Ryan and Melissa Ballantyne

Jacob's Newest Thing

2011-03-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

Jacob has a tendency to go through spurts of interest. The interests usually stay the same though. He alternates between rockets, to any kind of extreme natural disaster (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, etc). I think he'll be a scientist....as long as he doesn't have a crapy science teacher in the future to ruin it for him (which happened to me in 7th grade).
So this is Jacob's newest thing. He was trying to build one of his own (he saw something like it on youtube) and it was getting complicated. So Ryan ordered an already made one off the internet. He also had to earn enough money to pay for half the bike pump. It was worth the effort...I think.

Best Dinner EVER!

2011-01-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

We had the best Dinner EVER...okay well maybe in a while. It was so yummy I posted it on my recipe blog the same night. Even the kids had seconds of the vegetables.

Here's the link to the recipe. You gotta try it!

Pork Chops with roasted veggies

Fall is in the air

2010-09-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

So I am getting some serious "fall fever" (if that's such a thing) this year. I am finding all these cute crafty ideas for fall decorating that I want to do. Now I know that I won't get to all of them, but at least I can reference them if I decide to get crafty one day - it has been known to happen lately.

Pumpkin Gourd Wreath - found here #8

Halloween House Numbers - found here #3
You can totally do these in glow-in-the-dark paint to look cool at night.

Pumpkin Table Accents - Found here #7

Witch Picture Frame - Found here

It only took 2 years!!

2010-09-16T15:36:00.001-07:00

I found some instructions on how to hang pictures to create a collage wall at a crafty blog that I was looking at the other day (found here). I have not hung ANY pictures in the house since we moved - which has been 2 years. I know, I know.....procrastinate much?

Before

After

Looks much better!! Our house is (sslloowwllyy) becoming a home - slowly.

Yet again....crafty!

2010-09-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

So here's a couple other projects we are doing for our Super Saturday activity in Relief Society. I love both of these!!! They were both really easy to make too.

"Spooky" Word blocks - Besides cutting the wood (which actually wasn't that hard - now that I know how to use a table saw) all you do is sand, cut, and stick. LOVE IT!!!

"Believe" Glass block - this was actually a kit we purchased from someone we know for like $12 and then we bought the lights (and there's supposed to be a ribbon on the top) and the dollar store. So it's like $15 to make this. Kind of a cool decoration. I just gotta figure out where to put it!

Recent Projects

2010-08-20T13:30:00.001-07:00

With the two foster babies back with their mom (and no more to replace them) I have had a little bit of time on my hands...but not too much. Jacob and Andrew keep me busy - that's for sure. For those who don't know my calling in my ward is Relief Society Activities Leader (formerly known as Enrichment Leader). We are getting ready for our "Christmas in October" activity and I had to get some demos done for display. So lately I have been feeling a bit crafty. I even cut the wood myself after a couple lessons from my dear husband on how to use the wood cutting machines in his shop. They're kind of fun to work with. Check out what I've done so far.

Picture Blocks - 2x2 blocks of wood with pictures on them. Secured with Modge Podge (that stuff is Wonderful!!!) The boys lllooovvveee playing with these - making the pictures (especially Bogart with the santa hat). By the way - the pictures need to be professionally printed (like at Rite Aid or Target) not from you're printer. Modge Podge will smear the ink.

Wall Art - These are 12x12 pieces of plywood, 12x12 scrapbook pages and 1 8x10 picture. Using modge podge again to secure the scrapbook paper in place and then the photo on top of the scrapbook paper. Oh Yeah! And ribbon on the edges.

Halloween Lumiaries - These are soooo cute! they are just painted canning jars with acrylic paint then sprayed with Clear Glaze spray. It was so easy the boys helped me. Jacob's is the green one, Andrew's is yellow, and mine is orange. The other idea with this is using white paint to make ghosts. Then put battery powered tea lights (got mine at the dollar tree) inside at night time and they look really cool! I may do more of these instead of pumpkins!

Some Thoughts

2010-08-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

I just feel really inspired this morning and my heart is full of love! I love my savior and hope that one day I can serve and obey to the extent that He did while He was on this earth. I am grateful for the sacrafices He made for us - so we can return to our Father in Heaven. I love the family and friends I have in my life.

I have difficulty sometimes putting into words what I am feeling (especially when my heart is full) so this video will have to suffice. This video is a good "voice" for what I am feeling in my heart. I am just so grateful for what He has done for us. He is our example of how we are supposed to live our lives.

Lake Mead

2010-08-04T19:56:00.001-07:00

So we had a nice weekend vacation at Lake Mead, NV with some friends and family in late July. It was a lot of fun - maybe even more fun than Florida (it's hard to say). We spent almost two full days on the lake. It was great!!

This first picture is of some wild donkeys we saw on a little island in the middle of Lake Mead. I thought it was pretty funny! Kind of random!!

So it was really hot and sunny in Nevada (it got up to 116° both days!!!) and we just kept applying and reapplying sunscreen. WELL....This picture is of Ryan who was already wet, but reapplied sunscreen to his face and it just stayed white. It was really a funny sight!

(Ryan....our driver - well most of the time)

(Jeff, Aubrey, and Andrew tubing. They all loved it!)

(Jeff, Aubrey, and Andrew again)

(We found a cove to swim in for a while to cool off).

(Cassandra, Betty, Jacob, Maurina)

(Boosh and Lommers tubing!! - there's no fear in that kid!)

(Andrew playing in the sand on one of the beaches)

(We wore them out.....IT IS POSSIBLE!!!!!)

