A & E³ +4= Our Gr8 Family

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-14T15:25:00.002-07:00

Cranky Kids and Rockets

2009-10-06T16:24:00.006-06:00

Well this year the garden hasn't done as well as I hoped. But we have had a great year for apples! I have two trees - a Johnathan and a Granny Smith. This year we have picked a couple of bushels and well the kids haven't quite yet started the protest of an apple a day yet. hehe.

So yeah, I have had some sweet apple desserts thanks to a bunch of "cranky" kids peeling out on the apple peeler.

BTW- Anj makes an awesome apple pie. And well, with all those apples it is just awful that if they aren't made into pie, crisp, more pie, they would just go to waste.... well maybe they do go to my waist. hehe. hmmmm. yeah!

So here is a photo of the kids being cranky... in the good way. hehe.

I am a scout leader for a bunch of the neighborhood boys. For one of the activities that we are working on is building rockets. Well we aren't rocket scientists and having 14 year old boys build rockets out of cheap materials from scratch will be highly entertaining. I don't think that the FAA will be concerned too much with paper rockets that might go higher than 10 feet. hehe.
So in my efforts of experimenting on the possible missile construction, I was quickly diverted for three hours of building rockets with some of the kids.

This is what we built. Yeah, deadly I know.

They are built out of a standard sheet of paper wrapped around a 3/4" copper pipe and glued with paste on the edge to keep the cylindrical shape. After that the are slid off and capped with a cone stuffed with a cotton ball. The fins are card stock paper. Before assembly I had the kids draw on the paper to make the patterns.

Needless to say my Sunday research yielded no rockets capable for flight. But I did find a nice pattern that I was able to print out to use for a real kit rocket.

Here is the link: http://fliskits.com/products/free_dl/paper_rockets/caution_rocket.htm

For an inexpensive rocket made out of card stock, this rocket and a two buck motor will be entertaining and will fly. hehe.

One Crazy Weekend...

2009-08-19T09:04:00.013-06:00

After looking all over for the camera since my last post I finally found it and well here are the pictures!

In this first photo [Aug. 5th], we see the kids all dressed up and ready to go in this pre-court picture. They all had a bit of the wigglies. Little did we know that it would turn in a full out of control setting. I myself was pretty nervous and that didn't help me either.

In this photo, right, we are all done and you can see that the judge is very ready to boot the chaos out of his court. The silliness is at an all time high.

I wonder if you can see the still in a daze look that we have actually adopted these kids and that it finally happened. In a way I am still a bit fuzzy on what happened that day, well because it seemed to take forever to just get to this point. hehe.

The third photo - left, is Josh K. our caseworker. As you can see that the kids are superhyped at this point. The silliness has made photo taking a bit of a chore in getting the kids to pay attention. Just a mention that we had an awesome CASA volunteer - Debbie D. Though she couldn't be there with us in court she has been a great help and friend to the family. We have had a lot of support and are grateful for all those who helped us and made this become possible for these good kids.

Up in Idaho the following Friday [Aug. 7th] at 7 p.m., it was Sammie's moment that she had wanted for so long. (Man I can't believe that is me - like I look like an old guy or something. hehe) It was a fast baptism, it was great. I am very proud of Sam wanting to be baptized and that I had the honor of being there. It is one of those moments that will always stick in my head that "hey I am a dad" and I have a kid this old. hehe.

Angie and I now have a yearly train of baptisms to follow for the next three years. These are great milestones in our family.

Saturday [Aug. 8th], we are more than one way of officially being a family and to seal the deal we were at the Idaho Falls Temple. Not all families have pictures like this in white, and with all that we have gone through. It was a beautiful experience. The kids were at this point still hyped and with the wiggles.

The last photo below is the only one that we managed to get all the kids looking at the cursed camera while taking the photo. I have it seems at least one shot for each of the boys looking behind them (Back of the head). I must admit that I was a bit miffed that my promptings were not working. Oh well...

The flowers in the background were really beautiful, with the kids in white it just makes this photo a good one.

So there you have at least the cream of the crop of photos where the kids mostly held still long enough to give us these shots. hehe.

-Enjoy!

It's Official!

