Your Song

Have you ever wondered what your song is?

This sight tells you the #1 song on the day you were born or whenever you want.

My song is "Want Ads" by Honey Cone... whatever!

I took the liberty to look up my sister Robin & it is

"Bridge over Troubled Waters"

by Simon & Garfunkel.

I had to laugh b/c that is so her. What in the heck does mine imply?

Why couldn't I have a cool song like hers?

http://joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

Have Fun!

More than Memories...

We brought home something more than memories from our wonderful Thanksgiving Vacation. We all brought home sore throats which is fine since some of us went with coughs... we figure it was an even trade.

The other morning Emily was not feeling well. Since her teachers have made it pure torture if you miss a day, she insisted on going to school. The night before I gave her the last of some cold medicine and Advil. That morning I told her to take more Advil and take some cough drops. On the way to school I found out that she self-medicated with some cough & cold syrup. When she got home she told me she about fell asleep in every class and she is sure she failed her Utah Studies test. Upon further investigation I found that she took NyQuil.

So should she be responsible for a poor grade in Utah Studies? Poor Girl!

Thanksgiving Gathering at Entrada

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Holy War

Here is just one more reason to bleed blue during

the Holy War this weekend.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4849241

I know most of you could care less about football but I love it. I love intense games where I can let loose and have my kids think I'm a crazy lunatic who has taken over their mother. I am an Aggie fan no matter what but I cheer for BYU if they are playing anyone but USU and I cheer for the Utes if they are playing anyone but USU or BYU (except this year I was all for TCU kicking the Ute pride down in preparation for the Holy War~ too bad it didn't happen!)

Go Cougars!

Miracle Happen for McKay!

My little brother and his family continue to see blessings when it comes to their son McKay. Since McKay has become too big for my sil Tauna to carry, they have been trying to get a van that has a ramp. This story tells it all. He is so special to our family. Check out the article about this most recent miracle.

http://www.standard.net/live/features/147815/

Click on Matthews picture for a picture of the family with the "new" van.

Our Frugle Halloween

Usually we go all out for Halloween but this year we followed the old adage, "Make do or do without" ~kind of. In years past we have dressed up as a family but we decided to let everyone just do their own thing since we have enough costumes to outfit the neighborhood. The girls each bought wigs (as did I) and I purchased Eric's Fester robe at Savers in the used section for $10 along w/ his $2 swim cap. The rest came from digging in the "trunk" just like I use to as a kid.

Here is Alicia & her crew. She is the first one with the tatoos & black lips. I heard you should dress up opposite of your real personality & I think she did just that!

We had the priviledge of having Superman, Superbaby & Spiderman (my brother Jim & kids) join our forces. Adam & Rich are the storm troopers. Benny is Darth Vader and Tommy is a Power Ranger. It was so hot the 3 year olds started striping down after a half hour of running from door to door. We have never had such a warm Halloween. Even with the rain, it was warm!


At our 4th annual Halloween Party Uncle Fester & I (Morticia) were joined by Cousin IT, Lurch the Butler, and even Eddie from the Munsters showed up. So it was only appropriate to have a family photo.
I brought the host some beautiful rose stems but Uncle Fester was having a hard time lighting his bulb. I guess he didn't spend enough time in the electric chair before we left.

Emily had a real "teenager" Halloween. She left about 4:00 w/ costume in hand (therefore, no pictures) and spent the night with friends in Ogden trick or treating for King Size candybars. She returned home the next morning at 10:00. This was her treat since we usually only have "late-nights" in our family.

It's Winter??

I think the photo says it all. That is one big snowman from an early storm! Benny could hardly wait to get out in all that white stuff this morning. Tommy joined him and got the "kit" to decorate him.

Going to the Dark Side

While enjoying the BMX ESPN games at the Energy Solutions Center we came across Darth Vader, Annikan & storm troopers. We rode the front runner to SLC and then trax to ESC. This is the way to travel for a family night out.

