A VERY Bad Evening

Yesterday evening started out very badly, and got worse. First, as I was trying to open a bag of chicken for dinner, I sliced open my finger. I applied pressure to it but it would just not stop bleeding. After grossing my kids out, I called a friend who is a nurse, and she said if it did not stop bleeding after a half hour of pressure, to go and get it stitched. Well, 30 minutes later, I was off to the hospital for a stitch or two.
Of course when I got there the emergency room parking lot was full, and to avoid an extremely long, complicated story, let me just say that in order to avoid the ambulance that was parked there, I totally missed the BRICK WALL, and crunched the bumper of the van. I was already shaky and that sure did not help. Now I'm shaky x2 and very upset as well.
I finally made it to the ER, and of course, by that point the bleeding had stopped, and the triage nurse and I agreed that I did not need stitches and it would be better to avoid a big ER bill. She was so kind, and gave me a snoopy band aid as a consolation prize, and I went back home and cryed. Not one of my better days.
And she was right, my finger is good and sore. Oh, and you're welcome for not taking a picture of the actual injury, it is not pretty.

Jordan's new glasses

My little girl seems to have taken after me in the eye department. She needs glasses, and today we were able to pick them up. Jordan is so happy to be able to see, and I am hoping it will stop her daily headaches. Let's hope she wears them this time and doesn't lose them.

Spelling- Kindergarten style

My dear sweet son is in kindergarten, and is learning to sound out words and read. However, I don't think they are quite teaching to spell yet. Sunday he was given a hand out on the creation of the earth, and he promptly brought it home and colored the pictures and labeled some of the backs. Here are his spellings.

oring moon-- orange moon
prite flawr--pretty flower
gray mantin--gray mountain
goldin stars-- golden stars
green tun--green tongue (this is how he colored the dog's tongue)
Atum and E-- Adam and Eve

He actually spelled them phonetically. I think this is really cute, he has plenty of time to get the spelling down.

100th Post Give Away

I did not realize this, but I have hit the 100th POST!
So, to celebrate, I will do the usual give away. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will be giving away a copy of The Princess Bride. One of my favorite books. Now, you are probably asking yourself "Why in the heck is she giving that away?" Well, I'll tell ya. Being as our last name is Roberts, the last name of the pirate in the book, we started a joke about us being the Dread Pirate Roberts. That brought about the name of my blog, the dread family Roberts. See, it's all intertwined.
Here's how you enter. Leave me a message and let me know which blog entry is your favorite. For another entry, you can always become a follower, and for yet another mention my little give away in your blog. Good luck to all. Thanks for reading.

Some day his wife will thank me.

As I was doing dishes after dinner tonight, the kids really wanted to help. What kind of mom would I be if I said "No"? Have at it guys, Jordan did a little, but when she had the dishes loaded she was done. Spencer however, loaded, then started in on the sink on all the places "I missed". He loves doing this kind of thing. I'm happy to think he may be ready for a mission some day, and farther down the road, ready for a happy wife.

Thoughts of Spring

There is a hope of Spring in the air. The robins have come back and sing their sweet song, geese fill the pond behind our house, and warmer air occasionally breezes past. It brings hope. Hope of all things new, sweet and innocent. It also brings with it feelings of happiness. Of those beautiful crocus' that pop their heads up through the snow to show us how determined they are to hurry the season along. Red bud tree's, tulips and lily's all bloom showering us with colors after a dreary mono-chromatic season of cold. We are happy to spread our wings, and be outside again. To feel the warmth on our skin, breathe in the freshness and just live. Spring makes you happy to be alive. I am thankful for a wonderful Heavenly Father who gives the earth such a beauty, and brings with it more hope for life than anything else possibly can.