(Betty - a foster child - and I and New York New York in Vegas)

(Betty)

(At the end of day 2 we decided to take a short 20 minute detour to Hoover Dam. I'd never seen it and neither had Betty. It was kind of cool).

That was our trip. It was a lot of fun and I think we are going to make it a tradition to take a weekend vacation with friends.

Florida 2010

2010-07-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

so our big family vacation this year was going to Florida for a week in June. I learned a couple of things on this trip

1. NEVER go to Florida in the summer - it's almost unbearable

2. 1 whole week is almost too much vacation. I prefer little weekends here and there, I think.

3. I am Disney'd out! I could go a good while without going to Disney.

Day 1 - we took the red eye flight Sat at 11pm and arrived Sun at 8:30am. We couldn't check into our hotel until 4pm so we just started our Disney adventure at Magic Kingdom. We were all tired, but the boys were troopers.

Pirates of the Carribean - California Disneyland's version is WAY better....FYI.

It rained the first day we got there. It felt really good.

Day 2 - Epcot Center - this park is definately cool and we could have spent more than one day here. But in the interest of time we could not.

The Chinatown show at Epcot Center

The boyfriend/girlfriend duo

The train track in Switzerland

Andrew waiting in line for Test Track. He looks tired and hot. I don't blame him! It was hot!

The cars in the showroom after the Test Track ride. He went right to the Red Camero. He's in Heaven right now. He loved it.
Jacob and Kaitlyn waiting in line for Test Track.

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom - This park was fun, but it was really hot that day and the park seemed extra crowded too. Still, it was fun!

Jacob and his "girlfriends". They held hands the entire week. kind of funny!

My friend Brittany and one of her daughters Aubrey. We are on the train going to the petting zoo.

A huge playground the kids got to play on. It was nice to be able to sit down while the kids played. too bad it wasn't inside!

Day 4 was Hollywood Studios - This was, I think, the boys' favorite park. The highlight for both boys was the Lights, Motors, Action. It was definately cool. Cars speeding, zooming, jumping, shooting at each other, and blowing things up. What's not to like. I will say, i have never heard Andrew giggle before - until we saw this show. He giggled through the entire show, especially when the cars would drive backwards.

A show we saw called the Backstage Tour showed us a bunch of special effects and used audience members.

One of the highlights of Hollywood Studios was seeing Lightening McQueen and Mater. He was almost star struck! He didn't know what to do. It was kind of cute.

So the one ride we waited in line the longest for (60 minutes which is not bad if you think about it) was for the Tower of Terror. I loved this ride, and so did Ryan. The boys, however, is another story. For those of you who don't know what happens on this ride let me explain. You are seated in an elevator and go through "The Twilight Zone" Then a window opens so you see outside and you drop 13 floors over and over about 4 or 5 times. Oh yeah, and right before they open the window they show a picture of people disappearing. The closer we got to the ride the more anxious Jacob started getting (and Ryan didn't help). He was very brave and went on it anyway. Let's just say he didn't like it.
And then there was Andrew....he was fine the whole tiime waiting in line...excited actually. I explained what was going to happen on the ride so it would surprise him, but..........when I looked at him when the ride was over (lol!) he was stiff as a board with his hands out and his legs up! Poor little guy! (lol!) He didn't like it either!

We just gotten out of the Indiana Jones ride, waiting for Ryan to go on Rockin Roller Coaster and I bought the boys their suviner for the day - Indiana Jones equipment. They loved it.

Day 4 - Kennedy Space Center - This was Jacob's highlight. He loved seeing the rockets and how they were built and riding on a bus....just everything! Ryan like it too!

This is the rocket garden and it's many treasures. All these rockets have been used in missions. I can't name them all. But kind of cool!

My little astronauts

Such a cute picture.....my boys!

This is the Saturn V...I know that at least.

This is an actual launch pad we saw on our tour. If it was a launch day we actually would have seen a shuttle there, but we didn't.

They are actually repairing and assembling the next shuttle for the one coming up in October.

Another big rocket. The size of these things is just incredible!

Assembly Building. It's huge. Apparently you can fit the Statue of Liberty in this building...that's how big it is.

Andrew napped any chance he could, especially if it was in A/C....look how sweet he looks!

The Shuttle Explorer. We got to actually go inside this shuttle. Kind of cool, but not much to look at inside. Most of it is empty because they use it for cargo space.

Day 6 & 7 were spent at the resort just swimming and taking it easy. They had this really cool pool area with a water slide called Splash Lagoon.

Jacob really turned into the "Ladies' Man" while we were there. He found just some random group of 5 girls...all older mind you...and just went up to them and asked if they would be his friends. The rest of the time we were there they went down the slide together - jacob in the middle! Kind of funny!

Spanish rice and beans

2010-05-31T20:12:00.001-07:00

Yummy! Who'da thunk that rice and beans could be soooo good!! And it's slimming on the wallet!

Warning: This takes a good part of the day to make, but it's totally worth it! My kids kind of ate it. I'm sure they'll eat more of it next time i make it.

Beans:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 pound dried kidney beans, rinsed and soaked

4-5 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 piece (about 1 1/2 inches) cinnamon stick

salt to taste

hot pepper to taste

Rice:

Note: if you can't find the pepper flakes and celery flakes substitute the first 6 ingredients for a seasoning packet for spanish rice.

1 tbsp dried onions

2 tbsp dried green pepper flakes

1 tbsp dried celery flakes

1 tsp chicken bouillon granules

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 cup long grain rice

1 16 oz stewed tomatoes

1 cup water

To do a quick-soak for the kidney beans place beans in a pot of water, bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Drain. In same pot heat oil. Add onions and saute, stirring until coated with oil. Cover and cook on low heat until golden brown. Takes about 15-20 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute uncovered for 3 minutes. Add drained beans and broth. Bring to a boil and cook covered over low heat for 2 hours.

