Wild Warner Family

Wacky-tacky day

2011-02-21T17:42:00.001-08:00

It was spirit week at Hunter's school, and this was her wacky-tacky outfit. I told her to leave the house before her dad saw her dressed like that. I am feeling a punky brewster vibe.

Gettysburg

2011-02-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

For president's day we took the kids to Gettysburg. I was surprised how little they know about the Civil War. The battlefield area was huge and we took a self-guided audio car tour. There were many monuments from different states, but Pennsylvania's was the biggest and coolest.

There was a long spiral staircase to the top of the monument. Very pretty and cold.
This was at Devil's den, Brooklyn asked "is it safe in here?"

the bridge was the highlight of the day

This was at the top of the observation tower, we dressed for the 50 degrees forecasted instead of the 34 it was. Brrrrr. The audio tour was hard to follow, but I am glad we went.

Ben's oxymoron

2011-02-21T17:35:00.001-08:00

No Ben you cannot suck on a sucker and brush your teeth at the same time, the toothpaste might ruin your sucker.

Stupid and other sayings

2011-02-12T04:30:00.001-08:00

My mom always tells me to write down what the kids say or I will forget. Here are a few this week.
Ben is really into calling people stupid and poo poo butt munch it is really funny when Ben says it and hard to not play along. In the car:
Ben: I want McDonalds stupid
Mom: That is not how you ask say "Please can I go to McDonalds mommy?"
Ben: please can I go to McDonalds mommy, stupid?

Mom: Brookie where are you are?
Brooke: In the bathroom painting my nails.
*pause, blink, crickets chirping*

Hunter had a status on facebook page where if you "liked" it she would send you a Valentine. I of course liked it and this was my response on my facebook wall from Hunter for all the world to see.
Mom,, you've ALWAYS been my valentine, and FOREVER will be! I love you! :)
Best Valentine ever.

Hunter's birthday party that finally happened

2011-02-06T10:35:00.001-08:00

After several scheduling conflicts and weather issues we were finally able to celebrate Hunter's birthday with friends. She had a combined party with her buddy Hannah. We had about 12 teens over for a sundae bar and games. The Dr. Pepper cherry ice-cream topping was the #1 hit of the spread.

Hunter is ecstatic with her sundae
only a few sundaes were deemed "photo worthy", the rest just looked gross

Hunter with two of her favorite girls.

Happy Birthday (one month late to the day) gorgeous girl!

Report card time

2011-02-04T04:28:00.000-08:00

Having Aspen and Hunter bring home their report cards is always a piece of cake, straight A's "dream math student", "Positive attitude", "wonderful" etc, but this year Brooklyn goes to school too, and we all know about Brooklyn.

I had a parent teacher conference scheduled for Thursday at Brooke's preschool, I was a little anxious. Did she beat up the other kids? Was she defiant to the teacher? Did she lay down on the floor and declare she was too tired when it was time to work? Did she torment Zhu-zhu the pet hamster? I kind of drop Brooke off at preschool and run, afraid they would tell me they wouldn't take her anymore.

I sat in my little preschool chair and was prepared to hear what I could be doing at home to improve Brooke's behavior. I was shocked she "gets along great with the other kids", "we love having Brooklyn in class", "she is dream student" (two dream students in my house). She tested right where she should be and is ready for kindergarten. I am beyond excited, I am so proud of her! Way to go Brooklyn!

Love you beeps!

Snowstorm January 2011

2011-02-02T17:43:00.001-08:00

I think we have had more snow days than school days since we returned from Christmas vacation. We had another big snow storm come through last week. Many trees were downed and we lost power for 2 and 1/2 days. Got very chilly!

Damage to our tree, I was in bed and could hear trees cracking, very scary when a forrest is in your backyard.

Brooklyn all ready for sledding

Brooklyn eating snow

Ben eating snow
I am going to quit buying groceries and send the kids outside for meals

Aspen didn't eat the snow, we made a snowman with it

A previous ice-storm left everything covered in ice, very pretty.

Anybody else ready for spring?

Ben's Birthday Cake

2011-01-04T10:20:00.001-08:00

Look what I did to Brooklyn!

2010-12-22T06:54:00.001-08:00

Obligatory Halloween post

2010-11-01T08:20:00.001-07:00

Hunter and Momo

Aspen is the Dormouse from Alice in Wonderland

Brooklyn changed her mind about 10 times for Halloween, this was the costume of the night, mostly chosen since she could warm and toasty.

Ben was a cute litte train. He was a trick or treat champion.

Personal project runway: The alice dress

2010-10-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hunter wanted the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland dress for Halloween this year. There is not a pattern for this dress. I gave myself a personal project runway challenge to make it:
Less than $30, made with bedsheets, 3 weeks to make. I ended up combining two patterns and making the sleeve and ruffle pattern myself. I have only been sewing for a little over 6 months so this was a little challenging. It has gotten me really excited to learn how to fit patterns and take some pattern making classes.
She is beautiful and loves the dress. We still need to add the embroidery along the bottom.

More Ben and Brookie talk

2010-09-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

Mom: Ben what is your favorite word?

Ben: pooh pooh and pooh pooh butt munch

Awww..boys!

We found a tick on Ben and we were getting ready to remove it

Brookie: What are you doing?