2009-08-11T11:53:00.002-06:00

Well I'll admit that I have a serious case of road rash and brain fog today. We had a lot going on since Wednesday. To recap for our friends...

On Wednesday we finally had our hearing. Sammie, Timo, Josh, and Di legally became ours. I am surprised that the judge didn't throw out some of the kids for well being kids. Lizzie was playing with the microphone, Ean wanted to run amok and save Sam, every kid had the wild wiggles and really could care less on what was going on. Anj could go into more detail- I am just still brain fried.

So after that we took the kids to the local Godfather's Pizza for their pizza bar. We all ate until we were full. Timmy is still bragging how he ate 15 pieces. -Yeah the kid can out eat me. hehe.

Thursday we left home and drove to Idaho. It wasn't too bad of a drive. Friday was a bit more relaxing as Anj and Viv did their mother and daughter thing while my kids reaked havoc at my parents house. muhaha! (Actually they were good playing with cousins there.)

At Seven we Baptized Sammie. It was sure nice to have family there. Timmy and my Dad gave the talks. They did a great job. Kellie and Lydia played the piano and it was sure nice to have family that can. Sam sure did love it and of course the spotlight.

Saturday was a crazy rush to I.F. Think about it - Six kids and church is enough mayhem. hehe.
On our way I noticed that we were low on gas but we got up there in time and just fine. The Sealing was beautiful. All the kids dressed in white. We got pictures, I'll post them soon.
Afterward we swung by and saw my grandparents in Shelley.

So we were on the freeway and about a mile from Fort Hall I noticed that the dummy light was on for the gas. Yep here we were driving on empty and just a stone throw from being stuck on the road without gas. Hey, we had a lot going on and well anyone could be that distracted. hehe. We did make it to the sinclair station next to the casino. hehe. Once we made it back to Angies parents house we quickly changed to meet up with the rest of the family at a park near my brother Aaron's house for rootbeer floats.

Sunday was another mad dash in getting kids ready. We walked in just as the opening song was being sung. The four kids got there name and blessing. It was pretty cool. After church I think everyone crashed for a long nap. Angies family had a get-together latter that night.

Yesterday we got up a bit late and packed up and drove home. This part was a bit hard. Since we didn't get home till late, we are still feeling the long drive back. The main thing is that we are finally done with all the legal and spiritual loose strings. It feels good.

So here I am feeling sleepy and hashed. I just might stare at the wall once I get home. But we all know the fun part of unpacking and regular chores to perform for the night will be waiting. hehe.

Well, lunch time is over... The next post will have the photos.

When It's Hot....

2009-07-28T09:51:00.004-06:00

There is nothing like shade and a pool to cool you off.

Here is what we have been doing.

(Why yes they love to talk at the maximum level possible.)

Uh yeah this is unscripted chaos. If you see Anj twitch you just may know why.... hehe.

Reading Time

2009-07-23T08:29:00.005-06:00

Like many parents, the frustration of kids out of school during the summer is part of the chaos we see in our home. Angie is starting to get that wild look in her eye, no twitches yet, hehe. (Just teasing Anj.) I am sure that many mothers have started their mantra "school will start soon" and are verbally counting down how many days there are to the first day of school. A sign that the end of summer is near.

See, I have learned that I would have hated Anj to be my mom when I was a kid. She does something that would have been a hell for me. Yep, Homework and Reading time. Our poor kids 'get to' have reading time, writing assignments, educational workbooks (i.e. math), just a whole lot of stuff that every kid just doesn't want to do. I am sure the teachers will love the fact that we have continued the learning process through the summer. But hey, it is just some activities for the kids to do to keep them busy.

I am surprised that the Calgon ads are not running now- that is if they still make that stuff. hehe.

I remember that as a kid you want to be free to ride your bike, do stuff and not get in trouble for doing it, and most importantly: intentionally forgetting any of that educational rhetoric that was injected into your head at school. Man summers seemed to last a lot longer, and yet abruptly end ones youthful drive on a road called bliss.I have attached this photo of Timmy reading to Ean, Josh and Di. I think it is a great picture.

Yep summer is going too fast for me, and not fast enough for you-know-who. hehe.

