The Wonder Twins

For the past two years I have been watching my friend Lorelei's son Jalen while she has finished up her degree and began a career in Human Resources. He is 2 months younger than Braley and is so much fun to have around.
Today, all the kids were playing in different parts of the house when I stumbled upon Jalen and Barney, our dog. They were deep in conversation. This is what I heard:
Jalen: "Barney, I'm going to give you a middle name, okay? Super. Now you are Barney Super Widing. What? I should have a new name too? Okay. Hmmmm....I'll be Jalen Amazing Jalen. There, now we are super heroes. But don't tell 'cause I'm tired and I don't want to work today."
I'm glad I overheard that conversation or I would never know they are super heroes.

Our Memorial Day Weekend

We spent the afternoon in the Iris gardens with the kids on Memorial Day. It was a beautiful day. There was a band of older gentlemen playing music from the 30's and 40's which caused our kids to dance their way through the gardens. They loved it. The men also played each song for the 5 branches of the military. As they played each song, those who have served in that branch were asked to stand and be recognized. How grateful we are to all those who have served our country in peace and in war. We are so fortunate to live in this country and we know that our freedom is only because women and men are committed to ensuring our safety and peace. We are very humbled by those who served their fellow men by serving in the military.

"Mommy, when I'm 18....."

Remember when you thought 18 was soooo old? The ladies have decided that 18 is how old they have to be to do "really BIG GIRL things".
The other day Braley was riding her two-wheeler, when she came peddling over to ask a "very important question" - "Mama, when I am 18, if I promise to wear a PollyPocket helmet, can I ride past our mailbox and over our speedbumps?" If you promise to wear a helmet, Braley, I will consider letting you go past our mailbox.
A few years ago, we were driving past the Portland Temple, which is about 5 minutes away from our house, when Jayden asked, "Mommy, when I am 18 will you drive me to the temple so I can get married?"
I was about to say,"No way! Not at 18! You need to get your degree and serve a mission", but she interrupted, "I promise I will stay in my car seat and won't unbuckle until you park the car safely."
Well...when you put it that way, I wonder what they will want to do when they are 21.

Ansen And The Horrible, Terrible, Awful, Very Messy Day

Ansen is a whirlwind of destruction. Really, he is. Let's just go through today's list of messes, shall we?
1. Dumped entire bowl of cereal on the carpet.
2. Fell on the way to the bus, skinned kness.
3. Broke lid to the toilet tank...it is now in 6 pieces.
4. Used black marker all over himself.
5. Used black marker all over the dog.
6. Has been dressed and undressed 3 times so far....I'm sure that number will change.
7. Wedged himself between t.v. stand and end table, started choking.
8. Completely emptied each container in his bedroom.
9. Dumped lunch (warm soup) down the front of him.
10. Put 3 tooth brushes in the potty.
It is 2 p.m. and he is napping. I guess he needs that quiet time to decide what to destroy first once he is rested. Heaven help me.

The Art of Telling a Joke

Braley is very interested in telling "knock, knock" jokes right now. Every time I turn around I hear, "Knock, Knock..." and if you don't respond immeadiatly again you hear, "knock, knock..." Ansen's favorite new words are "who's there?" So Jayden has been teaching Braley a knock knock joke. Its fun to watch because it is requiring Jayden to be super patient. This is what I heard from the ladies this morning.

Braley (B): Knock, knock
Jayden(J): Who's there?
B: Banana
J: Banana who?
B: Knock, knock
J: Who's there?
B: Banana (I can see the glimmer in Jayden's eyes that Brays may actually tell the joke right)
J: Banana who?
B: Apple (glimmer gone)
J: Apple who? (completley annoyed that joke isn't going as planned)
B: Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Braley didin't get it exactly the same way Jayden taught her but I was impressed that she added another fruit into the mix. Jayden was so excited that Braley told the joke semi right that the she has promised to teach her a new one after school today. Have I ever told you the joke about the mom who went insane with "knock, knock" jokes?

