Breann is HERE & Easter is Almost!!

That's right, Breann is in town and will be attending Brayle's Utah State program. It seems no one finds out about it until she's ready to head home. She'll be here until Saturday afternoon.

We'd like to have a lunch or brunch together about 12:30 or 1pm earlier if you prefer)to celebrate her visit & Easter.

We have 2 (make that 3, Aaron) kids to battle the hunt for goodies. What do you all suggest we do? We could die eggs, make goodies, have grab bags, scavenger hunt for the few prizes. Give suggestions of what you would like, your fave candy, movies, eating spots & etc. List some of those things you always wanted, but too embarrassed to tell anyone about.

Smith's is having a great case lot sale this week. Pork & Beans 3/00, black or kidney beans 2/00, cream of mush/chicken soup 2/00 & so on. 5lbs of shredded cheese is only $8.00. These may be some of the gifts for you & other food storage items.

Otherwise Known as:

Choose the best description for these couples that are listed below. See if your kids can tell who they are. Come up with some catchy name phrases & add to them. Each group is the same couple. The first one is easy.

Balding & Keep it Clean
Baptizer & Sympathizer
Helps all & Over the Wall

Drives a van & Head store man
News Writer & Fire fighter
Picture taker & Dinner Maker

Hoyt & Adroit
Charmer & Farmer
Hunts Game & Unique Name

Ward Leader & Story Reader
Informaticist & By Family Missed
Big Apple & Likes Snapple

Mouth Cleaner & Keeps Leaner
Head is Red & Wife of Jed
Computer Wiz & Takes Pepto Biz

New Teacher & Tire Screecher
He's been paged & She's engaged
What's the plan & Found my man

If you disagree, or have a preferred name, let's hear it.

"I got new friends!"

Children are so open to the world and the way they look at things. Sometimes they say things and I have to wonder how they came up with the idea. My three-year-old is especially good at these comments.
He recently was talking about his excitement to begin planting seeds outside since the weather is becoming warmer.
“Mom, we need to plant these flowers so they will grow up to Jesus and he can slide down to come visit us,” he said fully expecting it to come to fruition.
His creative mind and thoughts on life are so refreshing. Makes me think I am doing something right with this mothering thing.
My parents are visiting for the Sandhill Crane Festival. My boys love their grandparents. We went for a walk while we were waiting for my husband to come home from work. All of us: Grandma and Grandpa, my three boys, I and our dog, Whiskers were walking to the park. My husband drove by while taking someone home from work. My three-year-old and I were waving to him driving by.
“Hey Dad, I got new friends,” he called out to his Dad.
I couldn’t help but laugh inside at his cute comment. He did have new friends – that is how he saw his grandparents.
It is amazing how children can find friends anywhere. There is no issue with age, race, gender, social status, clothing, whatever. They can find a friend while waiting in the line at the grocery store, a new school, on a public bus, just about anywhere.
Why do adults make this same thing so difficult? We will often exclude someone from being a friend that could be a great and lasting relationship. We think about things like: how many children do they have, are theirs the same ages as mine, would she be uncomfortable coming to my house for one reason or another, all sorts of things. Is this stuff really so important?
Becoming friends with a variety of people from all walks of life can be rewarding and enriching to our lives. I know someone that is friends with her neighbor who doesn’t speak the same language as her. Their children will translate for them to communicate. They teach each other great recipes from their culture and do both love the experience.
I once sat down with a widow that was an empty-nester and had a great conversation about life. She had a totally different perspective on life than mine but completely understood where I was at in my life since she had been there. It was a really rewarding conversation and I felt like I grew from it. I began to value her perspective and my current experiences were more enriched.
Different people have different experiences and life challenges. It would be great if we could grow from each other and not be so closed off to other people.
I want to be able to say “I got new friends” too!