Our big day is scheduled!!

2009-07-22T10:00:00.003-06:00

Well if you haven't heard through the family grapevine, we have a court date to make the adoption of Sam, Tim, Josh, & Di official.

August 5th, we will have finally the legal authority to mess with these kids minds. *muhahaha*

This will me that we will make a crazy trip to Idaho for all the churchy stuff we need to do. Sam is especially excited because the 7th will be her special day. Our final white event will be on the 8th.

It has taken us a full year to get to this point, gotta love the bureaucratic system of efficientcy - hehe.

Samantha's Portrait

2009-04-16T16:08:00.003-06:00

Here is a photo of our Sammie in second grade -age 8.

Like the others the photo will print out as a 5"x 7"

Timo's Portrait

2009-04-16T15:41:00.002-06:00

Ok here is Timmy's school photo for the 1st Grade.

If you click on the photo you can print out a 5" x 7" of Timmy.

Lizzie Portrait

2009-04-16T13:49:00.003-06:00

Here is Lizzie's school portrait for this academic year. Anj and I can't believe how fast she has grown. -Six!

This should printout in a 5" x 7" for you.

Jumpin'

2009-02-26T09:06:00.004-07:00

Here is a great shot of the kids. We went to a St. George park to enjoy the warmer weather. I came up with this shot of the kids jumping down the park's amphitheater. Not too shabby for a digital camera.

Jr. ABC

2009-02-26T08:52:00.004-07:00

We Just have to share this. Ean Jr. has been learning his ABC's with Diana. So now even on his own he breaks into song. Anj wanted it recorded- I just want to brag about my two year-old.

25 Feb. Happy Birthday Chubbuck CSI!

2009-02-24T09:14:00.015-07:00

(Aaron shows his French side and scares the wiz out of a bullfrog.)
Happy Birthday Aaron! We wish you the best -Feb 25th.
"Like- Dude your getting old man."
Aaron & Melissa's Blog
Aaron - I dedicate this Trogdor tribute for you Bro! -E

14 Feb. Timmy's B-Day

2009-02-17T11:12:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow we will have Timo's birthday party with the boys. He is a bit concerned that it will be a princess party like Lizzie's. hehe. Pink frosted hearts and girly stuff. He is easy to tease.

We have planned a Spiderman party where the boy's will have car races on the GameCube and on the Hotwheels tracks.

Saturday he opened his presents. He was very excited about the Tie Fighter. (Dad intervention on the boy stuff rocks!) Anj does great for the girls but struggles with the boy/man stuff thinking process. I think it didn't take a day to bug her with the shooting sound effects. Naturally, Jr. and Josh followed Tie Fighter Timmy all over the house. I told Anj that the other boys want one too. Dad knows the boys- he'll hook them up with the cool stuff. hehe.

Even though Timmy has only been with us for less than a year, he has become a very happy boy with an amazing ambition to excel in school. He struggled with his math and couldn't read. Now he reads like one would drink water. He has even surprized his teacher on his math skills. He will be very successful in anything he does. We are very proud of Tim.

12 Feb. Lizzie's B-Day

2009-02-17T10:51:00.005-07:00

My first-born girl is now six. I can't believe it. Since Lizzie's and Timmy's birthdays are so close we have separated the birthday parties. Lizzie's was last Wednesday, the 11th. Here is a shot of her blowing out her candle. She had several girlfriends over for her party. They played games and made bracelets. Pizza, ice cream, cupcakes with pink frosting was the food. Pink galore for my princess here.

She has grown like a weed. I can't believe how tall she has gotten. She is narrowing the gap between her and Sammie.

The other day she told me that the boys chase her to kiss her. One boy in particular seems to have Liz in is eye. He lives just across the street and is in her kindergarten class. In church last week he was straining his neck to see her from a few pews ahead of us. I had to laugh because of his crush smile at her. I let her know that boyfriend was staring at her. Of course she was rather uninterested (only fuel to the fire). hehe.

I had a talk with his parents about the interaction of Lizzie and their boy. His dad was a bit embarrassed about it. Like it is a big deal. hehe.

