Our Party of Five

Girls and Herbs

2010-03-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

It is now nearing the end of March. Seriously, how fast is the time going to go by??? Conner had just finished up Freshman B-ball. Now he is playing club ball. His day consists of B-ball outside or on the TV or a video game if it is too dark or if the girls are in bed of course I have to wrestle the homework out of him. He will start driving in June. Watch out!!! Hanna and Bailey are just having a great time with the wonderful weather that we have been having. They have been keeping busy with Young Women projects and Achievement Day Girls activities. I was called to be the A/G gal in Novemberish and the girls camp director back in October. (you condolences are welcome) Just kidding. It is all going to be a GREAT learning process for me. The gals that I get to work with are so great and we are going to have a lot of fun. Anyway, we have a lot of deer that live in the almond orchards here on our Paso hill. I have always thought that I would always like to learn to be a better green thumb but I have heard horror stories about the deer and ground squirrels. So, I haven't done it yet. I finally caved and decided to plant a 'test' box to see if it gets gobbled up by the deer. So far so good! I was told about this great website, The Pioneer Woman, great site BTW. She has a ton of great, easy recipes. I have tried a few and they are FAB. Chicken parm was on the menu at our house monday night and I was able to use the basil and parsley that is growing on our front patio table. SOOOO GOOOOD!! What a difference fresh makes and the kids have enjoyed knowing that they planted them. I got some pineapple sage too and I have no idea what to make with it but it smells heavenly. Hanna said that we should make a cake out of it , yes, it smells that good. Any ideas, please send them to me. Hopefully I will be better at posting but it has been a little crazy around Casa de Jorg. We are all well and fiesty. We hope that you are all well too.

2009-12-18T17:26:00.000-08:00

For some reason, hand made gifts are what I decided to do. I am kinda done with all of the 'stuff''. I thought that this would have a more special meaning to those that we gave them to. I hope that they enjoy them, I REALLY enjoyed making them. If anyone is interested in one, I have some more of them available. There are a couple other 'words' available too. Let me know. ( i won't be able to have them done for Christmas but they make great gifts all year) Love to all of those that we can not be close to at this time of year. Merry Christmas!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2009-12-18T17:23:00.001-08:00

Here are the attempts at a photo...Maybe we will get one in Utah.

July already!!!

2009-07-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

First of all let me just apologize for being such a slacker lately. It has been a mad house at times and a morgue other times. I will try to sum up what we have been up to the last few months. The last time we went camping is posted below. We went to Texas for a family reunion, the Monday after school got out. We had such a great time. We were on the "Spent Rent" houseboat for 2 of the days and had a great time. The girls did get sunburned pretty bad but I was diligent in putting on the sunscreen, it just didn't seem to help. It was on their legs, front but mostly the back. They were out playing on the tubes that were tied up to the houseboat. I guess it just wore it off as fast as I put it on. But we all survived. ( there are a few pics on my facebook, thanks to Trisha) After we got home, I kept finding these little pieces of 'paper', so i thought, come to find out it was Bailey's peelings. Gross, I know, but funny. A big huge THANK YOU to Carl, Luann and their wonderful family for hosting all of us and to GMA AND GPA for the trip. We all had a FABULOUS time. I forgot the camera, in my purse both days that we went to the boat. We floated the Comal river. On big inner tubes. That was great too!! The week went by way to fast but we are always glad to get home. Conner went to scout camp this last week and completed 4 more of his merit bages. Only 4 more to go to Eagle. Hanna is getting VERY excited for girls camp in August. I am getting things together for that too. I also was released from the Stake YW and was put in as our wards activity days leader. Bailey and I are looking forward to it. So I have been trying to get some fun ideas together for some activities..Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. We have really been trying to keep things mello lately. Lots of friends over and play dates at friends houses but still keeping it on the down low. Mostly just for my own sanity. Now to the dining room pictures posted above. I have been wanting to put some sort of cushion on our chairs for a long time. I finally got around to getting all of the goods needed to make it happen. With Randy's stellar skills with a staple gun we got it done in a few hours and I LOVE it. I think that they look great and are much more comfy on the bottom end. We are no longer going to AZ for my family reunion. Hopefully next year it will come together more smoothly. That is all that has been happening in our world. Sorry for the mega post but if you are a reader, thank you. Keep in touch too. San Luis Obispo is a great place to visit too. Don't forget about us!!! Our door is always open!!

