Father of the Year Event - take 2

Last night Eli had the opportunity to again speak at the Father of the Year benefiting the American Diabetes Association. This time it was in San Diego. There were over 500 people there and by the end of the night they had raised over $200,000. Go here to see and hear his speech. I am so proud of him and his dedication to helping find the cure.

Eli Speaks at the American Diabetes Association Fundraiser

Last night June 3, 2010 Eli was asked to speak at the first annual Inland Empire Father of the Year Awards benefiting the American Diabetes Association. It was in Riverside, about 30 minutes from where we live. The night was to honor prominent men in our community who are exemplar fathers. Each father was then given the opportunity to fund raise for the ADA by selling tickets to the gala. Eli and Jeremy were asked to tell their story of how diabetes has affected their lives. Eli memorized a two minute speech that we wrote together about his diabetes and about Camp Wana Kura a diabetes camp he attends each year put on by the ADA. There were more than 200 people at the dinner last night and I am so proud of my 8 year old boy who would get up and speak in front of that many people. He was really nervous but he did an amazing job. We had so many people come up to us afterward and congratulate him on doing so great. I have to also add my congratulations to Jeremy who was on the organizing committee for this event, he put in alot of hours helping put this night together. It was a wonderful night and before the last minute donations were counted up last night they had already raised over $65,000 for the ADA. Eli and Jeremy were asked to speak at the same event but in San Diego on June 13th. This is a much bigger venue as they have been doing this event in San Diego for several years so they are expecting to have 600+ people there and to raise over $250,000. I am so proud of these two and their commitment to help in the cause of stopping diabetes and finding a cure. I video taped Eli's speech but the quality was really terrible so I am just putting a few picture on from the night. The first is of him standing next to a 2011 Jaguar. One of the men being honored last night owns a Jaguar dealership so he had one out on display. I had to keep wiping Jeremy and Eli's drool off the car:).


Someone did get a good video and she said she will put it on utube so when she does I'll post the link so everyone can see how great he did.

Rex 8 months old

Like always happens, my babies grow up so fast. Rex particularly has just really grown so quickly from a little baby hardly doing anything to a crawling, sitting and eating food baby. He makes the cutest noise that is like a growl. He loves it when Jeremy will growl back at him, the two of them can go on for awhile growling at each other. Here is a short video clip I got of him doing it.

Blueberries and Buddies

We took a really fun preschool field trip to a blueberry farm today. Each child was given a little bucket and they could go out in the fields and pick until their hearts were content. Eli was at school and my good friend Bridget watched Rex so I could go with just Wyatt and Luke. The blueberry lady told them just to use their thumb and pointer finger to pick the berries so they were ever so careful not to squish any blueberries. They picked for about 20 minutes, climbed on the tractor, and checked out the scarecrow. Dream day for my two little boys. I love days like today when we can just enjoy such simple things like blueberries. If anyone has a good blueberry recipe for me I'd love to hear it. Enjoy some of the pictures from a fun day on the farm.

Check Out Kitchen Clothesline.com

Many of you know that my mom is very talented when it comes to sewing. For the past few years she has been making and selling aprons and bibs at local craft shows, farmers markets and boutiques. We have been telling her for a while that she needed to get a website up and going so that when her work stared to circulate that people could go online and order from her.

We have been working together for about a week now and I think we put together a fun little blog so she can showcase her work, share a fun unique tutorial that she created, and a place where people can order from her. She has received many compliments on her new site and was even featured on a well known craft blog (go to her site to see who:). The second week in May she will be again featured, this time on my favorite website hip2save.com where she will be doing a spring cleaning give away of 3 aprons to 3 lucky winners. I would love it if one of my friends won so mark your calendar and make sure to go to hip2save to enter to win one of her aprons. Go to kitchen clothesline.com see all of her great work.

Here is a picture of one of my favorites:


Her bibs are so genius, they have elastic around the neck so babies/kids can't pull them off and tie around the tummy so they stay put and protect clothes, I love mine!

