Greasy Girls Night Out!

The Theme for the night was "Grease"!

What better way to start off the night than by get ting Mexican Food!

Our favorite GNO Gals joined us!

I was gettin' that hankering for Arrows con Pollos. And of course every girls night out involves ice cream!

We went to see "Grease"! It was super cute and was kid- appropiate (unlike the movie). But the movie was my favorite cuz it's a "CLASSIC!" The girls really enjoyed it!

Can you hand Jive?

We already have an idea for our next GNO!

A-Z Does It!

Carli had a play at her school tonight! It was about the alphabet! There were speaking parts, but she was a singer (No solos- just in a big group of kids!) She was so super excited about this play! She did great!

One of her friends was a letter (and had a speaking part). I wanted to know who else she knew who had a speaking part. We had a conversion before we ate dinner that went something like this.

T: Who else had a speaking part?

C: All the letters.

T: Well, duh!- no I mean who are they?

C: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N.....etc.

Did she just make a joke? (Well- it was much better than her made- up knock- knock jokes anyway!)

The ABC's of why I love Carli!

A- She's Awesome, B- Beautiful, C- Crafty, D- Determined and Dependable, E- (she sets an)Example ,F- Faithful, G- Grateful, H- Helpful, I- Independent, J- Joke-ster, K- Kind, L- Loving, M- Music- lover N- Nice, O- Optimistic, P- Pretty, Q- The Queen in our house! R- Resourseful, S- Sporty, T- A Terrific Kid, U- Unselfish, V- Very, Very Sweet, W- Wimsy, X- X-tra Silly, Y- Young and full of energy, Z- Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, wakes her up! (ZZZZZZZZ!)

Woo Hoo!

Jonny is done teachin' classes at the university!

(Do happy dance now!)

He just gave the final tonight! He likes teaching- but with a full time jobby and a bishopric calling (not to mention the ol' wifey and 4 kids and tons out outside work) he is worn out!

Now we are ready for summer!

(Do happy dance now!)

The Bandit!

Who stole the cookies from the Cookie Jar?The Jar was full.

Where did they go? Um.. Oh.. Now I know!

Mouse stole the cookies from the cookie Jar.

Who Me? Couldn't be! Please don't tease, I eat cheese!

Then Who stole the cookies. Where did they go. Um Oh! Now I know!

Squirrel took the cookies from the cookie Jar!Who Me? Couldn't be! I munch nuts for lunch.

Then who stole the cookies? The jar was full where did they go? Um…Oh! Now I know!

Turtle took the cookies.

Who me? Couldn't be! As you know, I'm much too slow!

But Hey!- This guy looks suspicious!

Are those his sister's tights on his head?

Future Carreer: A Masked Cookie Bandit!

(As long as he shares 1/2 of his loot with Mom! It's fine with me! Hehe!)

A Late Start!

Usually we have our garden up by now, but this year it has been so cold, and we have been so busy, that we just haven't been able to do it until now! Our Bishop counseled our ward to start a garden! We did it as a family for FHE.

The Kids are old enough that they actually REALLY helped! It was great!

Jon makes Great straight rows!

Whatcha plantin', Nolan?

Carli helped Dad the Most!

(even more than Mom- Jack was getting fussy!)

Bridger was pretty good at stealin' my trowel!

Quick Lil' Stinker!

And where was Jack during all of this?

In the grass, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine!

It's our friendly neighborhood garden toad!!!

What are the Jacobs' Growin' this year?

Tomatoes, onions, carrots, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, cantelope, basil, watermelon, asperagus, peas, green beans, artichokes, lettuce and a variety of berries.

What are you planting this summer?

Update!

Well, it has been a heck of a week with the broken washer. Last fri, the repairman was supposed to come, and I waited all day so that I wouldn't miss him. But it was getting late on fri, and he still hadn't come, so I called and they had no recolection of my appointment. So then I made another appt. with a different co. The man came on Mon. and said that there was something stuck in the back of the drum and that he could get it loose, but it would take him 2 hours and cost about $260. We decided to take it back to Costco. We got a new one, but they had a new model. Instead of the Whirlpool Duet, We had to get the Whirlpool Duet Sport. It looks tons different and isn't really supposed to be a whole lot smaller, but I swear that it is. For years, we had a washer and dryer that didn't match. I was so happy when we bought our set and they matched. Now- we look like gypsies again, with our non- matching set. Well we needed one bad and beggers can't be choosers!

Have A Good Monday!

I caught up on some laundry this weekend- so only 391 more loads left! (Crap, I "love" laundry!)

Carli's Weather!

The kids watch the weather page of the newspaper to see the kids' corner. (This is where kids submit pictures that they have drawn of different kinds of weather) They like to look at the pictures and they also like to look for kids that they know. Carli drew a picture in the Spring of last year in her Kindergarten Class ,when they were learning about weather, to be submitted to the newspaper. It just now came out in the paper. (Her teacher cut it out and gave it to her and I'm glad she did because we only get the paper on the weekends).

Thinkin' 'Bout Crawlin'!

What are you trying to accomplish today?

T's Creative Juices!

Have you ever woken up one day and said, "Today I'm gonna take a simple thing and make it much harder and more time- consuming than it needs to be."? Yeah- I do this a lot (it's one of the reasons my house looks the way it does!)

