sister Stephanie for a few weeks this summer. Jackson and Audrey always look forward to a visit from their cousins. Here are just a few photos. We love you guys and miss you tons!

Boy Stuff and Girl Stuff

2009-08-01T08:49:00.001-07:00

Nathan, being the fabulous dad that he is, decided it was time to make Jackson into a man. He decided it was time that he and Jacks take a overnight backpacking trip on Lone Peak. They packed their packs, Nathan's probably weighed about 60 lbs. and Jackson's probably weighed 35 lbs. (I did the math and figured that at some point, Nathan would be carrying approximately 95 lbs. up VERY steep terrain - what a trooper). They had cell phone service the whole way so I got to talk to them a few times. I got detailed reports of what was happening and all the wildlife they had seen. I just picked them up this morning and Jackson said that he had a blast and that this was definitely making it into his "What I Did This Summer" report when he returned to school - I think that means it was a hit! Thanks babe - what a great dad you are!

Since the boys were off for the night, Audrey and I hit the theater with Bobbi Ann and her girls - we saw "Hello Dolly" at the Hale Center Theatre in West Valley City. It was wonderful! I have seen a few Broadway plays before so when it comes to local productions, I get a little sceptical but it really was good - I think the actors were all spectacular. This was the first play I have seen at this particular theater and I will go again - most definitely! The girls got a little restless but they were pretty good - it was really fun to do something with my sister and her girls (sorry Kendra and Stephanie - we missed you!) Sisters are the best! (Sorry we can't see your face Maddie, Audrey was making a political statement - we call her the family lib)

Raise your hand if you're SIX!

2009-07-27T18:13:00.001-07:00

That's right - the day we have been anticipating all year has arrived -Audrey FINALLY turned six. All year long, she has talked about this blessed day - how she would spend it, what she would wear, who she would invite, what they would say about her in primary (they always do this really cute intro for each kid) and of course she discussed - at length- what she would get. Well, I daresay I think it lived up to her dreams (I can see it now . . . she will insist on a year long engagement just so she can plan the perfect wedding and/or she will become a party planner - how proud I will be).

For Audrey, one day of birthday is simply not enough, oh no, everybody knows that a birthday for a princess must be DRAGGGGGED out. Yesterday (July 26) was her actual birthday so we had a mild celebration for her at home. I made her favorite dinner - chicken cordon bleu with cream sauce. We had cake and by the time we served it, Grandma and Grandpa Rhoads had dropped in to wish her highness the best on this glorious day! Aunt Stephanie and her three princess also dropped in (they however graced us with their presence all night as they were visiting from a faraway land).

Today, we invited all of Audrey's royal cousins to a birthday bash at the ever-so-delightful Chucky-E-Cheese, yes where a "kid can truly be a kid" (that's right, because when kid's are not at said institution, they are being overworked at home doing their chores and studies all day - what would we ever do without Chuck-E-Cheese -parish the thought!) However, the adults did enjoy talking as the kids ran wild in the joint - we stayed there for four hours (we really showed them - talk about sticking it to the man). The royal cousins finished with a grand total of 1793 tickets! Well done!

Thank you to all who helped us celebrate our little princess's sixth birthday! We are so lucky to have Audrey in our lives - I truly believe she is one of a kind and anybody who knows her, would have to agree. She is simply a delight - if you could capture a small star in the universe, bring it down to earth and change it into a little person, you would have Audrey. She is right there with me getting ready in the mornings (yes, she loves, loves, LOVES to put on makeup). She tries on my scarves, hat's, jewelry and shoes and she can apply her lipstick perfectly without looking in a mirror. Meanwhile, Jane just looks at Audrey with a blank stare on her face as if to say "Where in the world did you come from? Am I supposed to act like that too?"

Oh heavens. . . .Well, one birthday down, only two more to go in the next few weeks - I can't wait!

How proud! Well done Jackson!

Even Will came for the party - I believe it was his first visit to Chucky-E-Cheese - I'm sorry Will - I hope we haven't ruined you forever.

Thanks for coming Mom and Dad - I was glad BYU could spare you for a few moments this afternoon.
Before my Dad showed up, poor Nathan was surrounded by women.

I love this little girl to death but either she is not very photogenic or she just doesn't like me (and who would believe the second part of that statement anyways) - I told her to smile like 10 times. I think she thought I was taking her mug shot.
Yummy Cookie!

Ahh - Jane and Grandma Dicksy - soooo cute - I think she wants to spend the night Grandma . . .

Audrey insisted she wanted a pony cake - so buy some Costco cupcakes, buy a pony figurine and vala - a pony cake!

Audrey's first glance at her birthday present.
"Watch out Lance Armstrong - here I come. . .I'm wearing my lucky red shoes and daisy in my hair. Hope you like lookin' at my back 'cause that's all your gonna see!"

Sorry - This is all your getting right now!

2009-07-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

FREEDOM!

2009-07-05T06:57:00.001-07:00

It is a new month and probably one of my favorites. I love fireworks and I love to see the American flag flying high. I am so grateful to live in America and it is truly the greatest country in the world. (Every time I hit the sev' for a big gulp - I realize just how good we have it) Last night we went to the Stadium of Fire in Provo. The Jonas brothers preformed and the crowd was wild. Even Nathan and I were rockin' it out. I knew most of their songs (thanks to the Disney channel being on 24/7) but was bummed they didn't preform one of my personal favorites Pizza Girl. If you don't know the song - then I feel bad for you. The fireworks were spectacular and even baby Jane had a great time. She was really good. Audrey did not like all the walking we had to do but she made it. Good job babe.

