Vickie's Tag

At the Reed house we go pretty much all out on the Christmas decorations. Every room in the house, including bathrooms, is decorated. Heather has an amazing talent for decorating and the house always looks incredible for Christmas. As far as the Christmas tree goes we have the "fancy tree" in the family room which has the nicer ornaments on it that all kind of match and then the kids have small fake trees in their rooms that they decorate and can put pretty much whatever they want on. Here are some crappy camera phone pictures:

Aunt Laura's 8 Things Tag

Okay, here it is:

8 TV Shows I like watching:

1. Mythbusters
2. Survivorman
3. Time Warp
4. Dirty Jobs
5. How it's made
6. The Office
7. Amazing Race
8. House Hunters (I know, but I was at work on Wednesday!)

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Rode my bike in the garage (dang fog!)
2. Went to work
3. Went to Aubrey's school choir and band concert (the band sounded like a flock of geese being slaughtered but the choir sounded great)
4. Had a pumpkin pie shake from Jack in the Box after the concert
5. Helped Heather fold Laundry
6. Watched The Office
7. Started a new book, "Shoulder the Sky" by Anne Perry
8. Slept soundly (thanks Will!)

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Spring
2. Grandchildren
3. Kids on missions
4. Going on a mission with Heather
5. Seeing more of the world with Heather when the kids are out of the house
6. Clothes of the future that don't require laundering
7. Kids happily married
8. Another pumpkin pie shake from Jack in the Box (with a side of jalapeno poppers!)

8 Things on my wish list:

1. Self cutting lawns
2. More patience
3. More time in the day
4. A college football playoff system
5. A nice sunny day
6. Deep profile carbon wheels for my bike
7. A Snuggie!
8. Pumpkin pie shakes available year round at Jack in the Box, not just during the holidays

Leaves- Fun, Free, and Biodegradable!

Well it has been over a month since I posted anything so I guess I will try to catch up a little. Last month we went to St. George for Thanksgiving and had a great time and my mom has already posted some pictures of the trip. While we were there we went a few times to the park by grandma and grandpa's house to play and the kids discovered the joy of large piles of leaves. We don't have large enough trees in our yard to generate the necessary quantities of dry fall leaves for playing in so our kids had never really had the chance to play in a proper pile of leaves. I know, they are very deprived. Anyway here are some pictures of the free fun, sorry about the picture quality, I took them with my phone.

Halloween Pictures

Laura's Tag

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (Wii Sports!)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100.Visited Italy

39 - I'm really quite boring, on a side note a friend sent me a talk given by Elder Neal A. Maxwell that I would highly recommend. It is entitled "A More Determined Discipleship" and can be found in the February 1979 Ensign. I think when you read it, particularly in light of events unfolding in California today, you will see why we sustain these brethren as prophets, seers and revelators.

Emily's Tag

Spencer 9 months

Mom's Tag

Well i'm at work so this should be interesting. Here it is, first file seventh photo:

Saga of the Goldfish

About a month ago we went to Spencer's soccer carnival. It is sponsored by the AYSO and basically consists of a bunch of booths with games sponsored by the various teams. One of the booths offered the opportunity to win a goldfish if you could throw a ping pong ball and land it in a small fish bowl. Aubrey, the lover of all animals, immediately wanted to spend some of her tickets to try to win a fish. We told her that she could not have a fish but she was welcome to waste her tickets trying to win a fish she couldn't have if she wanted to. So she tried and of course she won. These days they don't seem to hand out the actual fish but rather a coupon which can be redeemed for a fish at a local pet store. I told her to give the coupon to another kid or throw it away since she couldn't have a fish and she got very indignant and told us that it wasn't fair that she couldn't have a fish because she had won it after all. I informed her for the umpteenth time that life wasn't fair and if you don't believe me just ask your Grandmother Reed. She continued to sulk and pout for the remainder of the afternoon but by nighttime she was back to her old self and I thought that she had let it go.