Add bay leaves and cinnamon. Cover and continue cooking until beans are very tender, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, combine all rice ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

When beans are done put beans in bowl and top with rice.

You Tube Actors

2010-05-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

So recently...and I use that word lightly...Jacob has been really into Tornadoes. Anything with tornadoes...Tornado in a bottle, tornado simulator, tornado in a glass, etc. I was telling him about some adventures we were going to have this summer. One of those places will be the California Science Center. His first question was "Will there be tornadoes there?" So I let him go on youtube to research these things (cause momma doesn't know everything
all the time) and he's been looking at homemade videos having to do with tornadoes. He has been pretending to be on youtube for a while now and keeps asking me if he could. So I finally recorded him making his own video and though I'd share it with all of you. It's kind of cute. And of course once Andrew saw his brother doing that he wanted to too. So There is a video of him as well.

CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)

2010-04-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) in your home? Well I have found that I have that almost daily in my home...except for maybe the day that my monthly housekeeper comes and cleans (which only lasts til the next day). I was feeling like I was just barely keeping my head above water with my household responsibilites. Then just last week I was researching food storage and came across the Prepared LDS Family blog (which is a completely different post) and that blog recommended FLYlady.net for home organization and decluttering.

FLYlady.net was heaven sent. Let me tell you that just by doing the morning routine and evening routine, keeping my sink shining (which only takes 30 seconds), 15 minutes of decluttering a day, and doing the zone missions every day makes a huge difference!! I know it sounds like a lot to do in one day, but it really isn't. For example, the morning routine consists of things that we already do without thinking about it...like showering and getting dressed. However, it does add a couple things that I never would have thought would make such a difference. Here's my morning routine: Get up and take kids to school, Take shower and get dressed - including hair and makeup, swish and swipe bathrooms (takes 2 minutes!!), start load of laundry, look at calendar, unload dishwasher, eat breakfast. Pretty easy....right?

If you seriously need help with decluttering, organizing your home, or just getting back into the swing of things you should check this website out. www.flylady.net It's AWSOME!

Laundry Philosophy

A load a day keeps the CHAOS away!

So...where have I been, you ask?

2010-03-09T21:15:00.000-08:00

Okay for those completely out of the loop....haha just kidding....this is what I've been doing lately.

The little boy is Christopher. He is currently 16 months old, loves being around Jacob and Andrew, is just (generally) happy with life (considering what he's been through in his short life).

The little girl is Lilly-Anna. She is Christopher's sister and is currently 5 months old. She is usually all smiles...as long as she is fed.

These two are our temporary additions to the family...no they are not staying. As much as we'd like to keep these cuties! They came to us December 22, 2009 and I am just now feeling like I am in control again! Whew!

Crafty!

2009-12-14T16:45:00.001-08:00

So I have been feeling crafty this year and have been researching good craft websites for cute ideas. Well....I have found THE best craft website yet! It's a combination of sewing ideas, paper crafts, kids stuff, party ideas, etc. Really...if you need an idea, this is the place to go! One thing I think I will do this season (though I am getting a late start) is this christmas postcard idea. You use old gift boxes and christmas cards to make your own christmas cards. Genius!! It doesn't cost you a penny...just time, AND you are being "green" by reusing old things. I love it!!

Here's the link to the Craft idea (which you can then navigate the website as you wish):

Chica And Jo Recycled Christmas Cards

Hope you enjoy this website as much as I do!!

Jacob's Christmas Concert

2009-12-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

So this year Jacob's school did a Christmas concert. It was so cute! They put the Kindergarten class together with the First grade class for the first two songs.

I am a little bummed cause I didn't clear out my phone and there was only enough memory for 2 short clips of his concert. So I only got 30 seconds of the first song. so enjoy what I have.

FYI - Jacob is in the middle row third from the right. He's wearing a green sweater.

My recipes

2009-11-14T14:46:00.000-08:00

Okay so I have soooooooooooo many recipes that I felt I should make a blog to put all of them on. I will not post a recipe that we have not tried yet, so I guarantee that - if you have the same tastes as me - all the recipes will be yummy!!!! Not guaranteed that the kids will eat all of them, but they eat most of them.

The blog is ballantynerecipes.blogspot.com

I only have a few on there right now. It's a work-in-progress so keep checking back.

Our Newest Endeavor

2009-11-08T16:09:00.001-08:00

So first I must warn you...if you have a weak stomach to bloody things please do not continue.

This last Friday, while talking on the phone, Andrew decides to be sneaky and cut his own piece of rice krispie treat. Well, what he thought was a butter knife (which I allow him to use supervised) was actually one of my new, VERY sharp steak knives. Well....... I hear crying. I just know that he cut himself being sneaky (he's always sneaking). But when I see him his finger is dripping with blood. I had no idea a single finger could put out so much blood. So I take him to the bathroom to try and assess the situation. Lo and behold.....he sliced the tip of his finger almost completely off.

So I wrap it with a bandaid as tight as I can with tape, Wrap his hand in a towel (just in case the bandaid doesn't keep the blood at bay), throw Jacob in the car, call a friend to see if she can watch Jacob, call Ryan to tell him what happened and to tell him he needs to pick Jacob up from the friends house, and take Andrew to Urgent Care.