This week has been a busy one trying to keep the kids happy and occupied. We went to the Zoo (that place is just CRAZY in the summer). We bought Audrey new under ware (who knew that would bring such delight to her life for days!?), took Buzz the vet to get annual vaccinations, bought a fire pit and had a hot dog roast with most the kids in the neighborhood and Nathan took Audrey to "UP" for a daddy-daughter date while Jackson went boating with his friend Ethan. Now Jackson wants to get a boat sooo badly. Too bad Jacks - I just don't think it's in the cards for us, but if you sit on an inner tube at the pool and tie a rope around it - I'd be happy to pull you around really fast! See - I can be accommodating.

This is a quick skirt I made Audrey this week - I think it turned out really cute.

Just another photo of baby Jane's cute face!

Nothin' like kids and fire. So fun . . .

Just a random photo of Jane at the pool - her favorite thing to do when we are there is of course stuff her face.

Kids at the zoo - oh look - they're not fighting - hurry up and take a picture!

Snowflakes in July - two days ago Audrey and her friends wanted to make snowflakes. I guess they miss the snow. I personally am glad for the warm weather. Summertime is my favorite time!

Jackson on the lake with his friend Ethan. Thanks Kamille for taking these great photos! I love them. What a stud Jackson!

Aint' No Mountain High Enough, Ain't No Valley Low Enough to Keep Me Away From You Baby!

2009-06-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I thought that it was about time the two of us had a little "us" time. We wanted to get away together this weekend so- thanks to my beautiful sister Bobbi Ann, we were able to make that happen. Originally we had planned to go down to Lake Las Vegas and stay in the very fancy Ritz hotel there. But as Thursday drew nearer (designated day of departure) we decided that why not stay home and have a "Staycation"! We still took all three kids to my sister's house as planned, however, instead of heading down to Vegas, that evening we went to our favorite restaurant in Salt Lake, Cuchina Touscana. This one of my favorite places to eat - it is yummy Italian food and the crazy but very talent owner is named Walter but you pronounce it with a V so you would say "oh everything is Vounderful Valter" because he is constantly walking around the dinning room asking how the food is. This is how fancy people behave. Aren't we so fancy?

On Friday, I slept in until 9am because nobody woke up me at 6:30am telling me the were starving and expecting me to do something about it. They have me trained right? We went shopping, to the movies and out to eat. What a perfect day. We saw the movie "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock. It was so good! I definitely recommend seeing it. I love going to the movies. We went to another one of our favorite restaurants, "Simply Thai" in Sandy. So good! I love Thai food. We were trying to eat a lot of rice since we decided we were going to hike to the top of Lone Peak in Draper. *I have to write a little side note here - when Nathan said he wanted to hike Lone Peak, I didn't really take him serious. I thought "Okay, so we'll get up, hike around a little, come home around noon, go see another movie and got out to eat and oh! maybe I'll get those cute sunglasses I wanted - I can do that". This is what Nathan was thinking, "Tomorrow we are going to climb to the top of that mountain! 6000 ft all the way baby!". Can you see the difference between a man and a women?

So on Friday morning Nathan got up at 5:30 and began to pack our backpacks. I woke up thinking "oh shoot - he's really serious". I then rolled out of bed and threw on my clothes and laced up my hiking shoes. The whole time I am doing this I am just sure that it won't be that bad although Nathan appears to be taking this a little more seriously than I am but oh well, I'll just follow along.

We were on the mountain by 6am and we begin heading up a trail that has been recently washed out by mud slides so it is a little challenging to say the least. Then I remember a little tidbit I heard from Debbi, my sister in law, about how they are having a lot of problems with cougars in the foothills of Draper. So now I start to panic about cougars. And then I remember about the Bear attack in AF canyon last year. So I am now scared of cougars AND bears. Nathan then announces,

"Isn't that pretty - it's called Bear Canyon".

"WHAT?", I ask a little panicked - "Why is it called 'Bear' canyon?"

"Tammi! It's just a name! Calm down." OK. Whatever - I was just asking.

Then we spot a wild turkey - I think I heard that they can be dangerous right? I mean "wild" can never mean good things when used in conjunction with an animal can it? So I quietly hurry past the possibly dangerous animal. Nathan then spots a hawk flying above us, and I think "oh great, when you see a hawk in a movie it is never a good thing. Is there a dead animal around here or something?" After a little while longer, Nathan almost steps on a rattle snake. In my mind I'm thinking "Oh great! I forgot about snakes! Now I have to watch for cougars, bears, crazy wild turkeys AND snakes! Please don't let me die today."

We just keep forging ahead and pretty soon we are hiking on granite and snow. We are so close to the top but my legs are getting shakie and my hands are getting weak from hanging onto anything I can just so I don't slide off a cliff and I finally say,

"Okay, I am done! I can't go another step further - go ahead and I will wait on this ledge for you."

"Are you mad at me?" Nathan replies.

"No, I just know what my limit is and it has been reached. This is it."

"You are so close to the top! Only 800 more feet to go. You can do it - I know you can."

"Nathan - I know I can't- just go to the top and look out at the valley. I'm fine right here. I promise - I won't go anywhere!

So Nathan proceeds to the top however he falls just a little shy of it due to the snow field. Only those hikers with cramp-ons, snow picks and ropes are able to make it to the top. Well, needless to say, we (painfully) made our way down the mountain without much incidence. (thank goodness! but I swear I did see a snake - it was, however, slithering away from me so that was a VERY good thing)

Okay - all joking aside- I did enjoy the hike. I love getting out in nature and enjoying what God created (even the yucky snakes). I am so grateful for a wonderful husband who never made me feel like a wimp. He just encouraged me the whole time and we had such a blast doing it together. The one thing that made me feel really great is that I was the only female hiker on the mountain. Pretty cool right? As Audrey likes to say "I'm the WOMAN!"

