Salem Pond

For the last few years we (my side of the family) have made a yearly trek to the Salem Pond. it is so beautiful there, it's close too, just one city over from Spanish Fork and best of all FREE! I don't know why I don't take my kids there more often, maybe I am just too lazy. Anyway, we went there for a picnic and to play and swim. The kids had a BLAST! Jack loved chucking slimy mud all over every thing and every one. Addy sat on the beach and dipped her toes in the water. Hallie thought she was the most beautiful swan diver EVER! And she was lucky enough to bring her friend Audesi along. Trenton had fun with his Uncle Dave and also cousin Kyler, they jumped off the pier, rowed the boat and swam across the pond.

Hal showed up for a little bit, he had a lot of things to accomplish that day. We also had my mom, Dave & Heidi and their daughter Scarlet and almost Rosie (Heidi was VERY pregnant), Marci & Dan and their boys Lucas and Anson, Tausha and Kyler.

All in all it was a fun day.

Blog Etiquette

When you are blog surfing, you know hopping from blog to blog. Starting out on one friends blog and then clicking through to other peoples blog and you happen upon a friend or acquaintance and you click on the link only to be disappointed because it is a "invitation only" blog, do you contact the blog owner and ask for an invite, or just assume that if they wanted you to read their stuff that they wouldn't have it blocked?

I wish that blogger had a link so you could request an invitation, then I wouldn't have to be all worried about proper blog etiquette. Gosh am I sounding a tad paranoid. I'm really not, just wondering what you all do when you happen on the same circumstance.

Yeah, and if any of you readers out there have an invite only blog and you aren't on my list, but would like to share your life with me email me an invite, would ya! I love catching up on people's lives and reading about your happenings.

A Conversation

So, a few days ago I was driving down the road with Hallie, Jack and Addy in the car and Hallie is talking and talking and talking. I was mostly ignoring her and trying to concentrate on driving, but then this question popped up.

Hallie: "Mom, what does sensual mean?"

Me: Feeling very unprepared and not sure how to answer this. "Sensual?"

Hallie: "Sensual"

Me: "Ummmm, it is kissing and stuff like that."

Hallie: very confused like "Really, kissing?"

Fast forward to today.

Hallie is watching T.V. and a commercial comes on with a show that she is wanting to watch.

Hallie: "What does Central mean?"

Me: "A time zone, we are in the mountain time zone and central is before us, so they are an hour different."

Hallie: "But you told me it meant kissing."

Chaos

A lot has been going on in the Throckmorton's house...

All last week has been busy chaos! Hal finished up the basement (for the most part). Trenton and I painted the rooms with color. Trenton picked Olive green and Hallie got pink and orange. We moved EVERYTHING out of the family room into the kitchen, front room and garage because we re-carpeted, so I have been living in a MESS!

Friday we were all set to get carpet. BUT, we had to make a quick trip to the doctor because Addy had gotten pink eye from Jack and I was running out of eye drops. I got home and at the last minute I decided to put a fresh coat of paint on the family room walls and got that just finished up by the time our friend showed up to install the carpet. We also had the carpet installers family over for dinner and games in the middle of it all. Although, I do have to say that it was so nice seeing the Sampson's again, it had been WAY too long since we had seen them.

After our guests left, we were trying to get a little organized in the family room and this is just too funny! Trenton for some random reason decided to sit in the tote and Jack jumped in with him, Addy didn't want to be left out of the fun, so she crawled over and demanded to get in on the action!


On Saturday we went to Lagoon for Hal's work summer party. Hal hates going, I make him go every year because I think that it is a fun thing to do with the kids and hey FREE tickets and a FREE lunch, how can you pass that up? We got up to Lagoon at about 1:30pm, just enough time for Trenton and Hallie to get in a ride or 2 and for Jack to go on a couple of kiddie rides before lunch.
This is a picture of my cute baby enjoying the day from her stroller.

After lunch, we all rode the train, the kids all had a good time on it.
Jack being scared of the Lion's

Jack and Addy enjoying the train ride.

Trenton and Jack

Afterward, Jack was having a royal FIT, he was sooooo tired and Trenton wasn't feeling good, so they (Hal and Trenton) took the "little's" and walked around for a bit and got Jack to fall asleep. Addy was a perfect angel all day long, even though she had been diagnosed the day before with double ear infections. Addy is such a sweet, happy baby. The only way that I even knew that she was sick was because she wasn't sleeping well at night and would wake up crying like she was in pain. So, while the "men" were taking a walk, Hallie and I went on the Tidle Wave and the Swings. We met up with the "men" and watched them throw some darts,

this is what they won,
Addy sure liked playing with Elmo. We talked Trenton into going on the Space Scrambler. And then Hallie and I rode my favorite ride the Paratroopers, during which Trenton played with the camera, taking pictures of Hallie and I enjoying the ride,

Addy being cute,

a self portrait,

and a really cool picture of a leaf (which is now Trenton's desktop setting).