We get to Urgent Care at Kaiser Permanente and they don't open for a half hour. I didn't want to go to the ER because I know we'd wait longer than at Urgent Care so we wait.....and we wait....apparently those with the flu take higher priority over blood and guts. That's the only conclusion i can come up with. We waited...oh...about an hour. Once we were in it was pretty quick moving.

The picture taken was after the wound was cleaned and we were waiting for the doctor to assess whether to use glue or stiches. Poor Andrew! All this was done without any pain killer or anything. Let me tell you...Andrew is a strong boy!!! The whole time we were trying to clean his wound he was fighting with ALL his strength and I almost couldn't hold him. I was trying with all MY strength and he almost won!! He is a strong boy!!!!!! I had to tell him to not fight when he's putting the glue on, otherwise we'd have to clean it again. He still fought, but not as hard.

So that is our story. Andrew is officially our reckless one. In the last year he has more injuries than Jacob has had in his entire life.

Family Feasts Giveaway

2009-10-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

So there is a blog I have told everyone about www.owlhaven.net and every month she does a giveaway. Well this month she is giving away her book Family Feasts for $75 a week. Seeing as how we are possibly going to double our family size in a matter of months this book would really be beneficial! So one way to be entered is to blog about the contest and then post a link to my blog on her blog. So here is my post!!

Caramel Apples

2009-10-14T18:23:00.001-07:00

So I made Caramel apples with Andrew a couple of weeks ago with some friends and have been asked for the recipe. This recipe is the greatest! What's not to like about brown sugar and butter....right?

The recipe was found from http://www.recipezaar.com/

Kittencal's Caramel Apples Recipe#73274

1 cup butter (no substitutes!!!)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla
8-10 wooden sticks
8-10 granny smith apples

1. Insert wooden sticks in apples
2. In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Cook and stir constantly until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage).
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
5. Dip each apple into the hot caramel and place on well buttered wax paper (and I mean well buttered).
6. If doubling the recipe make sure to make it in two separate pans.

Wish I had pictures....but the kids just couldn't wait to eat them. And let me tell you...they were yummy. This will definately have to be a tradition every Fall for us!!!

Matthew

2009-10-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

So Matthew is gone now. His mother got him back Monday morning. I am a little sad to see him go, especially now that I look at these pictures. However, in the long run, if his mother gets her act together this will be what's best for him. I just hope he doesn't feel abandoned by me. That's what I'm most concerned about. Oh well....nothing I can do about it.
These pictures where taken the morning he left. Such a happy baby!!!

Andrew again

2009-10-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

I rejected him having yet another snack! I always have sad pictures of him. I need some happy ones!

Andrew and Trucks

2009-10-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

So Ryan bought a new pickup truck (so I could have the SUV) and this was like the best day of Andrew's little life!!! Like two days later Ryan had to go on a road trip to Idaho to work on an organ there and he was taking the new truck. These are pictures of the morning Ryan left and Andrew watching him get ready. They are kind of sad!! Andrew is wondering why daddy has to take the new truck without him! Kind of funny too.

30 Day challenge

2009-08-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

So I saw the movie Julie & Julia in theaters with my hubby and got really inspired! I really like what she did with Julia Child's book and thought that maybe I would like to do something like that. I didn't want to the exact challenge, per say, but i really liked the idea. So the last couple of days I have been pondering on what I could do. I played with the idea that i could do the exact thing that Julie did - cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook. So i went to the bookstore with the intent on buying Julia's book - but then I looked through it. I decided I didn't really like cooking that much. Sure cooking can be fun, but not THAT fun!! So I started looking at other ideas - since I was at the bookstore already and this is what I came up with.

Ever since I had Jacob I have struggled with my weight. I have tried everything - and I mean everything...pills, dieting with friends, working out with friends, at least 3 different diet programs...and I just couldn't hack it. It's probably down to motivation and I just didn't have it (besides the fact that I have issues with finishing things!!!). So I found a book at the bookstore - The Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start. This book looks fool proof - and motivationless (is that a word?). The book has meals and snacks for 30 days, along with exercise to do for everyday.

My Challenge is simple...follow this book ALL THE WAY THROUGH!!! No quitting half way through...no "cheating" PERIOD. I figure I can do anything for 30 days...especially something that is fool proof!!

The purpose of posting this on my blog is so that everyone knows so that i will feel even that much more motivated to finish! If I did it privately...I could quit and the only person I would have to answer to is myself. This gives me my reputation as motivation. I don't want to look like a quitter to anyone...

So there it is!! Wish me luck!!

Dinner Tonight

2009-08-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

So I made a new sauce for spaghetti tonight(which I am sure most of you have done this before) but it was really yummy and economical (especially if you grow you're own tomatoes!!). So here is the recipe:

Puttanesca Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
3 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp capers
2 tsp snipped fresh chives (optional I had some on hand from garden)
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper (remember capers and olives are salty so go light on the salt)

saute onion and garlic in oil until softened, add the anchovy paste and let cook for a couple minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients except the olives. Add the olives at last minute. Let sauce cook until heated through or until ready to put on spaghetti.

Serve with garlic bread and salad!

YUMMY!!!!!!

New Discoveries

2009-08-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

So in doing some research in preparation for....possibly.... increasing our family size to 8, I came across a book called "The Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family". It was written by a woman who has four natural children and then adopted six other children. So for those who are too tired to do the math that's 10 kids. What?!?! And she only spends about $600 a month on food. The book is amazing so far even if you don't plan on having a ton of kids. She gives some really creative and good advice on how to be more frugal. They live in a 3,000 sq foot home, don't have any debt except their house, and have savings for a rainy day. She stays home with the kids and her husband doesn't make millions, he has an average job. She's got it worked out to where they only spend just under $3000 per child a year! That's amazing!