Yikes! A snake - at least it was Nathan that found this guy and not me!

We just had to hit the 7/11 at 6am before we began our journey - this is a necessary step - basic hiking rules 101.

Father's Day Remembered

2009-06-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

Our Favorite Father! We love you babe. Thanks for being the man that you are - we love you so much!!

One week ago today we celebrated Father's Day. The kids and I enjoyed bringing breakfast-in-bed for our favorite dad! We made pecan pancakes with a side of fruit served with a nice cold diet coke (of course). The kids then sat and watched dad eat his food. Isn't that the best? It was a nice day and then my parents treated us all to a wonderful dinner at their home. I didn't have to bring a thing! Thanks so much M&D! We loved it! I was soooo stuffed by the time I left. We roasted hot dogs in their fire pit and for dessert we made s'mores. Jackson's favorite part of the night was probably trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to roast the perfect marshmallow. I have to be honest, it can be a little frightening watching your son run at you through a crowd of other small children with 6 flaming marshmallows on a hot, sharp, metal rod screaming "It's on fire! It's on fire! Put it out! Put it out!" And we wonder how kids get injured. . .

I have posted some of my favorite pictures from the evening. My favorite is this one of my parents. I love you mom and dad! You guys are so cute. What would I do without you. You're the best - I can't imagine growing up with a better mom and dad. Thanks for Sunday!

Mom - You've still got it after all these years!

What lengths we will go to for anything Disney . . .

2009-06-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Debbi and I decided it would be soooo fun to go see the Disney Christmas Carol train that stopped at Ogden Union station for one day only - oh, so did everyone else in Utah! For those sane people who may have not gotten wind of this from the other crazies out there, Disney has a new movie with Jim Carey coming out November 6. As part of the promotion of this movie, they customized three Amtrak cars to look like sets from the movie and the idea was that the public tour through them and see a little bit of the "Disney Majic". If you were willing to wait in line for three hours, supposedly it was really neato. However, it was Debbi and I supervising nine children (we brought Jodi and Tolan Brown's children with us) and we didn't think it prudent to attempt waiting in line for 3 hours. Luckily, we did pack a lunch so driving to the Ogden Union station was not in vain. We were able to enjoy a delicious lunch on a green strip between the large parking lot and a busy street. How divine! ("No Paigie, stay here and eat this sandwich, don't wander onto that busy highway over there - what did you say? I can't hear you! I think it may be all this traffic?!")

This is the view from the outside, ohhhh, I can only imagine what it must have been like on the inside (I am certain it was amazing - they even brought the Disneyland street sweepers to clean the sidewalk outside the train. You know who I'm talking about don't you? Those people that are all over Disneyland with their broom and dustpan-on-a-stick sweeping up molecules of dust when there is an absence of any actual trash?) Can you see the little snowflakes blowing about? They were tiny bubbles - again- Disney doesn't do anything halfway.

"Hurry, climb up on the dirty, rusty old train so I can take a picture! Be careful - I don't know if your tetanus shot is current or not. Now smile and act like your not disappointed we didn't wait in line for three hours!"

Don't we all just look beautiful and fresh-faced? You would never know we had been sweating and constantly counting nine kids all day long would ya!

Sorry Raquel and Paige - your kinda out of focus but remember - I'm not a professional so just be grateful your in the photo at all. Thanks Debb for a great and unforgettable day! At least we didn't sit at home bored. . . .

Tiny Dancer . . .

2009-06-14T09:01:00.001-07:00

Last night our tiny dancer, Audrey, had her spring dance recital. She had been preparing for this since January and boy, was she excited to preform. On Friday I had to take her to her dress rehearsal and I was looking everywhere for her and getting kind of upset because she had to be there by 6pm. I checked at the neighbors and they said she came home. I called her name outside and she didn't respond. I came inside my house and yelled "Audrey, Audrey, we need to hustle". Still, she didn't respond. Finally I went upstairs into my bedroom and there she was standing on a step stool all ready to go, just adding the final touch of applying her lipstick. When she was finished, she replied "Sorry mom, I couldn't talk, I was putting on my lipstick. Okay - I'm ready- let's go!" May I remind you she is 5?! Oh heaven help me during the teenage years.

Audrey has some friends that go to the same studio. This is her friend Mia. They are so CUTE! I wish I could have gotten a photo of all the girls together - maybe next time! Great job Mia, Eden and Daisy! You all looked beautiful and danced divine!

We even had a VIP attend the performance! Grandpa just couldn't miss it. He made the trip north even though he was feeling very sick. Thanks for coming grandpa - thanks for the rose. Audrey was so excited to have her very own flower. We love you! Get well soon!

Girls just wanna have fun.

2009-06-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Audrey's cousins Maddie and Brielle spent the night last night. Their mom had won tickets to the Kelly Clarkson concert at UVU so I insisted she bring them up for the night. Audrey was so thrilled! I made one giant bed for them and I let them watch Barbie Rapunzel on my laptop in Audrey's room. Am I a fun Aunt or what? Really it's just another great technique for crowd control. Thanks Bobbi Ann for bringing them up. We love your girls so much! Even the big girl headed to BYU in the fall. Go Cougars.

Jackson had a special rite of passage today. It was the first day of his first scout camp ever! He woke up at 5:30 and was counting the minutes until he got to meet up with his troop at 8am. He came home this afternoon full of all sorts of tales. A highlight for him was getting to use a Beebe gun for the first time. He claims that is what he is going to request for his birthday. I don't know... I've always said there would be no fire arms in my house but when your son is just so excited - huh, this is a topic for further discussion at a later date.

