Lincoln and Pinocchio

Lincoln loves the story of Pinocchio, and he is learning what it means to tell the truth, and tell a lie. My kids are pretty easy to catch in a lie. Their tone & body language say a lot! Yesterday Linc ran up to me "fake" crying and told me that Keslee had hit him. Keslee strongly denied it, and it was pretty obvious who was lying. So I said, "Lincoln, are you telling me a lie?" He thought for a minute, and said, "Mmmmm........mmmmmm........I think I need to check my nose in the mirror real quick." Take a guess who was telling the lie.

I'm not that good!

I stumbled onto this site today. The Duggar family isn't new to the media. They are some incredible people! I don't think, no, I know I couldn't do what they're doing! But more power to them! (And she's prego w/ #18!) Just wanted to share the photos of their new house! WOW!! http://www.duggarfamily.com/photos.html

Rules for the game, "Penalties"

For those of you who wanted to know, here's a quick explanation of one of the funnest games: "Penalties". So simple. So fun. Just get ready to make a fool of yourself. Best played with close family members. Not recommended for a church activity. :D

The dealer has a full deck of shuffled cards. One person verbally chooses a random card. (He doesn't see the card, just says the name of any card.) The dealer then goes around the room and each player chooses a card from the deck. If they draw the card that was verbally chosen, they are "penalized", hence the name, "Penalties".

The penalties can be anything, usually something nice and embarrassing. It's usually helpful to have them chosen before hand. If you need help coming up with a good list, I have a few that will make wonderful memories for your next family reunion! :D

Family Reunion, & summer bdays

Good times with the ROGERS!

So, last week, we went to a family reunion in Utah to be with my brothers and sisters. I gotta tell ya, it was a blast! Just wish it weren't so stinking far away! A few of you looking might not appreciate me sharing these precious photos, but you chose to come to this family, and that is one of the "PENALTIES"!! :D So to the rest of you, ENJOY!

Tyler has always dreamed of being this hot. I'm glad he could finally live out his dream, in front of his entire family, and the camera.

Jacob has had a hard time getting a date latley...I wonder why. So weird.

This is a definite fav! Camilla had to make out with Tylers dog. OK, so she didn't really "make out", but she did have to hold a doggie treat in her mouth and let the dog take it from her. It's all about a little game called, "PENALTIES"!! CLASSIC!

Mandi comes home!

My little sister, Mandi came home from her mission at the beginning of this month. It was so great to see her again, and to see how much she has grown up and changed for the better. These pics didn't turn out super great, but they give you a general idea of her airport homecoming. By the way, the elder was actually her "companion" on the ride home. Hmmmm...kinda cute Mandi. What do you think?

Linc had to pretent to be shy.

Awwwww! Mandi just loves her brother in laws! :D

Happy 6th Birthday Jackson!

July always seems to be a busy month for us, but also super FUN! Jackson's birthday is among one of the extra FUN events for July. Our little 6 year old will be in 1st grade this year! Happy Birthday handsome blue eyed boy!

Happy 11th Birthday, Keslee!

I can't believe that 11 years ago this month Keslee joined our family. It doesn't seem fair that it goes by so fast, but we can't stop time, so we just try to enjoy every moment! Next year she'll be in Young Womens at church! AHHHH! Happy Birthday Keslee Kalana! We love you so much!

Okay, so it's not like I just sit around all day trying to decide what I can post on my blog next. This is a rarity that I'll put two separate posts on in just one weeks time. Actually, if I was really up on things, I'd have this blog so full that you wouldn't even have time to look at all my posts. But, I HAD to include this event. It's not that I forgot, or didn't care. Just slightly "overlooked" including my girls blessing of having foot surgery. For those who haven't heard the story, here is a brief summary. One day, almost a year ago, we noticed that when Keslee stood barefoot, that her ankles looked like they were collapsing. Pictures never seem to do justice, but you can kind of see in the pic below, her right foot that has been fixed, and her left is about to be operated on. (Keslee's feet are on the left, Kemilee on the right. This was in the hospital, right before the second foot surgery.)