So the purpose of telling you all this is because she has a blog. It has a lot of useful information on it - money saving tips, gardening tips, recipes, etc. Thought you might be interested. It is www.owlhaven.net. I have only just scratched the surface of this lady's ideas, but so far I am loving them!!

Water and Activity Day at my house

2009-08-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

So this last friday a couple of friends of mine and their kids came over for a water/activity day. It was lots of fun. While the kids played outside with the water stuff, the adults (and the 12-year-old) were inside making taffy - which was super yummy! Here's a couple of pictures. And the baby is Matthew.

Matthew

2009-08-18T20:22:00.001-07:00

So here's some pictures of Matthew. These were taken today and he wasn't the happiest of babies today. He's not used to the new diet and was a little constipated (I hope it's better tomorrow).

Foster care

2009-08-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

So our adventures in the foster-adopt program has definately been an educating and exhausting one. For a couple of weeks we were visiting a 9-year-old african american. She was nice and there was really no reason to not adopt her - except one. Ever since day one of meeting her I could not get rid of this "feeling" of restlessness and confusion. I eventually relented to the spirit and we had to pass on the 9 year old. And boy did i feel tons better after i did that. Now we are doing an emergency foster situation. We are fostering a 9-month old cutie. His name is Matthew and he is just a delight to have in our home. I now understand what everyone has talked about when they warn "don't get attached!" Too late! He hardly cries (unless you try to put him to sleep without a bottle). Pictures to come! I am a little disappointed in the child protective services though. He just had his first visit with his parents and it went fine. I did find out, however, that the mom has a chance to get him back if she passes 3 random drug tests this next week. The thing I am frustrated about is this.....What the heck is 3 drug tests going to tell you?!? I strongly believe that if there is a drug abuse history, a parent should have to go through a rigorous drug rehabilitation before allowing to have their children back...especially infants. Infants can be frustrating, tiring, and it takes more than a strong will for a drug addict to get through something like that without going back to the drugs. I don't think I would have such a big problem giving him up if i new that he was going to a good home....but I'm not so confident. So I am a little scared for the little guy, hoping and praying that his mom either shapes up (for real) or we get to keep him. UGH! What a crazy and sad world we live in! Keep little Matthew in your prayers!

Some summer activities

2009-07-24T13:10:00.001-07:00

So my camera broke and I haven't been able to take a lot of pictures this summer. We have been doing a lot of water activities because it's been soooo hot (over 100 degrees everyday). We have found (thanks to some friends) quite a few "water parks" (playground with sprinkler areas). So here's some pictures.

Is summer here yet?

2009-06-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

I have lost my USB cord for my camera, so I have not been able to post pictures as of late. And they don't have it in the stores. I have to order it from the manufacturer. How stupid is that? So no pictures this time.

So we are experiencing the "is it summer yet?" jitters with Jacob. He is getting very ansy and bored in school. He's getting into a lot of trouble at school (more so than usual) and I am actually fed up with the public school system. So consider this my venting. So all of you know how much energy Jacob has. if you have forgotten, if we could put a plug on him and hook it up to a power plant, he could probably power a small country with all that energy. The only activity that wears him out is swimming. So we have been struggling with this at school.
He started Kindergarten knowing almost everything he needed to know by the end of the year. So he has been bored all year. I have tried talking to his teacher about it, but I just don't think she has the time to give Jacob that much individual attention. There's too many kids that need help making the testing standards. And now his last report card reported that he is at a first grade level. So needless to say, he is bored. (I'm getting off subject).
Another things that drives me insane is running is not allowed during recess. WHAT?!?!?! I'm sure it's so the kids don't get hurt, but come one. And if you get in trouble at school they take away recess. Kind of defeats the purpose...don't you think?
Well, I am not alone in my frustrations. A lot of moms with boys (specifically energetic boys) share in my frustrations with the public school system.

My solution:
I am signing Jacob up for swimming lessons all this summer. If he can swim a length of the pool once using front crawl and once backstroke, then I am signing him up for a local swim team.
Also, i found a charter school that I am going to give a try. They will be more willing to work at jacob's pace. Also, hopefully I can request a male teacher. He seems to do better with male teachers. (his primary teacher is male and he responds well to him).

Thank you for listening. Maybe one day I will look back on this and wonder why I made such a big deal out of it, but I guess right now it's important.

Family Reunion Update

2009-04-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

So I'm sure everyone will get a new e-mail about the new dates, but I thought I would post pictures and the new dates up on the blog as well.

The reason we decided to change the dates is because everyone was saying they needed to be home by Monday. So we just changed it by a day. We are now going to be up at Big Bear Wednesday July 29 - Sunday August 1. People can still go to church on Sunday if they choose to. We have until noon Sunday to check out.

Also I have some pictures for you of the Resort. Just in case you aren't excited enough yet.

This one is of the quaint little town of Big Bear. It has some really cute shops and it might be fun to just walk around town to window shop.

This is where they have the alpine slide and other fun activities. Another idea for one day to do.

The rest of the pictures of just of the resort itself. It's really nice. I'm excited!! I also found out that there are island beaches on the lake that are specifically for beaching boats and having picnics. That might be fun to do. So much to do....such short time!!!

New Discovery

2009-03-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

So today was exciting. Our dog Jaxie lost her tag down on the lower property and while Ryan was looking for it he found this kind of "cove" made out of an overgrown tree. Ryan could stand up straight inside. We cleared a path so the boys could use as a "fort". They loved it. I took lots of pictures. I just know that I would love something like this when I was a kid, so I was kind of reliving my childhood through these pictures. I tried going down there, but I decided half way that the hill was too steep and the entrance was little.

