The Sanders Family

2011 family yearbook

2012-02-08T10:09:00.001-08:00

| Learn About Mixbook Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

i just can't rave enough about mixbook. it is a fun and easy website to use and i loved making another yearbook with our family photos.

why does jib jab make me laugh?

2012-01-20T14:26:00.001-08:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

pizza/pool party

2011-07-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

jonathan is so lucky to have the best primary teachers in the world! what a fun reward for behaving in primary! thank you neal and angie! i love this video!

dining room with new lights

2011-07-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

i couldn't tell which view i liked the best so i posted a whole bunch of photos. sorry. boring! anyway, i love the lights. i think it kind of pulls the room together. now to get artwork up and really finish it off. just so you know, my table is never clear like this. it always has yesterday's breakfast bowls and a bunch of legos on it.

the lights are off.

the lights are on. now they look yellow like the ceiling.

that's all folks.

dining room progress

2011-07-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

my little worker bees taking a turn at painting. seth loves to help his daddy.

price is really getting into it!

alexus would also like a turn. sorry sister!

i know, the colors are a little funky, but i should be getting my lighting today and i think it will tie it all together. i am keeping my fingers crossed.

gotta clean up this room today so we can get the table and chairs back in. so much to do, so little time!

more laundry room photos

2011-07-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

lance finished the counter top for the sink in the laundry room. it matches the other side beautifully!

it will be lovely to have the plumbing finished in here too. the big black sink is from an old high school chemistry classroom. will love using it for clean up.

seth does not look happy. i am not sure why because his life is so wonderful!

summer fun in the desert

2011-06-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

we just returned from a trip to the valley. the imperial valley that is. (brawley/el centro, ca) we had so much fun hangin' out with the family. grandma treated us to a yummy breakfast each morning and the boys watched a movie every night. we were definitely in vacation mode. it was a blast! here is the proof!

jessica's birthday party was fun. we swam all day at the dickerson's. alexus is smothered in love. all the girls love babies and she is one of the youngest in the bunch now.

price would not take off his floatie.

but seth took his off and was swimming like a pro in just a few minutes. the kids gave him a couple of tips and at the end of the party he was going down the slide backwards. he is pool safe now! yah seth! here he is sliding with the birthday girl!

levi taking a break from the pool. so handsome.

slater and seth climbing the rocks.

grandpa got strawberry pie for father's day and lucky for us, there were some leftovers. seriously, lance's mom makes the most delicious strawberry pie. see how happy my kids are eating it!

she looks cute alright, but she is like one of those dogs that growls when you get near her while she's eating. do not try to touch the fork or she will totally flip!

popsicles!

seth chose red.

yummy.

get every last bit!

jessica and naked as a jaybird, alexus.

this cat was hanging around the house all week. anyone want a cat.

it's free and lance's mom and dad don't want it. really.

binky girl!

this is the cutest girl in the cutest bathing suit in the cutest shot ever!

great grandma's 85th birthday. we gathered at her home to sing her happy birthday! this is one awesome lady! she is the nicest person you will ever meet. whoops, her eyes are closed and this was the best shot with everyone, darn it. mom made grandma a no sugar added banana creme pie(she is diabetic) and it was so good. when my kids went to throw their plates away, i made sure they were scraped clean before they went in the trash can.

she made a wish before she blew out the candles. so sweet!

lovin' that pie!

laundry room

2011-06-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

i really wanted yellow walls in the laundry room.

i'm trying to make myself think that doing laundry should be a happy thing.

we still need the base boards to be installed. it's gonna be this really cool, multicolored slate.

stained concrete floors. they look like worn leather to me.

i asked lance to put up my shelves and mop hanger last night and he said yes! yippee!

another cool custom made, one of a kind counter top. it did not turn out the way lance intended it to, but sometimes accidents have the best results.

i think it looks like the exterior of some cottage home in tuscany. i seriously love how this turned out.

my husband is totally amazing!

living room progress

2011-06-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

this is my living room palate-blues, oranges, greens, browns

my man, painting the walls. i love the color. i love that man too.

i think the ceiling detail is cool.

my blue bookshelves.

the boys helped with the concrete counter top.

green countertops? can you see it?

jonathan learning the tricks of the trade.

add some stain and hoila! a super cool, custom made counter top!

the floor will be finished soon too.

general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

2011-04-03T20:09:00.000-07:00

got to watch general conference this weekend and just wanted to share it with you. if you don't know where to begin, try the talks be david a. bednar, dieter f. uchtdorf, or jeffery r. holland. they were the ones that i loved the most. but there were so many other good talks so you can't go wrong with any one. click here. enjoy!

family photos

2011-03-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

our friend geri took our family photos this year. we have never had professionally done photos so it was pretty exciting! considering the fact that our kids had been sick all week and two of them were still sick during the photo shoot, i think the shots turned out great! i love the location(hiltscher park in fullerton) and the colors and of course the people. if you want geri to take your photos too, her information can be found at photobygeri.blogspot.com. check out her portfolio-amazing!

calling all angels 2

2011-02-07T14:43:00.000-08:00

give a blanket for a great cause. these two are the sweetest couple. we love them!

weeeee are the champions, my friend

2011-01-23T18:20:00.000-08:00

oh my gosh! winning isn't everything, but it is totally awesome!

jonathan played for the fullerton rangers this past soccer season. his team was called the chargers and it was loaded with a bunch of good little players. we had the best year with the team. the players were great, the coaches were excellent and the parents were a blast to be around.

the chargers won the league championship.

unfortuantely the championship game was on a sunday and jonathan was not able to play in that game because we just don't do sports on sunday-it's the sabbath, ya know.

but because jonathan had such an excellent season, he was chosen to play on the all star team.

he was so happy because that extended the soccer season a few more weeks and he was playing with an awesome team.

we never suspected that we would go all the way.

last weekend we played two teams. we tied orange 1-1 and beat laguna niguel 3-1. it was a sweet victory because that team was amazing! we also won another game because of a forfeit.

because of our wins, we moved to the semi-finals yesterday against whittier. we won them 2-0.

so that meant we made it to the championship game against la mirada!

that was exciting enough!

but then we actually won!

the score was 2-1 and when that final whistle blew when time was up, we all just jumped around a screamed like a bunch of crazy people! it was incredible! we just couldn't believe that we actually won!

go fullerton rangers! you rock!

a little pep talk before the game against whittier.

some sweet moves by number 10, that cool kid jonathan sanders.

walking out on the field before the championship game.

fullerton rangers and la mirada all stars.

pre game huddle-go rangers!

good sports

receiving the championship medal.

the team-just a bunch of ordinary kids that can seriously play soccer!

the most awesome coaches too! love this team!

transformation

2011-01-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

july 2009

august 2009

may 2010

november 2010 roof on, ready for stucco

december 2010 1st coat of stucco

december 2010 the exterior is all done! now to fix up the yard and finish the interior. should be mostly done this summer so we can move in. and then on to the roof so it will match. all in good time. patience is a virtue, right? really, lance is so amazing for building us a bigger home. it is awesome. come by for a visit sometime!

happy 4th birthday price!

2011-01-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

price was so happy to finally have his birthday!
we made him some cupcakes and sang him happy birthday!

then he opened a present and that was it!
he loves telling everyone that he is

4 years old!

we love this crazy kid!

he is such a cutie pie!

some photos of us

2010-12-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from Levi's birthday party and baptism. Oh, and one of Alexus's one year photos because she is so stinkin' cute in her tutu!

baby girl is 9 months old

2010-07-14T08:42:00.001-07:00

before and after

2010-07-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

This little rocker belonged to Lance's grandma and we were the lucky recipients of it. It is a few years old(try 40+) and has been needing a makover so I have been looking all over for an upholsterer that was affordable. I found one and would highly recommend them-CR Custom Upholstery in Orange for any locals-info below. Most places were quoting $400+ for labor alone. CR did it for $240 for labor and I had to get my own fabric which I found online for a swingin' deal too.

ta dah! It is super comfy too cuz they put in new foam. I love it!

