He's Got His Bobcat!

No, we didn't get a new pet...Riley has earned his Bobcat badge for Cub Scouts (this is apparently a big deal for the Tiger Cubs).  He had to memorize the pledge, motto, salute, etc. and be tested by his pack leader.  He did such a great job.  They had a pack meeting this past week where he received his Bobcat badge in front of the entire pack.  Moms and siblings were invited to attend, but with Kendall not taking her much needed naps, I decided to keep her home so she did not cause a disturbance during the ceremony (I know, my little angel cause a disruption?).

My friend Diana was there with her camera and snapped these shots of Riley and Andy receiving his Bobcat badge.  (Thanks for sharing Di!)

No doubt here that he is his father's son...such an Andy pose!

Check out his tongue!

Look at how proud he is!  I love it!

Riley has been enjoying Cub Scouts and has done a good job selling popcorn this month.  If you are interested in buying Boy Scout popcorn, let me know.  You can purchase it online or if you are local, I have some caramel corn on hand!  Can't wait to see what other fun stuff he gets to do with his dad!

Love The Lutherans!

Riley's school held it's annual Oktoberfest this past weekend.  What a great event and fundraiser for the church and school.  It was so weird for us to be at a church OR a school event where alcohol was served, but it made it lots more fun!  There were 4 bounce houses, numerous rides and games, German food and German beer as well as wine.  There was a Polka band playing music for most of the evening which was fun to listen to while we ate.  They also held raffles, silent and live auctions and ended the night with fireworks!  It was nice to be served some German food so far from home, but not nearly as good as Pennsylvania Dutch German food!  At least the Hefeweizen was top shelf!

Riley had so much fun playing with his schoolmates and Kendall made a few friends of her own.  I think she'll be disappointed if I don't send her to preschool at Grace!  Maybe when she's four...

Guess she could have used a booster, huh?  

At least she ate!  Yummy cookies for dessert too!

Riley and Kendall in the front car with 5 of

Riley's friends from school.

Both kids loved riding on the swings!

What a fun way for us to spend a Saturday evening with the family and some new friends!

Naptime Antics

So this week has been difficult around naptime.  Even on the days when Kendall goes from Little Gym to Dance class, she refused her nap and snoozed on the trip to pick up Riley from school instead.  I've tried it all this week and can't get the girl to sleep.  Andy was bragging how HE can get her to nap, so I told him he needs to come home for lunch every day and put her down then...You can guess how well that went over!  ;)

He didn't believe me when I said she's a mess at naptime so I decided to record her antics the other day.  I used my camera to record her off the video monitor so please forgive the quality.  When I showed this video to Kendall, she was excited and said "dat me!"  Great! (insert sarcastic tone)

Hopefully you will enjoy this more than I did!  On a side note, I am writing this post while she IS taking a nap - on a Saturday when I would prefer her NOT to nap so we can do things as a family!  UGH!

Kendall's Dance Class

Kendall absolutely LOVES her dance class! She asks about her class all week long and can't wait to wear her "dancing dress" to dance class! The past few weeks she has done a fantastic job and I am so filled with joy watching her participate and smile when she sees me watching her!

I know this video won't appeal to everyone who reads my blog, but for Nanny, Pappy, Grammy, aunts, uncles, and cousins here's a view of her in all her glory! Hope you get as much joy from watching her as I do!

Statement of Faith

I've been told by a certain favorite cousin, that it's been too long since my last post.  ;)  I've had a few posts written but never published them...This is one of them.  I have a hard time getting on my soapbox on Facebook about certain subjects like politics and religion.  I'm on Facebook for social reasons, not to express my agenda or views on things that can stress relationships.  Since this is my personal blog, I'm going to hop up on my soapbox for this post...Here we go:

I've been reading numerous emails from family and friends about the state of our nation and the road we're headed down with our current federal government. I have watched numerous videos and clips in regards to Islam and the Qur'an's instructions to it's believers.  Boy, was I foolish enough to believe that it's just the extremist Islamics who are the issue...but not according to what's written in the Qur'an.  This video below is incredibly startling as well as great motivation to get involved politically.  We as a country need to think critically about who we elect to public office.  Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values and beliefs.  We have moved so far away from that.  The freedoms that we often take for granted may no longer remain freedoms if we are not careful as to who we put in these positions.  We spend money we don't have, become in debt to other countries while trying pretend that we are the wealthiest nation in the world.