We left Lagoon EARLY at about 5:30pm, so a grand total of 4 hours in the park is all that I could get Hal to do.

Why is it that Lagoon is a magnet for scantily, nastily, awfuly dressed people???I decided next year I am going to take pictures of all the sick, nasty dressed people that seem to be a magnet for Lagoon. I saw one girl that had a Costco sized muffin top with boobs that were literally falling out, I actually pointed her out to Hallie and told Hallie to NEVER dress like that, too which Hallie replied "Mom, I am a Mormon. I wouldn't dress like that, it isn't modest". I think she must be listening to something at church, LOL!

Sunday, we went to church and rested and I tried to get a little more organized, the CHAOS was driving me batty!

Monday we got Trenton and Jack's hair cut...I finally let him have it all cut off, he looks like a different kid! Trenton and Hal both had to take a double take, they thought that I was babysitting some random kid. I also took off with a friend for a couple of hours and bought some yarn for more wool soakers and also for a SUPER cute photo prop baby sling thing. Shiloh came and worked on the carpet more while I had a HOUSE FULL of guests, my "yarn" friend, my sister (the knitter) and my sister-in-law Tausha also came over to see the new carpet. Oh, and I dyed some yarn with acid dyes, something new for me. I think it is going to be a new addiction. I can't wait to dye up some more yarn.

Jack before his haircut

and after


Here is Jack showing off the new carpet on the stairs, isn't it pretty!!!


Tuesday, I went to the Parade of Homes with Tausha. I left Jack and Hallie home in Trenton's care and spent a few hours dreaming about what it would be like to live in a really amazing house. Trenton and Hallie moved down their mattresses and a couple of random things, they were getting really excited to be moving to their new rooms. That evening Hal and I went out with Darcy and Steve to see a few more houses, I feel in LOVE with Santaquin, it is this little community that is about 15 minutes further south down the freeway, it is in boonyland, I always thought there would be no way that I would want to move that far away from "civilization", but it is BEAUTIFUL there, it is so peaceful and the views are breathtaking. Did I mention that we could get a 3000 sq foot rambler with lots of upgrades on 3/4 of an acre lot for only $210K!!! Seriously, Hal and I are crunching numbers and trying to decide if we want to uproot our family and move them out there.

Wednesday I had to work and Trenton yet again watched Jack and Hallie (I always take Addy with me, she rides in a baby backpack while I clean). Trenton has been such a wonderful helper this week, he isn't always my favorite person to be around, but this week he has been so much fun! After work, I went to my Mom's and hung out with the family. It was so nice to just relax and not think about the chaos that my house was still in. The kids had moved their bed frames down and had slept down there the night before or rather Trenton had slept down there, Hallie decided that it was too cold for her. She had fallen asleep earlier in the day, which is NEVER a good sign for her. Whenever the girl falls asleep during the day I know that she is sick, and she was. She woke up in the middle of the night crying about feeling sick, sure enough she had a fever. Sick kid #3 in a week, in the middle of chaos...Yep, good times!

Jack and Hallie both feel asleep while Trenton was watching them. BOTH of them ended up being sick.



Thursday I had to work again, just an extra job that my sister-in-law needed an extra hand on, so not a normal thing. I gave Hallie some ibuprofen before I left and once again left Trenton to babysit. I have a good friend that watched Addy for me because this job would be REALLY miserable with a baby on my back. I got home and then had a bunch of visitors again, they all wanted to come see the new basement. I had my sister's, their kids and also my sweet Grandma. Can I just say that Jack and Anson have a hate (maybe love) relationship. Jack, who is 15-20 pounds lighter and 1 1/2 years younger) tackles, slaps, hits and throws EVERYTHING at Anson, who in turn does the same thing back. I feel like a referee when I am around them, it is exhausting! After they all left, I finally got around to putting my house back together. Ahhhhh, the sweetness of a simi-organized house.

Today, Hallie had a birthday party that she attended, so we had to run and get a present for that. After the party, I took Hallie down to my Mom's house, she is spending the weekend with my Grandma because my Mom and Dad are going out of town and they didn't want to leave Grandma home by herself. Even though my grandma is 93 (almost 94) she still drives and gets around like she was 78, a year ago I would have said 65, but she has aged a lot over the last little while. I know that grandma planned to take Hallie out for dinner and a show (Up!). Hallie was thrilled to be invited to spend the weekend being alone with grandma, this is a HUGE treat for her. I know when I was 9, I would have given my right leg to have grandma all to myself for an entire weekend, I never dreamed that she would be around long enough for my daughter to enjoy her. I would have to say that I have been a titch lazy today. I just spent an hour blogging and I lounged around this morning, but after these last couple of week, can you blame me?

