Catch-Up Time!

It has been a long while since I posted a few things here.  I am going to try and catch-up and then the goal is to never get behind again.  That goal is totally unrealistic, but I love unrealistic - it gives me something to shot for.  

Jason brought his family up to visit and we had the best time!

We walked around the gardens at BYU-Idaho.  They are beautiful!  The weather was a little chilly, but nice.

What cute girls on the swing!

The whole bunch!  What a cute picture!

This is Doug rescuing the little ones from falling into a pond.  They were not so happy about it!  They kicked and screamed and Doug was not loved anymore.

We went and checked out the preschool where I work.  I love this picture because it clearly shows all the personalities of all the children!

I love this picture.  Can you tell that the wind blows in Rexburg?

Holding the Gecko!  So Brave!

The Monday after everyone left Doug spent some quality time cleaning my stove and .... broke it!  (Yeah - I didn't love it!)  This is my new stove!   It is the cadillac of cooking appliances.  One oven is convection and one is regular.  So literally I can have my cake and eat it too!  

This is Riley leaving to the Halloween dance with his cute date.  I haven't got pictures of them in their costumes yet, but they were a cute couples from the 20's.

Here is Riley and Hagan playing around with the costume that Riley used.  

Hey!  What's in that violin case?  And where is your facial hair?

Now this is a gangster that scares me!

Love you!  I'll post again later!

Just a Week

This week there were no flat tires, no crazy weather, and not a lot of extra things going on.  It was a nice, quiet week.  Work seems to find a way to creep into every free moment I have, but I am getting used to controlled chaos in my life. 

First Riley had to respond to Colleen about the dance.  Since she made him look through "guts," he made her look through "brains."  Poor girl!

He used Pumpkin slime - this was fun to make - I pureed the pumpkin guts and added liquid starch and glue.  After we had a nice slime we added the pumpkin seeds back in.  I added some pumpkin pie spice so it smelled great.  I think we will have to make this again for Halloween.

Of course Riley said YES!  The cute couple are going to dress up like a gangster and a flapper for the dance.  I think that I am more excited than Riley.  I found him a fake mustache, but Riley didn't seem to think that was very cool.  The black fedora will be a lot of fun though!  I'll post pictures later.  The dance is on October 26th.  

Hagan wasn't so sure about what we were doing.  He said that it looked like puke...and he was kind of right, but it was a lot of fun.  

Saturday was a busy day.  We started the morning sending Riley off to a choirfest in Pocatello at ISU all day (5:30am - 1:30am).  He had a great time and enjoyed hanging out with his friends in choir all day!  

I do have to say that Riley looks smashing in his tuxedo!  Here he is trying on a little GQ - impressive!

 The Madison choir is amazing!  Here is a little taste of the men in the choir singing that day.  Actually, I should say here is a little taste of Riley enjoying the sounds of his voice bouncing off the walls of the recital hall.  I guess it is hard to be humble.

The rest of us were left to clean the church that morning.  Hagan played around until he learned to turn on the organ.  He just about jumped through the ceiling when he played some of the notes.  It scared him so badly and hopefully he won't play around on the organ for a while.

Later that afternoon Danika had a concert with her school choir.  You can totally tell that she loves singing!  

The girls were able to attend a Daddy, Daughter activity in the evening.  It was a fun way for them to end the day.  

The theme was camping so Doug is sporting a great duck dynasty beard.

The new Juanito Bandito!  Watch out Pickleville here comes some competition!

 Wooden utensils were a huge hit with the girls.  They are pretty cool.  

The primary is supposed to hand out more pictures that were taken and if they do I'll get them posted!  

Today in church the story of the Stripling Warriors came up.  Hagan loved the "tripling" warriors and wants to be like them!

As always - we love you and miss you.  Just a few more weeks to Thanksgiving and then I know we'll see some of you!  Can't wait!

Never a Boring Day

Riley got a special visitor tonight.  

He came with a sign that said, 

"Find out who has the GUTS to ask you to the Halloween Dance!"

I thought that this was a pretty clever way to ask to the dance.

Riley had to go through his "guts" to find out who was asking him to the dance.

Here is the cute note - "I was scared to death to ask you, but I got the GUTS to do it!  Will you go to the dance with Colleen?

She is an adorable girl - Hagan has had a crush on her since we moved in, so he will be sad that Riley gets to have the date and not him.  I love being a parent to an active and fun 16-year-old!

Love you!

My Favorite Teacher

I would like to introduce you to my favorite teacher, professor Hagan.

He is bright and serious.  

He supplements his lectures with music so they are not boring.

When he asks a question to his class he really thinks about it.

And thinks about it.  He wants to make sure he gives you the right answer.  I really appreciate that.

But mostly he is my favorite teacher because he is adorable, fun, playful, and I love him so much!

I am sure he is available for guest lectures if you want to schedule him.

Love you lots and lots with tater tots!

Humble Pie

They came back!  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have your family come back!  I was so lonely! I was kind of afraid that they would go to Utah and decide that they didn't want to come back to Rexburg.  It has been nice to be a family this weekend.

This week also got substantially cooler!  It is so cold in Rexburg.  We have had to start the fire to keep us toasty warm in our house.  

This is my happy spot in our house.  I spent considerable time right there on the floor today listening to conference.  It was great!

But...back to the story.  This last week proved that it takes a village to raise children.  Nana and Grandpa Major, Jay, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Bryan, Grandpa Olsen, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Jason all helped to take care of the children this last week.  Then there are awesome neighbors that allowed my children to play and reconnect with their special friends!  It is pretty humbling to know all the people that really love and care for my family!  