It's raining...Oh wait, that's SNOW!

2009-02-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

This last time that we went camping it snowed on us. Sometimes it rains on us or is VERY windy but the snow, that is new! The girls had so much fun in the wet stickiness. This was the kind of snow that made the best snow balls. Very wet and sticky. Hanna and Bailey made some snowmen and Conner stayed nice and dry in the motor home. We are going to have to watch out for Hanna, she is now wanting to JUMP the Razor. I have to think that is going to cause some grief in the future. She even asked if you could do that in a car. Again I say, TROUBLE! Bailey got into a fight with the back of Hannah F.'s boot, hence the fatty lip. They were climbing up a hill and she got booted in the mouth. Even though we were motor home bound longer than we like, we still had a blast. The kids are getting better every time that we go. I think that we will try to do something different in the future so it doesdn't seem like we are just desert rats. I am thinking DISNEYLAND!!! Who is with me???

DIRTY smiles!

2009-02-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

Dirty smiles after a long ride. We love baby wipes still! Conner is not ever very dirty because he is in the front most of the time and the poor guy who gets stuck behind him is always a little dirtier that they should be. Conner is a big fan of roosting you if you happen to follow him. I will get him someday!

Mojave Desert, Christmas 2008

2009-02-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

The past couple of years we have been going out to the Mojave Desert between Christmas and New Year's. This year was no different. We always have such a blast out there. We usually do some sort of 'family' ride, for the younger riders and those of us who value all of our body parts attached. The 'big' guys usually do a man ride in the morning or late afternoon. We went in to the Borax mine and took a little tour of the facility and saw a movie on what exactly borax is. Pretty interesting stuff actually. It was a 50 mile round trip ride, and our smallest bikes only have 3rd gear so it was some slow going. Hanna and Bailey were freezing when we got back to camp but they were troopers and we did not have any wipeouts or bike issues. Although we did loose one of our adults, Tracey. He thought that everyone was following him and apparently no one was. He showed up in camp about 10 minutes after we got in. You can see by the smiles that we all love it! I guess you cvan't with the helmets on. And I am slowly getting caught up with the blog! I will give you a run down of the pics: Conner just waiting to go, Randy and Bailey pinnin it, Tracey(the one who got lost) and Randy making sure that we are going the right way, Hanna waiting to go too, and Randy getting the awning put away. It can get pretty windy out there.

Hallowween 2008

2009-01-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Conner was Batman this year, only because we went to a party and I made him dress,up with the rest of us. Hanna did a project on Cleopatra, her hair cracks me up. Bailey was Miss Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia and Jorg and I were tacky tourists. We had a blast at our parties.

2008-12-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

From our family to yours,

Warmest wishes in this holiday season. And if we can't be there with you in person, we are with you in spirit and you are all in our hearts. Especially now but throughout the year too. Loves to all.

SUPER BLOG TO FOLLOW!!

2008-12-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

I promise that I will be updating soon. I just need to get my thoughts organized and then put them into writing. I guess that I am afraid of rambling in my postings but I think that that is the idea!! So forgive my weaknesses and I will post soon!! I am just so jealous of all of you , whom I follow, that post like reading from a book, you are all so good!

Last, lazy days of summer.....

2008-09-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

The kids all LOVE the beach. This was Hanna's turn to try riding the long board. She did pretty well, for the 1st time on it. Bailey is the boogie boarder. She and Hanna will stay in the water until their lips are blue. Then it is out of the water to fling sand all over and then, as soon as they can feel their feet again, back in to the water. Now, mind you , that this is not a sunny So. Cal beach. On this day it was about 65 outside and the water hovers around 58, I believe. Hanna has a full suit and Beej just had a spring suit( short sleeves and legs). Conner is determined to stand up and the surf boars and he is getting pretty good at it. Randy is the brave one that ventures into the water with the kids. Me, you ask, I have been to Hawaii and I know what the water is SUPPOSED to feel like and the thought of getting into a wet suit is just plain scary!!