Mom: Taking out a tick

Brookie: Ben has a tick (replaced the t with a d). I want a tick (replace the t with d) too

Mom: no Brookie, tick Ta Ta Tick

Grandma giving advice to Brooklyn

Grandma: you don't know everything

Brookie completely confused ... I don't?

Utah trip: a few wedding photos

2010-08-24T06:16:00.000-07:00

3 Beautiful girls
Hip and cute Grammy

Warners

Yates

Deans

Utah Trip: Dinner at Grandmas

2010-08-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

After traveling over the river and through the woods (more like over the mountains and across the plains) we went for dinner at Grandma's house. Here are a few of our favorite faces from that evening (many more favorite faces would not be photographed *cough* Brooke and Stefany)

I want my 2 dollars!

Stinky, old Grandpa * I like you*

I want Tom, Tom can carry me, Tom can buy me that, Tom can hang the moon (he really can-I saw it once)

Dating profile mug shot, Look for user name: buttmunch hottie

If you ever were curious about Warners sans clothes

2010-06-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Wonder no more.

What says sssss?

2010-06-16T06:00:00.001-07:00

Better picture of snakie leaving his hole for his busy day of tormenting humans.

(look closely in the hole to see our new family pet)

Brooklyn was digging by our front porch when she started screaming and wanted to go inside. I couldn't see what she was freaking out about and she wouldn't tell me. I thought it was a big bug. A little while later she said mom "what says sssss" and I said "a snake, did you see a snake?" and she said "no, I want to pretend it was an inchworm"
Sorry Brookie it is a snake, he lives happily under the sidewalk in front of the porch, he sits with his little head poking out unless we scare him down into the hole. He has been named "snakie"
Bill wants to move.

Messier Day

2010-06-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn: I have an idea.
Mom: What?
Brooklyn: Let's have messier day.
Mom (cringing) what is messier day?
Brooklyn: a day we make big messes and don't clean it up
Mom: umm isn't that every day?

Mom cleaning (too many messier days at our house).
Brooklyn: mom, who is coming over?

Bill was so jealous of my new, cool minivan...

2010-06-11T13:24:00.001-07:00

he got his own new toy. The colors are really very similar, but his may have a little more "cool" factor than mine.

Junior National Honor Society

2010-06-10T19:10:00.001-07:00

Hunter was given an honorary award at her middle school's JNHS. 6th graders aren't old enough to be members, she passed all the requirements to be inducted, but since she is not old enough, she and 2 other 6th graders were given special awards instead and honored in the ceremony. Just one of her accomplishments: 4 quarters of straight A's.
Thats my girl.

Toys, broken transmission, and bokeh

2010-06-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a shopping toy spree for me the last month at my house
-new computer for mother's day (thanks honey!)
-a new mini-van thanks to a broken transmission (thanks honey!)
- a new 50mm 1.4 lens (bokeh- here I come!)
-a new serger (I can finally return the one I "borrowed" months ago)

I can't decide which one to play with first. Any ideas?

Brookie turns 4!

2010-05-14T12:27:00.001-07:00

Brookie wanted a few things for her birthday
-a whole bunch of Dora books
- a whole bunch of Dora movies
-a purple Dora backpack
-some littlest pet shops
-more Dora crap
all of her dreams came true

The cupcake toppers are actually a Dora chess set

This is what happens when you watch too much Dora (see the screen)

Mom makes you a Dora twirly skirt for your 4th birthday that your brother bawls over because he does not have one

We actually celebrated on Saturday with Grandma Marcia. We went to the district to the aquarium it was just "meh" Brookie loved it.

This is what she did on her actual birthday night, jumped in rain puddles.

Happy Birthday Squirrel!

New York

2010-05-14T12:12:00.001-07:00

Crazy, dirty, fun town New York. Bill & I took the bus ($30 round trip baby) to New York last week while his wonderful mother stayed with the kidlets.
Obligatory Times Square picture. This was right after the bomb scare, there were officers everywhere!

Seriously how many grocery bags must one carry to clean up the crap this group must produce?

My new daypack was perfect.

Bill loved the buildings

Night cruise

Beautiful building (who can identify it?)

Ground zero, slowly being rebuilt

Favorite things:

New York deli's

Nightly cheesecake tasting competition in Times Square

Garment district (going back without Bill)

Least favorite things

Subway was disgusting

Everyone smoked even those that looked like they had brains

2 am garbage pickup

Bird nest plaques & more sewing

2010-04-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

I saw the idea for these cuties while blog hopping. They were so much fun to make and I think they turned out so cute!

This dress was definitely a challenge for me, it is made from real vintage fabric that I loved so I was a little nervous. My sewing mentor has been out of town for weeks so I have been left to flounder on my own. Still is pretty cute.

Do you see what I see?

2010-04-29T10:51:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn was out coloring with chalk the other day. I paused when I saw this:
Look familiar?

Give me a can of turqoise spray paint

2010-04-29T10:45:00.001-07:00

I have decided my family rooms needs some turqoise in it. Here is my $2.50 thrift store antique Willet furniture chair.
I loved the patina of the wood, but it was really scratched up and I bought it to do this to it:

I think it needs a vase/pillow something on it
This thrift store ugly

was made into this, it does not have a home yet.