If you have the time, you should view this video below.

Muslims are encouraged to deceive non-muslims!  Satan is so crafty and deceptive...I see it every day in my life here.  We all have our beliefs of what our faith is and that our belief is the RIGHT and ONLY way to believe.  That's what makes religion such a difficult topic in mixed company.  I have found that with each move, God draws me closer and closer to Him.  I've been asked by numerous neighbors what church we attend and what we believe.  It's funny because here in Utah, if you aren't Mormon, then you must be Catholic!  I don't think they know that there are any other types of churches.  Currently there are about 3 of us in my phase of the 'hood who do not attend the local ward on Sunday mornings.

To us, it's not about the denomination of church we attend that is so critical.  Heck, we are born and bred anabaptists who send their son to a Lutheran school!  (Now if you tell someone that out here, they'd say, "so?")  What is most important to us is our main beliefs as Christians.  We believe that God is a trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  God was not exalted to a God.  He is, was and always will be God.  There is only ONE God of the universe.  We believe that Jesus is the eternal, uncreated Son of God.  It is mentioned 128 times in the NT and 5 times in the OT.  Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again.  He stated 29 times in the Gospels that this would happen.  There were many details given about this event as well as many witnesses to it...makes it hard to deny who He is and was.

We also believe that the Bible is not corrupt nor has it been translated incorrectly.  We don't get to pick and choose what we like and don't like in the Bible.  The Bible is real and accurate.  Other religious books do not offer the same proof.  The Qu'ran, for example was only written by one author, during one lifetime.  The Bible has 40 authors over a 2000 year period of history.  The gospels written while witnesses were still alive to verify the accuracy of it.  Think of all the prophesies that were written in both the OT and the NT...Even science can't deny it's accuracy for many principles of modern science were recorded in the Bible before scientists could confirm them.

So I guess that as long as a church has those same fundamental truths, it doesn't matter to us if it's a Community church like we attend now and in did Albany, a Baptist church like in Jax or a Brethren In Christ church like back home...Each church has slightly different doctrines and ordinances but those differences aren't the heart of what we believe...

There is a great song on the radio right now by Chris Tomlin called "Our God."  In this song it says:

"Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is healer, Awesome in power, Our God!  Our God!"

"And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against..."

How true...If our God is with us as He's promised to be, who could stand against Him?  I've come full circle from being frustrated about religion and politics (for some places the two are still very much one in the same).  If God's got my back, why am I so upset?  All I've got to do is pray and He'll take care of the rest, right?  He gives us trials so that we reach for Him.  I think our country is in the midst of one of those trials right now.  We need to stand up for ourselves and say enough of this "change!"  I never bought into the hype over the promised "change" and I'm not sure this was the "change" that so many had hoped for when they placed their vote.  I pray that a strong leader emerges in the near future...one that many of us who share the same views can get behind.

**Disclaimer:  I am sorry to any of you whom I've offended with my rant.  Keep in mind these are my feelings and opinions and this blog is a way for me to express myself as well as share what is going on with our family.  I don't apologize for my viewpoint, just if the way I went about it was offensive.

How We Spent Our Labor Day

Andy spent his flying to Wyoming once again.  Gillette has become his new home away from home.  It's unfortunate for him because there isn't much to do there, but at least he doesn't have to jump through hoops to get a beer!

So the kids and I decided that since Riley's been into a big time shark kick, we'd spend the morning at the aquarium.  We walked around and saw the jellies, sea horses, frogs, Nemo fish, Dory fish, monster fish (Kendall has given this name to all lion fish), penguins, anacondas, piranas, snakes, toads, sting rays and sharks.  We had to back track to see the sharks a second time before we left.  He enjoyed studying them and figuring out which ones were which.

