The Joyner Family

Happiness

2011-11-29T14:02:00.000-08:00

I am seriously working on finding happiness in my life as it is now. It is kind of a battle for me, but I have really been thinking lately about how we are really responsible for our own happiness. The world isn't going to make sure we are happy, and often times things aren't just going to happen for us that ensure happiness. It is up to me to find joy in my everyday life. For me, this means digging deeper than the basic things that make me happy, like a cup of good hot chocolate, a good movie, etc. Because those things aren't lasting. If I am not happy with myself at the core, it is a lot harder to be joyful on the outside. I am working on finding things about myself that I love, and on putting out a more positive attitude about the world around me as well. Changing isn't easy, and it isn't quick, but it is sometimes necessary. Wish me luck.

Halloween

2011-11-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

Halloween is over? Already? What happened? At this rate it will be New Year's and I will be left wondering what happened to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This year, my kids were (in order from youngest to oldest) a bat, a punk rocker, a witch, and Athena. We trick-or-treated until almost 9 last night, and the haul the kids brought in was substantial. Enough to keep them in candy until Easter.

Crafty organization

2011-10-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted since last November. I know, I know, it has been almost a year. Let's not talk about it. Dwelling on things is a bad habit. Let's just move on.

I got crafty this week, something I haven't done in a long time. You see, my dresser has been accumulating a massive pile of stuff, and within that mess was my jewelry. I have various jewelry boxes, and every couple of months I make an attempt to reorganize things, but my earrings, necklaces, and bracelets inevitably end up i a heap on my dresser, or spilling out of a box, tangled and difficult to manage. I had had enough.

So I made these:

And they are awesome. Organization and function masquerading as decor. I love them! Here are a couple of closer shots:

I wish I had taken pictures of the frames beforehand. They were just a couple of cheap, beat up frames from D.I. - I paid $3 for both. One was gold and one was wood. I spray painted them black, replaced the backing with hardware cloth, and voila! You can't see the detail really well on the longer frame, but it is lovely. And all my hangy jewelry is where I can see it, but out of the way. I also put some of my hair clips on there. And hanging on my wall it looks like art. Perfect! The pictures don't really do the whole thing justice. Even Jon thought it was really cool. (You know, since he knows what is cool. Ha!)

So that is it for show and tell. Guess I'll see you next year.

Very Merry Christmas Cards

2010-11-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

This year, I am longing to try out Shutterfly's holiday cards. It has been years since I sent out cards - the cost plus the need to have a good family picture have precluded it. But this year, I have an opportunity to get 50 free cards from Shutterfly, and I am going for it! (Although with Shutterfly, the cards are so cheap anyway that I might have done it!) They are offering the free cards to bloggers, and so here we are.

There are so many great cards to choose from that it may be difficult to decide!!! I really like the message on this one, along with the use of pops of color:

I would love this one, maybe with a picture of the whole family in the middle and one of the boys on one side and the girls on the other:

And this one is just fun with the snowflakes and the colorful letters against a black and white photo, whether I use a family picture of one of just the kids:

Or, finally, this one, which is a folded card, and which I think is just so simple and beautiful:

I also like the gift options that Shutterfly offers, especially the calendars, which I am thinking might make a good gift for certain family members:

So there are my top picks from Shutterfly for this holiday season - what are yours? If you blog, head on over and fill out the form too! It is one way to make your Christmas a little merrier!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

2010-11-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

Let me start off by saying that I dislike the song whose lyrics are composing my title this morning. As a matter of fact, looking back to yesterday, I referenced another song from that production in my title as well. I actually do not care for that movie. I know what you are saying on the other side of your computer screens. "What, does she kick puppies too?" No, I don't. Well, except for that one time. But he was asking for it...

The reason I chose those lyrics for this post is not because I am thankful for raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but rather because that song is composed of a seemingly unending list of what the singer's favorite things are, and after missing a few days of posting, that is what my list of things I am thankful for is starting to feel like. So let us catch up to today, before it gets any more out of hand.

Over the weekend, I came down with the cold that I have been fighting off in Anna for the last week and a half. It was inevitable, I suppose, but my 6th day found me grateful for health as I was saying goodbye to my own.

Sunday was the 7th day (how appropriate,) and the weather here was rainy and cold. I was thankful for the rainy day, when I was able to just stay inside, in comfy clothes, on my bed, fighting the cold and rading and playing Lego Harry Potter on the Wii (don't judge - it is an addictive game.)

Yesterday, Monday, day 8, I was thankful for being able to get up and make breakfast for my kids. Most mornings I work out early, and the kids have already fended for themselves by the time I get home. Since I was still kind of sick, I didn't workout, but instead made the kids French toast. (I hate French toast, but they love it.) They had bellies full of warm food, and that made us all happy.

That brings us to today - number 9 in the lineup. Today I am thankful for a combo - vitamin C, zinc, and Airborne. Thanks to those, and copious amounts of water, I am pretty much over my cold - a record 2 1/2 days in length - and was able to go to the gym this morning and run my first-ever 5K on the treadmill.

Ah, I am all caught up (can I be grateful for that too?) What are you thankful for?

The Hills Are Alive

2010-11-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I get to do one of my very favorite things. I get to go and see one of my favorite bands play live in Sacramento. They are an independent band from Arizona, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, and they play at Harlow's, which means a smaller crowd than the big bands get, which means that if I choose, I can be right up in front of the stage. Typically, that is where I go, but the last time we went to see the band, Jon ended up feeling ill afterward, and came down with the swine flu the next day, which he conveniently blamed on being too close to the stage (something about his height and being too close to the speakers making it worse for him than average size people - have I ever told you that he blames everything on his height???) Anyhow, he has determined that he no longer wants to be up in the crowd, but rather back at a table where he can sit (does he sound old or what?) So we will see if I end up on the floor alone or back at the table with him - last time I was waiting near the stage before it started and Jon wasn't with me yet, and some guy complemented my shirt while staring at my chest. I'd rather not be alone in the crowd ;)

Anyhow, this all brings me to what I am grateful for today. I am extremely thankful for music. I LOVE music. I love to sing (I sang tenor in high school and was in a musical where I was a gospel singing nun.) I love to dance. Music makes me feel lighter and happier when I want to, or it embraces my melancholy when I need it to. I love lyrics and melody. If I had to make the horrible choice between being deaf or blind, I would have to go with blind, because to never hear music again would make my life miserable. So that is what I am thankful for today - what about you? Oh, and here is a picture of the guys I will be seeing tonight - I'm not sure the picture does him justice, but the lead singer is hot. Just an added bonus to how awesome he is live.

Jamie, I'm so glad you're mine

2010-11-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

On my fourth day of counting my blessings, I am thankful for my sister-in-law Jamie, who came to save me today when my car ran out of gas on the freeway. If it were not for her, I would, at the very least, still be walking home. Not only did Jamie save me from possibly being picked up by a random trucker, but she has done many great and wonderful things for my family, besides the fact that she is just funny and fun to hang out with. She is more than willing to dance, sing, or just do other random crazy things, bringing some spontaneity into anyone's life. And so I am grateful for Jamie Sartain.

Sweet Child of Mine

2010-11-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

I am finding so many things to be grateful for that it is hard to choose which one to use which day.

On day #3, I am thankful for my youngest, 3 1/2 year old Jonathan Neil Joyner. With the other three in school all day, he and I get to spend a lot of time together. He is extremely cute, just ask any of the women who he charms each week at church. He flirts with women shamelessly, at the store, the library, the school - any age, any shape and size - he is equal opportunity! Jonathan constantly tries to talk his way into/out of things, starting sentences with "How about" or "I know!" and raising his eyebrows repeatedly at you to try to get you to do what he wants. I am completely immune, unfortunately for him. Since being potty trained earlier this year, he is determined to mark his territory, asking me at every place we go "Do they have a bathroom here?" I have started telling him no, just because I can't take going into one more bathroom when I know he is forcing himself to go (he also has amazing control over that!) He can be cute and cuddly or independent and willful, and I love watching him figure things out each day. One of my favorite things is the fact that he can pick up almost entire songs the first time or two he hears them, and I will catch him singing parts of them while I am driving or while he is playing (makes you pay attention to what he hears - he was singing "Highway to Hell" from the backseat a while back.) I am thankful for all that he adds to my life and our family.

Thank you, thank you

2010-11-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today as I sit at my desk, making phone calls for dental appointments, calling for support for our upcoming hospital stay, and checking in with family and friends, I am thankful for Mr. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. I know that there are days when I wish that the telephone wouldn't ring anymore (last night, when all the politicians kept "calling" me to secure my vote is a good example) and I long for a trip to a desert island where no one could find me, but this morning I find the telephone to be an invaluable invention.

What are you thankful for today?

Counting My Blessings

2010-11-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

Somehow it is already November. I have no idea where it came from, or where the year has gone, but there it was this morning, waiting for me when my alarm went off. As we all know, the big deal this month is Turkey Day. Also known as The Day We All Eat Too Much. Or The Day Before Black Friday. Or, for some of us, The Day We All Get Dressed Up To Go and Fight With Our Families (I haven't experienced that one, but have heard stories.) But, officially, it is known as Thanksgiving.

This month, in order to keep my blessings at the forefront of my mind as our family is going through some hard things, and in order to truly remember to give thanks for those blessings, I am instituting the 25 Days of Thanksgiving. Every day I will post something that I am thankful for. I encourage you all to do the same, whether you post it or not, just take some time every day through Thanksgiving to write down one thing that you are thankful for. Keep the list to look at when times are darker. Or if your times are dark now, use that time every day to find a shaft of light to follow. Surely in this world, where we are all alive and surviving, where we have food and clothes and roofs over our heads, we can find just 25 things to be thankful for.

So today, on the 1st of November, I am thankful for a body that is able to run (even if it doesn't like it) and then go and take a workout class without passing out or throwing up. What are you thankful for?

Anna Marie Joyner

2010-10-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, by popular demand (hey, to me, 4 people makes it popular!) I will continue with the family blog, and try to do better at posting things and such.

I expected this post to be a little more fun, and had another subject matter planned, but then yesterday happened and suddenly my thoughts are consumed with what is coming.

As most of you know, Anna has scoliosis. She has been wearing a brace for it 23 hours a day 7 days a week for the past couple years, not to correct it but to prevent it from getting worse. Anna, who has always been an overachiever, has not one but three curves in her spine, ranging in severity. The worst of the bunch has been measuring in the 50 degree range, and from the beginning we knew that if that curve reached the 60s, surgery would need to occur. Surgery was always inevitable, we were just putting it off as long as possible to give her torso time to finish growing.

Every three months we go to see the spinal surgeon so he can measure her spine with is little level-y thing, and every six months we take new xrays with us. And every visit, nothing has really changed. And so the cycle has gone, until yesterday. Yesterday, the doctor paused over the xray, and took a little longer measuring with his level, and I knew. We are usually in and out in a matter of minutes, but not this time. This time we spent a half hour in the exam room, and when we left, we had a date for surgery.

Friday, December 3rd, Anna will be admitted to the hospital for surgery to attach a rod to her spine. The surgery will be long, followed by a few days in the hospital and then 6-8 weeks of recovery at home. Once again, we are headed into new territory with this girl - sometimes I wish she wasn't such a trailblazer. There are comforting things about the whole process: we have THE BEST surgeon, internationally known for his breakthroughs in spinal surgery. People try to get in to his practice and fail - he fell into our laps two years ago. Anna has already stayed in this same hospital for several days when she was diagnosed with diabetes, so she knows a lot about it and isn't worried about that part. The surgery date falls right before Jon is scheduled to go and open the new restaurant for Noodles, meaning that he should have no problem getting a few paid days off to be there for all the hospital stuff. We are blessed. Now we just pray and wait out the five weeks before the surgery, and then take a deep breath and go with the flow.