Barney: Wiener Dog Or Hamster?

So our faithful friend Barney has found a new palce to live. We have a big, long box in the livingroom that until this morning contained a basketball hoop and stand, but now that the former tenant has vacated Mr. Weiner Dog has taken up residence. He has been in there for hours soozing, scraping around and turning in circles. He honestley sounds like a hamster in his cage. What a weird dog. I am feeling the urge to go buy him cage shavings and a salt lick. I have concluded that Barney may be going through a idenity crisis. I need to go and look in the phone book for a pet theripst.

My 2nd Birthday By Ansen Sjors

I loved spending my birthday with my famiy and friends. We had fun playing and having cake. I also like all of my sports themed gifts. You all know me so well. I promise to use the scooter, bike, basketball hoop, soccer ball and net, beach ball and gear all summer AND I promise to share! I love you all! Thank you for sharing my birthday with me! Cake for everyone!

Happy 2nd Birthday Ansen!

It's offical! Ansen is 2! Ansen kicks off the Widing family birthday season. We have a birthday once a month through September. We love our little--oh, I guess, BIG boy alot and we are so glad we have him in our family. Here are our reasons for loving him as much as we do!

Dadddy loves Ansen because he is so affectionate. He also loves his laugh.

Mommy loves Ansen because he is so fun to watch play and discover new things. Everything he does is done with intensity.

Jayden loves Ansen because he loves to have her read to him.

Braley loves Ansen because he snuggles with her in the morning before she wakes up. (Even though he is very loud and doesn't hold still--amen to that Brays)

Barney loves Ansen because he will always share his food with him. (Barney is our mini dachshund and he is very "healthy" due to Ansen's generosity)

Happy Birthday Bubb Bubbs, We really, really love you!

Is This What I Have To Look Forward To?

***Author's note: This really is not about my son. Really. My friend allowed me to share this with you guys IF I kept their identities top secret.***

Today I was hanging out with a friend of mine with all our kids. We were outside enjoying the sunshine when her husband came outside to "give us a good laugh." He said that their son went into the house looking for a drink of water. The little boy got a cup and then disappeared. He (the husband) assumed that the little boy went back outside. Now, this little guys is known to be quite sneaky but being a dad he never went to make sure his son had returned outside to play. Then he heard a noise in the bathroom. What did he find when he got to the bathroom? His boy dipping his cup into the toilet and drinking out of it! YUCK! Can you believe that? If this is what little boys do then I am keeping Ansen 2 years old forever. I am so grossed out BUT at the same time, not surprised. Boys are odd creatures. I can't believe I married one. Don't worry Scot and Michelle, I won't tell anyone it was Nathan.

Jesus And My Little Children

With Jason on the road for yet another week, I was in charge of running Family Home Evening last night. We have really made FHE a huge part of our week and I really do enjoy the opportunities that it provides us to teach our children. Last night, the kids and I watched The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd. The kids were so engrossed in the dvd and sat perfectly silent through the whole thing---even Ansen. After the movie was over both Jayden and Braley said how much they wished that they could have been one of the little children that Jesus blessed and how lucky those children were to have seen him and know that he was real. That gave me the perfect chance to share with them my favorite scripture which is found in 2 Nephi 2:4. It says, "And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore, thou art blessed even unto whom he shall minister in the flesh; for the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free." I know that our Savior lives and I want my children to know that they are just as special to Jesus as the children in the Book of Mormon. I would love for them to see Christ, but I want them to have faith that he is always there and for all children. Seeing can be believing but faith is knowing.

