The Richardson Family

The Simple Things-Daisy

2012-01-30T06:58:00.001-07:00

I love this little girl!

Ashton's 8th Birthday

2012-01-29T20:07:00.001-07:00

In November, Ashton turned 8 years old! He is such a nice boy! We love him and are so glad that he is a part of our family!

He got a treasure box, scriptures, candy, Scout stuff and a hat.

Ashton is such a good boy. He is always trying to be good. He worries about his grades and homework all the time. I always have to tell him not to worry. He has all A's. He is loving Scouts! He is also really becoming quite a good pianist! You should hear him play!

Ashton getting ready to open presents with Lacey wanting to help.

Happy Birthday Ashton!

For his birthday, Ashton didn't want a birthday cake. He wanted Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats! He has good taste! Anything with chocolate and peanut butter has to taste good!

Gila Valley Stampede

2012-01-22T20:48:00.001-07:00

During the first part of November, we went to the Gila Valley Stampede. My brother and sister-in-law put the rodeo on and it was so much fun! It was a family rodeo and had some great events!

Ashton and Devin both did the Mutton Busting. They held onto those sheep as tight as they could!

Ashton

Both Ashton and Devin said they were shaking so bad before they rode, but they said that the sheep were so soft!

Devin

Devin falling face first

Caleb was a brave soul and rode a steer.

Caleb

Then there was the Goat Dressing Event. You get into a team of two people. The first one to put the bloomers on the goat wins!

Caleb and Carson were a team.

Calvin and his cousin, Briley, was a team.

Caleb and Carson

It's harder than it looks! Calvin and Briley almost won, but then the goat got away...

Calvin and Briley

Caleb and Carson

Calvin and Briley

Another fun event is the Grocery Race! There are three people to a team. You start off standing next to your horse. When the whistle blows, all three of you hop on the horse. (Easier said than done!) And then you ride to one end of the arena. You all get off the horse. And then get back on the horse. Each one of you get to hold a glass of water, a watermelon and an egg and run back to where you started with all your groceries in tact! So fun to watch.

Teams usually practice for this race. My brother, James, came up to my sisters and I before the race started and said they needed another team for the grocery race that was starting in a few minutes and asked if we wanted to do it. Brittany was the only one who has done a grocery race before. James gave us his horse and we practiced getting on and then went to the starting line...

Brittany, me and Karlee

The race begins...

Karlee was awesome and jumped on the horse from the back!

We were laughing because we didn't know what the heck we were doing, but we made it on the horse.

We were the only team with all three members being girls! We were also the team that walked the whole way. I said it's better to walk the horse and end up being able to walk after the race.

We ended up getting 2nd place because one team was disqualified because they broke their watermelon and egg. Not bad for a bunch of girls!

Brittany had the water in her mouth (holding the cup), I was holding the watermelon in my lap and Karlee had the egg in her mouth!

Here is the Chicken Race. You can see Devin in the red shirt.

Here is the Hide Race. You have a team of two people. The adult is the horse rider, holding the rope that is attached to a cow hide. He starts at one end of the arena. The hide rider is waiting at the other end of the arena. The horse rider runs from one end and circles around the arena and then runs back to where he started. As he runs past the hide rider, the boy or girl, will jump on the hide and hold on!

My brother, John, teamed up with Caleb for one team and Carson for another team.

Caleb waiting to jump on

Hold on Caleb!

Carson is holding on tight!

It's a fast ride!

Carson and John won first place! Caleb and John won 2nd place by a 10th of a second! So John gave his belt buckle to Caleb, since John already won a belt buckle in another event.

They were both so proud!

All of the boys and their cousins made some money at the Rodeo selling homemade suckers, drinks and candy. We had the funnest time. Thanks to my brother and his wife, James and Larissa, for putting the whole thing together! It's definitely on ours plans for next year!

John and Karlee's Wedding

2012-01-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

My brother, John, recently got married to a wonderful girl! We all love Karlee and are so glad that she is a part of our family now!

Lacey especially loves Karlee! She always wants Karlee to paint her fingernails. Karlee has an amazing collection of fingernail polish and Lacey loves the attention Karlee gives her.

All the sisters: Larissa, Brittany, Brooke, Karlee, Briana, Bridget

Bridget, Briana, Brooke and Brittany

Karlee with all her new nieces.

John with all the boys.

We had fun going back to Arizona for the wedding. We drove down the first weekend of November. We were sad that Ben had to work, so he couldn't come with us. So I made the trek on my own. I with I had more pictures of John and Karlee at the Temple, but I was busy chasing kids around. :)

Jared's Farewell

2012-01-03T15:14:00.001-07:00

My brother, Jared, left on his Mission to Eugene, OR in September. We all gathered to say good-bye to him. We had lots of foods and lots of fun!

Carson enjoying his food

My niece, Mayley

My cousins, Wesley and Thomas

Grandpa and Grandma Reed talking with Aunt Bridget and Daisy

Sweet Daisy

Adam, Briley, Carson, Calvin and Caleb

Dayton, Tillison and Ashton

Jared and the food table

My little cousin, Mary

Little Lacey

Mary and Lacey

My brothers: John, Jared and James

James, Sam, John, Jared, President Solomon, Grandpa Reed and Wes

Jared and President Solomon

We are so proud of him and his decision to serve a mission!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-21T21:13:00.001-07:00

We had a great Halloween! We went to our Ward's Trunk or Treat party one night and then we went over to Uncle Wade and Aunt Shelly's house for Trick or Treating. All the kids took home loads of candy and had a fantastic time!

Lacey was a Princess. She loves to twirl! I had to take lots of pictures because I made her dress without using a pattern.

Ashton was Spiderman! He is super strong by the way...

I don't know what Caleb is...they kept changing costumes.

I think Calvin is Napolean Dynamite and Devin is Mr. Incredible.

As you can see, Devin has been working out as well.

I think Carson just got out of the shower and decided not to dress up for Halloween!

Isn't this just the cutest picture? Daisy was a bumblebee. My friend let me borrow this cute little costume!

Family Hike

2011-11-11T23:56:00.001-07:00

Last month Ben had a day off of work, so we decided to go on a hike. We live at the base of the Franklin Mountains. So it only took us about 10 minutes to get to the hiking spot we went to.

It was beautiful and didn't even seem like we live in town!

Here is Daisy before our trip. I carried her in a carrier on my back. Ben had Lacey in a carrier as well.

Devin was so excited to go hiking!

Ben and Lacey ready to start! We were all unloading from the van and getting ready. We brought snacks and the boys packed their own back packs.

Here is a picture of the start of the hike. Isn't it pretty? We didn't do the full hike because it started to get dark, so we turned back. But we will definitely have to go back and do the full hike!

It started to get dark fast!

Carson, Caleb and Devin

We had to hike back to the van in the dark. Luckily, it wasn't to far and it's a lot easier to go down the mountain than up!

Happy Birthday Devin!

2011-11-06T16:50:00.002-07:00

We celebrated Devin's 6th Birthday in September! He is growing so much! He has started Kindergarten this past year and loving it! He does all his homework for the whole week on Monday!

He has also started playing the piano this year also and he does very good. He memorizes songs really fast!

Calvin and I made the cake for Devin. He wanted balloons on the cake.

Now we have some talented wrappers in this family! Funny thing, I went out and bought some really cute birthday wrapping paper just for his birthday and then the boys came out this the presents looking like this! I think they took all the Christmas wrapping paper and tore pieces off and then pieced it together. What in the world?!

White Sands

2011-10-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Last month we took a little road trip with Ben's aunt and uncle. We drove to New Mexico and spent the day at White Sands. I had never heard of it before, but it is a National Monument, and it is exactly what it says it is...a bunch of white sand!

We all had so much fun and stayed for hours! There are large hills, where the kids spent racing down on "sleds". They also built forts and buried each other. Ben and Uncle Wade even built stairs into the sand to make it easier to go up! And they worked great!

Calvin waiting for the trip to begin.

The famous sand staircase!

Devin and Lacey had fun burying Heidi and Calvin!