Than night as we were pulling the covers down to go to be we found this under a pillow:

The following morning we told her that her letter was very cute but that she still could not have a fish but we promised to think about it. She seemed to accept this and again I thought we were done. Five days latter under our pillow we found a picture of a goldfish with a big question mark on it. I asked her why we should let her get a fish when we are always having to remind her to take better care of her existing pets. She asked that if she took better care of her existing pets would we possibly reconsider. I used the we'll think about it line again and hoped that she would just give up and forget about it. A couple of weeks went by and we thought she had finally given up, then this showed up a few days ago addressed to whom it may concern:

I thought we had already decided this but hope springs eternal I guess. She has been doing a better job of taking care of the dog and the cat but we really don't want a stinky fish in her room. We finally made a deal with her that if she could run the mile at school in under 12 minutes then we would allow her to redeem her coupon as long as she bought the bowl and other fish accessories. This will be a real hurdle for her unlike getting good grades which for Aubrey at this stage in her life is about as difficult as breathing. She is very excited and has planned out a training regime she is going to start after school today with her friend Katy. So what do you think? Were we too soft? Have I been manipulated by a 10 year old?

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

A few weeks ago we went to a local farm to get pumpkins. Murray Family Farms is a small organic farm that grows a large variety of fruits and vegtables which you can go and pick for yourself. This year they put together a fall festival with crafts, mazes, a hay ride, and a petting zoo. We went with Heather's sister Terri, her husband Joe, and their little boy Graham who is about two months younger than Will.

This is in a maze they made in their blackberry patch.

Will and his cousin Graham in the corn pit, I think they look like a couple of old men.

Aubrey thought that this was a very funny joke, she shared it over the intercom at school last week.

Spencer showing of his face painting.

The Asparagus maze was fun because you could snack on fresh asparagus as you navigated the maze.

The hay ride took you out to their nectarine orchard where they had planted small pumpkins and gourds between the rows of trees. A week earlier a bear had been coming down from the hills and hanging out in the orchards but luckly he wasn't around this day. Why will babies never look at the camera?

Biker Dude

Spencer has been riding his bike a lot lately and wanted to share this video of him riding. He is almost ready to take the training wheels off.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Last night Aubrey and I went to Mormon night at the Dodgers. Ever since we first went to a Dodger game a few years ago with Eric and Abby, Aubrey has become quite a little Dodger fan and is always wanting to go to a game so we thought Mormon night would be a good chance to go. On the way down to the game we stopped at In and Out burger because believe it or not Aubrey had never been there and really wanted to try it. She thought it was much better than McDonalds and I have to agree.

As we were walking into the stadium they took our picture. This seems to be very common anymore at large venues where they take your picture and then you can go online to view it and buy it for an exorbitant sum. Anyways here is our "official" Dodger Stadium picture http://www.printroom.com/popupImage.asp?evgroupid=0&img_id=102175651&effectRGB.



Here is a picture that I took before the game started.



As we were sitting waiting for the game to start I noticed two elderly gentlemen with Dodger jerseys standing around home plate with some young adults. One the the jerseys said Perry on the back and when he turned around I saw that it was Elder L. Tom Perry. It turns out that he was going to throw out the first pitch. I pointed him out to Aubrey and she was very excited to see an apostle in real life. After the first pitch and the national anthem Elder Perry left the field and started up the aisle to the exit and I realized that he was going to walk right near where we were sitting so I told Aubrey that we should go and say hi to him. Most of the people seemed to have no idea who he was and so it was easy to go up to him and introduce ourselves. He was very friendly and shook our hands. This was the first time either of us had ever been in the presence of an apostle and it was a very unique experience. I definitely felt like I was in the presence of a very special and spiritual man. At 86 years old he seems very healthy and vigorous and has a firm handshake. He is also quite tall. Needless to say Aubrey was very excited. I wish now I had asked him if we could take a picture with him but he was leaving and I didn't want to bother him. I did try to snap a picture with my phone as he was leaving but my phone takes terrible pictures if there is any movement at all. Here is the picture, Elder Perry is the blurry man in the white dodger jersey and blue cap.



The Dodgers ended up losing the the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 but that didn't matter because we had a great time and created some good memories.