We were surrounded by pretty scary people and I'm not talking these creatures from the Dark Side. Let's just put it this way, if Emily ever asks to go to an event like this it will never happen. I have never seen so many skanky little girls (holding "free hug" signs), gages the size of donuts in the ears & creepy people.

But the Star Wars characters made the night. We couldn't pull Tommy away. He even got their autographs. They stood and stared until we dragged them away. The other highlight was standing at the end of the course and Tommy getting high fives from the racers. He was loving it!

Ok, for the other dark side....

Yes, I converted. I have never, ever not been blonde my whole life but thought this fall I needed a little change.

Birthday Bashes!

I officially have a teenager! Emily turned 13 this month and celebrated at the Beauty College. She invited 6 friends (all that can fit in our car) & they got "up-do's" and their nails painted. Afterwards we headed to a little ice cream shop on main street and had shakes, sang Happy Birthday and opened presents.

This lady that is doing her nails is also the one that did her hair. Emily was the first in her chair and the next to last to leave it. The lady had no idea what she was doing and I found out latter that she was telling Emily her hair had too many layers to do a cute style. Emily does her hair cuter than this daily. I was fuming when Emily was telling me the things the lady was telling her. But sweet Emily told me it was ok b/c at least all of her friends got cute styles. So the girls had cute do's and we had to show them off

Alicia decided to let her friends vote on which party to do and they chose ice skating. I'm telling you, this is the way to go. Take them skating (or whatever), take them for ice cream and take them home. What an easy, fun, relaxing party. These girls had a blast. They skated for almost 2 hours while I read a book and froze my hiney off. Then they each got a banana split or shake and were as happy as could be. This is such a cute age and Alicia really knows how to pick her friends.



I love my girls! They are such great helpers & a blast to hangout with. I was really blessed when my girls came first. They are wonderful big sisters & their little brothers admire them. My siblings think my boys will be warped for life for all the times they are "dressed-up" in make-up, nail polish or dresses but just look at my little brother Jim~ he turned out all right, and he was the cutest little girl ever!

I love you Emily & Alicia. Thanks for being in our family!

Sibling Squabbles

So they are off to school. My days of peace & quiet are finally here. I now have a teenager in Junior High & the three elementary kids seldom complain when I have them walk to school. Carpooling is the best thing ever invented. I only have to drive once a week to the Junior High and I have carpools for all three days of dance & tumbling. Piano, scouts and Activity Days are all within walking distance. The twins play so well together. We just make sure all of the Tommy's toys are put in the proper place by 3:30 each day. The few messes of the day I can live with.

I have it made!

So why the heading??? I thought I had it made. All my kids are in pairs. The girls are 2 years apart, the boys are 2 years apart & the twins have each other. They all have a buddy, just the way I always wanted it for my kids. Last night after a day of "revenge" and squabbles, I looked at my husband and threw up my hands. Maybe my sil has it right. She was just saying that she heard that siblings that are too close in age just fight all the time. She is closer to her sibling that is ten years older than any of her other 5 siblings (although this is not the case in my own situation).

So was I kidding myself when I decided to have all my kids close together so they would always have a buddy to play with on Sunday (since I felt so bad for my best friend who always wanted to play on Sunday because she didn't have a sister), or so they would always have a riding buddy at Lagoon? Yes, these may be shallow reasons for why I had my kids so close together but I concocted these ideas in my youth & they kind of stuck with me. But after days of soap on a toothbrush, breaking up not-so-friendly wrestling matches, threatening soap in the mouth for unkind words, toilet papered bedrooms and who knows what else I am starting to question what I have got myself into.

Yellowstone Road Trip

Whoever put the words, "Yellowstone Vacation" together in the same sentence has not been there with the Stucki's. I truely believe that this was a "road trip" in every sense of the word. Waking up at dawn, driving from sight to sight and getting to bed late (we can blame the late nights on the Olympics) is not my idea of a vacation. The kids were wonderful & enjoyed it more than I would have at their age but I was truely sleep deprived. Those of you who know me best know I am a crab when I don't get my rejuvenating sleep.

