Never a dull moment!

Life with 6 kids has it's moments of joy and of insanity! Last week a friend and I went out together. Between us we had 6 kids under the age of 5, that could be enough to make a person laugh right there. After our outing we returned to my friends house and I helped get her kids into her car so they could run to Sonic (happy hour), then I had to start picking up kids from school. As I was buckling the last little boy in his car seat my suburban took off like a shot, right THROUGH my friends garage! And yes, the door was down.
It has taken a week for me to be able to write about this. I have been so upset and grateful at the same time (that no one was hurt). It seems P told M to drive the car, and she did. She pushed the break, pulled the gear into drive and STOOD on the gas. The car stopped after smashing through the garage door and pushing everything in it into a pile. I had to climb through the back to get in and shut off the engine.
M was on the floor board of the drivers seat scared to death. P had a look of "what just happened" and the 6 month old baby I keep during the day was asleep in his car seat. A million things were running through my head of what could have happened. I know there were guardian angles with the kids that day. That night as I tucked M in bed I told her how glad I was that she was not hurt and that I never want her to get in the drivers seat again. She looked at me with sweet, sad little eyes and said "I know, I should have just honked the horn".
After taking the car to the insurance adjustor and finding that they consider our suburban totalled, we now have a 12 passenger van, aka "the party bus".

Hello 2010

I don't think I have welcomed a New Year as much as this one. This past year was kind to me but for so many I know it was not. I pray that begining a new decade will be a fresh start. I have a new appreciation for the simple things in life and a desire to seek out those in need. I have many wonderful examples in my life and hope I can be more like them. I wish everyone a blessed new year.

Oregon to North Carolina

I joined my mother in law, sister in laws and 5 nieces in Portland, OR, for a fun shopping weekend. My brother John and his wife Emily live there so as an added treat I stayed a few extra days to have some time with them too. What a beautiful place. Portland reminded me of so many places I have been all put together. I also enjoyed my first trip to the Pacific ocean with John and Emily.

The whole Simmons Family enjoyed our annual trip to NC, for a tradition my granddad started when he was living, a Pig Pickn'. A hog is roasted on a huge grill and we fish, target shoot, visit with family and friends. No tv, no cell service, just fun, a true escape!!!!

Another FIRST

First day of school for the kiddios. MJ and P were disappointed that they were not going with the big kids. One more year for them. T and B are at the middle school together this year so both have a dress code to follow. T was impressed that B could clean up so well. :) With only 1 to 3 friends in the girls classes they will be making new friends this year. Yeah! I always loved new friends, I hope they will too. We have a new start time for school this year. Only 15 minutes earlier but that 15 min. can make quite a difference. So far so good.

Crawfish Delight

Today the boys took Uncle James to the creek behind our house. The boys have found many forms of wild life there and this time Braden brought home a few . As you can tell, he didn't keep them for pets, but instead had them for lunch. :) He cooked up these little delicacies with some help from Uncle James who has lived in New Orleans and is familiar with crawdads. Braden said they were quite tasty and that he could live on them. Yeah, one less mouth to feed.

Steve and I went to New Orleans last week for my brother Charlie and his new bride Lindsey's wedding. We had such a fantastic time. We decided to leave to children home with Steve's nephew and his wife. Good call! One walk down Bourbon St. and we knew we had made the right choice. :) Steve and I had initially thought we would go to bed early and/or sleep in late. Ha-ha! We found we still have a bit of youth left in us. Our days were filed with site seeing, eating, visiting with family and friends that had traveled from near and far, swimming, did I mention eating? And yes, we did make it to the wedding, which was wonderful. I am so happy for my brothers to have such great wives. Now lets get on with giving me some little nieces and nephews! LOL

This week B, L and G went to basketball camp. They had a great time. Each day the girls would demonstrate their new moves. B just went "to have fun not learn anything new". LOL I think everyone enjoyed the concession too. It was great to have three kids going to the same place at the same time. And nice to have a few hours to catch up on a little housework that has been ignored for the past couple weeks.

Hello Again

I am such a slacker! I have really neglected my blog. We have been super busy this summer, enjoying many activities. This week will be a bit quiet due to Tanner being at scout camp and the next three attending a basketball day camp. My "things to do" list is very long, we'll see how realistic it is come Friday.

Here are some highlights of the past few months:

TANNER -a county champ title for his JR High basketball team -braces -as tall as me (5'9")

BRADEN - A broken finger (result of fighting over the TV remote)
-Rock fishing
-taller than Granny

GRACIE

-piano lessons

-fastpitch softball

-birthday at Holiday World

LANE

-always smiling
-developed a love for books(thanks Mrs. Jefferson)
-only girl on the Allstar team

MERI JEAN

-loves to go with her dad

-sassy

-youngest on her baseball team

PAIGE

-always helping

-3rd trip to the ER

-nicknamed "the hazer"

Confessions and Random Thoughts

So I've found Facebook. It has been so much fun finding friends from younger years and long distance friends that I am not good about writing. I am so glad I live in this techno world.

We celebrated the last family b'days for a while and I am looking forward to recovering.

5 b-days, x-mas and an anniversary has done a bit of damage to the pocket book.

Steve and Tanner were able to go help storm victims in KY this weekend. I am so glad our church gives us the opportunity to do so, pics coming soon.

