So long since I last blogged I dont remember...

It has been months since I blogged so I guess it is about time for an update:
first my kids
Melody: She is having a great time being a full time first grader and a great big sister. She loves being in school and she is doing great with her reading and writing and math. Her favorite parts of school are art, computers and recess. She is social and tries to be friends with everyone. She has had a bit of drama with her friends because I guess at this age kids like to be paired off and she wants to be friends and include everyone. She is a great big sister especially to her baby sister Maddalyn. She enjoys adventures and she is a great make believer. She has decided latley that she wants to learn how to sing and that ofcours makes me happy. We have been practicing Castle On A Cloud from Les Mis and she is doing well.

Miranda: She is funny and fun loving. She is now enjoying her Kindergarten class, but struggled for a bit adjusting to not being in class with her Bubby Tommy. She is ahead of her whole class in her letters, reading and comprehension. She loves her Teacher, Mrs Christensen and really enjoys her lessons and her enthusiasm. She is still chewing on everything and has been going through crayons pretty rapidly in her class, but her teacher as well as her doctor assure us that it is totally normal and she will most likely stop within the next year or so. She is a sassy little thing and she is very oppinionated. She makes me laugh everyday and I love spending time with her.

Tommy: He is a sweet heart as always. He is the smallest little boy in his class and I think the cutest. He has struggled with his letters and numbers, but is improving and maturing. Since his birthday is in summer he is one of the youngest kids in his class and it shows a bit, but his teacher is aware of his struggles and has made sure that he is getting the personal attention he needs in order to stay up with his class. He makes friends easily and seems to have a few little girls who think he is pretty awesome too. He loves to play hard and he has unlimited energy and is always HUNGRY. He is my little buddy and he never fails to tell me he loves me and gives me a big hug and kiss.

Maddalyn: she is getting to be a little jibber jabber. She repeats everything we say and tries her hardest to do everything her bigger siblings can do. She loves playing with Bracken everyday. She is starting to finally get some hair and I can manage to get two little pigtails in it for her. She still loves shoes and if she cant find her own you can always find her with sombody elses on her feet even if they are daddy's or mine. She is sweet and still lets me baby her. I see her getting bigger every day and although I am thrilled that she is healthy and happy, I cant help but be a little sad that she is just not my baby anymore.

Me and Danny: We are pretty much same old same old. We are happy, healthy and we know that we are completely blessed. We are more in love everyday and he truly is my best friend. We love spending time with each other and we love spending time with our little family. Danny's job is looking good and his company is growing at a remarkable pace. They are getting several new clients this next year including some very large very successful companies. They are able to save these companies millions of dollars every year in insurance premiums so these companies are very happy. We recognize how blessed we are to have a good job and to have that blessing especially as we see so many loved ones who are out of work right now. I am loving my calling as YW adviser and I have remembered how much I love to teach. I love the girls and I enjoy going to activities and hanging out with them, they make me feel younger:)

So that is us in a nut shell, We are looking forward to the Holiday season although I am totally stressed out by the aspect of Christmas shopping. I am really behind this year. I hope I can get it all together and worked out. I will try to be better at posting in the near future.

butternut squash soup

I made the most delisious soup tonight and I just had to put down the recipe so you all could enjoy it

One large butternut squash peeled and diced
one small onion diced
two carrots peeled and diced
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
salt, peeper and nutmeg to taste
one large container of chicken stalk
1 and 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup butter

Sour cream as a garnish

To a large pot ad chicken stalk, onions, squash and carrots
let cook till tender
add milk and apple sauce
bring just to a boil
puree in a blender
before putting back in pot melt butter in the pot
add the mixture and stir on low
add salt pepper and nutmeg to taste

laddel out in bowls and add a dallop of sour cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg

SOOOO Yummy!

Enjoy!

some cute pics

We are busy having fun and doing fun things so I am just quickly going to post a few pics and a short caption just to show how cute my kiddos are.

We took a primary field trip to the temple to learn about having a firm foundation and being steadfast and imovable here are my kiddos posing for me by the Temple where mommy and Daddy got married.

 Having fun on the neat new swing set! Love that my kids all play together pretty well.

atempts at summer fun...

