Trip into D.C.

Ocean City

Cub camp and other info

Noah had cub camp this week.  He LOVED it!  He especially enjoyed the bb shooting and archery.  Looks like he also enjoyed the cub wash.  Steve was a den walker for two of the days and he dragged Zane along on the first day to be a helper.  Zane did not want to go, but once there changed his mind and then went the second day without any drama.  Stevie also went the second day and spent the day in the tot lot with one of the teachers from my school.  She really enjoyed herself too.  Baxter and Ceci have been at Scout and Girls camp all week.   Steve went to scout camp after he had finished his two days at cub camp.  I was finishing up my class for the summer, if you are wondering what I did with all that alone time.  I wasn't having fun I'll assure you.  I had 20 assignments due in 15 days.  I kid you not.  A three week graduate class is a killer.  The kids thought that the computer was completely attached to my fingers.  Yesterday, I refused to get on the computer or clean house.  My plans changed slightly when Tina called to ask if she, Halley, and Chancy could come out.  I said sure and flew into a tornado of cleaning just so that I wouldn't be too embarassed.  It wasn't too terrible, but I hadn't done much on the house for three weeks due to previously mentioned activities.  It was so nice to see Halley again and Tina and Chancy too of course.  I love it when they come to visit.

The Three Musketeers

My kids are enjoying the pool.  I am enjoying it a lot more too since I changed it over to a salt system.  The pool stays crystal clear and all I had to do was dump 110 pounds of salt into it and start the machine.  (Well actually Steve and Baxter put in the salt and connected and started the machine, but I purchased the stuff!)  The hardest part this year has been to keep destroying the birds nests under the deck so that the birds won't swoop past and poop in the pool.  Yes you read it right--poop in my crystal clear pool.  I have had to go out and scoop poop.  The kids think I am terrible to destroy nests, but I say too bad!!  We also have a resident frog living in the wall of the pool where the metal posts go around the pool at the top.  He is a hold over from when the pool was full of tadpoles or polliwogs whichever you prefer.  Steve wanted to wait to get the pool going until they had all turned into frogs, I said, "No way!"  We compromised and took some of them out and put them into a tub and a pondish thing and then let the rest drain into the grass.  The birds loved them.  I was happy to see them go, Steve wasn't so happy.  But I'll tell you what, it's been almost over a month and those little polliwogs (my preference) are still swimming around in their respective places.  Stevie told me just yesterday that she thought she saw some legs growing, I'll have to go check.  Just think, my kids would have still been waiting to swim.  HUMMMMM I'm sure glad we didn't wait.

Pool pests

Here is the evidence of those rascally polliwogs.  We had left about six inches of water in the pool over the winter so that the pool wouldn't blow away during storms.  Well the storms whipped around so much that Grandpa couldn't keep the cover on and then finally it just split and broke.  By the end of the winter season the pool was almost all the way full again and we had become a rest stop for frogs to lay their eggs.  The whole pool was just swimming with them.  WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING!!!

Our 16th Wedding Anniversary

We got married June 16th, 1992 in the Manti Temple. The only one that objected was Halley who just couldn't understand why we wanted to ruin her birthday! What a beautiful day, even with the light sprinkling rain.
Boy don't we all look young, no pun intended.

Anita, Glen, Steve, Trudy, Cecilia, and Sid at the open house in West Valley City.

Here I am feeding Steve some cake. He sure did enjoy it!!!

Trying to catch up!!

Well, my two master's classes have come to an end and my next doesn't start until this next Wednesday. I am going to try to catch ya all up to what we have been doing in our lives. Hang on, it is going to be a speedy ride!!! By the way, I sure do LOVE looking at all of your blogs, it helps me pass time when I don't want to start an assignment or I just want to get away from it all. I'm not the best at commenting though and will try to do better in that department. Trudy

Newest Project--Tree House

Steve and the boys and sometimes Stevie are engaged in building a treehouse. Not even just an ordinary one, but a huge one. Maybe the kids will move out when it's done and stay there. The treehouse will have a main treehouse and then a rope bridge crossing over to a smaller one. They are all having fun working on it together.

Yuck!

Me letting a huge cockroach crawl up my arm during Career Day! I had to be a good example for my little ones. Even so, Stevie refused to touch any of the live things.