This morning I am heading to the temple to center myself and prepare.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

2010-10-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

To blog or not to blog, that is the question. Lately, it has obviously been the latter. I have been posting pictures to Facebook instead. So, those of you who read this blog, (in the past tense - why are the present and past tenses of "read" the same? It is confusing. But I digress...) should I start my blogging up again? Do you really want to hear the stories that go along with our pictures, or are they cute/funny/traumatizing only to me? Let me know - if you want some blogging, I will do some. If not, that's ok too.

TRULY honest

2010-05-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I was tagged about a month and a half ago by my sister-in-law Lindsey to post ten TRULY honest things about me, and it has taken me this long to sit down and do it! So here goes:

1. I LOVE to read. I got started before kindergarten, and haven't stopped. I can read a 700+ page book in a day if I am really into it. I have a stack from the library beside my bed at all times, usually compiled of at least 6 books to be read. Jon had to build me a little two shelf bookshelf to go beside my bed just so that I can keep things from toppling to the floor.

2. I like cartoons. Disney cartoons are my favorite, but I like a lot of other ones too. It is something I have never gotten over since I was a kid. I have rented Ducktales from Netflix for my kids, and I often end up sitting and watching them too. (On that note, I know the songs to all the Disney Afternoon cartoons that were on when I was a kid.)

3. I MISS coffee. Mochas, lattes, coffee with cream and sugar. I dream about it sometimes. I love to walk down the coffee aisle at the store, and I have occasional battles with myself over whether or not coffee ice cream is acceptable under the Word of Wisdom (so far I have not been able to win that argument with myself, and thus haven't had any coffee ice cream goodness.) In heaven there had better be something that tastes EXACTLY like coffee that I am allowed to have in excess.

4. I always think that people don't like me, and am always worried that I have said or done something to offend someone. I want everyone to like me, even people who I don't necessarily like. I have issues, I know.

5. I am a sucker for Irish guys. The accent gets me every time. Jon knows that if I ever meet a relatively attractive Irish guy who wants to sleep with me, my hands are tied.

6. I have a tattoo, and if I hadn't joined the church, I would most likely have another one. I have never been ashamed of it (thought I do not go around telling people that I have one because I do not enjoy being judged.)

7. I love to sing. I was in many choirs in high school, and also in the Northern California Honor Choir. I was in a musical about 5 nuns - I was the gospel singing one.

8. This goes along with #7 - when I was in high school I wanted to be a black gospel singer. Not going to happen, I know, but still something that I always wanted to be.

9. I have a soft spot for 80's movies, especially John Hughes movies. Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Some Kind of Wonderful. Footloose, Dirty Dancing, I could go on. I can watch these movies any time, and they always make me feel like a teenager again. And they are the ultimate girl's night videos.

10. Each guy that I either a) had a severe crush on or b) dated in high school had at least one main trait that Jon has: two were very tall, two were LDS, one was a musician, etc. If I had added them all up, I would have known what I was looking for!

So there you go, my ten truths. I am going to tag:

Raimi Krupp

and Erin Greene

Count Your Many Blessings

2010-03-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

Today seems like a good day for counting my blessings, before I get too far down the road that leads to "I don't have anything good in my life," which starts with "why do they have/get/deserve that/those and I don't?" So here goes:

1. This guy here always makes the top of my list:

2. Then there is this girl:

3. And her:

4. Can't forget this guy:

5. And my other favorite Jonathan:

6. There are these two, who I love and always have fun with:

7. My husband is currently employed:

8. Next week Jon and I are going to see this for our 30th birthdays:

9. We just got season passes to here:

10. And in April, my dad is taking my sister, niece, and I here:

Ok, I am feeling better now. And those 10 are just a handful of all the blessings I have in my life right now. What are your top ten today?

Pretty Irish Girl

2010-03-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Mora na maidine dhuit, or top o' the mornin' to you! Today is St. Patrick's Day, which is definitely in the running for being one of my favorite holidays. I am part Irish, so it is obviously already a prerequisite to love the day. I am all about wearing green and I love shamrocks. I plan one year to carry a bag full of St. Patrick's Day buttons or green ribbons or something to hand out to all those people who aren't wearing green. Ireland is on my list of places to go in my life. My husband has also been forewarned that if I ever come across a cute Irish guy who is interested in me, all bets are off, because I can't resist that accent!

In addition to all these reasons to love St. Patrick's Day, there was something else...what was it? Oh, that's right - it is also my birthday! This particular year I happen to be turning 30, which I am actually pretty happy about. It feels good to be entering a whole new decade of life, and to know that there will never be a 2 in front of my age again. In celebration, this morning I met my dad for breakfast, dressed wearin' my green, of course (in my family, it is a punishable crime to not wear green on St. Patty's Day, and I enforce that rule!) I gorged myself on a strawberry Belgian waffle and hot chocolate (it's a good thing calories don't count on your birthday!) This evening there are some plans in the works that I am not privy to, and I love surprises so I am excited for that. My kids sang to me this morning, and my husband had also made a video of them singing. Here is a link, since for some reason I can't get it to post here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe6O3Uwb2vM

Well, I hope that you all are enjoying the day, and wearing your green, and that luck is smiling on you!

When Irish Eyes are Smiling

2010-03-09T14:04:00.001-08:00

I keep losing my way back to the world of blogging. I think about it from time to time, and know that I should update, but I just don't get around to it. I click on here everyday to check out what the rest of you have blogged about, and have been known to become somewhat indignant when you go without posting for a while, but apparently the hypocrisy of that is lost on me. I have decided not to do any updating this time - I get tired of catching up when I am this far behind. So I will begin anew once again, and try to keep it up to date. I can hear your scoffs of disbelief through the computer...

So let's begin with the fact that I love St. Patrick's Day (in case you couldn't tell by the new background.) I actually think I may have to keep this one up for a while. You see, my birthday just happens to be on that wonderful day, as was my Grammie Battles' (great-grandmother on my mom's side - I have her nose, the one feature I wouldn't change about myself if I could,) plus I am Irish, so I pretty much have to love the holiday. Every year I go shopping to find a good green shirt to wear, which is not always a successful endeavor as there are MANY unattractive shades of green in the world. This year I found a really great one that I can't wait to wear. I was recently asked what my signature color is, to which I had no response as I am neither 50 or Southern, but I have since decided that I think it will be green. Pretty shades of green that is. As such, I have been hunting around for some good green jewelry as of late, but have been largely unsuccessful. I will keep looking.

This feels a bit rambly, so I will end it now. I will try to return soon...

Like a Rolling Stone

2010-01-24T17:42:00.001-08:00

Last night we went to a church activity for another ward with some friends of ours. Normally I am hesitant to crash other people's parties, but this was an exception. Who can pass up free roller skating? We went to Roller King in Roseville, a place that Jon used to skate at growing up, and which, he assures me, still smells exactly the same. Just walking in to a roller rink brought back waves of memories from my childhood.

I was excited for my kids to have the chance to go skating, since we have never taken them. We strapped on their skates and then I got mine on, (Jon was slow to get skated for himself, and then when he finally did, the guy had to get up to the top of the skate racks and all the way in the back to find his size.) At the point when I actually had my skates on, I got a little nervous, seeing as how I hadn't been on skates since approximately 1989 (when skating was still cool.) But after a couple of trips around the rink, I was feeling more confident, and I managed to not fall the whole time. I was never any good at stopping, and that hasn't changed, but I did alright.

Richard and Jon

Brandi and I on the floor

My children, on the other hand, had a really hard time getting their skate legs. The older ones have a pretty severe fear of injury, and couldn't get past the possibility that their faces, arms, or butts might meet with the floor in a painful way. Once or twice around the rink was enough for them. Which turned out to be good for Jon and I, because we were able to skate at our leisure while they played in the arcade. It was made even better by having our friends there to skate with. The Lammies are always lots of fun, and then to top it off, the Hunts drove in straight from unloading their moving van. It was good times.

I look like I am totally concentrating

Some of the pictures didn't turn out so well due to the motion and the lighting, but you get the idea.

You Gotta Have Friends

2010-01-24T17:20:00.000-08:00

You may remember I was missing some pictures when I made my Christmas post. Well, they appear to be gone for good. I can't for the life of me figure out where they went to, or how they just disappeared, but there you have it. I even tried some photo recovery software, but to no avail. Since some of those pictures were ones that I really liked, including some pics of Jon and I on our anniversary (no, not those kind of pictures - geez) I have been in a funk as far as blogging goes. I have just felt irritated and sad anytime I have picked up my camera and remembered what was lost. But today I am going to try to push through and put up some pictures.

This is a little out of order, but one of my Christmas traditions has been to get together with a group of my girlfriends from high school who come into town to visit for the holidays. The last couple of years it has been on Christmas Eve, and we go out to lunch or to a coffee shop, or both, and just visit and catch up. We don't normally all make it - my friends are travelers and rarely is everyone home at the same time. But whoever is around does their best to make it. Somehow, over the years, I have become the one to organize this thing, which used to be our friend Lori's position. She was always good at making plans and getting everyone involved. I think that my taking over the job has something to do with me being the one who continually lives here and has four children who have to be organized and scheduled all the time. I am not nearly as good at it as Lori always was.

Lydia

Genny

Patricia

Genny, Lori, Lydia, me, and Patricia

These girls are some of my best friends in the world, in the sense that no matter how far apart we spread, at some point we will all come back together, and it is never awkward or boring. We may not share each others daily lives anymore, or have that much in common anymore, but we love each other and have a bond that is lasting. I feel very fortunate to have them. I have known Patricia since before kindergarten, Lori and Maia (who wasn't there this year) since elementary school, and Genny, Lydia, and Heather (also not there this year) since high school. I had some great times with them in high school - trips to Tahoe, San Francisco, sleeping in a cow pasture, dressing up and going to a Goth club, sneaking out in the middle of the night...so many memories. At one point we adopted the group name the Femme Coalition, and other girls have come and gone, but we have managed to keep in touch, and I am so glad we have.

It's the Holiday Season

2010-01-17T17:07:00.000-08:00

Or it was about a month ago...

I meant to blog about all of this sooner, but I just didn't get around to it. Somehow the lure of reading was stronger than that of blogging. I have been watching my friend's blogs, and for the most part they have been slow on posting their Christmas pictures as well, so I figured I was ok. But one by one they are catching up, and so I suppose it is time for me to do the same. A rainy Sunday seemed to be a good time to do it. (*Note - I swear I had more pictures, but upon searching for them on my camera and the computer, I can't find a bunch of them. I know I had a recording of Jon doing the Hannukah Song, plus pictures from Christmas Day, and yet they are gone...I have tried to find tham but they seem to be gone for good...)

As in years past, we spent Christmas Eve with the Joyners and their long-time family friends the Alstons. This Christmas Eve tradition is centered around a Mexican-Italian feast, complete with tamales, beans, rice, ravioli, Caesar salad, and garlic bread, among other things. As per usual, the children dressed up as the people (and animals) from the nativity story, and there was a brief reading of scripture. (As the professional costumer of the nativity, I had my hands full!) Following the spiritual thoughts, the program progressed in the typical fashion - Jon playing his guitar and singing while some of us joined in. (Normally Jake plays too, but he wasn't here this year.) One thing that was not typical, however, was a special visit from Santa Clause. It turns out he knows the Alstons personally, and wanted to pay a visit to the children (although I suspect he was in it mostly for the tamales!)

After the party we came home and hustled the children to bed in order to precipitate the readying of the presents for Christmas morning and the arrival of a certain man in red. The kids all donned their traditional Christmas jammies - Jonathan, upon being handed his, took in a sharp breath and then said "Jammies - I don't believe it!" with his hand over his mouth like it was the biggest and best surprise ever - despite the fact that they weren't wrapped. While the children were nestled all snug in their beds, there were no visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads for quite a while. We had to bide our time while we waited for them to drop off to sleep just in case they came out while we were preparing things. While they slept, Santa decorated the living room with tinsel, white garland, and snowflakes. He also ate the tamales left for him (in the Joyner house we figure he must get tired of all those cookies and need something a little more filling.)

