"lish's life"

2009-08-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

Dylans 10th Birthday...we spent the day jet skiing and then the evening having a bonfire, having a nerf war, eating hotdogs and making s'mores.....Tate was lucky enough to get to spend the night out in the tent with 5 ten year olds too......

2009-08-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics of the girls having fun in the summer of 2009.......they dont always get along this well.

2009-08-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Okay first of all how old is this child, the one pic looks like an add for I-pod, and the other one with the red hot lips is a Marilyn Monroe pose....she spends lots of time taking pics of herself so I thought I might showcase some of her best work....enjoy.

2009-06-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY MACKENZIE!!!!!!!!

2009-06-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

I finally am putting up my pictures from when my friends and I did the flying pig 10K, the lighter pic is from before the race and the darker is after. And the Golden Corral is where we went right after the race, of course.

2009-04-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

TATE IS FINALLY HOME TO STAY!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

Dagan had the opportunity to go see his best friend for the week, and so he is not with us here on Easter morning. How small and how quickly it seemed to happen that our family is this size.

2009-04-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

I am so very behind on doing any blogging, but here is my attempt to catch up alittle. For spring break my friend Marta and I took the kids to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We took a short detour before that and stopped to see my niece Kristen at her new facility, she was so happy to see us I almost cried, she was grinning this funny little grin the whole time. She looks really great and seems very happy and staff seem to really love her. The Grays and the Robisons have been friends forever, Marta and I were pregnant together for several of our children, it is so hard to believe how grown up they are now.

2009-02-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

2009-02-09T16:58:00.000-08:00

Just some pics of the kids at the wedding....cousins and friends...and a pic of me and Devin.

2009-02-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

So as odd and strange as it is my mom was remarried recently...I had a great time with my brothers though and seeing my niece and nephew which isnt often....my mom married a man named Mark and although it is odd they seem very happy. I love this picture of myself and my brother A.J. he and I are very close and the evening was alot of fun laughing and talking with him and his fiance Devin......

2009-01-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

So my first born baby turned 17 today.....I am soooo old. The time has really flown by. There are days when I dont think I will make it through and that the time stands still and yet when I look back it seems like just yesterday when I would sit and dream of the day I would hold my first newborn in my arms. Looking back I almost cry and wish I had cherished it just alittle bit more....

2009-01-21T15:23:00.000-08:00

The last morning before Tates plane left fot Iraq again.....do we look alive or what??? It was sad but not as sad as the first time. They are telling the soldiers that they will be home sometime in April.

2009-01-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

So the first thing we did the day after Tate got home was go to Great Wolf Lodge together. Obviously from the pics this is an indoor water park. We had a ton of fun going down the slides and hanging out in the hot tubs. Look who is almost as tall as Tate now!!!!!!

2008-12-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008-12-28T07:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning 2008.....Grandpa came down and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with us, which was alot of fun. Santa needed help with the wrapping. The military family readiness group help arrange that each child would get a bear that sent a message to each child on Christmas morning, and everyones worked except Kenzie's which was fun for the others but lousy for Mack, after some tears were shed all was well. Everyone enjoyed Santas gifts and Santa is glad its over....

2008-12-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

2008-12-28T07:29:00.000-08:00

Next in the month I hosted book-club with my friend Karyn....we went all out. We read the book "The Mourning Dove", and had a really great time, eating and talking, which is really what we do in our book-club. I think we always start out talking about the book.........

2008-12-28T07:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am a month behind. December started with Morgans big "12" birthday. She is now in Young Womens (which makes me have 3 of my 4 left at home in the youth program) As a family she opened her gifts and we went out to eat. On Friday night she had a gaggle of girls over to sleep and celebrate, and that they did. Happy "12" Mi-Mi!!!!

2008-12-16T16:01:00.000-08:00

Just some more of the pics that we took at the beach, I wish I was there right now......

2008-12-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

Since I have finally sent out Christmas pics I am now able to post these amazing pics that Jason Appel Jr. took for us while at Myrtle Beach. I just love the way the kids look and the feel of the day, one I will always cherish.

2008-12-02T03:35:00.000-08:00

Our missionary on Thanksgiving Day..sent via a member from his ward, which according to him isn't breaking the rules......sounding fishy????

2008-12-01T15:05:00.000-08:00

All the kids hanging out and having Thanksgiving fun!!!!!!Dagan and Jason hid in the bedroom all weekend except for the fews times Dagan came out to give Jesse guitar lessons and Jason went to work. Poor Cecilia was my helper all weekend and the little ones well........

2008-12-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

2008-12-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

2008-12-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

So we traveled to the Appel's house to have Thanksgiving, first all the good food and then all, the clean up. I hate the clean up.....