Today was the first day in a long time that we actually were able to see the sun so of course Audrey had to don her beautiful bathing suit and organize a water balloon fight. Many of my neighbor's kids participated and even I had to join in the fun. Jackson, Lizzie and Joann against me and the little kids. I think our team won? I don't know - we all ended up wet in the end. I just pray I am never too old for water balloons. I have always been a big fan of them- go figure.

Jane's personality is really starting to take shape. She is very adventurous and wants to be where all the action is. As we were all filling up balloons, I saw her trying to make her way out into the backyard and I had to capture the moment. I like to think of this photo as "the great escape". Way to go Jane!

Oh SNAP!

2009-06-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

An extremely sad thing happened at the red brick house today. Someone in a very large blue truck with a "Y" decal on the back, backed into the family trike. Yes, it is true. As a few of you may know, I have sketchy backup skills to say the least. Well - unfortunately, the plastic yellow trike was the latest casualty. However, it must be said that I did see it behind me and I thought that the truck would "gently" tap it and it would roll away - I mean after all, it is plastic. Well, I don't know exactly what happened but "gentle" is not a word I would use to describe what happened. I am kinda sad because the trike does have some sentimental value to it. I think the original purchase price was about $24.99, however, I did get my money's worth. It was Jackson's first bike in California. I think he was about 18 months old when he got it. Audrey was the one who really used it and who I feel bad for the most. She put many miles on that puppy and rode it this very morning. How sad! Oh, now that I think about it, even Buzz enjoyed it during his first few months as a new resident of the red brick house. (He chewed off one of the handles) I don't think the bike can be saved but if any of you have and extra plastic wheel lying around - we could certainly use it. How I wish my grandpa were still alive - I just know he would be able to remedy this unfortunate situation!

Jackson's cousin, Tyler, was able to spend the night tonight. Jackson was so excited to have him sleep over as he is the only other boy cousin on my side of the family. That's right - out of 12 grand kids (almost thirteen) only 2 are boys (the baby due in September is a girl). Jackson and I were both surprised when Tyler showed up to our house wearing glasses. If you have ever wanted to know what Brandon looked like as a little boy, just look at the picture below. It is a "mini-me". How cute is he? We love you Ty-guy!

One more photo of my darling baby. There is so much tile in our house and baby Jane is forced to crawl on it. My only consolation is that she knows no difference. It's so cute to hear her on it. All day I hear this "smack, smack, smack" sound as her little hands slap the tile and her knees shuffle along. Big news -she is getting her four front teeth in. I feel sorry and happy for at the same time! Don't worry Jane - it will be worth it. By next year at this time, those teeth will be chomping on a Costco hot dog and you will be so glad you have them!

It's Saturday!

2009-06-07T08:39:00.000-07:00

I thought I would just post a few quick photos of some things that have been going on. The photo above is just an image my iphone accidentally took while at the pool the other day. It took it of the water. I did a few things to bring out the color and I think it now looks pretty cool. Maybe I will print it out and hang it up on my wall. Oh, I forgot . . . we NEVER hang anything on our walls. We are so bad that way but I just can't figure out how I want to decorate and so I never do. Isn't that bad?

Okay. The next two pictures is of Jackson giving his report on airplanes. He had to do all his own research, write it on note cards, and present it to the class. The day of his report happen to fall on pajama day and so that is why he is sporting the plaid flannel in 80 degree weather. So cute!
This was his model airplane he constructed out of play dough. Well done Jackson!

So yesterday, my cute dad took Jackson and Brandon's family up to the airshow at Hill Air Force Base. Thanks dad! Jackson loved it. I got to hear all about the amazing stunts the airplanes preformed. Nathan is out of town this weekend so he couldn't take Jackson but it was so sweet of my dad to make sure he didn't miss out on the fun! When my dad came to my house he said "Tammi, what happened 65 years ago today?" Of course, I had no clue. "Sixty-five years ago today marks the anniversary of the invasion of U.S. forces in Normandy! That's why I wore my patriotic shirt!" I love my dad. Isn't he the best? You look soooo handsome guys!

Saturday evening we celebrated Mark's birthday "Ringger" style. We had yummy barbecue, Jackson's FAVORITE baked beans Jill makes, fruit and pasta salads and of course two kinds of birthday cake - all served out on the back porch. It was so much fun. Happy 58th birthday Mark! You don't look a day over 57! Just kidding.

I almost forgot to post this photo. . . Audrey's school always has a fun run at the end of the year. Parents can participate with their children. They begin at the elementary school and then walk all the way around Draper city park. It's a big deal for the city. The police officers are out making sure the route is safe for the kids and it's just a lot of fun because the whole community shows up. Jackson had to give his report about airplanes on this day so I couldn't participate but Nathan walked with Audrey. I wish this picture showed her shoes she was wearing. They are these dainty little silver flat fashion shoes. Audrey doesn't own a pair of tennis shoes -quite honestly she wouldn't be caught dead wearing them.

Let it begin. . .

2009-06-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

So the kids are officially out of school. I asked a friend of mine if school being out was a good thing for her or a bad thing. Her reply "oh, I don't know. It's good...yea.. hummm, but I guess it's mostly a bad thing." I just had to laugh.

We started off the summer vacation with a bang. Jackson had a friend over all afternoon and Audrey got into some trouble at the neighbor's house. Apparently she was dangling a blanket out a hole through a window screen and her little friend was supposed to catch it - three stories down. Oh yea, apparently it was a nice blanket (I'm sure Sally was so happy). After a long timeout in her room she then got busy looking for tape.

