When I was 15, I could hardly wait to turn 16.  I was excited to drive and date.  Our youngest son turned 16 this last week and I think he was equally excited. At his birthday dinner, we talked about some great things about Talmage: 1.  He loves trying new things--like riding a unicycle, doing magic tricks, juggling, etc. I wish I had a picture of him on his unicycle but I'm not sure where they are... 2.  He's adventurous--like doing the Dirty Dash and shaving his head and going on pioneer trek. 3.  He's diligent about practicing the piano. 4.  He's a popular uncle. 5.  He has a nice smile. After many years of orthodontia... 6.  He was a really cute little boy. This is from one summer day when I couldn't find him anywhere until we finally looked in the front closet where he had curled up to take a nap. 7.  He likes to learn and does well in school. On the first day of 9th grade right before his brot...

Last Saturday our family participated in "The Dirty Dash".  We had never done anything like this so we really didn't know what to expect. We drove up to Soldier Hollow where it took place.  On the way, the traffic was a little heavy because the Utah Valley Marathon was taking place so one half of the road was blocked off.  There were a lot of really tired and hot-looking people walking and running down the road as we drove past. After our 4 participants got their race packets with their T-shirts, they went to the starting line for their starting time of 10:40--when you sign up, you pick the time you start.  We could see a lot of the race course from the observation point which was on a ridge above the start and finish lines.  There were a lot more obstacles than we had realized there would be.  The whole race was a 5K and there were maybe 15 or more obstacles scattered throughout. Obviously, the main point was to get really dirty.  Immediat...

The other day, a woman who knows I have 9 children and that the oldest is 28, was surprised to hear that my oldest daughter is just 17.  I told her, "That's because my first five children were boys!"  And I love that.  I always wanted a big family so I wasn't discouraged that I kept having boys.  I love that they enjoyed being together and playing boy games like Dungeons and Dragons. I was especially glad that my 4th child (Lincoln) was a boy because he was just 17 months younger than his brother and I wanted them to be friends.  And they have been. Lincoln is having his 22nd birthday on Friday and here are some great things about Lincoln: 1.  He is hard-working.  He moved to Texas for an internship this summer and just finished another internship here.  He has two more years of school and works hard to keep up his grades. It wasn't too hard to convince Lincoln to earn his Eagle. Here he is delivering his project to Kids on the Move. 2....

This might be the most boring post ever, but for history's sake, here is what we've been doing in our basement the past few months. At the end of February, we (meaning I) decided that finishing the rest of our basement would be a really good idea so we would have space for all our guests (meaning our kids) coming at the end of August.  We also decided that maybe Scott should do the work but hire it out if he got too busy.  This would allow us to save some money and also to give our children at home a chance to help and earn some money. So, first we moved everything out of the area that we had been storing there--not a small amount of stuff.  And we have more than usual because we're storing some stuff for our son and his wife while they're gone over the summer. Next Scott bought a whole bunch of 2x4's (150 or so) and started framing.  He drew up some pretty simple plans (on Powerpoint) and I filed them with the city to get a permit after we talked to a c...

Every day when I pray, I am thankful for my 9 children.  But right after I say those words, I'm usually asking for help in being their mom.  Parenting is the hardest job you will ever have and it never stops even when your children grow up.  But here's why I love being a mother (with apologies for all the pictures of me). 1.  I always wanted to be a mom with a large family from the time I was a child.  I'm living my dream! 2.  I'm keeping the commandment to have children. When I give the Lord an accounting of my life, my parenting is going to be a huge part of that conversation. 3.  I get to practice my organization skills!  I like to solve problems through better organization--and there are lots of chances to do this with children. 4.  I learn new things all the time.  Any new challenge I have with my children usually sends me to the internet or to the library, looking for help. 5.  It gives my life meaning....

Last week I got to go on a field trip to Utah Lake with my favorite 4th grader.  I have to confess I wasn't that excited about going because it sounded like it would be boring but it ended up being quite interesting to me. Every spring, the people in charge of Utah Lake sponsor 4 days where selected elementary schools can come and learn about different aspects of Utah Lake.  They have 12 stations and our class got to go to 6 of them. Phragmite can get very tall and spread quickly. Our first station was about invasive plants at Utah Lake.  The presenter was not the most interesting for the kids with absolutely nothing interactive but I found the subject fascinating.  One very invasive plant is called phragmite also known as the common reed.  The invasive species came from Europe and they're working pretty hard to get rid of it. The way they do this is by spraying "Aquaneet" (aquatic Round-up) and then later using big tank-like vehicles to mash it down so...