Anniversary Trip

Steve and I celebrated our anniversary early this year. I am going to be embroiled in classes during the real event so we took off early. Steve had heard of this place called Smith Island. He became intrigued and spent time researching it on the internet. He then rented a cottage for three days for us to stay in. On Friday, May 16th we got up and left the house by 7:30 am. We then drove 3 1/2 hours to Crisfield, MD. There we caught the mail boat for a 45 minute ride out to the island. It is located out in the Chesapeake Bay. We really enjoyed the ride. We got to the island and were met by the lady that takes care of the cottage. She took us for a ride around the island and then to the cottage, the ride took all of 5 minutes. Small island. The cottage was nice. The islanders almost all have golf carts to get around in and some have vehicles as well. The cars are in a state of disrepair and are all very loud, they also do not have current tags. When the islanders know that a law man is coming, they all park their cars because if it isn't moving it can't be sited. We enjoyed our restful time there and were impressed by how friendly everyone was. We enjoyed learning more of the history of the island and eating crab cakes. Steve went out on a boat tour, while I stayed being a little sickish. He saw snowy egrets, a peregrine falcon, some osprey, herons, sandpipers, tons of sea gulls, and even goats. He loved it! We really enjoyed our time together. Oh, we also tried the famous Smith Island cake. To tell the truth it just tasted like homemade cake with frosting, nothing special.

Mother's Day

Tina on Mother's Day. She is enjoying a rousing game of UNO.
These are the cards that my children made for me. They presented them to me as they served my breakfast in bed. I have convinced them that all that I require is toast and jam. Two years ago I was served blackened scrambled eggs. Baxter told me that he was really sorry but that the lid of the pepper had come off. Tee Hee
I love the inside of this card. When I open up the card everything is upsidedown and she is even in my class. How did that one get by me?? It was a pleasant surprise.
Mom on Mother's Day. Doesn't she look nice?
Me on Mother's Day. I hate my hair by the way. It has finally grown out a little, but not enough. I got scalped at the hairdresser!

Easter

The Bainter children dressed in their Easter clothes. My boys love suits and were very happy to get new ones. Ceci surprised me by getting a really pretty white eyletish skirt. (the surprise was that it was so feminine, she doesn't like frill at all) I had gotten Stevie and different dress, but when I went into JcPenny for something, I saw this dress and knew she would just love it because she loves frills. I must say that I think they all look really sharp!

Stevie's Fieldtrip to DC

We ate lunch on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Stevie was lucky enough to get to go to DC on a fieldtrip, the first that our school has taken since 9/11. We went to a series of vignette plays and then went and toured around the mall. We had been studying important people and symbols. The children got to see the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorial up close. They were so impressed. It really brought it alive for them. It was the first time in DC for many of them. As we were driving in one of them said to me, "Mrs. Bainter, I think that we are in a city. Look at the tall buildings and such." They were so excited to see a different world.
We saw Imogene's Antlers, If you give a mouse a cookie, and 4 others. The kids were spellbound during the performances.
As you can see, they were tuckered out going back home.

Zane's Fieldtrip to Elms Beach

I was trying to get a picture of Zane drinking both his orange juice and chocolate milk at the same time. Yuck!! He says that it tastes like a tootsie roll.
Zane's class was suppose to be using teamwork to place a stretchy ring around a coffee can full of water. They were then to empty the can into another container. Watching them was hilarious. The class has many chiefs, few followers which makes for not much teamwork. Zane finally spoke up and since he doesn't speak up often they listened to his ideas and did pretty well.


After many tries, they finally did it. Boy, were they happy!

Tagged

What is his name? Steven or sometimes Steven John
How long did you date? 4 months
How old is he? 37
How old are you? 39
Who eats more sweets? Steve definately !  He LOVES candy, sometimes I wonder if he loves it more than me
Who said I love you first? He did
Who is taller? Him by about nine inches
Who can sing better? Me   Steve wouldn't even sing when I met him, now he sings all the time.  I am so proud of him!
Who is smarter? Well it depends on the topic.
Who does the laundry? We all do.   Everyone except for Steve has to seperate their own clothes and then we all take turns keeping it all going.  Baxter, Ceci, and I do most of the folding.  I absolutely HATE when they leave the clothes in a mountain of unfolded glory.  Steve also refuses to fold socks.  He has a foot fetish and it reminds him of Lawrence Welk, which is not a good memory. (His mom would sit him down in front of that show to fold clothes.  She did me a real disservice!)
Who does the dishes? Mostly me, but we supposedly have a rotating schedule.
His guilty pleasure? dark chocolate
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?   he does
Who mows the lawn? Baxter, Ceci, and Steve
Who cooks dinner? Baxter and Steve on my school nights, me on the others and weekends who knows.
Who is more stubborn? We are both extremely stubborn.
Who kissed who first? He finally kissed me.
Who asked who out first? Well I kind of arranged it so that he could ask me out first. 
Who proposed? Steve.  He proposed after tilling his mothers garden.  I said yes, even though he was stinky.  He did however propose again when we went to the Jordan River Temple to walk around.
Who has more siblings? He does by one
Who wears the pants? Well, we try our best to share.
What is your favorite thing about him? We are best friends.  He tries his  best to complete me.  He always loves me even when I am acting unlovable.
I tag, I don't think there is anyone left.  If I am mistaken, then I tag YOU!!!