He was also brave and petted the sting rays.  When we took him to Sea World when we lived in Jax, he was too scared to pet the rays, but a few years later, he's now a brave boy!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Football season is well underway and I couldn't be more excited for this weekend's matchup between the Nittany Lions of Penn State and the Crimson Tide of Alabama.  The video below is from 2008 but it explains a lot about why people continue to love the Lions!

There are a lot of doubters this year when it comes to predicting Penn State's success this season...There are a lot of big shoes to fill, especially at QB, but we trust JoePa and his staff to put the best 11 on the field and those boys know they are playing for pride, for tradition, and for the name on the front of their jerseys.

"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things."

-Joe Paterno

If you want to view a fantastic video on what the Penn State story really is, click this link:  The Penn State Story Is  This particular video explains why we love Penn State football through the good and bad and lets you know that the players understand why and what they play for at Penn State.

Penn State home football games have been named "The Greatest Show In College Sports" by Sports Illustrated On Campus.  It's one of the top tailgating schools in the country along with being home to the second largest college football stadium and ranking in the top 4 for attendance for 14 years!  Even Kirk Herbstreit gave the #1 Herbie Award for the best student section of 2010 to Penn State.  He's even said the same thing live on Game Day in 2006. Let's just say it's a good thing for 'Bama that they're not playing Saturday's game in the White House!  

Penn State @ Alabama

9/11/2010
ESPN

7 pm EST (that means you'd better tune in at 5 pm if you live in Utah!)

It's the fall that makes me miss home the most...

It's Oktoberfest Time of Year!

We had left over tickets for the Alpine Slide at Snowbird so we figured we had better go use them before they expired.  Saturday was a busy day...We started out by going to Sports Authority in Murray for their annual "SNIAGRAB" sale (Bargains spelled backwards) and ended up buying skis, boots and poles for ourselves.  Then we headed downtown to the Farmer's Market.  We love to go there even if we don't buy anything.  We ended up getting there fairly late so most of the good stuff was picked over by then, but it was still fun.  Riley and I like to get cookies from "The Dough Girl" to enjoy while we look at the produce and bakery items.

By this time it was well after lunch so we figured we'd better feed our rugrats or they'd be cranky.  We decided to try Downtown Philly Cheesesteaks which was just a few blocks away.  I've had Moochie's cheesesteaks as well and both are pretty good.  You can tell you're going to get something authentic when you walk in and they are selling Tasty Kakes at the counter!

Makes me want to go to Gino's and Pat's!

After we filled our bellies we headed over to Snowbird to ride the Alpine Slide.  It was also Oktoberfest at Snowbird so of course we had to walk around and enjoy the festivities.  The kids enjoyed listening to some polka music while watching a guy do yo-yo tricks.

Here we are getting ready to ride the Alpine Slide

Riley and Daddy racing to the finish

My two German polka dancers

Here's a pic of Riley and if you look closely you can see he's missing his two front teeth...For some reason it's been difficult to snap a photo of both teeth missing - he's smile covers up part of the gap!

We headed home for naptime, but Kendall wasn't having any part of it so we watched the boys ride their dirt bikes in the empty field next to our phase of the 'hood.  Riley loved having his own cheering section and riding side by side with his dad.  After they finished we decided it was the perfect weather for a fire in the pit.  What would a fire be without smores?  Thankfully I always keep a supply of marshmellows, Hershey bars and graham crackers on hand!

Look at how focused he is...Such concentration

Vroom!  Vroom!

To top off our eventful day, the kids decided it was time for a sleepover.  Riley has been bugging me for this since Kendall got her big girl bed.  They both were begging me so I caved in and let them sleep in her bed together.  It was so sweet.  Riley read her a bedtime story and they said prayers together they I tucked them both in and ran downstairs to turn on the monitor.  We listened to them laugh and giggle for awhile, then we heard Riley say "Kendall be quiet!  It's time for bed!"  This from my kid who never sleeps!  He came downstairs twice to complain that she wouldn't stop talking but when I suggested he sleep in his own bed, he went back up to her room.  After a few minutes I went up to her room and told Sissy it was time to sleep.  I tucked them in for the last time and by the time I got downstairs, all was quiet.