So, once we noticed this, we decided that we needed to talk to a podiatrist, just to check things out. Turns out that a girl that works in Tom's office (Karli - she's GREAT!), her dad is an incredible podiatrist, and happened to be in Thatcher at just the time we wanted to get her checked out. (He's from Pinetop.) This amazing doctor pioneered this procedure that corrects the problem on the girls feet. For both Kemilee & Keslee they actually went in and inserted a piece of plastic into the bone to correct the foot, and in more extreme cases, as Keslee's, they had to shorten a tendon, which gave her a longer recovery time. Poor girl! She was in a monster cast and on crutches (Linc says, "crunches") for what seemed like FOREVER! Kemilee was also on crutches, but had a lot quicker recovery time. As much of a pain as it was (I complain like it was ME on crutches!), we realize what a huge blessing it was to have been able to find Dr. Flake, and have him literally change our girls lives. He said that before their surgery's, when they would run, for them it was like they were running through sand. This corrective procedure will prevent all sorts of back, neck, knee, foot, etc. problems. We're so grateful we caught it now. We love you Dr. Flake!!

It was funny to see the difference between the girls as they woke up from anesthesia. Kemilee was a little groggy, and Keslee was just MAD! The girls getting stitches out...

An FHE to remember!!

Every now and then, you have an experience that you know will stick with you forever. I knew that moving here would provide use with new and.......different......opportunities, but let me tell you, I didn't think I'd EVER be doing this! First a little info. Our mama goats had their cute little goatlets (kids) a week ago. Who knew that any goat could ever be cute?! There are 2 males & 2 females. Well, here's something I learned. Male goats must be castrated (yes, CASTRATED!) in order to have tender meat, be calm, less stinky, many benefits, apparently. We also have chickens running around our yard. I don't mind this, as they are great bug eaters. Except for the roosters, who think that 3:00am is the time to wake everyone up. SO annoying! With this info as a little prep, let me explain our memorable evening last night. I have to say, I have an amazing husband. The way he went about this all was so good for the kids, and we all learned some things. First, we cut the poor little male goats. Our knife wasn't quite sharp enough, but Tom got the job done. Jackson helped Tom hold the first goat, and didn't really like hearing the little guy scream so loud it hurt all our ears. (I think it was harder for him than he would admit.) The girls sat back and tried SO HARD not to cry too hard. Their lips were tight, and faces red, as tears streamed down their faces. Here's one mistake we made. They already named the little babies. The first one cut was "Jimmy". It was hard for them to see little Jimmy scream. After the first was done, Jack had had enough, so I took his place for the second baby - "George". I don't know how Tom has the guts to do it, but he does!

After our lesson on "Goat Castration", it was onto "Rooster Butchering". This one wasn't nearly as bad. YEA!!! You've heard the saying, "running around like a chicken with it's head cut off". That really has some meaning to me now! It really didn't run too much, but the kids actually got a kick out of watching a headless chicken run around. Especially Lincoln. Then Tom showed us how to skin, and cut it all up. By the time he was done, it looked just like the chicken you buy in the store! Go figure! I was so glad we started with the goats, because the rooster made no noise, not too much blood, and didn't even have a name. :D

Look at the looks on the kids faces as Tom shows them the insides! Bleh!

Nice boots Linc!

Afterwards, we went in and talked about "life", and why we are doing these things. What a blessing it is to be able to have these animals for food storage if needed. We even talked about how the baby goats got in the mama goat tummy. OH MY! During FHE, my kids (the ones who didn't yet know) learned about where babies come from!!! Like I said, a very MEMORABLE night! We all were sitting around the kitchen table and at the start of our conversation, once Keslee realized where our conversation was going, she said, "Can we please not talk about this at the kitchen table?" Her stomach was still turning just a bit! We got some pretty cute/funny/awkward questions, but by the end of the night, it really turned out to be a good experience for everyone. Even Keslee!

We really are seeing sooooo many blessings of being able to move here. It hasn't been easy, but we really feel like Heavenly Father just keeps pouring more and more out to us. One amazing blessing that we have received is that Tom's company will be doing the surveying & engineering on the new temple here. What an incredible honor this is for them! We (I) definitely miss the conveniences from the big city, but I can see now the even bigger blessings that have come to us having moved here. He really does watch out for us. It reminds me of the scripture 3 Nephi 14:11: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" I know He wants to bless us, and He has. More than we know.