"Mom, can I have some tape?"

"Yea, here you go."

A few minutes later . . .

"Audrey?"

"Ya mom?" (coming from the bathroom)

"What's the tape for?"

"Oh - well, I'm putting it around the toilet paper because then when someone tries to use the toilet paper it won't come off and they will just keep turning it and turning it wondering why it won't come off and it will be really funny."

Oh jeez - help me now. Guess who was the first person to use that bathroom an hour later.
Soooooo funny.

I then took the kids swimming. It was great, we had the pool all to ourselves. Probably because it was kinda stormy all afternoon. The kids had been swimming for maybe about 30 minutes when someone who worked there said they saw lightning. I don't think they did - I just think they wanted to shut it down and go home. Nathan it still in D.C. for school requirements- we miss him tons and can't wait to get him home next weekend.

Here are a few pictures I took of the kids swimming. They're not very good because I used my phone, I didn't have my good camera with me but you get the idea...there was water, they're wet, there are noodles in the background. Yup, looks like they're swimming.

I almost forgot to mention. . .we had to celebrate the end of the school year with our traditional trip to Chuck-a-Rama. This is Jackson's favorite place in the world. I can't go in that place without thinking of my Grandpa. It was his favorite too. We went with Brandon and his family which was fun. Brandon's kids are supper cute. Audrey gave Paige a mini makeover (with lipstick) in the restaurant. I'm sure Debbi was thrilled! Hip Hip Hooray for Summer!!

Summer summer summertimmmmmmmmmmme, summertime. Let's just sit back and unwind. (hey, that's catchy! Someone should write a song using those words!)

2009-06-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Audrey wanted to put this rose in her hair so I had to take a photo - this actually came from one of my rose bushes.

Two more days of school and then we're done for the summer. No big plans really, oh yea, this summer I will not be pregers so that is a plus. My hubby and I both agree that I am a lot more fun to be around when I am not in incubation mode. Today we signed Jackson up for a sports camp this summer at BYU - he won't be spending the night but he will be going each day for a week. He is almost 9 years old that I guess this is a normal thing now. He also goes up to scout camp next week so he is way excited about that. Audrey begins first grade next year and our school is beginning a Chinese immersion program so in preparing for that, they are having the children participate in a two week Chinese language day camp ( that is paid for by the state). Somehow we have to plan a family vacation in there. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to go up and visit Steph and Marcus in Seattle - Steph swears to me that she will entertain us all day every day around the clock if we make an appearance so who can resist an offer like that.

Audrey had an agenda today. We went and bought her bird a house and she painted it. Jackson is supervising.

Finally, her ceramic bird has it's own home. With all the little doll houses Audrey collects, we like to refer to it officially as "unincorporated area 12687". Anymore "houses" of any kind and we will need to consider lobbying dad for her own fire station.

Really, the only thing that makes Jane cry is being on the grass without a protective barrier between her and the grass.
"Oh please, ENOUGH already!"

Here's a shout out to Natalie!

2009-05-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

To my dear cousin Natalie, consider this an offical shout out to you. Thank you for reading my blog - how you accomplish all you do in a day, I will never know! And to my lovely sister Stephanie who is also a faithful follower of the 'Life in the Red Brick house', I am honored you take time out of your day to take a quick glance at what's going on in my life.

Okay, now that I have done damage control, I will write about some of the happenings of late. In my previous post, I wrote about Audrey attending her first drive-in movie. Thank you to the Lindfords! She had a total blast and talked about it nonstop. She just couldn't get over the fact that the sound came through a little speaker that you affixed to the window of your car! How cool is that? (In this day and age, I am certain she would be just as enamored of a corded phone - I don't think my kids even know what they are)

Today, Audrey was playing with Daisy and Eden when all of a sudden she started saying that her back hurt. When Sally, my neighbor, lifted up her shirt to see what she was talking about, a wasp flew out of it. She was stung three times. Lucky for us, she is not allergic to bees! She was also stung last summer - she is just so sweet she must attract them! Sally, who knows just about everything (and I truely am not being sarcastic - she knows everything) immediatly put a baking soda paste on the stings and that helped a lot. Audrey is pretty brave, she didn't cry too long.

Nathan took Jackson to his soccer game tonight so I got to stay home with my girls. I finally watched the season finale of Ugly Betty. What a cliff hanger! Can't wait until the fall episodes begin.

This post is dedicated to Kourtne (yes, I spelled that right )

2009-05-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have to give two snaps to my sister-in-law for reading my blog. Okay, lets be honest, we know it's not the most happening place on the web but I must say, I do try to post a photo and a paragraph every day or two. Well, unbeknownst to me, my sweet sister-in-law, Kourtne has been a faithful reader of mine and I didn't even know it! Thus, she is the reader of the day! Now- I do not mean to offend anybody else who has been reading my blog because I appreciate you all, but it just was exciting to know that she read me and I never even told her about my blog! How AMAZING is that?! (I have to remind some of my own flesh and blood to look at my blog so I felt honored to say the very least!)

This holiday weekend has been a fabulous one. It began by Nathan arriving home from Korea on Friday instead of Saturday! He walked through the door and into the kitchen and surprised me so I totally screamed. Jane looked a little frightened but by Sunday, Nathan didn't seem so scary anymore. On Saturday I cleaned some of the house, finished laundry and took care of kids and hubby. Hubby worked in the yard all day and read the whole entire book for book club - in one day- unreal right? That's just one of his many talents! (Thanks babe - you saved us!)

