Pictures......

We took 2nd in our League. Our championship game was played against a Broomfield team that hasn't lost in 3 years.... and is the ONLY team we've lost to in 3 years.

This team has played so well! These boys are so great, and so are the coaches.

Of course you can't win football games with out CHEERLEADERS! There are 2 girls I am missing in this picture.

The CUTEST cheerleader!

After our season was over, the boys (and coaches) weren't ready to quit playing, so they decided to play in The Golden Classic. A weekend tournament... 3 games in 3 days, playing different top teams from the Denver area. A team from Denver, Aurora, and Golden.




Well, we took 1st place! It was so much fun watching them play. You could tell that they were more relaxed since they were done with their season. Not all of the boys on Dan's team could play in the tournament, so we picked up some boys from a different team in our league. They turned out to be great assets.


Dan had surgery on his elbow on a Fri morning and was coaching that evening. He doesn't listen to me, of course.


We had a great season. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED US THROUGH IT! FAMILY ESPECIALLY! WE LOVE YOU!

H1N1

Well the kids and I have gotten our H1N1 Flu vaccinations. Our Tri-County Health Dept. put together a bunch of clinics around our area on different days (probably to keep the masses at bay). There was one last Sat. at one of the local High Schools. No one knew about it until the school district had their "computer" call all the families that have kids enrolled in the district. We weren't able to make that one, but when I got onto the districts web site they have a bunch of scheduled sites. Mon. there was one at one of the middle schools. Again wasn't able to make that one, so Tues. they had another one at one of the other middle schools that Dan has football practice at. I took the kids after football practice expecting a huge long line. I was pleasantly surprised, when we were able to walk right in. It helped that I had already printed and filled out all the consent forms. And for once it helped that I have asthma, so we got bumped to the front of the short little line there was anyway!

I had tried to prep the kids before hand about what to expect and that they would have the choice to snort the vaccine up their nose or have a shot. I told them that I was going to have to get the shot and I didn't have a choice regardless (the asthma thing). Tanner went first and was a little nervous about having something stuck up his nose, but he did fine. Next was Jayla. She CRACKS me up! She sat down and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. The lady asked her if she wanted to have the mist and to my surprise she said NO and that she would do the shot! The tech lady and I both were shocked. We both tried to talk her out of the shot and to do the mist. She just kept crying and said that she didn't want the mist and she would do the shot. Finally after a bunch of coaxing she snorted it up her nose and was totally fine. I still don't know why she wanted to do the shot. After watching the 2 before him Zach was brave and had the mist. The tech let him touch it so he knew there was nothing sharp being stuck up his nose. He did it with out a hitch. Jake was just being 3 and was throwing a tantrum about toys before we even walked into the clinic. So needless to say he was already crying. He got the mist, too. He didn't quite understand, so after he snorted he told the tech that he snuffed up a needle and thought it was funny. Whatever..... he's 3 and I don't understand his thought process. Then it was my turn. Again, I HAD to have the shot. All my kids were watching to see how brave I was going to be. I don't mind shots, that doesn't mean I like them, though. I didn't flinch when I was stuck. I took it like a real woman. But, as soon as she pulled out the needle the blood gushed down my arm. The kids gasped, and Tanner gets a little freaked out by blood. So all I heard was "AAHHH.... my mom is bleeding EVERYWHERE!" in a chorus of 4 freaked out kids. The tech told me I was her first bleeder that night ( surprising since we only got there 45 min before they closed and they had already been there for 3 hours). I wasn't so surprised. I always bleed. Of course now I can't hardly move my arm, and NO I didn't tense my arm during the process, I know better. It's bruised and a little swollen. Oh, well......... at least we won't turn into pigs now (-;

side note- Dan couldn't get one yet because of his surgery that's scheduled for Fri. So he will have to get it after. They have another clinic up this was on the 30th. The best part was that these vaccines were FREE!! YA!

A "Peeve"........

WARNING: very open hostility. Read at your own risk!

I have this nagging peeve about people who talk about needing "Me"** time. Anyone who knows me, knows this. I get tired of listening to whining wives saying that they don't want to "lose" themselves, through their roles THEY have chosen as being a wife and mother.

This blog is not big enough to hold my rants about this topic.

My answer to this is........ LOSE YOURSELF! I have found a much better "me" as wife and mother than I could have ever imagined!