2008-11-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

I know that some of you hate the music on the blogs, but it has meaning this time. We just heard this week that Tate will come from Iraq for his 2 week leave on December 28th. Hence the music with lyrics about "Home"......we are very excited, I am trying to contain myself and not get tooooo excited yet, it is still a month away! I have been trying to find the best thing to do with our time while he is here. I found a cruise for only $150.00 a person for 5 days but cant decide if it is too selfish to take him away from the kids for 5 more days.......they have really missed him too...I will say this though don't any of you call me before the 13th of January....and then I will need lots of shoulders to cry on.

2008-11-17T03:42:00.000-08:00

I saw this in the paper and thought it was hilarious, since this is exactly how I feel the older kids view me, I just had to post it.....

2008-11-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged to write down 7 interesting things about myself, I started by asking my children......

1. "you do art"quoted by Dagan... I was a fine art major in my life before motherhood and all that, it does actually seem like a lifetime ago. I have found through the years that I really love interior design, which I would have never guessed back that lifetime ago. I have actually helped about 5 people do either rooms or whole houses, two of which were actually paying clients. And after about 20 years I actually did an acrylic painting of my children for a relief society function.

2."everything", more specific " your beautiful" quoted by Dylan. I dont even have anything to say about this other than God love the little children.

3. "you're a good worker" quoted by Morgan. I actually loved this one, I actually do pride myself in being a hard worker, in being someone regardless of how crappy the job is, am willing to jump in and do the job anyway. Growing up my Dads philosophy was if he was working so were the rest of us, and that really taught me to dig in and get the job done.

4. Mackenzie doesn't think there is anything interesting about me......I tend to agree some days, but aren't teenagers great? We'll see what my answer is the next time she needs a ride somewhere......

5. I don't cry very often, it takes alot to get me to cry. I have had a few times in my life when because of my life cicumstances I have cried at alot of things, but these times have been few and far between. I think I view crying as weakness, not in others but in myself. My dad was sort of a "man up" kind of dad and so I "man up."

6. I like to be a friend to people. I love that I have friends from years ago that we both still stay in touch. I think I choose wisely when it comes to friends and sometimes take a long time in doing so, I didn't actually make my two best friends here in cincinnati until this last year. But I fiercely love the ones that I have.

7. I love being American. This is one of the few things that can actually get me to tear up. If I read stories of heroes or listen to songs, the Fourth of July all that makes my eyes water. I am sooooo lucky to have been born here with all the freedom we possess and choices and the restored gospel ......I just haven't decided if my spirit was strong and so I got to come here ,or if it was really weak and I needed to have all the help I could get......this of course is rhetorical......

2008-11-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

I finally got some pictures of our missionary.....doesnt he look great? His letters have shown how much he has already changed, I am sooooo excited to get his letters and to hear how things are going for him, what a blessing to have a son on a mission.

2008-11-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

Dagans show at a coffee shop. this song he actually wrote himself. I love it, it also serves as my ring tone to my phone.

2008-11-02T17:16:00.000-08:00

As I was going through the pictures to find old Halloween pics I came across this picture. This is how I will always picture the kids when they were little. I love this picture, they are all sooooo cute and their eyes are soooo blue. My mom had made them these matching outfits and we had taken the kids to the park, and it was one of those days that just worked, they were all happy and the weather was great......If they had stayed sooo sweet and easy.

2008-11-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

Since nobody else would dress up this year I looked through and found pictures of the kids from years gone by.....dont get me wrong they are great to look at, but finding costumes for and getting four kids ready.....trust me I am not crying too hard.

2008-11-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

Since Dylan is the only one left who dresses up for Halloween, we met up with the Jones' and walked around with them. This is Michael who is Dylans age...are they serious about their costumes or what???? They stayed out almost the whole night, Dylan said his legs were broken but we had him man-up and complete the evening......I mean I needed candy too.

2008-10-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

I want to tag Melissa, Rachael and Abbey for the letter "S".......cant wait to read your answers.

2008-10-21T03:43:00.000-07:00

I, as you all know have never actually journaled on this, but I thought I might give it a try. For the last couple of days I have been thinking alot about my friends. I actually had an old friend from growing up (we grew up in the same ward) call and we were talking about friends and she was saying that she didnt really have any great friends anymore. This and some other things that have happened this past week have encouraged me to reflect a little. I am soooooo lucky to have the great friends I do, I dont know if I am someone that really needs great women around me, but I have been so blessed where this is concerned. So this goes out to all you women who have been there for me in various times of need, I couldnt have done it without you, my sisters. Peace out!!!!!!