Audrey was either posing or pouting . . . I can't remember but as you can see, both looks are very similar.

Sunday we enjoyed another chaotic Sunday morning - I don't care what time church is, I am ALWAYS scrambling to get ready and out the door on time. What's up with that? After church, Nathan's family came over for a quick dinner (we also celebrated Kourtne's B-day - ahhh, to be soooo young! 25!!) and we went and put flowers on his brother's grave out in Kerns. This is a Ringger family tradition we do every year. Nathan's brother, Will, died from SIDS when he was 3 months old. Nathan was 6 at the time. Will would have been 30 this year. I can't imagine what Nathan's family went through when that happened. I am so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge that we can be with our loved ones again someday. Jill (Nathan's mother) has expressed this same sediment when talking about Will. On a much lighter note, Audrey did entertain us on the way home. We were listening to some song on the radio, I can't remember what exactly it was but Audrey all of sudden began interjecting "chickaboom, chicaboom, chickaboom" on each beat of the song. Okay, you probably had to be there but that is what we get at our house on a daily basis. Where does she come up with these things?

Don't blame me if there is hair on your piece of cake!

Today (Memorial day) has been a fabulous day of working in the yard non-stop. I just know that if you came over and looked at our yard you would exclaim "You worked all day out here and THIS is what it looks like??!!" Sad, but true. If there is anyone out there who just can't get enough of weed pulling, bush pruning and garden preparation, please feel free to exercise that green thumb over here. I am pretty sure (uhh, ya, totally sure) I could put your skills to use. Nathan also showed his barbecue chops - nice chicken babe! How lucky am I- I hardly had to do a thing for dinner!
YUMMMMMY!
What a handsome hubby! Who's redneck baby is that?!
Ahh, my three kids - doing what they love to do best . . . Jackson-playing Nintendo DS, Jane-eating and Audrey-posing for photos!

THIS JUST IN AT 9:00PM MONDAY NIGHT. . . . .

Audrey was just invited to go to the Drive-in movie with the Lindfords. She was very excited and came running into the house exclaiming . . ."MOM!! The Limpurs invited me to the Drive thru movie! Can I go? I think I'm going to see something fun!" Okay, lets just see if she stays awake on the ride to the movie. Her first drive-in movie, just one of the joys of youth. I have fond memories of attending the movies with my Aunt Robin and Uncle Danny! I had great times going with my cousins. What fun! I'll let you know how it goes. Stay tuned . . . .

We're almost to the finish line. . .

2009-05-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

This was what the sky looked like tonight - blue with fluffy pink clouds. What girl can resist taking a photo of fluffy pink clouds?

The last few days have been quite busy. It seems that somehow I am always running a smidgen late for wherever I need to be, so I often find myself leaning forward in the drivers seat with my fists clenching the steering wheel, my eyes opened wide, while I am muttering to my self in a quite but desperate, pleading voice "turn green, turn green, turn green!!" At the same time, in my much louder voice I am commanding my son to "pleeeeese put on your soccer shoes, you need to hop out as soon as we get there!" I swear, it's so stressful I can sometimes just feel the wrinkles on my forehead sinking in for good. I think the stress of being late to any event you have to go to can take years off your life - I can feel my heart beating faster so I know that can't be good!

Today Jackson had his end of the year piano recital so I took a few photos but the real entertainment was what happened once we got home - he stole the neighbors pink bike and tormented her in the culdesack with it. I just had to document it with my camera. It was one of those perfect spring evenings. There are many beautiful places in this world but to me there is nothing quite like a summer evening in Utah. I love the temperature, the smell and even the sound of fewer cars on the road. When Nathan and I lived in California, I remember telling him that I missed those Utah summer evenings.

Of course I had to throw in a few more photos of Audrey. Sorry Jane, no publicity photos for you tonight, you were already in bed.

Fun in the 95 degree sun!

2009-05-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

It was oh so hot today so first thing this morning, Audrey just had to put on her swimsuit (of course her favorite swimsuit is the one with Little Mermaid plastered all over it- soooo cute, I know). Yes, we are still in school but Kindergarten has testing all week long so this is like spring break round 2 for Audrey, she is in heaven. I had to take some photos of her and one of her best girlies Eden - don't they just look so young and innocent? Ahh, those happy days before a mortgage, grocery bills, insurance payments, jury duty. . . . I could go on and on right?

Nathan is so fancy, he is in Korea all week so I am living large this week - I'll tell you what baby! He will however be home for the Memorial Day holiday. Today I asked him what we should do on Monday since he has a day off, he replied "work in the yard". Oh ya, that's right - isn't living on 1/2 an acre soooo much fun? All this space is soooo great - I mean, it's basically fire control all summer long as we try to keep the grass from burning up from the extreme heat of the desert we live in. Ahh, the lazy days of summer.

I just had to add this last photo of Jane in her high chair with buzz laying in wait of any droppings that may fall. It's actually not a very great photo but you get the idea. Jane is now eating what Audrey likes to call "real people food" and therefore half of it lands on the ground. No wonder Buzz is beginning to look a little chunky to me!

What do I do all day?

2009-05-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

I know that in the quiet moments of the day you may find yourself asking "What does that Tammi Ringger do all day"? (uhh, ya, I was actually asked this question once by someone who has obviously much older children than I) Well, to answer that question, I have posted a few photos to show what I might do in one day...