Elli's Baptism

It's taken me way too long but I am finally getting around to posting about Eli's baptism. On March 27 Eli was baptised by his Dad at our stake center in Menifee. We were blessed to have so many of our family and friends with us to celebrate his big day. What an amazing spirit was there, I hope Eli never forgets how good he felt when he received the Holy Ghost. I am so proud of him for the choices he is making and what a good example he is to his brothers and younger cousins.

We had a really fun BBQ at the park near our house afterwards and again we were so blessed to have lots of family and fun.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that day.

Eli and Jeremy

Eli and his best friend Jackson Callahan

Eli with his cousins Carson and McKay

Our family

Grandpa and Grandma Nutty (Meyer)

Grandma and Grandpa Price

In Loving Memory

Last Friday morning my sweet Grandpa Meyer died. We found out a few months ago that he had lung cancer and he started chemo for it but then about a month ago he fell and broke his hip. The doctors did not think he was strong enough for the surgery so he was moved to hospice.

My Grandpa was one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met. From the time I can remember he would call all of us kids on our birthdays to wish us a happy birthday, the conversation would last all of about 1 minute but the point was he remembered us on our special day and loved us. As we grew up got married and had kids this did not change in fact he just added our spouses and children onto his list of important phone calls. He would also call us on our anniversaries each year to tell us congratulations on another year.

One other thing I will always cherish about my grandpa was his talent for woodcarving. My kids all have little toys made by him and I have about 10 Santa clauses from around the world that he made for me. He also carved me a nativity that has always been priceless but will be even more special now that he is gone. I feel so blessed that 3 out of my 4 boys have a special treasure box made by their great grandpa. (I think that Rex's treasure box is somewhere in his things and my dad has said he will finish it for him I look forward to completing our set.)

I have so many wonderful memories of him and as I reminisce about all the summers we spent with him bringing us doughnut every morning and where I gained my love of frozen mini candy bars, everything comes down to I know he loved me and that I was important to him. I am thankful for the temple and know that in one year we will be able to do his work for him. What a merciful heavenly father to give us these moments of peace and hope.

Here is a picture I took of him with Wyatt and Eli in August of 2005 when he came to visit us at our house in Temecula.

My Little Lucky Charm

Happy St. Pattricks Day!!!

Rex will be 6 months next Wednesday, how cute is he?

It's Great to be Eight!

This past Friday Eli turned Eight. I can't believe that he is getting baptized in a few weeks. (Am I really old enough to have a child getting baptized?) We celebrated his big day with our first slumber party. He invited 4 of his friends. They had so much fun, each had their own DS and we have our WII and two big buckets of LEGOs what else to boys need? Oh yeah pizza and build your own Sundays. They were set, I went to bed around 9:00 and Jeremy was such a trooper, he stayed up with them till midnight after they had all fallen asleep. We're not sure what time they woke up but I heard them first at 6:00am. It was a really fun day/night for Eli.

We are really looking forward to his baptism in a few short weeks. Eli has been working hard to be prepared for the big day. I am so proud of him and what a good boy he is. Eli has grown up a lot this year. I love to watch him practice the piano and do his math which are both a great challenge for our smart boy. I am sure most of you know Eli lives with diabetes and I watch him daily strive to keep himself healthy as he knows how important that is. Eli has a ton of courage and shows it when he tries new things all the time like rock climbing and motorcycling. He watched the Olympics this winter and expressed a desire to try every sport. I am so thankful for this sweet boy in my life and know that Heavenly Father blessed our family to have him as the oldest of four boys. Happy Birthday Eli I love you. Here are some fun pictures of Eli from this last year, except the first one, I had to throw in one from the day he was born he was such a cute baby!
March 5, 2002


Blowing out the candles on this "birthday sunday"


Opening presents


Always smiling!


Looking for the next adventure


First day of second grade

Our First ER Visit

!!WARNING PICTURES ARE INCLUDED!!

