Our family according to Eve

yellow horse: Eve

gray horse: Scott

brown horse Rebekah

bug: Oak

She goes by Maria

Christmas Tree Farm

In Utah for Thanksgiving

Eve with her cousin Ellie (Erin & Taylors' little girl)

Scott's parents (Jim & Pam)

Cougar Mountain

This last weekend we went hiking at Cougar Mountain and it was beautiful.

Eve is in a bit of a Tiger Phase.

I hate these kissing pictures.

The juggling act

More growling

Where's Eve?

Our little Blossom cow was very excited to uncover some fresh, green grass. We lingered to let her graze for several minutes.

Eve always has to pick the music we listen to in the car, as well as the volume at which we listen to it ("make it taller, mom... bigger!").

been readin'

My sister Cynthia (you know the one who listens to CSPAN on the radio while she gets ready in the morning) recommended this book and while I must admit it can be repetitive I do agree with his philosophy. I especially liked the first page:

There was a child went forth every day,
And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became,
And that object became part of him for a day or a certain part of the day,
Or for many years or stretching cycles of years...

- Walt Whitman




I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are.

- a fourth-grader in San Diego

Chicken Sisters

There obviously aren't enough blogs in the world (wide web).

thechickensisters.blogspot.com

Our home life in pictures

Eve has taken to pouring water on the floor and then "swimming" in it.

Our poor deprived children have to resort to pretend ice cream cones.

Yummy ...

Eve doing Steam Rollers with Oak

Eve proudly showing off her Half Boat pose

This one kinda says it all

Yes, if it weren't for Eve's hand in the foreground you would never know that was a person.

Eve the Wolf ready to go to the grocery store.

Housekeeping tips from a worm wrangler

My older sister Cynthia recommended this book to me and it is fantastic. The author is actually an organic gardener so her take on housekeeping is that you set up your indoor "ecosystem" so that it requires as little work as possible, allowing you to get outside and do what you really enjoy doing.

Here are several things that have changed in our household as a result of reading this book:

threw out all our plastic cutting boards and bought another wood one

cleared kitchen counters to the bare minimum

started using white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide for ALL household cleaning

started using castile soap for everything but the dishes

using apple peels, lemon and salt instead of toxic metal polishes

Meet Eve

I'm stuck home without a car and still too weak from my bout of the stomach flu to venture out on foot so ... here's another blog post.

Eve is constantly being someone other than herself and I thought I would list the many personalities she has taken on so far today. And it isn't even noon yet.

In order of appearance:

Yellow Horse
White Beatles
Apple Beatles
Uncle Wiggily
Garbage Man
Vivaldi
Calvin
Hobbes
Susie
Circus Tiger
Dinosaur
Lehi
Goldilocks
Snurr
Bob Marley
Maria Callas

9 days in Utah

Here is a Neuner four generation picture. From left to right: Scott's mother Pam, Scott's grandfather, his grandmother holding Oak and finally Scott. We had a lot of fun with Scott's family with things like trips to the zoo followed by lunch at Hire's, walking the dogs, going out for pizza and watching old family movies. Thank Pam and Jim for always making us feel welcomed and loved.

My family's reunion started each day with a pancake breakfast where my brother Rick would toss the kids their pancakes.

On the first day all the kids opened packages that included homemade red and white checkered skirts (overalls for the boys), red bandannas, and cowboy hats at which point the petting zoo arrived. Baby goat, lamb, chicks, ducklings, miniature horses, pony and cart and ...

Yes, a baby camel

Talent Show

Doll Party where the theme was my 91 year-old grandma. She told stories of living without electricity and running water (until she had been married for 4 years), getting her first pair of pants in high school for a roller skating competition, and even showed us how to churn butter.

My Mom made all these dresses, bloomers included, for the girls and their dolls

As part of the Doll Party: making homemade bread and cinnamon rolls

Outdoor movie complete with popcorn machine and little official movie-popcorn bags

La Fiesta
(sombreros, tacos and a pinata)

Visit to BYU

Treasure Hunt (this picture is of all the cousins crammed into my parent's shower)

Carnival with all the traditional booths (fishing pond, darts and balloons, ring toss, and of course 3-legged and wheelbarrow races)

Thank you Mom and Dad for a great reunion. I think the total number of sewed items my Mom made came to somewhere between 35 and 40. Family Motto: Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing (AWDIWO : aw-dee-whoa)

In honor of Oak turning 2 months-old, we finally gave him a bath (the first since coming home from the hospital)