Adventures

First Day of School

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.jsOn Wednessday school started again for Olivia and Calvin (Everett will start on Monday). //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js Olivia (4th grade) has Mrs. Lui as her homeroom class, and Calvin (2nd grade) has Mrs. Hsaih. (Both, Chinese). //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js...

Joy in the Journey

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.jsAs I prepared for our back-to-school dinner, the theme that came to me was “Joy in the Journey.” I think it was an EFY theme one year, but as I researched it, I didn’t find...

The Last Two Weeks of Summer

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.jsAfter our crazy busy birthday/baptism/wedding/party/birthday week, we took a bit of a low key week – played with friends, went to the pool . . .  actually, we went to Seven Peaks one day, which...

posts to write

Rodeo and 4th weekend Ward campout Brock cabin trip 24th of july baseball/softball summer synopsis calvin’s birthday party calvins birthday flash forward: calvin’s homecoming mikes wedding ensign peak, etc. calvin’s baptism nate’s birthday wyatt’s reunion

Summer Ball

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js This summer we had 4 kids playing baseball on 3 different teams in 2 different leagues. Olivia joined a girls softball league in Taylorsville (the only league in the valley), Calvin and Everett were...

The Ward Campout

This year our ward did a camp out up at the stake property in Kamas. I didn’t get any pictures, but it was fun to let the kids run around with all the neighborhood kids...

Welcome Back July!

Dear July, I’ll admit, I’ve been dreading you all year; shed little tears of anticipation in my heart at the thought of you. You have become overwhelming to me. Years ago I heard of an...

Christensen Camp Out

I forgot my camera, so I’m gathering pics from other family members of the weekend. This year we resurrected the Christensen Family Camp Out. It was vetoed for a couple years, but this year everyone...

Spring Break 2015

For spring break we decided to road trip to Arizona via some National Parks. First we stopped at Cove Fort – not a national park – It was really cool. I think we will stop there...

We HEART Babies

This spring my two youngest sisters will each have their own babies. This means my parents will get six grandbabies in a year! We celebrated these two new littles with a Baby Shower, thrown by...

Sledding at the Cabin My Favorite Day this Winter

My VERY FAVORITE DAY so far this winter, was Civil Rights day when the kids were out of school, and we packed everyone up to the cabin to go sledding. We haven’t been to the...

Christmas 2014

After an unusually warm fall and early winter, we woke up on Christmas morning with a fresh blanket of white with giant marshmallow flakes still falling softly throughout the day. It was magical! [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47IttZD1cnA?rel=0]...

Christmas Eve Dinner, 2014

We downplayed the Christmas Eve dinner the most we ever had this year. We didn’t get out the special dishes (in fact, it was paper plates!) or cook the extra elaborate meal – but it...

Dinner and Movie with the Doom’s

I didn’t get a picture, but I did want to say, we had dinner and watched a Christmas movie with the Doom’s one evening before Christmas. It’s fun to spend time with friends!

This Is Halloween

October was this strangely warm and beautiful month this year. Except on the one day I planned and went to Gardener Village for Halloween pictures. Last year I went one day after school so Olivia and...

Let’s Talk About August

After the burst of glowey beautiful happiness that was the birth of Nathaniel Grey, August settled into a sullen, unmovable pout. It rained. A lot. Our basement flooded. Not from the rain. Poop soup, as...

The First Day of School

The kids got up at like 6 am – of course, I had just gone back to bed from feeding the baby. I never got to go back to sleep. I listened to Cal and...

Summer, Day 76 – The Last Day of Summer Vacation

Calvin had his first grade orientation that morning. We spent the afternoon finishing our back-to-school-shopping. We spent the evening setting out all of the school stuff and getting to bed on time (which is WAY...

Summer, Day 75

It was Monday – school started on Wednesday. So I figured I better get started on back-to-school-shopping. So we spent the bulk of the day running errands. Calvin did play at Cannon’s house, and Olivia...

Summer, Day 74

I don’t ever remember being this tired from a baby before. It’s just a sign that I’m getting old. I can barely think straight, and I feel like I’m constantly in a fog. So on...