Here is our "campsite".

Carson and Alli building their fort.

Good times, good food, good company!

We had so much fun! And with it being just over one hour away, we will definitely be going back! We had to pretty much drag the kids to the cars to leave!

School... Again?

2011-09-29T14:50:00.001-07:00

Here are my younger boys getting ready to head off for school.

Calvin is a 4th grader this year and is such a good student. He already received his first progress report and he had mostly 100%'s. I think his lowest grade was a 98%. His teacher called and said that he finishes his work twice as fast as the other kids and then helps her tutor the kids who are struggling. She wants him to get tested into the GT Program (gifted and talented). He is nervous.

Ashton is a 2nd grader and is very kind to everyone. His teacher has told me over and over again about how respectful and polite he is. I think that his favorite part of school is walking to and from school with his brothers and cousins: Chase and Colton. Ashton and Chase love to make up little songs and dances. They are hilarious to watch!

Devin started Kindergarten this year. He is in full day (that's all they have here) and he was way beyond ready! He has a great teacher and loves to show me his sticker for the day. He is in the same class as his cousin Colton. He gets his homework for the week done in about 5 minutes! He's a quick learner and has started piano lessons. He is following in all of his older brother's footsteps.

The first week of school, I would get up Lacey and tell her it is time to take the boys to school and she would just reply, "Again?" We have all adjusted to having school and scouts and everything else. We are all super busy!

Middle School Days

2011-09-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

Caleb and Carson started Middle School this past year. They actually were in Middle School in Arizona, but this ain't Arizona! It must be nice to have a best friend where ever you go!

These boys are good kids and really loving school. They are both 1st chair in their Orchestra, which is huge! There are just under 300 kids in the orchestra at their Middle School! Amazing! So everyday they take their instruments to and from school.

They are also in the same school as their cousin Alli. They are all in 6th Grade and get along great! How lucky to have family!

These boys love rockin!

Guess Who?

2011-09-22T15:54:00.002-07:00

Is there anyone out there who knows who this is?

One clue: it's one of my cute kids!

Lacey's New Apron

2011-09-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Check out Lacey's new apron! She loves it and wears it all the time! She must follow in her Mom's footsteps. Check out the tutorial here.

And become a follower on my Sisters' Blog! Thanks!

Calvin's Latest Project

2011-09-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

All the boys have been acting out their own "Indiana Jones" adventures. Calvin, being so creative, decided to make a satchel for all the treasures they find. He did a great job designing and putting it all together. I just sewed what he told me to sew. The full description and more pictures are located here.

Our Weekend in Thatcher

2011-08-23T11:19:00.001-07:00

One weekend in July, I took the kids and we headed down to Thatcher. We stayed with my sister and her family, the Miners. My parents met us there, along with Jared, John and Karlee, and Brooke came down with her kids from Amarillo. We had a lot of fun. Jared went through the Temple. Ben's cousin, Maleah, watched my kids. Thank you so much Maleah!

We also spent one day at Cluff's Pond. We played and played and ate.

The little critters there sure liked me though. Before I got in the water I was stung by 2 bumble bees on my leg. So I decided to go into the water, where a crawdad attacked me! So then later, I was sitting under a tree visiting with the wonderful company and a lizard fell from the tree and crawled down my back. Yikes! We all had a good laugh about it!

All the kids and Uncle James and Uncle John played chicken fight, over and over again.

Weston and Aunt Brooke

Chicken Fight! Calvin and Uncle John with Ashton and Uncle James

Devin contemplating the meaning of life. :)

Devin and Colton (cousin)

Darling Daisy

Aunt Brooke's little girl, Maddie

Aunt Brittany, I love this picture!

Mayley (Brittany's girl)

Weston (Brooke's boy)

Dirty=Fun, Landon (Brittany's boy)

Jayla (Uncle James' girl) Look at those eyes!

Maddie

Devin and Dayton (Brittany's son) collected bottle caps

Devin and Dayton

After the fun at Cluff's Pond, we went and watched the parade. Uncle Wes drove an old fire truck in the parade and all the kids rode on the truck in the parade.

After the parade, we headed for the football field to watch the fireworks for the 4th of July. We had some time to kill, so Grandma and Grandpa Reed played Red Rover with all the grandkids. What fun grandparents!

We had a great weekend and look forward to spending more time with our Arizona families!

Here's another one!

2011-08-19T13:43:00.002-07:00

I actually like this one better!

Movie Editing #1

2011-08-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

My boys have learned how to edit videos on the computer now. They are way better at it than I am! Take a look!

Check it OUT!!!

2011-08-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I have 3 wonderful sisters! We all live in different places: Queen Creek, Thatcher, Amarillo and El Paso. We love crafting, talking, and having fun! So we decided to make a blog to share all of those things with each other. Head on over there and check it out! It's a work in progress and we are just starting, so stayed tuned!

Babblings and More

Having fun in El Paso with some cute kids!

2011-08-10T18:57:00.001-07:00

El Paso has been good to us so far. We are loving it! You should see all the looks we get when we take all the kids places. And some of the comments are classic! One person just stood in awe and quietly said, "I've never seen anyone with 7 kids before!" We have never received so much attention before!

The weather is cooler than the Phoenix area by a little bit and cools down at night. We've enjoyed the monsoons every night and the thunder storms are beautiful! We miss our family and friends, but we will be visiting soon! Watch out!

We (meaning Caleb, Carson and myself) snapped a few pictures of Lacey playing in our backyard and some of the kids at the park.

Lacey has so much fun dressing up and loves to have her fingernails painted by some of her favorite people. You know who you are!

She would sniff the flowers and then wipe her nose as fast as she should. Funny girl!

Daisy is growing up so fast. All the boys are so helpful with her, I don't know what I'm going to do when they all start school!

Here we have Ashton, Carson and Caleb. They love having a good time!

Now look at that smile! So precious! How can you not smile back!

You know you are...

Congratulations Dr. Richardson!

2011-08-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Congratulations are in order for Dr. Ben Richardson! After many long years, he graduated from Medical School on June 3, 2011. He worked so hard! Here are pictures of the festivities. We had a graduation party for him that evening, but I forgot to take pictures. We all had so much fun and want to thank everyone who participated and helped in this journey.

All the adults that attended the graduation: Grandma Stanford, Ben's parents, my parents, Lacey, and Grandma and Grandpa Bear.

Calvin, Devin, Ashton, Carson, Caleb. (I held Daisy)

Ben was a part of the first graduating class of ATSU: SOMA.

Ben had some wonderful mentors.

Our family

Grandma Stanford and Ben

Ben and his parents

Ben and Briana

Ben with Grandma and Grandpa Bear

Ben with my parents

The kids being so patient.

How many people graduate from medical school with 7 kids?

And they are good kids and very helpful!

Our family

Ben with Grandma and Grandpa Richardson. They weren't able to come, so we went to them!

We are so proud of all that Ben has accomplished and the wonderful example he has set. Now on to new adventures in El Paso!

Arizona Roadtrip-Last Day

2011-08-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

After we left Mt. Graham, we debated on what to do: find another camping spot or get a hotel. Hmmm...hindsight is always 20/20. As we were driving and it got darker and darker, we managed to find a road and we took it. Since it was dark, we didn't see that the road goes right through a wash...with lots of sand. Now in the past we would have just put it in 4 wheel drive with our Yukon XL, but our party bus doesn't have that feature.

So all the kids were asleep in the van. They were sleeping so peacefully that we didn't want to wake them up, so Ben and I worked and worked to get ourselves unstuck. We tried everything we could think of. We dug, put twigs and cardboard under the tire to get traction, forward, reverse, but we only got deeper and deeper. Finally we retired to inside of the van. Kids were everywhere! On seats, the floor, on top of each other. I found a spot to sleep by Daisy's carseat, half on the seat and half off. Ben slept in the drivers seat for a while and then moved to that spot that you step on after you open the sliding door. Yeah, I don't know how he slept there.

