Every Which Way

Pre-Mission Brother Pictures!

2010-07-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Alex is off to serve his Mission in Brazil on Wednesday, so I thought we would take some special pictures of just he and each of his five brothers. Here they are!

Some Things I've Made Lately

2010-05-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

Eric says I've gone knitting crazy. I say it is a little like one of those stress release balls. Either way, it is constructive.

Book of Mormon Summer Study

2010-04-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

I just listened to Elder Bednar's talk about the three holy habits and decided it was time for me to plan a summer Book of Mormon study for my three young children. My older ones can read the Book of Mormon cover to cover and that is a reasonable goal for them. My little ones could never. So, what to do? Well, I'm thinking of a hero study. Maybe each week this summer we could focus on a different hero from the Book of Mormon. Obviously, I need to flesh this out. If anyone has any ideas, let me know! I want to be able to stand as a watchwoman from the tower for my children.

Mission Call!!!

2010-03-03T22:18:00.000-08:00

My Boy Got His Mission Call Today!!

Maui - 2010

2010-02-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

There is absolutely nothing like spending a week in Maui alone with your husband. Every day was an adventure.
Every day was relaxing.
The only question left on my mind is:
When can I go again?

Ahhhh, the Island life.

Our Little Tax Deduction (we wish)

2010-02-16T18:46:00.000-08:00

Astro arrived on New Year's Eve. Five of the boys, my mother, and I all got to watch. The boys said it was kinda gross, but really cool. That's just life on the farm!

CRAZY Jousting!

2009-11-14T22:40:00.000-08:00

I took some of the kids and their friends to Kearney Park today for the Renaissance Festival - absolutely CRAZY!!!

And Then There Was The Toy Closet!

2009-10-05T17:00:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

I Know This Dosn't Seem Like A Big Deal.........

2009-09-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

......but sometimes it FEELS like a big deal! How long have I been looking at this broken shelf? How many times have I had to rearrange the books I was using to prop it up because I was actually going to read one of them?

Well, it is fixed now! I wish I could take a picture of the blanket of dust that was all over this stuff too. I tried, but despite it's uncanny ability to propagate, I wasn't able to capture it digitally.

Llama Packing - Nelson Lake

2009-09-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon my friend, DaNae, and I hiked up to Nelson Lake with Dunnigan and Folly. We camped out over night, heared some wolves howling at about 2:00 am, and ran into two scout groups. Aside from a little moaning from Dunnigan, things went pretty well. Can't wait to do some more! Clear the trails - here comes Jill!

What Do You Do When You Are Done Taking Your Son For An Xray?

2009-09-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

After a week of being stalled by a nasty cold, I thought I was finally going to get something done today. Unfortunately, Boone decided to try and jump down almost an entire flight of stairs last night. After some deliberation, I took him to the doctor this morning and shot half my day getting x-rays. After all that, it turns out it is not broken (yah?!?). So, scraping up the last little bit of my day, I began the kitchen desk reorganization project!

What Do You Do When Your Baby Goes To Kindergarten?

2009-08-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

Clean the Refrigerator!

(I bring you the careful documentation of my goal to wage war on the clutter of my home)

Before:

and

After:

Walla!

Grand Canyon/Phantom Ranch Adventure!

2009-06-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday of this week, I took my three older boys and we headed to the Grand Canyon. Early in the morning, on Wednesday, we began the decent into the Canyon by way of the Bright Angel Trail. After about 10 miles of hiking we crossed the Colorado River and arrived at Phantom Ranch. We stayed over night there in some dorms, got some hearty food, and hiked out early Thursday morning. We did awesome! We hiked the 10 miles up 4,460 feet in about 6 hours!

When the hike was over, and we looked down into the abyss, we knew we had really done something!

In Honor of my First Born's Graduation

2009-06-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

Through some kind of cosmic twist in the fabric of time, my first born son is graduating from High School in two days. Eighteen years worth of hard work and worries have produced a young man prepared to go out into the world. I remind myself that that is what I wanted all along.