Summer, Day 72 – Andrew’s Birthday

It was Andrew’s 3rd Birthday! He was so excited for his happy birthday. In the morning we opened presents. He got a bunch of bananas and a box of fruit snacks (exactly what he asked...

Summer, Day 71

Olivia, Cal and Everett went over to play at the Engh’s for the afternoon.

Summer, Day 70

Grandma Christensen took the kids to see “Ice Age 4” at the movies.

Summer, Day 69

In the morning we went horse back riding. In the early afternoon we went to the dinosaur museum. In the late afternoon we went to the ER. (We thought Olivia broke her foot. Good news,...

Summer Day 68

After having a long conversation with Wyatt the night before about the type of mom I want to be, I decided I would invite friends over for my kids. (We haven’t had many friends play...

Summer, Day 67 – Aiden’s Baby Blessing

Sunday was the day for our nephew, Baby Aiden’s baby blessing. First we had church. I went because I forgot to get a sub for gospel doctrine. You’d think I’d killed a cat or something...

Summer, Day 61-62

One thing I forgot about my babies, and didn’t remember until 10:00 the night before was that my babies never sleep that first night home from the hospital. I don’t know if they just finally...

Summer, Day 60 – Checking out of the hospital

Day 60 was a Sunday, the day I was scheduled to check out of the hospital. Carrie and Ben came to visit. Then Wyatt came with all the kids in tow, to get me from...

Summer, Day 59

No one came to visit us in the hospital – my family was all out of town (Carrie and Ben did come see me in the hospital Sunday morning right before I checked out), Wyatt’s...

Summer – Day 57 – 3:50 AM

I woke up about an hour and a half ago with a painful contraction. I didn’t have another one for almost 45 minutes. But when it came, it was a doozy as well. Then another...

Summer, Day 55 – The Due Date

The carpet cleaners came this morning. Of course, it rained cats and dogs all day – keeping the kids in the house but out of the way and off all carpets. It was a fun...

Summer, Day 54

Today the cleaning ladies actually came. I spent the day beforehand getting ready for them – finishing laundry, getting  the house picked up so they can just clean. When they came I spent the afternoon...

Summer, Day 53

Sunday – Wyatt spoke in sacrament meeting on the two fold effort of genealogy and temple work. Afterwards a family dinner at the Christensen’s to celebrate July birthdays.

Summer, Day 52

Saturday was a bit of a disappointment – The kids were at Grandma’s house, so we were trying to finish up the last details before the baby. I ran errands in the morning – getting...

Things that I’m Loving About Them Right Now

Olivia: She lost ANOTHER tooth this week – late on Wednesday. The tooth fairy has been to our house so much in the past several months. She is so proud of how she’s growing big....

Summer, Day 50 – Pioneer Day!

Pioneer Day came with all the excitement and anticipation that always accompanies it. But I was tired. Soooooo tired. We spent the morning working on a couple low key projects around the house (we got...

Summer, Day 47

The house was still pretty clean from Saturday, and I was feeling MUCH BETTER (read, less stressed). So we decided to do something fun. After grocery shopping (I’m so bad at getting to the store...

Summer, Day 46

Sunday we were up on time and moving along! Small children were bathed, I was showered with my make up on, and we were cruising towards getting to church on time and unstressed – it...

Summer, Day 45

Wyatt was gone to Youth Conference for the first half of the day, and to the cabin to finish the kitchen for the second half. I stayed home and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. The house was...

Summer, Day 44

This was the BIG DAY! The day we had CALVIN’s 7th birthday party! He wanted a quasi-Lego themed party – I say quasi because he wanted a Lego party, but he also wanted pirates and...

Summer, Day 43

I spent the day working on a few BIG cleaning projects that needed to be done . . . I cleaned the laundry room. (Let’s be honest, it was bad news). I also did a...

Summer, Day 41

With the cabinets on the trailer, and the trailer hitched to Wyatt’s truck, he was feeling the pressure to get the cabinets at least to the cabin and get that project started. On Tuesday he...

Summer, Day 40

After my long weekend I was a little tired and not up for anything fun. So we stayed home all day.

Summer, Day 39

A quiet Sunday was much needed. Calvin gave a great talk in Primary! That evening Auntie Leslee and Uncle Jason came over and hung out for a little bit.

