New Car

It became time for a new car about a month ago when I was leaving my friend Wendy's house. the power steering was making a horrible sound. At first we thought we just needed some fluid but when most of a bottle leaked onto the driveway we knew there was a problem! Scott spent 2 hours one night looking at every hose and connection trying to find the problem. He finally gave up and talked to a couple of mechanics. They both told him it was probably the rack and pinion. It would cost a lot more than we were willing to put into the van since we were planning to replace it in a few months anyway. So, I spent a week glued to the internet researching cars and finally agreed to another van--those of you who know me well know what I would rather have but we won't discuss that right now, sniff, sniff. It is a Honda Odyssey and is a metallic navy blue. The above picture is of the boys in the stow and go area. Hopefully this will allow us to make our trip at Thanksgiving in relative comfort and not be squished.

To make a long story short we ended up selling the white van to CARMAX. They gave us a great price! The Lord was really watching out for us on that one. This is also a Carmax van. Now I don't want to get into a big debate, 'cause I am sure there are people that don't like CARMAX or have had a bad experience there. But, we had a great experience and were very impressed with them. Hey, they need to pay me for all this free advertising. ;)

TAGGED-- Six quirks

Okay, so I have been tagged a few times lately. Sorry to those of you whom I have not followed up on that. My life has been pretty crazy plus I have had strep throat TWICE so I have been pretty much out of comission. But I will try to do this one from Camille since it is quick and easy.

SIX QUIRKS

1--If something happens- just normal everyday things I can't just enjoy it myself I have to call someone (like I called Jessica today to tell her I bought gas for $1.99!).

2--TURN THE LIGHTS OFF PEOPLE. If you are not in a room don't leave the light on!

3--I often don't turn the lights on unless I absolutely have to. I love natural light and keep the blinds open as much as possible. You will not find a light on in my house during the day time hours. Sometimes we eat dinner in pretty pale light or I am doing something with minimal light. I guess it goes back to my Idaho days. ;)

4--I would rather clean the entire bathroom than do the dishes!

5--I absolutely cannot stand long fingernails on little children--eww germ infestation!!!

6--Okay, probably the wierdest one of them all. I swallow peas whole like a pill with water. I like them in soup and salad and such but if there is a pile of peas on my plate I cannot get them down without a big tall glass of water. My gag reflex gets going just thinking about chewing boiled peas!


So, there you have it. You knew I was strange but prbably not that strange.

I tag Natasha, Destiny, Karin, Sharee, Trina, and Victoria

SHE DID IT!!

So, after over a year of having a bike Carly can finally ride the thing! For a long time she just wasn't interested. I told Scott at the beginning of the summer that it was his job to teach her. He gave it a few half hearted attempts, to no avail. We even promised her a new Barbie if she would just do it. But, then it was getting ridiculous and I started thinking that maybe there was some way I had failed her as a mother, or maybe she wasn't strong enough, or maybe she was lazy, or not coordinated, or, or, or.................................................................................. But, then one day I was determined that she was going to learn if it killed me. As I bent over and tried to assist my beautiful princess in getting her carriage moving I heard a strange sound. The tire was flat!! How long had it been like that?!?! I pumped up not 1 but 2 flat tires. No sooner had I done so than Carly hopped on the bike and rode away! Whew! She WAS coordinated and strong and not lazy. I had just failed her because I didn't know the tires were flat. Poor little girl. But she is doing great now and was even brave enough to try Carter's bike the other day even though her balance on two wheels is horrible at this point. Congratulations Carly.

And, since a movie shows that she can really do it---here you go. This is that first day when she was still kind of figuring out pedalling. She is a whole lot faster now.