** I am all for keeping up on certain interests and such (ie. mine being going to the gym or taking time in the day to read part of a good book), but not at the expense of my family. Do people really need girls nights every day or every other day for that matter! Yes, those people do exist.

Prematurity Awareness Month............ Giving our support.

( my camera didn't get changed from "action" mode so the picture is grainy)

Farmers Insurance is a big donor to March of Dimes. Every spring we do the March for March of Dimes. It is a BLAST and the whole family has fun. Well last night we were invited to THIS (click) event. Farmers "bought" 2 tables and we were invited to sit at one of them. We had such a great time sampling all the fares. Two of our favorites was the (1) Butternut Squash and Smoked Trout Bisque from Jax Fish House (2) The Halibut from McCormicks. I haven't been to either restaurant {of course Dan has :-) }, but I may have to make him take me now. There were SO many vendors/restaurants there. While the food sampling was going on they had silent auctions going on as well for a plethora of things. Trips, cooking lessons, football tickets, basketball tickets just to name a few. After all of that they had a live auction and a live donation. It's amazing how much money people have to spend at things like this. I guess its all for a good cause, but I was a little overwhelmed. During the live donations they started the first donation at $5000.00 . One guy immediately raised his auction number and said to times it by 4! $20,000.00 (yes I can do math.... sometimes)! What was interesting is that Dan knows this guy. This man is the Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer for Jackson National Life Distributors LLC, Clifford James Jack . The company Dan left, to come work for Farmers. They said that every $5000.00 will fund one March of Dimes program in one Denver Area Hospital. Wow, that's 4 hospitals (again, my knack for math). I became more educated on the role that March of Dimes plays for premature babies, and the research they've funded to help these babies live and thrive. Deborah Takahara, from Denver channel 31, was the Host. She gave a story about how her 7 yr old son knows about breast cancer, but how we need to make the topic of premature babies just as "popular". I didn't know this, but November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Did you know this? Check out the stats at March of Dimes

What we've been up to........... (I have a new camera and have FINALLY uploaded pictures)


Jayla had a "Grandpa Lewis/ Granddaughters date" that he took all the granddaughters in the area (Jayla, Cora, Rachel) to Wicked. She had such a GREAT time! He took them out to a nice restaurant for dinner before the play. I had talked to her about the story line before hand so she wouldn't feel lost as she was watching. She said that some people at the theater told them all how beautiful they looked and how appropriately they were dressed for a "night on the town". She thoroughly enjoyed the production and having a night out with Grandpa! She didn't get home until almost midnight- it was even a school night. I had told her that I would call her school the next day, but circumstances made it so I didn't have to ......

Jayla all dressed up before her night out.

Which brings me to how I didn't have to call her in. We got a nice bit 'o snow the next day and they cancelled school. I'll be honest, I was shocked that they did. Our school district hardly ever cancels school! So needless to say the kids.... ok, and I.... were totally excited about no school. Dan went to a half day of work, and then came home to work the other half. After he felt he had sufficiently done enough, we took the kids to some little hills over by our house to sled. The kids loved it. Jake decided it was even more fun to fore go the sleds and just roll down the hill in the snow. We were there for quite a while, before Dan and I decided to call it a night. My kids LOVE the snow. It did make me excited for the winter. Maybe Dan and I can get up on the slopes and do a lot more snowboarding this year and even get the kids to enjoy it this year!

Dan pulling the little boys. I have more pics of sledding, but they are on my phone.

Our next event was approx. 3 days later..... Football. You gotta love Colorado with it's extremes in weather! All these pics are sunny and drier. Our season is now into the play-offs. We have only lost 1 game this season. In the last 3 seasons we have only lost 2 games. Yes, I am bragging. We won our game, so championship here we come!

Jayla scrunching her face because the sun was in her eyes.

My cheerleaders at half time. We are missing 1, but the little girl in the pic decided she would fill in. She is a daughter to some of our good friends. We have had a fun season. This is the last season I will be able to coach.


Tanner is #53. He isn't as small as he looks next to these other boys. The tall kid next to him is 5ft. 8in and about 190lbs. This team is made up of mostly 10 yr olds, and a few 11 yr olds. Tanner loves football!

Tanner is warming up.

Coaching staff. There is one more that isn't in this picture. Look at the hot stuff tucking in his shirt. I think I want to get to know him better ;-)

This was during the game against Lafayette.

All the parents and cheerleaders do "the bridge" after each game for the boys to run through. After all the boys run, the cheerleaders run through while all the parents cheer. The kids love it!