CR Custom Upholstery

2691 Orange Olive Rd.

Orange, CA

714-283-2591

crcustomupholstery@yahoo.com

swimming at the schwab's

2010-07-03T13:47:00.001-07:00

red, white, & blue cutie

2010-07-02T20:28:00.001-07:00

swimmers

2010-07-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yah! Seth is 5!

2010-06-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

Seth turned 5 on May 16th. He starts Kindergarten in the fall. How did that happen? He is growing up so fast. We love this boy. He is so smart and sweet!

Here is the big boy! He was so excited to have a birthday! We had a little family party with Brock, Aaron, Cameron, and Kyle. We ate cake and ice cream and Seth got to open cards and presents.

He told me he wanted a srawberry cake with rainbow frosting. I talked him into rainbow sprinkles. He helped me design it.

Opening presents with the brothers.

Seth told Jonathan he didn't want to open his presents until everything was ready.

Jonathan:when is it ready?

Seth:when the streamers are up.

me:better go find the streamers!

We also had a friend party at the park. It was so fun to hang out, eat treats, and we even flew a kite!

Happy Birthday, Sethie!

The Roof

2010-06-03T16:20:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, we got the shingles for the roof delivered. It was pretty cool to watch how they did it. Here are a couple of photos.

Seth and Price had fun watching.

Seth likes to help his daddy. Here he is with the new tool belt he got for his birthday.

Not the best shot, but here is the front view of the house with the new roof up top. One day, Lance and the boys will re-roof the existing house so it will match.

A view from the rear.

My New Life

2010-05-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

This is so beautiful. I love this girl and i don't even know her. her example strengthens my desire to be a good mother and to be a better person. amazing story-you must watch this video. if you have any questions about our faith, please ask me. i believe what she does, she's much better at implementing it in her life.

sunday hike in fullerton

2010-03-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

Fullerton is such a great city. There are some amazing trails and parks here-some hidden treasures that we just now found after living here for 12 years. We had a fun hike on Sunday after church and enjoyed some family time and a little nature. We ran into a few other families from church too. It was so fun! A great way to get out some boy energy!

Someone made this awesome bench out of a log. A great place to take a rest!

Alexus is 5 months old!

2010-03-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

Her little personality is starting to come out. She is gonna be sweet and spunky!

4 months old

2010-02-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

she's just so stinkin' cute.

big boy portraits

2010-01-17T17:40:00.001-08:00

This year portraits were done around the new addition to the house. I like the rustic look of the plywood background in contrast to the boys in their dress shirts. Here are the handsome boys!

3 months old already :(

2010-01-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

I hate that she is getting so big so fast. Why can't they stay babies forever? We are all really enjoying her and finally getting back on our feet! I'm still not getting much sleep, but it's enough. Pink is so cool!

Blessing Day

2010-01-07T13:50:00.001-08:00

Lance gave Alexus a name and a beautiful blessing in the Euclid Ward(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) last Sunday. We had a great day with family and friends who joined us for the occasion. Here are some photos of the precious girl in a dress that I think belonged to my Aunt Becky when she was a baby. I loved it. It was perfect for the blessing and she looked so pretty in it too!

two months old

2009-12-31T19:24:00.001-08:00

the little boys

2009-11-25T19:16:00.001-08:00

i told them to say, "buddies!" while they were posing! so cute!

my handsome little price.

oh sethie.

i adore this shot and this boy.

my precious little boys.

the princess

2009-11-25T18:57:00.001-08:00

she's got some lungs. so sad.

her precious little ear,

the little swirl of her hair,

and her tiny little feet.

babies are so sweet. i love alexus so much! we all do. the boys are always wanting to hold her. seth will carry her from her room to me, holding her under her arms. it is pretty funny. he tells everyone, "i call her pwincess."

i love this shot of her and jonathan. it was not posed, this is how he holds her. he really does love her even though he always tells people that she cries all the time.

baby photo shoot

2009-10-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

purple princess

baby's first halloween-thanks michele!

pretty in pink

we might have another thumb sucker

my name is..........

2009-10-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

Alexus Lan Sanders!

my mom had so much fun putting that pink bow on my head!

new baby girl sanders-she's here!

2009-10-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

The whole gang!

Little precious!

we are so happy she's here! and really a girl! now for the perfect name............

her stats:

6 lbs. 15 oz.

19 inches

15 october 2009

3:03 pm

timeline:

my water broke at 430 am. got to the hospital at 5am. started epidural and petocin at 11am and she was born at 303pm. yippee!

Can we say "spoiled"?

2009-10-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Last night my dear friends threw me a super duper pink baby shower! It was a total blast and I am so grateful for all who came and truly showered me with love and gifts!

Here are the lovely ladies who put on a great party. Back-Linda, Becky, Kristine, Heather.
Front-me and Vicky(shower was at her home which is so beautifully decorated in fall decor!)

The darling pink cake. I didn't get a photo of the awesome pink slush made by Linda or the other yummy hors douerves, but it was a nice spread.

As you can see by my fat face, I have been using pregnancy as my full license to eat whenever and whatever I want to! I am going to have to get my diet back under control. Why do I love food so much?

Me, Price, and my mama.

Debbie and Lisa.

Sara, Katrina, Julia.

Beth, Jill, Paige, Linda.

Joanna, Donna(seriously girl, I took two shots of you and this was the better one), Jacquie.

Erin, Aubrey, and Aubree.

Dorie, Sue, Michele, Rita, Jenna, Jan.

Price was helping me open the gifts and Kristine was the recorder. Gotta get workin' on the thank you notes!

This is all of the beautiful gifts that everyone got for the little girl. I think I opened gifts for a good 45 minutes, there was so much stuff. I have got some seriously generous friends!

Here is all the loot. So many pretty, soft blankies, soft animal toys, bibs, a ginormous box of diapers, a HOMEMADE diaper bag-it is amazing, cards.......

onsies, jammies, shoes, lotions, binkies, burp rags, changing pad, gift cards......

clothes, clothes, and more clothes, and some darling bracelets and hair accesories.

I know that the gifts are really for the baby, but I feel so spoiled. Thank you to my sweet friends for coming to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our baby girl. Thank you for shopping for us or making us your homemade lovelies. We really hope that the baby is a girl so that we can use all of this pink stuff! Can't wait until she arrives!

Home addition photos today

2009-08-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more recent shots of the house in its current state.

Home addition photos from July

2009-08-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Family Room interior.

looking northeast.

Family room 1st floor, master bedroom 2nd floor.

looking southeast

It's a..........

2009-06-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

Girl!

Hope to be blogging again soon!

2009-05-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

Just in case anyone checks in on this blog, my computer died a few weeks ago and we have not been able to repair it so I have not been able to post for awhile. The house is coming along just great! We have walls! And the baby is growing but unfortunately not revealing its gender to us! Hope you are well!

Progress

2009-04-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the progress on the house.

#1 from a few weeks ago after Lance formed up the foundation and placed a moisture barrier over the ground.

#2 Sand is layered over the moisture barrier and most of the rebar and anchor bolts have been placed.

#3 & 4 From today-crew pouring concrete into the footings with the help of Ty and his pump.

#5 Rough finish of the pad-these 3 finishers were amazing. Lance says they are the best in the business. Two of them were brothers and you should have seen how they worked in synch. It was like watching someone create a piece of art.