North to the Sandhill Crane Festival

We leave for Jennifer's & the Sandhill Crane Festival soon. Farilyne's family will get the mail & check the house a few times. Boise is our destination tonight or just north of it. Pray all goes well & have a Happy St. Patty's Day wearing green, watching for lepracauns & rainbows.

Friday the 13th Family Fear Factor

Young children braving the wild without crying.



Poor girl being squished to death by a 200 pound red man and smiling.

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Sarah holding a giant horny toad.



Noah, the brave snake handling boy.


This is Family Fear Factor on Friday the 13th.

REPTILES: Who is brave enough to hold a snake? List the people you think will do it & who can't. The bravest people win 5,000 points & losers the Rubber Snake Award. Put your name & the number of points you get or think you deserve if you could even touch it.

HEIGHTS: Who could walk along a trail 5 feet wide dropping over 600 feet on either side or stand on the 28th floor balcony and not faint? Give yourself 4,000 points if you can & the I'm Falling Award if you can't. 0 points for looking off the 3rd floor balcony.

CONSUME IT: Who can eat snails, cooked lumpy oatmeal, chocolate covered ants, sardines, sushi, pigs feet or jalapenos and not barf or cry? Give yourself 4,000 points if you can eat all of these and 500 points for each one you know can. Unable to even think about them, you get the Bad Taste in Your Mouth Award.

Talley up your points & the winner gets a bag of gummy worms.

March 11 advance issue of Another Gray Hair


Toilet Paper – what a great invention! I could not live without it, at least on a regular basis. For some reason it seems to disappear much too fast at my house since I have three little boys.

After learning that children think toilet paper on the wall dispenser is a toy I modified our storage. It is so easy and fun for a toddler to hit the roll over and over while dispensing it upon the floor. I have caught my boys doing this many times and after reprimanding them helped them to rewind it back on the roll while still in the wall dispenser. Finally, I gave up and resigned to placing the pile in a plastic bag on the floor. One would just reach in, find the appropriate amount, break it at both ends, and use the necessary amount.

After tiring of the plastic bag on the floor method for a few rolls I moved the entire roll to resting on the towel rack – slightly higher than the height a toddler can reach. I have discovered a few new problems with this storage method: first - the entire roll can fall into the toilet or onto a wet floor – thus ruining the remainder of the roll; second - it is easier to use more than truly needed; and third it drives my husband crazy to not be in the wall dispenser.

I have seen one of my boys wind the roll of paper around and around their hand until a big ball develops for a single use. I have watched another of them unroll and unroll it onto the floor into a big pile for use. Both my boys that have “graduated” to using toilet paper use way too much – a problem I needed to fix. One roll a day is beyond reasonable usage. My family’s toilet paper budget can only be stretched so thin.

When I was a child my mom instigated a rule on the use of toilet paper. Everyone could only use as much as their arm is long. From the shoulder to the hand was different on everyone but was the correct proportion to the amount needed for the job. I decided it was time to use this measurement rule for my boys. I carefully explained the new procedure a few times on different days to each of my toilet users and hoped for the best. I caught my three-year-old actually reaching out his arm as long as it would possibly reach and measuring out the correct amount and then using it.

“What a good boy,” I cooed at him, so proud that my new rule was being observed.

He did the same thing again, used the measured amount, and again a third time. After smiling to myself and wondering at his genius at following Mom’s directions and his own creativity at not following Mom’s directions, I explained that an arm length one time for the entire job not each wipe is a better philosophy.

My husband and I have explained and demonstrated the correct procedure for toilet paper use and what to do with it after use many time for them. I find myself wondering – do other people have to explain this too? Is this only a boy problem?

A friend recently suggested that I ration the toilet paper and only give out the allotted arm length before proceeding to the bathroom. She also suggested that I store it on top of the fridge. The problem is I would inevitably be the one in the bathroom without rations and having to figure out what to do. Also, that would just encourage my little out-of-the-box thinkers to climb on top of the fridge to ration the paper to themselves. They need no more prompts to climb; they have enough by just being boys.

Pictures of that blessed day!!