Project: Make dinner for my dinner group tonight, including main course, side dish, bread and possibly (a very easy) dessert.

Okay so these tarts were Not very easy- but they are super YUM! And very lovely to the eye!

The main course will be chicken alfredo. It is a lil' different. I got the recipe from a friend cuz it is Super Good!

Itialian Chicken Alfredo

In crockpot, put:

1/2 cup butter

3-4 chicken breasts

1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix

Cook for 4 hours, cut up chicken and then add:

1 (8oz) cream cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chic. soup

1 cup milk

cook for an additional 2-3 hours and then serve over noodles.

Spin Cycle Mayhem!

So I learned that there is one more thing that should never be taken for granted! Of couse I learned this the hard way.......

Remember how I am always saying that the Laundry and me don't get along well together, and it is really not fun when you have 593 loads of laundry to do in a week (no exaggeration there). Well- I guess that the Lord is trying to teach me a lesson.

The washer broke last night. It is a great front loader that we just bought 2 yrs. ago. I think that it is an electrical problem (that is what the code it keeps beeping at me says anyway- it won't spin) the repair man can't come until friday! And I was just thinking that we have more laundry than usual too. So at first I thought, "well I guess I actually have a reason not to do laundry,- Yea!" but then after the kids got dressed for school this morning, I didn't think that we could wait that long to do it. So here was my idea.
It works- but it is NOT fun to do. I love my washer and will never take it for granted again!

Does anyone have an antique ringer?

Hope you get better soon, washer- We Miss You!

Book Recommendation!

I found this lil' treasure in a thrift shop this weekend. I got done reading it today. The movie is one of my favorites, but I didn't even know that there was a book that it was based off of. This is a beautiful story, no matter if you read it or watch it. I knew what was coming and I still had tears in my eyes at the end. This book had many good messages. One that stuck with me was not to take things for granted.

Things I Hope I Never Take For Granted:

My Hubby- this is always hard b/c we don't see each other much anymore and when we do- we have 4 kids to think about, talk about and that are ready to interupt us. But he is a good man and he means so much to me. I appreciate all he does for me and our kids.

That the Lord always answers my prayers. No matter how serious or petty, He never ceases to bless me!

My house. We are really lucky to have a house that fulfills all of our needs.

My health. I have never had any serious health problems, but have watched family members suffer at times. I need to start excersising regualrly (my hubby is inspiration in this). But I am thankful for the Word of Wisdom. (Yeah- I know I can do w/o that fourth cookie and vanilla coke too- don't judge me:)

Family- Kids, parents,grand-parents, in-laws, and all. We are richly blessed with good people that love us. We are always thankful for what they teach us!

Friends- I have lived in 3 different states and we have made so many good friends that have been like our family. We Love you all. Thanks for listening to me, watching the kids or putting up with me bugging you about your good recipes.

I know that Nicholas Sparks has wrote "The Notebook," which was also a lovely story (I have only seen the movie). Has anyone ever read anything else that he wrote?! I am curious! (I don't think I have ever read a big love story,like this one, from a male author).

I Understand the Lil' Ol' Lady in the Shoe!

So last week we went to the dentist (Nolan has one cavity that we are taking care of on fri- Oh Man- I am NOT looking forward to that). Anyway- the regular hygienist was out, so they had a substitute hygienist for the day. She was younger than I am. I had Nolan and Carli with me to both get check- ups and was carrying Jack while she took me to my room. Then she said, "Wow- you have ALL your kids with you today." I said, "No- we have another lil' one that a friend is watching." Then she was quiet for awhile and then said, "Well you deserve a lot of credit because that is a lot of work. I just have a dog and he is a lot of work!" Then there was another pause and she said, "Are you gonna have more?" (I got the impression that she thought we were crazy for having so many to begin with) I said, "Well 4 is kinda a lot- don't ya' think?" I think she was relieved!

The funny part is that the kids were all GREAT! Not a peep out of the older 2 and Jack fell asleep. If she thought that was bad, she should have seen us on a "normal" day! I wonder if the lil' ol' Lady in the shoe ever got comments that made her feel like a backwater-hillbilly- redneck who had never heard of birth control? I totally feel for that (imaginary) woman!

I Heart Ped Egg!!!

So I guess that I walked barefoot for too many summers in Vegas. My feet are pretty bad for my age (and getting worse every summer). Don't worry I will spare you a pic. of my feet. But I heard about this neat lil' contraption for calluses and dry skin on feet. It is called Ped Egg. It is only $10 at Walgreens. You rub it on the bottom of your feet and VOILA!- Bye Bye dry, rough, cracked skin!

(Jon called it the cheese grater for your feet- but hey- I have no shame!- whatever works!)

So I bought one to try and now I love it! I tried every lotion known to man last year (including some yucky smelling ones!) and my feet were still getting worse! But this summer- Watch Out!- I plan to have sexy feet (Oh Baby!)

Did I just discover a good Christmas present?!?!

Missing My Gramma... On Her Birthday!

It's weird. In April, every year I always think, "Oh Gramma's Birthday is coming up." But she has been gone now for well over a decade. We were so close and she helped raise me. I guess that April 12th is embedded in me to help me think of her! She was patient and loving and I miss her dearly!So "Happy Birthday, Grandma Ann!" Wherever you are, you are still remembered!

A Walk Down Memory Lane!