My Birthday Date

I posted earlier that I was looking for a good place to eat for my birthday and thank you for all the wonderful suggestions I now have a long list to choose from for future outings. My choice was highly influenced by Gordonfan's suggestion of Rib City. I love a good barbecue so I did a little research and went with Burbank's. It was very good, the price was right, not super crowded and the service was super fast. The onion log was very tasty though I wouldn't recommend getting it for just two people. It would be enough to feed five easily. We also got the pulled pork sandwich which came with cole slaw, very good, and a side. I got mashed potatoes and gravy which was just average and Mark got the sweet potato casserole which was deeelicious! I was practically licking the bowl and I'm not even a sweet potato fan, I normally pass it right on to the next person on Thanksgiving. Very tasty, I highly recommend Burbank's especially if you enjoy southern cooking and the humor of Earl Pitts!

After dinner we headed off to Borders Bookstore for hot cocoa, chocolate chip cookies, and good conversation. It was so nice to have an uninterrupted discussion with my husband. Then we just wandered around the store together and separately checking out this and that. I could spend hours browsing a book store, the quiet, the books, even the smell, I had forgotten how much I like doing that. It was a wonderful night. Thanks Mark for making my birthday a great one! I love you.

Halloween Fun

Once again our neighborhood rocks when it comes to trick or treating! Unfortunately Mark had school on Halloween so that left me taking 4 kids out to do the rounds not to mention getting them all done up. A big thank you goes out to the Jones family for letting me tag along with them for a little adult moral support. Phewww! So here are some pics of Halloween 2008 with the Chapins.

Anyone want to guess what Jackson is...Dr. 2 Brains from Word Girl on PBSkids!

Liam wouldn't get in the picture so I had to take a separate on of him.

A Request

Hi all, so my birthday is coming up and I am making Mark take me out to dinner and I have yet to fall in love with any specific restaurants in the area so I want to know what your favorite is. For those of you not from the Ohio/Kentucky area feel free to chime in anyway, maybe your favorite is a chain or maybe it will just make me homesick for my old haunts, either way I want to know. Thanks for your input, I'll let you know sometime after Nov 9 who the big winner is and maybe we'll get you a doggie bag!

Election Frustration

All right so I know I'm probably singing to the choir for most of you but I've got to get this off my chest and for those friends of mine that lean towards the left bear with me.
Aggghhh! I am so fed up with this election I am tired of biased media that won't be tough on Obama and tired of McCain who won't be tough on him either. I'm tired of trying to support a campaign where I can't even get a blasted sign for my yard or sticker for my car. I'm sick of politicians that won't answer the stupid question during a debate, JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION! I'm tired of seeing all these Obama signs everywhere and wondering if they really know who and what type of America they are voting for. Do we really want a country where the government has control of everything including as Obama says, "spreading the wealth around"? Of course we need to care for the poor but what he's talking about is Marxism and not what has made our country great. It's starting to look like either people are voting without all the facts (thank you to the media) or maybe that's the kind of government the majority wants. That scares me. I'm sick of the double standard feminists and their cruelty and disrespect towards Sarah Palin and I'm really sick of Hollywood (enough said on that).

I know politics really gets people passionate and fired up and that's why I normally veer away from political conversations but I felt like this was a safe outlet to express my feelings. So whether you agree with me or not this is how I feel and as far as I know I still have a right to express it. I hope I still have it at the end of the next 4 years.

Savanna & Luke Get Inspired

Savanna and Luke saw what Jackson was making out of a box of "junk" and could not resist joining in. Here are thier creations.

Bacuum, by Luke

Mouser, by Savanna

Shoot Boat, by Luke

Jackson Builds the Future

Jackson recieved a generous gift of wires, magnets, speakers, headphones, & switches from Mark's coworker Nicholas, and has been smiling in "creation heaven" ever since.

Bull Dozer

Cleaner Boleaner

S. S. J. Boat

Shocky

Bird Show Fun

In August we were able to go behind the scenes of the Bird Show at the Cincinnati Zoo thanks to Eddie, a friend from Nocturnal Adventures and performer in the show (Bob). It was a ton of fun and the kids had a great time. We got to watch the show and then take a tour of the enclosures the birds from the show stay in. Here is Eddie showing us the Stellar's Sea Eagle. Some of the enclosures are below the stands where the audience sits.

Here is Savanna feeding a Hyacinth Macaw. Each of the kids got a turn, even Liam!

Here are the kids on the stage of the bird show with their souvenir feathers. It was a great day.