Memorable Memorial

You would think that this post would be made up of pictures and stories of loved ones that have passed, but NOOOOO! Today, this post is going to be made up of the children who are lucky to not be being "memorialized" today.

Today has been busy, we cleaned out our storage room in the basement, now we need to clean out the garage....


Just moved the junk from one space to another, but eventually it will make its way to D.I., the garbage or maybe one of you are in need of something we no longer want. Anyone want a set of bunk beds that need a little welding?

Or maybe you would like a retro side/end table? An old mattress anyone??? I might pay you to take it away.


Anyway, we finished that job and as I type this, Hal is painting the basement, WOOHOO!!!!
I also contacted our friend who lays carpet and he is coming this week to lay it, which means that by this time next week the "bigs" will be 2 floors below, with all of the messes and junk, WOOOOOOT!

Cleaning out the storage room in the basement made me want to organize and declutter other areas in the house, so first I tackled the laundry room and then I did the front closet.

During which time, the "big's" ate lunch, played games and also helped a little with the effort, but mostly just made other messes. So, I asked the biggest big to watch the littlest little while I did the dishes and organized some of the new messes I made. Trenton mostly yelled at Addy for making noises while he tried to play the Wii and also for not sitting still, she wanted to play. So, of course that worked me up a little, here I am slaving away and he can't peel himself away to help with the little's, GRRRR!

NOW FOR THE BIGGEST GRRRRRRRRR MOMENT!

I was finished washing dishes and I decided to take the dirty rags and towels to the laundry room. I needed to change over the laundry anyway, I had been doing laundry all day. WELL, when I walk into the laundry room, there is Jack, COVERED head to toe in laundry soap, as well as the walls, floor, piles of CLEAN laundry and also dirty laundry. The dog bowls were filled with laundry soap as was the dirty diaper pail. I was one MAD MAMA!!!! I have spent the last hour cleaning laundry soap off of every surface in my laundry room all while shouting at Jack, who thinks this is quite hilarious and I am sure would just LOVE to get his dirty little hands on that bucket of laundry soap again. I was so so upset that this is the only picture you get to see of the mess, the pile of clean laundry that is now oozing of laundry soap that I get to wash again.
I am fuming! I am mad! I am frustrated!

BUT, I am also super duper excited that the basement is 99.5% done!

Okay, back to doing laundry, which now thanks to Jack I get to start all over again! Yippee skippeeeeee do!

$20 Bucks!

I am coming out of the closet, I know a lot of you already know this about me, and for those that don't, here ya go!

I LOVE yard sales!

Thanks to Tish, she has shown me the ropes, helped me learn a good deal from a bad one, shown me that used clothing for my kiddo's is the way to go. Heck, now that I have become a little addicted to yard sales it almost pains me to pay full price, especially for Hallie's clothes, because the girl is so dang hard on her clothes. I don't have to feel bad if she wears a pair of jeans 4 or 5 times and then has holes in them because I only paid a dollar for them to begin with, so no big loss! Woot!
I love the thrill of finding a good deal. The really good deals are very memorable and get talked about over and over, like last year when I got a fisher price cradle swing (looked brand new) for $7.50!! Or when Tish found a brand new never used pampered chef stone set that was easily worth $70, I think she paid less than $5!
Last Saturday was AWESOME! It was the first time this year that the weather was really good and there were plenty of sales to go too. Ahhhhh, another marker for spring and yard sale'ing season, NICE WEATHER! I have waited all winter for this time of year and now that it is finally here, I can hardly wait all week for Saturday morning so I can go out and find the perfect awesome deal!

So, want to see what $20 got me last week?

$15 for this super cute organizer! I am using it to store my diapers in, it is PERFECT! I have been trying to figure out a good storage solution for a while now and this is exactly what I needed!


.50 cents for a dozen flat fold diapers that had never even been washed, I also got a cute shirt for Addy and a pair of pants for Hallie (not pictured) all for less than a dollar!


$2 for the salad spinner, $1 for the chopper, that was brand new in the box -NEVER USED! .50 cents for the tea kettle and I think I paid a quarter for the basket.


SWEET! Yep, I love yard sales!

New Outlet

A Good friend of mine, Heather, has invited me to co-author a blog about going back to the simple life, our pioneer roots. So, I invite y'all over to come and check it out.

Grandma Would Be Proud