my NEW purchase

Ever since I went to a "wheat" class 9 months ago I was very motivated to cook with wheat. After the class I began researching wheat grinders & was taken back by the price...the cheapest being $200. So I purchased already ground wheat from the store but knew it's much healthier to cook with freshly ground wheat.

So as one of my many new years resolutions I wanted to completely transform the way I cook. I again started doing research & decided I was going to just have to take the plunge until I found on some random blog that coffee grinders do the same thing. You can grind cracked wheat to wheat flour. So excited I waited to use up all my wheat flour (I wasn't going to throw it away) & today I went & bought me a coffee grinder for a whopping $16 at Walmart. It can only do one cup at a time but when I ground wheat for pizza the smell overtook me & there was nothing that could beat it.

I'm now using meat wheat, bean mash, cracked wheat & wheat berries in many of our dishes. It adds fiber & is so good for you. So I'm very excited to share my purchase with you & encourage you to cook with wheat too! You now can't afford not to:)

A BeaUtiFuL Waterfall

Jaden best friend is his cousin Gracie (most of the time.) Now that they've moved here they are inseperable & LOVE eachother so much! I've noticed some changes in Jaden since his every waking hour is with his cousin & here is one of them.

I've taught Jaden that to go Peep (my word for Pee, it sounds much better) he must sit down & that is the only way to do it. His cousin Wyatt has taught him to stand but he moved away & I quickly went to work getting Jaden to believe that boys go peep sitting down. So you can imagine my surprise when I caught him standing on his steps to the sink at the toilet peeping from the top. Yes...he was up really high & he was peeing everywhere. I found no humor in this & quickly asked him what he was doing. He told me he was creating a beautiful waterfall. In shock I try to figure our where he came up with this. I taught him that you never stand up to go peep. I still didn't find humor but came to the conclusion that his cousin Gracie must have taught him how to be a little more creative then his mommy taught him. Needlesses to say he no longer has steps in his bathroom to help him wash his hands. He was to get on his tippy toes.

Since I don't go with Jaden to the bathroom everytime he goes I'm sure he's creating all kinds of beautiful waterfalls. Hmmmm....I'm so excited to clean my bathrooms.

Jeff & Mel

Yesterday my little brother got married. It's crazy to think how his big day came & went so quickly.

It was a beautiful day & everything was perfect. They stopped by this morning as they were leaving on their honeymoon & Mel commented how nothing went wrong. It so true!!! The wedding was amazing, the luncheon Delicious, & the reception was gorgeous. It was a lot in one day but it made it a whole day reflecting on them.

I'm so excited for Melanie to join our family. I'm amazed at our size (7 kids in all, 6 in-laws, 13 grandchilden) & we all truely love eachother & have such a great time together. When I hear of other families that have fights it makes me grateful that we don't have any of that. So MEL, you are up for some fun!!!! We are crazy & goofy but it's all in good fun & humor.

My extended family is AMAZING too. Chris commented several times on how he's amazed at how they all come together & pitch in to get everything done. They do it with smiles too!!! My cute aunts (I need a pictures of them...they are all beautiful) came & helped at 10 pm Friday night to help finish everything up. Jenna & I met them & we saw them all pull up & giggled when the light came one & there were 6 of them. Even though we were tired we laughed & had fun as we got everything ready.

What examples I have to follow....WOW!!! I'm so blessed.

AND did I mention...aren't Jeff & Mel beautiful??? They are going to have some gorgeous children.

a GREEN feast...YUM!

I'm a little behind so here's my attempt to catch up on life. It's been a GREAT week but I'm definately tired.

A couple of weeks ago someone asked me what I was doing for St. Patricks day....I realized then that I didn't have any fun ideas nor traditions. Then I remembered that GREEN was Jaden's favorite color & that I couldn't let this day pass without celebrating. Our morning started with green pancakes & then at 11:30 am our party began. We invited all of Jaden's little friends over to enjoy green foods & play a game. Their feast consisted of green grilled cheeses, celery, jigglers, green apples, green milk, & green cupcakes. Some of the kids were a little weary of the food:) Half way through I realized I was crazy to have invited so many kids over without extra help...thankfully Jenna was on hand but it was a little crazy. I had kids in every room of my house & I literally was searching closets for some of them. I kept counting to make sure I had them all.

I hope you had a green filled day too:):):)

Customer Service

As many of you know my "World Gym" experience has not been a positive one. The story continues much beyond what happened back in May of last year. On top of incorrect information being given about the end of our contract and what we need to do they now have overcharged us. Our OFFICIAL cancellation date was to be the 10th of March in which we get two months free (or deferred for months that we couldn't use the gym). So when I was charged the full $100 (yep, that's what we pay...you'd think we'd get semi-decent service) for this month I called billing informing them we should only pay 1/3 of that. She informed me you are charged for the full month even though you only get through the 10th of the month but she reassured me this was the last month we'd be billed. Frustrated I hung up & didn't argue. I then took Landon to the gym only to be greated with almost HALF the staff having quit. One of them being the only girl in "Kids World" that really went the extra mile with a very difficult Landon. 20 minutes into my work out I'm intrrupted to be told that Landon is too upset to comfort so we head home. I do not blame the staff...they're great. I blame the Manager 100%...he was the manager in Rexburg when we went there & was transferred to IF right when we moved. I kid you not. Yeah...we followed a nightmare that doesn't treat his employees with respect or his CUSTOMERS.