Christmas morning was spent in the hustle of unwrapping and went by in something of a blur. I had to keep asking the kids to wait to open their next present, both to stretch out the time (since there wasn't a ton to open) and also so that I could actually see them opening the things we bought them. It was a nice morning, though busy and quick.

After breakfast, we got ready and headed up to my dad's for Christmas Part 2. We have an early dinner there - prime rib that is absolutely WONDERFUL. It was a very nice afternoon, and bled into the evening with some visiting and playing of games. By the time we left for home, we were all sleepy and ready to find our beds. It was another nice Christmas, though it did seem rather like a hit and run. One of these years I swear that I am going to have everything ready and the way I would like it so that I can enjoy it throughout December...

Sing Sweet Silent Night

2009-12-20T13:09:00.000-08:00

I would like to start this post by saying...MY SEMESTER IS FINALLY OVER!!! I feel like I can truly enjoy the Christmas season now (at least for a week.) The last few weeks have been a real struggle, but now Jon and I are done, the kids are out of school, and Jon will be starting this week with two days off - hooray! Time to get the Christmas shopping done, the rooms cleaned up, and get set to enjoy the holiday. In celebration, I would like to share with you a list of my favorite Christmas songs. I am not the kind of person who can just turn on the Christmas station and let it play - I can't take all the Celine Dion, Jessica Simpson, Michael Bolton, etc. So I started making my own Christmas mixes years ago, and over the years I have refined them. Each year I may take one or two off, or add one or two more, depending on how I am feeling. So this list is not in any specific order, it is not by favorite to least favorite or anything like that. These are just songs that I love this time of year, and without which it just doesn't seem like Christmas. Some are conventional, some are really not, which I think really is a good way to describe me :)

Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley

Christmas - Blues Traveler

Christmas Song - Dave Matthews (not the same as the next one)

The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole

Donde Esta Santa Clause - Guster

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan

The First Noel - Nat King Cole

The Gift - Aselin Debison

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Lou Rawls

Here Comes Santa Claus - Elvis (he shows up a few times - my Dad used to play him)

Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives

It's Christmastime - Barenaked Ladies

It's Christmastime Pretty Baby - Elvis

(It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Clause - Harry Connick Jr.

Sleigh Ride (Instrumental) - The Ventures

Jingle Bells (Instrumental) - it is an old 40's version

Last Christmas - Wham (which my children ALL know and sing)

Let It Snow - Dean Martin

Little St. Nick - The Beach Boys (although to be honest, I think Electric Mayhem does it best)

O Holy Night - Nat King Cole

Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie and Bing Crosby

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt

Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me - Elvis

Santa Clause is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen

Sleigh Ride (Instrumental) - Lee Anderson and his Pops Concert Orchestra

This Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2

Up On the Housetop - Jackson 5 (total guilty pleasure)

What Christmas Means to Me - Stevie Wonder

White Christmas - The Drifters

Winter Wonderland - Louis Armstrong

Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms

White Christmas - Bing Crosby

Baby It's Cold Outside - I am really picky about this one - there are a lot of versions that I don't like - my favorite is Petula Clark and and Rod McKuen, and second is Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer

Then there are full albums that I like the way they are:

John Denver and the Muppets- A Christmas Together

The Elf soundtrack (thank you Erin)

Lewis Ross - A Collection of Favourite Christmas Carols (all instrumental guitar)

Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas

Maybe there are some on the list that you haven't heard, or that you had forgotten about. They are just my standard Christmas fare - if you have favorites that aren't on here, let me know! I will check them out.

We Are Santa's Elves

2009-12-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

This year we have had a very special visitor. I think that the letter that he brought us from Santa says it best:

Dear Anna, Hailey, Adam, and Jonathan,

I am trying to keep my “Naughty” and “Nice” lists up to date, but I find that during the month of December I am just too busy to keep an eye on all the children of the world myself. So I have enlisted the help of one of my elves in keeping an eye on the four of you. He will watch you all day long, and then report back to me each night while you are sleeping with what he has seen. In the morning when you wake up, he will be back in your house. He is not allowed to talk to you, but you can talk to him all you want. If you have anything you would like to tell me, just tell him and he will make sure that I know all about it. You can even send your Christmas letters to me by giving them to him. He is not allowed to play with you, either, because he is there to work! Please take good care of him while he is living with you – make sure he is warm and toasty and he will be happy. He will be in your home until Christmas Eve, when he has to come home to the North Pole to make sure I have all the correct information on you and also to help load the sleigh. I hope that you all will be good children so that he can tell me to put you on the “Nice” list and so I can bring you some great presents for Christmas!

Santa Clause

P.S. His elfen name is impossible for human children to pronounce, so you can name him whatever you would like. He is partial to the name Steven, but it is up to you.

Every once in a while, Steven and I have to have a little chat about how the kids haven't really been listening, or how they have been fighting with one another, and then the kids straighten right up and try to show him how good they can be. In the mornings when he returns from the North Pole, he is waiting for them in a different place. We LOVE Steven, and hope he will come to visit for Christmas for many years to come!

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

2009-12-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

Or at least one of her front teeth. Hailey has had a loose front tooth for over a month, through Thanksgiving, and various people have been wiggling it all that time and trying to make it fall out, to no avail. There is a tooth coming in behind it, and so the tooth has been pushed further and further forward out of her mouth until she looked like Nanny McPhee. Finally about a week ago, Jon reached in and yanked the tooth out, much to Hailey's delight. It has been sold to the tooth fairy, and now the other front tooth is loose...

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

2009-12-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

This year marked the first time EVER that our Christmas tree went up before it was even December. Some of Santa's elves brought us a beautiful fresh-cut tree on November 28, and the night of the 29th was the only night Jon was going to be home for over a week so we had to act fast. Anna helped me get the Christmas tubs out of storage while Jon was at work, and Sunday night we all decorated. Well, Jon and I put up the lights, and then the kids took over. With three kids working, (Jonathan was more interested in Lilo and Stitch) that tree was done within 20 minutes. It has been nice to have the tree up all this time, especially since it smells terrific. I love to sit in the living room at night with the rest of the lights off and just watch the twinkling.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

2009-12-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

I stated in a previous post that I wasn't going to post the pictures of our family from Thanksgiving because they would be the ones I would use for Christmas cards if I did them this year. Well...there will be no Christmas cards this year, because instead I spent that money on a new sweater, pair of pants, and skirt for myself. I figured that I could post the pictures here and if you guys wanted to see them you would. So just consider this your Christmas card from me this year ;)

I love you all, am thinking of you, and send you warm holiday wishes! From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

A Turkey for Me, Turkey for You...

2009-12-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

I am totally working my way to being caught up on blogging and getting to blogging about what has been going on at our house in preparation for Christmas, which is what I really want to blog about. Hoorah! So I am up to Thanksgiving now...the week before Thanksgiving we were treated to class parties in both Adam's and Hailey's classes, though unfortunately I left the camera in the car when we went to Hailey's, and since it had decided to spontaneously downpour at that exact point in time and I was wearing my red flats (super cute but NOT made for running through the rain to the car), there is no photographic evidence that we saw her in her cute pilgrim hat. Oh well.

Adam's class wore headbands with drumsticks on either side of their heads - funny. We ate turkey sandwiches with fruit and cheese puffs (just like the pilgrims) and then listened to them recite a poem and sing a song. It's always a good time to see all the parents trying not to fall off of the tiny kindergarten chairs while they hunch over their plates.

What is he doing?

Hailey's class had stew and cornbread, and they sang a song and performed a play about the first Thanksgiving (actually it was more of a recitation - there was no acting out the parts.) I was happy to see some of the kids with feathers on their headbands - small schools like ours are not concerned with political correctness to the point of insanity. It is something I remember from being in elementary school and having our class Thanksgiving parties (to which parents weren't invited, let alone did they come - parents were not nearly as involved then as they are now. Gotta say as a kid I kind of liked it that way - you were free from the critical eye of your parent when you were at school.) I was an Indian at least one year, and I remember doing war cries by clapping my hand over my mouth repeatedly - what child didn't think this was truly what Indians did? Ah, stereotypes...

For Thanksgiving, we went to my parent's house in Alta. It was a relatively low turnout this year, with just my family, my sister and her husband and two kids plus her daughter's boyfriend, my step-brother and his girlfriend, and my uncle and his roommate. (I realize that may not sound like a low turnout, but Christmas will be insane with all of those mentioned plus my step-mom's father, brother and his girlfriend, and daughter with her new husband and step-daughter.) The Thanksgiving tradition of my step-mom Paula is to take a family photo of whoever comes for Thanksgiving, and that is the picture she includes in her Christmas cards. Over the years she has gotten more and more creative in how she sets up for these pictures, utilizing the natural beauty of the area they live in. I also got some pictures of just my family, but I will not be sharing them at this time due to the fact that if I actually get Christmas cards out this year, those will be the pictures we use. It was a very nice Thanksgiving with all the typical foods, and this year I made my Grandma's cinnamon apples, which no one has made since she died 7 years ago. The recipe was somewhat bare-boned - it only said "red hots, apples, boil in water" - so I had to play with it, and will definitely do it a little different next year, but they turned out yummy anyway.

Failed Christmas picture...that's my husband for you...

My dad, Anna, and me

Bad Moon Rising

2009-12-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

Actually, it was not a bad moon at all, but rather a New Moon...there really needs to be a rimshot after that comment. Anyways, after swearing that I would not be one of those crazy people who went to see New Moon at midnight the night it opened, I had to eat my words. And you know what? They tasted pretty good. A little background for you: I enjoy the Twilight series of books - I don't think that they are the best thing ever written, but the stories do capture me and give me that fluttery romantic feeling and I like them. I have spent some time being ashamed of that fact, but anyone who knows me well knows that I read a wide variety of books, some really challenging and thoughtful ones, and some that are just fluff. These books fill the cotton-candy need for me. That being said, I really didn't care for the first movie. I think I blogged about it as well if you want to check that out. So while I wanted to see New Moon, I wasn't getting my hopes up, and I figured I could wait a bit to see it. Well, my good friend Brandi came into town just to go and see the movie the night it opened with her in-laws, and they were kind enough to include me in the plan, so I bought my ticket on Fandango, wondering all the while if I would regret it. I DIDN'T. Not at all.

Brandi and me waiting

New Moon was so much better than Twilight was, and it turns out that seeing it in the middle of the night with other teens and women who love the story as much as you do makes it really fun. There was a lot of sighing and whooping and whatnot - especially the first time we all saw Jacob without his shirt...I'm pretty sure I gasped. (Brandi tells me this is ok since the actor is 19, even if the character he is playing is not.) There were still things about the movie that I wish they hadn't changed from the book, and a couple of things that I wish they had put in that they didn't, but overall it was really a good adaptation. (I tend to be more of a book purist - I would rather read something than watch it any day.) It was good enough that I went back and saw it Saturday morning (making it two times in little more than 24 hours.)

Vanessa, Brandi, and me

So thank you Brandi and the Hunts (sounds like a band) for letting me tag along - and thank you to Mama Hunt for standing in line for us in the cold cold cold!

Stephanie, Brandi, me, and Sahara after the movie - don't we look happy? Stephanie took her baby girl, and Sahara was two days away from her due date - those are some die hard girls!

On The Road Again

2009-11-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Ah Utah. Land of bland food, bad drivers, and hard nasty water. Add in the fact that the only way to get there from here is through Nevada, and you've got a place that I don't really ever feel the need to visit. If it weren't for the fact that people I love live there, I would never go back. (Maybe one day they will get with it and move out here to California.) About two weeks ago, one of Jon's best friends from high school, Heber Beddes, was getting married, and so we loaded up the car and headed across the desert to be there.

We drove out on a Wednesday and stayed until Sunday and were going going going pretty much every minute. We stayed with Jon's sister Jen in Layton. Thursday we did some light shopping, had a free lunch at the Noodles & Company in Layton (Jon works at the one here as a manager in training, and wanted to check out what another one looked like, and they fed us for free,) visited Uncle Jared at hair school and had the girl's hair cut, and then later I went and had hot chocolate and some great conversation with my sister-in-law Lindsey.