We spent a big part of our first day in Yellowstone looking for bears. After realizing "if" we were lucky we would only see them through a telescope, we ended up spending $50 to go to a museum for an hour to see a bear up close. After all, we had promised the twins & Tommy that we would see bears or some kind of wild life all the way up just to keep them excited.

The in-laws were our personal guides.

We hit Jackson during rush hour??? It took us forever to just get into town with the rest of Yellowstone. That night we went to Bar J's. The food was good but the entertainment was a little much for the little ones & both girls weren't feeling too good so we had to bail early. Tommy couldn't wait to get his cowboy hat and whatever Tommy wants, he gets, and whatever Tommy gets, so do the twins!

Eric is already talking about next years trip. All in all the trip was a bigger succes than I could have hoped for but next year I'm heading to Cali to bask in the sun and never leave the beach except for a day or two at DisneyLand. Now that sounds like a "FAMILY VACATION"!

Where did it Go?

We spent time freezing at Bear Lake and camping up Paris Canyon.


We spent the month of July with cousins at Lagoon, This is the Place State Park, & hanging at Grandma's.


Alicia got another dramatic hair cut & she couldn't love it more.


Stadium of Fire was a great time. The kids loved Miley although she was my least favorite act of the night.



I can't believe summer is almost over. Kids go back on Monday & Emily is going to Junior High. It'll be just me and the twins hanging out & enjoying peace & quiet.

Who am I kidding?

Homework & the twins without the extra eyes to help me keep them out of trouble about make me want to stay in bed and never leave. JK! For those of you who thought I gave up the blogging world.... I'm back.

Who says diet drinks aren't harmful?

"A good, in-depth study has found that just one can of diet soda a day can increase your risk of becoming prediabetic. The study suggested that the sweet taste of the artificial sweeteners may actually confuse the brain and cause us to gain weight."

I heard this on Good Morning America this morning. I find it very interesting because I am constantly hearing that diet drinks can't have a bad affect on you. They don't have any calories or any fat so what is the harm? The study includes all artificial sweetners. I don't drink soda but I do drink Crystal Light which I assume has the same affect. Moderation in all things is the way to go!

Embarrassing? Not this time

On the day before my birthday I was surprised with an email from my hubby. It said I should pack my bags w/ a nice outfit and be ready at 3:00. My mom showed up to babysit (surprise!) and we headed to Salt Lake. We checked in to the Hilton (thanks priceline!) and walked around town so I could get hungry since I just had an early birthday lunch w/ friends. We ate at the Blue Iguana (yummy). At this time I still didn't know what we were going to do until I looked at the sign on the Capital Theatre and saw that Stomp was there.

Eight years ago, Eric surprised me with tickets to Phantom of the Opera there. I borrowed a white floor length stretchy beautiful dress from my neighbor. I didn't have shoes to wear with it so we stopped at Nordstrom Rack to pick up a pair. Not realizing how slick new shoes can be, I got up before the play began to run to the restroom. We were up on the balcony about 15 rows up (we sat in almost the exact seats for Stomp). I slipped and went sliding down 13-14 rows. I landed at the bottom with my stretchy dress up around my waist. I was so embarrassed I told all that was running to help that I was fine and headed to the restroom. By the time I got there, my ankle was swollen. I couldn't even walk. Thank goodness Eric came to see how I was because he basically had to carry me back. I was pampered by those hoping not to get sued for the rest of the night.

Stomp was wonderful and I was careful not to leave my seat until the end of the performance.

Young Entreprenuers

Just a few surprises I found out of the 20-30 that these two took. I could hear them laughing and when I went in to investigate I discovered they had my camera. It wasn't until much later that I discovered what they were up to. I guess Benny is the model and Adam the photographer. But in some shots, I just can't tell.