March Madness Day 14

Spring means volleyball season here in Vegas! Mitchell is playing volleyball again this year. He is playing on the JV team and he is also on the varsity team. We have so many seniors this year that the coach is letting 2 of the juniors warm up and sit with the varsity team so they get some varsity experience for next year. That means long practices for him. He practices with the jv team and then the varsity team. He doesn't get home until after 6. He is happy though!

It should be a great season for both teams! We have won all of our pre season games so far. We beat Palo last week and beat Coronado today! Both schools have good volleyball programs.

Mitchell, John and Lorenzo

Mitchell serving...

Time out...

Mitchell is playing setter this year...

Mitchell warming up with varsity... (great hit!)

Cheering on the varsity team!

MM Day 13

I Love Sundays. Today we slept in big time. Once in a while I love 1:00 church. Today was one of those days!

Church was great. I love our ward. Came home and had a good dinner! Went on a walk with my honey. The weather is absolutely perfect right now! It was about 75 today. John and boys went to a fireside and I caught up on this blog! It was a great weekend!

Day 12

We finally got to sleep in! We had gotten up at 4:30 our time the last 2 days and it was killing me. My eye was twitching big time!!

We spent the morning at the store taking pictures and stuff. Then we ran a few errands, met Lori for lunch and headed to the airport. We had a good flight home... I watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and cried as usual!

The kids were still alive when we got home... they broke a few rules, so I doubt we will leave them alone next time... We feel much better when Grandma and Grandpa are here!

March Madness Day 11

Friday morning the guys got up early and went to Chicago to meet with franchise attorneys to talk about how to franchise Yumz. Lori and I took the train into the city a few hours after them to meet them for lunch. It was fun to ride the train and see all the people who ride it everyday! I love people watching!

We met up with the guys at the Apple store. It's so cool! 2 stories! Then we went to Gino's Pizza. So yummy! We love deep dish pizza!!!

Yum!!!

Matt and Lori and John and I

John adding his name to the wall...

The train ride back...

Check out the girl sleeping behind us...

We got back to Crystal Lake and headed to Yumz. Matt and Lori had a school functions to go to, so we went and worked at the store. It was fun to work behind the scenes with the employees. We really have great employees! We helped add mix to the machines, cleaned tables, cut strawberries and all kinds of fun stuff. John even learned the cash registers. But the employees kicked him off when the line got really long. He was spending too much time chatting with them! It was funny. The kids were worried that they might have made him mad that they took over. We had new sales record that night. It was crazy busy! And it was freezing outside!

John's sister Annette lives about 30 minutes away, so she brought the kids to the store to see us. It was fun to catch up with them. I wish we would have had more time! The kids are getting so big! I had never met Ammon before. He is a little wild thing. Everett has gotten so big. He was very shy! They are night and day! Lauren was cruising around in her wheel chair. She is so cute! I learned that her favorite flavor is chocolate! My kind of girl! Natalie didn't like getting her picture taken... not sure why, she is beautiful. She snuck out of this first picture...

But I got her here!

The boys love their Uncle Johnny. They were chatting away!

Yogurt time... : )

Thanks for coming all the way out to see us Annette! We hope to bring our kids next time! Mitchell and John stayed at Annette's the 2 times they went out for Bears games. The little boys loved Mitchell, so Annette introduced me to them by telling them I was Mitchell's mom! It was funny!

MM Day 10

I'm back and ready to let you know where I have been.... ( I really didn't want to let the world know that I left my kids home alone... I know some of you might have planned a party at the Barnes if you knew we were gone! hahaha)

Early Thursday morning John and I flew out to Chicago. He had some meetings with Direct Buy for Sunburst Shutters. So, I decided to go along. I love Chicago and I was anxious to see Yumz. More to come on that soon... Matt Thelander (He runs the Chicago area Sunburst Shutters) picked us up and took us to the meeting in Merrirville, Indiana. It was a bit of a drive... We had some time before the meeting, so we saw the Albanese Candy Factory and decided to check it out... Oh my, I was in heaven! I've never seen such a big candy store in all my life. I pulled out my camera and the battery was dead!!! ugh. I took a few pics with my phone. This picture doesn't even show you 1/4 of the candy!



The guys went to their meeting and I headed to the mall to kill time. They had a great meeting! We will soon sell Sunburst Shutters in Direct Buy. They were excited.