It was inevitable with four boys that we would eventually make our way into the ER, and Sunday evening it finally happened. The boys were in the backyard playing with some child sized golf clubs. Eli took a swing without looking and Luke walked right into his golf club. His eye immediately swelled up and there was a gash under his eyebrow about 1/2" long. For a head wound it really didn't bleed that much but because of the way it was split, we figured he would need stitches. The trip to the ER was as bad as i always thought it would be. 4 hours in the waiting room and then another two in the actual ER. We had to share a curtained room with a teenage kid who had just been beat up, so glad my three year old got to hear the story of how the guy got jumped. In the end we spent 6 hours in the hospital and walked out with two stitches. Luke was a trooper, it tuned out to be a blessing that it took so long because he was asleep by the time they actually stitched his eye

We Finished!!!

I wanted it documented our completion of the Harry Potter series. This fall we stared reading as a family the first book. I have been reading to the boys at night before they would get into bed. By the end of the first book they were hooked. We have been reading almost every night since and this afternoon we finished #7. It has been really fun to watch the boys get so into these books. Eli in particular has really enjoyed this series. I loved that they would hurry each night to get ready for bed so we could have more time to read. They would almost always have to find a pencil or a toy of some kind to hold as a wand while I read. They have tried out spells on each other, and many times I have had to outlaw spell casting due to fights about who cast their spell first. Has any other mom had their kids tell on each other because one of their brothers cast an "unforgivable curse" on them? This will give you an idea as to how much Eli loved these books; one afternoon he had finished his homework and there was still about 45 minutes before dinner. I told him he could play his DS or I would read to him from Harry Potter. He didn't even take a second to say he would rather have me read to him. Our only problem now is deciding what we should read next, I want to hurry and find something quick so we don't get out of the habit of reading together. I would love to hear suggestions from any of you as to what you have read together.

It's Jeremy's Birthday!!!

Today Jeremy is 35. I have been contemplating what to say on here that is not mushy, sappy, or boring to everyone but me. So here is what I came up with, the other day I called Jeremy and was trying to get ready to teach preschool and realized I had no milk and no napkins. Jeremy was taking Eli to school when I called to ask him if he would swing by the store and pick up those two things I needed. He said sure and was at the store and back to our house in a couple of minutes. He dropped the things off, kissed me and left for work. As I was unloading the bags he brought in I noticed that he had bought me a Reese's peanut butter cup(my favorite candy bar) and had left it in the bag for me to find so I would have a treat after preschool. None of those things are that big of a deal but as I thought about it, that little morning favor to me is exactly who Jeremy is.

1. Willing to help with taking care of the kids. He is a great dad!
2. Helps me out when I need it as much as he can even though he works 10-12 hours most days.
3. Jeremy is a determined, hard worker.
4. Does things for me just because he knows it will put a smile on my face.
5. He is so humble, never asking for recognition for the wonderful things he does.
6. Always kisses me when he leaves to go somewhere and when he comes home.

These are just a few of the many things that make him such a great guy. I know he hates it when I gush on here about him so I will just say I love you Jeremy and I hope you have a great birthday.

Jeremy and I on our 10th anniversary in Hawaii

Another one from Hawaii

Jeremy making us Christmas breakfast. This is Jeremy's classic being asked to smile for the camera face.

I've Been Tagged

I am with Leann, I don't usually respond to the tagging thing, but I really enjoyed hers and Bridget's so here goes:

4 shows I like to watch:
1. 24
2. Project Runway
3. House
4. Chuck

4 things I am passionate about
1. Jeremy
2. Being a mom of 4 boys
3. Teaching Preschool
4. Reading

4 phrases I say alot:
1. "Life is not fair but it is good."
2. "stay out of the baby's face"
3. "Flush the toilet and wash your hands"
4. "Say excuse me"

4 things I have learned, or am learning:
1. Everything there is to know about boys
2. How to say yes more and no a little less often
3. How to coupon shop
4. To be a better cook

4 places I would like to go:
1. NY with Jeremy
2. On a cruise with Jeremy's family
3. Back to Hawaii
4. On the Disney cruise with Jeremy and the boys

