I almost Forgot!

This was by far the best picture! Thanks Alan for taking it!!

So Tanner's Baptism was a SUCCESS!

We just wanted to say ThAnK YoU! to everyone who made such an effort to come! It really did mean so much to us. This was a big day in our family. I still can't believe I'm old enough to have an 8 year old!! The scary thing is just how fast it seems to be moving along. Why is it so easy to picture him in middle school and high school already?? The very fact that I've been married for 9 and a half years and in that much time Tanner will be graduating is just beyond me! It all just needs to sllllloooooow down.


After the baptism we had a luncheon that was a hugh success as well. In the hectic morning I had no time to gather everything for it and put Ben in charge. The poor guy barely knew what the plan was in the first place and was some how able to get EVERYTHING that we needed to that church regardless. I was soooo impressed. We had a few batches of those crock pot classics (which if you haven't had them, they're the best... especially the chicken and dumplings) and my mom brought some rolls from a local restaurant... YUMMY!

Patrick (my bro) and Helen (Ben's sis) ended up staying with us for the rest of the next week until Thanksgiving.... awwww... but that will be part of my next story....

anyways...

CONGRATES Tanner on a very wise decision in life! We love you and are so proud of the young man you're becoming

Tanner's Baptism Video

This is the video that I'll play while we're all waiting for Tanner and Ben to get dressed and dried off after the big plunge!

The city museum

I just love this picture.  Shucks... I'm such a lucky gal to have a guy who loves me ;)

This is in the under the sea room

Roller Slide:  super fun, but a bit of a bumpy ride

The whole gang at the museum!  SUCH GREAT PEOPLE ;)

sumo dude... you're NO match!

I think this was my favorite thing... a skate park without the wheels!  ingenious... lol

k... I'm like 2 stories up here.. at least

Aren't they sooo cute!! I LOVE these guys!  hmmm.. I can't remember who stuck their finger in the picture... Ben or Wendell... oh well I'll just have to yell at both! lol

I just love this pic!  So... we can start and end with it *grin*

A bit late in the posting of this... but none the less enjoyable!

Right before we moved from MO Ben and I did something completely unheard of.

we went on a DATE!

Amber,  Craig and Unc. Wendell came along too.  The big outing was to go experience the city museum.  This place is UNBELIEVABLE!

Some guy just put this place together with recycled things he found all over the city.  Just think of a children's playland for grown ups.

you can see all of their pictures here, worth a peek

The City Museum

So here's the highlights:

We first went to Crown Candy.... this total hole in the wall (seriously in the middle of the projects, a little scary) but totally worth it!  It has a 50's diner kinda flair.  The food was amazing.  On the Dahle's recommendation I got the BLT.  This puppy had about 3 inches of crispified bacon deliciousness!  sigh....

After some yummy ice cream treats we were off to the city museum.  I don't even know where to start.

There was a great magician entertainer guy 

4 story slides to zip down

wire tubes that you climb through that are like 100 ft in the air

a ball pit with kick ball size balls

jungle gym type mazes to climb through

an entire area that looks like underground caves (seriously you can get lost!)

a room of street skating half pipes and such (SO FUN)

sooo many artifacts from old buildings 

and under-the-sea area with aquariums

vintage gaming stuff

an old vault and mirror room

and I'm sure I'm forgetting like half the stuff.

Anyone on their way to the midwest really has to go here.  My only regret is that we didn't go till our last week in town.  I would have loved to bring the kids back during the day.  

SO FUN!  

Rylie Rocks!

Rylie's got a new post!!

Everyone go check out her cooking show... it's up and ready to watch on her site!

http://www.chefrylie.blogspot.com/

ENJOY!

Happy Halloween!

Tonight was a huge FUN fest!!

Ok... first off, I'm not going to procrastinate costumes this much next year!!  We had quite the ordeal getting it all together today. In the end it all worked out though.

Jocelyn:  We asked her what she wanted to be this year and she said a "vampire skunk".  I know where the skunk comes from... but not the vampire fascination... We obviously nixed the vampire idea.  The skunk side of things comes from a Clifford book we have.  In it Charlie's dad tells all the kids about Wiffy the Skunk Ghost.  It's really her favorite story, so it was a good fit for her.  She loved chasing the cats and "stinking them" as she called it... lol  so funny!

Rylie:  Rylie might seem abrasive at first glance... but she's my softy in the family.  She loves anything sweet, cute, girly... Her favorite animal is a pink poodle.  I found this costume and she was in love.  The poofs are made with those bath scrunchy ball thingys...  She told me as she was running around the back yard that she thought she was turning into a dog... her stomach was making her bark!  

Tanner:  Tanner wanted something unique this year and I think he got it.  Of course all credit goes to Family Fun.com but hey, I think the execution was all right...  He of course is a little boy being abducted by an alien.  He got soooo many comments while we were out tonight... and he soaked up every last one of them... If he even thought he heard or saw someone noticing him... he'd stop, and preform.  His costume was a real hit!

Welcome to the new look of MAYHEM!

Isn't it beautiful?  

I just found that song to the right... I think it's fitting.  After all, my greatest ambition is to resemble June, and of course we all know Ben is Ward right?? lol

well... I like the message... none of us are really that way... order? control? what's that?  But it doesn't matter because the beauty is in the mayhem.  