Friday was the sealing in the Jordan River Temple. It was beautiful and we were so glad that we were able to be there to witness this momentous occasion in Heber's life. Afterwards, we had a really good lunch with the Beddes family and friends before heading back to Layton to have dinner at Famous Dave's with Jared and Lindsey.

Saturday morning we went down to Lindon to visit with Jon's Aunt Terri and cousins Ashley and Mitchell. We went to lunch at Los Hermanos and had a great time talking and laughing.

This is my Ashley - I LOVE her. Someday we will live closer together and I will be very happy.

This is Jon and Mitchell, who were feeling left out of the love-fest.

Saturday night we were all the way in Ogden for the wedding reception, after which we went back to Layton and stayed up talking with Lindsey some more (it was a good time.) Sunday morning, Jon's cousin Kyle had his missionary farewell, so we went to that in Lehi and then to Uncle Brent's house to visit with that part of the family before driving back home. We has a hard time leaving since we hadn't had much time to sit with them and talk, and so by the time we left to start our drive back to California, it was 3:30 in the afternoon. That made for a VERY long and late drive, but it was worth it.

Jared, Uncle Brent, and Jon

On the drive home, Anna spent some time in the passenger seat so that Jon and I could take turns sleeping in the back. It made me look forward to the days when she can help with the driving too. She also practiced her photography skills while she was there. I think that the highlight of the drive home was having to help Hailey pee on the side of the road in the dark and freezing night because we were nowhere near a bathroom, and of course she couldn't hold it. Thankfully for all of you, there are no pictures of that adventure in the sage brush.

Scary.

Overall, it was a nice weekend, but very fast and low on sleep. It was great to see everyone and have some great conversations, but as I told Jon, someone will have to die before I go back again, and then it will depend on who it is.

Monster Mash Redux

2009-11-29T13:58:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween, things were pretty low-key. I didn't have the time to focus on what everyone was going to be, or to make their costumes like I do some years, so we ended up with a lack of creativity in the outfits. However, the end result was the same: candy candy candy. Jon helped the kids carve pumpkins, and they did a great job. In case you can't tell, the pumpkin with one eye is B.O.B. from Monster's vs. Aliens - Hailey carved him.

Anna wanted to be the bride of Frankenstein, and the main challenge there was how to get her hair to stand up. In the end, I used a Gatorade bottle, Aqua Net hairspray, some bobby pins, and a headband to do the job. Then I did her makeup and put her in a dress/sheath I made from an old sheet, and she was good to go.

Hailey wanted to be a cat for Halloween, which was really easy. I got her some black leggings, a black shirt, some cat ears, made a tail, and drew on some whiskers and voila. With her black Chuck Taylor's, she was one cool cat.

Adam borrowed an outfit from his cousin and went as Mr. Incredible.

I really wanted Jonathan to be a vampire, because I thought he would be so stinkin' cute with the pointed hairdo and a cape and bow tie, but couldn't find a cape for him. Instead, I found an elephant costume for $6 at Goodwill. He loved it when we bought it, but then on Halloween didn't want to wear it, until Aby showed him the elephant scene from The Jungle Book, one of his favoritre movies. (When you ask him what the elephant says, he answers "Hup two three four.")

At the last minute, Jon decided he wanted to dress up. With 5 minutes to go before we left the house, he found an old orange jumpsuit in Jake's closet, we printed out the Dharma Initiative symbol and sewed it on, and he had an awesome costume. Not everyone knew what he was, but it was worth it when we ran into someone who does watch Lost, because they thought it was totally awesome.

Next year, I hope to be back into the Halloween spirit in time to get together some great costumes for the whole family.

Sugar, Sugar

2009-11-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

Just about everyday I have a minute where I think "I should go and blog," and then life keeps going and things are just too busy. I looked at the date of my last entry, and realized why it was my last. It was dated September 8. September 14, Anna was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Our lives were thrown completely off kilter, and we still haven't quite gotten them back on track.

Diabetes was not something I had ever considered with my kids. Type 1 doesn't run in our families, and when I think of diabetes I think of chunky kids, which everyone knows my girls are not. Once we were informed of the signs and symptoms, though, I could look back for months and see it. Hindsight is 20/20.

What led to the diagnosis was that Anna had been feeling pretty sick throughout the weekend, running a fever, listless, and really pale with sunken cheeks. Of course all this started Friday night, so we couldn't get to a doctor until Monday morning. When Jon told the doctor her symptoms, (which also included peeing A LOT) they pretty much knew what it was. (She had also lost 10 pounds in the past few months.) They did a urine sample and blood test, and immediately reserved a spot for her in the pediatric special care unit at Sutter Memorial in Sacramento. From there it was a blur.

Anna's blood sugar level upon arrival at the hospital was near 750, which, for those of you who don't know (as I didn't) is incredibly high. Normally it is in the 100's. She was admitted and hooked up to an IV and we spent four days there, learning everything we never wanted to know about Juvenile Diabetes and trying to bring her sugars down before they sent us home. We were admitted around 3:30 in the afternoon, and the next morning the nurse asked me "Are you ready to give a shot, Mom?" Before I could even blink, let alone say the "no" that would surely have been my response, she said "Yeah, you're ready," and handed me the vial and needle. Anna was very brave as I very hesitantly gave that first shot.

Those first couple of weeks at home were ROUGH. I was emotional, none of us were getting enough sleep, and everything was turned upside down. I can remember cutting chicken for dinner the second night we were home, and breaking down in tears, to which my husband kindly and sensitively replied "Oh, does chicken make you sad?" "Yes, it does." I told him.

Since then, things have improved. Anna gives herself almost all of her own shots, drawing the insulin into the syringe like a pro. She counts all her carbs and keeps track of her blood sugars. Not once has she complained about having the disease, or about what all it entails. She is an amazing kid, who amazes me more and more every day. If I had one one-hundredth of the resolve, patience, determination, and courage that she does, my life would already have righted itself.

Anna shortly after being admitted to the hospital. She tried to smile, but she just wasn't feeling well. She looks so much better now!

Pa (my dad) practicing giving shots to a roll of gauze.

Anna practicing

Aby (Jon's mom) practicing drawing liquid into a syringe

Pa giving his first shot. Anna is focusing on not paying attention to what he is doing - it was a defense mechanism of hers for the first week or so. Now, when she doesn't give the shot herself, she barely notices the needle.

Max the monkey, a gift from Aby

Visiting with Hazel and reading Tiger Beat - does it get any better? Hazel is one of three dogs at the hospital that go around visiting the pediatric patients. Grandma provided the magazine.

Watching Prince Caspian

Watching Anna. I have decided that seeing my child in the hospital is my new least favorite thing in the world.

Getting some much needed sleep.

Leaving - finally!!!

I have to give a huge thank you to all of my friends and family who expressed their love, concern, and support, not only while we were in the hospital, but since. I am so grateful to have such a great network of support and love.

Change of Season

2009-11-05T15:59:00.001-08:00

Ah, Fall. A time when the air gets crisp and the leaves start to change...unless you live in California. It was well into September (maybe even the beginning of October?) before the 100 degree temperatures finally went away for good, and just the last couple of weeks the minimal amount of leaf change we get here has come about. But still it is officially Fall now, and I LOVE this time of year. We have been pretty busy lately.

The first weekend of October I went to Apple Hill with my step-mom Paula and sister Tara. I go every year, but this year we rented a house and stayed two nights with no husbands and no kids. It was quite nice. We spent Friday at Apple Hill, buying apples and gourds and home decorations (and spending too much money in my case) and the spent Saturday going to some thrift stores and laying around the house. I think I spent the majority of my time in the hot tub, which was fabulous.

Paula and I

Me with my feet in the hot tub, enjoying the incredible view

My sister and I getting ready to eat dinner and watch a movie

My dad took my sister and I to see Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt play an acoustic show at the Mondavi Center at UC Davis. I know, I know, sounds boring or maybe even painful, right? But it was actually a really great show. They are two very talented men, and Lyle Lovett is actually pretty funny. We had a good time.

Every year we go to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm, and this year was no exception, although the entire family didn't make it out. First, I went with Adam's kindergarten class. We had a lot of fun.

Then Jon and the boys and I went with his oldest sister Jen and her family. They were out here for my youngest brother-in-law Jake's wedding (more on that in the next blog post...)

Jon and the Nortons (and Jonathan on the end)

My boys in jail...let's hope this isn't foreshadowing

Attacking Daddy

Jon snapped this one

Adam and his cousins Wesley and Andrew

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe they are making me sit on a pumpkin."

So as you can see, our Fall has been busy so far, and I haven't even gotten to the wedding or Halloween yet. Hopefully I will blog about those before Christmas!

You Say It's Your Birthday

2009-09-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

Who needs a blog when you can post your pictures on Facebook? That is how I was feeling last night as I uploaded picture after picture to my Facebook account, where there is no pressure to tell any cute stories to go along with the photos, and, let's face it, many more people will see what you have posted. But then I got to thinking that Facebook is yet another application that is replacing some of those things that are so good in life, such as exercising your mind and creativity by writing actual paragraphs about what is going on in your life. Technology has already made letter-writing a lost art form, not to mention making actual human conversation unnecessary. And so I will try to continue to blog rather than let myself lapse into complete laziness by only slapping pictures onto an impersonal website and letting everyone guess what they are all about. No, instead you will continue to get too much information about what is going on in my life, complete with pictures. That being said, here we go...

Three of my children were born in the summer, one in June and two in August. (Yes, in California, in the heat, and yes, you can feel bad for me.) This year, we had pretty lowkey birthdays, nothing fancy. Some years are just like that for us.

Hailey Elizabeth Ila Joyner was born on June 27, 2002. She is the only child we actually, consciously planned, and she is also the most dramatic and somewhat bipolar (by our own diagnosis - not a doctors.) She is given to bouts of free-form dancing, and as soon as they have an Olympic category for interpretive dance, we are there. Hailey is very into fashion - not necessarily popular fashion, but her own idea of what fashion is. She loves the smell of the mall. Let me tell you, this girl was born into the wrong family to be high maintenance.

Anna Marie Joyner was born on August 13, 1999. It was actually Friday the 13th, but turned out to be lucky for us. Anna is very smart, very kind, and very responsible, all the things that a first child should be. She also has her daddy's goofy sense of humor, paired with her mom's wit. I dream that she will one day learn to use sarcasm in the way that my family always has. Her dream is to one day have her own bedroom where her sibings will not be allowed.

Adam Crandon Joyner was born on August 27, 2004. He is the only child we have who in no way, shape, or form resembles a Joyner, but is instead a King. It does not seem like he has inherited the extreme Joyner height, but instead will probably be just about average in size. Jon calls him his "all-American boy" and hopes he will play football. Adam is a hilarious kid, and makes me laugh all the time. He is also an evil genius, which his father says he gets from me.

Luckily for us we are done with birthdays until February. Maybe by then I will regain my desire to throw them great parties with food and fun.

All Summer Long

2009-08-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? It has been hinted to me, by more than one person and oh so subtley, that it has been far too long since my last blog post, and so, here I am, returned to fill you all in on our lives. The thing about this summer is that we really didn't do much that was worth blogging about. Funds being what they were, we were somewhat limited in the distance we could travel and what we could do once we arrived at our destination. So for the most part, we stayed close to home.

The one exception to the "close to home" statement is the trip I made in June to Idaho for my step-sister's wedding. Jon and the kids stayed at home, and I drove up Friday with my dad, did the wedding thing Saturday, and drove home with my dad and step-mom on Sunday. It was a very quick trip.

My sister, my Dad, and me at my step-sister's wedding

Anna and Hailey took four weeks of swim lessons at the Del Oro pool, which really taught them so much. Anna now has a confidence in her swimming and can make it across Upper Lake Clementine (which is more like a river in case you are suddenly wondering if she should be enrolled in the Olympics) without help or a lifejacket. Hailey began learning the different strokes and improved greatly.