So we got some sleep. Not a very good sleep, but some. And we tried again in the morning. We weren't very far from the highway, inbetween Safford and Wilcox. One nice man stopped by and tried to pull us out. It didn't work. He had a small blazer and we have a one ton. So he left and came back again with more "equipment" and tried again. That didn't work either, but it was really, really nice of him to stop and try. In the meantime, we were able to get a hold of my brother, James, who lives in Safford. (Funny thing is, he just pulled my sister out of the sand the week before. Thank goodness for little brothers!)

I wish I could have taken some pictures. James was driving over bushes and small tress like they were nothing! He hooked us up and pulled the van out like it was nothing! He was a life saver!

Here is the tire after we tried all night to get it unstuck.

The Van View.

It got deeper and deeper the more we tried!

We did a few things to keep us all entertained for the 12 hours we were stuck. Obviously the first part of the 12 hours, we slept, or tried to. When morning came around, Caleb and Carson practiced their photography skill and took a few pictures! They took some good ones too! Some boys made towns out of dirt and rocks and sticks. And of course we ate lots of snacks!

Daisy

Cactus Flower

We watched the highway and all the cars.

So after we left our "camping spot", we headed to Tombstone. On our way there, we stopped in St. David and visited the cemetery there. We found lots of family graves there. The boys had fun looking for the headstones. It was like a treasure hunt.

Our Great-great Grandpa Calvin Reed.

There were lots of pictures I took. After we visited the town of Tombstone, we went to the town cemetery. I'm not talking about the Boothill Graveyard, but the actual town cemetery. Here we found Tom Brandt's Gravestone. He owned the town bank and was the first one shot and killed in a bank robbery in Tombstone. He is my Grandpa Reed's (Pa) uncle.

Tom Brandt's Gravestone

Then in the same cemetery, Lillian Reed is buried. I believe that she is Pa's cousin who died in an automoblie accident (when cars were first coming out). I was honored to participate in sealing her to her parents in the Temple.

Lillian Mrytle Reed 1909-1926

We had a great time on our Roadtrip and hope to do it again. Next time, we will avoid the sand and get a hotel. :) It's the trips that don't go as planned that you will always remember.

Arizona Roadtrip-Mt. Graham

2011-07-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

On our roadtrip, we stayed in Thatcher for a day or so with Wes and Brittany. We had fun visiting with them and our kids loved visiting and playing with their kids. Then we took off to go camping on Mount Graham. We drove to the top of the mountain. It was so beautiful up there! We went up at the beginning of the week, so no one else was up there!

Ben took the boys shooting and we had a fun lunch. But the closer it got to the evening, the colder it got! Pretty soon all the kids were in the van just to keep warm with blankets. It really wouldn't have been so bad, but it was a "no burn" weekend. Ben and I discussed what we should do because it wasn't even dark yet. So Ben, being the A/C guy that he is and never leaves home without his tools, took out his thermometer. It was in the high 30's! So no wonder why we were so cold! That was too cold, especially with a baby! So we took down the tents and loaded up everything as quick as we could before the sun went down. We barely made it!

We had to change plans and quick! This is probably why Ben and I don't plan very often, it's because the plans don't go as planned! This was definitely one of those times. No one could have predicted what would come next...but that is for another day. (How's that for a cliffhanger!)

The following pictures are courtesy of Caleb.

The boy's BB guns. Apparently two of them are missing.

We had a lot to load back up into the van and fast!

We had to put our jackets before starting.

Daisy stayed nice and warm in the van, bundled in blankets.

We barely made it before nightfall, and it was COLD! (For an Arizonan family)

Arizona Roadtrip-Day 1

2011-07-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of May, we decided to take a road trip to some places around southern Arizona. We started out by heading towards Thatcher, AZ. For those of you who don't know, we love stopping by old cemeteries. There are so many stories left untold and histories waiting to be read. So we stopped by the little town of Eden. They have a little cemetery there and we didn't realize the relatives that we would find there!

We first found Ben's Grandpa Richardson's brother. Ben was able to call Grandpa Richardson and he told us that his brother died of diphtheria.

This is Great-Grandpa Richardson's brother. I believe he died of diphtheria.

Outside of Old Church in Eden, AZ.

There were a few old buildings in Eden that we stopped by and took a few pictures of. So while Ben was on the phone, he asked Grandpa about the history of the buildings. The biggest of the buildings was an old LDS Church building. Grandpa lived there and said that it was brand new when he was a boy. Right by the Church building is a round building that I never took a picture of, but it says MerryLand on the front of it. Grandpa said that was the building that they had church dances and parties in.

Old Church

Inside of Church. Half of the ceiling has fallen.

Eden Store.

These two buildings are right across the street from each other and Grandpa Richardson's Uncle ran both of the stores. The Eden Store is easy to spot, but we almost missed the General Store. Luckily Ben was on the phone with Grandpa and he told us about it.

General Store across from the Eden Store.

This is Calvin Reed's brother-in-law, Moses Curtis. Calvin married Moses' sister, Mary. If I have my story right.

We found some more family names.

Long Days

2011-07-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Lacey and one of her many babies.

Haven't we all had one of those days. The kind of day where you can't keep your eyes open one more second. I'm sure that's how Ben feels everyday.

Welcome to the life of OB/GYN Resident. Poor guy works about 13 to 14 hours a day. Although, he is so excited because he gets this weekend off. He hasn't had a day off for 2 weeks! He doesn't even have time for a lunch break!

Some people will ask me how I like being a single mom. I don't feel like that in any way. Ben and I are very much a team. We always have been. He is such a great father and husband and I feel very blessed!

Calvin's Birthday

2011-07-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

In May, Calvin celebrated his 9th birthday! He is a wonderful boy and we are so glad that he is a part of our family! His favorite toy was a sling shot.

Calvin's Treasure

2011-07-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we love going to yard sale. If fact, our kids save their money and find their own little treasures to buy. Calvin found this k'nex roller coaster set and bought it for a couple bucks. He worked diligently and followed all the instructions, and before we knew it...a huge roller coaster was sitting on the kitchen table! He can really put those things together!

The roller coaster was about 3 feet high!

Super job Calvin!

April Accidents

2011-07-18T09:18:00.001-07:00

WARNING: The following pictures may not be suitable for those who may have a weak stomach.

In April, we had to major accidents happen to our family within 6 days of each other.

Ashton's happened first. We were at Grandma and Grandpa Reed's house on a Sunday and he fell off the trampoline. Ben rushed us to the hospital. Thank goodness there was no one in the waiting room. We knew it was broken just by looking at it. His arm looked like rubber! The doctor brought the xray machine into his room, put him into a light sleep and move the bones around until they were straight and then they cast it. Ashton didn't cry once in the hospital. He was so brave!

Ashton's xray

Ashton's soft cast

The famous broken arm!

Six days later, we were at Grandma and Grandpa Reed's house again and Lacey was trying to open a child's folding chair. She almost had it opened when it folded up and she fell, landing on it with her finger inside it. My brother James was there and had to help me open up the chair to get her finger out of it. We rushed her to the same hospital and saw the same doctors. On the way to the hospital, it just broke my heart because she never cried. She just hummed to herself and every once in a while she would say "Ouch" or "Mommy, it hurts." They did an amazing job sewing it up. She didn't even cry. They numbed her finger and I held her as they stitched her up. She watched the entire time while I sang primary songs to her. Her finger is healing up and the nail has grown back. It is truly a miracle.

The strange thing is that Grandpa Reed did the exact same thing when he was 5 years old, except his finger came completely off! Luckily the doctors were able to sew his finger on as well.

Lacey's finger

It didn't stop her from playing.

The stitches

Almost every week I had to take both kids to the same orthopedic surgeon. Ashton's arm has healed beautifully. In fact, he was able to get his cast off sooner than expected! However, the tip of Lacey bone broke off in the accident and is just floating in there. We are hoping that in the next few months there will be new bone growth. Otherwise, they will have to remove the little piece of bone.

Preschool Graduation!

