Super Marble Galaxy

UPDATE:Alisha got 3rd place out of 25 Marble Mazes!! Way to go Ali and Jason!!

So, Alisha had a Marble Maze Project that she had to do with a parent. So, of course I let Jason head up the project with her. They put together the maze which is basically some funnels and some wooden tracks. I painted it, cut out the vinyl and applied it to the board. They wanted it to look a little like Super Mario Galaxy. So, we called it SUPER MARBLE GALAXY and this is what we came up with (if it works right, the marble will run the coarse in 43 sec.'s) It was a fun project, but we spent way too much time on it. We were up until 3:30 am finishing it. Put two procrastinators together and that is what you get!! Well, the Marble Maze was done, it just need to be painted last night. Needless to say, I am a walking Zombie today and have a headache from inhaling spray paint. That stuff is awful!! I noticed this morning that I painted some of my grass black. Oops! That's what you get when you paint a big board on your lawn at 2:00 in the morning... Maybe it will motivate Jason to mow it!

Alisha Got Braces!!

Wow, I can't believe my oldest is in braces! We went to three different Orthodontists and all three told us they wanted to do something different with her mouth. It was stressful for me, but ultimately I let Alisha decide. We prayed about it and she made her decision. I hope it all goes well. It is interesting how different each child's mouth can be. Alisha's teeth are so crowded and a little crooked and Lindsay's look straight. Jason and I both had braces, so I'm pretty sure we have many years of braces ahead with our five kids. Alisha got her braces a week ago yesterday. It has been a long week... spacers gave her alot of greif and she barely ate anything all week. She got her brackets put on last week (they are in the shape of stars) and today they finally put the bands on. Hopefully now she will beable to eat without pain...

Aebleskivers

One tradition that we LOVE from the Grant side is Aebleskivers. Jason's sister Sharman and her husband Joe gave us an Aebleskiver pan for our wedding and we have enjoyed it through the years. Our kids love when we have Aebleskivers. This weekend is Conference weekend, which means I will be doing a lot of baking. In the Farley family, we have a tradition that we have homemade rolls and Cinnamon Rings every Holiday and Confernce weekend. So, this weekend I will make the rolls, the cinnamon ring and the ableskivers. It is a fun tradition that I hope we continue to keep throughout the years...

My new bag

Ok, so I am just crazy enough to make another bag for church! I'm not sure how I find time to do extra stuff like make bags, since I barely have time to do all the cleaning and cooking I have to do. I think it's because when it's done, it's really done. Cooking, cleaning and laundry is an ongoing process that is never DONE. There is always tomorrow... Anyway, I guess that is why I put the other things aside for a little while and take the time to make a bag or work on Vinyl orders. I like to check things off my list. It's a mental list, I hate making written lists! I do like the way this bag turned out and there is pleanty of room for all my church essentials. I really enjoy creating things...

And NO I'm not pregnant, thanks to Alisha's hand positioning I look like I'm 5 months or something!! Nope, I'm not- at least I better not be!! Just need to loose weight!

O' Fallon Ward Camping Trip

We got to go on a campout with our Ward on September 11th. We went to Sioux Passage Park near the Missouri River. The campsite was a HUGE open field. Plenty of room for the kids to play. There were around 70 of us that came.

Jason did a great job setting up the tent (with helpers) and getting everything loaded in was Emily's self- designated job...

Lindsay and Brianna

Laura Lewis

Seralyn Morgan, Laura Lewis and Stacy

Me and Laura


Laura and her Dad, President Brad Lewis

The Kerns

Jen Wright and Jonah

We tried to get a family picture, but it turned out blurry. so, this is all we've got- thanks Laura!!

The Bowman Family

The Justus Family

Jason and Jen Wooley (their kids were running around at the time I took the picture.) Jason served in the same mission as me, but left before I went out there. He served under President Gottfredson.

The girls had so much fun with their friends. They loved the glow necklaces they got.

Tyler loves to make things. He loved watching Mike Benne build our fire. The pictures really don't do the fire justice, it was huge and really HOT. I mean retina burning, hair singeing Hot!! I had to wear sunglasses just to be able to get in close enough to roast my marshmallows for smores. Notice how close Tyler is to that flamin' hot fire. He wasn't phased at all! He even made his own mock fire by stacking up small logs. He's just kickin' back drinking a Capri Sun and enjoying the heat...

Look at the size of the log Thomm is putting on the fire, it's taller than him!

Todd and Natalie brought their kids up for a little while, but did not stay the night. They went to Chicago the next day.

The Missouri river was within walking distance of our camp site.

We woke up to a wonderful morning haze that provided dew all over our tents. When people (lets just say KIDS) found out that when you shake the tents, water droplets would fall down on unsuspecting victims, they went around waking people up with a morning "shower." Let's just say it isn't a pleasant way to wake up... It was pretty cool to see the haze surrounding the tents even though it made everything soggy!!

It was a long night. There was a lot of drama in our tent! Stacy and Emily had a hard time falling asleep and they both wanted me to themselves. It was crazy. Emily sounded like she was in labor (you would have to be there to actually understand what I'm saying, but if you have ever witnessed someone giving birth- the crying,screaming or wailling is quite similar to what Emily was acting like that night) and Stacy was crying at the top of her lungs while trying to pry "my mommy" away from Emily. Jason has it sooo easy... Jason and I were laughing so hard while it was all taking place ( it was either that or CRY!) We have a few Drama Queens in our midst.

Chance Marrasso made the hugest pancake for himself. It took three people to flip it...

The kids had such a great time with all their friends, we are glad we went. We would definitely do it again!

Weird Bug

I have never seen anything like this before and I have lived on the earth for 36 years. This thing is just wierd. We all watched it creep across the branch and were intrigued by it. It had such unique markings. To get a feel for its size, look at the the little spider next to him. I am amazed at the sizes and variety of all the little bugs and insects that exist on this earth. (Tyler points them out to me on a regular basis.) God has created an amazing earth for us to live on.