Adam got to take two weeks of lessons at the Alta pool, during which time he went to live with Pa, who took him everyday. He came home to visit on the weekend, but the break was more for Pa than Adam, who would more than happily have stayed at his house until school starts. Jonathan had no lessons, but when wearing his swim vest is convinced that he swims better than anyone. His constant refrain was "No touch me Mommy, no help!"

While Adam was living with Pa, the girls spent almost a whole week camping in the backyard. Pa gave them his old tent, which I think may very well have been one of the first tents ever made. Seriously, it is old. I spent my childhood camping in it, and it was elderly then. I love the fact that when I set it up, it smelled just like I remembered.

We managed to make it down to Lake Clementine a handful of times and to Ponderosa once, all of which were great. Those three weeks of 101+ degree heat really made swimming necessary. We also went to the Del Oro and Alta pools a couple of times for swimming.

My step-mom Paula and I at the Alta pool

Kids at Clementine

Our family spent several Friday nights at the Fountains shopping area, where there was a DJ playing music and a woman who would teach different dances. We had a blast with our friends the Lammies dancing and then eating frozen yogurt at Big Spoon afterward. So far the music we have enjoyed has been Motown, Techno (which quickly changed to just oldies and things once they realized that no one really wanted to dance to Techno,) and Country, all of which came with their own dances to learn.

The kids and I spent a full day cleaning house, including the cleaning of our bedrooms, which previously looked like they had been hit by several tornadoes and abandoned by their inhabitants. Jon made the deal that if we all could keep them that clean for a week, we would get a reward. We all worked hard and we earned a trip to the zoo and dinner at Noodles & Company - yum!

Ok, that is the general summer update, but there are a couple more posts to come...notice I didn't say when...

Hippity hoppity...

2009-05-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that Easter isn't really "on its way" as the song goes, in fact it is long gone. It's a catchy title anyway. Easter was pretty typical this year - there were eggs and dye and hunting. The hunting actually began the day before Easter when I went out to find a few plastic eggs for the kids, and couldn't find any in 5 different stores. Was there some sort of plastic egg shortage this year? A terrible plastics factory meltdown? Some evil genious hoarding the plastic eggs to ruin Easter for children everywhere? And I know there are some of you sitting there, reading this in judgement, saying to yourselves or the person next to you "What kind of mother goes shopping for her Easter things the day before Easter? She deserved to have no plastic eggs left for her children." Perhaps it was YOU who went out and bought them all, just to punish those of us who aren't quite as organized as you are. The same people who already have their children's Halloween costumes made and waiting, and their Christmas presents purchased and wrapped. OVERACHIEVERS!!! But I digress...

In the end, we found a bag of tiny plastic Easter eggs from 1984 in a closet in the house here, and even if they smelled musky, they worked. Hey, real eggs don't smell good, why should plastic eggs?

First thing when we got outside, Jonathan finds his ball. Not an Easter present, mind you, but a ball that he has had for a couple of weeks now. Doesn't matter - he was excited to see it and in the basket it went. The result was that there was no room for eggs, and we couldn't talk him into taking the ball out, and so he was left wondering where to put the eggs he was finding. This one went in his pocket.

Once he realized he couldn't fit all the eggs in his pockets, he started taking out the ball each time he found an egg, putting the egg in, and then replacing the ball. It was a long egg hunt.

This was as close to everyone else as Jonathan would get without Daddy holding him - and as you can see he still has a death grip on his hand! At least he is smiling though, in the rest of them he was crying - he was in dire need of food and a nap.

We spent the afternoon at my dad's house in Alta, where we had our own private photo shoot.

Jonathan and Pa

Walk of Life

2009-05-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

I had planned to actually catch up on my blogging, to post all the pictures and share the little anecdotes with you all that have happened in the first four months of this year. The best laid plans of mice and men...in otherwords, it isn't going to work out. Mainly because I have forgotten whatever witty repartee I had to share. So here is the deal - I am just going to post highlights with their pictures and start again from now. (Sounds familiar - I am pretty sure I've pulled this one before.) So here we go with our catch-up on our life:

For Valentine's Day, we had four kids and very little money, so we all went to Target and split up. We each had $5 and a person whom we were supposed to buy something for, and here is what we came up with:

March 17th was my 29th birthday, and I celebrated by going to sushi for lunch with family:

My step-mom Paula and sister Tara

Anna made the Honor Roll with another 4.0 for the second time this year:

And she tackled the 4th grade California Mission project:

Ok, so Easter will now be afforded its own post, and then I am at least within 30 days of the current date. School ends this week, so I promise to try and post things as they happen, rather than in flashback-form. It is a great tool in books and movies, but not so much in blogging.

Do you know the way to San Jose?

2009-04-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of March, my friend Vanessa and I got adventurous and took our kids down to San Jose to the children's museum for a day. She has two kids, daughter Abbi, and son Jack, and I took my two boys. It took about two and a half hours to get to the museum, so it was lunch time by the time we got there. We sat on some benches to eat, and managed to get about halfway through before it started raining on us and we had to move under the overhang to finish. They don't allow outside food in the eating area of the museum. (Do the people who plan these things even have children, or just an evil love of money?) Once inside, there was plenty to see and do.

The kids eating on the bench, pre-rain.

Such cute boys

Adam in firefighter gear

Driving the firetruck

Jonathan and his sometimes future-mother-in-law, sometimes girlfriend Vanessa

Adam dominating the dragon, not too long before...

...this happened. He ran into another kid and took the force of that kid's noggin in his eye. This picture doesn't do it justice - it was a big fat black eye that made it look like he had been boxing. We had to get an ice pack and fill out an accident report. It's not an official trip until someone gets hurt in our family.

There was an art area, and one wall was for painting on. Not great for teaching them that we only paint on paper, but fun none the less. The aprons were super cute.

Jonathan driving the old-time farm truck.

Adam and the corn-husk doll that he and I made.

Jonathan and a girl we don't know catching bubbles.

This bubble thing was cool - there was a line on a pully and when you pulled it up, it created this huge bubble. When you shook it, the bubble would wave back and forth.

Abbi making bubbles with the air nozzle.

Adam being "injured" on the gurney in the back of the ambulance - thankfully we haven't had to do this for real, yet.

Abbi and Jonathan in the water area - sadly I didn't actually get any pictures of the whole thing. Here, you put the ball on the track and it rolled down to the center, where a stream of water shot it into the air and into another track up higher.

The moms, still smiling near the end of the day.

Jonathan in the Vietnamese boat with the hat and everything - he actually could pass for a chubby little Asian boy.

Adam in the hat - he could never pass for Asian. And I don't know what is up with the picture - his teeth aren't really scary like that.

Happy baby Jack - he was really good all day.

Van and Abbi

On the way out, Adam insisted on getting his face painted (I told him in the beginning of the day that we would do it later, hoping he would forget...no such luck.) The twist here is that the kids are supposed to paint their own faces...there are even signs posted in the room to basically tell the parents not to do it. But no one was around to stop me, and there was no way I was going to let Adam do it himself when we were getting ready to leave. He said he wanted to be a tiger. I know you could already tell that from my awesome artistic skill, but just in case I thought I would let you know what he was supposed to be.

Van asked me if I would mind going 20 minutes out of the way to have dinner at this barbecue place she really likes (Gilroy is the closest one to us.) I said sure, even though I don't really care for restaurant bbq all that much. Let me tell you, it was excellent. I would go there again in a heartbeat. It is called Famous Dave's. This was our dessert that we split - and still were only able to eat half. Yum.

Overall, it was a great trip. The kids were really good all day, there were really no breakdowns (for either them or us) and aside from the black eye, it went off relatively without a hitch.

Long Time Gone

2009-04-16T08:01:00.001-07:00

Alright already, I will post some new things to the blog. It has been in the back of my mind since the end of February, but with school and kids and gardening, I haven't had the time to sit down and do anything about it. Plus I have to share the computer with another school-going person, who has been using more than his fair share lately. At any rate, I have not forgotten about all of you faithful readers out there who are just dying to know what happens in the next chapter in the lives of the Joyner family (she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.)

In the interest of blogging more often, and not just waiting for something big to happen before I blog, I took this picture of the banana muffins I made at the beginning of March. Obviously the idea that I would just get them posted on here a day or two later to show you all my culinary endeavor just didn't pan out, but it is such a tasty looking tower that I will post it now so we can all wish we had some in our kitchens. I usually use my grandma's banana bread recipe when I make the bread, but in the interest of trying to cut out some of the sugars and fats and whatnot (also known as everything that makes food taste good) I substituted 1/4 of the flour with whole wheat flour, 1/2 of the sugar with Splenda for baking, and replaced all of the butter with this fruit compote type butter substitute made by Sunsweet. It was a complete experiment - I knew very well that they could turn out rubbery and tasteless and be good only for bouncing on the pavement outside, but I figured that worst case scenario my boys would have something new to play with! They actually turned out pretty yummy, although it could have been the fact that I had been pretty well deprived of all things baked for a while. Making them as muffins made it much easier to transport and pass out to kids, but I still like the traditional bread form better.

Ok, stay tuned, there is more goodness to come...

Happy Happy Birthday Baby

2009-02-15T17:15:00.000-08:00

Jonathan is not really a baby anymore - last Friday (February 13th) we celebrated his 2nd birthday. I can't believe that he is getting so big so fast! I guess I should say old rather than big, since, let's be honest, he has always been so big. At any rate, Friday we had a party for him (with an Elmo them since Jonathan loves Elmo.) Due to the snow trapping my side of the family, the guest list was decreased; attending were Jamie and her three kids, Jon's mom, Jake and his friend Brenda, and our friends Josh and Jen with their little son Will (who is almost 2 himself.) We had hotdogs and Bratwursts (Jon had to grill under the garage door due to the rain) with chili, veggies & chips and dip and salads. I handed out party horns to the kids and immediately regretted it, but the had a blast (no pun intended.) Then came the piece de resistance, the Elmo cupcakes. I made them using a star tip to do the frosting, marshamallows with black gel for eyes, an orange peanut m&m for a nose, and a half an oreo for the mouth. It was funny to watch the kids eat them - they all went at them differently. Jonathan ate the face off of his, but then wouldn't eat the actual cupcake until we gave him a fork and showed him that it was cake. Then Jonathan opened presents and that was pretty much it.

That many Elmos is just scary!

Deconstructed Elmo

My Jonathans

Dedicated to the One I Love

2009-01-21T18:55:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve, (behind in posting again, I know...) Jon and I reached our 10 year anniversary. I know, I know - who would have thought we'd make it this long? Well, I did for one, and Jon too. We have never had any doubt that we will spend this life together and then the eternities. Following with our tradition, which started the year we got married, we celebrated our marriage on the 1st of January, clear of all the crazy people and crowds. This year, we got a hotel room with a jacuzzi tub and went out to sushi for dinner. It was lovely. We spent more time in the tub than anywhere - heavenly. My future house will have one of those, from which I will conduct all of my business.

And now, for your reading pleasure, a list of things that I love love love about my husband...

His sense of humor

The fact that even when I don't want to laugh at him, I can't help it

His guitar playing/singing

The way he puts me to bed when I fall asleep on the couch or on top of the covers

The way he holds me every night while we fall asleep

How he looks like Josh Groban when he grows his hair out

That he likes to cuddle

His tolerance of my endless reading

His kisses

His hugs

That he is such a wonderful daddy

His height

His appetite

The fact that he laughs at my jokes and voices

Our inside jokes

The times when he pulls thoughts out of my head and says them before I can

His willingness (and desire) to see Twilight and then talk about it ad nauseum with me

The way he calls me "Beautiful" like it is my name

That he knows about my guilty pleasures and doesn't tease me about them

That he puts up with my occassional nueroses

The way he takes care of me

His ability to remain married to me

The fact that he is my best friend

He believes he can do anything

He believes I can do anything

His self confidence

The way he thinks more of me than I do

His constant support of me in all things

The fact that he joined his life to mine

That is not everything - there are a million little things that he does and is that I can't remember at the moment or can't post on here ;) But that gives you the jist of it.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-01-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

Or at least it was...