Meet Marley and American Inventors 2

I know I know I'm insane but it's too late for that. Meet Marley the newest addition to the family. He is a 8 month old "puggle" half pug, half beagle. He's adorable and that's about his only saving grace at this point (just kidding). He's your typical puppy, he jumps on everyone, nips at the kids when he gets too excited, has an occasional accident in the house, chews on everything in sight, follows me around like, well, a puppy and my least favorite thing, his fondness for underwear, YUCK!On the up side, the kids adore him and love sitting on him which he tolerates, he sleeps through the night, barks very little, likes to lay at your feet and makes a great vacuum. All in all he's become part of the family and we're glad he's around.

Now for the second part of my post. Meet the next two inventors in the family. Luke and Savanna came up with this great hat all on their own and here's my favorite part...

The "food catcher"! You can put food in the side and reach in anytime for a quick snack. I love it! Wouldn't that be great to have around, you know, on errands or while watching your favorite show, you wouldn't have to get up (or in my case make my husband get up). There's even a floor below the hatch so the food doesn't get on your head. We will be patenting it shortly and you can find it at stores near you.

Jackson: American Inventor

I know, I know. His birthday was May 29 and here it is almost August. So I'm a slacker, I think we've established that. Now with that out of the way a few words about my first born. He is his own person. He loves playing with the gang but enjoys his space as well. If any of my kids would appreciate his own room it's Jackson. He has one of the most creative minds I know and there are days that if I hear, "Mom, I want to make a..." I think I will lose it. My recycling bin will never see a card board box and someday I'm sure Jackson's inventions will save the world. I mean how many kids do you know that have a favorite inventor? Jackson's is Thomas Edison. Did I mention his favorite TV shows are Nova, Nova Science Now, and American Inventor. If there is anyone out there with a knack for assembling household trash into a robot please speak now! I want to encourage him but physics was never my thing. Lucky for me he has a fondness for wildlife as well, now I can handle that. Here are a few pictures of my eldest in action:

Swimming on 4th of July

Summer baseball at the YMCA

Sir Jackson

At the Krohn Conservatory Butterfly show

Savanna Gale

Wow, time has flown. Savanna's 6th birthday was on May 11 and here it is June already. So forgive me Savanna.

Savanna is my only girl, my cohort in crime, my informer and my one familial attachment to girl stuff.
She enjoys girl stuff a little more than I ever did but it's good for me. She encourages me to wear makeup and learn cool hair styles, for her not me. Her career aspirations... "a missionary, ballerina, mom."
Even though she is girlie, with three brothers she has no problem holding her own and she is far from squeamish.

Her faith is awe inspiring and often informs us we've forgotten prayer or that she "feels the spirit when she hears this song." Savanna is my cheerleader, my helper, my shopping partner, my daughter. I love you Savanna. Happy Birthday.

Terribly Cute 2s

So we've reached the "terrible twos". Liam's birthday was May 3 but so far the terrible part hasn't hit yet, unless you count terribly cute as terrible. From my past experience with this stage I would have to say that this title holds true more with 3 or maybe 2 1/2 but for now I am enjoying this fun, adorable little guy! I love watching him try and be like his older siblings while developing his own unique personality.

Liam loves going outside, singing, nursery, Curious George, yogart, his Nemo sandles, going for rides, kicking the soccer ball, bath time, anything with Lightning McQueen on it, knowing where everyone in the family is at any given moment.

Liam does not love having his diaper changed, dinner food, getting dressed...actually, he is pretty easy going and I am having a hard time coming up with anything else.

Finding my Anchor

As most of you know, I recently spent 4 days with my mom in the counties surrounding Philadelphia. Describing all I learned about myself, where I came from and the changes that I am making in myself because of those 4 days is difficult, but I am going to try. I think it is very healthy to get away by ourselves from time to time. It allows us to find our anchor and become grounded so we can remember what's important.

I love to be surrounded by history and what a perfect setting for history, not just of our nation but of my family. My mother's ancestors lived (and some still do) in this area since the early 1700's so it provided a wealth of information on those ancestors.

I was able to reconnect with my grandparents who passed on when I was in high school. We visited their grave sites and heard story after story about what they were like. Sometimes I feel we are robbed when our grandparents die before we are able to get to know them as adults. We lived close by when I was small but I don't have many memories of that. Then my grandfather got Alzheimer's and my grandmother suffered from cancer so I never really got to know them for who they are. What a blessing to know we will have that chance someday.
I know where I got my name but I rarely think about the person for whom I am named. Most of the time I begrudge the fact that my name is so old fashioned and correct people when they mistakenly refer to me as Dorothy instead of Dory but I don't feel that way now, I learned that my grandmother was well liked, enjoyed antiques (like me) and had an easy disposition. It is because of the faith of these grandparents that I have the gospel of Christ in my life today. That is nothing to be ashamed of. As I learn about my ancestors through family history research it makes me so excited to get to meet them when we all pass on.