We drove back to Matt's house in Crystal Lake, west of Chicago. Then we finally got to see Yumz. Some of you know that John has helped open a frozen yogurt shop in Crystal Lake, IL. He never got to see the finished store opened until this weekend. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, here is the story. About a year and half ago Matt was in Las Vegas and So. Cal and he loved all the self serve frozen yogurt shops and thought it would be fun to open one is his town. There are very few in the Midwest. Like less than 10 in all of Chicago. We have about 8 in a 2 mile radius of our house! So, Matt asked John to help him. He needed some marketing and design brains and Matt has the business brains. John has spent many night hours researching, designing and marketing this store. They had a lot of hiccups along the way, but it finally opened Thanksgiving weekend. We had planned to open late summer, but it didn't happen. The delays were worth it because we ended up with a better location! We are right in front of a movie theater! John spent about 2 weeks in November out there working on the store. He had to head home for Thanksgiving and missed the big grand opening! It's been killing John to be so far away and not see it all done. Matt sends him a text every night telling him how the numbers are. So far it has been amazing! We expected a very slow start since we opened in the dead of winter. It has totally surprised us how busy we are! John picked out everything from the lights, tile, garbage cans, wall boards, spoons, bowls, toppings table, chairs, tables, decorations, uniforms, sinks, bathroom fixtures and etc. He worked with a graphic designer who designed their logo and all their signage. So much goes into opening a restaurant!

Here it is....

John watching how it all works!

A few of the employees... I was so impressed with all the ones I met and worked with!

One of the t-shirts...

The machines...

The entry...

The seating area...

The topping bar...

The restrooms... aren't the signs on the door cute! The heads are swirls! Good thinking Aaron! Aaron is our amazing graphic designer.

close-up of couches...

t-shirts for sale...

Everyone loves these chairs! Way comfy!

John trying to get the perfect cup to photograph...

March madness break

I know you are anxiously awaiting my day 10 & 11... But I am away from my computer for the next 24 hours. I can't figure out how to upload pictures from my iPad to the blog... So hang on until Saturday night or Sunday morning for my weekend recap. I have some exciting pictures to show you! Just know am in oneofmy favorite cities with my favorite person.

March Madness Day 9

I really wanted to sleep in today... you see, my eye has been twitching for the last 3 days and Keri told me it's because I am tired... So I really want some sleep. I didn't get it today... I watched my brothers little ones again and had to get up early for their arrival. and yes, my eye is still twitching today! ugh. No sleep tomorrow morning either... I hate being a grown up sometimes... i remember the days of sleeping till noon! Oh, how I loved them!

Anyway, I took our turtle, "mom" on a little field trip today. My friend Amy is working at a pre-school and they are studying turtles, So I took "mom" to the school. I should have had her take pictures! Dang! She said the kids loved her! Did I tell you that Ashley has been buying her feeder fish and she has been eating them! I saw her catch one today! Pretty cool!

Mitchell is busy busy with volleyball season. They have had a few preseason scrimmages this week. Tanner is loving his new long board! He rides it everyday! He took Afton out on it today. She loved it! When he wouldn't let her ride it alone she cried for Ashely to help and then screamed at tanner at the top of her lungs that it was her's! It was so funny! She is almost 2 and it is showing... haha. Poor Scott and Jenn!

I made my weekly if not bi-weekly, sometime tri-weekly trip to Costco. Found a cute sweater. what does that say about me that most of my clothes come from Costco??? Don't answer... Anyway, I found that the best time to go there is 5:00. It was empty! Loved it!

We just got done watching Idol... I have few favorites, but can't remember their names at the moment.

Here are a few pics from my day... (my other family should not be jealous of me posting so many pictures of these 2, they are just here and no one else is! i wish everyone was closer!)

MMadness day 8

Today was a great day. I started off the day going to the temple with 2 good friends. I love going to the temple, it always makes my week better. I brought my camera to take a picture after and i totally forgot! Dang. We had a yummy lunch after at Great Hearvest Bread. (and no, that's not why i go to the temple! But it is a nice treat after.) I tried their new chicken salad sandwich... Yum! I am dying to go back and get another one.

I got lots of things done around the house and made it to Trader Joe's to get John's favorite cereal. (he has been out for like 2 weeks, poor guy :) I actually made dinner and everyone was home to eat it. I love eating all together! That makes me happy.

The boys all went to mutual and Ashley and i went to Joann's to get some lace to make a dress longer... We will see if it works...

Life is good...

MMDay 7

I have an oven again!!! Yahoo!! The repair man came today and finally fixed it. It took over a week, but the good news is that the home warranty covered it and it only cost me $60. You don't realize how much you use something until it's gone!

The other good news today is that Tanner wanted to make dinner! He is my little chef. He said he wanted to make orange chicken from scratch. (well, almost scratch... we buy the Panda Express Orange Chicken sauce at Costco) He chopped up the chicken and started making a flour and egg batter. I told him he could use milk and he said, "no, that's not how you do it". I said "how do you know" and he said, " I learned on Man Vs Food that you use egg and add crushed red pepper to the flour!" It was pretty funny. I guess TV isn't so bad!




Thanks for dinner Tanner!! Yum!!

MM day 6

A few Sunday highlights....

1. Church was wonderful. The testimonies were what I needed to hear.

2. The BYU Young Ambassadors were traveling through Vegas and went to church in our ward. They sang a special musical number that was incredible! WOW! Talk about music bringing the spirit to a meeting!

3. Ashley is babysitting for the Gonzaga University mens basketball coach tonight... They are in town for the WAC tournament and my friend in Spokane is good friends with them and told them I could find a sitter. Kind of fun....