I don't like IKE part 2

So, that Saturday after IKE hit after we had feasted upon the delectable hot dogs and sloppy joes Scott and his two sidekicks whipped up in the parking lot, we were told that the church in College Station had power and best of all........................................SHOWERS! It was getting a little too late to pack up and come home since it would be dark soon and our house had no electricity and most cities had curfew from about dusk to dawn. So, we packed up our belongings and headed on down the road to College Station, Texas. At this point we were feeling much like refugees---dirty, tired, SMELLY, and just wanting to be home and know how things were. We had heard from friends that had not evacuated that the outside of our house looked fine, but we weren't sure of the inside. After having a nice hot shower we felt much better and went to bed with wet heads in the too well air conditioned church. But, we tried not to complain since we had just spent the whole day in a very hot and humid one. The next day was Sunday. We woke up and got ready for Sacrament Meeting which is all that was held because all of the class rooms were full of evacuee families. I had taken the kids into the chapel to sit down and hadn't been sitting there for 2 minutes when Jennifer D---think back a few years those of you from the Greenfield ward----came up to me. She lives there with her cute family!!! The church makes the world so much smaller. It was really nice to see a familiar face. We also saw a few other people from our home ward which was nice too. The people in College Station were so awesome. They would come and talk to the ladies who were kind of in charge of the kitchen and say "What do you want to eat tomorrow" and then they would call around and either get it donated or go buy it. One woman brought in a big pot of soup for our Sunday lunch. So many others, just wanting to help but not knowing what to do, brought in cookies, brownie, rolls, etc. I think I put on a few pounds while we were there. There was a lot of hispanic members there who I came to really admire. They took care of that church better than I take care of my own house! After every meal every single dish was clean and the floor mopped--yep, after every meal. I feel pretty good if I mop once a week! The bathrooms were scrubbed every day and everyone just pitched in wherever the work needed to be done. Most of them couldn't speak very much English so it was hard to communicate verbally but their hearts were pure. While I don't know these individuals situations let me tell you what they taught me. I know there is a lot of negativity, especially in our area, associated with those who come here and then don't learn the language. While I still believe they need to learn the language, I did learn a greater respect and love for these people. They work super hard and are happy to do it. And they truly taught the Lord's house as such.

On Sunday night a big truck brought relief items to the church. Scott and I helped unload 2 pallets of water bottles and 1 pallet of food boxes. We all worked together as a human chain and quickly had it all unloaded. The next day I thought I was going to die I was so sore. Too much physical labor all at once for a new mom. But it was nice to help in a small way after being on the receiving end.

On Monday morning we packed up our things to go home. Even though we knew there was no electricity yet we just wanted to be home and check on it to make sure we didn't have any water damage. Thanks to Laurie and Bruce for being so kind to tell us which route to take home to avoid the most traffic. All along the way we saw people lined up at the few gas stations that were open. With nearly 3 million homes and businesses without power there were not a lot of options. Gas stations looked more like parking lots with lines a quarter of a mile long with people waiting to get in as well. We were very grateful that we had a full tank of gas and a full gas can. The picture below doesn't show it very well but the black car is just driving the other direction but the cars behind that are in line to get gas and behind them is the gas station jam packed. Before we went home we stopped in a friend subdivision to check on them. This is what almost every house in her neighborhood looked like. When the shingles and tar paper are blown off then the rain soaks through the wood and leaks down into your attic, ruins the insulation and then soaks the sheetrock in your ceiling which then collapses and everything falls down into the room below. Talk about a mess. All along the sides of the street people had piled up all of the aforementioned materials.
So, on that note we went home to check on our home and neighbors who had requested that we bring them bread from College Station. But, alas, I must leave you on the edge of your seat once more because the young master of the house is calling!

I don't like IKE part 1

Life has been pretty crazy for us the last month or so. It has taken me until give you all an update on our "IKE" experience. On Wednesday evvening before the storm we decided that it would be best if we evacuated. Our children get a little nervous in a regular thunder and lightning storm so we didn't want to make them suffer through the storm. So we boarded up our windows and packed up some clothes, food, etc. and headed to Conroe, Texas. We stayed in an LDS church there. We were assigned a classroom where we all slept together as a family. I don't reccommend sleeping in a church---at least in Texas anyway!! The air conditioners are set so low that we were freezing.

Taylor, Carter, and Carly thought it was great to "live" in the church. They loved running around in the gym and playing in the nursery all day Friday. Meanwhile, Scott, Spencer and I were glued to the TV watching the news as the storm got closer and closer. We met some new people while there and learned a lot.

(This is what our house looked like all boarded up as we left on Thursday)

IKE hit Conroe about 5:30 am on Sat. Luckily the church is a very sturdy building, the windows were small and the kids were asleep. Scott and I would probably slept through it but Spencer had woken up to eat and so then we lay in bed and watched the blue flashes out the window as the transformers blew. Even though Conroe is about 40 miles north of downtown Houston it still experienced Cat. 1 force winds. Across the stree from the church is a good size apartment complex that had 30 foot tall pine trees on the roof. There were tons of branches everywhere.