Since for some reason the weather doesn't know that it is May and not March we have been taking advantage of every little bit of sunshine we can between rain storms. Kelli and I have now taken the kids to the zoo twice. They are having a fun exhibit of animatronic dinosaurs our kids just love. Here are a few pics.

Our hard work

We have been busy busy busy working on our yard this spring. I just wanted to share some of our hard work with you....

We decided to get the kids a new play set. They are constantly asking to go to the park and we thought it would be fun if we brought the park to them, also it gives them more incentive to stay in our own yard and not want to go gallivanting around the neighborhood.

 We got the airplane thrown in with the swing set. It was a lot of work getting it put together. You can just ask my mom. My parents were wonderful enough to come over and help us get it put together.

Here is my new garden. Isn't it beautiful? This was my vision for our yard this year. Hopefully the plants end up as beautiful as the garden is. Again thanks goes out to my parents for helping us shovel all of that dirt (7 cubic yards) in to it.

 Danny's pet project this year was more trees. We got 4 new fruit trees and two nice shade trees. 2 peach, a Honey Crisp Apple, and a Plum and a Red Oak, and a Sunburst Honeylocust. They are bigger than the ones we mail ordered last year and should be providing fruit and shade in a matter of a few years. Yeah!

 I decided that my kitchen was hideous a long time ago, but have always had babies (no time or energy) and little funds to do anything about it. Well I decided that a coat of paint on my ugly brown laminate cabinets was just the thing it needed to brighten it up and make it look better. Hopefully this will make me want to be in there more often and actually cook every day. The hardware is not all up yet and we are replacing our sink thanks to my in-laws remodel and getting their old one. I couldn't get the hardware off of the old fronts in front of the sink until that happens so it is all still a work in progress, but you can see how much better it looks. I tried to find a before pic for those of you who haven't seen my ugly kitchen before, but it seems I never had any desire to take one (go figure) so you will just have to imagine the ugliest 1970's cabinets you can and that will be pretty close to what it was.

Runaway Baby!

So yesterday afternoon I was down in my basement as I am now, writing a little thing about my mission bag for my relief society birthday party last night. I had the door locked and I thought my kids were all entertaining themselves for a minute. Melody came down and told me that Miranda's bike was outside and that it was starting to rain. I told her to open the garage and bring it in then close the garage and come back in. I assumed that was what happened (I know I should never assume when it comes to Melody). A few minutes later I came upstairs and only Tommy and Miranda and Bracken were anywhere to be found. I asked where Maddalyn was and Miranda said she was in her bed. Ok... so I went up to her room, no baby. I then heard a knock at the door. I ran downstairs and my sister was there with Walley in tow. She said that he was running down the street so she stopped to grab him. Sheer panic! I ran out the door and down the street. I then saw Melody and my good friend Holly coming up the street from the circle where she lives with Maddalyn in her arms. It is blowing like crazy, getting cold and starting to rain at this point.
Apparently Melody had accidentally let the dog out when she went out to get the bike and went chasing him down the street (I have told them about a billion times not to chase him if he gets out) and Maddalyn followed. Instead of telling me that the dog had run away and bring Maddie back in she went to her friend's house to get her mom to help (my friend Holly). Luckily Holly opened the door for her even though she had not wanted any friends over at that time and eventually noticed little Maddie there with Melody.
what would I do without my good neighbors? What am I going to do with my silly 6 year old? One more scare to take years off of my life. Thank Heavens it all worked out and nobody got hurt. I learned my lesson that I need to be the one to bring in bikes in the rain from now on until all of my kids can be safe outside on their own.

Showing off

I have been doing some self improvement and just trying new things. I got a new Sewing machine for Christmas and I have been slowly making new things with it. I made new curtains for my kids room and I also made my kids each a new apron. I find that I enjoy sewing and am hoping to have a place set up for me away from little hands so that I can do it more often.
I also have decided to get in to cake making. I have always been interested in how awesome it is that people can create such amazing cakes with a little imagination and sugar. I watched a bunch of tutorials on line and went out and bought some supplies and I made gum paste flowers and bees and a cute three tier cake for Melody's 6th birthday. I am pretty proud of myself, although I can only see the flaws when I look at the pictures I know I can keep improving and make some super cool cakes for my family in the future.

where to begin....