I bought some fabric to sew some curtains, yes SEW!

Patchwork ABC wall hanging

2010-04-22T05:18:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn has been working on learning her lowercase letters, Hunter and I made this for her upcoming birthday. I saw one like it on a blog and loved it. Most of the shapes were cut out with our cricut. It still needs another coat of modge podge, have the bottom trimmed and some ribbon for hanging. I just want to show you how cute it is!

Sewing Projects

2010-04-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine here in Maryland has been teaching me how to sew. We meet every Friday night and we work on a project (doll clothes) that teaches me some skills.

Placing doll pockets is very hard.
Major skill learned: topstitching and making pockets

I made this skirt all by myself using a tutorial on the internet

Major skill learned, you have to follow directions, someone with experience probably knows more than you do

Major skill learned: cuffs, rolled collar, 90 degree seam

Major skill learned: pattern modification, gathering, facings

The collar is not really crooked in this one, I just didn't notice it was sticking up until after I took pictures.

Major skills learned: blind hem, gathering to hem, placing sleeves (hated it), collar, linings

Happy Birthday B-R-E-N-D-E-N

2010-04-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

You: Why is there a picture of buffalo for Brenden's birthday picture?
Me: I am hoping now that he is 19, he knows the difference between a buffalo and a moose since he did not know when he was 18.
You: Why is the picture of buffalo jumping off a cliff?
Me: Because it was freaking funny
Happy Birthday Brenden!

Tulips

2010-04-12T18:24:00.001-07:00

My favorite flower after a daisy, must be a tulip. They are bright and colorful and appear just when you are dying for some color in your life. These beauties were found at some gardens very near to our house.

Bunnyland

2010-04-07T04:46:00.001-07:00

We went to some orchards for what they call Bunnyland. It was really just a bunch of cheesy things that they could charge you a small fortune to do like:
A slide you ride a potato sack down

Stick your fingers into some helplesss sheep

Go on a hayride where you will be picking hay out of the back of your pants all day

Have beautiful views

Get your picture taken in front of giant bunny hay roll

Can't wait to go again next year

Easter weekend with Daltons

2010-04-07T04:42:00.001-07:00

Our good friends, the Dalton's, came and spent Easter weekend at our house. We spent one day in Baltimore.
This is the first Washington Monument

We went to these gardens in the middle of a neighborhood that was all these gorgeous old mansions.

Aren't these 3 little monkey's cute?

The girls carrying our lunch for a picnic.

Easter Hunts

2010-04-07T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hunter and Aspen had a flashlight egg hunt this year.

Hunter & Aspen set up the hunt for Ben & Brooklyn

Oh Shoot! Photography class assignment 1

2010-03-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to take a photography for class for years. I finally found a fun one on JessicaSprague.com. Our first lesson was on shutter speeds:

Slow shutter

Fast shutter
We were also given a creative assignment to photography something in our hometown that we may not have noticed before.

Cherry blossom growin from the trunk of a tree

Bright green door under a bridge in DC

My goal is to be completely off auto by the end of the course. I haven't shot in auto for a few days now (you can't in your assignments anyway).

Cherry Blossoms.

2010-03-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

We headed down to the Tidal Basin this afternoon to check out the world famous cherry blossoms. There are over 2000 trees in the basin, the result is beautiful . The blossoms were white, I was expecting pink!

Found some pink

You can see the trees lining the path along the water

The Cheese has been recovered

2010-03-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

Where was the cheese? Maybe a better question would be, where wasn't the cheese? Let's discover the piles in Brooklyn's closet, Ben's closet too, piles on the side of Brooklyn's bed, under Brooklyn's bed. Good thing it was shredded so it just dried up and vacuumed away. Where was the mother load? Behind the doll house of course!
Brooklyn wanted more cheese from a block (this kid is obsessed with cheese and Tarzan's ollies (boobs) but that is another story) so I cut her some. She eventually got the cheese back out and ate it like a hamburger then tossed the remainder of the evidence in the garbage. Better than her closet.

Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake

2010-03-15T12:55:00.001-07:00

Per my sister's request here is the Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake

Cake:
White cake mix,
Make according to directions on box, pour batter into greased 10inch cake pan or spring form pan (I prefer the springform) bake 350 for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool.

Lemon cream filling
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, mix in lemon juice. Whip cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Combine with cream cheese mixture by hand. Keep chilled until ready to use

Vanilla crumb topping
1/2 c flour
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 c cold butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine in medium bowl, use your hands to mix the cold butter into flour and sugar. Break butter into smaller and smaller pieces, don't have any pieces bigger than a pea, if the butter gets mushy pop in fridge for a few minutes- chill until ready to use

Cake assembly,
Cut cooled cake in half and remove the top. Spread half the lemon filling on the bottom of the cake, carefully add top. Frost cake with remaining filling. Sprinkle crumb topping on top of cake and press into the sides all around the cake. Chill for 3 hours. Serve each slice with powdered sugar tapped from a strainer. Keep in fridge.

So yummy, very pretty, and really pretty easy.

Where would you hide 5lbs of Costco cheese?