Summer, Day 38

In continuation of our projects from the day before, the elders quorum came over and moved the cabinets out of the basement and onto the trailer to finally be taken to the cabin. Wyatt and...

Summer, Day 37

This was the day the dominos fell . . . It all started YEARS ago (as in 5 years ago, when I was expecting little EJo). Wyatt called me – he had found this great...

Summer, Day 36

Calvin started PIANO! We’re so excited to have two piano playing children in our home!

Summer, Day 35

By now I was feeling guilty that we hadn’t done anything “fun” in so many days. So I took the kids to the pool for the afternoon. Calvin had a birthday party at 2 at...

Summer, Day 34

Olivia went horse back riding with Auntie Leslee. Calvin was invited to play at Fischer’s house. The boys and I ran errands. Later in the afternoon everyone got to go play at the Fletcher’s house...

Summer, Day 33

After our wild week of fun, I was ready for some quiet laziness at home. We spent Monday cleaning the house and being low-key. That night we went to the last of the baseball games....

Summer, Day 32

A quiet Sunday.

Summer, Day 31

Summer, Day 30 – The 4th of JULY!

Carrie and Ben came up from St. George to hang out with us for the 4th of July weekend! We started the morning by going to the Granite parade. The kids decorated their bikes and...

Summer, Day 29

We took a really slow morning at the cabin. We ate a big yummy breakfast, played Cowboys and Indians, and generally enjoyed being together with no pressures.

Summer, Day 27

The house was clean, errands were run (that is such a rare thing!!!) so I spent the morning painting. Then we went to the pool for the afternoon. Then I went up to Aunt Linda’s...

Summer, Day 26

Let’s be honest, I needed a catch up day. I slept in until 10:00 am! All the kids were cuddled around me watching morning cartoons while I slept. It felt so luxurious. After that we...

Summer, Day 25

We decided it was a perfect evening for a neighborhood treat night. At church we did our best to spread the word, and when we got home we called everyone we could think of. That...

Summer, Day 24

We took Wynn and Heidi (plus grandma and Alyssa) to the cabin. First we got lunch at Wendy’s. At the cabin we did all the usual. Then we had a delicious barbecue. It was a...

Summer, Day 23

After a Dr. appointment for baby Nathaniel, we went down to Highland to hang out with Wynn and Heidi. We spent the day at Grandma’s. In the afternoon we went down to Provo to go...

Summer, Day 22

Wynn and Heidi came to town! After a few more errands in the morning we met up with them at the Lehi pool to spend the afternoon relaxing in the clouds (of course, it was...

Summer, Day 21

A day  – errands, visiting teaching, babysitting, baseball, and that evening a hot date with my woo looking at real estate (our hobby) and eating some snacks at Chili’s.

Summer, Day 20

We spent the night impromtu at the cabin. That morning Wyatt woke me up to see the bright pink sunrise glowing outside the windows. The kids were still asleep and the world was beautifully silent....

Summer, Day 19

The house needed some serious cleaning, so we spent the morning doing chores. That afternoon we packed up and headed up to the cabin. We took up my cousins, Erin and Anna and their little...

Summer, Day 18

An easy going Sunday. That evening we were invited over for a back-yard movie and Frilly Drinks at our friend’s, the Reimann’s house. Good times!

Summer, Day 17

I spent the day cleaning the house and playing with my little ones. Wyatt didn’t get home from his overnight campout with the bigger kids until late Saturday afternoon. After hearing the excitement of their...

Summer, Day 16

Wyatt, Olivia and Calvin left for a fun hike/camp to “White Pine Lake” in Logan canyon. They hiked in 4 miles one way. The trail wasn’t too hard (by reports) but was covered in late...

Summer, Day 15

TWO sessions of swimming lessons today (to make up for the cancelled lessons on Tuesday), then an afternoon hanging out with Auntie Leslee and cousins.

Summer, Day 14

Swimming lessons, baseball/t-ball.

Summer, Day 11 AKA Father’s Day

We made breakfast in bed for Wyatt, who unfortunately was a little rushed to get off to church in time. I taught gospel doctrine. But oops, I forgot to prepare (read) my lesson. Awesome. After...