Mother's Day '07

Happy Mother's Day to my ma, mother-in-law, sisters (Kirstin, Danna, Jamie, and Nicki), Oma and to all those mothers and women who have influenced my life! I love you all. Thank you for helping me become who I am. We had an exciting Mother's Day here in Oregon beginning with my favorite treat for breakfast...Swedish Fish!!! Yum, healthy and nutritious. Those delectable treats were compliments of my sweet Braley. Followed by a gift of rub on tattoos with hearts that say "Mother" through the center from the oh so thoughtful Jayden and last but not least Ansen gave me a book entitled "Potty Time" and it even makes the sound of a flushing toilet. Music to my ears. I love what the kids picked out for me. I also received the dvd The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd. I have seen it only once before and I am so excited to watch it tonight for Family Home Evening! I love you all, Happy Mother's Day! I hope you enjoy yourselves!

What They Are Trying To Say Is......

I am a real stickler when it comes to proper pronunciation of words. It is a pet peeve of mine when people are lazy in their speech. I think I get this from my dear mother. I am constantly correcting my kids with proper tenses, correct enunciation, and making sure they never ever use a double negative! When my dear husband wants to really irk me all he has to say is, "We don't got any...(you fill in the blank)"....ohhhh just typing that makes my skin crawl. So, as hard as I try, there are just a few word my kids can not say properly. They try so hard and it is so cute that they care enough about my hang ups to do their best with something other 6, 4, and almost 2 year olds could care less about. So this is what I love to hear my kids say!
Braley- "May I have more coupons?"
Coupons is code for croutons in her salads.


Jayden- "I love yogrit."
Yogrit is code for yogurt. Her kindergarten teacher was Miss Hergert, which we pronounced "Miss Hergrit" for about a month.




This is Ansen's friend "Shashel", or as the rest of us call her "Rachel." He can say his R's just fine, but she has always been "Shashel" to him. Tomorrow is Rachel's 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday Shashel!



If I could only take my demanding nature toward speaking well and apply it towards my written grammar and spelling, my kids would be geniuses. One thing at a time I guess.

Sun Glorious Sun

Finally we are seeing some sun here in Oregon. After last weeks freezing cold temperature and freak hail storm we are defiantly enjoying the warmth. These pictures are of the kids hanging out at Jason's parents place. We played on the pond, in the creek, fished, searched for tadpoles, rode horses, jumped on the trampoline, picnicked and had lots of fun.

The kids were so tired and grateful for a day completely outside. We were too! It's so nice to see the sun again! Hopefully it is here to stay. Here's to wishing you all warm sunny adventurous days.

Who's Hot?

So my husband is hot. It's a fact. Sorry ladies, he's mine. My dryer on the other hand...not hot. Not even luke warm. It was taking me hours and hours to dry our clothes until a few days ago. Finally I had someone come out and purge out dryer line and holy cow....the dryer works agian! So now my hot husband can wear clean, dry clothes to work. Thank heavens for dryer repair companies!

The "F" word

I swear we are good parents. At least, we really try to be. But there are those days when I think I have failed my kids. The other day Jayden was very concerned that one of her friends had used the "F word". I was in complete shock at the fact that she was even aware that there was such a word. The two girls stood in front of me and I gave a calm but firm lecture on appropriate language and never saying anything that they know to be wrong. Then the other little girl said, "Jayden said it too, it wasn't just me." Now I was completely shocked-could my sweet girl say something like that? I asked the other little girl to go play outside and intended to have quite the talk with my almost 7 year old. She beat me to it. "Mom," she said in a panic, "I only used the good F word, not he bad F word." What? How is that word both good and bad? I asked her what exactly she said. "I said the word "funk" in a good way, Eva* (name has been changed to protect the innocent..or not so innocent...anywho back to our story) said "funk" in a mean way". Ahhhhh, that pesky little word "funk". It can be a bugger when another child thinks they have heard a grown-up word come out of a friends mouth. Thankfully the grown-ups in our house don't use those bad grown-up words. So for now we are not using the term "funk" to describe the smell coming from Mr. Ansen's bottom end or to describe the smell of the dog before his bath. Braley has opted to used the work "horrific" is it's place. I wonder how long they will believe that the "S" word is stupid.