2010-03-12T04:55:00.000-08:00

(This picture has nothing to do with the post, I just thought the little birdies looked pretty against the snow-click on it to see them larger)

Let's say you were 2&3 and one of your favorite foods was cheese, fearing that the 5 lb bag of cheese your mom bought at Costco is not quite enough to go around, you decide to hide it so you don't have to share. Where would you hide it for many days?

Brooklyn while looking in the mirror after she drank red punch "I look ridiculous"

Mom: Aspen clean your room

Aspen not wanting to clean her room says "I have homework"

Mom (afraid of the green stuff creeping out from under the bed) Aspen, clean your room

Aspen: Mom, do you want me to have a clean room or do you want me to get into BYU?

Mom: You're 9, clean your room

Brooklyn redeems herself.

2010-03-07T18:06:00.001-08:00

Brooklyn has been an absolute doll the last few weeks. I have been working very hard on constant praise and positive reinforcement. I am so cheery I am making myself sick. She has been an angel in Primary and a joy to have around. This is a picture of her and "baby jaguar" which is actually some wolf-dog thing. Baby jaguar is one of her best friends and constant companion.

2010-03-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn almost gets kicked out of the house

2010-02-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

I didn't take any pictures of Brooklyln's latest adventures, but here they are
Sunday: stuck hands in pink mashed potatoes and used as play-doh
Monday: Dumped a full bottle of bubbles on the carpet (bubbly,bubbly)
Tuesday: Stuck both hands in marshmellow creme and spread it up to her elbows. It then was all over Ben, Mom, carpet, couch, ent center -you get the idea
Wednesday: Got a hold of Hunter's fluorescent orange nail polish - painted her toes & fingers, Ben's toes & fingers and the carpet. While mom/Hunter was cleaning up polish she took Ben upstairs where they were dumping toilet water on the bathroom floor.
Thursday: While at ice skating she filled her cheeks with water from the fountain and spit it all over the floor.
When does preschool start?

Her latest sayings:
Mom: Brookie are you ready for dinner Brookie: Not quiet (quite)
Brooklyn to Ben when he hit her "Ben, you did not make a good choice"

Snowmageddon

2010-02-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

We have survived the snowiest winter in history here. I miss 29 Palms! We were without power for about 30 hours so we hiked in 3 feet of snow to a neighbors that had power. Good thing as their power went out with the next time and they stayed with us. The kids haven't left the house in a week. People are driving like morons and I have had way too much bonding time with the snow shovel. We are ready for spring.

Happy Birthday Stefany!

2010-01-21T04:37:00.001-08:00

Stefany will always be older than me yeah! Stefany is also known as "Martha" due to her abilities to turn a a roll of toilet paper into a thousand doilies for her RS lesson. She is an excellent cook. It is always fun to eat with Stefany cause not only do you get wonderful food, but there is always a fun atmosphere to go with it. Stefany is very crafty and is the brainchild behind every crafty object in my home. I miss my visits to Phoenix to see her. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful sister (2 of them acutally-plus a fabulous sister in law) who is my best friend and hardly a day goes by where I do not talk to her. Happy Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Ben!

2010-01-07T05:13:00.001-08:00

My little man turns 2 today, but not if you ask him. I was practicing saying "2" with him when I asked how old he was, but he will always say "free" (3). I said no Brooklyn is 3 and he says "no, Ben is free". He loves his trains that he calls "whoo-hoos". He adores his big sisters, even Brooklyn. His favorite new saying is "BeeBee (brookie) be mean." His new favorite drink is rootbeer and he love Dora & Diego. Happy Birthday Hameen, the pooping king!

Happy 12th Birthday Hunter!

2010-01-05T10:47:00.001-08:00

My darling oldest daughter turned 12 today. Her most exciting thing about being 12 is going to Young Womens and wearing make up! Hunter is an excellent student (straight A's!), she is getting some skills ice-skating, she is always willing to give a hug, and is adored by her siblings. Happy Birthday Hunter, we love you!

Hunter getting one of her favorite things: Converse

Christmas Day

2010-01-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

Before the mayhem

My parents always took a picture of us on the stairs.

We had a very low key Christmas, kids slept until after 7, had a yummy cinnamon roll breakfast, then played with new things all day.

Christmas Eve

2010-01-04T10:37:00.001-08:00

This Christmas Eve we didn't pack our house with other Military orphan families, just with one military family the Jenkins and a wonderful lady named Debbie.
The Kids dressed up to act out the Nativity

Colby was a wiseman

Bill was a shepherd because nothing says Christmas like wrapping a towel on your head

My 4 adorables on Christmas eve. No presents yet (thanks Ben), and decorations on the top 1/3 of the tree.

Brooklyn was a party pooper

We had a yummy dinner of ham and all the goodies. Great night spent with great friends.

Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow

2009-12-19T17:39:00.001-08:00

So we are officially snowed in. We have about 20 inches of new snow. No church tomorrow and I'm guessing no school on Monday. Yipee!

The girls loved it.
Ben last exactly 43 seconds

My car is not going anywhere for days.

This is our picnic table.

The dollhouse

2009-12-19T17:36:00.001-08:00

Bill has been working on my (and the girls') dollhouse for Christmas. Since we were snowed in today he made quite a bit of headway on it and was able to get it assembled. We are working still on paint/flooring/decorating. If you have any great ideas, let us know!