Then there was Halloween in the mix. My kids can't make up their minds of what they want to be until the very last minute. We went over to some friends house to go trick or treating, so the kids could go with some friends. They had such a great time.

Here's all of them after getting their "loot".

Jake was the Hulk, but didn't want to look at the camera.

Zach started out as the Blue Power Ranger, but when Tanner got to have a mustache, he wanted one too. He didn't want to wear his mask so that everyone could see his "make-up". He decided to wear a baseball hat instead (like Tanner) so then we started calling him a NASCAR driver.

Jayla wanted to be a cat..... AGAIN. She thought it would be funny to be a cat walking the dog.

Tanner came up with the idea to be a Black Market Assassin....... whatever that is. Once he told me what he wanted his make-up to be, we just started calling him a spy. Although, he could totally fit in with the CBI (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) office, don't ya think Pratt Fam?!

My kids are not know to be the perfectly reverent children, who sit quietly with their arms folded all the way through sacrament meeting. We are probably "that" family that no one wants to sit next to because our children, namely the 2 little ones, have no volume control. Luckily we have found some wonderful friends who bring our kids snacks (I bring them, its just more fun for the kids to get them from someone else. Aren't things ALWAYS better when they aren't yours?!) and don't mind sitting next to us. I'm not delusional enough to think that some of this isn't due to parenting.

Anyway, yesterday was our typical sacrament mtg. Children having to go out because they hit someone, getting thirsty, and of course having to go to the bathroom. During one of those brief moments of togetherness, which happened to be right in the middle of the sacrament, Zach in his not so quiet voice told me....."Mom, your never too old to rock 'n roll!" Needless to say it started a chain reaction of snickering through the rows around us. I was glad that some of that snickering was from our friends who get a regular "kick" out of our family antics. I think there was one of "those" families sitting close by that had to just give a look of concern. They probably think we are teaching our kids how to bite the heads off bats or something.

Oh, well! I LOVE MY ZACHIE!

Maybe I'm reading into people too much...........

So the last 3 days Jayla and I have been going to a dance camp that our league sponsored ( on top of our other obligations) . Of course 2 of those days I had to take my little boys with us. MISTAKE!

The first day was managable. We only had a few close calls of toys hurling through the air and almost decapitating a few cheerleaders. The second day was a non-football day so that Tanner could watch the little terrors at home(Dan works late on non-football days to try to make up for the days he is coaching). I didn't mind being outside in the cold and rain that day, when there wasn't the stress of making sure that one of the little boys didn't try to slide tackle a cheerleader to her knees. The 3rd day was inside, but I had to bring the 2 little devils. Unlike many parents, I try to teach my kids to behave in public. Not more than 2 minutes after starting the camp, the discipline started. Again toys flying through the air, name calling began, running through the cheer formations turning into a "frogger" type game. Who can run through them as fast as possible without getting knocked down by cheer moves. The boys spent more than half the time sitting with their backs against a wall, with the threat of loosing limbs if they dare escape. The 5 year old is smart and takes his punishment, the 3 year old thinks it's funny to try to run away, while yelling "Ha, Ha! Come and get me mommy!"

I love the stares I get....... Some as if to think "it serves you right!" Others just glare, even while their children are playing the same "frogger" game and sliding their toys through cheerleaders feet. I find I get defensive and end up in a starring contest. Who ever wins is the better parent. I find that I feel that where ever I go I am always being judged by people. I have had people flat out tell me "That's why we've stopped at one".

Generally my kids are well behaved. A lot of the stress I feel is self imposed. Yes my kids act like kids, but I do try to give direction to them so they have minimal effect on others around them. Though I have those days where I think "What have I done!?" and maybe want to sell a few to make a buck. Those days are really few and far between. If they are not harming those around them I find myself laughing at their antics. I really wouldn't have it any other way.......... but "the buck stops here", uh I mean at 4.

Vote for Sidney to be on a Jones Soda Label! Click HERE

Things I love.........