I asked Riley if he liked the sleepover and he said it was good, but Kendall talks too much before she goes to sleep and when she wakes up!  That's like the pot calling the kettle black!  He talks more than anyone in this family!  Oh well.  At least they slept and had a good time!

A Trip To Farm Country

No I didn't make a secret trip back to Lancaster and not tell anyone about it!  Here at Thanksgiving Point they have what they call Farm Country which is a cute way to show people what life is like on a farm and the different types of animals you might find on a farm.  Being that we grew up in Lancaster County, one of the best farming places in the entire world, this place is no big deal to me...actually this place smelled a lot better than Lancaster...manure wasn't wafting through the air and the flies weren't nearly as bad as we use to get back home.

Kendall has two little girl friends who are all within a few months of her age.  They are so adorable and I love their moms too!  All of the girls have older siblings who are in school all day so it's perfect for us to set up lots of play dates for these little ones.  We met up at the "petting zoo" for a play date.  Here are some pictures that my friend Natalie took of the girls. Aren't they just the cutest?

They have pony rides that all three girls enjoyed - The girls had to ride them a few times!

Bailey and Kendall saying hi to the pony.

Mom and Kendall feeding the cows.

This cow was hungry - check out the tongue.

This grossed out the other moms...and then they really got grossed when the cow licked my arm!  Fortunately cows have pretty clean mouths.

Feeding the alpaca actually tickled my hand.  It was so cute!

Checking out the bunnies while eating some goldfish.

Kendall and her friends Bailey and Noelle hanging out in the jail cell...we're hoping this isn't a glimpse of their future as friends! 

Three happy friends!

Need A Good Movie To Rent?

I'm not a big chick flick fan...well, unless it's Steel Magnolias, then I'll be crying like a baby.  I prefer the 'based on a true story sports movie.'  I love:  Remember The Titans, We Are Marshall, Invincible, The Rookie, Coach Carter, Rudy, Hoosiers, Radio, Glory Road, Facing The Giants(although not based on a true story, still offers a fantastic message), The Express and of course, my all time favorite, Miracle.  Tonight I watched Forever Strong and now have to include that in the ranks of the movies listed above.

This movie is based on a high school rugby team located here in Salt Lake City, Ut.  The coach, Larry Gelwix is known as the "Getaway Guru" on the radio and local t.v. stations but also as a legendary coach.  Their win/loss (98% win) record and national championships are above outstanding.  It is so refreshing to see other coaches teach character and integrity through athletics and be portrayed on the big screen for all to see.  These were high school kids but they were not playing for a school-sanctioned team.  They were a club team who had to fundraise for all their expenses.  The coaches were volunteers - receiving no financial compensation for their time.  It's a LDS story, but unless you were paying attention, you wouldn't know it.  It's inspiring for all denominations.

If you are looking for a feel good, watch with your family type movie, check out "Forever Strong."  It was released in 2008 so it's been out for a while, but I don't remember ever hearing about it...Some of our local t.v. personalities have roles in this movie.  The local CBS sportscaster and a Fox reporter both play roles in this movie.  How fun to see local celebrities on the big screen!

Dave Fox from KUTV CBS Sports

Plays a sportscaster in the movie

Big Budah from Fox 13 News

Plays the assistant at the juvenile detention center

Our Own Little Dancing Queen

A friend of mine suggested we join them for a 2 yr. old dance class today.  She thought Kendall might enjoy it...boy was she right on the mark!  Kendall had no problems showing off her dance moves today.  She was all decked out in her "dancing dress" as she calls it and ready to shake her booty!

Here is the evidence of today's adventure:

In her "dancing dress" for today's class

Marching right along

She loved dancing with the teddy bear

Look how attentively she's listening to her teacher

With her friend Bailey - showing us the flamingos they were dancing with

Eating their yummy skittles treats after class

Here's the video evidence of her enjoyment (ignore the mom talk in the background...you know how us moms are when we get together...yak, yak, yak!):

So you can see why I had to sign her up for this class today!  She was telling her brother all about it when he came home from school...too cute!  I'm going to have a busy schedule with this one:  Little Gym class, MOPS, Dance class, and MOMS Club play dates...It makes me tired just thinking about all of it!

