In the Public Eye

Recently a plaque I made and donated to a non-profit organization was shown on our local news. To view the segment and learn more about a charity that I participate in as a volunteer (as well as my daughters and many friends), click on the link. The woman being interviewed, Amy Washko, is Tate's second grade teacher. http://www.ksee24.com/news/kseesunrise/35607099.html?video=YHI&t=a
To learn how you can participate or to learn more about this organization, please visit http://www.hatboxfoundation.org/
or contact me for more information.
Making hats is very easy!

Little Miss Chaye

Chaye was invited to go see High School Musical 3 with Kaelyn and Alyssa at the movie theater.... without mom or dad.... and she loved it! Thank you , Kaelyn, for inviting her. We hope you had a great 4th birthday in Madera!

On the way to the movies....

At the movie theater....

Chaye's primary teacher gets to hear lots of funny things during class, because as we all know, Sunbeams have a lot to say. Here's her blog post about last Sunday's class.

"My sunbeams are always saying and doing the silliest things. Here are today's funnies:

1. Alyssa said the opening prayer. She prayed that the lesson would go by quickly, so that we could then play games and have fun.

2. I was teaching about Christ on the fishing boat in the Sea of Galilee when the storm came and he calmed the water--you know the one. When I mentioned "boat" and "storm", one of my little ones chimed in, "Oh, that's what happened in 'Ariel', too!!"

3. I showed the children a picture of the Christus--the one on Temple Square. "Who is this?" I asked them. One child exclaimed, "Liberty!". No it's not the Statue of Liberty, but good guess. Any other guesses?...

4. Chaye was trying very hard to write her name. She couldn't get it just right--she wrote down an A and a Y and an E. Another child in the class wanted to be helpful so she wrote down a few more letters on Chaye's paper--another A and an H.This made Chaye very upset. She said, "I already had an A. My name doesn't have two A's.!Now it spells DUMB!"

I love teaching Sunbeams! They sure know how to entertain me."

Chaye really likes you, Sister Hyer..... keep up the good work! It takes a very special person to be with a whole bunch of 4- & 5-year olds each Sunday. You are an angel!

Cade's 1st Birthday! (10/15/08)

I want to touch the candle.

Is this all just for me?

Let's have a taste.

Does the plate taste good, too?

No, but it makes a good hat!

This is good stuff!

Do I have frosting on my face?


Who made this mess?

Let's do this cake thing every year!

Trey - School Tennis Team

Trey's 2nd year on the junior high tennis team.

Played singles and doubles.

Didn't do as well as last year.

A little air guitar after scoring.

Paige - School Volleyball Team

Paige tried out for the school volleyball team and made it!

Paige is #16.

The one game Ryan drove up for they asked him to ref.
(Shhh.... he's supposed to be at work!)

Happy 10th Birthday, Paige! (9/16/08)

Birthday slumber party!

10 years old!

Nothing Like a Good Piece of Watermelon!

Cade LOVES watermelon!!!

He will eat it all the way down to the rind.

Mmmm..... Good stuff!

Fresh Eggs

Building the chicken coop.
We've been told our chickens are really spoiled!

We did end up eating two roosters.

Our very first egg!

"Can I have some privacy, please?"

Our egg container never goes empty.
Just about six months to the day, we got our first eggs. Ryan was working in the backyard and the hens started making these noises - like they were in labor. He went to check it out and we had our first batch of freshly laid eggs! And the cool thing was that they laid them in the boxes Ryan built for them. How in the world does a chicken know to fly up into a box to lay an egg??? Weird! Most of our eggs are pinkish to brownish in color, sometimes with speckles, and one lays sky blue eggs - way cool! We've had a few double-yolks, which are much bigger eggs than single-yolks. It is so nice to never be out of eggs, to not have to buy them anymore, and a fresh omelet or scrambled egg sure tastes good in the morning. Chaye has a little basket and everyday she goes into the coop to collect the eggs - six eggs a day if they all cooperate. A couple weeks ago Chaye ruffled up the one rooster we have left and he came after her. Ryan was on the coop roof putting the rest of the shingles on and had to jump down to save her. Now she's afraid to collect eggs, but she'll get over it at some point. The hens all lay their eggs in one corner on the coop floor and use the boxes to sleep at night. We highly recommend "growing" your own fresh eggs!

All six hens take turns laying their daily egg in this corner.

We forgot to collect for a few days - 18 eggs today!

Good Luck Tara!

Tara Hansen was one of our beloved babysitters before we finally trusted Trey and Jaise to take charge (and that is still questionable!) She is now attending Southern Virginia University and is having the time of her life!

She stopped by to say good-bye the day before she left, and Chaye didn't want her to leave and tried to put her in a headlock.

Good luck, Tara! We miss you!

Warning! Teenager in the House!

Happy 13th Birthday to Trey on July 23rd!!

Definition of Teenager (noun)
1) A mammal found extensively throughout the planet, often clustered in groups in front of television sets (See SLOTHS). Thought to be a member of Homo Sapiens due to physical similarities, though social and emotional behavior leads many researchers to consider Teenagers to be a completely different species altogether (See PARENTS). Very territorial. (See ITS MY ROOM STAY OUT OF MY ROOM.)

Teenagers are extraordinarily social animals, seeking contact with their peer groups to such a great extent they will forgo family, chores, food, and responsibility (See FATHERS, QUOTATIONS OF). The males of the species forage for food constantly (See MCDONALD'S) and can consume three times their weight every day. When in full plumage, the males are usually drab, marked by loose fitting garments which slide off their backsides and look ridiculous (See FATHERS, QUOTATIONS OF).

