That's RIGHT...

...we're eating watermelon in January!

Poor Cooper was left inside the house.

Brooklynism

We went to Toowoomba this weekend and we drove past a building with big letters that said, "CHINESE MEDICINE." Kayla read it out loud with a question in her voice and Brooklyn said, "yeah, medicine for Chinese people in case they get sick."

New Blog Challenge

I have started a new blog to help keep me motivated in my qwest to lose weight. I have set it up as a challenge and EVERYONE is welcome to sign up. There are prizes and money to be won. You can use any diet and workout plan you choose, just make sure that you choose wisely so as to not hurt yourself. Head on over here and sign up, I promise you won't regret it.

Laundry Soap

I am becoming very domesticated again. I realized lately how much I have missed making things homemade. There is such a sense of pride and accomplishment knowing that one can be self-sufficient. I decided to try my hand at making my own laundry soap. It didn't turn out quite how I had hoped, but have been reassured that it will be fine to use. I will have to experiment with a different bar soaps. James's cousin Jenn makes her own laundry soap and loves it. I will post the recipe here, but you might want to take a look at her blog as she gives some really good suggestions. Leave lots of comments for her so that she will start blogging again and we can all bask in her wisdom.

Laundry Soap Recipe:

1 quart (4 C.) water

2 C. grated bar soap (like Fels Naptha, NOT Dove)

2 C. Borax

2 C. Washing Soda

*You will need a pretty big pan.

*Bring water to a boil.

*Add finely grated bar soap. Stir until bar soap is melted. You can leave the stove burner on low if you want while the soap is melting. Shut heat off completely.

*Add Borax and Washing Soda. Stir until all is dissolved. Or at least pretty close.

*Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed. In my experience it works better to add hot water rather than cold. Hot water from the tap works well for me.

*When cooled you can add some of your favorite essential oils.

*Put into final, covered, container.

*Use between 1/4 and 1/2 cup per load depending on how dirty your laundry is.

*Have fun!

I used tea tree oil and it smells incredible. I made half of this recipe and have enough laundry soap to last us at least a month and only spent $4-50. Good luck and let me know if decide to give it a try.

Mating...not just for animals on the telly!

We were watching a show on the telly about some kind of animals. I wasn't really paying attention. I guess they were talking about mating rituals and things. Sierra said, "Oh, I get it. Mating is having babies, right?" I said, "yeah something like that." She watched the show for a few more minutes and then said, "Ewe gross!" I looked up to see what was on and asked what was so gross. She said, "so that means that you mated with dad FOUR times." She continued to shake her head for a while and then said under her breath, "you probably still mate. Yuck!"

I just don't know what to say to that. I chose not to say anything. Now Brooklyn is asking what tampons are. What happened to my innocent little babies?

Has it really been a decade...

...since the Y2K scare? It is amazing how much has happened in the last 10 years.

In 2000 James and I were sealed as a family for time and eternity in the Boise, ID Temple. We took our first trip to the Pacific Ocean with the in-laws and James' brothers, sisters and grandparents. I think that there were 19 of us at the time and we all stayed in the same house on the beach in Oregon. Lots of drama and lots of fun! James graduated with his associates degree in engineering and got a job in Gillette, WY. Much to our dismay we found out we were pregnant with baby number 4. Sierra was only 9 months old, James was leaving for 3 months for training, and we were getting ready to move. It was a lot to handle. If only I knew what was in store for us. We packed up our car and moved to Wyoming the day after Christmas.

The first few weeks of 2001 were spent living in a Best Western. Not my idea of a good time! Brooklyn was born May 22. What a blessing she turned out to be. In September we moved to Evanston, WY. It was nice there, we liked only being 4 hours from home. Close enough to go and visit for the weekend, yet far enough away that we were not seeing them every weekend. James’s Grandpa Gibbons passed away in November. I don’t remember him much. We were not very close with him. I do remember that he was intrigued with the fact that my dad worked for the USGS.