I have tried several times in the past several months to sit down and catch up on my blog. To be honest so much has happened that it is hard to know where to begin.
I guess I will just do a general update on everyone and if I miss something that has happened you will have to forgive me.

Danny: He is doing great at work and he really enjoys his job. He is a great help to me and has been super wiling to help watch the kids while I see to my various responsibilities (see me). He is as in to guitars as ever and plays every day. He has recently discovered the wonders of the classifieds and EBay for getting super deals on the things we want/need (free couch, $150 Kirby vacuum only a couple of years old etc). He has many new projects planned for our home and our yard for this spring. We are going to put in gardens, fruit trees, a new swing set, get a new storm door, and fix our damaged roof. I am sure there will be more as time goes on. He is excited to make our home the best it can be for our family.

Melody: My little peanut is almost 6 years old! She likes school and her teacher, but sometimes it isn't exciting enough for her (sigh). She really enjoys computers, art and playing with her friends. She is getting better and better at reading and whether she likes it or not we are keeping up on her homework and reading every week. She is a great friend and loves to play outside on her scooter and play tag. She is really being a big helper to me lately by doing all of her chores with little complaint including emptying out the dishwasher, making her bed/ cleaning her room, Taking out the diapers and keeping the toy room clean. She is growing before my eyes and has lost 8 baby teeth and has 6 grown in. She is stunning and her hair now almost reaches her bum (when wet) and she does not ever want to cut it.

Miranda: My little punky is not so little any more, she is now at least three inches taller than her bubby and growing like a weed by the second. She is super stubborn and if she is not in the mood to do something she lets you know. I have had to have several chats with her pre-school teacher about her little attitude. When she wants to be she is the sweetest little girl in the world and she has the most angelic face sometimes it is hard to believe that she could be such a drama queen. She loves to play the Wii, especially Super Mario Bros and is very good at it. She is a natural and she loves beating her siblings with her quick reflexes and sassy smugness. She is so much like me that I have to laugh sometimes. She is not just my mini-me with her little round face, green eyes and blond hair, but her little attitude is also me to a T. She is so smart! She knows her alphabet and can already read short words, She can count to 50 without much help and she knows how to rhyme, add, and she loves making patterns. She is so ready for Kindergarten and I know she will just love it.

Tommy: My bubby is as sweet and little as ever. He is completely attached to his blankey and has to take it with us everywhere we go. He has sensitive little feelings and gets teased by his twin sister almost constantly. He is so great at anything physical. He can climb all the way to the top of the rock walls at the rec-centers and he is good at riding his bike, running and riding his scooter. He is still a little snuggle bug and loves to sit on my lap and never forgets to give me a kiss goodbye when I drop him off at school (I know that won't last much longer so believe me I am enjoying each one) He struggles at school (I believe mostly because his sissy answers every question for him) For this reason I have enrolled them in separate Kindergarten classes for next year. I know he will have the hardest time being separated from her, but I think it will be good for him to get a little bit of independence. and maybe Miranda will miss him a little too and be a little bit nicer (I can only hope).

Maddalyn: She is now 14 months old and walking and gibbering a lot. She says mama, dada, book and a whole lot more gibberish. She is still pretty much bald and tiny. She was in the 4% for her weight at her 12 month appointment. She eats constantly and is not picky at all. In fact I have to hide the dog food from her every day. She is a little dose of sunshine in our home and we all just adore her. It has really been nice enjoying each phase of her life. She really completes our family and makes us all happy each day. She has 4 little teeth in the front and has been getting in 3 molars in the back and it has been miserable for her the last couple of weeks. One has all 4 points broken through so now there is just two more to go. She loves to clap and to put little things in to bigger things. I find little toys stuffed in to cups, boxes or baskets all the time. She is not so clingy to mommy now and even chooses daddy over me sometimes now (he is thrilled about that). I just could write all day about my little buggy.