2011-07-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Patyon, Kailey, Devin, Lindy, Brooklyn and RyAnne

After 2 years of going to Preschool with this crew, they all graduated! These are some great kids and we are going to miss them and their moms! Devin had so much fun and looked forward to Preschool everyday. Now we are off to Kindergarten...

1st Annual Reed Rodeo

2011-07-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

We had our First Annual Reed Rodeo on April 23, the day before Easter. We started the day off with a yummy breakfast. And then the festivities began. We had a whole line up of fun stuff to do.

Dummy Roping

3 Legged Race

Wheelbarrow Race

Water Balloon Toss

Egg Toss

Rawhide Race

and the Chicken Chase to name a few.

Everyone had so much fun and the weather was perfect! After the morning events, we had lunch and then a Easter Egg hunt. The whole day was so much fun and we are glad that Aunt Sharla's family joined in on all the fun!

Carson, Briley, Caleb and Devin reading the line up of events.

Ashton broke his arm the week before and was sad he couldn't participate in everything.

Lacey loved that little stick horse!

But it is kind of hard to ride it the right way, but a whole lot easier to carry it!

What a cute line up of a bunch a little cowgirls!

Ashton was able to do the dummy roping.

He has it down pretty good...

And caught the steer on the first throw!

Off to the Wheelbarrow racing...

You had to run to the other side of the field and back to the other side.

Lacey had to go and get her brother's hat that flew off in the race.


On your mark, get set, GOOOO!

The funnest part was watching the adults do the Wheelbarrow race! We were all laughing so hard! The sisters pushed the brothers in the wheelbarrow. (On a side note, James will attempt to reach his hand out of the wheelbarrow and grab the person next to him to pull them over!) We also had husbands and wives compete! We can't wait to do it again next year!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-07-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Town of Queen Creek has a giant Easter Egg Hunt every year. So we decided to attend! Everyone had so much fun and gathered a TON of eggs!

Everyone waiting for the festivities to begin. The baseball field was full of eggs!

Lacey munching on candy before the hunt begins.

To this day, Lacey is still scared of the Easter Bunny because he made an appearance here.

Daisy was a trooper, but by this time, she had enough!

Lacey wanted to open every egg before putting it in the basket.

She was finally getting the hang of it.

On your mark, get set, GOOO!

I guess it isn't much of a hunt when there are this many eggs!

Devin loved it!

Is Calvin to cool to pick up the eggs?

Almost, but not quite. :)

Ashton collected a lot of eggs too!

Caleb and Carson were too old to participate in the egg hunt. But they enjoyed all the other activities and the other boys shared their eggs with them. We have loved going the the QC Egg Hunt every year and had to do it one last time before the big move to Texas!

Miss Lacey's Birthday!!!

2011-07-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

Lacey Jane had her 2nd Birthday on April 8th. She was so excited and quickly got into the swing of things. She would open presents left and right and then ask for the next one. Although she did stop long enough to open various treats and share one with everyone. And she had to make sure everyone ate their "treats".

She loved the bracelets and necklaces!

Waiting patiently for the candles to be lit.

She loves the baby that Grandma Reed gave her. (She calls all of her dolls "baby").

It was really late when we had the festivities because we had a fundraiser that we went to that evening. That is why you see boys wrapped up in blankets. :)

White Coat

2011-05-21T00:43:00.000-07:00

This white coat has gone through a whole lot. Four years ago, Ben attending the first White Coat Ceremony of A.T. Still University - School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (SOMA).

And since then, he has worn this coat to many different offices, trying all sorts of specialties. This coat has been washed, ironed, hemmed, lost buttons, restitched and still did it's job. It has held important tools like stethoscopes, little books, badges, name tags, pens, electronic tools and possibly even food. It has been hauled to and fro, and dropped on the ground many times.

It has been there through the questions and answers and tests. It has been there to surgeries and routine visits. And most importantly, it has been there as Ben figured out what specialty he wanted to go into: OB/GYN.

It's permanent residence was on a hanger in Ben's truck, always there when it was needed. Now it hangs in the closet. It's job is done and will soon be replaced with another.

Ben is officially done with all his rotations! What a strange feeling to be done and to have accomplished so much: a lifelong goal. It has been a long road, but now this one is coming to an end. He's not completely done yet. He still has a few odds and ends that he needs to finish up, but the white coat is being retired. We are looking forward to Graduation Day - June 3, and then Ben will be officially Dr. Richardson!

Just an average, typical day

2011-05-19T16:36:00.002-07:00

Sometimes life seems to go by quickly and the typical daily activities just get passed by the wayside. Days turn into weeks and then months and, well, you get the picture. Since we are going to be moving next month, we have been reflecting on the past four years of living here and how much we have loved it!

Just recently one of my aunts asked me what are some of my favorite memories of my childhood. I immediately thought of the little things that my parents probably thought were insignificant, but they are the things that I treasure the most. The first thing that comes to mind is one time when we dug up our garden and before we turned it into rows, Dad hid gummy worms under the big dirt clods. I still remember him running into the house and telling us that he found something outside in the dirt. We were all so excited and ran outside as fast as we could! And we all thought we scored the biggest treasure in the world!

Or when Dad put the sprinkler under one of the trees during a winter freeze and when we woke up that morning to a tree full of icicles!

Or camping for that one week up on the rim and immediately following it with the Ward campout. Boy, were we dirty! And I will have to say that us girls were pretty fast with that .22 single shot. You brothers better watch out we were pretty competitive!

So with that being said, Ben and I often talk about what our kids will remember from their childhood. Hopefully, they remember the good stuff. :) I decided to take a few pictures of our normal activities.

Our neighbors will probably be the first to tell you that we have a noisy house! With a houseful of kids, that's probably a given. But I am one of those "mean" moms that make their kids practice music. Our piano is playing beautiful music all the time. (Or maybe it's only beautiful in our minds.) There is always someone practicing the piano, so that means that the other instruments have to practice in the other rooms. Both Caleb and Carson are in the advanced orchestras at their schools. Caleb plays violin and Carson plays cello. Their dream is to have a Richardson quartet and play at weddings and other events. They already have music picked out for my unmarried brothers weddings.

Caleb practicing his violin.

All of our boys faithfully do their homework. There are those time that they slack off and want to play instead. So I just tell them that they don't have to do it and for them to tell their teacher what their decision was. Then they beg me let them do their homework early in the morning. Funny kids. But I will have to say that they take pride in their work. When they have a project due, they want to do it good. They even get out my stamp pads and paper and make it fancy!

Calvin doing homework.

Ashton doing his homework.

After school just wouldn't be fun without something to eat! Don't you remember how hungry you were when you got home from school? Well, as soon as the boys walk through the door, they tell me how hungry they are! So even Little Lacey takes advantage of the good food!

Lacey eating her sandwich.

Not very often is Ben home in the afternoons, but he was this day! And when he is home, he always feels the need to work on something, or fix something. I personally think that he just wants to get his tools out. :)

Dad working hard.

And the boys follow right in his footsteps. Ben should be proud!
The boys are always wanting Ben to make them something. It's usually a wooden sword, or a guitar, or a rabbit cage. The list goes on and on.

Caleb helping Devin sand down his sword.

Devin working on it himself.

You have to use tools to cut up junk to throw in the dumpster.
Isn't that what you do?

Manly tools = lots of sparks

There is always some kind of rough housing. It's all meant to be fun and games...but there are those times when it gets a little too rough. Well, to be honest, it usually always gets to rough and someone ends up getting hurt or crying. Some phrases you will always hear me say are:

"Boys, it's getting too rough." or

"Settle down boys!" or

"You know that every time you don't listen to me, someone always gets hurt!"

Carson and Caleb sword fighting.

Sometimes, a few of us take naps. And it's usually not me. :) Although I can dream, right? Ahh! The silence!

Sweet Daisy sleeping away.

And then we can't forget to eat some more! Did I mention that we go through a lot of food? Well, we do and I don't think it will slow down any time soon. :)

Caleb eating some more.

Watch out El Paso!