I have been trying to have better thoughts go through my head, than the negative ones I have been having lately. So this morning as I dropped my kids off at school I was trying to make a list in my head of all the things I love. Here is just a few things that went through my head.......( some are deeper than others, but it's MY list of things)

The blessing I have to be a wife
Being a mother
taking my kids to school so I am the last person they get encouragement from before entering into their long day of learning.
Picking my kids up from school so that I am the first person they talk to about their immediate reactions of what that day at school brought them.
Spending time with my family, even if its as little as driving them around. (as you can tell most of my life is in the car)
Having a devoted husband and father to my kids
Watching my husband in his working capacity (it's fun to see him interact and see how co-workers interact with him) I like seeing him in a different angle.
Having the ability to see my kids learn at such fast speeds
My opportunity to volunteer in such a great school that fits my children's needs
I love the gym, with the mental break it gives me and learning the importance of my body
The gospel, and how it affects my daily decisions for the better
Ice cream
the friends I have
My husbands ability to work hard, and provide me with the option to raise my kids.
Learning

Those are just a few things. I have an on going list in my head that I will hopefully be able to recall when I am having those negative things pop back into my head.

I really need to get a camera! I can't keep storing all the pics I take on my phone. And for some reason I can't get the pictures I do have to post on to the stupid blog! There, that's said.


My kids have started school. It is a love/ hate relationship. We love having a schedule but now I feel we (I) am too scheduled. My kids are everywhere and I am with them. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I feel. It makes me feel sort of guilty that now I have 3 in school I can't wait for #4 to join them! Is it wrong for me to want some of my own time again?

Tanner is back into football, and is already learning to work through some physical pain. He has a slight muscle tear in his chest, which was making any pushing motion kind of difficult. We did have him x-rayed to make sure it wasn't something more. I keep telling him that if he wants to take some time off he can, but he doesn't. He looks so small with the other linemen he has on his team. It's really weird seeing those tables turn . He is as happy as a 5th grader can be about being in school. It really freaks me out that he will be in middle school next year! UGH!

Jayla decided to cheer again this year and is doing cross country as well. She is LOVING school. She always does. She has her best friend Isabelle in her class for the 3rd year in a row. They are quite a pair. Both are so shy it's almost painful, but when they get together they are hilarious! Just a bundle of giggles. She is really liking cross country, but is still a little reserved. She is such a great daughter and sister!

Zach is LOVING school as well. He is so happy to have homework (we'll see how long that lasts). He is OOZING personality. And will talk to anyone or tell people how it is. He is a crazy man in soccer, and will talk trash to the other team (again, PERSONALITY). He tells Dan on a weekly basis he is going to score "like 10 times". He has score multiple times each week, but hasn't hit that goal yet.

Jake is LOVING school, too. Because then he is the only one home for part of the day. The first week of school, we would drop the kids off and he would tell me "lets go home so I can play the Wii, ALL BY MYSELF!". He wishes he could do something in sports like the other kids. I keep telling him that next Spring he will get to play soccer. He can't wait.

I have been in a "mood " it seems for the past couple months. It's all internal, but I have been really trying to work on a better attitude towards "things". Be patient with me as I may vent sometimes on this blog. Or write cryptic messages. It's just LIFE.

Ya... I know.....

I haven't been blogging. It's my frame of mind. Its the old adage, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all".

There ya go folks. That's it, for now. Until I am in a better mental place. Or just a better place..........

Testing testing.........
Trying his mobile blogging thing.

PLEASE SHARE!

I have been thinking about the upcoming events in my life (namely football/cheer) and am trying to plan out schedules already for when we are in the "throws" of this chaotic season. One of the biggest issues I have have is "what's for dinner?!". Here's where the title of this post comes in.....

What is yours, your families, or your friends favorite slow cooker/crock pot recipes? Or 15 min and under recipes?

During this fun time of events we generally don't get home and eat dinner until 8pm, so the quicker the prep to finish time, the better. My family gets tired of eating sandwiches and chicken and dumplings.

Thank you for any and all suggestions! Love ya all ! And here's to all of our busy individual schedules!

Goings On.......

Not really feeling the need to blog right now. I still don't have a camera so I can't post pics (I've tried my phone, but I can't get them to post from my phone.) Here are some random things .......

Went to Chicago...... It was AWESOME!

Jayla and Zach have been doing track since May- I love to watch both of them run :-)

Just signed Jayla up to start Cross Country in a couple weeks.

Zach will play soccer this fall

Tanner has been doing speed and agility training since May (3x a week) and this is the last week

Tanner and Dan have started football (that doesn't end til November)

Jayla and I will start cheerleading in a couple weeks ( yes.... I am coaching! {sigh} )

School is going to start Aug. 13 :-(

Zach will start kindergarten the week after :-( - (3 down one more to go)

I've been in a sort of slump lately...... Life just seems to need a change. What, I don't know. (And NO...... I will not be having another kid)

As always, is totally in love with Dan!