The power went out as the storm passed over and so we spent a hot and muggy day inside the very dark church on Saturday. When it came time for dinner we had some meat we needed to use that was thawing so Scott pulled out the camp stove (the stoves int the church are electric) and cooked for us. Sshhh.....don't tell that is one of the rolling carts from the kitchen that we took outsided and put the stove on. Carly and Carter had a great time helping. They are Food Network fans and so they said that Scott was Bobby Flay, Carly was Rachel Ray and Carter was Alton Brown and they were having a throwdown!! I dare you Bobby Flay to make better hot dogs and sloppy joes! And yes, Carly is wearing a dress-up. Before we left we told the kids to each go and get one toy to take with us. Carly chose a dress-up and the boys each took their lightsabers.

Okay, this whole experience is going to take a few posts because it is time to go to the bus and get the boys. Stay tuned for the next installment of "IKE-the J family's experience".

PLEASE HOLD.......

Sorry folks. I know you have been waiting for pictures and info about IKE. But we are still waiting for our internet to get working again. My good friend Wend was kind enough to let me use her computer for a minute today. Just suffice it to say, that we have learned a lot and are safe as is our house.

8 years

September 8, 2000
Eight years ago I had the awesome privelege of being married not only for time but for eternity to my very best friend in the Bountiful, Utah temple. Even though there have been struggles I wouldn't trade one second. Scott is such a thoughtful, understanding, and unselfish husband. He is so super smart and talented, I mean how many girls do you know who get a beautiful song written for them for their wedding???? Like I said, he is talented!!! Scott is such a good dad to our 4 children. All 5 of us look forward to 6 o'clock each day when he comes home. I could go on and on. Thanks for 8 wonderful years. I couldn't ask for a better HUBA-SAND. I love you. Love, Amme

Back to School

Monday was the first day of school. Where did the summer go? I am now realizing how well my children entertain each other. Carly and I are a little bored without the big boys. You can only play Barbies and Polly Pockets for so long! Anywho.... here are my handsome boys on the big day.



I can't believe my little Carter is in school. Some comments he has made, "I like school 'cause we don't have to take naps!" and "We haven't even done any work, my teacher just wanted us to make an 'A' for her."



Second grade! Where has the time gone? It literally seems like yesterday when Taylor started kindergarten in Logan. I think he is excited to be back in school even though he is trying to be is usual nonchalant self. You should hear him read!



Carly wants to go to school too. Notice the scripture case on the ground that she called her "pack-pack". It is nice to be on a better schedule of getting up early and going to bed on time. I enjoy my time alone with Carly and Spencer but I am excited to see Taylor and Carter each afternoon and hear about what they learned.

Mr. Smiles

Spencer is such a good and happy baby---especially in the morning. All he has to do is see you and he breaks into a huge grin. I tried to get some good ones for you but there is really nothing like seeing it in person---hint, hint, grandma and everyone else. This movie isn't as good as the other one I had the other day but that one was too big of a file and wouldn't upload. But he is just such a cute baby you'll want to watch the whole thing!!! Perhaps multiple times ;). Here are some cute smiley pictures too.

Taylor is 7!!

Happy Birthday, Taylor. We love you so much. You are such an important part of our family. You are so thoughtful and sensitive. A smart student and an awesome ball player.