#6 The finished pad. It is so beautiful! We are so happy that we don't have a hole in our yard anymore! Yippee! Now to start the framing.......

Disneyland

2009-04-02T12:30:00.001-07:00

We went to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago and I dragged our big camera around the whole day, but this was the only shot that we got on the Buzz Lightyear ride. You can't even see little Price who is on the right. We went with Mom & Dad Sanders, Thom, Mara, and kids, and Brock and Cameron. It was a little bit crazy and it was really hot. Could have been a better visit, but we did have a little fun. We are going back next week because we got the 2fer tickets, so we get to go to California Adventure. Seth almost took a train ride without us. He got on the train and we were all waiting for the next one. Lucky for us, Jonathan and Levi spotted him and started yelling. Next week I will need leashes for the little ones and we are all wearing the same colored shirts. I think I need to get the boys id bracelets or dog tags or something like that. I could not handle losing one of these guys!

the little nugget

2009-03-31T12:17:00.001-07:00

Today I had an ultrasound to size up the baby because there is a screening I can have done between 11-13 weeks and they need to be sure that I am exactly at the right point in the pregnancy to make a good measurement. I guess Down's syndrome can be predicted or ruled out by a neck measurement. Very cool. So here is a shot of the little love nugget. I am pretty sure that it is laying on its back with the head to the right and the little feet to the left and a little hand in the middle.

Here is a photo from a publication entitled "As your baby grows, from conception to birth". It's a magazine that they gave me at an office visit and I love to look at it to see how the baby grows and progresses each month. I think this baby is at about the same point in development as our baby and it seems to be in the same position so I thought I would include it because the sonogram just doesn't give a whole lot of detail.

I got to see and hear the baby's heartbeat and the tech said that it was beating about 163 beats per minute.

My stepdad, who has predicted the sex of all the boys, said on Sunday that this one is a girl! Ha, we will see, but it is really funny to hear him say that because he was always adamant that the boys were boys. I still have a ways to go before we find out, like 10 weeks, but I just can't wait! I honestly don't care either way, I just want to know! The suspense kills me. I read the end of Breaking Dawn before the beginning because I had to know that it was all going to work out. So it is with the sex of my babies. I just can 't wait till the delivery to know what is growing in there. I love modern technology!

baby number 5

2009-03-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that a new addition to our family will be arriving this fall! I am 8 weeks pregnant and we are so excited and due November 5th! I am definitely going to find out the sex of this baby, so we will let you know as soon as we do. I went to the dr. yesterday and I got to see the little blob and the heartbeat, so it seems as if all is growing well at this point. Of course we are crossing our fingers that it is a healthy little thing, but we'll take what we get! We feel very blessed that Heavenly Father would entrust us with another little person to raise. It really makes you step back and look at the stewardship that parents have. Sometimes, I am not the best mother and Jonathan can vouch for that! But we love our kids and look forward to having another one in our midst. We would love a little boy, but we would spoil a little girl!

Seth is potty trained!

2009-02-25T10:47:00.001-08:00

The long awaited day has arrived. Seth is wearing big boy pants and is doing very well going to the potty all by himself. We are so proud of you, Sethie! When he has to pee, he yells, "Pee pee time!" Then he goes to the toilet and does his thing. When he's gotta go #2, he yells, "Poo poo time!" And runs really fast because it really is poo poo time! Here are some photos of our little Captain Underpants doing his undie dance!

Kindergarten Valentine Program

2009-02-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

Levi's class had the cutest singing program. Mrs. Manassero is so talented in this area. Levi had a line and it was, "but sometimes the best gifts cannot be bought at a store." Then they all sang a song about hugs and kisses as gifts. So sweet, my friend, Leatrice, and I got teary. I love to hear children singing. And you should have seen Levi doing the hand motions. He got way into it, it was so adorable!

pipe cleaner flowers

2009-02-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

Seth's interpretation-totally fitting, crazy and out of control. He did this all himself.

Levi's interpretation-very simple, just like him.

Jonathan and me-well, mostly me, but Jonathan chose the colors. He wants to do it just like me but gets frustrated when it doesn't look perfect.

Valentine flowers from my Valentine

2009-02-18T11:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the beautiful flowers, Lance. I think they are so pretty and I love you for thinking of me!

cool kid!

2009-02-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

Jonathan took this photo of Price. It's just a great shot, I love it!

hearts, hearts, and more hearts

2009-02-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

Jonathan and Levi got an itch to cut out paper hearts. Well, if you know me, you know that I cannot resist working with paper and I have stacks of paper that needs to be used, so of course I could accomodate these boys with their request. Then once they got started, they couldn't stop. They just kept cutting out more and more hearts. We filled up our big mirror with them and then we put some in the window, but then we didn't know what to do with the rest of our hearts and it seemed a shame to let them go to waste. They had to decorate something! So we decided to staple them to ribbons and hang them from the ceiling. We had fun and it looks so festive!

I really love the fingerprints that you can see on the mirror too.

I really love these Swedish heart baskets that our friend, Mari, introduced us to. They make these in Sweden at Christmas time and hang them on the tree. They are a little tricky to weave, but once you figure it out, they are so fun to make.

I love it when Jonathan gives me love notes.

Levi got really creative with this one.

Lego Hearts

2009-02-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

Levi's friend, Mason, learned how to make hearts out of Legos. He brought one in for sharing time last week and Levi thought it was pretty cool. Levi came home and made one himself. Then Jonathan caught on and they both made bunches of hearts with all of our Legos. They would disappear for awhile and then appear, handing me a heart. It was very sweet. I think they are really cute so we are using them for Valentine decorations.

wouldn't ya know it?

2009-02-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

We dug the trenches for the footings in the new foundation and then a week later it rained. The soil was so full of clay that it stuck to our shoes like glue and it is hard to wash off. So when rain was predicted again, we got smart. ha. Lance covered the whole area with plastic so that we wouldn't have a muddy mess again. Well, it rained so much that Lance had to pump water out of the low spots or the weight would have torn the plastic. And it turns out that water still got in the trenches. But I think it was all worth it because it is not as muddy as it was last time it rained. Of course, they are predicting a lot of rain in the next week or two. We truly do love the rain. We actually pray for it. But when you are trying to build something, it sure is inconvenient. Murphy's Law, right?

when we're helping we're happy.....

2009-01-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

Lance is always trying to teach the boys to work. Most of the time, these guys don't like the jobs they get assigned, but today was different. They were so excited and worked most of the day and there was literally no complaining. It was so great. The got to use the power drill and they really love that. They needed to drill holes in over 100 pieces of wood and here is the proof that they did it. Our addition is going to be built in no time if we have helpers like these!

Now that's a lot of holes!

Levi lost his first tooth!

2009-01-28T10:20:00.000-08:00

It had been really loose for a few days and Levi had been moving it and trying to pull it out. He even let me tie floss around it one night and try to pull it out, but he got too scared after one pull that really hurt. Anyway, a couple nights later, he came to me asking for the floss again because he just wanted the thing out. I asked him if I could just use a paper towel to get a better grip. He said that would be ok. I put my fingers around his tooth and with just a teeny tug, it was out. Levi didn't even realize it. I had the tooth in my hand and he was saying, "now, mom, just don't make it hurt." To his surprise, I showed him the tooth and he says, "wow, that didn't hurt one bit!" He was so glad because he was around when we had to pull Jonathan's teeth out and that was a major ordeal and Levi did not want that to happen to him. So the Tooth Fairy paid a visit to the Sanders home and left a Sacagewea dollar for Little Levi who now thinks he is big.

I love that smile!