I am so grateful for all the blessings in my life! I have so many and need to be better about acknowledging them.

Have the BEST family. Both immediate and extended!

Have been going to Water World and the pool at the gym. ( We really should live in a neighborhood with a pool. It would save us so much $$)

Is not sure what to do about my calling in church (due to the CRAZY schedule that will be starting). Would I be that bad of a person for asking to be released?!

I love going to the gym. More for the mental boost it gives me, but with the perks of being a little more healthy.

There are so many more random thoughts/things to blog.... but MUST quit and get on with the things that need to get done today.

Uh oh.... they think it's MONO!


Poor Jayla has had a headache for a couple days now. She didn't even feel well enough to go to the last day of school (may 21) , so I knew there was really something wrong with her. She has either been a sleep on her bed or a sleep on the couch for those couple of days. She is on the couch sleeping as I type this.

I took her to the Dr. yesterday, not really knowing if I really should. She wasn't running a fever or throwing up. Her main complaints were headache, dizziness when she stood up, and a little bit of a sore throat and TIRED. Her rapid strep test came back negative, but her lymph node in her neck is swollen. Her spleen isn't tender and , again, isn't running a fever. The Dr just looked at me and said "I think she has Mono. We can't give her anything, other than you just treating her symptomatically with Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen. " She showed me where to feel for swollen node and said " if she starts raising a fever and the node is bigger or staying the same bring her back".

Our Dr. didn't want to do all the "mono" tests because it requires a lot of poking and drawing blood, which neither of us wanted to do to Jayla (she looked so pathetic :-( ).

So we are just waiting it out. What a way to start summer..... with mono! (maybe....hopefully not!)

I get this question all the time..........

I am asked "where are you all the time! You are never home." Some say it in a kind joking manner, but others have asked me in sort of an annoyed tone. Well here's where I am. (you asked for it)

Mon. 8-8:45 Getting kids to school
11:25-11:30 picking up Zach at preschool
11:30- 1:30 driving to the gym, working out, then driving home
3-3:45 picking up the other kids from school
6-7:15 taking Tanner to speed and agility camp
Tues. 8-8:45 Getting kids to school
8:45-11:00 driving to the gym, working out, then driving home
11:25-11:30 picking up Zach at preschool
3-3:45 picking up the other kids from school
5-6:30 Tanner Baseball Practice
6- 7 Jayla soccer
Wed. 8-8:45 Getting kids to school
11:25-11:30 picking up Zach at preschool
11:30- 1:30 driving to the gym, working out, then driving home
3-3:45 picking up the other kids from school
4-5 Piano lessons for the kids
6-7:15 Tanners speed and agility
6-7 Cub scouts (I'm the Bear Leader)
6:30- 8 Tanner Baseball practice
Thurs. 8-8:45 Getting kids to school
11:25-11:30 picking up Zach at preschool
12:30-2:30 driving to the gym, working out, then driving home
3-3:45 picking up the other kids from school
Baseball Games sometime in the evening
Fri. 8-8:45 Getting kids to school
8:45-11:00 driving to the gym, working out, then driving home
3-3:45 picking up the kids from school
6- 7 Jayla soccer
Sat. Soccer and baseball throughout the day

Now, I don't write this all out to complain or anything. I am just a mom, who loves her kids. Who enjoys watching her children learn and grow. This schedule (this is just all the stuff that has actual time allotted for these events) is probably close to every mother who enjoys what she does. And I know there are many who are more scheduled than I am. To them I say........ Way to go!!!!!!! I LOVE BEING A MOTHER!

I don't want to leave out the very important father in all of this. Dan is very supportive of us and, when he is able and not trying to support our family, he is right there "going and doing" right along with us.

So when I am not answering my phone, or screening my calls, or just plain not available this is why. Please don't take offense. I don't when you do it to me.

I haven't disappeared...... just in a slump with blogging and my kids schedules are starting to overtake my life. I will blog shortly. Don't worry.

I am so proud of my kids! There will be bragging in this post.... so be warned!

Last week (sun. the 22nd) Dan and I were asked to speak. When I asked how long and if there were youth speakers the Counselor presiding said that there wouldn't really be any youth speaker..... "instead, isn't Tanner getting pretty old? (uh, 9 almost 10) We were thinking that he could be the youth speaker for that day. Do you think he will do it?" So, the nice mom that I am said OK.