Okay, so I was going to try and write a caption under each photo but since I am such a computer DORK!! I will just write all of the text here -

In the first photo, I am modeling a jacket I finished this week. In the following three photos, I am showing off the fish costume I had to make for my beautiful daughter. Yes, for a kindergartner's final project, they have to pick an animal, study that animal and recite some facts about that animal. Oh yes - I almost forgot, they have to come to school dressed as that animal. "Please just use whatever you materials you may have laying around the house". Okay, you don't give this girl a challenge and expect it to be compiled using duct tape and safety pins! Yes, I spent all day on this but she was representing me! Pluleeze!

Later that day, we went to Jackson's soccer game. I just had to throw in the photo of the coach surrounded by twelve boys waiting for instruction. (If it was me doing this job, I would be coaching with a 44oz big gulp in hand) I have to give major props to anyone who will take on a coaching job like this - they don't get paid and they are there for practice and for the games. Thanks coach!

The final photo is of my darling Jane - Hey, you can never have too many photos of a baby right?

5/11 -The day after Mothers day.

2009-05-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day! Yes, that one day a year all mother's look forward to has come and gone. Once again, Nathan was away for the blessed day, working for Uncle Sam (don't we have such a nice uncle?). Jackson did however make me breakfast in bed by himself. He brought me toast with jam and a plate full of candy - how can your day not be perfect when you start it out right with a plate of candy? Although Audrey decided to pass on the "making mom breakfast in bed" part, she did make me feel good by doing everything I asked her to do with a pleasant "I would love to do that for you because you do so much for me and today is YOUR day!"(I promise, I did not hypnotize her to say that in the night). She even sat through church fairly reverently which is a major accomplishment for my very wiggly 5 year old.

Nathan did however make it home last night so he celebrated this evening by making me dinner(pizza and yummy cake for dessert) and bringing home beautiful red roses. Yes, what a stud muffin he is. Oh, what did I get for mother's day you may ask? Well yes, I think I addressed that issue a few blogs back - remember the iphone issue? Ya, that was my present - oh snap! Why did my iphone break so close to mother's day? Just kidding - it's just what I wanted.

On Sunday I made dinner for my wonderful mother, dad, brother and his family and my sister and her family. It was fun for me to host on such a special day. Thanks for coming everyone! I love you all so much. Thanks Nathan for making it special for me today and thanks Jackson and Audrey for making me feel special on my day (no Jackson, there is not an official Kid's day - but don't worry, I'll make you breakfast in the morning - just like I do every day).

2009-05-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

I had to get out of the house today - for the safety of my children and the sanity of my brain. I have been wanting to take them to the Walter Wick exhibit at the Museum of Art at BYU so I decided to take them there. Walter Wick is the artist who created the "I SPY" books. It was so interesting to see the exhibit - apparently he builds the scenes and then photographs them. I thought it was mostly computer generated but it is not. They have a video that explains how each set is created. My kids really enjoyed it and I enjoyed being with them -especially in a "nag" free environment. When we are at home all day, I can think up a million jobs for them to do but sometimes it's just nice to get away and remember that we can just have fun together.

After the museum, I took them over to the Wilkinson Center on campus and got some lunch at Subway. BYU is pretty dead right now because it is between semesters so it was nice to visit at a quieter time. Jackson says he can't wait to go to BYU - looks like our brainwashing technique is working! Audrey just hopes that by the time she gets to college, they have figured out an on-campus transportation system more conducive to her "no walking" policy.

Can you guess the outside tempeture in this photo?

2009-05-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, by what you see in these photos, you may think that it is probably very hot - I mean so hot, why wouldn't you want to dawn your swimsuit and run through the sprinklers? Well, in fact, it is actually only about 62 degrees! It never ceases to amaze me how resilient children are to cold weather. Although, I have to say that in the spring, 62 degrees does seem hot but in the fall, it feels so cold. Was I really like this when I was little? At what point do we cross the line from wearing flip flops in the middle of winter and not feeling the wet and cold on our toes to zipping up our coat and reaching for the scarf and gloves?! Oh, the innocence and joy of youth. As you can see, Audrey is the only one that is mine in the photo, the other three are my adopted children - my neighbor and I share custody.

Just another day in the red brick house.

2009-05-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I experienced another "first" today - every once in a while Audrey and I will kind of argue about what she can wear to school or in public (if we are staying home, she has free reign of her closet which can make for interesting color/pattern combinations). This morning, she wanted to dress Jane. I said we could get Jane dressed together - that was not good enough for Audrey- she wanted to do it on her own. "Okay" I said, lets see what you can find. Ugh, I came back in and saw what she picked out and I said no, Jane was not going to wear that - so today was a first for me because not only do I fight with Audrey about what she wears, I fight with Audrey over what Jane will wear. Honestly - is this what it means to have girls in a household? Is this just the beginning or is there someway to nip this in the bud? Help me now.

Nathan treated me to an hour tonight. He took Jackson and Audrey to Jackson's soccer game and I got to hang out with Jane at home. It was 75 minutes of bliss. Hey guys I love ya but sometimes quiet at night is nice too. Thanks sweetie for offering to go without me. That was soooooo nice:)

Harmony and balance have been restored to the red brick house.

2009-05-06T18:34:00.001-07:00

Today was a very good day . . . I replaced my iphone first thing this morning at the Apple store downtown. Over the weekend, Apple announced that it would allow its customers to replace water damaged iphones for a flat fee of $199 (I know, still a lot of money for a phone) which is much better than the regular price of $399. I am so glad to be a cell phone user once again. I really have to think hard to remember what life was like before a cell phone (why bother trying to think that hard?).

