Rayna's Place

I saw this on some girls blog and thought it was cute and fun! Hope you enjoy it. Maybe you'll do your own and let me know!
Outside my window


This is what the backyard looks like without the deck. Still a few more dump runs, then some gardening will begin!

"I hope Hubby and I can get away this weekend for a date, seeing that it's been 2 months"


I'm cooking baked ziti today for dinner, yum!



Tonight we are watching Dragonball.
Friday we are going to the local train museum.

Hope you enjoyed that! Tell me what some of your plans are!

We got a package today in the mail! It's always fun to receive packages! We got a lot of fun stuff in it.


The boys got a letter from Granny. A while ago we sent out questionnaires to family members for the boys personal history books. Well Granny sent the boys a written life story! Thanks, Granny!

Tina got a hat, purse, books and chap stick. Lucky girl! Of course we had to take pictures and Tina loves to model! Granny made the hat and purse.


The t-shirt is for me. Granny found it at a thrift store. It say "Sunshine Generation". It's this singing/dance group that I use to be in when I was 9 years old. Some of my brothers were in it also (Jared, Steve and Joseph, but I won't mention any names). One day I'll find a photo of me and post it!

I was wishing for diapers today! This is the hard part of having a young potty trained little girl. We went to the movies today and Tina said "4" times she had to go potty! Each time, nothing! Twice I told her this is the last time!
Yeah, right! If she says "potty", you go!
I think when we're not at home she's nervous and she doesn't go.
Oh, how I wished she had a diaper by the 4th time! JOKE!
In fact she's doing so good this week we're taking her shopping for a "big dolly"! That's what she was told she would get if she kept going potty. Of course I waited until she would poop in the potty, too!
Great job, Tina! I'll post pics soon when we get the dolly!

Last night for Family Home Evening we decided to make donuts. I've been wanting to try this for awhile. See the thing is I'm not a very good baker. So things usually don't turn out so great. I figured it was time though. Plus it sounded really good!
I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com.
First we made our dough. Then you shape it. That's the fun part!

Then you fry it!

Voila, your finished product!

We put honey and powdered sugar on them!

Everyone said they were good. They also said they tasted better than the real thing. Interesting! Well because you know real donuts are WAY TOO SUGARY! Uncle John said we could of added strawberries and it would of tasted like funnel cake! Yum, my favorite!
Kenny was our photographer because he really doesn't care for baking. He did help gather ingredients though! And of course he loves the end product!

Okay so here is the last post for today, I promise! Today we decided to tackle the very old deck in the backyard. It was only 17 years old! So the guys pulled out the hammers and saws and got started. Even Kenny and Mateo got to help!



Christina enjoyed the pool while everyone was working!

Of course there's no photo of me just lounging back watching the men work! Oh yes, I mean I was supervising!

Today our church had a picnic down at the park. Usually we have a bbq but this year they tried a brunch with pancakes and chorizo burritos. The food was really good! It was great to get outside and hang with friends. There was a lot of visiting going on and some games.

Here's Christina having a blast with some kids in the sand box.

They had a nail/hammer game. Who can hammer 6 nails the fastest.
Mateo and I both lost!


We also played tug-o-war! Always a fun game.

Kenny's been needing some service hours for scouts so we called around and found a place (homeless shelter) to do some work. They needed the fence painted. Kenny called around and got some supplies donated. Then we began our work.

Everyone took part and had fun painting.



At least for the first day! Then they realized how much work it was. This has been a great lesson for them. They've seen how some families might need help to get back on their feet. How we were helping to make the place look nicer. They also learned that sometimes you may not want to finish the job but you do!
This is what Tina looks like after we're done! Let me tell you, this paint is SO hard to get out of your hair!

Well this past week I had some big changes! First we finished potty training Tina. I can't believe it, she's not in diapers! Every time she uses the potty I'm so amazed. I can't believe she finally did it.
I can't believe I don't have to buy diapers anymore.
I can't believe I don't have to CHANGE diapers anymore.
I guess it's true what they say, not until they're ready will it happen!

Okay so this past week I had a big discussion to make. I was asked to leave my young women's calling. I've taught the 12-13 year old girls for the last 2 years. It was really hard to leave, but I know that my Heavenly Father has a plan for me. I also know that I will have another opportunity to be in the young women organization.
Well I am now in the Primary presidency as the secretary. It's a big job! You have to be organized! We'll see how this goes! I do love to be organized but we all know how life gets in the way!
I am so excited to be with the kids, to learn new things and work with the other leaders!

Today Kenny had a check-up with his doctor. He was feeling well enough to go and we all wanted to know if he was okay. So we made the trip, waited, saw the doctor and...The doctor said he's okay! We all said, "Really"?
"Yes, he is good to go. Go have fun"!, said the doctor.
Wow! I said, "now can he play come February"?
"Yes, he can!"
Whoo hoo!
Well we left there with smiles! Went down the road to Sonic and got a treat!
What a great way to end the day!

Well since we have been home, due to sick kids, I have been able to really spend some time potty training Tina. Some days she feels like trying and others not so much.
Today we really had a breakthrough. SHE WENT POOP IN THE POTTY! Now we all know that's the hardest and last thing to do, but it happened today! She was so proud of herself. We even took a picture, which I'll be so kind not too share.
The funny story about the pic is recently we were watching Jon & Kate one of the early episodes. The kids were getting potty trained and Kate took pictures of their poop for scrapbooks. While watching it I said "how gross" and that I would never do that. But when Tina's moment came I was so proud I just had to take a photo.
So 2 days ago I really wanted to get this done and over so I made a deal with her. I promised her if she could do 4 really good days we would take her to the store and buy her a BIG doll and some shoes. She is so excited for her new doll and shoes, she's been working hard.
This morning was a little tough, though. She woke up in a bad mood and didn't want to go potty. She through a fit all the way to the bathroom. I thought about giving up but I didn't. She eventually sat down and went. I think at that moment she realized how easy it could be.
Now I know this is a really long blog about potty training but I hope one day we'll look back on it and laugh.