I have a disease assosciated with blogging. It is something akin to bulemia. I go for weeks at a time, binging with my camera, taking dozens and dozens of pictures, hoarding them to myself, until finally I feel so guilty for my gluttony that I purge, vomiting everything all over you at once in the form of five new blog posts in one day. Well, no more. I am breaking the cycle of bad behavior. Becoming healthier, as it were. Call it a resolution. And the cycle of healing will begin with this one post - that is right - ONE post, highlightinging the things that I have not been sharing with you over the last several weeks. And if this one post turns out to be just as long as those five separate posts would have been, just remember, sickness isn't cured in just one day.

December was a busy month, as it is for so many of you out there. I had planned to post lists of my favorite and not-so-favorite Christmas songs for your enjoyment, but as that time has clearly passed you will have to wait until next year. In a second-annual Joyner tradition, we traveled to Sacramento to watch the Santa parade, which came later in the year this time around due to financial difficulties. We were joined this year by the Sartains, minus Tim, and rather than drive the whole way we thought we would try our luck on the Light Rail, Sacramento's regional transit system.

While we waited in the parking lot, we were joined by a festive group of prisoners who came by to wish us a Merry Christmas (or clean the parking lot, but who knows?) We boarded the train, waved goodbye to our new friends, and were off on our way to the parade. Once there, we chose our spot and sat down to wait in the toasty 35 degree weather. Afterwards, we walked the seven children cattle-drive style back to the Light Rail, where we enjoyed a nearly standing-room-only ride back to our car. Sadly, the inmates were gone.

We attended Anna's choir concert.

We also attended a Christmas concert in which Hailey took part.

We decorated for the holiday...

We had our traditional Christmas Eve breakfast with our friends the Hunts...

and our traditional Joyner-Alston Christmas Eve dinner, complete with nativity scene.

No children were accidentally thrown away with the wrapping paper in the chaos of opening presents on Christmas morning...

and we evaded road closures and survived being shuttled through the snow to get to my Dad's for Christmas dinner.

For New Year's Eve, the Joyners and Sartains were treated to dinner at the Eastern Max Chinese buffet by the Aby, of which the only picture is the aftermath...

Somewhere in the middle of all that December fun we also made a trip to Utah to attend a funeral. It was a very busy month, and by the end, we were pretty much ready to say goodbye to 2008 and hello to a new year. So there you are - I feel much better now, not quite so full and ashamed of myself ;)

Twelve Days of Christmas

2008-12-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, so in this case it is actually 24 days, but you get the idea. For those of you that don't know my friend Vanessa or follow her blog, the other day she posted pictures of cute crafts she had seen for sale on Etsy. One of them was an advent calendar made with a muffin tin, and it was so cute that I just had to make my own. I don't know if the pictures do it justice, but it turned out pretty well.

Twisting the Night Away

2008-12-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

In my family, the tradition is that after Thanksgiving dinner, which we eat at about 2 in the afternoon, we look through the Black Friday ads, and then we spend the evening playing games. It is a big deal because growing up we NEVER played games, and even now we only do it twice a year - Thanksgiving and Christmas. After everyone has had so much food, we are in a good mood and ready for fun. This year we played TV Scene It, Shout About Music, Outburst Remix, and Twister. Ok, so Twister was actually set up for the kids, but a few of us joined in a round or two as well. Nothing like playing that game to remind yourself that you are not as flexible as you once were!

All the grandkids (except Jonathan) plus Adam had a sheep in his hand who was also playing.

Turkey for me, Turkey for you

2008-12-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

Ah, Thanksgiving. Day that we stuff ourselves so full that we can't get up from the table for an hour. Movies make it seem like we all sit around there after the meal to visit and be familial, but the truth is we simply can't move. This year, as per usual, we went to my dad's house in Alta for the big day. They rent tables and linens and put out a nice spread, and everyone dresses a little nicer and we all have excellent food and a great day. This year was no exception.

It is impossible to get everyone smiling/looking at the camera at the same time!

Putting our best faces forward, of course.

Me and my dad

This was after dinner - that is why he looks so sleepy.

I'm Doing Alright, Getting Good Grades...

2008-12-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, fourth grade is the first year that students start getting letter grades instead of numbers or combinations of S's and N's. So Anna has reached that precipice where she can no longer just do her work and expect to pass solely on the fact that she is ahead of the standards...now all of her work will get assigned a grade. Well, the first trimester recently ended, and it was time to see how she did, and I am proud to announce that she is now Anna Marie Joyner - Honor Roll student. That's right - Anna had higher than a 3.5 grade point average - as a matter of fact, she had a 4.0! That's my girl!

Anna with her friends McKenna and Marlo - also Honor Roll students

The school had an assembly to award the students on the honor roll with donuts, pennants, pins, and certificates, so the kids and I were all at the school at 7:45 a.m. to clap for Anna and wipe away a couple of proud tears. Oh, and to eat donuts, of course.

Together at Last at Twilight Time

2008-11-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

While I was not among the first to see it, or even the first 10,000, I did make it to see Twilight on Saturday - a day and a half after it opened and, honestly, much more quickly than I usually make it to the theater to see a movie. Vanessa, Sahara and I attended the 12:45 pm showing at the theater in Auburn (yay matinee price.) I thought that I would share my thoughts, feelings, and impressions about the movie, but without giving too many details away for those who haven't seen it yet.

Let me start by saying that overall I liked the movie just fine - I won't be rushing back to the theater again to see it, but it was entertaining and the actors were good. I really loved the book, and knew going into the movie that it wasn't going to be as good - I have yet to see a movie that I really think is as good as the book (although the Lord of the Rings movies were pretty good.) I tried to keep my expectations low going into the theater so that I could enjoy the movie for what it was and not be disappointed. But I was still excited to see some of those great scenes from the book translated to film. Sadly, I think this is an area where the movie really failed - three of the key, most pivotal scenes from the book where cut up, pared down, and really just left at bare bones. It was a let down to me to see that.

Something else that I felt could have been done better was the character development. The main characters all fell kind of flat - with the exception of Charlie, who was actually very well depicted and developed. It seemed like Bella was only a sketch of the character that Stephenie Meyer created, and her relationship with Edward seemed hurried and kind of cheesy because they cut out most of the parts where the two of them are talking and developing (there is that word again) their bond. All of a sudden they were at "I love you," and I have to think that anyone watching who hadn't read the book would feel like they had whiplash from the sudden change in emotion.

I think that the major complaint I have that encompasses the whole movie is that there wasn't enough of the good dialogue that Stephenie Meyer wrote in the book. What I don't understand (and it goes for all my complaints here) is that when you (meaning the screenwriter) already have so much of the work done for you, in the form of character development, stages scenes, and great dialogue, why wouldn't you use more of that? I know that there is no way to include everything from the book, but some of the most important things were definitely missing.

So now that it sounds like I am totally harping on the movie, I want to say again that I did like it. There was some good humor in it, and it was fun to see some of the places that had been living in my imagination put into reality. I wasn't sure how I would feel about Robert Pattinson playing Edward, but I thought he did a very good job. The acting wasn't so much the problem (at least not with the key characters - Jessica et al are another story, but I won't go into that.) It really was just that things fell kind of flat and incomplete. I hope that New Moon fills out a little since it will probably have a bigger budget than this one. I am glad I went though, and am happy there is another little piece of the Twilight universe out there.

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These Boots are Made for Walkin'

2008-11-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

Anna and Hailey went to spend the night with Pa (my dad) last week and each came home with a new pair of boots. When asked what spurred the expedition to the mall for new shoes, Anna replied "I'm not sure how we got on the subject, but I said something about wanting a pair of boots." Maybe I should say something to Pa about wanting a pair of boots...Somehow I don't think that it will have the same effect!

The presence of boots created so many dilemmas - do we roll the tops up or down? What should we wear them with? Should I play soccer in them or not?

We Are Family

2008-11-17T09:08:00.001-08:00

Every year on November 11 the Joyner family celebrates a "family birthday" - the anniversary of my in-laws' marriage. This year, those of us who live in California went out to dinner at Red Robin. Enjoy these snapshots of our crazy family...

Brooklyn and Hailey - not sure why Hailey is making that face...

Aidan and Adam

Anna and Abbi

Sydney and Jamie - I think Jamie is the only one who took a decent picture this night

Jake and Jonathan - "oh Uncle Jake, I can't believe you!"

Dr. Dr., Give Me The News

2008-11-12T18:24:00.000-08:00

While I do not have a bad case of loving you, I am coming down with whatever is going around right now. But I will not go quietly into that dark night, oh no. I will fight it off until I am too weak to do so anymore. Why is it that when your husband is sick, he stays home from work, lays in bed and wants you to bring him juice and soup while also keeping the kids quiet, but when you are sick he goes off to school or work or whatever, leaving you to take care of the kids and the house without so much as a backward glance or even a sip of orange juice to be had? So it was that this evening I found myself dragging four children through the grocery store during the after-work rush hour, in search of a bottle of the good stuff to get me through the night. Then we made the soujourn home in time for me to cook dinner for the crowd between running to the bathroom to blow my nose and doing laundry so that there are clothes to wear tomorrow. Children fed, here I am, laying on my bed taking shots of the acquired o.j., waiting until bedtime when I can down some Nyquil and blissfully pass out until tomorrow.

Monster Mash

2008-11-11T08:59:00.002-08:00

A few weeks late, as per usual, I am finally posting our Halloween pictures. Tired of the princess scene, this year Jon and I mandated that the entire family was going to go with a theme, and the theme was the 50's. I made poodle skirts for the girls and myself and the boys all went as greasers (or "weesehs" as Adam kept saying - no g's or r's for that boy.) Adam wasn't thrilled with the idea - he asked for a hero, or even a bad guy - anything but a guy who only wears jeans and a white t-shirt. But the image of the two little boys with the rolled-up jeans and the curl of hair in the middle of their forehead was too cute for me to resist.

The kids' pumpkins - Anna's is the cat.

The morning of Halloween, I made the kids Jack-O'-Lantern pancakes and we put together some Halloween necklaces (all before school - amazing!)

Be True To Your School

2008-11-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

Take bad food, awkward conversations, and a bunch of increasingly-drunken people and what do you have? A high school reunion. Or at least my high school reunion. Okay, so those are the cynical bulletpoints of the night. Overall, it really wasn't too bad, although I would have opted for a venue where you could actually be heard by the people you were talking to without shouting over the music. Only about a third of our graduating class showed up, but even from that small number I was surprised to see people that I had forgotten about and people who I couldn't remember ever having seen, let alone spent four years with. It was not my idea to go to the event, but a couple of my really good girlfriends were coming into town for it (we are all spread out over the state and the world, so we don't see each other very often) and so I took the opportunity to spend time with them. I also dragged Jon along with me (against his will) as a flesh-and-blood representation of my life for the last ten years, and was completely gratified when one of my former classmates asked "Who is that hot guy over there?" Oh, him? Yeah, that's my husband. Overall, I was happy I went, and am now good for at least another ten years before I see most of those people again.

Lori, Heather and me

Lori's husband Mike and Jon pretending to have a good time

me, Lori and Patricia (the original Colfax girls)

And oh yes, my hot husband (showing his true feelings of the night)

Everyone Hail to the Pumpkin Song

2008-10-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, the annual trip to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm was once again upon us, and so we made the trek to Wheatland for farmy fun. As always there was plenty to do and plenty of fall treats to be eaten - my favorite being the pumpkin pie with a crushed walnut topping. We saw all the animals in the petting zoo and petted the goats (which Jonathan loved), then the kids played in the wooden train and on the slides.

Help! That pumpkin ate my son!

We were the last hayride of the evening, and went further out into the patch then we have ever been before - there was speculation that the driver was tired of truckloads of tourists and was taking us out to abandon us somewhere in the wilds of the farm. After picking out the perfect pumpkins (with minimal whining and only a few reminders that if you can't carry your pumpkin, then it is too big) our trusty driver returned for us (perhaps he had thought better of his maniacal plan) and we took the hayride back in the setting sun - it was really peaceful and pretty. Another successful trip to Bishop's.