4. We had a good last day with baby Jack! He was such a good little guy. He slept all night every night! Scott and Jenn were very happy to see him! I miss him!

5. John made dinner! Yum!

March madness day 5

So this posting everyday is harder than I thought it would be! Especially since baby Jack is still here. Every free minute I spend catching up on the house...

Today was a churchy day! John and Tanner went to the temple to do baptisms this morning. That went well. Except Tanner freaked a little when they didn't go to In and Out after.... It turned into a learning experience... I hope. The purpose of going to the temple isn't to get burgers after....

Then at 4 John and i went to a baptism. That was nice. From there we went to a program called "The Lamb of God" it was put on by the local Mormon Youth Symphony. It was beautiful! I wish we would have made the kids go with us. Jack did pretty good through them both!

Time for bed... Sorry no pictures today...

MM Day 4 Sadies

March Madness Day 4....

Mitchell and Michelle are out at the Sadie's dance. They called it Tolo where I grew up... Girls ask the boy to a dance. I guess the theme had something to do with music... So they wore their favorite band t-shirts.

They looked very cute! I'm not totally sure on all of their plans, but I think they were going to get pictures taken, pizza, then going paint balling, then the dance and then dessert. They were going with 8 couples, so they should have a good time.

They even had matching shoes!

Hunter and his date...

Off they go!

Day 2 of watching Jack. He is so cute! He slept all night! But took terrible naps all day. I won't complain. Hopefully he does the all night again tonight!

MM Day 3

Look who is staying with us for a few days! Baby Jack. His mom and dad and sister are at a wedding in San Francisco. Afton is the flower girls and Scott is the best man. I can't wait to see pictures.

M. M.Day 2

March Madness day 2:

I just found this on my desktop... pretty funny. He loves broadcasting!

March Maddness!

I have decided to try blogging every day in March. I am calling it March Madness! (Suzanne you inspired me! She did it everyday in February)

They will be short and sweet...

Ashley is making a quilt! She hates that all of our blankets on the couch aren't big enough to wrap around herself and cover her toes.

She went to the fabric store all by herself Saturday and picked out "mature" fabric. She informed me that she was getting married and she is getting older and all her other quilts she has made are pink's and yellow's. Teenager colors! My baby girl is growing up!!

Fire!!!

We had a close call on Sunday! I made some Janet Rolls (family favorite from from my Aunt Janet!) We usually just make them on Thanksgiving... but the kids talked me into it. I may or may not have bribed them to work on scouting and Duty to God for me to make them... hey whatever works! So, these rolls have a lot of sugar in them and sometimes they overflow in the oven... smokey, stinky mess! I pulled the rolls out and thought... I should clean the oven now because I have cookie dough in the fridge that I want to cook later. (I usually run my oven cleaner at night so i don't have to smell the burn...)

The kids complained all afternoon about the smell... we talked about sitting outside so we don't have to smell the smoke.. but it was about 10 degrees too cold. We were Skyping with my parents when we all heard the "poooof" noise come from the oven. John ran upstairs to get his shoes on so he could go switch the circuit breaker. While he is upstairs I see smoke coming from the cupboard above the oven. We open it and start pulling things out to see where the smoke is coming from. All of a sudden i see a reflection of fire up on the top of the cupboard!!!!! Freak me out!!! I was calm and ran for the fire extinguisher under the kitchen sink. I was praying it still worked. (it has a moving sticker on it, so I know we have had it many years!) Scotty was standing right there so I handed it to him and told him to spray it. He was taller than me! It worked and the fire was gone. I yelled up the stairs and told John we had a fire! We weren't sure if we should still call 911 or not. We decided not... We kept an eye on it to make sure there wasn't anything in the wall on fire. (meanwhile my parents were still on Skype listening to all the excitement. We told them we'd call back, but they wanted to stay on the line!)

There were a few tender mercies that day! Thank heavens I listened to the spirit tell me to turn the cleaner on then and not that night. We would have had a full blown house fire! Our bedroom is directly above the oven and so are the stairs. After the fire, we went to the stairs (it shares a wall with the oven) and the wall was very hot! It would have destroyed the staircase. We have plans to get some of those ladders to drop out the windows.

If we would have gone outside like planned we wouldn't have heard the noise or seen the smoke until it was well on it's way... so blessed!

I've thought of a ton of things I need to get prepared in case we do have a fire or some other disaster.... here are a few I can do right away...

*Need to get all my negatives out of the house. I have 2 binders full of them.
*Back-up all my pics to a DVD or an online service ( i have most of them on Picasa)
*I made a folder with copies of all our certificates, ss cards and stuff and it's sitting upstairs... need to get it out of the house somewhere safe.
*get a rope ladder for each room.

we took the plate off the wire box and it's all black in there!

Scotty reenacting spraying out the fire!

We feel so blessed that it wasn't worse!! We aren't sure if the oven is dead or not... we have a home warranty and the oven repair man came and said an electrician needed to come first. So we hope it's all covered and ok.