Happy Valentine's Day

Lee is out of town this Valentine's Day, and I am sad, but I don't need a day on the calendar to define my love for my husband. We try to show it to each other every day.
That being said, I got up this morning and made a very hearty (get it) breakfast for the kiddos. I made our usual Saturday morning pancakes, but made them into hearts, pink one's no less. I let the kid's put sprinkles on them, which they thought was just the best thing in the world. They were mighty tasty with the blueberry syrup I made this last summer.

My Two Men

Last Sunday Lee and Spencer dressed similar for church. They were both so handsome that I wanted to get their picture. I love my guys, I hope they always love each other as much as they do now. Spencer has a great example of what a kind loving father and husband should be. Thanks Lee, for being such a great guy, and thanks to you Spencer for being such a wonderful loving kid.

Spring is coming..

I know this not only because the little groundhog stuck his head out, but today I saw a robin. There it was sitting on the roof. How exciting, it is always the first sign, and gives me hope.

I've met another and I'm in love

No, I don't need to confess to my husband, or talk with my bishop. I'm talking about a couple of stray cat's that have adopted us. the vet says they are a ok, so welcome to the family gals. Callie and Fluffy (you figure out which is which) are sweet little things, snuggle each other, play and even clean each other, I'm pretty sure they are sister's.

Jordan the hairdresser, Part Deux

Jordan has been at it again. She got a hold of another pair of scissors and started chopping. Again, her hair was in her face. ARRGGHHH! So today we went and got it chopped off for real. I think it looks cute but it will take some time to get used to. Lee is going to freak when he gets home from Iowa. Oh well. I just hope it grows out some before her ballet recital in June. Jordan is so excited to finally have short hair. When she saw it in the mirror, she said "I look like Dora!"

Generations

Yesterday we went to my nieces 2nd birthday party and family dinner. Needless to say we had a great time. My favorite picture of the evening was one I took of my mom and niece together. The lens fogged up and unaware I took the picture, but I think it kind of softens it and I kinda like it anyway, but that is not the point. I like that generations of family can get together and love one another and have fun. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?

Brrrrr. It's Cold!

Alaska is 30 degree's warmer than we are today. Crazy. I woke up to temperatures of -15* and a wind chill of a much colder nature. Usually that would not be a problem, we would just hunker down have cookies and hot chocolate, but today, I had to go back to the airport and pick up my husband. The kids were out of school because of the cold, so we dressed warm, started the van so it would warm up, and we were off.
The airport is even more impressive in the day time. A ton of windows, and the ceiling is all skylights. Way cool.
We went to Red Robin for lunch, a first for all of us. Yum Yum. I got a Freckled lemonade, aka strawberry lemonade. Oh my gosh, it was so good. A bit of bite from the lemons, and sweet from the strawberries to smooth it out. Heaven. Like I said can't get enough of those strawberries.

Spencer

Kate is taking a digital photography class at school, and needed a model, so she chose Spencer as Jordan was not cooperating. These are my favorite three out of the plethora she took. I think it captures the sweet little boy I know and love so very much.

New Indianapolis Airport

Indy airport is the first one built since 9-11. I had the opportunity to take Lee there this morning so he could fly off for work again. His flight left at 6:00 am, so we had to get up at 3:30 am. Can anyone say Starbucks? Oh yeah, I don't drink coffee. Darn!
I was excited as we drove up, as I had not seen the airport yet. Let me say, it is so cool. As you travel down the walkway there are dancing lights up above, and inside it is big and spacious, with a lot of room to move around, during the busiest times. ie... Indy 500, and the other big races. They have a food court before security as well as some after. So yes, I hit Starbucks before going home. The Hot Chocolate was great.

Moon Watchers

Back in October there was a beautiful full moon. So the kids and I went out onto the trampoline to try and take pictures of it. Let's just say that with my crappy little digital camera the pics of the moon did not turn out so great, but the pics of the kids were cute.

We had a great time and made some good memories. That is what is important.