4 things I did yesterday:
1. Church
2. Cut coupons
3. Had dinner with the Callahan's
4. Watched the super bowl on our DVR in about 30 minutes

4 things I am looking forward to:
1. A cure for diabetes
2. Seeing my parents and siblings hopefully soon
3. Rex sleeping through the night
4. Eli's baptism March 27

4 things on my wish list:
1. A new car
2. Boys who don't whine or complain
3. Obama's presidency ending
4. My sister to move by me

4 people I tag:
1. Susan
2. Amber
3. Janet, I think you just did one like this by your life always fascinates me!
4. Gretchen

Preschool Trip to the Firestation

Last week Wyatt's preschool class took a fun trip to the fire station. They were so cute wandering around the engine and taking turns holding the hose. They were all surprised at how heavy the hose was. All the kids wanted to jump on the firefighters beds and of course had to go to the bathroom when they saw the bathroom. Luke has been saying for awhile now that he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up, but has changed his mind now when he heard how noisy the sirens are up close. Here are a few pictures from that day. Sorry they are not great pictures I had Rex strapped to the front of me trying to take these.

Jeremy Moves to Northwestern Mutual

Jeremy has been putting a lot of hours at work lately, and although we would love to have him at home a little more I am so proud of the hard work and long hours he has put into his career. I have been meaning for quite some time to post about Jeremy's new job. I shouldn't really even call it his new job as he has been there since the summer, I just haven't taken the opportunity to blog about it. This past spring Jeremy got licensed to sell several different types of insurance. He was hired by Northwestern Mutual Financial Network this last summer and is loving his work there. It has been tough learning all the ins and outs of the business (I’m sure any new business is that way) but he is always trying to do the best he can for his clients. He is helping families and businesses set up all kinds of financial programs. At first he mostly dealt with life insurance but has since been licensed in investments, and when he is home it seems he is always studying something new. He loves the work he is doing and feels so fulfilled at being able to help families be prepared for the future. I know he will be a success at it as he continues to work hard. This may be a shameless plug, but you should give him a call and have him show you what he does! Check out this link to see his website:

www.jeremyprice.nmfn.com

Here is a picture of all of us at his company Christmas party. All six looking at the camera how amazing is that, she only took one shot and we were all looking even Rex!

New Years Day at Big Rock

We spent a beautiful New Years Day in Lake Perris rock climbing. We had so much fun with the other Price family. Only a few of the kids actually climbed on the rock wall with ropes but it was great to just be outdoors. The weather was beautiful and the kids found hours of rocks to climb on. It is so fun to spend a day with a family where our kids all get along so well, we got there, everyone found someone to play with, and we adults got to mostly sit back and enjoy the day. Here are a few fun pictures of the day.
Luke and Charlie striking a pose.

Rex enjoying a rare day outdoors.

Wyatt and Grant they are the best of friends!

Some actual rock climbing. This was my first time watching Eli climb I was so impressed at how fast he got up the wall.

The beautiful sunset ending a perfect day.

I think this great day was an indication of what a great year this is going to be. Friends and fun what more can we ask for.

Rex is Three Months Old!

With all the holidays coming and going these past few months I have neglected to add any pictures of my growing baby on here. That, and our camera was broken for so long and is now fixed so I am trying to make up for it by taking lots of cute pictures of Rex. On Christmas Eve, Rex turned 3 months old. I could not ask for a happier baby than this little guy. I walk in all the time to find him smiling at nothing even laughing occasionally. I think he is looking more and more like Wyatt but he does have a look of his own. We moved him into the room with Eli last night and he slept pretty well in there, I think he only woke up two times. I am so thankful to have this little guy in our family, he brings us so much Joy!






OK, two out of the three pictures he is in the swing, is he a fourth child or what? He does spend a fair amount of time in his swing but he loves it in there.