So now I'm really mad & decided that I am not going to be kicked again with paying for the full month. I call them back...get a guy this time & he tells me the same thing. I inform him I've read the contract & LEGALLY they can not charge me for the full month & ask to speak to a supervisor. I get transferred to voicemail. Now I'm really not happy so I left a long, unhappy message and I said (this is so bad...but I really want them to do something right) "I will be a pain in your butt until you get this taken care of." I never talk like that...this was just the icing on the cake. I really don't think we could have had a WORSE experience. Truely in every possible way they failed. Kids World (in Rexburg, I like the one in IF), poor managements, incorrect billing, poor communication, been lied to (by the manager NUMEROUS times) we signed our contract being told they have a location in TWIN falls for Chris; their website even still states it a year later,...this list goes on.

Ok so NOW to something positive. If you know Chris you know he WAS very addicted to Soda. He drank an enourmous (sp?) amount of soda daily...I don't even think i have a clue how much it was. Chris has replaced this addiction with Powerade Zero and Rice Cakes. Yes...an odd replacement but a GREAT one. SO when the Smith ad came yesterday I was shocked to see that I could get the Powerade Zero for $.49 a bottle (the cheapest I ever see it is as Walmart for $.87.) On top of that they had rice cakes on sale too. So this morning instead of going to the gym Landon & I headed to Smiths. When I went to ring up I informed the guy that I'd need a card since I've never shopped there before. At that point the bagger & checker were so enthusiastic about Smith's & told me about Sales & what a great place it was to shop. WOW, it was so refreshing to actually see someone not just do there job, but do it with a smile.

Right now there are more people then there are jobs. I think that I'm part of a very LAZY generation that does just enough & then goes home. I hope the bright spot out of this whole economy mess will be to teach people to work hard (all the handouts aren't helping this) and to appreciate their job. Work Ethic is such an important trait that I hope that I can install in my children. If you are in a business where you have customers (I'm pretty sure that every job has a customer at some point) you treat that customer with respect & go the extra mile for them. They might be a difficult customer & tell you "they're going to be a pain in your butt":) but you still help them to fix the problem.

Enough rambling!!!!

Sledding into 60

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!
Happy BIRTHDAY to you!!!
Happy birthday DEAR grandpa,
Happy bIrtHday to you!

love Jaden & Landon

PS Dad...I'm still looking for you gift that I somehow lost. Frustrating:):):)

Uncle Matt

Jaden loves his uncle Matt so yesterday when I told him Uncle Matt was coming to spend the night Jaden got really excited. Matt came down to Idaho because they're moving here, yippee, & was tying up some loose ends.

Since Matt was sleeping downstairs in our guest room Jaden decided to make himself a bed in his play room...right next the guest room. He even took his special sleeping lamp. He followed Matt & did everything Matt did...it was cute although I'm not sure Matt felt the same way. Jaden didn't want to go to bed either because he was hanging out with uncle Matt. Finally when I had to threaten Jaden he was willing to go to bed in the play room. When I laid him down I told him he'd be scared...we sleep on the 2nd story & that we wouldn't hear him. He insisted that he'd be scared in his room & that Uncle Matt was next door.

Moral of the story...it's working out well that Matt & Jenna + kiddos are moving into town because I know where we can send Jaden:):):)

Jaden....a very spoiled boy!

Yesterday was a FUN filled day for Jaden. It wasn't intentional but just kind of worked out that way. We went sledding at rigby lake with the Powell side of my family...lots of 2nd cousins to my kids. Jaden went sledding with Chris & grandpa & was loving it. There was even a moment where I was trying to take pictures & saw Jaden & Chris heading for me so I ran (I pulled a muscle excercing) & it appeared to follow me where ever I ran. Needless to say my calf was killing me the rest of the time but thankfully I wasn't hit with the sled. After the sledding fun ended we went & played on the playground. Landon just watched everything & wasn't even interested in being pulled on the sled. When we got home I realized he was sick after he threw up...poor little guy had to be out in the cold & I didn't even know he was sick.

After we came home Chris took Jaden to an ISU basketball game & boy was Jaden excited. He insisted on dressing himself & didn't match. On the way to the game (about 50 min away) Jaden insisted on listening to the same song the entire time. This boy is opiniated. Jaden got to choose where they went to dinner & of course he chose McDonalds (I get so tired of there food). They had a basketball hoop there so he got some pre-game time in. Jaden loved the game & enjoyed popcorn & fun with the bengel. Jaden still seems on a high from his fun day! When him & I went to my parents today (Chris stayed home with sick Landon) we played basketball together since it's still on his mind. Hopefully he's a basketball star in the making:)