Long story short. He wasn't nervous until he was sitting up in front of everyone and then it sunk in. Dan just told him that it was ok to read his talk word for word and that it isn't any different than speaking in primary- instead of kids not listening , it's adults not listening- he, he. He also told him it would put hair on his chest and make him a man. Needless to say he did a great job! I am so proud!

Another proud moment is my little miss smarty pants Jayla. She is in a gifted and talented program called Destination Imagination ( Rising Stars is what they are called in 2nd grade) Her and her group wrote and did the sets for a play they came up with. They will be in competition this Sat. with other groups from Colorado. They have been meeting weekly, since Jan. putting this together. She has LOVED being involved in this! It has been so great watching her bloom.
She is also having such a great time playing basketball. She is one of the littlest one's out there but she is really starting to catch on. She still has moments where running down the court ends up with her racing the girl ( she is the fastest, but then forgets to go after the ball).

Can't leave the other 2 out so..........

Zachary is doing so well in pre-school. It's funny because I have had a couple moms tell me that their little girls have crushes on him. He is learning so quickly and I can't believe that he will start kindergarten next year! He wants it to be spring.... right now..... so he can play soccer again. Of course he thinks he can keep up with the big kids. So every once in a while we have to "hold" him back so he doesn't kill himself (or others).

Jake is just Jake. He is FULL of spunk (and other things I will not name). Being the last, he gets away with a lot more than the other ones did. He is too smart for his own good. He can talk WAY too much and likes to use words that aren't allowed in our house. Even after all the "scoldings" his gotten it doesn't detour him, not even a little. I have to hand it to him..... Maybe that stubbornness will come in handy sometime. He sure is cute though. That's benefited him more than once.

Those are just a few things about the kids lately.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.........

TO MY BEAUTIFUL JAYLA

My baby girl is turning 8! Wow. She is such a wonderful daughter, sister and friend. In honor of the big 8, here are 8 things I love about her...............

1. Her love of learning
2. Her desire to choose the right
3. Her love for her family
4. Her intelligence
5. Her willingness to help
6. Her excitement for the gospel
7. Her desire to be baptized
8. Just because she is my daughter!
(and of course there are SO many more reasons)

I love you Jay!

Introducing...........

Our new dog, Chip. He is a Shi-poo, and 2months old.

We had to find a better home for Sassy. She needed a bigger yard and a family who had more time to give her the training she needed. We found her a home with a couple who had a teenage daughter, and they were so excited to have her. That happened Fri. night.

Jayla was the only one who was pretty sad about letting Sassy go, so Dan (and me, too) decided we would get a smaller more manageable dog and have Jayla be the primary care taker. He is for the whole family, but Jayla got to name him and take the primary role as "pack" leader. He will only get to be about 10lbs full grown.

I'll blog more later about our new addition.

ARGH!

My camera is broken! I'm pretty sure it had some help from some little people around the house. I just don't know what to do..... with them OR the camera.

HELP..........

I am (as always) trying to find the best ways to organize things...... ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. So I was wondering what is your best organizing tip, technique, ritual or whatever.

Please share and help me.

Thanks in advance. I love you ALL!

Tagged.......



1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2. Select the 4th picture in the folder
3. Explain the picture
4. Tag 4 people to do the same. No cheating!

Here's what came up. This is (from left to right) SIL-Raenie, Lil'sis- Ellen, Big sis-Martha, Me and Jayla. We took this picture while visiting Martha in Huntsville, UT it was the fall of '02. At the time this was all the girls in the "Pratt" fam. Since then we have added Cami and Kenzie. When I look at this picture I think..... Wow I feel old!

Tag your it..... Martha, Alycia (if you are reading this you better do it ;), Kay and Kathy. Hope to see some fun pictures!

GUILT.......


I have been feeling this a lot lately. Here are a few reasons why......

Having enough time in the day to get everything done
Family scripture study & prayer
House work
laundry
playing with my kids (lack there-of)
teaching them sports
Lack of sharing my testimony.... especially to my family.
Serving others
letting my family know that I love them
personal scripture study & prayer
etc, etc.

I'll spare the other gory details.