Mt. Vernon by candlelight

2009-12-09T04:27:00.000-08:00

Heather learning an 18th century dance.

For our girls night out my friend Heather and I originally planned to head to Williamsburg. The first snowstorm changed our plans. We went outlet shopping and to dinner then to Mt. Vernon to celebrate a Colonial Christmas. We learned they said "Happy Christmas"

Obligatory drying your hands in the Mt Vernon bathrooms with a silly hat tied on your head picture

Bundled up for the cold

I guess George Washington brought a camel to Christmas one year to entertain his guests. If they find this amusing they were either :

1. having one too many visits to the grog

or 2. see #1

The house was lit by candle light, we were not allowed to take pictures in the house. The had costumed characters that told a Christmas story inside many rooms of the mansion. Totally fun night.

Kid sayings

2009-12-09T04:24:00.000-08:00

At target I bought Brookie a blue slushee. I handed it to her she looked at me and said "stupendous!"

Hunter: I think I really feel the Christmas spirit when I am opening presents, it makes me so thankful for all that Jesus has given me (nice try kid)

Brooklyn in the parking lot: I am going to hold your hand, I don't want cars to smash me and get dead. You will miss me and cry.

Aspen's Birthday

2009-12-09T04:18:00.001-08:00

Better late than never. Aspen celebrated her 9th b-day on Nov 16. She got a surprise visit from Grandpa Jeff who happened to be in town. The evening was spent in video game stupor at Chuck E Cheese. Later that week she had an American Girl themed birthday party. Activities included a colonial tea, a pinata, and making rag doll. All 19 little girls in attendance dressed up and had a ball.

Aspen wearing my Gunne Sax from when I was little

Aspen receiving her baby doll twins, Maggie & Isabelle

Halloween Of Course

2009-11-01T14:38:00.001-08:00

Halloween was a little crazy for us this year. All the things we like to stretch out over the month of October were all done in a single day so we made & decorated sugar cookies, went and picked out pumpkins, carved pumpkins, made a spooky dinner, and went trick or treating.
Hunter & Aspen completely did their own pumpkins without help, I was too busy sewing the trim on Hunter's costume

The girls decorated the house

Hunter and BFF Moriah were dressed as the Colonial American girls Felicity and Elizabeth. My talented friend sewed both dress when my sewing machine broke, she stayed up all night more than once to finish them.

Brookie insisted on being Boots from Dora the Explorer, the problem is no one sells a toddler boots costume so we had to make one instead. She was very specific: it had to have eyes, a yellow tummy, and a curly tail.

Ben was a cowboy he had the cutest little red boots, he wore his hat for this photo and that is it. We went 1,2,3 and Bill stuck it on his head while I took the picture.

Here is my cutest little pirate princess. Aspen made a buddy in the neighborhood just in time to trick or treat with her.

I guess I won't be making the lasagne

2009-09-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

I spent all day yesterday making freezer meals to help me after my gut-rearranging surgery. Today I was going to make some lasagne to freeze. Might want to scratch that off the list.

Cyclops or Unicorn

2009-09-19T13:35:00.001-07:00

Ben earned this beauty walking on sidewalk and falling and landing on our concrete stairs. Luckily our next door neighbor is an ER doc who graciously gave me advice to head to the ER while she watched my kids (for 4 hours!). I'm just surprised this is my first ER visit with him.

Capitol Hill

2009-09-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ben playing in the water at the Capitol

Supreme Court

Aspen: What is that thing called again, the National Pencil?

Yes, that is what it is.

Hunter while walking out of Union station and seeing a liberty bell: Mom, what city are we in?

Yes Hunter we walked into Union Station in DC and walked out into Philadelphia

We need to work on geography at our house.
Brooklyn slept in the stroller the whole tour.

Washington DC gets a taste of Brooklyn

2009-08-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

It is official Brooklyn is taking on Washington DC.
Last week while at the Air Force Memorial Brooklyn was swirling around one of the little emergency phones. Next thing I know a blue light is flashing and there is a beep, beep,beep
"9-1-1-, what is your emergency"
"A child pressed the button....." runs to catch to naughty preschool headed toward busy street.
Embarrased mom goes to security station to confess. "my daughter pressed the emergency button, I bet that happens a lot" Nervous giggle.
Guard: "Um no, I dont' think its happened before, I'll call and let them know"
Runs to car in shame

Then the next week: Arlington cemetary
Cranky, hot, tired, and potty training preschooler who could not go "pee-pee" in the toilets because they flushed by themselves, is being dragged around Arlington. She is tantruming in the stroller, but we get her to calm down to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We had decided not to go up there unless she was calm, which she was. The changing of the guard was about to take place, we really wanted the older girls to witness the ceremony and understand the importance of those who have sacrified everything for our country. We are a military family after all. The Army Soldier asked for us to stand and be quiet to show respect. All went well for a few minutes, then Brookie got bored. She started to play with my glasses, giggle, and started to wiggle out of my arms. I kept shushing her and trying to get her to pay attention to the ceremony. She decided to get down and sit at my feet loving her beloved blanket "pink". She decided to lay her head down, but hey she was being quiet & still and not disturbing a soul. Suddenly we hear in a loud drill Sergant bark "Get that young lady off the ground" his eyes on Brookie.
Yep only Brooklyn could get yelled at during the changing of the guard at Arlington.