The females, on the other hand, sport striking colors under their eyes, throughout their hair, and on the tips of their fingers. Females often attract males by wearing garments to accentuate chest development (See WONDER BRAS). Males indicate their approval by staring at the display (See FATHERS, HEART ATTACKS OF). The call of the female is complex and shrill: "Like, O m'Gosh! O m' Gosh!" Males are less vocal, signaling to other males with a salutatory "Yo. Yo. Yo. S'up? S'up? S'up?"

Teenagers line their nests with discarded undergarments. The females hold telephone receivers to their ears an average of six hours a day. When challenged for possession, they snarl and warn intruders "I'm doing my HOMEWORK. My HOMEWORK. My HOMEWORK." The males lie immobile for hours at a time, conserving energy and listening to violent electronic signals from radios.

Male Teenagers concentrate on important information (See FATHERS, LECTURES OF) by rolling their eyes, shrugging, kicking dirt and sighing. Females burst into tears and slam doors. Many Homo Sapiens families have a host-to-parasite relationship with one (See STRESS) or more than one (See EXTREME STRESS) Teenager. These host families often develop a resistance to the parasite, rejecting them some time in the eighteenth year of life. Often, though, this rejection is merely theoretical, with the Teenager continuing to live off of the host Homo Sapiens family for many years afterward, often at great sacrifice (See COLLEGE).

2) Of, relating to, and especially EXPLAINING irrational, intolerable, or inexplicable behavior. ("She's a Teenager.")

3) A request for sympathy, offered by adult parents to each other in support. ("I have a Teenager at home.") Often accompanied by sighs, head shaking, tongue clucking, and shoulder shrugging.

Utah Trip July 2008

Partners in Crime

Chaye has recruited Cade to be her donut partner in crime!

Tate & T-Ball

Tate played T-Ball for the first time this spring. He loved it. To him, every game was the final game in the World Series. The anticipation all week just about did him in, and he could hardly contain himself on Saturday mornings. He had some pretty good hits, but our favorite is the way he runs..... look at the way he holds his hands and arms.

Cade's First 4th of July

This is what Cade thought of the fireworks spinning on the ground on July 4th. You can't see it, but he's holding onto Ryan's shirt for dear life. At least he didn't cry. Before our show was over, he snuggled up to Channa, let her hold him wrapped up in a blanket like a baby (strangely, it was a wee bit on the cold side that evening), and he fell fast asleep despite the loud bangs and bright sparks. He NEVER EVER lets us hold him like a baby - - Channa thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

Paige McKensie Pender

In reviewing all my blog posts, I realized that I have neglected to include any posts exclusively about Paige. Paige is the unfortunate Middle Child. She is the one that basically does what she's told without fuss. She does the dishes when no one else will. She takes out the garbage when someone else forgot to. She doesn't ask, "Why am I the poop-checker?" but will change the diaper even if it's not her turn. Paige spoon-feeds Cade the most because he eats the best for her. She gets good grades at school and doesn't get involved in drama with friends. She doesn't stand out in sports yet because she hasn't been old enough to play. (5th grade - this year finally!) Paige has never had a big birthday party with friends because there isn't anyone in our ward her age, and she only has one best friend from school that she's ever cared to invite over. I'm very aware of the guilt I feel as a parent, wondering if she's missing out on anything as she strolls through life.

So let me talk about Paige:

Paige is tall and thin (just like her dad).

Paige can eat like a horse (just like her dad) and stay skinny (just like her dad).

Paige has dark eyebrows and long eyelashes (just like her dad).

Paige likes salsa and fiery Doritoes, and ketchup on eggs (just like her dad).

Paige has big brown eyes (just like her mom, thank you very much).

Paige gets very tan in the summer (thanks to her 25% Portuguese mom).

Paige will most likely never have a weight problem, even after having children (lucky!).

Paige loves to sing and has a pretty good voice, actually.

Paige likes to dance and has the best groove and rythym in our family.

Paige likes to play outside, but is also content laying in the grass staring up at the sky.

Paige likes animals, especially the ones she can cuddle and pet.

Paige views the world with rose-colored glasses, and doesn't understand why people intentionally hurt others.

Paige is very sentimental and cries during sad movies.... and sometimes the happy ones, too.

Paige usually lets things roll off her back, gives a shrug, and moves on pretty quickly.

Paige is deathly afraid of frogs.

Paige doesn't like cookie dough.

Paige likes to draw, and makes her own cut-outs she calls "Paper People".

Paige plays the flute very well for having just learned this year.

Paige is fairly clumsy and gets hurt doing the simplest, safest, things (walking, breathing.)

Paige has a temper that flares up when she is overly tired.

Paige doesn't feel the need to compete with her siblings unless she feels threatened by them.

Paige used to have the strangest, mis-matched sense of fashion until her mom fixed that.

Paige would sleep in the longest of the kids if the others didn't wake her up with their loudness.

Paige idolizes Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus (we're keeping tabs on it, don't worry.)

Paige isn't too big on reading in her spare time (just like her dad; makes her mom sad).

Paige tries to be a good person; if she is dishonest the guilt is too much for her and she comes clean fairly quickly.

Paige has been allowed to get her ears pierced since she was 8 but has been too scared to.

Paige is going to be 10 years old on September 16th.

We love Paige very much and the dynamics of our family wouldn't be the same without her!!!