Taylor is 7!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Homesick

As I sat on the couch this morning after eating No Bake cookie #3 and it was only 10 am, and was holding my twelve and a half pound Texas souvenir I began to cry. So, to keep myself from eating cookie #5 I am writing. And not I didn't mess up my numbers I already had cookie #4. Today is a very dark, cloudy, pouring rain day. Days like this tend to be a little depressing for me so it kind of plunged me into a pity party since last week we had our first year anniversary of being in Texas. I have been pondering this for several days. In many ways it has gone so fast and phone calls and blogs have really helped. In this whole year I have had only 2 maybe 3 short bouts of homesickness for family and friends and Logan. But, today is probably the hardest day yet. I am tired of being strong. I just plain miss my family. I just miss sitting and talking face to face with my sisters and sisters-in-law. I miss hanging out with all the "girls". I miss my walking and running buddies. I miss sitting around and watching a big group of kids play while the moms sit and talk. I miss the phone conversations that come being in the same town (it is different). I miss Gossners and cheap cheese. I miss good ice cream (Good ice cream can not be found here). I miss dry air (humidity was 90% last week). I miss the mountains. I miss leaves that change color in the fall. I miss being able to open my windows at night. I miss being able to go to the store with all my kids and just being one of the masses in the norm and not being a freak show with SO many kids. I miss seeing my nieces and nephews grow up---I haven't even seen 2 of them yet and they are already 9 mos old!!! I miss family parties. I miss neighborhood parties. I miss the Logan library and their cheap overdue fines. I miss Maceys grocery store and all their good prices. I miss the Willow Park zoo. I miss roads that are wide enough to have cars parked on each side of the road and still have enough room to pass a car going the other direction. I miss church being a block away. I miss being minutes from a temple. I miss Logan Parks and Rec. And, if you are reading this, I miss you!!
Okay, so you get the idea. I am just plain homesick. Texas is great and I have learned a lot and made some good friends. But I really need to come visit. Almost every day I think about the visit we are hoping to make in November. If for some reason it doesn't happen, I might go crazy.
Thanks for reading the ramblings of a cooped up, tired, bored, homesick gal.

Another Test!

So, I took another personality test. Charlynn, are we the same again?

You Are 9: The Peacemaker

You are emotionally stable and willing to find common ground with others. Your friends and family often look to you to be the mediator when there is conflict. You are easy going and accepting. You take things as they come. Avoiding conflict at all costs, you're content when things are calm. At Your Best: You feel connected, trusting, and fulfilled. You feel at peace with your place in the world. At Your Worst: You compromise your values to make sure peace is maintained. You give in to bullies. Your Fixation: Harmony Your Primary Fear: Causing conflict Your Primary Desire: To preserve things as they are Other Number 9's: Marge Simpson, Ronald Reagan, Audrey Hepburn, Jerry Seinfeld, and Abraham Lincoln.

What Number Are You?

Ice cream

So, I took the ice cream quiz. Interesting.

You're Coffee.
Compared to other ice creams, coffee ice cream has a strong flavor, and it's packed with caffeinated sweetness. You're like that, too! You're always busy, and determined to stay focused as you move from one task to the next. You get frustrated when other people slow you down or hold you back, but when you're in control, you can find ways around any obstacle.

Spencer's Blessing

On Sunday, July 27 Scott blessed Spencer at church. Here are some pictures of him that day in his very best.

We Love Carter

Yesterday was Carter's Birthday. Here are some pictures of him through the years along with his favorite song. Carter has SO much love in his heart he can hardly contain it. He is such a peacemaker and is almost always the one to give in and let the other kids have what they want. He is very sensitive to me and tells me all the time, "Mom, you're beautiful" or "Mom, I love you". He is also a goof ball and says and does some of the craziest things. Our family would not be complete without hime. We love you CARTER BUG!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Let's Remember!

Here is something I have seen on several friends blogs lately. It looks fun.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory (or more) that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing (but you don't have to) and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Grandma! Grandma!

A new update of our little Spencer. At the rate he is growing he won't be little for very long! This week Scott's mom has been visiting. It has been fun and she has been a big help with the kids. You give me a kiss. You give me a hug. You let me have a nap on you too. I wish every child in the whole wide world had a Grandmother just like you.
You read me a book.
You made me a quilt.
You make cookies with us too!

I wish every child in the whole wide world had a
Grandmother just like you!

FINALLY!

After much anticipation, Taylor has finally lost his first tooth. It is a little hard to tell in this picture that there is a hole there because the new tooth is showing a little. He is very excited to finally begin losing teeth and to also have another one loose. The night he lost it he said, "Maybe the tooth fairy will bring me like a thousand dollars!" Thank goodness that he was happy with just one dollar!

Into the mind of a 3 year old

Today Carly was sitting by me holding Baby Spencer and this is the conversation we had:

Carylyn- "He's so cute!"
Amme-"Do you love your brother?"
Carlyn- "Yes, can we keep him? Pleeeease?"
Amme- "Yes, we'll keep him."
Carlyn- "Can our other baby be a girl baby? Cause I really want a sister. A sister would be more cuter."


So, I barely got Spencer here and Carly wants another one. It's a good thing 3 year olds aren't in charge of family planning!