The Faith of a Child

I put that funny story about Luke on here a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share a sweet story about him too. I hope this is not too personal, but as I use this as our family journal I wanted to make sure it was documented.

We have an older truck that runs good most of the time, except for in the rain. Since we live in Southern California and it rains like 10 days a year we are OK with it. Last Monday we did wake up to rain and I had forgotten about the trucks rain problem until Jeremy called and reminded me. We got Eli to school with no incident, I parked the truck in the garage so it could stay dry all day until we had to pick him up from school. By the time 2:45 came around it was down pouring. I thought the truck was probably dry enough to get to school and back with no problems as it is only about 1 1/2 miles from home. I was wrong. I was in the pick up line and the truck died. Fortunately we were on a hill and I could put it in neutral and coast down to the shoulder and out of the other parents way. I didn't know what to do I was a mile from the school, it was pouring rain and I had three small kids in the car. I called Jeremy who was working over an hour away and he said to just wait and it would hopefully start. I got off the phone with him and told Wyatt and Luke we needed to pray. I offered a short and simple prayer that the truck would start. When I was finished Luke immediately said, "And now Heavenly Father will send an angel." Oh the faith of a child. I silently said another prayer to myself that this would be a good faith building experience as well as a rescue. I waited about one more minute and tried to turn the truck back on it wouldn't start. I turned the key one more time and of course the truck started right up. We were able to get to the school, pick up Eli, and get home again with no problems. I was proud of Wyatt who said as we got going, now we need to pray and thank Heavenly Father. I actually found him three more times that afternoon on his knees giving thanks for the help we received. They couldn't wait for Jeremy to get home that evening to tell him the story of our rescue.

I am so thankful to a Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers. It is at times like this when I know he is there to back up everything we are trying to teach in family home evening and our scripture study. Sorry if this is a little long but I couldn't pass up the chance to record a special experience like this.

"My Evil Button"

So I was at Walmart yesterday afteroon, taking a rare trip with all four boys. They had been pretty good (I had bribed them with a promised trip to Sonic's happy hour if they were good). We made it to the check out stand and that was about all they could take. Of course the gift card I was trying to use wouldn't work and then the boys really started to get antsy. Wyatt and Luke were standing next to me talking and I hear Luke(3) say to Wyatt(5), "Don't make me push my 'Evil Button'" I looked down and he had one of the walmart smiley face stickers on his belly and was showing Wyatt that it was his "Evil Button". It just made me laugh that in this situation, he was going to pull out the Evil Button. For those of you who know Luke or have heard anything about him know that yes, he definetly does have an Evil Button I just didn't know it was the happy face sticker from Walmart. Could there be any better time or place to engage such a button than at 4:00 in the afternoon during the holidays at Walmart with four boys? Maybe it was one of those had to be there situations but I thought it was funny.
For those of you wondering, no, it did not get pushed!

Wyatt is Fantastic Five!!!

My sweet Wyatt turned five on Wednesday. We celebrated his birthday on Sunday when so much of our family was here, it was so fun to be able to share that with Grandmas and Grandpas.

I love when my kids have birthdays because it is a great chance to remember the special things about them. Here is my top 5 things about my fantastic five year old.

1. He makes friends so easily, he plays great with kids older than him and has no problem playing with kids younger than him.

2. He has no greater desire than to be a missionary. When you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up the answer is always "a missionary". His favorite bedtime story is the story of Ammon.

3. He is always wanting to learn. Right now he is constantly asking me to teach him to read.

4. Wyatt is such a sweet big brother. For the other two boys the novelty of a baby in the house wore off pretty quick, but not for Wyatt. He cannot get enough of Rex, and Rex already knows it, he lights up when Wyatt comes to talk to him.

5. Wyatt has a love of life that should be bottled and handed out freely. He is rarely seen without a smile on his face and is about as easy going as they come.

I love you Wyatt and know that I am a better person because I have the chance to be with you everyday. Happy Birthday.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Wyatt:

One day old-

two months old-

One year old-

Potty Training-

Even free spirits like his get tired once in a while-