2008-10-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

Dylan is the only one left who is still interested in things like going to the pumpkin patch. Everything with Dylan I have really stopped to enjoy the moments because I knew they were almost over. I am happy to have the few remaining times of little-ness that Dylan allows me. Anyway we had a great time going through the corn maze and taking a hayride (well I enjoyed the hayride, anyway).

2008-10-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

It nearly killed me to get all of the kids together to take some fall shots of all of them....as you can see they were all very excited to have to pose and be cute.

2008-10-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

I just found this pics of Tate and the little ones after their first season of basketball....arent they cute???

2008-10-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

1.Where is your cell phone?who cares
2. Where is your significant other?  Iraq
3. Your hair color? blonde
4. Your mother? crazy
5. Your father? my friend
6. Your favorite thing? food
7. Your dream last night? stress
8. Your dream/goal? success
9. The room you're in? family
10. Your hobby? crafts
11. Your fear? failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? nice
15. One of your wish-list items?  troll beads
16. Where you grew up? columbus
17. The last thing you did? talk
18. What are you wearing?  robe
19. Your TV? big
20. Your pet? princess
21. Your computer? dell
22. Your mood?  happy
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? ugly
25. Something you're not wearing? pants
26. Favorite store? welling
27. Your summer? fun
28. Love someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? a month ago

2008-10-11T14:53:00.001-07:00

I have been given the letter "H"

Home: my favorite place on earth, I have worked really hard to make this house my home and I give thanks everyday for the comforts I have in my home.

Husband: I have the best husband ever, he knows all my weaknesses and crazy things and still likes me, what more could you ask for???

Honesty: I really value honesty, this sometimes gets me in trouble because I can be brutally honest, and I am trying to be more diplomatic. I was lied to for a number of years by someone I really loved, and believe me the truth hurts less than any lie in the long run.

Hairdresser: nothing makes me feel better than when I leave Rachaels house feeling gorgeous (even if only for a day)

Handbag: I am a sucker for a handbag and a great pair of heels.

Humility: something that I want to be, I know that one day I will stand before the Lord for judgement and I hope that by then he has molded me into a humble woman ( you guys are thinking I need to live alot longer)

Humor: I love to laugh. I like nothing more than to be in a group of friends or family and to laugh and be laughed at ( for the right reasons of course) no one makes me laugh more than my brother AJ, when we start we are like two school girls.

Hard liquor, Hard Ass, Hottie, and Hourglass( the last two being descriptive words about me) these are the words I kept out to keep it clean!!!!!!! are you guys glad I am working on my diplomacy?

2008-10-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

These are all from Myrtle Beach....we had the best time, I dont even think we did anything.....we went to the beach a few times and out during the evenings, but we mostly just layed around the pool, which is just my cup of tea. We were so greatful to have good friends like the Appels who graciously took us with them this year. Poor Jason stuck with two women and lots of kids for the week, and that doesnt even mention Cassandras sister who came for a few days, but thats a whole other story.....

2008-10-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

I know that this is sort of going backwards but I thought I would share some of our summer vacation pics.....we boated with the jet ski here in Ohio once when Tate was still here, and then we went to Myrtle Beach with the Appels

2008-10-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

I just had to add this to my blog.....I have lived in this house for over 5 years and have never been able to park in the garage. One day after the big storm and the kids were still off of school we spent the day cleaning out the garage.....look at that I can get both the van and the jet ski in the garage...and the door still shuts....hey, Tate by the way this is what a clean work space looks like!!!!!!

2008-10-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

pics of the two that have flown the coop.

2008-10-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Some family pics one of the last

times we were all together.....

2008-10-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

just various pictures of the four youngest kids doing their thing.....

2008-09-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

2008-09-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

So lasy week at mutual it was a mother daughter, dress up for the 80's night......this is what Mackenzie and I looked like....are we 80's or what??????

2008-09-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

First day of school 2008

2008-09-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

This is when we were at Myrtle Beach this summer-Hard Rock Cafe, rock on. A picture we sent to Tate in Iraq.

"Lish's Life"

2008-09-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

I am doing this blog on pure peer-pressure from some very dear friends. I don't really think anything we do is interesting enough to have people see it but I'm going to go with it anyway. About us: I have been married to Tate for 5 years now, really the best 5 years of my life so far, we are the parents of 6 great kids, the best ever really. Abbey is the oldest and she and her husband of 9 months live in Rexburg, Idaho finishing up their schooling. Adam is next in line, and he is serving a mission in Tempe, Az. and has been out for 3 months. Dagan is 16 and a junior in high school, my guitar maestro. Mackenzie is 14, a freshman this year and a ton of fun to be around. Next is Morgan who is in the 6th grade, all girl and good times. Finally we have Dylan, who is in the 4th grade, loving scouts and being with his friends.