You've gotta check out this sweet giveaway. I also love this FHE site. They have so many great ideas!

I don't believe I blogged about this either. I'm so bad! My brother and his wife just had their 4th baby. They had 3 boys. Now they have a little girl! At first (maybe still) they weren't sure what to do with a little girl! I'm sure they're getting the hang of it now.
Well today my Dad went to visit them. He will be blessing her. We're hoping he can make it through the blessing...she was named after my Mom, Soli Helena. She was named after 3 grandmothers, lucky girl! I always like it when family names are passed on. Of course I'm still getting use to saying her name out-loud! It's hard. I'm sure it will get easier with time.
Of course I couldn't wait to make something for baby Soli. My original plan was to make everything in pink and purple. I just love those colors! But some other fabrics/colors caught my eye. So this is what I came up with.

I chose the green because it was my Mother's birthstone/color.

Wait till you see what I have planned for Christmas! I can't wait!

I can't believe I forgot to blog about this. This happened in early June. The boys have a lot of fun teaching Christina "things". Not too mention that her vocabulary has improved tremendously. She will try just about any word now.

So this day Hubby and Tina were going back and forth about something. Dad just wasn't gonna give in! Tina wasn't very happy about it!

This is there conversation:
Dad: "What am I gonna do with you? One day I'm gonna lock you in your room"! (also referring to the teenage years)
Tina: "NO LOCK"!

Tina: (motioning) "I've got my eyes on you"! (something the boys taught her)

It was so funny! We couldn't stop laughing! And then we told ourselves,
"She's only 3"!

Since Mateo's games were over we decided to get away. We have some friends with some land to play on, so we packed our stuff and left. Now the kids and myself have been there before, but Ken hasn't. What fun we had with Dad there! There's just so much to do; fish, swim, ride ATV, play with the animals and visit with friends! Uncle Joseph even made it. Next time we have to get Pappa there.
I wish we could have stayed longer but we were just happy to get away and relax. The week before Tina was sick and had just started feeling better. I made sure that she had the okay from the doctor before we went. When we got back the boys ended up being sick.
Well at least we had a nice weekend break!

So the other day I decided to get back on track with our summer schedule. We had a whole week put on hold due to Tina's illness. The boys had to keep themselves busy with games, computers and tv. Boo-hoo! I'm sure they were really upset!
Actually they kept asking, "What are we gonna do today?"
I remember my Mom tracing each of us when we were young. You could use these for just about anything; body lessons, drawing fun, etc..
I wasn't sure if they were gonna enjoy this one but we had fun!

Typical Mateo!

Tina waiting for her turn.

And then we colored them!

Finally we have an end! I love baseball! I love watching my boys play! But I also love when the season is OVER! Mateo's team played 4 really great games. They should really be playing tomorrow but that's okay.
Well now we can just enjoy the rest of summer!

Well since Tina was sick all weekend we really didn't do too much for the 4th. She was up to watching Mateo play in his first All-Star game, though. We are so proud of him for making the team. I know he was stoked also! He has been waiting to make the team for a couple of years now. He put in some hard practices and suited up!
I'm so glad their colors are blue, he looks good in blue! It brings out his eyes! I'll have to get a close-up pic later. I wasn't in charge of the camera because I was keeping Tina comfortable.
(Getting their name called before the game)

(waiting for a ball in outfield)
They were in the lead the entire game until the last inning. The coaches caught the other team going over pitch count for one of their players. They put the game under protest which held the game up for 40 minutes, fun! Then when the game re-started the other team came back and won by one, sad!
The second game our team wasn't doing so good BUT they came back in the last inning and won, CRAZY!
Sidenote: The wind was crazy!
We play Tuesday, stay tuned.
Later in the evening we did sneak out and watch some fireworks. We just parked on some hill and watched from a far. Tina enjoyed watching them! We then headed home and put the kids to bed!

Poor, poor Tina is not feeling so well today. She's been running a fever for 24 hours. Usually I can give her medicine and it disappears. Not this time around! The bad thing is that tomorrow is the 4th. We have an All-Star game and a bbq plus fireworks. Man!
Well knowing how ball crazy our family is...mostly likely we'll ALL be at the game. Seeing that Tina doesn't have a fever!
So either way we'll have a memorable 4th of July! Hope you do to!

Well today was my last (main) class for my quilt. It was so much fun and knowledgeable. I met some awesome ladies.

I am so happy I took this class. I made 8 quilts last year and had so many mistakes. Now, I know why!
Here we are getting instructions.
This is Bev our "amazing" instructor!
I just love the way this quilt looks. I can look at it and see great work!
I just have to finish 2 borders, apply the back and then take the binding class. It will be done by August. It's going to be a Christmas present for my Mother-in-law. Hope she likes it!
Man, I'm really loving quilting! It is so much fun to find a pattern, pick the fabric, sew and see a finished quilt! Next I have plans to make my boys quilts. I can't wait to pick the pattern and fabric.

Yesterday while my niece was over, they also got out the playdough. Here's some pics.