2011-04-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

The Richardson's are heading to El Paso in June! Ben was accepted into the OB/GYN residency program in El Paso. We are excited for our next adventure, but sad that we are leaving our friends and family in QC. Ben received the email telling us where he matched on St. Patrick's Day (note the green outfits). We were all excited! He actually got his first choice! We are so proud of Ben and all his hard work!

Daisy's Blessing

2011-04-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

On March 6th, Ben had the opportunity to give Daisy a name and a blessing. So many of our friends and family were there. Ben gave a beautiful blessing. It was such a great day. After church we had a lunch for our families. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. Thanks to all who came to show their love and support. We love you all!

Our family before Church.

Beautiful Daisy

I made her blessing dress, and finished it the night before (thank goodness!).

Pinewood Derby

2011-03-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Devin, Ashton, Calvin, Caleb and Carson

Caleb, Carson and Calvin all participated in the Pinewood Derby in January. They all worked really hard on their cars. They came up with the designs, helped cut them, sanded them and then painted them. All of the cars did really well. Caleb's car won 3rd Place! Ashton and Devin made cars as well and they had "Richardson Races" after the scouts finished their races. They all had a great time!

Moments like this...

2011-03-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Daisy - one week old

I love watching a baby sleep. Little Daisy is no different. She is perfection and beauty all rolled into one. Don't you just love newborns?

Daisy's Hospital Pictures

2011-03-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

Here are few pictures from the hospital. We had such a great experience at Banner Gateway! Everyone was terrific there! I was induced on January 14. It's a good thing that I was able to get induced because a few days after I had Daisy, Ben had to fly to Texas for Residency Interviews, but that's a whole other story.

Now for the condensed version of Daisy's birth:

I went in to be induced the evening of January 14. Everything was progressing the way it should. Dr. Huish (who is great!) came in to check on me at about 11:00pm. I think that I was only at a 4! Not encouraging for me. Well, he broke my water and that's when the contractions came! Dr. Huish stayed in the room and visited with us. He knew that I would go fast and didn't want to risk it I guess. Everything did go fast and when he checked me about 40 minutes later I was at an 8, and he said that on the next contraction, I could push! (Just another reason why he ranks so high on my list!) I pushed during that one contraction and she was born! She was born at 11:49pm. It couldn't have gone more perfect! After I had her, Ben came over to me and asked how he did. I looked at him and said, "What do you mean how you did, I was the one having the baby." :) Then he goes on to explain that he delivered Daisy. I honestly had no idea! I told him that I wasn't paying attention to who was catching, I was focused on other things. :)

Just the month before, Ben did an OB/GYN rotation with Dr. Huish. It was kind of weird going in for a check up and having Ben do it all. Ben did a great job and we all had a good experience with the Labor and Delivery. I always enjoy my stay in the hospital so I can bond with our new little baby. Thanks to all our family who watched our kids so that Ben could stay in the hospital with me. It was nice to have someone bring meals to me and clean up after me. I knew I had to enjoy it while I could because the day after I got home from the hospital, Ben left for Texas for a few days. That really forced me back into life. And to top it off, when he returned home from Texas, he had a severe case of strep throat! It was a challenge taking care of all the kids and a sick husband, but thankfully he got better and no one else got strep throat!

We love Daisy! The boys are all so helpful and so is Lacey. She is the one that brings me the diapers and wipes and puts them away when I'm done with them. The boys take turns holding her when I have to get things done. And they do a great job getting her to calm down when she's crying. She's the perfect addition to our family!

Mom and Daisy right after delivery.

Dad and Daisy

Look at that hair!

Ashton holding Daisy.

Devin holding Daisy

Calvin holding Daisy

Dad with his girls

Grandpa Reed holding Daisy

Caleb holding Daisy

What if...?

2011-03-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

This is what I overheard Ashton and Devin saying to each other while I was folding clothes:

Devin: Ashton, what if I died?

Ashton: Then I would be really sad.

Devin: Yea, and then there wouldn't be Mr. D anymore. (I made them capes with their first initial on it and they call themselves Mr. A and Mr. D.)

Ashton: That would be sad. If that did happen, then I would hang your cape on the wall in our room and I would look at it and remember you and then I would cry.

Devin: Yea, that would be sad.

Then they started talking about watching The Monkees on YouTube. Wow! Sometimes their little conversations turn out to be all grown up. I'm so glad that they are such good friends. We moved rooms around a few weeks ago and now Ashton and Devin share a room by themselves. Sure they have their moments and may argue and fight. But it's the sweetest thing when they get along.

Daisy May Richardson

2011-01-24T11:18:00.001-07:00

Announcing the newest member of our family...

Daisy May Richardson

born: January 14, 2011

11:49pm

Weight: 7 lbs. 3 ounces

Length: 21 inches

She is beautiful and a wonderful baby. All the kids just love her and are big helpers!

Here are a few pictures...

Upgraded?

2011-01-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Out with the old, in with the new. Now these aren't the best pictures, but they do the job. Since we are expecting a new baby any day now, we had to upgrade are vehicle. Our Yukon XL didn't have any more seats left for our new little baby, so we have looked for months at big vans. It was just so much more practical and we felt that's what we needed to do. (I never thought that at age 30 I would be driving one of these.) The boys were all so excited and love it!

We are now the proud owners of a 2008 Chevy Express. It is a 1 ton, 15 passenger van. Crazy! But I'll tell you that this "Great White Shark" can get up and go! It has way more power than our Yukon! The boys even go and play in it after school. They call it their fort. :) Caleb and Carson love to vacuum it and wash it. They are really good at keeping it clean. (They had lots of practice with the Yukon as well.) So there you have it!

Goodbye Yukon Cornelius

Hello...we are still trying to come up with an appropriate name.

Merry Christmas!!

2011-01-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this past year! Every year the kids open one present on Christmas Eve. They love wearing their new pajamas to bed. On Christmas Eve's Eve we went to Grandma and Grandpa Richardson's and had our traditional Red Chili Burros that we all love so much. Then on Christmas Eve, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Reed's house and the boys loved listening to Grandpa's stories. On Christmas Day we visited lots of family. We stopped by Grandpa and Grandma Reed's, Great-Grandma and Grandpa Bear's, Grandma and Grandpa Richardson's and then visited Great-Grandma Stanford in the hospital. We loved it, but we were definitely exhausted!

Run, Caleb, Run!

2011-01-10T06:08:00.000-07:00

The Middle School took the best runners from every class and had a big race, called the Candy Cane Race. Caleb was chosen to run against the 5th grade boys. He did really good! Carson and Caleb would go running around our neighborhood to train for it. Carson never got a chance to qualify because he was sick that day. But we all cheered hard as Caleb ran the last stretch to the finish line! I can't remember how long the race was, I think it was a mile or so.

Kids and Santa

2011-01-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

We went to the Extended Richardson Christmas Party. They hold it every year and have a nice little Nativity Program, lots of singing, treats and then Santa comes. We always have a lot of fun! Here are a few pictures of the kids...they all loved it, except Lacey. (She stills gets scared when we mention Santa's name. )

Ashton

Devin

Calvin

Caleb

Lacey

Carson

Gilbert Temple Groundbreaking

2010-12-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

On November 13, we attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gilbert Arizona Temple. It was such a neat moment to participate in. We made sure to get there extra early to get a good seat. I'll be honest with you, it wasn't easy with all 6 kids to get there an hour early without Ben, but I really felt like it would be worth it and something that they would always remember.

After the meeting, they let everyone who wanted to use the golden shovels and dig part of the ground for the official ground breaking. Each of the kids were able to dig for a little bit. (It was hard to get any good pictures of the kids digging because there were so many people.)

Every so often we drive past the future site of the Temple just to see how they are progressing with the building. The boys always get so excited to see how far they are coming, and I get a little excited as well. :)

All Grown Up-19 months

2010-12-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Ashton's Birthday

2010-12-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ashton's 7th Birthday in November. He was so excited! He wanted some army guys like Devin got for his birthday. So now we have lots of army guys floating around our house and car, they have even showed up at church in pockets!