There's the tooth!

in the trenches

2009-01-19T07:49:00.000-08:00

A bobcat operator brought all of his equipment on 1/17/09 and dug trenches for the footings of the addition. I kept telling the kids that the digger was coming and they were so excited. They had a pretty good view from the back door, but they wanted to be out in the action. Too bad they are not safe on a construction site. It was fun to watch the work being done and now the boys are having a great time playing in the trenches and on the pile of dirt the operator created.

In one side and out the other.

Seth made up some surfing moves as he slides down the side of the pile. It is very comical to watch him dance. He's got some serious moves. And the diaper makes it all the better!

Roscuro the Rat

2009-01-18T19:22:00.000-08:00

Meet Roscuro, Jonathan's third grade class's pet rat. He is named after the rat in the book "The Tale of Despereaux" which the students read in class and went on a field trip to see the movie.The kids put their names in a lottery and if the teacher chooses them, they get to bring the little guy home for the weekend. At first I didn't want Jonathan to bring it home, but then I realized how important it was to him. His name was chosen a couple of weeks ago, so Roscuro came to our home for 2 1/2 days. He was actually a cute little bugger. He ate sunflower seeds and carrots. The kids had fun playing with him. The only problem was that every time he came out of his cage, he would pee and poop. Ick. Anyway, we had fun with him for the weekend, but we are still happy that we don't have a full time pet. We have enough poop to clean up around here without adding an animal.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!!!

2009-01-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

Since we didn't head down to the Valley for Christmas, we decided to go down for New Year's Eve and Day. Heather and Daryl were in charge of the Stake party so we went down and danced and hung out and talked to friends and family. The party was over at 10 so I thought we would be able to watch the ball drop in New York to ring in the new year. Jonathan and I were very disappointed to find out that they dropped it New York time, but failed to delay the show so that we could see it Pacific time. Lame. So it turned 12 midnight and we didn't even know it. Oh well, we had fun with our cousins and Grandma and Grandpa on New Year's Day when we all got together for yet another holiday meal. It was delicious and we love good company.

Acacia Park Ward Christmas Party

2009-01-18T16:19:00.000-08:00

Valerie Jensen directed the live nativity at our ward Christmas party. Our kids got to be 2 kings and a shepherd. It was very precious.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

2009-01-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

My mom always does Christmas Eve dinner. It is what she learned from my dad's family(The Smithson's) when we lived in Indiana. They were the ones who introduced her to Christmas traditions because she grew up in VietNam in a Buddhist family. She recently told me that the big Catholic church in Saigon was always decorated around Christmas time and she always thought it was pretty, even though her family never celebrated Christmas.

So what we always did growing up was have a big family dinner on Christmas Eve and we would then open gifts from each other. As children, my sisters and I always thought that it took so long to get through dinner and washing the dishes because we had to do all that before we could open the presents! But now I torture my children and make them wait too! It's so silly the things you do! I guess we don't have to do the dishes, but as an adult, it just feels good to have it all cleaned up before you move on to fun stuff.

Then, Christmas morning was always when we would open gifts from Santa. It was so fun to go to bed after opening presents with our family, and then anticipate finding more gifts the next morning!

Here are some photos of the boys enjoying their gifts from Santa! Of course Jonathan woke up way too early on Christmas morning and we had to send him back to bed disappointed. Are we the meanest parents or what? But we finally got out of bed around 6:30 or 7am and we enjoyed a fun morning opening gifts and playing!

Levi likes his Pez dispenser and Jonathan got the book, "Tales of Beedle the Bard".

Seth loves trains! Price found a piece of gum from someone's stocking and he's chewing it. Doesn't he look mischievous?

Both big boys got new art kits and some how to draw books. Super cool!

Kirk and Brooke and kids stopped by before dinner at the Koontz's. We had a fun visit with them because we hadn't seen them for a long time since they live in Guadalajara while Kirk is going to medical school. It made our day fun to have visitors! Then we just hung out and ended up playing monopoly for hours because Jonathan got the game for Christmas and the boys just wanted to play games together.

Levi had made some gingerbread cookies and saved them for Santa. It was very important to him that Santa got a treat. When he saw the plate with the cookies only bitten and not completely eaten, he thought that Santa didn't like the cookies. We had to explain to him that Santa can't eat all of the cookies that he gets. He's in a hurry and he gets so many cookies from all of the children in the world, he can only take bites!

And so it begins...............

2009-01-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

We are quickly outgrowing our little home, so we have an addition in the works. Even though there has been a lot of prep work going on, this is the first photographed evidence that we are moving forward. Lance rented a machine to scrape the grass off the top layer of the yard. The boys helped a little bit to roll up the grass. It was heavy! Of course Lance did most of the work and we all stood around and acted like we were working! It will take awhile to get this thing built, but it will be so great! We are adding a family room, master bed, bath, and closet, and a laundry room, and expanding the dining room.

The boys were assigned to shovel the sand and move it to the sand box. They worked pretty hard and only complained a little bit. Lance made a deal with them that if they were to fill the wheelbarrow so full that he couldn't move it, they wouldn't have to work anymore. Well, they filled it as full as it would go and they were so excited that they might be done working for the day. It was quite a disappointment that their daddy was so strong that he only had a little trouble getting the wheelbarrow to move! It was funny!

Anyway, I will try to keep up documenting the progress.

Happy 2nd Birthday Price!

2009-01-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

Price turned 2 on December 26th. We all LOVE this little guy. He brightens everyone's day. Happy Birthday, buddy!

Cub Scouts

2008-12-29T07:41:00.000-08:00

Jonathan joined the cub scout troop at church back in September. It is made up of all the boys in our stake because the ward groups are so small. It is a fun little crowd and we are still learning the names of all the boys. Sue Williams and Kati Blackledge are the leaders. I am a supporter of the scouting program that gives little boys and big boys good goals to achieve. This night we were making thank you notes for important people in our lives. The boys were supposed to write a note to a teacher, parent, or grandparent to tell them thank you for all of the wonderful things that they do. Well I had to chuckle when Jonathan wrote his note to Spencer Williams who had given Jonathan a Webkinz for his birthday. Jonathan was so thankful that Spencer introduced him to the world of Webkinz! Aye, aye, aye! What about me and all of the meals I make for him, or his dad for putting a roof over our heads. No gratitude for that. Just the boy who gave him a stuffed animal with internet access! Too funny!
The last den meeting, the boys got to make these really cool ornaments out of pie plates. They used a hammer and a nail to poke holes in the plate following a template of a star, tree, or wreath. When they were finished, you could hold up the plate to a light and the light would come through the holes. Very pretty and fun for the boys to use tools.
It's a good little crew and I think through the years, these guys will become really good friends and a good support system to each other. Isn't that what scouts is all about?

Tool Twick!

2008-12-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

Last night, Jonathan, Levi, and I were sitting on the couch reading a story from "Tales of Beedle the Bard". Seth and Price were playing with their trains. At one point Seth got up onto the hope chest in front of the couch and jumped over to the couch. The jump onto the couch launched him so high, he flew over the back of the couch and onto the floor behind the couch. We heard a little surprised cry and then Seth proceeded to come out into our view and yelled with his arms open wide, "TOOL TWICK!" Levi interpreted his exclamation and asked Seth if he did a "cool trick". Seth was like, "Yeah, tool twick!" and he used his hand to gesture where his jump took him. He motioned to the hope chest, to the couch, and then over the back of the couch. We all started laughing hysterically. We were crying! Lance had to come out and see what we were all laughing about. It was so funny. I love it when stuff like that happens in our family. I am really glad that Seth did not get hurt and it turned out to be a good memorable moment! I love our family! I think the best part about it was that we had just been talking about Joseph B. Wirthlin's last conference talk in our devotional earlier in the evening-"Come What May and Love It". Jonathan had been having a grumpy night and we talked about how you should just laugh when you feel like being grumpy or angry or anything else negative. So it was fun to be able to laugh together!