In 2002 we moved from one side of town to the other after the guy we were renting from decided that he was going to sell the house we were in. We met some really great people because of that move. James’s Grandpa Leavitt passed away in August. He was an incredible man and is missed every day. He welcomed me into their home and family with no questions asked after we found out that we were pregnant with Tyler. I never felt like I was out of place there and he will never know how much that has always meant to me.

Tyler was baptized in May of 2003. James found himself working a lot in the Rock Springs, WY area and requested that we be transferred there. We ended up finding a town house in Green River, WY. We found out that my cousin lived there and it was nice not having to move to a place where I didn’t know anyone. James spent the latter part of the year ill. He was having constant tension headaches and we could not find a cause. He was not allowed in the field and we were having a hard time making ends meet, especially at Christmas that year. It was the first time that we saw the graciousness of others. We have always been blessed by others but this was the first time that we were truly in need and it was just there. One night the doorbell rang, I went down to answer it and there was a box of fruit and a nice big ham and a turkey. A few nights later we received another ham. We also got a free dishwasher that year just because a guy was moving and didn’t want it anymore and the crossing guard knew we had 4 kids and no dishwasher. She told him about us and her husband and a friend dropped it off for us. A life saver indeed!

I decided to go back to school in January of 2004. James changed employers a couple of times and then found one that he really liked. The doctors got him on the right meds and he quit having the headaches all the time. My Grandpa Campbell passed away in March. I regret not getting to know him better. I will always remember how hard he worked to make sure that we had a good time while we were at their house. He always took us camping and we loved it. He also made the best raisin filled cookies ever.

For most of 2005, James worked in Sheridan, WY 5 days on and 2 off. We saw him on the weekends and that was it. I went to school and played single parent. Kayla was baptized in February. We were able to take the kids to Disneyland. We loaded up our Ford Windstar minivan, complete with the wagon on top and made the journey from Green River to Las Vegas to San Diego to Los Angeles and back in one week. We had a blast and learned a lot! Can’t wait to take them again, we’re flying next time. James, his brother Paul, their dad and Tyler all went to South Dakota and hunted bison. In December we were transferred to Casper, WY.

2006, I continued going to school. We traded off the poor van and bought a Ford Expedition. In August we took James’s parents and niece Emily to the Oregon Coast for a week and had a great time. We loved every minute of living in Casper and then we got the call. You know the one where they offered James an awesome promotion. We were excited; it meant that James didn’t have to be in the field anymore. Then we found out that it was in Vernal, UT. We hated living there, but are grateful for the experience. Without it we would not be where we are today, right?

In March of 2007 we got the best news ever. There was a management position open in Casper. James applied and was chosen. So, we packed up and moved again. We bought our first house. I discovered my love of photography. Met my very best girl friend in the whole world, she just didn’t know it yet. Worked on remodeling our house; which became a never ending project. Sierra was baptized in the middle of a blizzard in December.

2008, gas prices started to rise above $4 a gallon and James panicked. We traded off my beloved Expedition on another minivan. I was accepted into the coveted nursing program at Casper College. James took a job with GE and we bought the most fun car ever, a Subaru Forrester. Continued remodeling our house. We went to Red Fish Lake Lodge with James’s entire family. Oh the drama! Gotta love family. I started the nursing program and found that I hated it and decided to take another path. I just have not found that path yet.

Finally 2009. If we knew what this year had in store for us, we would not have believed it. James and I went through a really rough patch. We were able to work through it and rediscover what we loved about each other. It was wonderful falling in love all over again. We went to Red Fish with the most of the family this year and Brooklyn was able to be baptized in Little Red Fish Lake. Continued remodeling our house. Then James got a call from the HR manager for Weatherford International saying that there was a job open in Australia that she thought he would be perfect for. He told her send his resume and then figured it would just get put at the bottom of the pile like all of the other international jobs he has applied for. The next day he got a call from the Business Unit Manager and was told that he was the best candidate. The next night he got another call saying that the job was his if he wanted it. We finished up the remodeling, put the house on the market, and started selling our stuff. James left in July to begin our new adventure. The kids and I followed in November. The house is currently under contract again and we are looking for a more permanent residence to move into.

2010 is going to be the beginning of the best decade ever. It just has to be, we live in Australia after all!