Summer, Day 10

Bridal Shower for a girl in our ward – Wedding Reception for Ben, our piano teacher – Shopping and errands – Exhaustion – A fun date night out with my woo! That was our Saturday.

Summer, Day 9

We came home from the cabin so Wyatt could then turn around and drive back up to “The Big Event” – a scout camp our ward attends yearly. As a member of the bishopric, Wyatt...

Summer, Day 8

“I’m just going into the office for an hour” – was the original plan. But just before he left he said – “Well, it might be a little longer. But for sure I’ll be home...

Summer, Day 7

Swimming lessons, and laundry, and Oaklee and Aiden, and baseball and tee-ball.

Summer, Day 6

After swimming lessons we went up to the Rec Center pool to play for the afternoon. We didn’t get to stay too long though because Calvin had a birthday party to get to.

Summer, Day 5

We started swimming lessons. All the kids were so excited . . . but Roo was greatly disappointed when he didn’t get to get in the pool. That evening we started baseball and tee-ball.

Summer, Day 4

After the BBQ on Saturday night I could feel myself getting sick. First I thought I had the gunk the rest of the family had all week . . . but it ended up just...

Sickness Starts the Summer

On Saturday at about 10 pm Cal came into our room complaining of a tummy ache. I could tell he was really in pain as he wriggled and writhed on our bed. Finally around 12:30...

Memorial Day 2014

For Memorial Day we decided to invite our friends, the Ferguson’s up to the cabin for a day of fun. We had a BBQ, rode the 4wheelers, sent the bigger of the littles off on...

On Projects, Time, Discouragement, Summer, and Excitement

May has been the month of projects. I thought March was, with Carrie’s wedding. But I was wrong. May Projects: Kylie’s shower Torri’s shower Ward Directory Primary Mother’s Day Video Kylie’s wedding photography Garden Planting...

Spring Break

For the Fun! Olivia and I went to St. George to enjoy a girls weekend. We: Went horseback riding Went to a bbq Got snow shacks played in the pool worked on art projects ate...

Carrie And Ben

Sitting in a tree . . . On March 8th my sister Carrie got married. She married this Banjo-serenading patient-with-the-inlaws dude, Ben. He’s pretty cool. They started dating last spring, though they’d first met a...

Stories of the Every Day

I know I haven’t been writing pretty much all winter – sick, you know. But I have been keeping the little moments in my heart to write down later. Here they are. About the Girl...

Dear Olivia, Calvin, Everett, & Andrew

I love you. More than anything. Ever. XOXO, Mamma

So True

This made me laugh and cry. Especially when the dad steps on the legos. That happens every.day. at our house. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRqUTA6AegA?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Labor Day Weekend 2013

Labor Day weekend was a blast. Friday’s are early out days so we took advantage of the afternoon by going to the pool for one last summer huzzah. Of course, I didn’t take my camera....

Sealing Jade – The Summer Chronicles

One of the most special events of the summer was attending Jade’s sealing to her new family. My cousin Anna has talked about adopting a baby girl from China since she got home from her...

The Summer Chronicles

I am about to begin my  summer wrap up posts. I have been so busy with the fun of four children home to play with every day that I have not had time to write...

The Disappointment of Mary? Israel, Days 7 & 8 {Tour Days 4 & 5}

While in Israel we visited Bethlehem. There is a church built over what they believe would have been the stable where he was born. More of a cave, you can descend into its gullet by...

One Week

Monday Roo was sick, so we layed low until baseball/tee ball that night. Tuesday we went to Art in the Park. That night we went over to the Engh’s to enjoy night games until way...

A Morning on the River Jordan Israel, Day 6 {Tour Day 3}

Part of my childhood consisted of an idea that because I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I had a special, elevated connection to Heavenly Father. Surely my baptism,...

I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked Israel, Days 4 & 5 {Tour Days 1 & 2}

All through out my time in the holy land, the song, and really just the line “I walked today where Jesus walked” played again and again through my head. I thought about these places that...

Summer Time Is Finally Here!

That ol’ ballpark man is back in gear! And we are at the ball park . . . four games a week, plus practice; it’s going to a great summer! Now, you must see this...