2008-09-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, the numskull that I am, I STILL can't figure it out!!!

Please help the computer illiterate

2008-08-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

How, for the love of PETE, do I change the background without losing all of my extras??

Clayton and Shayla's Wedding

2008-08-20T13:42:00.001-07:00

July 24, 2008
Rexburg Temple

The kids were very patient with all of the hustle and bustle at the temple. Conner's idea of entertainment at the luncheon. All of us at the reception.

Tram and chair lift At Northstar Ski Resort

2008-08-20T13:28:00.001-07:00

We rode the tram and then the ski lift up to the top of the mountain. Fun stuff!! It had been a long time since we had been an a chair lift. It was a lot of fun. There is a big down hill mountain bike track up there so on our way up we were able to see lots of adventurous people charging down hill on their bikes. Up at the top we could see over to Lake Tahoe and it was beautiful. Had we been better prepared (better shoes) we could have walked/hiked over to the other chairlift and rode down on that one. Maybe next time. I am really glad that we got to spend a few days up in the mountains, I really miss the mountains, the ocean is great but nothing reminds me of 'home' like the mountains.

Here is what we have been up to....

2008-08-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Lake Tahoe....Our kids are so excited to be road trippin (can you tell). We needed to be in Idaho Falls, ID on the 24th of July, so we decided to take a little road trip up to the Lake Tahoe area. It is about 4 hours north of us. We left Sunday after church and headed up there. When we got there the kids wanted to go swimming...here they are and yes I do feed them, LOTS!! On monday we went for a river rafting trip down the Truckee river. Mostly class 1 and 2 but a few class 3's at the end. We all stayed in the boat and had a blast. After we got to the bottom of the river, Bailey says, Let's go again. (pictured to post later). From Tahoe we went over into Idaho, Nothin but flat and more flat.

15 things that make me HAPPY!!

2008-07-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

I stole this from one of my cousins' blog.
And in no particular order:

1) Warm days, cool nights
2) Spending lazy days with my family
3) Stolen moments with Randy
4) Watching my kids grow
5) A good book
6) Reading blogs
7) My calling at church
8) The smell of jasmine
9) Getting together with friends
10) House projects (but not til they are finished)
11) Scrapbook and card stuff
12) Reconnecting with old friends
13) Knowing that I have all of eternity to improve myself
14) Camping in the desert (NOT crashing on a motorcycle :-})
15) Celebrating my freedom, because it is not free

I really needed to do this, it always lifts my spirits when I think of all of the things that have blessed my life.
Happy 4th to all of you who take a peek at out blog, keep in touch!!

HARLEY RIDE

2008-05-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

This is a little pleasure that Randy and I get to do together every so often. It is so much fun. We have a great group of friends that have street bikes too. We all take little trip here locally on the Central Coast. It is amazing how many thing that you miss when you are driving. It is also a humbling experience knowing that my life is literally in Randy's very capable hands. We usually ride over to the coast and enjoy the back roads that are often forgotten by most people. It is really great in the summer, when it is 110 in Paso and you go over to the coast and there is a 30 degree difference. By the time we get back to Paso it is finally a comfortable temp. The girls also like to take little jaunts with their Daddy-o. Conner is not so sure about it, he says that he likes to be in control of the bike, not quite old enough for the road yet. He says he'll stick with the dirt bike. Here are a few picts of our beautiful central coast. (And a big ol bug that stuck to my lip.)

Once in a BLUE moon....