Gingerbread Boys

2008-12-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

President Stanford(1st counselor in our stake presidency) told me that I should keep my boys busy doing something good and I find that when I do, our home is so much more pleasant. I really like to do crafts and cook and bake and when I let my kids join me, they learn and have fun too. (If I don't get upset about the mess they make) Anyway, I am so grateful that these little guys like to do the stuff that I like to do. They would do a craft every day if I would organize it, but then I go and neglect the things that I need to do. Ahhh, to find a balance. These little gingerbread men were fun to make and they smell so good when they are baking. Warm, spicy smells at Christmas time are so wonderful!

Christmas Favorites 2008

2008-12-17T13:29:00.000-08:00

I love the colors red and green, therefore my house is decorated in these colors. It is so great for the holidays because the Christmas decorations look like they belong. Here are some of my favorite items this year.

One of my college roommates(Jen) gave me this card one Christmas and I have always loved it. These symbols of Christmas make it more meaningful to me.

This sign means so many things to me. I love to believe in Santa Claus. I think it is so wonderful to believe in an unconditionally giving person. We should be more giving. I also wish more people believed in the Savior. The gospel truly brings JOY to my life! Just BELIEVE!

A Santa that cannot be broken. Very good at our house.

My mom gave me a few boxes of paper balls like this one to hang on the tree. They are wonderful because they look so pretty, but since they are made of paper, dropping them is not a problem!

I love poinsettias on the tree!

I found these stockings at Cost Plus a few years ago and I think they are darling.

Saw a paper chain in a catalog and had to make one. I love the way this turned out!

This angel is so perfect in her red dress.

Lance's mom got this olive wood nativity for us years ago. One of Lance's cousins(Carly) went to Jerusalem for a study abroad at BYU and she brought them home for all of us. I don't know how many she brought home, but I know at least 7-one for Mom and Dad and 6 for all of the Sanders kids. Thanks Mom and Carly! It is the best not only because it is pretty, but once again for its unbreakable qualities. It has been thrown all over the house and has not broken yet. Yah, something the kids can enjoy too!

I just love when the tree is all decorated and we turn on the lights and it glows and is so beautiful. We have used the same decorations on our tree for years and every year it makes me so happy. Merry Christmas!

Christmas lights at the LA temple

2008-12-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T13:25:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. There was excellent company and excellent food. What more can you ask for? We have so many things to be thankful for that it is such a great idea (if you ask me) to put aside a day out of the year when we can remember all that we are blessed with. I am thankful for health, a home, employment, my family, freedom. I could seriously go on forever about the things I am thankful for. I am mostly grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life because it makes all of these things so meaningful. These are just little snapshots of the happy time that we had together. The turkey was so delicious! Good job, Mom!

Finger Feast

2008-12-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Manassero's Kindergarten class has a finger feast right before Thanksgiving every year. She invites the students' families and we all bring something kid friendly to eat. It is very cute and very fun. The children also sing some holiday songs that they have been learning like-"a turkey is a funny bird, his head goes wobble, wobble. he only knows one funny word, gobble, gobble, gobble!" Unfortunately I missed when Levi's group was singing, but I get to hear him sing this song all the time. I love it when he sings. Here are some photos of the feast.

Cutest turkey hat.

Levi is chowing down back there.

My friend, Leatrice, got Price a plate of food and sat him down to eat. He did a pretty good job of sitting for awhile!

Here is a photo of the great spread. Our favorite was the green jello jigglers brought by Jenna Steed-yum!

Somersaults

2008-12-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

One night I caught these two little boys doing somersaults down the hallway. Price is pretty coordinated and he can really do a good one. He just watches Seth and then does it! I love it when they learn good things from each other.

checkers

2008-11-27T11:24:00.000-08:00

Levi got a checkers game for his birthday. Jonathan pulled it out and said, "Let's play checkers!" Levi said, "OK. Go easy on me!" It was so sweet! I was so excited! It was so great that these two little rivals were going to play a game together and have fun. I just had to get out my camera to capture the moment. Well this photo was taken at the beginning of the game, so they look happy, but I remember hearing, "I hate you!" come out of Jonathan's mouth when Levi jumped one of his pieces. The game ended bad and they put the board away before they even finished because they were both getting upset. I was bummed. I know that family life is not always peace and harmony, but I just wish it was. They will one day be best buddies and laugh at all of their silly arguments. They really look so cute playing checkers together. Levi is learning lots of new moves and he will be able to play with the best of them. Jonathan actually beat Lance a few weeks ago. He was so excited! Yippee for board games!

Soccer Boys

2008-11-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

Jonathan and Levi played soccer for the Fullerton Rangers again this year. It was a good year. The boys had fun with their teams. Jonathan's team was the American Eagles coached by Mike Burgess. Jarrod Burgess, Kevin Chang, and Axel were a couple of his teammates that also go to his school. He met some new boys and had fun making friends and being a team. Jonathan tends to fall into the defender position and was a great asset to his team. If I would have had the boys work on one skill, I would have tried to help them with follow through. They were really good at kicking the ball, but then they would watch it go instead of dribbling it and trying to control where it actually went. I'll save any further critiquing for when I am the coach-I am hoping to coach each of the boys' teams at least once!

Dribble it!

Look at that concentration!

Levi was on the team called the Green Monkeys! This age is so cute because you just don't expect as much from the little ones as you do from the older players. Levi was caught a few times talking to his teammates instead of watching the ball. But he was so cute out there on the field and he is a good little runner. He never complained about going to practices or games, so I think he really enjoys it. He isn't one to choose to play the game in his free time though. We had a great coach. Brad Fales and his wife Kim have 3 boys that are exactly the same age as our oldest 3. They all seem to like each other and play well together, so we hope to hang out sometime! Levi was so excited to get another trophy! Great job, buddy!

Speedy Gonzalez!

Corner kick-what form!

big boy bed

2008-11-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

Price has graduated to a bed. No more crib for him. He seems to like it just fine. They grow up too fast!

Mountain Party

2008-11-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Levi turned 6 on November 16th. He is growing so fast. He is very tall and skinny! He is doing great work in Kindergarten and learning lots of new things, especially how to read. We wanted to have a birthday party for him and when I asked him what kind of party he wanted, he said, "a mountain party! I already told you!" I guess I forgot. So anyway, we planned a mountain party to be held at the Rolling Hills Park. Well on Sunday, the air was still bad from the fires in Brea, Yorba Linda, Chino Hills and Diamond Bar, so I called all of the moms to tell them that we were changing the location to our home and that we would stay inside. When I informed Levi of the change in plans, he said, "we are not going to have the party at our house, I am going to pray all day!" He had so much faith that Heavenly Father would clear up the air! Well, of course, it turned out that by the time the party started, the air was just fine and we could have gone to the park, but this mommy was too darn worn out to drag all of the food to the park and call all of the other mommys again to tell them that the original plan was back on! So we just had the mountain party at home and we had a good time. Levi was a little disappointed, but did not shed any tears, so we were happy! He had lots of fun with his buddies and got cake and ice cream and some really fun presents, so what more could a kid ask for? Happy 6th Birthday, Levi! We love you so much!

We made chocolate cupcakes with green icing. They were supposed to look like mountains. We put a bear and a tree on the mountain.(a gummy bear and a pretzel) Levi is very careful at blowing out the candles.

One last blow! Now, let's dig in to the cake!

Playing bear tag------------and jumping on the trampoline!

