the white house at the right time

We made an impromptu memory Wednesday. Late Tuesday we decided to go to the Vancouver Temple open house, which is really in Langely, Canada. Randy had classes, Makayla didn't want to miss classes, so I packed up the "middles: and Makenzy and we left early in the morning. Hard pounding rain and a leaden sky stayed with us for most of the first half of the 300 mile trip. Though once we crossed the border the rain let up to a comfortable drizzle. In the temple parking lot, the kids changed from warm pajamas into their church clothes, I dipped the comb into water from our breakfast at McDonald's to smooth down bed head hair and then we went over to the chapel to see the 12 min. introduction movie. Like each child, each temple has its' own character. The interior of the temple is a lot of light green and soft blues accented by mahogany accents and white painted woodwork. Naturally it is all beautiful, calming, and serene. Cayden, who once bawled and fidgeted at the Nauvoo t...

Scheduling for 6 is hard. But really it is more than that. It is the work schedules, the kid's school schedules, and the flights, and the budget, and. and. and. And it is just plain hard for all of us to get together. But we did it again. Girls Weekend 2010. It was a very full weekend. We started off by watching Nikki's Mrs. Arizona pageant dvd and practicing interview questions. We were "cheerleaders for married women" for a bit and then our after midnight humor took hold and we cracked stupid, funny jokes, which are really only funny to us. We ended up hatching a business plan based on Ms. Divorce pageant. I am officially copyrighting the rites to this money making idea now! Divorce attorney's for judges, most photogenic replaced by most divorces, most alimony, etc. Tiff was the expert contestant. Funny girl she is! We visited Grandma Frye. She told us to no one knows how lonely it is to be alone, until you are. She really misses Grandpa. Woke up to see the su...

Happy Birthday! Randy, Daddy, Brother White, "The Man", Mormon Daddy, Randge, Hey Boyfriend, Randog, Your family is totally in love with you! This year Makayla and Randy shared their birthday meal atop the Space Needle at Sky City Restaurant. It is a landmark restaurant for a reason, and they had an incredibly yummy meal that was definitely not a marathon training meal. This year I planned a month ahead. A surprise birthday trip to have a "Boys Weekend". I called his brother, his boss, and his bishop (it was Randy's month to conduct sacrament meeting, so had to get him out of that). But sometimes the best laid plans change. When I finally broke the surprise just days before he was to leave, he said he could but would rather postpone because he had a lot to do before the beginning of the quarter, he wanted warmer weather, and he had just had a break. So I changed the flight and now he gets the bulk of his present in May, over Mother's day weekend, ir...

It is cliche. But true. I thought she would be little forever. That I'd never stop re-stacking the books on the bookshelf. Buying diapers. Watching Teletubbies . Squelching the urge to make her change out of her princess snow boots worn with her summer shorts and the neon green shoes she has worn every other day. I'd have to keep finding new parks and school playgrounds to break up the day. Will she ever stop biting her brother's toes and nose? Will they ever get along? I'll always get to add bows, barrettes , and curls to her hair. But it happened. She grew up. She's not ALL grown up. But she is definitely getting there. Teenager #1. I think Randy and I should take before and after pictures of us too. To see how we weather the teenage years. To see the wisdom we've acquired by Teenager #5 and the gray hair. To see if we will be beyond ready to be done raising kids at home. To move on and leave no forwarding address. Or wishing we had 5 more kids. Lamenting ...

It has been awhile since I've gone on a field trip with Makayla. Either my name wasn't chosen or babysitting just didn't work out. But this time it did. The 7th grade class went to the Cedar River Watershed to study the importance of clean drinking water. The lake is off limits to the public. We could stand on shore to see it, but not go in. Which we wouldn't have. It was a cold, cold day. Makayla's friend Lucy brought handwarmers and shared. Thank you! Makayla and Lucy. Gathering data.

No snow this year. At least not at our house. So we drove up to find the little patch there was at Crystal Mountain. You can't tell we miss the snow. On another day the Cayden and Madalyn "kidnapped" their friends very early, took them out in publc for public humiliation (the grocery store), and then to make amends, brought them home and made them breakfast. Cayden is a veteran pancake maker. I can't even think of the last time I made pancakes. His future roommates are gonna love his cookin ! Madalyn is awesome at scrambled eggs. I especially like her cheesy eggs. The Kidnap! By kids, for kids..