A little bit of Ben

2009-08-02T19:12:00.001-07:00

No explanation necessary
Mowing the law with dad

Ben sleeping with his "baby" and ugly doll that he found at a yard sale and had to have. He packs that ugly thing everything calling it "baby". Its still not as bad as the stuffed Gene Simmons doll that Aspen carried and called baby.

Pentagon, Air Force, Marine Memorial

2009-08-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

The Marine Corps memorial featuring the famous flag raising at Iwo Jima

The foo-foo Air Force memorial

They are supposed to represent flight & air, I think they look like giant silver toothpicks

The Pentagon memorial was sobering. The youngest victims were 3 & 5 year old siblings. The girls found a girl their age on the wall and went to find her memorial. Each victim had a little memorial (the little humps you see) with their name and running water underneath. The lighter part of the Pentagon is where the plane hit.

Shenandoah River

2009-08-02T18:58:00.001-07:00

Almost heaven West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River... This was the funnest river ever. It has a very mild current, is fairly wide and shallow, and the water is warm. The kids had a blast looking for shells and being carried downstream.

Hunter showing off her shell

Harpers Ferry

2009-08-02T18:49:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to Harper's Ferry with another family from the ward. This cute little town is in West Virginia right by Maryland and Virginia. It has an interesting history. Its strategic location by the Potomac & Shenandoah rivers, railroad, and C&O Canal made it a very desirable holding during the Civil War. Several battles ensued. I'm still learning more on its history.

Ben and Brookie thought the wood burning stove was very cool
The kids in front of a wagon

Soldier's camp, they tried to get Hunter to enlist and for $30/month she was tempted. Being a Civil war soldier pays more than allowance.

Beautiful Chapel in the trees

The 3 Little Pigs

2009-07-30T16:32:00.001-07:00

We spent the last few days in Virginia with our good friends the Daltons. There was a rainstorm and the little kids found a mud hole.

Kitchen

2009-07-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of my kitchen.

Fort McHenry

2009-07-26T18:18:00.001-07:00

This weekend we went to Fort McHenry in Baltimore. Whats so fun about Fort McHenry besides putting the kids in jail? It was where the Star Spangled Banner was written.

We saw broad stripes and bright stars (15 of each to represent the 15 states of the time), we stood on the ramparts, thankfully no bombs. Brooklyn played in the mud the whole time.

National Cathedral

2009-07-26T18:03:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday we took the kids to the National Cathedral. It is breathtaking. There are beautiful gardens outside.

Beautiful stained glass windows inside

Awesome views

This is a must see when you come to DC. There is a Darth Vader Gargoyle I am deterimined to find on our next visit.
(as I was admiring the view and taking this picture I heard the distinctive sound of a toilet flushing, must have been right outside the loo)

Great Falls National Park

2009-07-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

There is so much to see and here, we decided to start with outside things before the weather got warm. Here is Great Falls.

The water is low right now, we will go back in the fall

Brookie liked to climb the rocks

Ben would rather run than eat the picnic

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2009-07-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

In true Yates tradition, Jeff does not photograph well (Jenn does she makes up for it). I love being around Jeff, he has a great sense of humor and always has a new joke for you, the joke may or may not be appropriate, but you laugh anyway. He always wants to do fun things like snowmobile, boat, 4-wheel, squirt the kids with hose, etc. He is a friend to everyone and helps when in need.
One of my favorite Jeff stories is when we were in high school there was a school dance with a Safari theme. We all wore the Safari shirts from Banana Repulic. Being the graceful 16 year old that I was, I spilled pizza sauce all down the front of my shirt at the dinner before the dance. When we arrived at the dance Jeff saw the sauce down the front of my shirt and immediately swapped me shirts (wearing men's size was popular in those days). He had the pizza shirt and I got the clean one.
Happy Birthday Jeff!

Toilet Tours

2009-07-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sure all are dying to see photos of our crappers. Well here they are. I will post more of the house as we finish up each room (yes there are still picture boxes).

Kids Bathroom

1/2 bath off of kitchen, this bathroom always smells good and we have no idea why

Master bath

Naval Academy and the Bay

2009-07-12T17:54:00.001-07:00

We spent this last weekend visiting Annapolis. Our first visit was to the Naval Academy. We got to watch the Plebes in formation and picnic on the lawn watching the sailboats. It is a beautiful campus and the weather was perfect.

After the Academy we went to Sandy Point state park on the bay. We still had a quite a few waves due to the wind. The sand was rocky, but the girls had a blast. They cannot wait to go back. The view of the Bay Bridge was awesome.

Brookie was cold after her dip in the water, Ben was terrified of the surf and preferred to hang out and eat Teddy Grahams.

Wisconsin Visit

2009-07-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

cousins

the only warm part of Lake Michigan

My fabulous SIL DeAnn was worried that she was not part of the "Highlights from a cross-country trip", the reason is you get your very own post! I loved Wisconsin (granted I was there in June and not January). The area was gorgeous, green, clean and pretty. The cousins had so much fun playing. We went to Culvers (beat In-n-Out hands down), went rummage sale-ing, went to lake Michigan, went and had as much soda as we wanted (not as much as you think), and just had fun with the Greens. Next time you can come mess my house up!