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah

2008-10-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post by saying that I have never been a camper. In fact, the last time that I went camping prior to this was honestly 10 years ago. Jon and I have never been camping together at all. Bad memories of cold scout trips without the proper camping gear had pretty much staved off his desire for camping for the first half of our marriage, and having a wife who doesn't pee in the wilderness kept it at bay for most of the second half. But recently we have begun to come around to the idea of giving it another go as adults who are in control of their own experience, and as gifts we have recieved a wonderful two-room tent, very warm sleeping bags, and a lantern. All a very good start to camping.

So a few weeks ago we went down to Santa Cruz to go camping for what ended up being about a day and a half (not quite worth all the work in my opinion.) So that this won't be a novel, I will just give you the highlights of the trip. We weren't able to have a campfire the entire time we camped due to high winds. Wait a minute, what? No fire? On a camping trip? On the coldest weekend this season? Yeah, that's right. Luckily for us, my dad, in his infinite wisdom, sent us with a small propane heater to keep his grandchildren warm (his daughter could freeze to death, but not those kids!) So with that in our tent and our lantern, we were pretty happy. We set up camp in the mostly-dark Friday night, having gotten to the campgrounds later than anticipated, so after eating we pretty much went straight to bed.

"Want me to smack you with this spatula?"

Saturday morning was cold cold cold, so we all ate breakfast and got ready to get out of there and find some warmth. We headed to the beach, all bundled up in jeans and sweatshirts, expecting a typical Northern California beach day with wind and clouds. Lo and behold, apparently October is prime beach time here, and the sky was perfectly clear and the sun was warm. It was gorgeous. Everyone rolled up their pantlegs and took off their sweatshirts and we had a really great day at the ocean. We then walked the boardwalk since neither Jon nor I had ever been, and got some good clam strips and chowder down on the pier. We stayed another night and then packed up early Sunday morning as Jon and I had a wedding to attend that afternoon. All in all, it was a good foray back into camping, not without its bumps but still fun. Turns out my kids LOVE camping - copious amounts of hot chocolate, permission to be filthy, and freedom to run - go figure!

Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard

2008-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Anna and Hailey have officially been back in school for five weeks now, and I am finally getting to posting the first day of school pictures. Hailey is in first grade this year, which means a full 6 1/2 hours a day that I have only two children - can you smell the freedom? Anna is in fourth grade - I don't know how they do things anymore, but when I was in school fourth grade was part of the "upper grades" - I can't believe Anna is that old! So far they are both loving school, except for the discrepancy over what time they should get there. Since we live across the street, they walk to school every morning, and Anna is of the opinion that they should leave here no later than 7:55 (school starts at 8:20) so that she will have time to play soccer, while Hailey feels that 8:10 leaves plenty of time to get over there before the bell rings and they can then go straight to class. Many a morning has been filled with the sounds of Anna urging Hailey to hurry up and Hailey replying that she isn't ready to leave yet and that it is too early. I finally started having them switch days so that they go early one day and on time the next. That makes everyone happy, right? Wrong. But at least they are unified in the belief that Mommy is unfair. And once they are off to school, I have 6 1/2 glorious hours before I have to hear any more about it. Yay school.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

2008-09-29T08:22:00.001-07:00

Ok, still playing catch-up here, but I am getting closer. In August, my friends Brandi and Stephanie were here visiting their in-laws (they happen to be married to twins) and I was happy to be able to spend some time hanging out with them while they were here. We were also with my friend Vanessa (who happens to be their sister-in-law as well - she is married to the twins' older brother.) We went to the park, Costa Vida (several times - yum), shopping, Lake Clementine (with 12 kids no less), and a birthday party at a bounce place (lots of fun racing over the inflatables.) I was so glad to have them here to play with and was sad when they went home - miss you girls!

Stephanie, Vanessa, Brandi, and me at Lake Clementine

Smiling pretty before going down the big inflatable slide at Bounce-U

I Need A Hero

2008-09-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

August 27th, 2008 - a truly outstanding day in the lives of those in the Joyner household. For on that day, we were visited by someone so amazing, so incredible, so Super, if you will, that none of us will ever forget it. On that Wednesday, which started so much like any other day, was the day that Superman came to 2041 Swetzer Rd.

To celebrate his 4th birthday, Adam wanted a Superman party, at which he of course would be portraying the part of the man himself. He had big plans: "Mommy, I will be in the bedroom, and when everyone is there you say "Here comes Superman!" and I will come out." With a cape from Six Flags and the infamous symbol on his chest (made by his mommy), as well as the Superman theme song downloaded from the internet, he was ready to go. I would like to note that he was not coached in any way as to how his entrance would go - it was all him.

I made his cake - a chocolate box recipe to which I added sour cream, chocolate chips, Hershey's kisses, and chocolate pudding mix - and the frosting which was of the cream cheese variety. Yum. I made goodie bags and set the table and we were good to go.

We played a version of Hot Potato with Kryptonite instead of a spud, Pin the Symbol on Superman's Chest, and musical chairs with the Superman Theme. Then we enjoyed cake and presents. Overall, it was a very successful birthday.

How old are you Adam?

Having Fun in the Warm California Sun

2008-09-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Since we didn't manage to get out much this summer due to the smoke and heat, and the furthest the kids got was Pa's house in Alta, we wanted to take them somewhere fun. We settled for Six Flags in Vallejo, since with two coupons from Lunchables we got two of our kids in for free. (Not that it still wasn't way too expensive.) We left Jonathan at home with his Aunt Jamie, and headed off to the Bay Area. It was a beautiful day - 107 in Roseville, but only 85 in Vallejo.

Our foray into the park started with some excitement. While trying to find our way to the kid's area (the park map was wildly vague and unhelpful) we passed by a Ben and Jerry's stand, from which came a women's voice calling out to us to call 911. She had been in line getting a drink when the guy inside fell to the ground and started seizing. There was no one else around, and she was trying to take care of him and couldn't get to her phone. Jon ran inside the stand to help, dialing 911 and then handing the phone to me. There were no workers around to call, and it seemed like several minutes before one came by and said that she didn't have her walkie-talkie on her and went to find one to call for help. Meanwhile on the phone I finally got through to a 911 operator, who asked me where we were in the park, and like I said before, the map was not helpful and I had no idea where I was, so I just started describing things to her - I'm sure she found my "we just passed the Butterfly House" very helpful. In the end, it took the park EMTs FOREVER to get there, but the man was coming around at that point, and we all vacated so they could do their job. If I were you, I would try to avoid having a medical emergency in a Six Flags.

Anyhow, the rest of our day went without incident. We got soaked on the river raft ride - I was the first one to get wet with a huge stream of water right down my back - good times. Hailey and Anna rode more big rides than I did - after my trip on the Medusa I decided not to ride anything else since I was not gripped by a desire to see my lunch again. But we all had a pretty good day and it was good quality family time. I think, however, that we will stick to Disneyland in the future.

Hailey's review of our day

Adam dancing after lunch - yes, I am aware the video is sideways...

Go Shorty, it's your birthday

2008-09-04T18:15:00.000-07:00

This year, Anna achieved the ripe old age of 9 (we are looking into a walker and those bars that you use for getting in and out of the bathtub if anyone knows a good distributor.) To celebrate the fact that she survived another year of being attacked, abused, and misused by her siblings as well as relied on very heavily by her parents to deflect said attacks, abuse, and misuse from themselves, we threw her a barbecue.

Anna with her favorite present - a GameBoy from Aunt Tara's family.

Anna and Jon showing their genetic link - her goofyness definitely comes from the Joyner side.

Pa, Grandma, Anna, and Aby - I am pretty sure we have a picture just like this from the day Anna was born.

Vacation (All I Ever Wanted)

2008-08-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

At the end of July I boarded a plane and headed for Vermont for a week, sans husband or children - amazing, I know. For those of you who don't know, my mom is from Vermont, and so I have a whole side of the family out there who I rarely get to see. After having survived a particularly rough semester last spring, Jon agreed that I could treat myself to a trip back east (thank you to the Federal Aid For Students for providing me with money.) Rather than regale you with tales of my trip, (air travel is a nightmare), I thought that it would be nice to introduce you all to some of my family (although I assure you that it is impossible to get a true feeling for these people without meeting them in person. Also, for a lot of them, hearing the accent is half of the experience.) Let me start by saying that I love (almost) everyone back there absolutely and would give (almost) anything to be able to live closer to them. They are great people and despite the fact that I don't get back there very often and I have obvious mental defects (genetic I assure you) they always treat me just like I live there and am part of the family.

Ok, first up we have my cousin Jerold and our Uncle Chris. Jerold and his family were kind enough to put up with me for the week while I was there, letting me sleep in their house, although not without plenty of threats to make me go and stay somewhere else (the main threat being to make me go and stay with my mom, which many of you know is a pretty big threat.) Jerold took me for a ride on his Harley, and let me tell you, everyone should have one. And seeing Vermont on the back of a bike was a whole new experience, and it was beautiful.

What can be said about Uncle Chris...he is a nut. I always spend a lot of my time with him shaking my head and laughing at him because he is really a personification of a good old boy, and is very often entertaining.

Next are Christalee and Jaden, Jerold's wife and daughter. Christalee has been putting up with me since my visit for Christmas of my senior year when my mom kicked me out, and that earns her my love and gratitude. Jaden is 6 (and a half, she would ammend) and was my shadow for the week. She is a sweet little girl and we had fun.

Here are the women of my family (minus my sister who, alas, was headed to Hawaii and couldn't accompany me on my trip.) From left to right are my Aunt Julie and cousin Jessica (Jerold's mom and older sister), my Aunt Sherry, my mother Amy, and yours truly. I tell you, if you could get together with all of these women at the same time, you would fear for my genetic future, much as I do. No, really, we had fun and it was a gathering that rarely happens. As you can see from the picture, I am the tallest girl in my immediate family, and as I top out at 5'6" (average height for a girl) you can guess how short everyone else is. The men in my family there are not tall either - it was an odd experience to be on the same level as everyone I talked to and hugged, given that I live in the land of giants here.

This is my Uncle Stuart, married to Aunt Julie and father of Jerold. Now, as I have stated, I love everyone back there, but I have to say that I think Uncle Stuart is my favorite. Apparently I am a masochist because Uncle Stuart's favorite pastime is running me down the whole time I am there (I come by my sarcasm and wit naturally.) But I know that he only makes fun of the people he loves, so I am ok with it. Even in this picture you can just see on his face that he has some smart-alec thing to say.

Finally, this is my Grandpa Loren, my mom's dad. When I used to go back in the summer when I was a kid I spent a fair amount of time with him and my step-grandma Blanche. He, like the rest of the family, likes to tease. Hard to believe I spend $500 on airline tickets to go somewhere and be harrassed, especially when my family here would do it for free.

It was a fabulous trip, and I can't wait until I can go back again. My family has an aversion to California, so I doubt any of them will head out this way anytime soon. But that is ok, because being in the state of Vermont is half of the joy of seeing them all.

Misty Water-Colored Memories...

2008-08-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Here's What You Do...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Oh My Darling Clementine

2008-08-07T17:59:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July this year we went to Clementine to spend the day in the sun and the water. I was a little nervous when the rangers at the top of the hill told us that there were already 119 cars at the bottom, but it actually didn't seem that crowded. We set ourselves up on the rocky part of the beach and slathered the kids with sunblock before setting them loose and kicking back. The great thing about this part of Clementine is that while it is known as "Upper Lake" it is actually a river, and therefore is very clean and clear but still has pools for swimming in, but without the strong currents and undertows of the American River. The kids spent the day splashing around and collecting "special" rocks while Jon swam and ate and I tried to convince my Irish skin to adopt some color. We had a great time and think we might make this our July 4th tradition.