Christmas visit with Samantha

Once a year I get to meet up with my BFF Samantha. We have our Christmas exchange and do something for fun. Dec. 22nd was that great day! I miss her so much. We met at Spaghetti's for lunch, laughter, and lots of girl talk. Oh yeah, we sprung for dessert. Life is good.

Here I am digging into my bag. Doesn't she pick the prettiest bags. Samantha gave me a gift certificate to my favorite clothes store. Yippeeeee. Oh yeah, and a tin of Lindor truffles. Oh I love her, she always knows just what to get.

And here she is opening the fused glass bowl I made for her. She loved it!!!!! Thank goodness, I was sweating that one.

Then off to get some manicures and pedicures. Oh my gosh, I could really get into the pampered life style. Just sit back and let somebody take care of you and make you feel pretty, and special. Ahhhhhhhhh! I'm relaxing just remembering it.

Samantha takes her turn under the dryer. Notice my Sonic strawberry slushie, life would not be complete without that.

After all that fun we went looking for some slippers her mom needed to give to her sister. That lead us to the mall. I usually HATE the mall and shopping, but tis the season, and I loved finding all the bargains. I bought a TON of clothes for my little Jojo at Gymboree. Of course I only buy the stuff off the clearance rack, and it was 40% off. Woo Hoooo, you just cant beat that. Unfortunately they didn't have any boy stuff Spencer's size. Darn! All in all it was that best day. Just perfect. I can't wait to do it all over again next year. Samantha, that is just too darn long, COME BACK FOR ANOTHER VISIT. How about tomorrow?I think I'm free.

Mud Chicken

Roast Beef will now forever more be called "mud chicken". Why you ask? Well let me explain.
When my little kids were even smaller than they are now. (6 & 4) Meat was not a terribly big thing for them, except for chicken. So we started calling everything chicken. Beef was brown chicken, pork..chicken etc.... To this day it is to a certain extent still "chicken".
Tonight my son helped my husband wash the potatoes that were going into the roast. My oldest daughter (17) questioned if they were clean enough, as we were eating. I sarcastically said, "yeah, they had mud on them."
So Jordan being the ornery little thing she is, said "We're eating mud chicken". "See it's mud chicken because it's brown." With the great laugh that followed the whole family started calling it mud chicken as a joke. I think this is going to stick.

Welcome World!

I have a neato (yes that's a technical term) widget that let's me know, when someone visits my blog what country they are from. Until now, it just went by the wayside. That is until I realized that I wanted to keep track of all the countries. So for now, since they will not actually be listed on my neato newest widget, I will list the countries that have visited. Just for the fun of it. In no particular order................
USA
Russia
Netherlands
Finland
Canada
Panama
Spain
Mexico
France
Brazil
New Zealand
Denmark
Hong Kong-China
Saudi Arabia
Poland
Great Britain
Luxembourg-Germany
Portugal
Ukraine
Norway
Serbia
Turkey
Sweden
If I have shown my geographical ignorance by inadvertently listing a country twice by calling it two different names I am sorry.
Maybe I am just impressed by little things, but I think it is so cool that we can reach out to the world like this. Welcome one and all to by little blog. I hope you enjoy it, and come back often.

Fun at the mall

I had a great day yesterday. I had asked for and received a gift card to bath and body works, so to town I went to cash in on the big sale. I love the scent white tea and ginger, and they only have it in the after Christmas sale, so I have to stock up for the whole year then.
Kate, Jordan and I went and met my SIL Gigi at Panda express for a yummy lunch.You cant go wrong with orange chicken and some crab ragoons.
Then we went to Old Navy to cash in on the 60% off sale. Jordan really needs jeans. Or should I say needed. I bought her several pairs that should last a while. Kate got a couple of things too.
Bath and Body Works was INSANE as it always is when they have sales. A couple more places and we were all ready to go home, to a great dinner. I am beginning to wonder if I am going to start actually liking the mall and shopping. Heaven help me.
Oh, and yes, I did stop by Sonic for a honkin hugh 44 oz strawberry real fruit slushy. Feel the love.