So along with the Philly cheese steaks, Tastee Kakes and soft pretzels I have found many more things to love about Pennsylvania.

Here are a few pictures of places we visited.

Berks Co. Historical Society - where I found some great information. Including that my 3rd Great-grand father fought in the Civil War.

The city of Reading

PA The train station in Langhorne, PA where my great- grandfather worked as a telegraph operator.

The farm house where my mother grew up.

A Conversation with Jackson

Tonight as I finished reading Harry Potter to Jackson and was tucking him in bed we had this conversation.

Jackson: Mom, can I make my own hypnotizing gun?

Mom: Well yeah I guess, but I don't think it's going to work.

Jackson: I want to hypnotize pigeons so they'll do what I want.

Mom: (through much laughter) What do you want them to do?

Jackson: Umm, get me ice cream.

Mom: Oh yeah? Where are they going to get the money?

Jackson: From the bank I guess.

Mom: What, you think pigeons have their own bank account?

Jackson: What's a bank account?

I want you all to know I am cracking up laughing as I write this. I love kids! My life would be incredibly boring and dull without them.

Portrait of Luke

I meant to do this on Luke's 4th birthday which was March 17 but as you can see...I'm a slacker.

What can be said about Luke. He loves all things boy yet will play anything his big sister can come up with, including house and princess. He is the defender of his siblings and will really let you have it if you hurt one of them. Every time I mentioned that the weather is really nice today he asks if we can go camping. He is lovingly known in the family as "Lukey" and introduces himself as such. About a week ago Savanna came running up the stairs and said in a very distressed voice, "We were playing smash Lukey and guess what?!" I love Luke and all he adds to our family. Here are a couple of recent pictures of what is happening in the life of Lukey.

4th birthday present from Grandma Quist. A Wightning McQueen mote controw caw.

1st soccer game. Luke playing defense.

Luke is on the Red team and has a blue sweatshirt underneath. Sorry about the lousy videography!

Snow Day

Will the madness ever end?!?!?!? Actually we all had a great time with our snow storm on March 8. Yes, even me. Here are a few pics and videos to document the event.

This was taken out our back door, looking out onto the deck. Now that's a lot of snow!

Delete

I wish I could declutter my life the way I declutter my email inbox. I just received that dreaded message that my inbox was nearing capacity. So, says I, I guess it's time to clean it out. So I proceed to go to the oldest emails and begin to delete. Some pages I decide to keep one or two, other pages I get the joy of clicking one box and deleting the whole page. I went from 130 messages to 36 what a great feeling. Then I think to myself, "why can't my life be that easy?" Every so often my house could flash a bright red warning, Your house is at 78% capacity. Then I could go around all the clutter gathering areas of the house, look at a piece of mail decide whether I want to keep it, if not say "delete" and it's gone, if so, say "save" and it disappears somewhere that doesn't clutter up my house until I need it again. I really have no problem throwing stuff away. My problem lies in not taking care of it the moment it touches my hands. I guess you'd call it procrastination. Now I know a lot of you very organized people are thinking, "quit whining and get a file cabinet." Well, I have one and a recycling bin but it's not the same and not as much fun. Besides, your email box probably never "nears capacity" either.

You Made My Day

I normally am not a big fan of Valentines Day. I expect very little, I give very little. Today has changed my opinion thanks to the planning of my incredibly, wonderful, and good looking husband. Below are pictures of my surprise this morning.

Mark got up extra early this morning (a huge sacrifice) to literally clean the entire house! That's right ladies, I woke up to a clean kitchen, living room and basement. Leaving me free to fill my day with the things I want to do and none of the guilt of, "I really should be cleaning." The above message was left for me by my Jackson.
I found this lovely poster filled with my favorite treats. Below are taped two packets of wild flower seeds. These roses were on the kitchen table.

Here is an interpretation of the poster, each kid took a line: Mom, You are a "Jolly Rancher"! You have "Smarties" in your pants! (that's a Jacksonism) I love you "Now&Later"! (Something in Luke language) & "Kissables". (Liam) "Crunch". Naptime mom "Take 5"! We have very few "Dollars"! All of us "Runts" here in "Peanutopolis" may drive you "nuts" but we love you very much!

To finish off my perfect day Mark and I are going out to dinner tonight and then coming home to watch our favorite show, Lost!
Wow, my family's great! I love them so much. Thanks guys for really making my day!

MINE!!!!!