Preserving Memories

I have to admit that with child #2 and all the moving around since she was born, I've been more than lax in my documentation of her life...Not so with pictures and video, but I haven't made the effort to record the sayings, funny pronunciations, etc.  So, here is my attempt to preserve some of those memories:

"Feese" = Please
"I pay doll house Momma.  Be right back." = I'm going to play with my doll house Momma.  I'll be right back.
"Ra Ra" = Riley
"Raree" = Riley
"Bankie" = Blanket
"Chocky Donees" = Chocolate Donuts
"Chocky Booies" = Chocolate Covered Blueberries
"Chocky Cream" = Chocolate Ice Cream
Noticing a pattern here?  She's a chocoholic like her Momma!
"Ride cooter Momma" = I want to ride my scooter Momma!
"Sickle" = Motorcycle
"Payground" = Playground
"Duckie Water" = started with a stream near our house but went on to include the ocean, ponds, lakes, basically any body of water other than a swimming pool
"Moo" = what horses and cows say
"Moo Moo's" = Horses and Cows
"Drawberries" = Strawberries
"Matoes" = Tomatoes
"Fwing" = Swing
"I poopy Momma.  Yucky!  Doan eat it."  = Change my diaper
"Ba Ba" = Bottle/Sippy Cup/Milk
"Tubby" = Bath
"Licious" = Pinkalicious (her favorite book)
"Ra Ra's ghoul" = Riley's school
"Ga Ga" = Doggy
"Fophies" = Flip flops
"Soup Sacks" = Fruit snacks
"Baby Shoup" = Bathing suit
"No beddie!" = I'm tired but refusing to admit it so I'm letting you know I need a nap

I hope to add to this list and keep up on her lingo!  If you have any good ones you've heard over the past year or so, feel free to add it in the comments section!

Family Date Night

So Andy's been traveling A LOT to say the least.  So mom decided that a "family date night" was in order.  I took the kids to Boondocks (which is an entertainment center w/ an arcade, go-karts, bumper boats, mini-golf, batting cages and a kiddie play area) to play at Kiddie Kove the other day.  Both loved climbing, sliding and swinging like little monkeys.  Ever since then, Riley had been bugging me to take them back to try the go-karts and bumper boats.  I had to explain that we needed Daddy along to do that because he wasn't tall enough to drive the cars solo and someone had to watch Sissy.

So, Friday Andy was able to come home early...I mean like 1:30 pm early.  It was great because I could leave Kendall home and finish her nap while I went to pick up Riley alone.  The ride home was so much fun because he could tell me about his day without her screaming "Ra Ra!  Don't talk to my Momma!" the whole trip!

He was thrilled that Daddy was home early.  After an early dinner, we headed over to Boondocks to play some golf and ride the go-karts.  Both kids loved playing mini-golf.  Sissy would hit the ball and chase it down and pick it up before it stopped rolling!  I guess she missed the point of the game, but she had so much fun we didn't care.  Riley had a blast too - lost his golf ball 3 times within 18 holes, but we were lucky to find it each time.

After mini-golf, the boys decided to ride the go-karts.  Andy LOVES go-karts and now Riley does too!

This is them at the start...Look at Riley's smile!

This is a lap before they spun out the girls in the red car in front of them...Riley scolded his Dad, but it fell on deaf ears.

Cheering on Daddy and Ra Ra

Waiting for the boys - they decided to ride it again instead of the bumper boats...Poor Sissy.  She was too small for all the "fun" stuff.

It was a great way for us to spend some quality time together before Andy headed out this week.  He left this morning for a trip and will return on Wednesday night and turn around and leave again on Thursday morning and return on Saturday night...It's the weekends that make it the hardest on me...I count on the weekends to catch my breath and gear up for the upcoming week...Not so lucky this time.  

I am thankful to the Wiegands who invited us to see Toy Story 3 with them today...Tristam and Riley enjoyed hanging out and Sissy loved watching "Story" with everyone.  I'm trying to stay busy this week to make time go by faster!  There is something going on each day this week!  Yay!