2008-05-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

Once in a blue moon, every now and then, once in a while, I will actually put my brain to work and it turns out pretty great. Let me start by telling you the back story, I don't know how it is at your house but at dinner time, we lack finesse. We have the staples that everyone loves {spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and pasta, ect.} But my poor little taste buds grow a little weary and would like to be wowed every once in a while. I do try to make things that are a little different, we are not talking escargots here, just something different. But usually it just backfires. So when I make out my grocery list I ask all of the kids what they would like to have over the next two weeks, Of course I get all the favs. Well, here comes the brain working part, I started thinking about how I could start teaching the kids to cook and actually get them to try something new. I came up with a pretty nifty idea. Chalkboard. When I could not find one at ANY store that was under a hundo, I decided to martha myself one.{she would be so proud} Anyway, Each of us, Randy included, is in charge of two nights over the next two weeks. They come up with the recipe, I do the shopping and then if it is their night, they help me prepare dinner. We have had a few snags, usually when it is Randy's night, but overall it has worked great and the kids are eating things that before they would not have touched. I guess that it comes from their vested interest in the meal. Like I said every once in a while I can dust off the ol hat and pull something out :-}

Now March is gone......

2008-04-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

I am in amazement at how fast time is flying by...We just have not been doing anything that is blog worthy. Randy and Conner are getting ready for their Mexico trip. Conner's first trip. It is a lot of fun for the riders. 500 miles, give or take a few, in 3 days and then home, 8 hours, Sunday night. Riding up into the mountains and then down to the coast. Some of the same trail as the Baja 1000. The girls and I are just going to take it easy and do whatever we want to. I am sure that there will be at least 1 movie if Bailey has her way. The girl loves the movies. Can't blame her, I love them too. I have had so much fun with this blog thing, not so much my own but all of my extended family seems to be on board too. It is a great thing that we can all peek into each others lives every once in a while and see what is new. I do have a bit of news, the excitement factor depends on who you ask about it. We are thinking about moving to San Antonio, Texas. A lot of factors have gone into the process of thinking this through and we feel (most days) that it would really benefit our family.
A big part of our decision is that our landlord at the wrecking yard will not renew our lease and Randy gets the feeling that he has other plans for the property. We would be able to accumulate the real estate properties that Randy wants too and we would never be able to do that in California. Keep your fingers and toes crossed and a few prayers wouldn't hurt either. I wish that we could be closer to ALL of our family but it just is not in our cards. Randy's brothers are both there so that will make things a lot easier for all of us. Family really is the glue that sticks us all together. For any of the Webb cousins who happen by, have you heard anything about a family reunion?? We tend to be out of the loop....That's all for now. J

February is gone...

2008-03-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe that the month is already gone. We had a pretty quiet month. We went camping once, over Pres. day. Shelby, my favorite sister, had a little bit of fa scare this past month. Little Isis decided to get gravely ill with RSV. Spent a few days in the hospital, gave Shelby and Jymn a few more gray hairs but she was a trooper and fought it all off. Then Jymn's turn on the death bed. Then Dom's turn. Luckily Shelby has stayed healthy, if not exhausted, through it all. We have all been fairly lucky this winter and just a few sniffles to fight (knocking on wood). Spring break is coming up fast. I have not figured out why the school district seem to think that it is a good idea to do a week of minimum days BEFORE two weeks off. Their idea of revenge I think. Just recently I have for out that some of my cousins have blogs too. I was really excited to see them and their families. Some of them I haven't seen in a few years and all of our kids are growing so fast that it is good to keep up with them and all of their fun. We are planning on having a few visitors over the break and one last camping trip before it gets too hot out in the desert. And then another month will be over too. Hopefully time will slow a little and I will get the time to enjoy my kids before they get too big to want to hang with the Mom. I will try to get my pictures on to this particular computer so I can upload a few pictures of our wonderful kiddos. I am amazed at what amazing kids we have been blessed with ( yes, I am a bit biased). Keep in touch to those of you who are far away come for a visit if you can, we love company. Don't let the little things slip by without noticing them, sometimes it is the little things that make it worth all of the turmoil and trials. Until next time......