Think we need a pool?

2009-03-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

So it was kind of warm this afternoon (85°F) so I turned the sprinklers on and put water in the water table and let the boys have at it. About 5 minutes later this is what I found:

So....you think we need a pool? You decide!!!

Ryan in Local Newspaper

2009-03-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

So I am basically bragging about Ryan being in the newspaper. I am really proud of him and how hard he works!

This is a scanned copy cause the online copy didn't have pictures.

If you would like to read the article you can find it on http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/search/ci_11848823?IADID=Search-www.redlandsdailyfacts.com-www.redlandsdailyfacts.com

Enjoy!

The mini-amusement park

2009-03-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

Okay so we have been having some issues with Jacob getting "bad" reports from his teacher everyday, so we've set up a reward system for when he gets green cards (good reports) everyday for the whole week. Well a couple of weeks ago he actually achieved this (which its only happened two other times this whole year), so we took him to a kidsize amusement park about 20 minutes from our house and let him (and of course Andrew) go on 4 rides.

So his first ride was a kid size roller coaster and i think the picture speaks for itself!

If you can't see the picture very well, Jacob is worried and Andrew has a big smile on his face. Pretty classic. Jacob only made it once around. The operator was nice and gave Jacob a free ride on another ride (which happened to be a train).

The next ride was a big slide, which Jacob loved!!! Go figure!

Then he let Andrew pick a ride and this is what he picked:

"Much Better", says Jacob!!

Jacob's new thing

2009-03-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

So Jacob's new passion (besides the wii) is going to the skateboard park with his two wheeler. He is slowly learning tricks. The extent of his tricks are shown below.....going down the hills. :) The big kids are usually pretty nice about showing him how to do things. One "kid" (he was actually an older guy like Ryan's age) helped him out with his chain. It kept coming off and he asked me if it was okay if he took the bike to his van to fix the chain and oil it. So that was real nice.
The other picture is Andrew being his normal self just keeping busy. He wants so bad to do what Jacob does but I told him he doesn't have the right kind of bike yet. So now he keeps bugging me to get him the right bike for the skateboard park.

Our Dog Bogart

2009-02-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

So this is hilarious and I'm not sure this video does what actually happens justice. The story behind it is Ryan put blue tape on Bogart's back feet. Bogart then walks really funny; almost like he's bucking his feet like a horse. Well enjoy the movie (another feature of my new camera!!)

Jacob

2009-02-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

So today has been the second nice day after weeks of raining! So we went outside. Jacob's cousin has been bragging about how he can ride a two wheeler and so does his friend at the bus stop. So naturally he wanted to learn too. It didn't take him very long, just a couple of tries. I didn't even have to hold the back of his bike. He figured it out. I just told him to push hard with your feet. So I decided to take some pictures with my new camera (I should be taking more pictures from now too).

So Andrew of course had to ride his bike too!

Jacob's Awards

2009-02-15T16:19:00.001-08:00

Sorry no pictures this time

So quarterly awards were handed out at Jacob's Elementary school of Friday and I think it's cute the awards that Jacob recieved. He received one for perfect attendance. That boy is NEVER sick! Which is a good thing, it's just different from Andrew. He's my child where I am learning about all the normal childhood sicknesses (i.e. ear infections, pink eye, chicken pox, etc.). Jacob has not had so much as pink eye in his lifetime. It's pretty amazing. He gets it from his dad.
His second award was an unusual award. Last quarter his teacher said that whenever someone was handed an award he would be the loudest kid to say "YEAH, (and then the kids name)!!!" So they made up an award just for him. I don't remember what it's called, but it's for being such a good sport during the award ceremony. I thought that it was cute that an award was made especially for Jacob.

Apple Picking

2008-10-27T19:14:00.001-07:00

Last month we went with a mom's club apple picking at an apple orchard. There wasn't actually much to pick, but it was fun anyway (plus you had to pay extra to pick the apples). They gave a tour of the historic orchard and farm and taught the kids about the life they had in colonial times. Here is this picture she is showing the kids how to make apple cider. She actually let the kids turn the wheel to crush the apples. Andrew is in the orange shirt and Jacob in the red and blue striped shirt.

In this next picture the same lady showed the kids how to make apple crisp (or apple pie) from scratch. We got to taste some of their apple crisp. It was good (Andrew didn't want to try it).

This is picture is one of only about 20 apple trees left in this particular orchards. They have several other orchards around the area (that I'm sure had much better apple picking). What was disappointing about the apple picking (yes I paid the extra) was there were no ladders. We could only reach the apples on the bottom of the trees and the kids couldn't reach them at all (as you can see by this picture of Jacob trying to reach one).

The next few pictures are the kids strawberry picking. At the same apple orchard were some strawberry fields. Since the apple picking was so disappointing, I decided to let them do some strawberry picking. This was much more rewarding. They loved it. We would probably go back to the apple orchard and go strawberry picking. Isn't it funny how things work out?

Jacob's first day of school

2008-09-03T17:19:00.001-07:00

So today Jacob started his first day of kindergarten. They have half day kindergarten here and Jacob is in the morning. He was really excited - not nervous at all. I was a little nervous because the school did not do a good job of explaining what to expect the first day of school. Jacob rides the bus and they didn't tell them where to go when they arrive at school or who was going to help him find the right bus to take him home. Needless to say, they have done this before and Jacob survived! Here are some pictures of him coming home! He had a good day and he got on the right bus!!