Since I knew I had to go down to the Gateway anyway, I told Audrey that she could put on her swimsuit and play in the Olympic water feature they have there. We were very lucky, she was the only child playing in it (very unusual). We were there at 10am but it was alreay 72 degrees. The weather was amazing today. I have to say, Utah is pretty great when it comes to weather - just when you can't stand winter any longer, along comes spring. Nathan knows that I can never move to another place with winters harsher than Utah and compared to many parts of the country, Utah's winter is pretty mild.

Audrey would live in her swimsuit if I let her. Tonight I was testing the sprinklers out and she wanted to put on her swimsuit and run through them. I had to veto that one. Jackson was bummed that he didn't get to go to the Gateway this morning with us but I promised that I would take him sometime this summer. School just gets in the way of having fun sometimes. Nathan is still in Monterey, California for work - I am so jealous. I miss California so much (sigh) maybe someday.....

Jackson has a soccer game tomorrow night so maybe I will take my camera and try to get some photos of him to post on my blog. I love watching soccer games in the spring and fall - lucky Jackson likes playing or else I don't know what I would do!

I just love babies!

2009-05-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

Don't you just want to kiss this face all day long??

Kendra's Prom Dress

2009-05-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here was a stylized photo I took of my girlie! Isn't she great?? Yes, I made the dress and it took me about 30 hours total. Just keep in mind I am in the very beginning stages of photography so everything I am doing right now is just for practice. You're never too old to learn a new skill!

This is the perfect prom photo. What a couple of beautiful people!!

Waiting for My Nails to Dry!

2009-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have been playing around with some new photo software on my computer and I had to post this picture of Audrey. We paint her nails at least twice a week so as you can imagine, she has become very good at waiting for her nails to dry.

To iphone or not to iphone.... that is the question.

2009-05-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was actually more attached to my phone than I thought I was. A little unhealthy right? Nathan and I spend the greater part of the day discussing whether or not to replace it. I say no - but then he says "oh, but you loved it so much!" and then I am left with that rolling around in my head for a while. What to do??? I did however clean out the pantry today. I felt that was a major accomplishment for a day so therefore, I did not need to do anything else the rest of the day - so I didn't - until I had to pick up Jackson from school and take him to piano and then visit Costco for a few necessities (hotdogs, papertowels, white bread - what more does a home with three young kids need?). Is it any wonder why I haven't started a blog until now? See how exciting my life is? Oh, I have to give major props to my wonderful neighbors for including my kids in their annual "Junkfood" night. The only way to explain this is as follows....
eight kids
two parents
mom's out of town for weekend
dad is in charge
any questions???

I am sooooo sad!

2009-04-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

A very unfortunate event happened today. Even as I write about it, my heart feels heavy. This morning Jane was acting perfectly normal when all of a sudden, she proceeded to throw up all over my iphone. Yes, you read correctly - MY IPHONE!!! Okay, before I got my iphone, I was not one to really go ga ga over a cell phone. I mean, I never bothered entering in phone numbers or trying to text (okay, so I am still not great at that one) but once I got this phone, I LOVED it. I used it all the time - it was my best friend at the gym as I could work out while listening to Pandora (best thing ever on the web). Tonight, I feel empty. How will I function without my favorite tech tool in the world?! I know, I know, I sound like a total snob but I really am going to miss it. Jane, I love you so much but honestly, I was a little sad, I mean come on, did you have to throw up all down the front of my jacket and into my pocket where my phone was? Ohhhhhh, woe is me...... (good thing she is just so irrestiably cute - I couldn't stay mad at her for long)

Can I make it in time?

2009-04-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

So today I am packing up like a crazy woman. I am trying to get ready for our trip to Washington D.C. I am now feeling so guilty about living my two little princesses. What should I do? I can't take Audrey, it is simply too late to buy her a ticket but my question now is should I take Jane? I have asked a few people what I should do and they have said leave her - including my sister. She was so lovely and willing to watch my children for a night last week and she says Jane is totally easy and I should do it.

I still have a few hours to make my final decision so I guess we will wait and see what happens. . . (I know, riveting drama - stay tuned!)

Alert! Alert! There is a diva in the house!

2009-04-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

So tonight as I was putting Jackson and Audrey to bed, I asked who wanted to say their prayers first. Audrey replied "Me! me! me! me! me! ... hey, I like that! I want my name to be meme now. Mom, will you call me meme?" In my head, I am thinking 'isn't that Mariah Carey's nickname?' Then I look back at Audrey and notice she has a fresh coat of shimmery lip gloss on her lips (this is a very important night time ritual and one that must not be skipped). Oh dear, DIVA alert! After her prayers, she promptly reminded me that I did not paint her fingernails red like a cherry as I had promised I would do today. Now I get to sit with that little nugget of guilt the rest of the evening.

2009-04-13T23:42:00.001-07:00

All righty! I am really going to do this now- I am really going to try blogging! I am so bad at this. I think I have now set up three different blogs somewhere on cyberspace (do they even call it that still?) Hopefully I can follow through with this! It is now 12:45 in the morning. I have been up working on my niece's prom dress. I hope it turns out. We are trading services. I make her dress, she'll cut and color my hair. Lets just hope she likes the dress. If you see me in a few weeks and my hair is hideous, well then I guess we know how she liked the dress.

Ugg - I feel another zit coming on. I think it must be all the caffeine and chocolate I have been eating lately so I can feel energized during these late night sewing sessions. Who knew that at age 32 I would still be enjoying acne? Hey, lets look at the bright side - at least I still feel young! (If you never got zits as a teenager, well then I just have to hate you)

Okay, so I'm really going to do this!

2007-08-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe I am actually going to do this. I hope I follow through this time. I know I started a blog somewhere else but I never actually posted anything after the first setup - so somewhere on the internet is this abandoned blog. Shame on me!