Walley: He is now fully grown and a handsome boy. We just got him groomed after letting his fur grow out a little bit for the coldest months and I have remembered how completely adorable he is. He is now potty trained and only has the occasional accidents in the house. He is so good with Maddalyn and lets her lay on him and give him hugs all the time. He is the perfect dog for our family. We love him.

Me: I am now no longer in the primary after 4+ years and now have been called to be the Beehive advisor in the YW program. I am loving being with the youth and getting to know them and I love how young I feel when I get to be around them. They are all so awesome and I feel honored to have this opportunity. Our YW pres wants all of the leaders to be as involved with the girls as possible so even though I am not in the Pres. she likes us to go the activities and the pres meetings. This is why Danny has been so awesome about taking on the full responsibility of taking care of the kids on Tuesday nights. I have also decided that I want to be more involved with the PTA and attended my first meeting today. I am not about the be pres. yet, but I am willing to be in charge of some things now and to volunteer for some smaller jobs. I feel like now that I will have three kids on school everyday for at least part of the day I will have more time to commit. I am just doing my day to day every day and looking forward to warmer weather and more freedom to go places and be outside with my munchkins.

Just a quick note

I have not been on the computer at all very much the past month or so. I have been busy with kids and family and all the stuff that I deal with on a daily basis. I just wanted to quickly post a big thanks to my family and friends for everything they do for me and for their love and support. I know I might be a grump at times, but I really do love and appreciate you.
I am grateful especially for my husband and his calmness and strength. I would be a complete basket case if it were not for him.
Thanks to my sisters and my parents for everything you do.
I need to implement more gratitude and positivity in to my life.

Phineas T MacWallace (new Puppy)

Every boy needs a dog

We finally gave in and got the dog that we have wanted for a long time, but didn't think we could handle it till now. Wally is a 4 month old Scottish Terrier and he is so sweet and fun. We are working on potty training him and he is doing pretty well.

Trip to Disneyland/ Happy Birthday to me

Melody got to go up and sing with Tiana (this was so amazing!)


Our kids got to see a whole bunch of characters including: Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine and Aladdin, Pooh and Tigger, Mad Hatter, Tinker Bell, Silvermist, Mickey, Minnie, Goofey, Pluto, Chip n' Dale, The Evil Queen, and several other villains, and many more.

This is Melody seeing the castle for the first time. Priceless!

So I know that I have been number 1 slacker when it comes to blogging these past couple of months. I guess I have had a lot going on, but that seems like a lame excuse since I should be updating all of you when I have something going on... anyway here goes. We have been planning and saving for a big trip to California for quite a while and finally the time came to go. I was so excited to take my kids to Disneyland and see their cute little faces light up with wonder and happiness. We got to go with my mom and dad and it was awesome to have my kids get to spend some quality time with their grandparents.

First Day of School!

The big girl on her big first day!

Tommy and Randi outside their teachers house before we went in.

(Randi was pretty nervous)All lined up to go in
I officially have a Kindergartner and two pre-schoolers. Where did the time go? I managed to make it to the car after dropping Melody off at her first day and I burst in to tears. I can't believe how big she is and how beautiful she becomes every day. I am so proud of all of my kids and how excited they are about being in school and learning. Melody asks how to spell everything I say and most of the time I am happy to oblige and spell it for her. I got to go and watch the twins' first day in their class. It was fun to see them interact with their teacher and their friends in the class. For a few times a week it is just going to be me, Maddalyn and Bracken. I don't know what we are going to do with ourselves;)

Two New Teeth

So I know I have not blogged FOREVER. Summer is just too darn fun and busy;)

Updates on my family:
Maddalyn: She now is 7 months old and as of this morning is the proud owner of her two bottom teeth. She has not bitten me yet, in case you're wondering. She had her 6 month appointment a couple of weeks ago due to the fact that we did all of our kid's appointments together. She weighed in at 14 lbs 15 ounces and was in the 75% for her height and 25% for her weight. Tall and skinny:) The doctor thinks she look great and was thrilled to hear that she has started a whole bunch of new solid foods. She is scooting herself backwards on in crawling position and can even pull herself up on to her feet while holing on to something for a few seconds anyway before her balance is lost. She is still a super mama's girl and rarely lets anyone else hold her for too long. Thanks to my mom's generous donation of her Bumbo chair I am able to sit her up by me while I sit and get some things done. It is a life-saver!