This and That

2008-01-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

We made it through the Holiday's with just a few minor scratches. We had a great Season. We headed up to Utah to the Stapley clan for the festivities. We had a wonderful WHITE Christmas. It was a blast, CJ, Camron and his kids, Jeff and Jen and their crew, Nana and Papa and our crew all went sledding after a great big storm. We went to a great place in Murray Park, just enough hill to be fun but requiring no emergency room trips. CJ, Randy and Cam built a HUGE snowman that the kids started and it ended up being about 10 feet tall. I will post picts as soon as I get some from Cam(my batteries died after a few picts) Randy took Conner up for his first snowboarding adventure. When he got home Conner could barely move and he said his neck and back were sore. He fell a few times and hit his "butt knuckles". I was not aware the we have butt knuckles but when you are a skinny as he is you probably feel everything. He said that he could never do that again. As Randy put it ,"he got his butt handed to him." For a kid that usually picks up on everything pretty fast, he was pretty bummed that it was not easier for him(no pun intended):-} We then headed down to Cedar City to spend a few days with Gma and Gpa Jorgensen. We took the kids to Randy's uncle DeVon's ranch. Hanna was in horse heaven. She learned how to ride a little better and how to sort cattle. We didn't think that we would ever get her off of old Fred. She would love to be a cowgirl. Randy rode trusty ol Skip. Conner and Bailey were content to keep both feet on the ground. Conner said that it was the wrong kind of horse power. After our adventure in Cedar City it was home to our house for a whole 2 days. I had to be home for the New year's eve dance for the youth and Randy need to go into work and get some things done then we were off to the desert for some motorcycles and camping. The weather was good to us and we all had a great time. We missed Rick and Jake though. Rick was in mexico and Jake didn't want to go with us ( I wonder why, only kid at home vs. our 3 yahoos) Conner ended up with the only minor injury this time. He took a header on a jump after a pretty good night of rain. Hurt his shoulder and his noggin. But he is ready to saddle up again. I was glad to come home and get back into our usual routine. I love going out to the desert but I think that I love getting really clean more!! :-} We hope that this year is filled with all of the love and adventure that you all desire. We are so blessed and grateful for all of the time that we get to spend together as a family and all of the loved ones that we have to love. I am going to try and be better at this for a number of reasons but mostly to try to keep close to those who are miles away. Love to you all.......Til next time.

Nothing Exciting

2007-11-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

All is well on the left coast. I can not believe how fast time is just flying by. It will be the end of the year before I have a chance to take down all of the Halloween stuff. I get so excited around this time of year. The hope of new beginings is wonderful. I remember being a kid and it would take forever for Christmas to get here. Conner will be 13 on the 2nd of December. He is almost taller than his Nana (my mom). That is his goal for this year and it has even worked in getting him to choke down a few veggies. I don't get it, he used to eat anything and everything. It seems that as soon as the color green is not so cool, veggies are out the door. Hanna on the other hands will still try anything at least once. Still likes veggies and she can still pack it away. Hollow leg for sure. Bailey is a grazer, she eats just enough to take the hunger away and then she is off. Just to be back as soon as all of the food is put away and all of the dishes done. It cracks me up to see them growing so fast and some of their traits are just like Randy's and mine from when we were kids. Guess that is why we are the parents, huh. It really does seem like the older I get the faster time goes by. I hope it slows down a bit so I have time to stop and enjoy the many blessings that we have been blessed with. I guess this will end this blog. Still not sure what the etiquette for signing off is.

Doing what they love most

2007-10-19T21:38:00.001-07:00

They learned everything that they know from Randy....This is his dream. He loves his motorcycles. And all of the kids have taken after him in that respect. They are so much fun to watch. Seeing them grow in their confidence is wonderful. Conner is now going with Randy on most of the 'boys town rides'. Hanna has 2 wheels off of the ground, and Bailey just loves to do laps around the campsite.
Bailey is wearing red, Hanna is wearing blue, and Conner is standing tall on his TTR 125.

New to Blogging!!

2007-10-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

All of the Stapley Crew on the Central Coast!
This was the first time that we had the privilege of having all of Jamie's family with us at the same time. Except Jeff, he had to hold down the home front for everyone. All of the kids had a blast!! We really enjoyed showing off the central coast. Two of Jamie's brothers and their families have never been to Paso. Jymn had only been once. We got to enjoy everyone for a few days. Being fairly new to this blogging thing, I have peeked on a few cousins' and friends' sites and got inspired to try one myself. We'll see how I keep up. Until next time......June 2007