Check out my Slide Show!

Why I chose to be a mom

For all the mom's out there...do you ever wonder why you chose to be a mom? Does it sometimes involve more work, stress, anger, frustration, and sense of failure, than you think it should? It's 10:00 pm and the kids are downstairs screaming. I just cleaned the bathroom floor for the second time today because it was flooded with water. I was talking on the phone with my sister in the room right next to the bathroom. Lincoln was playing in the bathtub, and I could hear him laughing and pouring water out of a cup into, what I assumed, was the bathtub. When I went into check on him, I was sorely disappointed. The FLOOR, not the bathtub, was flooded with the water. And the water was leaking out onto the wood floor. He was laughing, and thought he had just done the funniest thing. I quickly got off the phone, and started cleaning up the mess. As you can imagine, I am not happy at this point, especially since Lincoln has also developed a bad habit of flushing the toilet over and over and over again, making sure that it is full of toilet paper. Guess what happens when you do that. Back to my story. Next, I hear the girls screaming as if the world is coming to an end. Problem: The basement bathroom ceiling is leaking. It took me a minute to figure out that because the upstairs bathroom is directly above the basement bathroom, the water leaked down to the basement. Not sure if there will be any permanent damage. Also, the upstairs bathroom bathtub just had heavy dose of Lysol spray as Lincoln thought it would be too much effort to actually make it to the potty. (this is in addition to pouring the water out onto the floor.) Next on the agenda, Kemilee starts saying, "OOOOOOO! There's poop on my pillow!" Luckily (for lack of a better word), it only turned out to be bird poop this time, but poop, nonetheless. And here I am typing this, not wanting to clean the kitchen. I don't want to change the laundry that has all the towels in my house because I had to use them to mop up the water upstairs & down. I don't want to get up from my chair and fight with the kids about why they can't watch a movie tonight even though they have no school tomorrow, and it's now 10:30 pm. I cringe at the thought of wondering if somewhere between the upstairs & the basement there could be potential mold. I am wondering why I didn't stand in line for 3 hours, fighting off customers at the day after Thanksgiving sale to get one of those wet vacuums for $40. I could really use one at this point in my life.

I am up and down as I type this. It is now 10:45 pm, and the kids are all in bed (except Keslee, as she is always the last one done in the bathroom). Actually, Kemilee just came upstairs to complain about Keslee, so I guess I was wrong on all the kids being in bed.

After Linc was dressed from his eventful bath tonight, I tried to sit down and talk to him about why he flooded the floor again. I said, "Linc, do you think it makes mom happy when you pour water on the floor?" He said, "No. And Heavenly Father and Jesus still love me!" It was kind of a light bulb moment for me. Even when we do things that we know are wrong, and we know there will be consequences, He still loves us. Even though my kids (my 3 year old in particular) really test me sometimes, I will always love them.

Even though things aren't always "peaches and cream" around here, (it's usually more like "poop, mud and toilet water") I love, love, LOVE being at this time in my life. It's now just after 11:00 pm and all the kids are asleep, and now they look sweeter than ever. Yes, even Lincoln. I think Heavenly Father gives us these moments for a very important reason. And now, I remember why I chose to be a mom.

Levi's call

Tom's brother, Levi, got his mission call to Melburne, Australia! We're so excited for him! Can't believe he's already old enough!

On my way to the temple...

This was a little scary! I was on my way to Mesa late one night, when I came around a corner and almost ran into this! Yeow! I had to get some pics. I ended up waiting for 2 hours for the fire crews to get everything cleared out for traffic to continue. I think I had a guardian angel or 2 watching out for me that night!

Mexico pics...keep scrolling!

Looking at the house we stayed in from the ocean.

A view from the back porch at low-tide.

Linc loves his daddy, and visa-versa! (On a boat ride in Rocky Point)

Just had to post this one! Sweet Merrill always has a cute pose when she see's the camera!

Lincoln & "baby" Reed became good friends.

Jack soaking up the rays by the ocean.

A view from the back porch at high-tide.