Science

So, about 7 years ago, a dear friend opened my eyes to the world of growing wheat grass (thanks, Maureen!), and its been probably that long since I've grown any. So I bought this cute pot in Louisianna this summer and it sat empty until about a week ago when we decided to do an experiement with wheat. First, we soaked it over night. Then we planted it on some soil and covered it up. We watched as the next day it already began to sprout! Within 3 days it was like 3 or 4 inches high! The kids are so excited watching it grow and love taking care of it. I think they even eat it sometimes! Anyway, I think it looks fun and fresh - a good way to keep things green all year long!

Here Comes Trouble

I've hesitated posting this for fear that I would run the risk of making my sweet daughter look like a crazy, ruthless, disobedient child. But I realized that most kids go through something similar, so I might as well commiserate with all the moms and dads who have been through it too, right?

So, I'm not really sure what triggered this series of events - maybe the new baby; maybe Caleb starting school, soccer, and piano; maybe a change in Lucy's friends. Whatever it was, I hope we're past the worst!! So, my sweet little princess Lucy had evidently been starving for attention or something. Every time I went upstairs or outside to do something, Lucy was getting into trouble. It started out with things like sneaking a scoop of brown sugar, or hiding in the cupboard feeding James chocolate chips. Then it progressed to "hugging" Annabelle too tight, or pouring milk on James' head (he really thought that was kind of funny, luckily). Then, she wanted to throw a piece of paper out of the boys' bedroom window, and decided that cutting a hole in the screen with a sharp knife was a good idea. I really tried so hard to discipline her in every way I could think of (short of beating her, of course!), but nothing seemed to really work longer than 20 minutes before she was doing getting into something else. By Tuesday, I was just worn out! I put a movie on in the afternoon for Lucy and James so I could lie down for a 30 min. nap while Annabelle was asleep. Just as I had dozed off, Lucy comes in the room and says, "Mom, the phone's for you!" I took the phone and hung up because I was too tired to talk to anyone. Two seconds later, the phone rings again.

"Hello?"

"Yes mam, we received a 911 call from your residence, and we were just calling back to make sure there was no emergency."

"LUCY!!! Did you call 911?!"

"Mam, uh, its ok. Was she just playing on the phone?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry!"

"Really, mam; no harm was done. Have a good day."

After I hung up, Lucy probably wanted to call 911 again because I was sooo mad! She spent the rest of the day in her room (mostly because that was the safest place for her to be)!

So, I have posted a picture here of Lucy and her sidekick, James (who I'm sure was forced into it - :) ), drawing all over our house with chalk. I am happy to report that since the 911 incident, things have gotten much better. I'm not sure if its been the overwhelming positive attention she's been getting, or the fact that she started joy school and gymnastics, or perhaps it has something to do with me not letting her out of my site! Whatever it is, it seems to be working. Let's just pray it lasts for more than a week!

Summer Slide Show

Back in the Saddle Again . . .

I know, I know, its been forever since I posted anything! I think it might have to do with the fact that our forever long marathon trip this summer is way to overwhelming for me to blog about each little thing we did. So to spare you a travelogue of a billion posts, we'll suffice it to say the following:

We had an amazing trip! We totaled 6500 miles all over the US. Yes, we drove in our car, yes, with our 4 kids, and yes, that includes our 2-week old baby! It was actually a great road trip, and the kids were fantastic. Caleb kept making comments like, "oh man! We're already there? I wanted to stay in the car some more!"

Or Lucy: "How long is this drive?"

Me: "Oh, today it will be about 6 hours."

L: "Oh! Today is a short drive!"

The car quarrels were kept to a minimum with the DVD player (thanks mom and dad!), but we had our occasional moments. I love this shout of frustration from Caleb, "Mom! James is taking my money and he's going to use it to buy those trailer over there!" (referring to a trailer park we were passing in Nebraska!)

We visited family and friends in Indiana, Idaho, Utah, California, Arizona, and Louisiana. We had tons of fun swimming, hiking, playing games, watching movies, jet skiing, river rafting, Scandia, riding motorcycles (bryce), and just being together! We look forward to the next time we can see everyone again.

I'll post a slide show soon of a few pictures that show our trip's greatness! (hopefully coming soon!)

Island Park

Jorgensen Family Reuniun in Island Park! We actually had the WHOLE family together for the first time in who knows how long (minus Brian - we missed you!). We had a great week together in Idaho hanging out together.


Some highlights were: Rafting the Snake river (Caleb tubed it - I'll post a raft picture of us later)


Yellowstone Park

And Boat racing!

The kids (and Bryce, of course!) had a ton of fun designing their own Styrofoam boats to race down the snake river. I was so amazed with everyone's creativity! We also spent some time swimming in the Island Park reservoir, watching movies, playing games, eating A LOT of food, and just enjoying perfect weather in such a beautiful spot! The kids just loved being with their cousins (once they got over being shy) and really did not want to leave. Can't wait for the next one!

Annabelle's Blessing

Westward Ho! I've had really good intentions of blogging all along our month-long trip out west, but here we are with only one week left and just now posting! Oh well, I guess it is just a good sign that we've been busy and that we've been having a great time! Our second stop along our way was Utah to bless our cute little baby girl (first stop was Indy to visit our wonderful friends, DeOliveiras)! It was really nice to be able to have so many from both mine and Bryce's families there. Annabelle is beautiful and Bryce was able to give her a beautiful blessing.

Blueberry Picking

This was 2 days before Annabelle was born, but I had to post it because this is one of our family's favorite traditions! We tried out a new patch this year and we loved it! I think I might have eaten more than I picked, but that's half the fun in going, right?