How does everyone else handle this or overcome it? (Probably by not being on the computer so much)

Up date on the "goals"


Well, as far as the goal to go to the gym goes...... I am ace'n that one. I have gone to the gym 6 days a week { Mon. - Sat.}. On Sat. we take the kids swimming after I and Dan's workout. I can't tell you how happy the gym makes me. I get so giddy! During the week my friend and I hit a workout class a day (sometimes she does "two-a-days", because she says she has no life:) ) Too bad the L-B's don't come off quicker.

Reading lessons- Not so hard, because I take the scriptures and Manuals with me to read in the car while waiting to pick up the kids.

The kitchen thing..... lets just say that maintenance is number one priority right now.

FHE.... Failing badly! With 2 kids in basketball(Jayla practices M & W Tanner practices T & TH and games on Sat), one in cub scouts, me as the Den leader, Jayla - miss smarty pants ;) - has gifted and talented after school on Fri 'til 5:30, we are lucky if we eat a meal together {if we do, it's usually sandwiches in the car or dinner at 8 pm}. I'm not complaining, I like staying busy. Especially when it's with my kids. I don't know what will happen when the other 2 start doing things, though.

Little steps......


I am never good at New Year resolutions. I always set myself up for failure, because I think I can turn into Super Woman and get everything done. So this year I have ONE resolution. It is this.....

3-4 goals that can be worked on per month.

January Goals
1. Workout! NO EXCUSES! It has been made easier with the gym that has a cool kid zone. So far since receiving this wonderful gift I have gone at least 5 times a week. YA! I feel like a better person and more clear headed. I hope I will start to see results soon, to keep me going. If not, it is still good for the mental break it gives me.

2. Read the Sunday school lesson and Relief Society lessons in advance.

3. Take one room a month and fix the things that drive me CRAZY. This month I will focus on the kitchen.

4. Have Family Home Evening. I know that this is supposed to be a weekly thing, but I'm shooting for 2 lessons a month. Between all of our schedules it is hard to have a "planned" FHE. We do make time to spend together as a family, but not the structured lesson, song, activity, treat thing.

There ya go! It is written in the blog archives, so it now must be followed through!

I am tired..........

I admit to being somewhat of a blog stocker. I need to get it under control :)And here's why..... I am tired of seeing all these perfect "images" of families, homes, people etc. Everyone makes their lives sound like the epitome of bliss. I am just not buying it!

Why can't people be real. Be real to others and themselves. I understand that for the most part we try to put our best foot forward. Act like we have it all together. I have probably done the same things in my blog and life. I really do try to be as real as I can {without scaring people or freaking them out}. My tendency to be private may be misconstrued as an act that I am "uppity" or , again, thinking I have everything all figured out. Here is me being honest to the whole blogger world......

My house is a DISASTER! Do I like it that way.... NO! I would show you pictures, but I am too lazy to go take them. My kids have been known to maybe wear the same outfit for 2 days. They do wear clean clothes when we/ they are going any where in public, but if it is just staying at home, they look like little Tasmanian devils. I need(want) to loose at least 30 lbs. This doesn't happen easily for me! I have to work at it 7 days a week, and it is NOT fun for me. Although, it has been much more enjoyable having my Christmas present from Dan and having my gym rat, I mean, gym bunny friend endure the pain along with me (you know who you are. THANK YOU!) That leads to the fact that I absolutely hate shopping! Clothes or otherwise. Probably because I want to shed unwanted weight, so I hate shopping the sizes that I have to, and that to loose the weight means eating healthy, which means eating more fruits and veggies, which then means more shopping because they go bad too soon or they get eaten quickly. (sorry for the sentence). It's a vicious cycle. Basically I just wanted everyone to know I AM NOT PERFECT! And proud to say so.

But to turn the tables a little..... I DO have a PERFECT HUSBAND for me, and the most PERFECT CHILDREN for me and I know that the GOSPEL IS PERFECT! Those are really the most important things to me in my life and my life hereafter.

So when you come to my house and there is laundry everywhere, dust on the shelves, crumbs ground into the carpet, children who may have been in their pj's all day, papers on the counter I don't know what to do with, me in my sweats and t-shirt, here is my APOLOGY for not having it all together!

Please read.........http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia#

And this......http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/

This is a scary thing to have happen to those who own small businesses or if you sell or give handmade items for children.

I don't sell childrens items or own a small business, but I am concerned that if this passes, what will be next! Will I be able to make things for my own children or grandchildren or will I be prosecuted?!

Write your congress person! Don't know who it is go here........https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

I will step off my soap box.