Jackson is so fun!----Madeleine enjoying a trike ride and some ice cream.

Levi had so much fun opening all of the great gifts. Everyone was so generous. Thank you!

And all of the kids gathered around one of the new toys, an airplane launcher-it was a big hit!

Baylee on the zip line and the skateboard! Levi and BaNgoai-she got him the Kung Fu Panda dvd. When Jonathan saw it he goes, "Mom, we got Kung Fu Panda!" I said to him, "That is Levi's video!" Jonathan likes to stake his claim on Levi's stuff, but will not even let Levi touch his stuff or come into his room without saying a password! AAArrrgggghhhh, big brothers! But Levi loves him so much, he just accepts the abuse. Anyway, this post is supposed to be about Levi. During the party, went on a bear hunt around the yard and found the bear in the cave at the end of the hunt!(it was Jonathan) The kids just played and ate a played and laughed and ran around. It turned out to be a great time! We hope Levi will have fond memories of his 6th birthday!

Cutest baby in the world!

2008-11-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

Price loves to ride this rocking horse. He was riding it so hard one day, he tipped over backward and he got a big goose egg on the back of his head. It was so sad. But he doesn't look sad now, does he?

He also loves to scoot around the backyard on this trike. He and Seth are constantly fighting over it. Most of the time, Seth wins. But when Price gets a ride, he uses his little feet to move it. He doesn't know how to use the pedals yet.

I could smooch this little face all day long! It is so sweet! We call him our golden brown boy because his hair and skin are golden brown.

A summer day at Lemon Park

2008-11-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

This summer we went to Lemon Park with the Tourdots and the Henrys. We have all been friends since Jonathan was in preschool. Jonathan became instant friends with Augie Tourdot and Miles Henry and I love the mothers of those boys so we have tried to keep in touch and get together through the years. Well, this was one of our summer events-going to the water park and having lunch and playing at the playground. I had a great time visiting with Martyn and Monica and well..... you can see that the boys had a great time too!

Jackson, Miles, another friend, Augie, Jonathan. -----I think they are trying to step on the water holes.

Absolutely soaked!----------------------------Miles being nice after Jonathan was mean.

Charlie filling up his bottle.-------------------They are enjoying themselves!

I love the excitement in their actions!

Price was just fine away from the water. Silly boy!

All four of my boys in one shot!

It was a fun time! We also made a trip to Crystal Cove Beach and had the best time playing in the sand, water, tidepools. We went there a couple of times last summer and thought it was a great beach. Monica was the one who told us about it. We have seen the dolphins jumping in the water and it is such a beautiful sight. I could stare at the water all day and be so thrilled each time they pop up out of the water. Anyway, love to hang out with these people. They are great to be around.

Little boys say funny things

2008-11-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

Levi is always repeating something that he heard somewhere and tweaking it just a little bit so that I can understand what he is trying to say, but he says it wrong. I can't think of any examples of this right now, but when I do, I will write them down because it is so funny to hear what he thinks he is hearing. Well, this drives Jonathan absolutely insane. He has deemed himself the person in charge of making sure that Levi does not ever make a mistake, but when Levi does make a mistake, Jonathan will surely make him aware of it and correct it. Jonathan, as the oldest child in our family, knows absolutely everything there is to know about anything and he is the true source of all knowledge! (so he thinks) Now because it is in my nature to root for the underdog, I cannot stand when Jonathan picks on Levi. I take every opportunity I can to help Jonathan realize that he still has a little learning to do himself. So, the other night, these two boys were in the bathtub and they were talking about when you do something naughty and Jonathan says, "you will go to Juby!" I started to bust up laughing because I knew what he was trying to say! I asked him where he learned about "Juby" and of course he could not tell me the source, but it was probably some punk kid from school that will end up in "Juby" someday. I went on to explain to the boys that "Juvy" is short for juveneille hall and that's where you go if you don't listen to your mom and dad and you make fun of your brother. So Jonathan got a little humbling and Levi now knows what "Juvy" is so hopefully my boys will not end up there as adolescents! Yeah, that would be good if they did not end up in "Juvy".

I just thought of one of Levi's funny things. One day he asked me how to spell dragon. I started out......D......R.....A. But he interrupted me with a strange look on his face and said, "That's funny, dragon starts with a 'd'? I thought it started with a 'j'!" So then I put it all together and realized that instead of hearing and saying dragon, he was hearing and saying JRAGON. I don't know why this is so funny to me, but it is. My boys make me chuckle.

BUHS Class of 1988 20 Year Reunion

2008-11-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

We went to Lance's high school reunion on 10/26/08 and had the best time. It was held at the Stockman's Club in Brawley so you know we had a delicious dinner-Tri-tip, cheesy potatoes, salad, rolls. Delicious! But of course, that wasn't the best part of the evening. We got to see so many dear friends that we have not seen for years and catch up a little on our lives. Ray and Amy Hannon(who we actually do try to visit when we are down in Brawley), Erik and Rosie Chilcott(it was the first time we met Erik's wife), Steve and Ann Benson, Camille and Jimmy Nuckles, Patty Wilson(her husband Ben was off visiting with someone else while Patty ran the party), and a few more. We exchanged email addresses and so we are now more likely to stay in touch. The highlight of my evening was meeting Kristin and Kevin Beach. They came all the way from Kansas! Kristin was one of Lance's dearest friends in high school. We have been exchanging Christmas cards for 10 years now but have never had the chance to meet. I was hoping and hoping that she would be at the reunion and when I found out she was coming, I couldn't contain myself! It was so great to give this girl a hug and talk to her like we were old friends too. She is so beautiful, inside and out, and I am grateful to count her as my friend. And her husband Kevin is just as wonderful. It was so fun to see Dresden and David too. We had lost track of them and now that they are in Indio, hopefully we can hook up with them more often. Apparently, no one knew where Dresden was, so she only found out about the reunion 3 or 4 days before the event. Kristin happened to call her to see if they could hook up and it was the first time that Dresden had even heard of it! I am so glad they were found! So anyway, the evening was mostly us just visiting with friends and eating good food. After the DJ started playing the dance tunes we had to move ourselves outside, so that we could hear ourselves talk. Here are some shots of the gang.

photo 1-Lance, Kristin, Erik, Dresden Photo 2-Lance, Kristin, Dresden, Steve, Kevin

Photo 1-Lance, Ray, Kristin, Dresden, Photo 2-Rosie and Erik

Photo 1-Lance, Patty, Kristin, Dresden, Kevin, ?, Steve, Camille, Erik Photo 2-Lance, Kristin, Patty, ?, Camille, Steve, Dresden, Ray, Steve, Erik

Photo 1-Lance, Kristin, Patty, ?, Camille, Steve, Dresden, Ray, Steve, Erik Photo 2-Me(Leslie), Lance, Kevin, Kristin

Jonathan's 8th Birthday Party

2008-11-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

Jonathan turned 8 years old on 08/08/08. Now that is pretty cool if you ask me. We were at Lake Powell on the actual date, so we just made a little deal out of it and we hadn't even gotten him a present at that point. Grandma and Grandpa Sanders gave him a really great tackle box with lots of compartments and a see through lid. It is so perfect for his rock collection. Here he is at Lake Powell with some brownies on a plate in the shape of an 8. It was all I could do to make it special. Oh yeah, and we had bags and bags of candy that the cousins all shared. We had fun!

So after vacation, we asked Jonathan if he wanted a friend party. Of course he did! So what did he want for decorations? Streamers!

He also got to choose from the cakes at Costco. Chocolate! Yes, it's the best! Make a wish Jonathan! He is serious about the wish thing. He really thinks about it and wants to blow out all of the candles to ensure that it will come true!