Yep my baby girl is growing way too fast. I just remember how small she was, her foot was no larger than my thumb.

The Tooth...Remember the TOOTH...

2009-02-09T10:48:00.009-07:00

No not the same as the one in Dune...

Ok so Saturday Josh comes up to me and Anj and shows us that he has a loose tooth. All day Sunday he plays with the tooth. This becomes the entertainment for the kids. Angie for some reason is very queasy about it.

The funny thing is that for some reason we noticed that he had lost another tooth since Friday as well. I knew that he had one pulled by the dentist so I figured that if he would lose another one Anj would have let me know. - nope. Angie thought the same thing with me. We figured out that he may have come up to either of us at one point, which he does often, to show us what he has found on the floor. Usually it is some piece of paper or a polly-pocket thing. Our response it to put it away or if it is trash to throw it away. He always gives the response of "ok."

Anyway, here he is with two bottom teeth gone and he is working on the third. It is just hanging by a thread. It is starting to really bug him.
I began to tell the story to the kids about how I was in the same situation where I was going nuts because this tooth would not come out. I guess it was attached to a strong gum fiber. So naturally I consulted my Dad to assist. He got the idea to use a pair of pliers to finish the job. With a nice fibrous rip the tooth was quickly liberated. To this day my Dad still has PTSD and haunting guilt from pulling that tooth. hehe. I was very glad to get that tooth out.

After telling that story, Josh got his toy pliers to see if it would work for him. [See Video clip -Dad this one is for you]. Since the toy couldn't get a good hold of the tooth I offered him to use my fake leatherman pliers to do the job. Quickly Angie protested. Poor Josh. So after listening to the voices that come out of my wife's head- Josh was left to his own devices.

As you can see he did get it out an hour later. Last night he waited for the Molenator to collect and dish out some cash.

Here is the photo from this morning showing the payout for having a bar fight mouth. hehe.

I just hope this doesn't start a wave of fairy visits... with the economy and six kids... the molar collection department may need a government subsidy. ; P

Lizzie's Snake

2009-02-04T10:27:00.003-07:00

Lizzie drew this snake. As you can see for our kindergartner that she is starting to write. So beware of the Snack.

Happy Anniversary

2009-01-26T08:43:00.003-07:00

Happy 38th Anniversary Bob and Viv!
Boy how time flies by when you are having fun! [This photo is a tad old- Lizzie is 6 months old.] As you can see they are happy grandparents! Congrats B & V! We wish you many more!

Styling Kewl in '71

2009-01-23T09:17:00.005-07:00

Here is an flashback shot from 1971 of me that I just found. Man I have the chicka-bow-wow grove style and attitude nailed in this road trip fashion pose. I wonder how long it will be before this style comes back. Any takers?

Happy Birthday Grandpa Chuck!

2009-01-16T09:09:00.005-07:00

This week Chuck turns __! (... uh thirty something ...) hehe. We wish you a Happy Birthday Grandpa Chuck! Yes another year older and somehow managed to triple his grandkids almost overnight. hehe. (I don't think Chuck saw this one coming - but then again neither did we- hehe.)

In the photo Lizzie is eyeing up Spencer on Grandpa's lap. Notice Spencer is displaying an expression of Save Me.

Christmas for Eight

2008-12-31T09:26:00.007-07:00

Wow. This Christmas has been the largest one for us this year, since we doubled the size of our family and have had a lot of presents.

I thought that it would be cool to have a before and after photos of our Christmas tree. As you can see we have a bunch of presents spread from one side of the tree to the the other. I had to tightly pack more gifts under the tree to keep the river of gifts contained.

All I could think of is where can we store all of this stuff once it has been opened. hehe. It was a nice Christmas Eve, all the kids got to open one gift before they went to bed- pajamas. The gift opening fever quickly was injected into their minds for the night of anticipation for the next morning. Santa has much weight to get kids to bed quickly. I think the old elf showed up to see if the kids were asleep a couple of times. You know he doesn't drop off his presents with kids awake. I think it was after midnight before we got to sleep.

My bio clock woke me up at 6:30 and all was still asleep. So I thought that it would be a perfect time to get a shower before the chaos. Toward the end of that Anj came in and chewed me out because now all the kids were up and "no one ever gets a shower before opening presents!" Man one would think I committed murder or something. -eh it was worth it.