Steve leaves this Friday for Germany. This time I will be much better prepared. A few meals cooked and in the freezer, cleared my calendar of any extra activities, and have had the TALK with the kids about helping out. Anytime Steve has left for more than a week I really seen to fall apart. I guess one week is my max. I don't know how women do it with hubbys that travel all the time. I really like having mine home! We all have different strengths, and raising a family by myself is not one of mine.

We have moved from basketball (Tanner's Jr.High team took 1st place in the county tourney), right into baseball. Tanner has his first jamboree in two weeks. Gracie is trying girls softball this year, Lane and MJ will be on the same baseball team. I can't wait to see them all play. Paige and Braden are just hanging out and supporting the concession stands this year. ;)

I decided not to continue with teaching pre-school after the holidays and I don't regret it one bit. I have a since of freedom now. The weather has given us glimpses of spring and I am ready to be outside again. The other day Paige was convinced that it was warm enough to wear her bathing suit outside. After a bit of arguing she did change. A friend said I should have let her go out in it and that she would have changed her mind pretty quickly, would have saved me some hassle. I am so glad I have smart mom friends!

Going Private

The Simmons family is going private. If you would like to be able to access our blog please leave your email as a comment.

Snow much fun!

Our trip to Idaho was complete with family, friends, hunting, shopping and SNOW! We had a blast. I believe the bird count from hunting was in the 50's by the end of the two weeks. We won't mention how much $ was spent, since we waited to do all our Christmas shopping there, and how many hours of sleep were lost but it was all worth it. I can't imagine celebrating the holidays without family, we are so blessed.
I hope this new year is one filled with happiness and blessings for everyone.

All the things I am thankful for and more

We have had a wonderful Thanksgiving even though we were missing many of our family members. None of my brothers were able to make it home this year and it wasn't the same without them. We had more food than usual, (something not right there), but less people. More leftovers for us. YEAH!

T and B have been keeping our fridge stocked with deer meat. They both got a doe this past week. The girls have helped me prepare most of the food for our Thanksgiving feast. This is the first year in 13 years that I haven't had a baby or toddler to tend to during the holidays. How nice it is to be able to enjoy the festivities without the responsibility that comes with the sweet little ones. =)

Black Friday was taken to new heights this year and so were the crowds. I made it through with great success and can now sit back and enjoy the season. Actually, I can enjoy the 3 birthdays we have to celebrate before Christmas.

I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and send love too you all.

Mythbusters Braden Style

Braden had seen this experiment on Mythbusters and thought it would be fun to reenact. The trick is that you must us a diet drink, it's the aspartame that causes the reaction. He put one mentos in the first time and got four in the second time. We had a crowd of neighbor kids watching the fun. It was really amazing how fast the reaction happened and how high the coke shot up in the air. With one mentos it went about 10 feet and with the four mentos it shot about 15 feet. It was quite amusing.

Steve, you're the MAN!

This weekend Steve took on the project of fixing our van. He had researched the problem and felt like he could fix it himself, (something to do with the security feature). As he began taking the car apart he started doubting his ability. I stayed positive and was all for him doing it. The project took half the day and a trip to Auto Zone but was successfull and I am so proud of him. Here's a peek at a job well done.
This was the part that needed fixing. The hard part was getting to it.

All this had to go back together some how. After getting things in place and running again he only had 1 extra screw. Lol

Best wishes John and Emily

We are so grateful for the memories we've made this summer with my brother and his wife.

Here are a few of the highlights:

-Sleepovers

-candy in abundance

-John playing the trumpet

-GUM

-movies

-homemade ice cream

-grilling out

-venting to each other

-the long walk to the cottage

-yard sale

-Popsicles

-SBD's

-"you don't remember......."

We wish them safe travels to Portland, OR and hope they get "real jobs" so we can see them in Idaho, for Christmas. WE LOVE YOU JOHN AND EMILY!

Dove Season

It is hunting season again. Steve, Tanner and Braden have been dove hunting the past two weekends and we almost have enough meat for a meal, well, maybe h'dorves. The boys really enjoy the time with their Dad. It's great for male bonding.

milestone

Well, for some of you this may be no big deal but for me it is. I have moved the sippy cups to the second self in my cupboard. This means that they are not getting used as often. This means we are growing up. This means we are moving on. YEAH!!!! I really wondered if I would ever get to this point in my life. I have finally done it. I AM OUT OF THE BABY STAGE! And it feels good. Almost 13 years of it will do a person good. :)

1st Day of School

It is here, the first day of school. Lane was the only one in our family looking forward to this day. We have a few adjustments this year to deal with. Tanner is now in Jr. High and we have a school uniform. Some people have not been very happy with it, I support it. I was thankful that we started with a two hour day. I have to readjust every year to a quieter, emptier house during the day. It's always hard for me to get back into the swing of the school routine. This year I am not babysitting, I am working at a preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's time for MJ and P to have some structured and educational playtime.

Look out Shirley Temple!

We have discovered sponge rollers. Our first try was a disaster. It really would have been funny to see pics of it. We have studied the art and I think we've got it. MJ had no trouble posing for the camera. :)

Ha-Ha

Jeni --

[adjective]: Extremely flatulent

'How" will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I found this on a friends blog and thought it was funny, especially after typing in my name!!!