He wanted a cake that had a letter A. It stands for Super A. (A super hero that he created himself. He even has a cape that has an A on it as well.)

Ashton is such a sweet boy and loves working with his Dad out in the garage (aka: the shop). We are so glad that he is a part of our family.

All the kids watching the present opening.

Ashton is so excited to get the army guys!

The "A" cake.

Ashton blowing out the candles.

Halloween

2010-12-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

We had a great time dressing up for Halloween! Every year we go over to the Richardson's house and have dinner and the kids go to booths that each family is in charge of. The next night we went to our Ward's Chili Festival for a Trunk or Treat. We love going to parties!

Ashton - The Rodeo Clown

Caleb - The Punk Rocker

Calvin - The Crazy Nerd

Devin - Mr. Incredible (with no shoes)

Carson - The Doctor

Lacey - The Little Ladybug

Wolves and Webelos

2010-12-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of awards the last pack night! Calvin received his Wolf award and had to be like a wolf and did through the "snow" (whipped cream) to find it. Both Caleb and Carson received their Webelos Award. They had to put "fangs" in their mouth and say "We'll Be Loyal Scouts" five times fast! Everyone was laughing and having a good time.

Calvin digging in the snow.

He finally found his award.

Carson and Caleb getting ready for their challenge.

Caleb says it first.

Now it's Carson's turn.

1st Quarter Awards

2010-11-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

The boys all ended their 1st Quarter with a bang! I had a very busy morning attending Awards Assemblies. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were all at the same school, but that didn't happen. And not only that, but they were at the same time at different schools!

So I started with Ashton. He didn't know it, but he received P.E. Student of the Quarter for the 1st Grade. Every quarter, their Coach picks one boy and one girl from each grade and they become the P.E. Student of the Quarter. He was so surprised! He said that his legs were shaking so bad standing up there! Now everyone of the boys have received that award and Coach even brought that up announcing it.

Ashton-P.E. Student of the Quarter for the 1st Grade

A very excited Ashton!

Right after Ashton received his award, I rushed off to Caleb and Carson's school. Luckily, I made it just in time and their classes were next! They started off with Student of the Month. It was such a surprise to both Caleb and I when Mr. Trujillo announced that he was the Student of the Month for his class. I was sitting way up in the stands, so the pictures didn't turn out so good. Mr. Trujillo said the nicest things about Caleb.

Mr. Trujillo's Student of the Month-Caleb

The reason I went to their school was because both Caleb and Carson were on the Principal's List. That means that they both received a 4.0! We were so proud of all their hard work!

Carson - a 4.0 student!


Caleb - a 4.0 student!

I after their awards, I rushed back to the elementary school hoping to make it in time for Calvin's award. (I don't know how I could have planned it better, but I made it with a few minutes to spare! I was really worried I would miss his. Devin and Lacey were quite the troopers! They did so good!) Calvin made the Principal's List as well. Another 4.0 GPA!

Calvin - a 4.0 student!

As you can imagine, we are so proud of all our boys! They worked so hard! We celebrated by having Quiznos subs and some pizza and watching a movie!

Happy Birthday Devin!

2010-11-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Devin and I both had a birthday in September. We were surprised by Caleb, who played us a "Happy Birthday" song. Devin had fun opening all his presents and blow out the candles on his cake. He wanted a Batman cake so, that's what he got! I can't believe that he is 5 now! He's such a little man and we love him!

Caleb playing "Happy Birthday"

Ashton helping Devin

Lacey started eating Devin's treats. Her favorite was the Kit Kat bar.

Devin's favorite present was the "Guys".

The famous Batman cake.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Richardson

2010-11-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

We love visiting Great-Grandma and Grandpa Richardson! Whenever we visit, we always bring our instruments and play music together. Our favorite part is when Grandpa gets his accordion out and plays a few songs. I love playing "Faded Love" with him. Ben plays the guitar and I play the fiddle. Here are a few pictures from our last visit. Grandma just sits there and smiles at everyone. We love them!

Great-Grandpa playing his accordion.

Great-Grandma, Mom and Lacey (she's being just a tad shy).

Devin-looking mischievious for some reason

Mom just about to play another song. The next song we want to learn for them is "Over the Waves". It's a song that Great-Great Grandma and Grandpa Richardson used to dance to. Great-Grandpa plays it so beautiful on the accordion.

Carson and Devin

Dad, Lacey, Great-Grandma and Grandpa

Ashton, Devin, Calvin, Dad, Lacey, Carson, Caleb and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Richardson

The Richardson Campout

2010-11-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend we had a Richardson campout. It was so much fun and so beautiful! It was perfect during the day and we loved the fire at night. Good food plus good company equals a great time! We look forward to doing it again!

The whole Family (Expect Bethany and Flint's Family)

Lacey and Dad-She has him wrapped around her finger.


Uncle Jared and Kimber with Devin, Dad and Lacey. They took a little walk on top of Greens Peak.

Calvin, Addie, Ashton, Carson and Kennedy with Caleb and the photographer.

Ashton

Photography by Caleb

Uncle John's home!

2010-11-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

My brother, John, returned home from his mission in August. Here are a few of the pictures from the airport. We are all glad that he returned home safely! He served in the Mexico City East Mission.

Grandma was the first to meet John. Grandpa was waiting his turn.

All his nieces and nephews waited holding the Welcome Home signs. Lacey and Weston had help from their Dads.

Grandpa and John

Uncle John talking to every child one by one.

All the kids stood in a line and waited to Uncle John. They were testing him to see if he remembered their names.

Everyone who came to see Uncle John. Great-Grandma and Grandpa Bear came along with some cousins and a few of John's friends.

Starting School

2010-10-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

The boys all started school in July. Here are a few pictures of their first day of school. They were all very excited!

Ashton - 1st Grade and Calvin - 3rd Grade

Carson and Caleb - 5th Grade

Dinner was Good!

2010-10-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

Lacey is a great eater! Well, this day, she ate everything up and went to sleep. The boys thought it was too funny that they had to take a bunch of pictures! She still had the spoon in her hand!

The Bear Reunion

2010-10-16T22:36:00.001-07:00

In July, we went to the Bear Reunion in Lakeside. Every year we always look forward to going. There are so many fun things to do. The kids love spending time on the lake going on canoe and boat rides. And Grandpa made a little beach for the kids to play in. The smaller kids love the sandbox and spend hours making castles. Sand volleyball is a favorite for the teenagers and adults. We have volleyball tournaments and ping pong tournaments. (You know you're good at ping pong if you can beat Grandma! I don't even try!) There is always yummy food and great company!

The neatest program was planned one evening. Grandma had shirts made to go along with the theme: The Title of Liberty. All of the children and men dressed up in costumes and acted out the events surrounding the Title of Liberty in the Book of Mormon. It was a really neat program! Grandpa stood up and spoke as well as the Uncles. The primary kids then sang a song. Here are a few pictures...

This is our family: The Reeds.

Uncle James (my brother) holding the Title of Liberty.

Here is the banner that was posted under the ramada the whole weekend.

Here is Uncle Wes (my brother-in-law) holding the Bear Title of Liberty and we all signed it.

All the men supporting it.

Then we added the children.

Grandpa spoke for a few minutes.

Grandma and Grandpa Bear: We love them!

Here are a few of the kids singing their song.

More of the kids: my kids, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Here is a swing that Grandpa put together. The kids and adults love it. You spin it around tight and then let go. The little kids really went flying. I had to get a picture of the adults on it too!

Camping with Lacey

2010-10-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

This past summer, we went camping several times, mostly for different reunions. We all love being outside, especially Lacey! Here are a few pictures of her waiting for some snacks. I can't believe that she is 18 months old already! She is full of spunk and laughter and definitely a daddy's girl!
And you know that Ben just loves that!

Highchair Makeover

2010-10-07T23:32:00.000-07:00

I bought this highchair at a yard sale for $2 or $3, I can't remember for sure. The wood matched perfectly with our table and chairs and I had in mind to give it a little makeover.

Here is the before:

Kind of gross looking!