Tommy: Is officially four years old since my last post. At his Dr. Appointment he is as we suspected... little;) Big surprise there. He is so excited to be starting pre-school soon and even got a Super Hero Backpack with several characters including Iron Man. He is still my sweet baby boy and even lets me snuggle and tickle him as much as I want.

Miranda: Is also officially four now (funny how that works with twins) She is tall for her age and the funniest little human being I have ever met. She keeps up a running commentary of her life and it's goings on. Example: If she is going to get something she yells out "running to get the cookie" as she is running to get the cookie. She lets everyone know what she is thinking and mimics me and what I say with scary accuracy. I have to watch myself with her for sure. For some strange reason she speaks with a slight Brooklyn accent and so everything she says is that much more funny when she says it. We just cut her hair in to an A line and she is so ADORABLE! Everywhere we go people compliment it (thanks Britt)

Melody: She had her Kindergarten appointment complete with shots and was awesome! She didn't even cry;) She is tall too in the 75% for her height and weight and the doctor says she is looking great. She is so excited to start Kindergarten she can hardly stand it and asks daily when she gets to go to her new school. We went school shopping and got her the CUTEST clothes and she looks so grown up in all of her new outfits. She has lots of friends in the ward who are going to be in her class with her so I know she will be happy to be there in school and be surrounded with a good support system. She is a good friend to everyone and is so easy going that she doesn't get her feelings hurt easily.

Danny: He has been doing so well at his job that he not only got his full quarterly bonus, but also got a raise in pay. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments. He works so hard to make sure that we are taken care of and that we have all that we need.

Me: I am pretty much same old same old. I am trying to get everyone ready to start school and I am excited to have a few short times a week with just Maddie and Bracken and me to get stuff done and to be able to give both of them the one on one time that they need. I have decided to do something a bit drastic to my hair and have made an appointment for the 26th of this month to get it done. I am so excited that our Family Vacation is only a month away from today. I am so excited to take my kids to Disneyland and Sea World and for them to get to spend some good quality time with their grandparents. I know that our trips with my grandparents are some of my most fond childhood memories.

So there you have it. no pictures because I need to download them, but at least you are up to date with our happenings.

Six months old

Maddalyn at six months old

She is sitting up, rolling over both ways, and scooting backwards on her tummy.

I am betting that she will be the youngest to crawl and the walk out of all of our kids. She is funny and happy. We have started feeding her a few select solid foods. Hopefully she will start sleeping through the night soon.

Kids Kids and more Kids

I have started watching my sisters kids three days a week this week. It is a whole other world having 7 kids under one roof for the whole day. Luckily Patti's boys are very well behaved, but they are kids. I deffinantly would love to have a long nap. Brenden and I are starting to read the "Harry Potter" books together and he is so excited that if I can't read when he wants to he just reads a chapter by himself. You have to be impressed with the reading skills of a 7 year old when they can read a big book like that by themselves. We plan on finishing the "Harry Potter" books and then going on to "Fablehaven" and "Erogon". It should be a good summer of reading for us;)
Melody, Miranda and Bridger act just like siblings and fight like it too. sigh
Tommy is showing signs of needyness and deffinantly doesn't love sharing me too much. Bracken is a sweet little 2 year old, not too many fits yet, and he listens pretty well.
Maddalyn has been clinging to me like crazy and has not wanted to let me put her down for more than a few minutes at a time. I have givin in and realized that it is probably not the normal foods that have been upsetting her tummy so 2 days ago I went off dairy. It seemd to be helping. She is now down for a nap and has been napping for almost 2 hours. I think for her it is a record. I guess that for my Maddie I can controll myself and my diet and not eat dairy for 6 more months. If she is still unable to digest dairy by then at least she will be able to drink regular soy milk instead of formula (much less expensive). I am hoping that her sleeping patterns level out in the day and the night and that I will finally be able to get some rest at night. I always feel like I am in a fog and I know I would be much nicer if I could get some sleep.