At 7:00 am, we gathered all of the kids to film their faces at the pile of wrapped loot the fatman dropped in our house. Like kids held back with glass at a candy shop they drooled and wound themselves into a frenzy of vultures pacing back and forth waiting to begin. Anj and I started to hand out the presents and after we blinked our house looked like this. (7:03?)

Ean Jr. had more fun unwrapping than anyone else. Josh was hooked on his Batman RC car. The piles got higher and higher and as you can see our couch and love seat were brimming with open gifts. The sea of wrapping paper piled up to the seats of the couches, we were sure to loose a gift or two.

After it was done Anj and I sifted through the paper as we were filling the garbage bags with paper and the plastic. As usual Tim and Josh had a few of the gift boxes with clothes still in them buried in the pile. Boys! What boy would not care for clothes on Christmas? It's all about the toys. hehe.

The girls? pfff... I think they liked all the stuff they got.

Ok so after the initial mess of paper and boxes are opened and gathered for the garbage, I see three trashbags! Absolutely insane. Then the next phase of having each of the kids come up to me and ask- no... HOUND me to take the toy out of the store packaging. I absolutely hate this part because now you have to go search for a pair of wire cutters and a pocket knife (because if you use the kitchen sissors or knifes your A** is Grass).

The easy part is the boxed items with the thread and the twisties, a few snips here and there and the toy is out. Unless they are a doll with the funky plastic strips sewn to keep the doll hair nice in the package. I also really hate the little items that go with those things. You know what I am talking about because if you have kids, it is a matter of time that you are vacuuming and see that cra* on the floor after you have told them the Nth time to pick it up. urgggh.

The worst bit is the toy with the funky plastic shaped container that is designed to torcher adults in the wrapping and eventually the opening of the package. Sissors never work, you have to have some type of industrial tool and a bowie knife to start to open those things. And then you have to be careful not to cut yourself with the stuff, it makes a mean edge. We even filled a trash bag with just packaging plastic.

Ok ok so I am starting to monologue. ......

Why yes, we had a great Christmas, the kids got a buttload of packaged bliss and Anj and I started our chugging of caffeine to help us through the day. I think we all went to bed by eight that night.

mmmmm. Good times.

p.s. We actually all were healthy until Monday.

Snow Job

2008-12-23T12:12:00.006-07:00

Ok so we finally had a day (Saturday) where we could go out and have some fun. At least the boys did. The girls came out and within 15 minutes went back in.

As you can see we built a snow wall for snowball fights! : ) It was great. We must have been out there for a few hours having fun in the snow.

Much to my being a guy that wasn't thinking I managed to use the puke bucket for making this fine structure with the boys. Of course in our frigid war some of the boys ate snow. (The brain cogs should be connecting now, eh?) Poor Josh, he ate the most. (mmmm puke cones for Yorick.)

So naturally by the next morning we find Josh had puked between the wall and the 1 ton bunkbed.
I was quickly sent to take care of the cleanup since it was my mistake for using the bucket.

This gave us a nice Sunday of vomit. -Did you know that bacteria can survive the cold vacuum of space? (Garages are too warm even in winter.)

Our church gets out about 4 pm, not a good block for Jr. because he is hosed and we are stuck with a boy needing a serious nap. Evidently this wasn't a problem on Sunday. (See pictures below.) While the kids were watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks, we turned to find Jr. in this position, funny huh.

Well with all of the fun so far we all are hoping that the rest of us bypass the puke bug for the holidays.

I'll keep you posted. hehe.

uh crap more snow...

2008-12-18T09:40:00.005-07:00

Ok, so I am pleased to see that we got some snow the other day. So last night it has snowed again about a foot. I really can't complain but once you have cleared a driveway for three cars and the sidewalk once you would be happy to be done for the week. Here is a picture I took this morning.

Yes this is Southern UTAH! You know where snowbirds come for the winter to escape the snow.
Typically we get a dump of snow and we are done for the season, with the occasional snow one day gone the next. Evidently when hell freezes over (Las Vegas gets snow) we get it. Here is the yard stick to measure our depth of powder.