Seth and Levi enjoying the cake. I think Levi has had a little too much sugar!

Here is a shot of the dudes. Anthony, Kevin, Alex, Jonathan, Brandon, Austin, Spencer. They had a great time. We played pin the tail on the donkey, happy puppy(you put a few marshmallows in your mouth and try to say it clearly and they were all disqualified on the first round), and they all did the zipline and jumped on the trampoline and stuff. Spencer was having sharing issues, but other than that, I think they all had a great time together. We also did a treasure hunt to find the goody bags. Pizza for dinner and Jonathan got some fun boy gifts from his friends. We got him two books-Monsterology and Dragonology-which are very cool with little pockets and tidbits.

We love this kid and are so grateful to have him in our family. He is a good big brother and is really growing into a good little boy. He has a fun spirit and he is very smart. He is growing in the gospel and understands lots of principles that you might think an 8 year old wouldn't get, but he does. HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, JONATHAN!

bathtime

2008-11-06T21:00:00.001-08:00

Jonathan will probably be so mad at me for putting this picture on the blog, but it is so cute! They really don't always bathe together, it is sheer madness when they do! I want to remember the madness though. They say one day I will miss it!

Halloween Festivities

2008-11-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween this year. We made Halloween cookies with Aunt Chrissy, went to a Halloween party or two, carved pumpkins, and went trick or treating. We all had a great time doing fun fall things. Here are some photos of the festivities!

Aunt Chrissy and Sethy-he frosted his cookie and gobbled it right up!

Levi's lips turned black from the black sugar crystals on his cookie.

Price was trying to decide which cookie to frost. Should I do the pumpkin or the ghost? Decisions, decisions.....

The finished products. They are so delicious! I will put the recipe on my food blog!

Elders Quorum Halloween party at the Dugan's home. Tons of fun, good food(carne asada), and lots of treats!

BJ built the wooden stand and Michelle placed the jars filled with all kinds of candies for the kids to scoop into their treat bags. It was so cool!

Michelle and Price sucking their thumbs.

BJ holding Price with his broken arm. My boys love BJ!

When we drove up to the house, Seth said in a spooky voice, "Ghos castle!" He can't say ghost yet, but he's talking so much and we actually understand him! Yah, Seth!

Carving Pumkins-

Jonathan made a scary face.

Levi wanted to carve his all by himself and he did a great job. He got his pumpkin at Tanaka Farms during a Kindergarten field trip. He also brought home some veggies and we made Autumn Soup. Yum, yum.

Seth wanted a happy Jack-o-lantern. He loved it!

Spooky........

Halloween Night-We stopped by a few neighbors and had fun watching their reactions to the boys' costumes. Our neighbor, Elizabeth, is so hysterical when she sees our boys at the door. She just comes out and starts cracking up because she thinks we are absolutely nutty! Then we went to see BaNgoai and Grandpa Ira.

The Mummy and the mad scientist.

Pooh Bear! That's what Seth would say when you asked him what he was going to be for Halloween.

The Mummy again.

Super Baby! My friend, Martyn, made this costume for her son years ago and now 3 of my sons have worn it. It is the cutest!

The boys also got to go to a Halloween carnival with Grandma and Grandpa Sanders and their cousins at McCabe School when we were visiting Brawley last weekend. They had fun there too!

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween too!

Vote Yes on Proposition 8

2008-10-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

This picture was sent to me by my friend, Marti, and it really fits what we are facing here in California. There is a proposition being placed on the ballot that changes our state constitution to say that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Well, this would make same sex marriages not valid and gays would not be able to be married in this state.

At the prompting of our church leaders, we have knocked on doors, made phone calls, and placed many signs promoting Yes on 8 so that we can get the word out about how important this issue is. We even went to the Yes on 8 rally here in Fullerton on Sunday, but ended up on the side of the street that the No's were standing on. See Samuel in the picture above, well that is pretty accurate as to the reaction to us being on that side of the street. It really was quite hostile.

But what I want to say is that for me it is not about hate or intolerance or not liking homosexuals. I have some friends and family that are gay and I love them very much and enjoy their company. To me this proposition is about preserving a fundamental unit in society and accepting that a man and a woman united together in marriage is the start of a family. Ideally, children are best raised in a family where they have a good male AND female influence. Of course there are many circumstances where this is not possible because of death or divorce or some other issue, but it is a great pattern to follow. A mom and a dad, striving to teach their children to be upstanding citizens.

One of the arguments against 8 are that gay couples are not treated equally. They feel discriminated against because their relationship is not recognized as a marriage and that if they were able to be married, it would make things different. One man told me that his domestic partner would not be able to ride in an ambulance with him because only family can ride with you when you are sick. Well, to me, the solution is simple. Change that law! Let them ride together in the ambulance. Done, fixed. There is no need to change the definition of marriage. It is ok to call a homosexual union a domestic partnership. Or if they don't like that name, call it whatever they want, but not marriage.

I am all for live and let live. I guess it's just that I don't want the gay lifestyle taught to my boys in our society as an option. In the same way I don't believe that condoms should be handed out in High Schools to prevent teen sex or pregnancies, if that makes any kind of sense. If they turn out gay because of something inside of them, then of course we will love them and deal with that issue.

So if you live in California, please VOTE YES ON 8!

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'
"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.
"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."
--- Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Summer Garden

2008-10-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

I had a cherry tomato plant and some basil in the garden this summer. The tomatoes were soooooo good. I love a beautiful garden, but I am not a good gardener yet. I don't have time to pull the weeds. But someday, I will have lots of little helpers to pull the weeds. I made a very delicious salad with the tomatoes, basil, and homemade croutons with a balsamic vinagrette. Yummo!

All the boys at the Fullerton Arboretum

2008-10-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

The Arboretum is so pretty. Even the kids really love to be there. They love to watch the animals in the water-guppies, cranes, ducks- and the plants and trees are so pretty. What a wonderful place for us to be able to enjoy. Jonathan said as we were leaving that it was the best day of his life. He actually says that a lot, when he has had a good time somewhere. It is so funny. But we really did have a great time there today in between conference sessions. I also have been wanting to take the boys' portraits. Here are my best shots.

Jonathan and his freckles. Sweet little Levi.

Price and a pumpkin.

A gourd in the tunnel. The gourd tunnel. Very cool.

In the pumpkin patch.

I love Orange. I love fall.

Big brothers in the avocado tree.

All boys in the avocado tree.

My sweet li'l punkins!

2008-10-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

My friend, Sara, told me that the Fullerton Arboretum had a pumpkin patch, so I took the boys there for a photo shoot. I think they look so darn cute!

Levi is a Kindergartener!

2008-09-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here is Levi with Mrs. Manassero and Mason Larson on the first day of school. Last year, Levi really wanted to go to school every day and this year he gets to! Yippee!

He is doing so great in Kindergarten and making new friends. He always talks about Devon being his best friend. Levi is a good little worker and very focused when he has a project. He loves to thoroughly color his coloring assigments. Mrs. Manassero is such a wonderful teacher, we are so happy to have her.

Seth Started Preschool on Sept. 8th

2008-09-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

Because of Seth's speech delay, he qualifies for a free program called Head Start. There is a school in Brea at the First Baptist Church. It is full of nice people and sweet little children and Seth is so excited to go to school everyday. He goes Monday-Friday from 8-11:30. It is so cute when we drive up he points and says, "my cool!" He walks right on in and gets his nametag and sits down on the carpet with all of the children and goes right into their routine. He really gets into the songs that they sing and the motions that they do. He doesn't actually sing along yet, but he loves to dance and join in. He is such a sweet little boy. I love his enthusiam for things new. Thanks to my friend who will watch Price, I get to work in Seth's classroom next week and I am so looking forward to it. Here is a photo of Seth with his teacher, Miss Hilda. She is so nice!