Highlights from a cross-country drive part I

2009-07-10T12:47:00.001-07:00

We made a stop in Martin's cove Wyoming. What a tale of faith from our pioneer ancestors. While there we ran into some friends from our 29 palms ward. What a small world. The girls really got tired during this 5 mile hike, I don't know what kind of pioneers they would have been.

Ben and Brooklyn know how to trave pioneer style

These guys weren't so smart

Mt. Rushmore

Warner family hanging out the presidents, we're tight like that.

Highlights from a cross-country drive part II

2009-07-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Brookie eating a donut at Wall drug. Where the heck is Wall drug?

Bill loves snakes so we took this picture at badlands. I am convinced the prarie grass is full of snakes.

Badlands.

Green door of Kirtland Temple.

Yates Family Reunion

2009-07-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

We gave Jeff & Jenn a year off and had our family reunion up by Morgan. We stayed in a beautiful cabin. We played games, ate food, four-wheeled, went for a walk in Brookie's gordon, ate some more, and had a great time.

Is that Cameron not wanting his picture taken?

4-wheeling was a big hit among the kids

ping-pong tournaments all weekend. Bill gave us the most useful advice ever: if your ping pong ball gets smashed in-boil it to return to its glorious round shape-who knew?

With Grammy around you know there are tons of games

Food, food lots of yummy food

Marathon

2009-07-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

First thing after the finish line is to check your time

Crazy Bill decided to run the Utah Valley Marathon this year. He ran it in 3:06 which qualifies him for Boston. Yeah honey!

Snow at Brighton

2009-07-09T13:18:00.001-07:00

There was still some snow left at Brighton during our Utah visit. Brooklyn adored it, Ben was terrified of it and would not put his feet down. Brookie's little desert rat fingers were frozen and she did not care. She also ate tons of snow and didn't get sick.

Snowball coming right at you, yes I ducked after I took the picture.

Yummy, dirty snow.

Thomas the Train

2009-07-09T13:06:00.001-07:00

In May we took Brookie up to Heber to see Thomas the Train. Best buddy Jonny met us up there. It was pretty lame, even Brookie was unimpressed.

The bubbles were a hit

Brookie and Jonny in front of one of the sad passenger cars

Ballet Recital

2009-05-09T16:09:00.001-07:00

My two little ballerinas after the recital

Appy doing her solo piece

Hunter "fainting" in the dance to "I won't say I'm in love" from Disney's Hercules.

The girls had their ballet recital last night. Their ballet group is made up of very good friends Paige, Kennedy, Caroline and Jessie. This is the ballet the Brookie dropped out of. She was very happy at the recital that she was a ballet delinquent.

Almost time to say good bye to 29

2009-05-08T21:20:00.001-07:00

Even having lived here for almost 3 years there is a few things we haven't done that were on our list. Here is few.

Having our picture taken at the giant 29 sign

Visiting the Oasis of Mara, what makes this so amazing is here is the view when you turn around

Brooklyn loved the water. The Oasis is now owned by a hotel. It is just amazing to see one.

Brookie Early 3rd Birthday

2009-05-08T21:15:00.001-07:00

Brookie's birthday isn't until May 12th, but we celebrated on May 4th. Oure moving truck will be here on her birthday so we celebrated early. As ususal Dad decorated the cake

The only thing Brookie asked for was a Geo Trax set like Bryson's. She just want the train Aero from it. We took Aero out and the repacked box is ready to move.

ABC's by Brooklyn

2009-05-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

"..W, next, whiny, Z"

Chicken Salad

2009-05-01T07:44:00.001-07:00

My sister wanted this recipe

10 Chicken breasts cooked (I do mine in the crock pot with buillion)
1 cup grated carrots (Optional)
2 c chopped celery
2-4 green onion chopped (I actually use white onion)
1/4 c pickle relish (or to taste)
2 1/2 c mayo
2 8-oz. pkg cream cheese

Mix together and refrigerate over night.

Warner Woes

2009-04-27T16:15:00.001-07:00

Updates:
Bill was released as Bishop. We are sad to be leaving this great ward, it is also a joy to have Bill back.

Brooklyn: walked into the kitchen yesterday laid down on the ground and said "I'm going to die"

Mascara woes: Whitney was happily getting ready church (happily because Bill was getting released and I had would have help with the kids during Sacrament) and decided as a finishing touch I would go potty. Brooklyn loves to flush so she was given the honor.I was washing my hands (I recommend everyone does this after potty, its quite nice) Suddenly dashing from the open door to the bedroom came Ben yielding mom's orange mascara tube. He spots the swirling water. He runs, he shoots, he scores! "NOOOO!" I yelled grabbing his little arm too late. A humble phone call was made to housing for help. Nice man (Skip) came with the giant metal snake. He asked if I would like the mascara tube back. "No thank you" I responded. As I drove past lake bandini I spotted a bobble of orange.
The girls biggest concern was how was I going to go to the store to get more mascara when I didn't have any mascara to wear to the store. I guess I'm forever trapped at home.