2007 Christmas

Bainter Children Christmas 2007. Showing happy faces because despite the fact that their parents said that they would NEVER EVER purchase a Wii, Santa went ahead and brought them one anyway. Who is that man? Doesn't he listen to what parents want too!!!
The prized Santa gift. Little did they know at that time that there were games under the tree in a package labeled FAMILY. As the package was being opened they noticed that it was a box of eggos. Mom said, "Well I knew that you would be hungry this morning." They the sponges actually believed me!!! HA HA HA Imagine their surprise when it was full of movies and Wii games. Were they ever excited.

Stevie and her doll Callie. Stevie named Callie's horse Hallie. Stevie loves them. Hallie the horse jumps fences and gives Callie rides around the room. Stevie's only complaint is that Hallie keeps hurting her. She has bumped her in the nose and left a mark and has dropped onto her big toe. We have come to an agreement that maybe Stevie should only carry one of them at a time. Stevie is concerned that if Hallie the horse has to give up jumping for awhile that it will hurt her feelings. Stevie also got several easy reader books, a princess, prince and another horse, and some DS games.
Noah and one of his mischievous looks. He is happy to see another fleece. We are happy because he WILL add it to his fleece wardrobe. He tends to like to wear the same one over and over and over. You can see Noah's broken hand in the picture as well. The turkey decided to hit Zane and suffer the consequences. Noah also received Zoo Tycoon Extinct Animals expansion pack, an erector set, and books.
Zane is showing you his My Sims for the Wii. Zane also got a legos building set, books, a Creative MP3 player, and some DS games. Zane was a hoot this Christmas, he tried to see how many loony ways that he could open his presents. He kept us in laughter, that's for sure. His attitude about life has really changed since he has been going to his new school where they challenge him. He says the 1hr. 15 min ride each way is definitely worth it. Now you know why he needed a mp3 player!
Ceci got a digital camera and laptop, hence her blog site. She also got books, a flat iron, and makeup since she just turned 12 on the 21st. We had told her that she would no way get a laptop since we were going to have a smaller Christmas this year. I went on time to a faculty meeting and entered my name into the door prize. At the end of the meeting the principal held up a used laptop and said that it was the door prize. I sent a small prayer heavenward and low and behold my name was drawn, hence Ceci got a FREE laptop for Christmas. When Ceci opened the box, she started to cry, happy tears of course.
Baxter is showing off his new hoodie. Baxter also received books, Microsoft Flight Simulator, John Deere American Farmer (although why he wanted it we don't know), and a hydrogen fuel cell car. Baxter's one disappointment was that his pj's said that he was nice instead of naughty, poor boy. I am rather glad that he is nice.

Grandpa bowling on the Wii. Sorry to say, Grandma beat him both times. He may have won the second game if Noah hadn't scooted a little too close to Grandpa's swinging arm. Grandpa gave him a smack on the nose and lost all concentration. It was the last frame and sadly he lost again. It was sure fun to see him and Grandma having so much fun!!
Grandma really got into bowling. She would jump up when she got a strike. Her face was full of life and expression. She was having a blast. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they had come over during the day while we are all gone to bowl. We would be happy to hear it!

Steve and the boys working on the U.S. Capital 3-D puzzle that Grandpa and Grandma gave us.
Baxter's hydrogen fueled car. He took it over and showed Grandpa this evening. He said that Grandpa loved it and that he just chuckled and chuckled.
Zane and Stevie enjoying some boxing on the Wii.
More enjoyment!!
Callie and Hallie getting a much deserved nap after two days of intense STEVIE!