Catching up and our Trip to Arches

I have tried many times over the past month or so to update my blog, however there has been a problem with my picture files that has shut everything down every time I tried to upload a picture. So here we go again

I guess I should start this past weekend and go backward:

We took a much needed and much enjoyed vacation this past weekend to Arched National Park. It was awesome! We stayed in a hotel in Moab and spent two days in the park hiking and playing. The weather was perfect in the mid 70s the whole time. Not too hot or too cold. There were lots of other people there and that was probably the only thing I didn't enjoy. My kids traveled great and we took our tine driving down and home. Danny's family goes there every year, but we haven't been for a while due to finances and babies. Here are some pics of the highlights.

Tommy rolling in the sand at Sand Arch
Danny and the kids under the arch

Funny Miranda eating a snack

cousins playing in the sand

a quick pit stop

my camera died the first day so I have more video than pictures, but you get the idea.

Melody finished Pre-School last week and we had her graduation last night. She is really looking forward to Kindergarten and going to school with her cousin Chloe. It should be a good experience for all of us. I am so proud of her and all that she has learned this year. It seems like she is growing before my eyes

Danny had another birthday on May 1, 2010 he is now 32 years old. It is fun to see what a great daddy he is and how much fun he has with the kids. Miranda can't have so much as a snack during the day without telling me that we have to save some for her daddy. They love to play outside with him. He has been doing some major landscaping this spring.

We bought three new little trees for our yard. Danny studied up on all of the trees he could find and picked out three that he thought would do well in our yard and provide the shade he wants for our home. He decided on a Chestnut Oak, A Ginkgo and I got my Catalpa for the back yard. My parents have a beautiful Catalpa and I have always loved it. We also got three new Lilac bushes for the north side of our yard and a pretty flowering bush called a Rose of Sharon for our front garden. It is so nice to have a beautiful yard and a husband that works so hard to keep it that way. Some of my best memories of my grandpa Hoesch were of him working in his Yard. He had beautiful flowers, Awesome fruit trees and a wonderful vegetable garden that provided us all with tasty treats. I am proud that through my dad I now have some of the same irises growing in my front garden that were in his garden. My garden as a long ways to go to get anywhere near his, but I feel excited and proud that Danny and I are doing so well.

Maddalyn is getting big. She is now rolling over and trying to sit up. She is cooing and laughing at her silly siblings and making all of us smile. She did great at her 4 month appointment. She weighed 12.5 lbs 20% and was 25.25 inches long 80%. So she is tall and thin like her biggest sister Melody.

Those are the updates I can think of right now. I will try to do better at posting as they happen.

La Gran Mission Buenos Aires Sur Reunion

As most of you know I served a mission in Argentina in the Buenos Aires Sur mission Nov 2000- April 2002. I returned to my home 8 years ago this month. There have been so many blessings that have come into my life as a direct result of my mission. One of the greatest blessings has been the eternal friendships I forged with my investigators, companions and my President and his wife. Pres Vaquez is a spiritual giant all encompassed in a very short stature little Mexicano man. He truly taught me so much from his love, lessons and example. His wife La Hermana Vasquez is my second mother and is sweet heart. Some of the missionaries from my mission got together and planned and raised enough money to fly them here to Salt Lake for a reunion with as many of us as could make it. It was wonderful to see them again and to be able to embrace them. I was honored to introduce Danny and my kids to them and to remember the mission and the lessons we learned there. I spent every evening of this weekend with them and a bunch of the missionaries that I served with. I have had a reaffirmation of my faith and testimony through the words of the prophets this conference and through the words of my presidente. I have re-committed to do better and to do the things I know will draw my family closer to the Savior.

Easter Weekend

This weekend was wonderful! We had a fun morning breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa Hoesch and enjoyed the morning together with the family until first session of conference was over. Then we went home and relaxed and watched the second session at home. Sunday we woke up and the kids hunted for thier baskets.

Then we made a big breakfast and enjoyed Conference. We watched the second session at Grandma Hansen's house as we enjoyed grandpa's speguetti. It was so nice to have an Easter centered around Christ and our family.