So who appointed me referee? Is that in the job description? If so, I got no job training! I am so tired of having to decide who gets "the toy", why is this my decision? Ok, here's the senario...said toy is laying innocently on the floor. No one has noticed it for some time now. Child A picks it up and begins to quietly play. Child B to whom the toy technically belongs enters the room and notices Child A and you know what hits the fan! So, as a loving parent, what do I do? Yes, the toy is Child B's but Child B hadn't touched the toy in eons and should learn to share. I tend to lean in favor of Child A but what about ownership? I DON'T KNOW AND I'M SICK OF IT!!!!!! Please someone come to my aid and give me some ingenious way to be fair and consistent. PLEASE!

I've Been Tagged

This is for Amy and Robin, sorry it took so long.

I've Been Tagged!
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: That would be January 1998, Mark and I were dating, I was living in Cincinnati doing and internship for graduate school (which I never finished). Teaching gospel doctrine and working at the Cincinnati Zoo. Wait a minute! This is all sounding very familiar, I guess I took a 10 year break in my life and now I'm picking up where I left off.

5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Finally do this post
2. Take a nap
3. Go to my last animal handling training at the zoo.
4. Do the dishes
5. Fold the laundry

Snacks I enjoy:

1. Hot Chocolate and Graham crackers
2. Salted almonds (with or without chocolate)
3. Artichoke dip
4. Chips and homemade salsa

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Pay off our debt
2. Buy the farm of my dreams
3. Make sure my parents and in laws could retire comfortably
4. Take Jackson to the "heart of Africa"
5. Make sure my friends and family had what they needed

3 of my bad habits:

1. Procrastination
2. Saying things I later regret
3. Clutter

5 places I have lived:

1. Slidell, LA
2. St. Cloud, FL
3. Provo, UT
4. Cincinnati, OH
5. Bronx, NY

5 jobs I have had:

1. Farm hand in an orange grove
2. Early AM janitorial at the BYU Tanner Bldg
3. Cincinnati Zoo, Misc. teaching jobs
4. Wheeler Historic Farm Camp Counselor
5. Naturalist for Cincinnati Parks

5 things people don't know about me:

1. Played soccer as a kid
2. I went to a Milli Vanilli concert in high school
3. I was stung by a Man o War while snorkeling in the Keys
4. I always got teased for being so pale
5. Sorry, that's about all I've got. I'm pretty much an open book.

I tag David, Sara Craven and Julie.

I Should Have Known

I should have known it was going to be a bad day when I woke up at 3 am and there were 4 in the bed instead of 2.

I should have known when I got all the kids up this morning, fed them breakfast and then found out there was no school.

I should have known when after a sustained amount of silence (I know, I should know better) I walked into the kitchen to find this:

I should have known when all this happened before 9:30 am.

If that wasn't enough to give you a laugh try these...

Savanna: Mom! I won't go to bed unless I have candy!

Mom: Savanna, I don't listen to ultimatums.

Savanna: You don't listen to tomatoes?


After Mark made some sort of smart comment Jackson said, "Dad, you've got smarties in your pants!"

Resolutions Revisited

Okay, I think I'm ready.
There are two things that I would like to do better this year. The first will allow me to improve a lot of other areas in my life such as exercise, scripture study, cleaner house, etc. And what is this miracle resolution? Getting the kids to bed on time. You see, the reason Mark and I don't accomplish the things we want to is because by the time the kids are asleep (notice I did not say in bed.) all we want to do is veg in front of the TV or just talk to each other (I know, a novel idea). So, by the time we go to bed it is midnight and then we don't want to get up early enough to do anything worthwhile. So, with the kids down by 8pm we have 2 whole hours to do non-constructive stuff and then get up before the kids and do the constructive stuff! What do you think about that?! The hard part is actually doing it, but it's a great theory.

The second thing I want to do this year is be more involved. I want to practice what I preach and "stand strong and immovable" for what I believe in. I thought I'd start by sharing some websites with you that I feel are worthwhile.

www.cp80.com This is an organization that fights internet pornography by pushing for change in legislation so that you could choose whether you want porn on your computer just like you choose if you want HBO on your television. I love this idea of protecting freedom of speech while also protecting my right not to have unwanted sites in my home. I think with enough people fighting for it it could happen.

www.purefashion.com "Pure Fashion is a faith-based program that encourages teen girls to live, act, and dress in accordance with their dignity as children of God. Pure Fashion focuses on guiding young women ages 14 to 18 to become confident, competent leaders who live the virtues of modesty and purity in their schools and communities." (I love this!)

I am completely out of my comfort zone with this. It's not something that comes naturally but I feel like it's something I need to do. Please feel free to share ideas and encouragement, that's what blogs are for, right?

Resolutions

Resolutions. That word brings fear and dread to my heart. Actually, I take that back. It all depends on my mood. Today it does. When I'm feeling overwhelmed. When I feel in control and hopeful I love making resolutions. Maybe I should wait...I think I will.