You Say It's Your Birthday...

2008-08-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

On June 27th Hailey celebrated her 6th birthday, complete with costume changes (what a diva). We started out at the movie theater for a screening of Wall-E, to which Hailey wore her new princess dress and birthday tiara. We were accompanied by some of Hailey's cousins and aunts and uncles. We followed the movie with cupcakes at the park, to which Hailey wore her fabulous new purple shorts and flowered top. Given that this is the girl who took in a deep breath and said "Mmmm, the smell of the mall," I think we are in for trouble when she hits the teen years!

Who's Gonna Drive You Home?

2008-06-25T09:56:00.001-07:00

I would like to introduce you all to my new car, which does not actually have a name yet (we're waiting to get to know her first.) She is number 5 in the line of cars we have had, following such greats as Betty, Nellie, Bermudis, and the unnamed 1994 Mazda MPV that we were fortunate enough to inherit after I was in an accident that totaled Bermudis last November. (RIP Bermudis, we won't forget you.)

So here she is, a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan, and she is every bit as classy as any SUV, plus she gets better gas mileage. The Mazda we have been driving is well-worn (to put it mildly) and, being a '94, lacks pretty much all of the creature comforts to which most of us have become accustomed. We have a tape deck (thank you D.I. for supplying us with antiquated tapes to listen to!), and the air conditioner blows air that is slightly less warm than outside. The heater doesn't work (last winter was COLD) and the padding is coming out of the seats. (However I would like to state that the Mazda was a life-saver, gifted to us by my friend Roseanne and her husband Dennis, at a time when we had no car and no money to get one. All of those creature comforts are nice but really not necessary.)

Ok, so back to the new car. She has a CD player, very comfy seats, cold AC, and the very best thing - stow-and-go seating. To those of you without a family of six, this may not seem like such a big deal, but after you spend a few road trips with bags under people's legs and between them on the seats and piled so high in the back that you can't see out of the back window, and then having to remove half of said bags every time a kid has to go to the bathroom, you learn to appreciate the small things. (Even the great Bermudis didn't have more than a six-inch gap behind her back seat. It was like playing Tetris every time we packed the car for a road-trip.) We welcome the new car to our family, and if we pass you on the road sometime, make sure you say hello!

Day Tripper

2008-06-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jon and I had to make the trek to Stanford for Jon to see the Marfan specialist there, and since we rarely get that far away without the kids (we try to leave in the middle of the night, but man are they light sleepers!) we thought that we would drive home via San Fran. Jon had never been to Chinatown, so that was our destination. We quickly found that there is basically nothing to see in Chinatown, but we took some pictures along the

way.

This is what we'd look like if we were models and we were way too cool to talk to you. Yeah, you know you're jealous.

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

2008-05-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

No, that's not Captain Jack Sparrow, its our very own Anna Marie Joyner. We recently attended a production of the musical "Pirates from Grammar Island" (look for it on Broadway soon people) where Anna made her stage debut in the leading role of Captain Comma. The show premiered in the Penryn Elementary School all-purpose room with the actors playing to a crowd of more than 50 proud parents, grandparents, and siblings. We are very proud of her and have already been in touch with several agents concerning her next career move.

She can see! She can see!

2008-05-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

We got the phone call from the school nurse a short while back that Hailey had completely bombed the vision test they do at school. We had noticed that she was sitting closer to the t.v. and you couldn't see her face anymore when she was reading because the book was smooshed up against her nose, so the phone call really wasn't a surprise. So now Hailey has a stylish new pair of glasses which make her more like her sister Anna, something that she likes very much.

A Walk to Remember

2008-05-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

On a Sunday afternoon not too long ago, Jon and I took the kids for a walk up at Griffith Quarry, conveniently located at the top of the hill from our house. For those of you who don't know (and trust me, the list would be shorter of those who do) Griffith Quarry was established by Griffith Griffith (the man so nice they named him twice?) and was open for years as a granite quarry. Now it is a 23-acre park with walking trails and huge slabs of granite protruding from the earth. There is your history lesson for the day.

So anyway...we took the camera because as it turns out we don't really take that many pictures of our kids and you've gotta have pictures if you're going to blog. Our kids are, shall we say, unpredictable, and so it is also good to have a camera just because you never know what you're going to get.

Girls: "Cheeese" Adam: "Jeeesus" Me: "What did you say Adam?" Adam: (said with the attitude of don't you know anything) "You know Mom, he made the animals?"

The kids took turns leading and deciding which trails to take and we just went along with it. We managed to come home with all four children and no poison oak which is an accomplishment, trust me. All in all it was a good time.

A boy and his fuzzy

2008-04-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

Jonathan doesn't use a pacifier or suck his thumb like a lot of babies do. This does not mean that he is without his vices, though. Jonathan is addicted to the fuzzy. He may tell you that he doesn't have a problem, and that he can quit anytime he wants, but don't let him sucker you with that sweet smile - he has a dependency issue.

Admittedly, Jonathan does have a solid group of enablers who keep him supplied with fresh fuzzy goodness, so he can't be held totally at fault. He started out with just one fuzzy, but that soon turned into two, then four, and now he is up to five fuzzies. We try to keep the accessibility down to one fuzzy at a time, but Jonathan is very resourceful and has been known to have a three-fuzzy-a-day habit.

At some point, we are going to have to stage an intervention, and we sincerely hope to have the support of our friends and loved ones when we go through what is sure to be that very difficult time.

Our Kids

2008-04-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

I thought that perhaps a more detailed introduction to our children would be good for those of you who don't know them very well. Let me start by saying that each one of our children firmly believes that they were meant to be an only child. Ask any of them that can talk and they have a plan for how we can sell the other kids so that they will be the only one. And then we could use that money for Disneyland. The first time I remember hearing one of them say we could get rid of some of the others was Hailey before Jonathan was born. Her exact words were “We don’t need Adam anymore, Mommy.” Me: “What will we do with him?” Hailey: “We can give him to someone else who needs a boy.” Me: “But won’t we miss him?” Hailey: (with an obvious air of exasperation) “Well we can call him, Mommy – we’ll get the people’s phone number.” Yeah, she was 4 and she had the whole thing planned out. She had obviously spent some time thinking about it. I think that someday they will appreciate having brothers and sisters. I hope so anyway…

Anna Marie Joyner is 8 years old and is very smart. She just finished reading the Harry Potter series - all 7 books all by herself - and she has already jumped into another book. She usually has two or three going at a time, and she also writes wonderful stories. She is also pretty quick witted. We went to the mall the other day and I was looking for a shirt for myself. I asked her which colors I should try on, and she listed some. Me: "Not this yellow one?" Anna: "Mm, no." Me: (trying to be funny) "You know Anna, some people say I look good in yellow." Anna: "Well, I'm not one of those people am I?" Oh yeah, she is definetly my daughter. She also has a very goofy sense of humor that she gets from her dad.

Hailey Elizabeth Ila Joyner is very logical as you can see from the conversation about getting rid of Adam. She is also very blunt. Jon always says she is a 90 year-old woman in the body of a five year-old. She makes me laugh with the things that come out of her mouth that you don't expect. We were driving one day and I had forgotten something, which I voiced with something like "Dang it, I forgot..." and from the middle seat I hear her say "Oh, snap!" Hailey is her own special brand of child.

Adam Crandon Joyner is crazy. That is really the only word you can use to describe him. He is three years-old and he looks nothing like the girls, but he looks just like a King (my side of the family.) However, his personality and sense of humor is all Joyner. Do I really need to say anymore about that? He also thinks he is hilarious and just the most important thing in the world (and yes, that comes from his dad as well.) Adam is going to be the bane of my existence, because he knows which buttons to push to make me laugh. There are so many times when I am trying to discipline him and he will just pull one of his stunts and I can't help but laugh. It is a challenge I am trying to overcome.

Jonathan Neil Joyner is the baby of the family, but he is huge. He is just over a year old but he is the size of an 18-month-old. Not a big surprise when you consider the fact that he was just about 11 pounds when he was born. Yeah. He is the darkest child we have, but actually looks a lot like Adam despite their obvious tone differences. He drags his fuzzy blanket around with him all the time, and as long as it is stuffed in his mouth he is happy. We had to get extras because they have to be washed all the time or they start to smell. Jonathan gets into more trouble than any of the other kids ever did, and he keeps me on my toes. He will eat and eat and eat -I have honestly only seen him refuse food maybe twice. I have to cut him off because he will eat until he is sick. But he isn't a fat baby, since he is so tall - he is just solid. He is going to be the kid that everyone thinks is mentally slow because he will always look so much older than he is, and I am going to have to constantly be saying, "Oh, no, he's only ... years old."

So those are our children. They are each their own kind of special, in good ways and bad. But aren't we all?

Easter

2008-03-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty low-key Easter this year. The kids had Easter jammies from Abby, which confused Adam because his didn't have any bunnies on them. Apparently dinosaurs are not appropriate Easter wear to him. The Easter bunny brought the kids some candy and toys and two movies - Dumbo and Annie. He hid 30 eggs, and we found 29. We are pretty sure that the gophers got #30 - the Easter bunny thought it would be a good idea to hide some of the eggs on top of the ever-increasing gopher mounds in the yard - it wasn't. Jonathan (the baby) had absolutely no desire to either hold a basket or look for seemingly inedible colored things in the grass, so he just wandered around the yard yelling things. The other three kids did great though and had a lot of fun.

I drew a picture of each of the three older kids on an egg just for them, and that egg they had to find themselves. Unfortunately for Anna, hers was the egg that went missing. I am including a picture of the eggs that I switched to a negative image so that you can see the drawings more clearly.

This year, Easter fell on Jon's birthday, and so I made him hunt for his presents while the kids hunted for eggs. Yes, that is my husband skipping around the yard with a huge basket. I question why I document these things for other people to see. In Joyner tradition, Jon got to pick what he wanted for dinner since it was his birthday. The result was an excellent meal of Carne Asada complete with homemade salsa, guacamole, rice, beans, and an assortment of meats. YUM. To those of you Joyners who weren't here to partake, we all ate enough for you. Since we forwent the traditional ham dinner for Easter, Mom made a nice brunch where the ham made its appearance. Overall, it was a good day for food and fun.

The Zoo

2008-03-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

To start off Spring Break, we took the kids to the Sacramento Zoo to visit the animals. I know, I know, I live in a zoo, so what would possess me to pay to get into another one? Well, after looking at all those animals, I did gain some appreciation for my monkeys - at least they don't throw poop at us - well, most of the time. I also came away with some great ideas for a couple of plexiglass habitats for them...

We had a good time seeing all the animals, (side note - Sacramento Zoo doesn't even have elephants or a hippo -it was pretty sucky), and taking pictures. Adam is such a ham - there were tons of places that he would stop and pose and tell me to take a picture of him. I liked his conquering pose in this one. His favorite animals were the monkeys. That night at the dinner table he turned to me and asked "Did you see the monkey butts?" and just broke out laughing. Yep, that's my son.

Hailey really liked the flamingos. We stopped to look at them several times from different points around their pond. At one point, there was one that was laying on its side in the mud with its head flopped over. Hailey thought for sure it was dead. Nope, turns out they just sleep that way. She was very happy to see it get up again.

Anna liked all the animals. Being the oldest, she paid the most attention and was the most interested in the animal's habits and diets and everything. She carried the zoo map all day and told us what each thing was we were seeing.

Overall, we had a fun day and really enjoyed the time we got to spend with the kids - we rarely get to have that much time as a family. We went home hot and tired, but it was worth it.

In the orangutan compound, there was the biggest orangutan I have ever seen. Jon looked at me and asked if it was real because it was so big and hairy and just sitting still. It reminded me of Jabba the Hut.

Yay Blogging

2008-03-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, well I have joined the rest of the world and created a blog. I'm not sure who will read it, but maybe it will be therapeutic for me - anyone who knows me will definitely confirm that I need any kind of therapy I can get! At least this way it is free. So here goes nothing - hopefully soon I will have some pictures up and stories to share.