Andrew was ready to go to school with Jacob. When we went to meet Jacob at the bus stop he made sure to have his backpack on and carrying a book. I should've taken a picture. It was really cute.

Room Remodel

2008-09-03T17:02:00.001-07:00

So this summer has been CRAZY!!! Almost right after we moved in I started fixing the family room up. As you can see it was UGLY - with green carpet, one red wall, and the rest had tan walls. It just did not look good. So here's the before and after pictures. I took the after pictures today and didn't clean up before - so excuse the toys on the floor.

Before

After

Our new House

2008-07-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

So I had some complaints that the link I posted with pictures of our new house wasn't working. So when we got the keys to the house I took some pictures and I am posting them now.

This first picture is me standing at the front door.

The next picture is the tv room. I have already painted this room. I just couldn't stand the red and tan walls. EWWW.

Through that door at the back wall is the kids room. That is the next two pictures. The first is when you walk through the door and you look to your left. The second picture is when you look to your right.

These two are obviously the kitchen

Here is the office and then the master bedroom.

Well that's about it. It has been a daunting task moving the house and Ryan's shop, but it is almost complete. The house is completely moved as of yesterday, but the shop will be finished on Friday. (sigh)

Jacob and Andrew love it here. They have so much more freedom here than at the last house. They also play outside more because all the trees and landscaping and constant breeze keeps the temperature outside about 10 degrees cooler than at the last house. It's nice and it's ours! YEAH!! Finally!! :)

Family Reunion

2008-05-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

So Mom and I are planning the family reunion in the summer of 2009. For those who do not know the details it will be in the mountains here in California. The place is called Big Bear, California. There is a huge lake, and lots of hiking trails. It's really beautiful up there. We have a time share up there and we are using 3 units. Two 3-bedroom units and one 2-bedroom unit. That should be enough space for everyone. Also the dates of the reunion will be Thursday June 25, 2009 through Sunday June 28th. This should be plenty of time to find a good price on tickets.

Here is the deal. My house is only about 15 minutes from the airport, but the time share is about an hour from my house so the best way of doing this is everyone come either Wednesday evening or thursday morning so we can go up together and make one trip to the mountains. We will have ample car space. Mom will be renting a mini van and we have two 7-seater vehicles and one 4 seater (however Ryan will be using one of them if he has to work). Check-in is at 3pm on Thursday. Then on Sunday check out is at noon - so we will all caravan down the mountain. I will find a ward (I know there is one somewhere) up there for those who would like to attend church.

That is pretty much it so far for the details. We still need to work out activities and things, but this is just the important stuff. We will also mail out an itinerary the closer it gets to this.

I am really excited for this and it's going to be tons of fun for everyone! I hope to see everyone there, but we will understand if it doesn't work out. Let me or mom know if you have any ideas for activities. (Yes we will be renting a motor boat for water skiing on one day).

Moving again!!!

2008-05-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

So I know it's been a while since i posted anything. A lot has happened since then. We are moving! (Yes - again). I think it might be the Kjelstrom curse :) . We are finally buying a house here in So. Cal. It's the time to buy. House prices have dropped an average of $200,000. However, in the house we are in now the owner still wants the same amount it was worth at the peak of the market ($700,000). Needless to say, we are moving. We found a cute little house on top of a hill with one acre that will be perfect for us. We are about 10 days in escrow and really excited about it. If your interested in seeing the house this link will take you to pictures.

http://www.movoto.com/real-estate/homes-for-sale/CA/Riverside/7085-Skyview-Dr-202_I08010164.htm

There should be a lot more to say after the move. Right now, though, we are SUPER busy with packing and moving and buying a house stuff.

Andrew's Birthday

2008-02-09T10:37:00.001-08:00

Andrew had his second birthday on Thursday. We celebrated it on Friday evening though. And yes...that is a three on the cake. Andrew is 2, but I didn't have the number 2. I thought I did, but oh well - he didn't know the difference. He was just happy to blow it out. Enjoy.

Our Cruise

2008-01-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

So Ryan and I celebrated christmas, our anniversary, and my graduation (YES I AM DONE!!!!) by taking a cruise kidless. Here are some pictures. It was just a weekend cruise from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and back. It was tons of fun!

This is our cruise ship from the parking lot in San Diego.

This is our very small, but functional stateroom. Hey - at least we had a window! The bathroom was behind the door.

This is one of two ship atriums. The ship was huge! There were two atriums this size on each side of the boat.

Ryan enjoying the view as we leave San Diego.

We arrived at Cabo after 2 nights and 1 day of travel. This is our view of Cabo from one side of the ship. It was gorgeous that day. Sunny - about 80 degrees! UGH So beautiful.

This is actually a cove where there was a beach and snorkeling available. You had to take a water taxi out there. We didn't have time to do it, but I thought it looked cool.

This is one of the little charter boats that took us from the cruise ship to shore. Isn't it so cute?

We are on the little boat that is taking us to the bigger boat to go parasailing and we passed the cruise ship.

Ryan Parasailing. It was a lot of fun.

This is Melissa parasailing. I thought is would be scary, but WOW what a view!!

Kid in Cage

2008-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

So I am trying to sell this dog cage on craig's list because one of our dogs won't use it and it is out by our front door. Well Andrew thinks it's fun to sit in it with his trains and cars. This time Ryan closed the door and took a picture. I thought I would share with all of you.

Late with Christmas cards

2007-12-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

So this year I was late sending out christmas cards, therefore not being able to do a christmas letter this year. Everything that has been going on with us is here on the blog. For those who are new to our blog I will give a general update.