PLEASE leave comments and let me know if you have any trouble viewing the new blog.. the music... if the formatting looks right on your computer....  It looks great on mine.. but that's never a guarantee.

HAPPPPPY HALLLLLOWEEEEEN!

Wish me LUCK!

Today is the first day of Rylie's new blog...

It's super cute if I say so myself.  (thanks to Tiff for finding that great website of backgrounds)

We're making pumpkin pie today when she gets home from school... we'll see how it goes ;)

Rylie... possessed? or just mad?

So, this is Rylie's new face for when she's upset with us. 

 

I think it's purpose is to convince us that she's displeased or angry. 

 

Perhaps she's trying to strike fear into our hearts and bend our will to her wily ways???

Well, it might not be working... but it sure makes me pause.  *yikes*  "they're baaaaack" is all I can think.

disturbing, disturbing, disturbing.

Tanner's first two reports.. just thought I'd share

So Tanner stewed and toiled about two reports that he was assigned for an entire week.  True to character, he waited till today (the last day) to work on them.  The hardest part for him was just deciding which two explorers he would write about.  Not many passed his scrutiny.  Finally he chose Marco Polo and Jacques Cousteau.  He typed out most of the first until I finally showed mercy and was his scribe.  After 4 hours of guiding him through how to write a report... we're all tired.

here they are...

Marco Polo

Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy in the year 1254. His father was a merchant. But Marco’s mother died when he was little boy, and his aunt and uncle had to raise him. Marco polo left on a trading mission with his brother to China. The name of the ruler was Kublai Khan. The Khan was interested in the Polos. He invited Marco and his brother back to China. In 1271 Marco was now 17 and was starting his journey back to China. He started by going from Venice to Acre by ship. The rest of the way he traveled on camel across the deserts to China. After 3 years from leaving Venice they reached the palace. And the Khan gave them a warm welcome. Marco and his brother were getting worried about going home safely. They thought that if the leader died then his enemies would capture him. So they left China back to Venice. They didn’t go strait there though. They went to Singapore and then to Sumatra and then to India. They went across the Arabian Sea to Hormuz. They traveled through Turkey and Constantinople and then they arrived back in 1295. They went almost 15,000 miles.
They had been gone for 24 years. 

I think that it is weird that he traveled so far. His father must have been pretty worried about how long he had been gone.

When they got back to China they had lots and lots of jewels. When they were in Venice there was a great war going on. In 1296 the Genoese captured Marco Polo and put him in a jail. No one knows why, but that’s where he wrote about his travels. 

His book was called Description of the World. Lots of people in Europe have read his book. When Christopher Columbus discovered his book it influenced him. He didn’t like his estimation of Europe to China.

I think Marco Polo was so great because he went such a long distance from Venice to China. Then, he did it all over again.

Jacques Cousteau

I found out something that is amazing. I discovered that Jacques Cousteau wrote a book called The Living Sea, which is a book that I have and have also checked out from the library. The book had mostly types of fish and species from coral reefs.  

Jacques was born in France in the year 1910. He was an underwater explorer also called an oceanographer. He wrote books and made movies of the life underwater. He was also an inventor. He invented a ship for underwater exploration called the Diving Saucer. He also invented something called the Aqua Lung which helped divers breath underwater. In 1960 Jacques Cousteau stopped the French from dumping radioactive wastes into the Mediterranean Sea.

To show people what it’s like underwater with ocean life and to promote conservation, Jacques Cousteau had a television show. The show was called “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau”.

I thought this was cool because I love the life of undersea worlds. I like to check out sea books at the library. My mom and dad have both scuba dived before. I want to be a land biologist when I grow up, but I still love to swim and look at the animals in the ocean. What I wish to do some day is go to the beach and find a tidal pool in the sand and rocks. I think I might find sea urchins and star fish and many other creatures that Jacques Cousteau talks about.

Tanner Bruce Marchant ---- Happy 8th B-day!!!

Four score and twenty-eight months ago, our Tanner graced us with his sly, witty, exuberant, precocious and humorous presence, filling our lives with a passion for exploration, adventure and discovery.  Yesterday, Tanner turned 8.  What a milestone!!!  We celebrated with games, gifts, Uncle Geoff, several of his school mates and lots and lots of LEGOS!  It was a LEGO party to remember.  There was a LEGO building contest, a LEGO tossing contest and there was even (an exquisitely baked) LEGO cake eating extravaganza with ice cream, root beer and cherry topping to boot!  Everyone had a lot of fun, especially Tanner (of course).  For dinner he took the family to Gertie's Brick Oven pizza in Twin Falls where the servers bring a variety of pizzas to your table buffet-style (only you don't have to do any of the work!).  Tanner is very excited about all his presents and has played with everything from his new LEGO sets to his Bakugon games and a crazy machines computer game.  

Tanner Bruce Marchant

loves:  Animals, Legos, Bakugon, Indiana Jones, books about Mythical creatures and legends 

Favorite color:  Green

Wants to be a:  Biologist

Favorite pastime:  jumping on the trampoline, playing on the computer

Favorite ice cream flavor:  Cookie Dough

Favorite food:  Pizza

If he could travel anywhere it would be to Austrailia....

 "there's lots of cool varieties of animals there:

Thanks for the memories!

We LOVE you!!