The reason we keep Brookie

2009-04-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Spring Break- Zoo and Museum

2009-04-11T20:53:00.001-07:00

Brookie is terrified of the giant shark, I don't know why she is scarier than that shark
Ben loved the sand & water (aka: mud) table

Ben just wanted to walk at the zoo

The 3 monkeys riding on an elephant (Hi Grandpa!)

Brooklyn: The penguins are ugly. The warthogs are cute.

Dad: I wonder what her first boyfriend will look like

Spring Break-Easter Fun

2009-04-11T20:45:00.001-07:00

Ben picked up one egg, wanted what was inside, then was happy

Brookie is great at egg finding

Barge is a man on a mission

Girls dying eggs at grandmas (we kept Brookie far away)

Brooklyn's latest sayings

2009-03-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Mom: you need a nap
Brooklyn: thats not true

Mom: do you want to go to class (playgroup) today?
Brooklyn: no, class is dead

Mom: Come eat your dinner
Brooklyn: you can't make me

Ben reaching for toy
Brooklyn: Don't even think about it

I need some friends?

2009-03-25T14:35:00.001-07:00

I finally caved and joined facebook. I need friends. I guess its cool to have friends. Anyone?

Series of unfortunate events

2009-03-21T11:47:00.001-07:00

Series of events

While playing with trigger on the hose, Ben sprays himself in face
Begins crying and running aimlessly
Falls into mud hole that Brookie has made
Exits mudhole
still running and crying
Falls face first into dirt
Gets a bath

Pioneer Book Club Night

2009-03-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Our group of 15 Pioneer girls

Cutest little pioneer girl ever

Full shot of her costume, no I did not make it, I found a lady on the internet who made it for me.

We had our Pioneer book club night. We played a few games outside in the gorgeous weather. We made hankerchief dolls, homemade butter on cornbread, and planted wheat to go along with the cutest book called The Wheat Doll (check it out from the library). I had two great moms come and help. We had a blast.

Happy St.Patty's Day!

2009-03-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

A little leprechan visited our house last night. He dyed the milk green, stepped in green paint (just one foot), and left bags of gold and green candies for the kids. They think he should come every night. To top off the day we had green eggs & ham (with green milk)

So true

2009-03-16T20:13:00.001-07:00

Blooming Desert

2009-03-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

It promises to be a great year for desert wildflowers. Here are a few

Our New House!!

2009-03-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

We signed a lease on a new house in Washington DC. It is in Silver Spring, MD. It is a beautiful Southern Colonial it is white with black shutters (I do not have a picture of the outside). It has a fenced in yard 4 bedrooms (Master bed has a sitting room the size of another bedroom that I will use for my craft & doll room), an office (Bill's fav room), dining, family& living room, plus a whole unfinished basement. No need to make reservations when you come to visit, fly in, take the metro to the end of the red line, walk the 1 1/2 miles to our front door. These pics have our very nice landlord's stuff. Living and dining

Family room with fireplace (no more excuses on why Santa didn't come again this year) This is where we are putting the big screen that is bigger than Jeff's (our life goal)

Kitchen

We will ad more pics later.

Run Bill Run

2009-03-15T19:21:00.001-07:00

See Bill run
Run Bill run
See Bill run half-marathon
See Bill kick the butt of young Marines
See Bill win
Tired Bill tired

Bill is a waiter, I mean military officer later that evening.

Brooklyn again

2009-03-08T16:34:00.001-07:00

While playing with blocks Ben kept knocking down Brooke's creation so she bopped him on the head. I stopped her arm mid air and said:
"We don't hit Ben"
Brooklyn said "I'm not going to"
She kicked him instead.

Aspen's latest injury

2009-03-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

We went to this really cool place in Las Vegas that is nothing but trampolines. Aspen landed wrong and had a very swollen ankle. After a delightful 4 1/2 hours in a Las Vegas ER on a Saturday night we found out it was just a sprain. After this experience I have learned a few things:

If you have to fill out a giant release of liability form, it may be safer to go sky diving
Kentucky Fried chicken should not ever, ever be eaten by me again (KFC employee ralphing into a KFC bucket in the ER sealed the deal, gives new meaning to the term "barf bucket")
As long as Tom is with you in the ER, you will still have a good time.

Aspen is loving the attention from her crutches, especially having Hunter do more work.

The worlds most expensive teething toy

2009-02-26T19:24:00.000-08:00

A bad case of the sillies

2009-02-21T19:21:00.000-08:00

Colonial Tea

2009-02-20T21:49:00.001-08:00

I have started an "American Girl Tour Through History"book club with the girls. Tonight we studied Colonial times by reading Meet Felicity. The girls wore mob caps, had a tea lesson (we are true patriots so we had hot chocolate instead), made a pomander ball, and made a summer hat for their doll. They watched the movie afterwards. Tons of fun. I now need a nap.

Who can figure out why Bill was denied?

2009-02-17T20:08:00.001-08:00

Tonight Bill and I ran to the exchange (post, PX whatever you want to call it) and Bill was denied entry. The first person to tell me why wins the title of being the first person to tell me why (and no it is not because I took 4 pictures and this is the only one with his eyes even semi-open)

Oh Brooklyn

2009-02-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Mom: lets get you some cute bows to put in your hair
Brookln: I don't want bows. They are dumb
New conversation
Brooklyn" I need big ollies (boobs)"