Jacob and Andrew are getting big and crack me up everyday - especially Andrew. He's such a character. Jacob starts kindergarten in September and Andrew will start preschool in February. The post before this one has pictures from Jacob's Christmas program. It was cute.

Ryan's business is doing well. He is as busy as ever! Ryan and I enjoyed a week without kids in October to attend the American Guild of Organists Convention in Pittsburg, PA. It was nice!

As for myself, I am on my last class at the University of Phoenix to finish my Bachelor's Degree in Accounting. After that I plan on looking for a part-time job in my field of work. I was planning on doing a daycare out of the home, but I decided that I needed some time with adults during the week.

That's us in a nutshell. Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!!

Jacob's Preschool Christmas Program

2007-12-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday of this last week Jacob's preschool did a christmas program. These are some pictures from it. The program consisted of Jacob's class presenting a (I don't know what it's called)....it's where they have the word "CHRISTMAS" and for each letter in that word they have another word that has to do with the word christmas. For example "C" what Christ, "H" was Heavenly, etc. Then all the other classes came in to sing songs. Then the pastor of the church read the christmas story from Luke. Anyway...enjoy. Sorry the pictures are so dark - I had the flash on. I don't know what happened.

New Recipe

2007-12-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

I posted this recipe for Katrina. She needed ideas for slow cooker dinners. Here's one. I promise more pictures to come. It's been crazy this month!!!

Shoes

2007-11-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

So I asked Andrew to get his shoes so he could go outside and play and this what he came into the room with (he actually put them on himself too). I thought it was too cute!!

New recipe

2007-11-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

So I couldn't find anymore videos to post so I thought I'd do a recipe instead. I bought this great recipe book that hides veggies in meals for kids (like mine) who don't eat their veggies. So far we've tried the chicken nuggets and pancakes, but the kids didn't even notice!!! SCORE!! So as far as the puree goes, you cook the veggie then puree it in a blender or food processor. With broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots you need to add a little water (maybe a couple of tbsp) to get it smooth. You can freeze the puree's. Also, when you freeze them you want to put them in 1/2 cup portions. Most of the recipes call for 1/2 cup increments. Anyway.....Enjoy!!!

Trick-or-Treat

2007-11-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is on halloween night right before we went out trick-or-treating. As soon as Andrew figured out that if you say "Trick or Treat" they would put candy in his bucket he was thrilled. Only he doesn't say "trick or treat" he says "a treat". It's cute. Also, it took two or three tries like the first picture in order to get the second one.

Tagged!

2007-10-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

So I just noticed that I was tagged. I don't know if I know 6 people who have blogs and the three people who do have already been blogged. Do I tag them again? If so, then I tag Ryan Jacobsen, John Kjelstrom, and Patrick Bria. The rules are explain 6 interesting things about yourself then tag 6 other people and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they were tagged. Here it goes:

1. I almost joined the Coast Guard before I decided to go back to BYU-Idaho. I was looking into the Coast Guard Academy, but I didn't have good enough grades to get in. I thought about just straight up joining, but something else was telling me I needed to go back to BYU-Idaho (hmmm...maybe to meet Ryan?).

2. Ryan and I had a honeymoon baby, but I miscarried at 6 weeks. (is there really an explanation needed here?)

3. I have always dreamed of being in a broadway play. I don't have the skills, but I've always thought it was be fun and satisfying to do something like that.

4. I have two more classes left until I get my bachelor's in Accounting!!!!!! WAHOOO!!!!! That's only 10 weeks away!!!!!! I'm not excited at all about this.

5. Right now I am watching Law and Order. (I'm having a hard time thinking of two other interesting things about me).

6. I've lost 10 pounds since the reunion in July. It's been REALLY hard, but I did it. Hopefully I can lose more, but I'm not too sure. I have been working with a personal trainer. I don't think I could have lost the 10 pounds without his help. I don't think it shows that I've lost the weight, but I have....I promise.

Halloween

2007-10-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

On a lighter note, we are really excited for halloween. Even I got a costume!! I'll take pictures! We decorated just a little today. Thought you would like to see. This is the front of our house. The next picture is in front of Jacob's room. (typical Jacob smile!!)

2007-10-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

For those who are concerned for us here in California, we have not been in imminent danger from these fires. However, we are surrounded by them. There are two big ones up in the mountains to the East of us, a couple of big ones in San Diego to the South of us, several are to the West of us. The news is saying that the fire in Irvine and San Diego were started by arsenists. They have not been caught yet.

The air quality for us, however, was VERY dangerous on Sunday and Monday. In fact we saw ash falling from the sky on Monday. Tuesday and Yesterday it cleared up a little. Today it is back to being pretty bad. We can't really do anything outside. It's pretty bad.
We are safe and appreciate the concerns. These are just a couple of pictures from msnbc.com. I'm sure there are tons on the web.

The Beach

2007-09-28T16:19:00.001-07:00

Just a couple more pictures. We went to the beach only a couple of times this summer - but when we did go Andrew and Jacob had a blast. Jacob was so busy with Ryan in the water that I only got pictures of Andrew (except the first picture).

our boys

2007-09-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

This is the most recent picture of our boys. This picture was taken at First United Methodist Church - one of Ryan's completed projects from last year. Ryan said it took about ten shots in order to get them both to turn around at the same time AND smile.

New Blogger

2007-09-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

So I enjoyed John and Stephanie's and Ryan and Abby's blogs so much that I thought it would be cool to do this myself. Since I don't talk to everyone all the time I thought this would be a great way to keep in touch.