The week started with Riley and Jay looking the same, but it ended with....

Riley having naked teeth!  They may be bare son, but you can't share!

You can see his excitement by the straining muscles in his neck - he's holding nothing back here!

Well you handsome dude!  They look awesome.

Doug and his "mini me" went for haircuts.  When they arrived at Great Clips, Hagan asked the haircut lady to make sure she didn't cut his hair bald.  Quote, "I need to look good for the ladies." My oh my!  What a boy. 

Everyone got to play with Jay a lot.  Jay I owe you!  I love these pictures!  So much personality in this group.

The weather was nice and a lot of time was spent at the park.

How many Olsen's does it take to fill a tire swing? 

Thank you to everyone who took time with my children this last week!  They had a wonderful time and really enjoyed their vacation!  I know it was a lot of work for you, so please know how much I appreciate your time and love.

Saturday we decided to take a ride during the conference break and explore different places around Rexburg. 

I got to sit by Hagan.

In Rexburg you have to drive a truck and play loud country music or 80's rock to fit in.  Doug has made this adjustment easily - he isn't afraid to blast the classic rock. 

We ended up in Ashton and ate at the Frosty Top.  It isn't quite as good as Maddox, but it will have to do. I recommend the fries and rootbeer. 

I asked Riley to take a picture so everyone could tell where we were.  He was a little embarrassed to take a "tourist" picture so it is a little hard to tell where we are.  To give you a reference point the frosty top is right by Dave's Jubilee.  

Ashton is still in full potato harvest mode and it was fun to see all the big tractors and trucks driving around.  We drove by some beautiful farm land today.

We decided to try and find Cave Falls.  Cave Falls is east of Mesa Falls - actually back into a little corner of Yellowstone park.  We found the right way and almost made it, but the road is closed for the season already.  The forest floor has a little snow right now in some of the shady areas. We took turns looking for the reflector lights that help guide you along the road.  It's a little intimidating when the reflectors are 12-15 feet from the ground.  Makes you wonder how much snow really falls here.  You can see the Tetons in the background.  They are barely covered in snow and from this point it really felt like we were on top of the world. 

We are a happy family!

Next adventure - we need to buy warmer coats, boots, gloves, hats, and anything else to survive the winter.  I am a little bit scared of what we might be in for.  The caterpillars up here are BIG and FUZZY - and I have decided that the wind up here is one of the seven wonders of the world.  (That is another story all by itself.  Best advice I can give you is don't wear a skirt in the wind.) 

We love you and hope all is well with you and your family!

Bound to Happen

Today my family happily left Idaho to stay at Grandma's house for the spud break.  Yes, they still have spud break in Idaho and yes they actually harvest potatoes during this time!  It's pretty amazing!

Love you lots and lots

With Tater Tots!

This spud's for you!

Be a "particitator," not a "spectator!"

Every Idahoan knows the importance of these sayings - 

My advice from the children while they are gone was to 

"Make good choices"

"No parties or friends"

"Don't stay up late it makes you cranky"

Well....

Here is my advice:

D&C 123: 16-17

You know brethren (or Olsen children), that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves. 

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, (Olsen children) let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.  

"Interpretator" - Little choices can make a big difference in your life.  Don't overlook the small choices that you make each day because they determine your life course and your happiness.  

I love you - and this week I miss everyone!  It isn't fun for me to be a lone spud in Idaho!

Love you lots and lots with tater tots cause you're ore ida!

Life After September 16th

This last week with the students starting at BYU-Idaho has felt like 2 or 3 weeks in one.  This is always the hardest time of the year for me, and without Doug around to help it was a long week.  Things were going okay until hump day, or you might want to call it bump day!

Wednesday morning we were really have a smooth morning - I sent all the kids out the door to school and then Hagan and I got in the van to leave.  Something wasn't right!  I had to call Riley to rescue me and get us all delivered to our destinations.

Later that afternoon Riley helped me change the flat.  It wasn't a fun job, but we did it!

Riley learned, by heart, Right tighty, Lefty loosey.  A life essential for all!

Everyone should know that "chubby" wins over teen muscle!  We tried and tried to loosen the nuts and both of us were pretty frustrated.  I finally jumped on the wrench and it worked!  Yeah!

We felt pretty proud of our accomplishment - however, as I am getting older I pay for crazy body movements the next day, and the next, and the next..... 

The whole experience made me appreciate the help Doug gives our family... and made me start praying with more intent that he will find a job near to us soon!  

After surviving the week, we spent Saturday helping Riley have a fun time at the Homecoming Dance!

We decorated the house in Red and White - the colors of Madison High.  Riley is a bow tie nut and he looked sharp for the dance.  (Mom we loved all the ties you sent up, but I guess I can't take the bow tie out of the boy.  He is determined!)

This was the table for the dinner.  In another life I think I want to be a wedding planner. The girls and I had the best time putting this together and the table looked beautiful!  We served shrimp, salmon, fresh green beans, and potatoes.  It was yummy!  We topped it off with Mango sorbet, raspberries, and chocolate sauce.  

Here is a preview!  This is the group and Riley's date is just so adorable and fun to be around!  I love that they are just beaming!  We should have some other photo's we can post in a few days.

And just because...

A Hagan moment.

Riley was playing with Hagan.  They were doing some rough and tumble play as all boys do, and Riley placed Hagan on a green electrical box.  Hagan started to yell at Riley - "Get me off! Get me off! This box will 'Relect' me and I am mom's baby and you can't 'Relect' me!"

He makes me happy!  I hope he makes you happy too!

We love you and miss you so much!