Hummingbird Nest

We first noticed this hummingbird nest on the side of our house a few weeks ago. The babies are now big enough that we can see them clearly above the rim of the nest. The look very squished! For reference the nest is built on a coax cable coming from our satelite dish that is about the diameter of a McDonalds drinking straw. The parents don't seem to spend any actual time in the nest and just visit to feed the babies. This isn't quite as exciting as deer in the front yard like the Whites have but we thought it was pretty cool.

The Cowgirl

Here is Aubrey in her new fringed shirt that Grandma sewed for her. She loves it!

For Aunt Laura

Here is our new pool and a few pictures from the 4th.

This is us at the fireworks at Shafter High School.

June 8, 2010

For her birthday Aubrey was given horseback riding lessons from her Forsyth grandparents and aunts and uncles. She was given ten lessons and goes once a week. After her first few lessons she was talking about joining 4H now and FFA when she gets into high school. She also keeps telling us that she really wants a horse. We told her to ask again in two years and if she was still riding and interested then we would talk about it. The other day when we were talking about how lessons went she kept telling me June 8, 2010. I asked her what she meant and she said that that was the day she could get a horse. I guess I made the two year comment on June 8th. She has also told us that you can lease a horse instead of buying one. Who knew? She is excited for her next lesson because she will get to wear spurs on her boots.

Will enjoys watching horseback riding lessons. Spencer does homework while he watches the horses. Here he is doing his homework and talking like a baby which is a very annoying thing he likes to do sometimes.

Eye of the Tiger

Here is our cousin/nephew Alva showing of his new standing skills along with a message from his brother Ashton.

Will went for his first swim today. He seemed to like it while he was in the hot tub but he did not enjoy it when it was time to get out. The other picture is from a few weeks ago when Spencer went in the pool for the first time. He was not very excited and was looking exceedingly pale.

This is the back of Spencer's head. Saturday night as we were getting ready for bed a very hyper Spencer was showing of some "cool moves" when he fell and put the back of his head into the coffee table. There was lots of blood and screaming. Luckily Joe Hamilton who is in our ward is a Physicians Assistant and lives just down the street from us. He came right over and took a look at it and said we could take him in and they would staple it, but if it were his kid he would just leave it since it is in his hair and will not be seen unless he goes bald anytime soon.

Here is everyone before church. Props to Grandma for Aubrey's dress!

Most people wouldn't consider 60 degrees to be an ideal water temperature for swimming but don't tell that to the Polar Bear!

Spencer actually chose to read this book on his own. It is one of his favorite books and we hope if he reads it enough maybe some of it will sink in.

Happy Easters!

GPS Navigation at it's best!

Last Saturday some friends and I went four wheeling up in the mountains when we came upon this scene at about 6000 feet elevation in the middle of absolutely nowhere. This begs the question: How do brand new 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix sedans come to rest on the tops of mountains miles away from the nearest paved road? Perhaps a great flood deposited here a la the ark and Mount Ararat. Maybe it was a giant tornado, is that a foot sticking out from under the car?

In reality this is a perfect example of why when querying your GPS navigation system for directions you may want to ask for the "best route" as opposed to the "shortest route". One of the guys I was riding with happens to work for the tow truck company that is supposed to recover this vehicle as soon as the weather permits and told us the story behind it.

Back in mid December a couple of guys who work for Chevron were visiting from out of the country and rented this car at Meadows Field in Bakersfield. On the weekend they decided to make a trip to our local ski area, Alta Sierra, and asked the cars navigation system for the shortest route to get there. Rather then send then on the well maintained, paved roads which are available to travel to Alta Sierra, the GPS calculated a shorter route which involved traveling through a warren of dirt trails which I'm surprised it even knew about since I wouldn't really classify them as roads. Anyway these guys set off, following the instructions of the GPS, trusting that is somehow had more sense than they did. Most of us would have turned around when the pavement ended and the road became a rutted, rock-strewn trail. We certainly would have headed back when the dirt turned to mud and then snow, but not these guys. Maybe where they came from all the the roads are crappy and they didn't really see a problem. Anyway they eventually reached a point where they could no longer move forward or backward and ended up having to abandon the car and walk 12 miles back to a paved road for help. That night it snowed allot and it has snowed allot since making it impossible to retrieve the car for these past few months. Needless to say this has turned out to be a very expensive car rental and a reminder that technology doesn't always trump common sense.