Here is the after:

Lacey loves it! There is a tray that goes on it and she will sit in that chair for a good 30 minutes or so while I'm making dinner and then continue to stay there while we eat. It has been one of the best purchases! Red is one of my favorite colors and it goes perfectly with my kitchen!

Jared's Graduation

2010-10-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

My youngest brother, Jared, graduated from high school in May. It was a pretty long graduation. Especially when you are trying to entertain so many young ones! Here are just a few pictures of the night...

Bobcat!

2010-09-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

Calvin received his Bobcat a few months ago. He was so excited to get his award and now he is even more excited to get started on all his other achievements!

Kindergarten Graduation

2010-09-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

Ashton graduated from Kindergarten! He had the best year! Mrs. Adolph was a great teacher and did a fantastic job! She always commented that he was well-behaved and had great manners. He would always complete his math papers so fast! I call him my mental math boy. We are so proud of him!

The Peg Board

2010-09-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Caleb and Carson recently "graduated" from their elementary school and moved on to Middle School. Before the end of the year, all the students in their grade were challenged to climb the peg board to the top. A hard challenge, I know! Only five students from the whole school did it! Caleb and Carson being two of them! What an accomplishment! We are so proud of them!

Calvin's Birthday

2010-09-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

Calvin turned 8 in May. I know that I'm a little behind in posting, but that's life I guess.

All Calvin wanted for his birthday was a pair of boots. He was so excited when he opened them. He loves wearing his boots, almost every day!

When I asked him what he wanted for a cake, he decided that he wanted lemon truffles. He heard me talk about them before and they are fun and easy to make. Calvin wanted to help make them, so we made a lemon cake, baked it and then crumbled into the mixer and mixed it up with the frosting. We rolled them into balls, froze them and then dipped them into white chocolate. It was a little time consuming, but we had fun!

We love Calvin! He is very talented! Loves to play the piano and recently started on the viola (upon his request). He collects many things and loves to draw! He is a great son and brother!

Fun weekend

2010-08-30T23:25:00.001-07:00

Lacey-13 months

I'm trying to catch up on all of my pictures.

This is one that I found of Lacey when all the boys went on a Fathers and Sons Outing. So it was just Lacey and I. We went to my Grandma Bears house with all of my Aunts and cousins that could go. We had dinner, went to a movie, had a slumber party, made quilts, painted toenails and fingernails, went on a little hike, ate yummy food and went swimming. We all had a lot of fun! The boys had fun too.

This all happened our Anniversary. Can you believe that it's been 11 years!? Crazy! We've enjoyed everyday, with many more to come.

Lucky

2010-08-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

There are those days that you just feel lucky and then there are those days that you are lucky! I just had one of those lucky days!

I just won $50 worth of product from Banner Boutique. I entered a contest here and I won! Yea!

So go and check out http://2momstalk.blogspot.com/ They are always having fun giveaways! They are from the makers of Cutest Blog on the Block. They are super nice ladies that live in my neighborhood!

Motherhood

2010-08-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

I love being a mother. I know how hard it can be at times, but it's all those "other times" that make it so rewarding. Here are a few of my favorite times...

I love how my boys give me a hug as they walk out the door and tell me that they love me as they go to school.

I love how they get excited as I read to them at night.

I love how they jump up and down when I unintentionally make their favorite meal.

I love listening to them practice their piano, violin and cello.

I love listening to them play nicely together.

I love how they help each other when they know that someone needs help.

I love having movie night with them and that they actually want me to stay and watch it with them.

I love listening to them tell me of their latest accomplishment.

I love rocking my babies to sleep.

I love it when they wake up smiling and happy to see me.

I love teaching them something new and seeing that light sparkle in their eyes when they realize that they understand it.

I love how much they love their dad and how much they miss him when he gone.

I love listening to them talk about when they get older and the goals they want to accomplish.

I love it when they get their chores done without me asking.

I love watching them grow each day, even though at times I want the time to stand still.

I love it when they want to mow the neighbors yard just because they see that it needs to be done and they don't expect anything in return.

I love walking into their rooms early in the morning or late at night and seeing them kneel by their bedside saying their prayers or reading their scriptures.

I love watching them sleep when the long day is done and they look so content and angelic.

I know that the list can go on and on, but it is the simple things everyday that may go unnoticed that makes me happy that I am a mother.

Gila River

2010-08-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, after we went to the Gila Valley Temple Open House. We stopped by Uncle James and Aunt Larissa's (my brother) house in Safford. They have a really nice place and it is close to the River. So we drove down to it. There is something neat that boys find with rocks, sticks, frogs and water. All the boys, including the grown ups ones loved throwing rocks and sticks and catching frogs. James even threw his dog, Dally, in! Larissa and I just stood back and laughed at how much fun they were all having. We don't need much to keep these kiddos occupied!

Calvin searched and searched for that frog!

Carson and Caleb loved having contests to see who could skip the rocks the furthest.

Calvin finally caught that poor frog!

Lovin the rocks and water!

Apparently, Devin dressed himself, but he still looks cute!

I don't know if James had more fun or all the boys...

The Gila Valley Temple

2010-08-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

We took a quick trip and went to the Gila Valley Temple Open House. The boys all loved it! It is definitely a beautiful temple! Here are a few pictures we took. We took more of the boys, but they didn't turn out very good. I think they were trying to fly or something in the pictures! Boys will be boys...

Calvin-all grown up

2010-07-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Calvin was recently baptized. Here are a few pictures taken before the big day. I can't believe how big he is. He is such a good boy and so helpful. Everyone loves Calvin!

Our Miracle

2010-05-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

I truly believe that miracles happen everyday. Sometimes they are little and sometimes they are earth moving. The other day I witnessed a miracle! It was one of my busy Mondays. I did about 10 loads of laundry and cleaned the house and a bunch of other stuff. I was busy! The boys were going to be getting off the bus in a few minutes and I was getting ready to pick them up at the bus stop. I only pick them up on Mondays because right after school they have piano lessons at my Mom's house. Anyways, Devin and Lacey walked outside to get in the car. I was right behind them with the piano books. Devin climbed into the car and didn't know Lacey was following him. The door shut right before she could climb in. I heard her scream and I went running. Her poor little hand was shut halfway in the door and the door was shut all the way! I ran and opened the door. I swear I thought that she broke every bone in her little hand. It makes me sick just thinking about it. Her hand was literally bent in half! I ran into the house and held her as I sat on the stairs. I prayed hard to know what to do. Devin came in the house and when he saw her hand, he looked like he would throw up! He was heart broken. He wanted to help do something, so I asked him what he thought he should do. He said that he wanted to say a prayer for her. We knelt down at the bottom of the stairs. It was the most touching thing. I held Lacey, who was still crying, while Devin said the sweetest, most simple prayer. He asked that her hand would feel better and that she would be OK. He said this little prayer through tears and sobs of his own. After he said "Amen" is when the miracle happened. Immediately after the prayer, Lacey stopped crying and I literally watched her hand go back to normal. It was amazing! There was only a small bruise line across her hand. I couldn't believe it! We offered a prayer of thanks and went on our way. Lacey used her hand as if nothing ever happened! It was truly a miracle! I know that our Heavenly Father watches over us constantly and is aware of everything we need. I am so thankful for a quick answer to our prayers.

Happy Mother's Day Briana!

2010-05-09T06:32:00.004-07:00

Thank you for all you do for us...We love you!

Ben, Caleb, Carson, Calvin, Ashton, Devin, & Lacey

Lehi Days Rodeo

2010-04-12T08:35:00.001-07:00

The beginning of March we went to the Lehi Day's Rodeo. Some of my brothers and sisters went along with their kids. So we did an impromptu shot of the cousins. We are missing a few of them, but it was fun. The kids did the greased pig race and chicken catch. And Colton actually caught a little chick! My brothers, James and Jared did the grocery race and that was fun to watch! We were definitely exhausted by the end of the day!