Jonathan's Baptism

2008-09-21T08:39:00.001-07:00

He was so excited to be baptized on September 6, 2008. It was just like his birthday. He kept asking "how many days until my baptism?" Everyday for months and months. We were so glad when the day finally came. I got to give the talk at the service and Jonathan kept raising his hand and wanting to answer my rhetorical questions. He really wanted to help me with the pictures that I had to display. He was a little on the hyper side. He said the water was cold, but he came out of the water with the biggest smile on his face. It was very sweet. Congratulations, son. May you always stay as clean as you felt on the day of your baptism. And may you always have the Holy Ghost to guide you in your life.

Vacation Photos

2008-08-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Lake Powell Trip

2008-08-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

We just returned from having the best vacation at Lake Powell and visiting natural wonders in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. I'll post more photos soon.

chucka-chucka-choo-choo

2008-07-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is a little game that Jonathan came up with and all of the brothers like to join in. They walk around the house a few times like a train and say chucka-chucka-choo-choo. They do this a couple times a week.

Little Brothers

2008-07-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Seth and Price are so funny. They can often be found fighting over the same toy, mostly trains, because Seth loves trains and if anyone touches his trains, look out-you are in for trouble. And Seth has been known to really give Baby Price a whoopin'. I have seen him sitting on top of Price, hitting him with a toy, pushing him off of the train table. Lots of not nice things that brothers do to each other. So when I caught them on the swing together having a fun time laughing and being buddies, I just had to grab the camera. They are so darn cute.

Recycling

2008-07-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

A year or so ago, I cleaned out Jonathan's T-shirt drawer. Now it was a very difficult task because Jonathan is the kind of kid that gets attached to his favorite clothes and won't let me throw anything away. So I had heard of someone making a memory blanket with old t-shirts and suggested this solution to him. He went for it and the shirts have been sitting in a bag for a very long time waiting to be assembled in a blanket. We finally got around to it last week and it turned out pretty cool. He loves it. The little navy blue pillow beside him was also made from a t-shirt and all the scraps that we had left over from cutting the shirts got stuffed inside the pillow as filling. We didn't waste one piece of fabric. It was a really fun project for both of us. Jonathan got to arrange the pieces just the way he wanted and he helped me run the sewing machine a little.

Castaic Lake Trip

2008-07-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we took the boat up to Castaic Lake near Valencia to hang out on the water and ski. We met up with our friends, Adam and Stacy Thomas and Andy and Katrina Garcia, and we had a great day together. Everyone got to wakeboard or ski or ride the tube and get tossed off. It was so much fun just hanging out. We found the perfect day camp site underneath a big tree that provided shade all day and a place for the kids to climb on. These photos are compliments of Stacy who took some photos for us. Thank you!

Here we are at our cool camp. The boys are getting breakfast.

Adam helping to entertain the boys. My boys love Adam because he is so fun to be around.

A family shot. It was such a perfect day. The weather was beautiful and the lake wasn't so crowded that you felt it. One good thing about this lake is that there is a separate area bouyed off for jet skiers to ride in. It made the lake nice for us to be on! This is our favorite local lake so far. Next we're gonna try Pyramid and Silverwood.

Yah!

2008-07-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

Seth just told me that he had to go pee and he took off his diaper and went on the pot! I'm getting pretty excited! If you have ever potty trained a kid, you will understand. If you have not yet had the pleasure, you will think I am nutty for being excited about something so lame, but one day you will understand. I really hate potty training!

My favorite recipes

2008-07-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Just FYI, I started a new blog where I am listing all of my favorite tried and true recipes. There is a link to it on the side of this blog under VIW's as My favorite recipes or just click here. I just got started, so there isn't a lot yet, but anything I put on there is good. (Well, according to me anyway.) I am eventually going to have a book published from the blog so my kids can have recipes of all of the foods that I made for them growing up. Check it out if you get really bored one day.

Chiquita

2008-07-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Aunt Brock found a stray dog on the 4th of July and brought her to our house. The boys want a dog so bad, so they were totally thrilled! Price really loved her. He wanted to hug her and squeeze her and hold her leash. I don't know if these photos really capture how into her he was, but it was so cute how he would follow her around and pet her and stuff. The name on the tag was "Chiquita". Her owners picked her up the next evening. The boys, especially Levi, keep asking when we can go to the pound to pick out our own dog. Maybe next year.

What's not to love?

2008-07-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't your heart melt if this showed up at your front doorstep? This boy is so sweet, he makes me smile. The boys were out working with Lance doing some landscaping and I guess Jonathan told Seth to bring these flowers to me. Seth was knocking on the door, yelling, "Mom!" really loud. And the bad mommy that I am, I was getting irritated that I had to go open the door to let him in. I thought he just couldn't get the door opened. So when I answered the door and this is what I saw, I felt a little bit guilty. I took the flowers and told him thank you and gave him a kiss and put them in a little vase. He was so thrilled! Thanks for being such a sweet boy, Sethie!

Seth has been in speech therapy for a few months now and is talking a little more. His vocabulary is up to probably 40 words now, and he is using more two word phrases. He is still not talking like other 3 year olds that we know, but he is improving. We had his hearing tested this week at the hospital, and the audiologist said he hears just fine. I had done my own hearing tests with him and never suspected that hearing was his problem, but the therapists kept saying that there could still be something wrong in that area. I am glad that his ears and parts are fine. Now to work on increasing the vocabulary and the spontaneous use of words as a form of communication instead of the crying and pointing and whining. I could do without that, but I am so grateful for this little boy in our family. He makes us all laugh.

Dancing colors

2008-07-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Jonathan has been wanting me to do a science experiment at home since school got out for the summer. I have been putting him off every day because there is always something that I need to get done and I just don't need anymore messes to clean up. But today was the day that I needed to put him off no more. We had seen this trick done at the science center last year and I knew that the boys would love it again. So we poured milk in a pie plate, put a few drops of food color in, and finally put in a drop or two of dish soap. Then all you do is watch the colors dance. It is quite spectacular. They loved it so we did it two more times. Jonathan says he thinks it has to do with the properties of the dish soap chasing the fat molecules in the milk and the way it moves, stirs up all of the colors.

First attempt after a few seconds.

First attempt after a couple of minutes.

Second attempt.

4th of July

2008-07-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun on the 4th. We went to our annual Stake pancake breakfast at Tri-City Park. We had a good breakfast and played for a little while. Then we came home and cleaned up the house and the yard to get ready for the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Sanders and Jim, Luke, and Dallin. Jonathan and Levi were so looking forward to have their cousins here visiting. Aunt Brock, Uncle Aaron, and Cameron came up for dinner and fireworks too.

Price, Levi, Seth, Jonathan, Jim, Cameron, Dallin, Luke-having a little homemade ice cream for dessert. Yum, Lance makes the best homemade ice cream.

Luke was so sweet to pull the little boys in the wagon.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee................

Taking a break from jumping and karate kicking each other.

After the fireworks, the big boys all got to sleep on the trampoline and have a slumber party. It turned out so great. They showered, got their jammies on, threw on a bunch of blankies and pillows and turned on a movie. After the movie, they talked a bit and then fell asleep for the night. I was so glad it worked out. Our house is small and we didn't have enough beds for everyone, but I think they were comfy out there all night. Plus, I thought they might be hyper and crazy and loud all night, but they were so good. They were fun to be around!

The next day, we loaded everyone up and went to the skate park at Arovista Park. We played and rode our wheeled toys for most of the day before they had to head back to the Valley. They all had so much fun together.