Did I mention that we will be getting more tonight and tomorrow? I think that we may have a pile that will come close to the snow dumps I grew up with in Idaho.

Gee- I will have a white Christmas this year.

Snow dump

2008-12-17T09:16:00.003-07:00

So I leave work to find that we have got our big dump of snow just since lunch-time. The ironic thing is that once I get home there is nothing but a dusting of powder at my house.

The kids are wanting to play in the snow now. hehe. I am feeling very evil about having boys to help me with shoveling snow. muha-ha.

Happy Birthday Rob Warth!!

2008-12-16T09:01:00.005-07:00

We wish you a Happy Birthday.
To share our love for you Rob here is a real treat that we have found.
It is a copy of an interview of Rob by Bob in 1986 and Rob's early singing career singing The Spirit of God.

Happy Birthday Rob!

CHEESEMIESER' S 6Elves

2008-12-15T15:06:00.005-07:00

Happy Holiday's!
From our minion of elves.
(yes our walls are really that green)

Pocket Rider

2008-12-15T14:54:00.002-07:00

Here is a picture I like. Here Jr. is hanging on with his feet in my back pockets and is getting a free ride.

Princess Di

2008-12-12T14:54:00.003-07:00

Di is our youngest girl aged 4. She is a brilliant girl with great potential. She loves to charm her way around anything.

At night she is the last to get to sleep because she is a major chatterbox, much to the disgruntlement of Sammie.

Joshinator

2008-12-12T14:40:00.003-07:00

Here is Josh! He is the most energetic 5 year old you will ever meet. He will be our sportsman and Ricco Suave.

At 5 he can run a mile without stopping, it winds him up more. It is pretty cool.

His interests are Superman, Spiderman, Batman- the traditional superheros.

Bizzard Lizzard

2008-12-12T14:29:00.005-07:00

Lizzie's world is a musical. If it happens or not she breaks into song. She is 5.

Last night she was the last one to tuck into bed, she hugged me and kissed my cheek and said "Daddy, I will love you forever and ever." Dianne hearing this said: "Daddy, I will love you forever and ever." Lizzie quickly responded- "Dianne stop copying me!!"

Timo

2008-12-12T14:28:00.003-07:00

Ti is my frugal helper. He is 6. He likes anything Batman or Spiderman.

Tim just barely learned how to ride a bike using Dad-E's 15 minute crash course lesson. He loves riding so much that he doesn't care if he is wearing Lizzie's bike pink helmet backwards. hehe.

Sam I am....Green Eggs and Ham...

2008-12-12T14:25:00.004-07:00

Samantha is our 8 year old gem. At her age if you ask her to vacuum she will let you know that it is a form of punishment and slave labour. I think she has only done it four times...

Sammie is the reading star of her class, she is ahead of all her classmates. Just like Mom, she is a bookworm.

Ean Jr

2008-12-12T14:15:00.008-07:00

Ok, so I have lots of apples of my eye. Jr is one of them here are some pictures of my namesake.

Ean, 2 years old, loves to be up at the butt-crack of dawn- well even before that. :( He comes in to my bedroom and wants to hog my side of the bed. Once he is settled I get "Dad, I hungry! Dad, Turn on the T.B. DAD!- I Hungry."

With my Daddy's boy, I never have to really use an alarm clock.

Classic Hose!

2008-12-12T14:04:00.003-07:00

Here is a picture of Ean taken this last Halloween. Notice his expression. It reminds me of Ralphie in The Christmas Story (1983), with his expression he had while wearing the pink bunny jumpsuit. hehe.

Jr here did not want to wear this pumpkin costume either, Angie had him wear it. We originally had breastplates, helmets, and swords for the boys. Ean got jipped. He was happier when he got to hold a plastic sword. It was a very menacing costume.

Photo of Kids

2008-12-10T09:01:00.002-07:00

Well here is a photo of the kids. It was taken just before Halloween, but it is a good one. hehe.

Our stuff

2008-12-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been playing around with blogs for a while and figure that this would be the best way to keep family posted on what's happening with Anj and I and our minion.

-Ean