Hiking at Pickett Post

2010-04-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

Back in February we took a day trip to a few places. The first place we went to I didn't get any pictures of, but it is an amazing cemetery near Florence. There is a little ghost town named Adamsville. The cemetry there is so old! The gravestones date back to the Civil War era. We may be a weird family, but we love walking around cemeteries. There are so many untold stories that it fasinates us. And there is always such a peaceful feeling there. Anyway, this cemetry is not maintained by anyone, with one exception. There was a lady there that comes down and works for 4 to 6 hours a day cleaning and trimming trees and putting flowers on the gravestones. We were able to talk with her and she said she has been doing this for about a year! What a sweet, giving lady!

After the Adamsville cemetry, we drove to Pickett Post, just outside of Superior and went on a hike and had a campfire. We had such a fun day, and just about wore ourselves out! Here are a few pictures of the hike...

Happy 70th Anniversary!!!

2010-03-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last month, Ben's Grandparents celebrated their 70th Anniversary! We had a huge lunch with all his Aunts and Uncles and cousins. It's always a lot of fun getting together! Grandma and Grandpa Richardson are amazing! Grandma is always smiling and happy. Grandpa has such a gift that he can make you feel as if you are the most important person in the world. We love them so much!

Here are Grandma and Grandpa with their kids. (Ben's dad is in the blue shirt.)

Preschool-Sight Lesson

2010-03-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

Devin loves going to preschool! Here are a few pictures of his "Sight Lesson". I thought the whole "eye" thing was really clever. He was so excited to show all his brothers when they got home!

The Natural Bridge

2010-03-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Back in January all the boys and Ben had the day off from school so we decided to take a last minute trip to the Natural Bridge just outside of Payson. It is going to be closed here soon due to budget cuts so we decided we better go quickly and enjoy it while we can. It was beautiful and wasn't very crowded, probably because it was raining. But we loved it! Pictures don't do it justice! After we hiked down to the bottom and across all the rocks (which was a challenge while holding Lacey because the rain made it slippery) we decided to find some snow. So we drove to Pine and caught the beginning of a snow storm. It wasn't a lot of snow, but it was fun! After a short while, they all decided it was cold and wanted back in the car. We are definitely used to the heat! On our way back home we stopped in Payson and ate at Denny's! Then we headed over to Ben's parent's house for Family Home Evening around the bonfire!

Our snowball fight and Calvin's snowman. He worked so hard on that little guy!

Cute Lacey

2010-03-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

I was just talking to Brooke and she pointed out that I haven't posted anything for awhile, so here some pictures of Lacey way back in December. She is 8 months old in these pictures. She will be 1 in April!

Christmas Day!!!

2010-02-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

Now that Christmas has come and gone...I better post some pictures! :)

We had a wonderful Christmas! Every year we give the boys (and Lacey now) pajamas on Christmas Eve. I usually make them, but sometimes things just don't work out, so you go with plan B which is to buy them. :) Every year all the kids sleep in the same room on Christmas Eve. The rule is: you are not allowed to wake up anyone Christmas morning. I don't know if any one followed that rule or not, but we try. We all have to eat breakfast before any one can leave the room (unless it's a bathroom break of course). We eat homemade cinnamon rolls, navel oranges, and deviled eggs. We all look forward to that! Then we all go to the front room together and Ben hands out the presents to everyone one at a time. All day we keep busy visiting family. This year we talked to 2 missionaries: my brother, John, and Ben's brother, Jordan. Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year. I love everything about it, the christmas lights, songs, treats, but most especially the feelings of peace and celebration of our Savior's birth. What a wonderful time of year!

Christmas Eve Animal Attack!!!

2010-02-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I've heard of people being "heart attacked", but never "animal attacked"! Christmas Eve we heard a knock on our door and when we opened it up we saw that we had stuffed animals everywhere in our front lawn, on our cars, and even one on our roof! Our good friends surprised us with goodies and animals. They boys LOVED it! They kept saying how this was the best Christmas ever! Even though Christmas didn't officially begin yet! What a fun idea! Thank you for making such a fun night for us!!!

Nativity with the Bears

2010-02-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

I know that I am really late on posting this, but that is how life has been for me lately.

Every year, all the Bear's get together before Christmas and act out the Nativity. Aunt Betty made some wonderful costumes and the kids did great! Caleb was Joseph, Carson was a shepherd, Calvin, Ashton, and Devin were angels. The rest of the pictures are of my cousins and my neices and nephews.

Temple Lights

2010-02-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

During the Holildays we always like walking around the Temple lights. Here are a few of the pictures. Ben came straight from his OB rotation. I think he was on call that night so he had to be ready go deliver a baby. And then there's one of Carson. Before we went to the see the lights we stopped by Great-Grandma and Grandpa Richardson's house and had a little visit with them. Then we ate at Pete's. We love that place! It was a fun night!

Puppies for Sale

2010-02-02T10:47:00.004-07:00

My parents have 4 more puppies for sale. They are the cutest little things! Let me know if your interested.

Click on the link for more pictures!

http://reedsranch.blogspot.com/2010/02/puppies-for-sale.html

Gorilla! Gorilla!

2010-01-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

After our Thanksgiving meal at the Reeds we all got together and played Gorilla, Gorilla! What a blast! The boys were begging us to teach them how to play this game for weeks after Grandpa Reed was telling us about some of the games that he use to play as a kid. So we told them that when everyone came down for Thanksgiving we would play! These are not the most flattering pictures of anyone, but we sure had alot of fun! If anyone doens't know how to play, let us know and we would be so happy to teach you! ;)

Caleb-Student of the Month

2010-01-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Caleb was Mrs. Salitore's Student of the Month! He was so excited and he actually had no idea!

This is what she said about him:

"This month I have chosen a truly deserving young man. He has many impressive qualities that I admire in people. Caleb is a self-driven person, which is a rare find. He knows what he wants to accomplish and does all he can to meet his goals. He wants to be a doctor and knows what it takes to get there. He works hard, is dedicated to his studies, does all his homework, helps out in the classroom at recess, participates in class, he meets his AR goal, and he helps out with Student Council fundraisers and activities. He is not technically a member, but I consider him one. He is extremely polite and soft-spoken and he has many friends. Caleb has what it takes to succeed in life and I am glad to have had the chance to get to know him. I look forward to seeing what else he will accomplish this year and throughout his life."

Happy Birthday to Ashton!!!

2009-12-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ashton's birthday on November 7th. I know that his birthday hat says the 6th, but that is the one that the school gave him. The Miner Family was visiting that weekend, so we had a little party. Ashton loved every minute of it! He is now 6 years old!

We absolutely love Ashton! Some of his favorite things to do are:

1. Spend time working with his Dad. Ashton loves to work in the garage building things with Ben.

Even if Ben is cleaning and organizing, Ashton is right there.

2. He loves doing math in school. Especially his "mental math".

3. He loves us to read his scriptures to him every night and he will remind us if we forget.

4. He loves to practice his drums that Uncle John is letting us borrow while he is on his mission.

5. He loves to eat eggs every morning!

6. He is a great student! His teacher told me how thankful she is for Ashton because one of the kids that gives her trouble is now being great all because Ashton talked to him. Ashton just told him to do his work and pay attention. The influence of others...:)

7. He loves to run around and play with his brothers.

8. He is great at holding and taking care of Lacey.

9. He gives the best hugs and always makes sure I get a hug and a kiss on the cheek before he goes to school.

10. Ashton is thoughtful, silly, full of energy, loving, caring, good at building, fun to be around and a great kid! We love you Ashton!

Catch Up-Halloween

2009-12-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our Halloween Costumes:

Me-I was a punk rocker. I had fake Eyelashes on and boy were they heavy!

I just wanted to close my eyes and fall asleep!

Caleb-a rodeo clown, and a good one at that!

Carson-a circus clown. Another night he dressed up as a doctor.

Calvin-a dragon

Ashton-a ninja of some sort. Another night he dressed up as a mad scientist.

Devin-a nice shark.

Lacey-a pixie fairy. So cute!

Ben-he was a rocker with a mohawk, but there are no pictures. So sad...