Kate's Christmas

Kate did not get a lot this Christmas, but she got BIG. She has been asking for a violin for years, and since she is not in orchestra at school any more, we got her one. She was so happy that she cryed. Yippeeeeee! I think she is happy. We also got her a Twilight apron which she loves and can take to BYU-I with her. If she didn't want it, I was going to keep it. Darn! She loved it. Some BYU-I stuff I ordered came the day before. Wheewwww. I was sweating that one. Merry Christmas Kate! You can think of us now every time you play.....and cook........and write in your tablet at college.

Tornado Warning!

The weather has been really random lately. Last week it was snowing and icing all over the place. Then it rained and washed away all the snow. Now today we had a temperature of 66* How weird is that!! Now a cold front is coming thru, and you know what that means, storms, BIG STORMS.
I was fixing dinner and the tornado sirens went off in town. (Thank goodness we can hear them out here.) We checked and boy was it heading this way. Well, not a tornado, but the tornado causing weather. My poor little boy came into the kitchen as the stormed RAGED outside and said he was really worried. "Really worried, I'm gong to cry!" and he proceeded to do just that. Poor kid, I held him and told him it would be all right. This is hard for me as I am TERRIFIED of big storms and tornado's myself! So we had a family prayer, prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. We made it thru dinner, and the storm passed. All is well. Thank heavens for prayer and faith.
I must say before dinner it was so nice out today. We played like it was the first day of spring, which is exactly what it felt like. We jumped on the trampoline, played baseball, and on the swing set. Then took down the trampoline, outside Christmas lights, and just generally opened up the house and enjoyed the warm flowing air. No coats needed. What a perfect winter day :)

Jordan's Christmas Program

Jordan had her preschool Christmas program last Monday night. It was so gosh darn cute! Here she is in her class room before the program. She wore her cute little Santa tights, with her red velvet dress.

Singing in the Sanctuary. They sang about six or seven songs about Christmas and all the parents snapped away with their camera's, as it sure did make us proud. The program was a really nice one. The pastor of the church read the Christmas story from the bible and the kids sang songs to go along with it, in between verses and such. What a good way to bring the Christmas spirit into the family. The snow was on the ground, and even though it was icing up the cars and everything else outside, we sure are glad we went.

Strawberries-My new obsession

Lately I cannot get enough of strawberries, since the summer really. This strange phenomenon is confusing the heck out of my husband, because I am choosing strawberries over chocolate even. He will offer me a chocolate bar in the grocery and I will refuse! to which he says "Who are you, and what have you done with my wife?" Chocolate lately has been "heavy" and I just prefer something "light" like a tasty strawberry.
So my new obsession is leading me to new things that I LOVE , namely, Chex strawberry cereal, and strawberry real fruit slushies from Sonic. I don't even eat cereal! but since I cant get enough of the little red tasty fruits that aren't in season, Chex does the trick. The problem with the slushies is 1- It's like -30* wind chill out side and 2- I have to drive 30 miles to get one! So I don't get them often, but when I am in town I will stop for one, usually between 2-4 pm because drinks are half price then. Gotta love a good deal, and saving money. Of course this causes me to have to pee like a race horse the rest of the day, but hey it's worth it. (TMI? Sorry)
So as long as strawberries are my flavor of the day, Sonic, Chex and I will be best friends.

Kitty the Crazy Cat

Have I told you that our cat, Kitty is one crazy cat. Yeah, thought so. We bought her a scratching post to keep her from tearing up the carpet on the stairs. Do you think she will use it, of course AS A PILLOW! However, she will not use it for it's intended purpose.
And her eating habits, oh my gosh! Not only will she eat fruit snacks, fruit, and flies, she also seems to love, lettuce, tomatoes and popcorn. But don't think of giving her real meat, as in chicken, or turkey. No way, she turns her head away with that cute little nose upturned. What a weird cat.