Llama Hike on the Upper Kings River

2009-04-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today I took Gavin and my nephew, James, with me on a hike with the S.O.L.O group. We drove up past Trimmer and met up, then bounced along a dirt road for too many miles to the trailhead. We had lunch along the river. And then hiked back.

The Panda Elephant

2009-04-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

We discovered a new animal at the zoo today - the Panda Elephant (otherwise known as the Tapir). I think Boone's name is a better fit.

Highlights From Catalina

2009-04-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 11th, we took the Catalina Express Ferry over to Santa Catalina Island. It was a rough ride and four out of the eight of us lost our breakfast along the way. Poor David even asked if he was going to die. It left me wondering what would have happened to me if I had been born in the last century in Europe and had tried to take a boat to the new world, if I can't even handle a 1 hour ferry ride! We rented a unique little rustic cabin only a block from the beach. I loved it because it was already so old and quirky there wasn't much my kids could do to damage it. The whole house was so crooked none of the doors would stay open without the use of a rock.
We did some hiking and some shopping.

We made homemade easter baskets out of paper and the kids all got Catalina souveiners from the Easter Bunny! We rode the Catalina trolley up to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden.

We did some snorkeling.
We took a glass-bottom boat tour.

We even attended church on the top floor of a local bank. We were the only attendees, aside from the missionaries. The Ferry ride back on Monday was much smoother - fun was had by all!

The Plastic Egg

2009-04-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

When I was young.........That is how this type of a commentary on the passage of time should begin. But I never even participated in an Easter Egg hunt when I was young! We hunted for our Easter Baskets. I guess my parents figured that was hunt enough. I never even saw a plastic egg until I went to college. Did I live a sheltered life? Or is that an East Coast - West Coast thing? Anyway, my biggest problem with plastic eggs is not that they are plastic. It is that they won't stay shut!

Kearney Mansion

2009-03-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Kearney Park was designed by the same man that designed Central Park in New York City? Neither did I, but I know now. Did you know that a four year old is a dangerous thing during a 45 minute long historical house tour? I did too, but I was still dumb enough to take him!

It's Not Over

2009-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder to everyone to stay informed on Proposition 8. It is not over by any means. I believe that the people of California have an inalienable right to control their constitution. Check out protectmarriage.com for updates.

California High School Tennis Tournament Champions

2009-03-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

The Buchanan Boys Varsity Tennis team has been battling it out this weekend. They played three matches on Friday and three matches on Saturday. In the end, they were champions! Seth did great! In one of the matches, Seth won it for his team in a set tiebreaker. (Mom was knitting and trying not to look). I took this picture during warm-ups because I didn't want to disturb him during his match play, but he still looks pretty intense!

Pedro's Pack

2009-02-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

One step farther along the trail!

Today was a big day, both for Pedro and I. Rudy Stauffer came down from Placerville to help me learn the basics of llama packing. I'm a little overwhelmed, but very excited. I have been wanting to do this for over a decade. Pedro was a little nervous at first, (so was I). But he responded well to the pack when he was tied. When I tried to lead him for the first time he freaked out and went running all over my back orchard. He only stopped when he tried to run between two fences and got stuck. He tried spitting at the packs to see if they would go away. When he realized they weren't going anywhere he finally calmed down. I led him around and then we took the pack off. It remains to be seen what he does the next time I take it out of the barn (probably he will freak out on sight).

Dinner Party

2009-02-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I set my table like this once a year. You got it, on Valentine's day!

Sledding

2009-01-02T22:55:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Day we took the kids up to a snow park to go sledding. Lots of fun was had by all. Eric took this picture of David. I love it because of the expression on his face and the way the flying chunks of snow stand out in the light. It makes me feel all light hearted and kid-like just looking at it!

Preparing For the Big Day!

2008-12-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming and the Poulsen Family is getting ready - visits from Santa and Gingerbread houses!

Sisters

2008-11-25T12:18:00.000-08:00

I needed a sister fix this weekend so I took a little trip to Vegas to visit my sister, Jean. We did a little shopping, a lot of talking, and looked at all the slides I scanned of us last month when I was in New York. This picture was taken in '74. I know it's not a great picture, but I love the way we are holding hands and getting ready to run off to some adventure. I've even got a leaf in my hand that I must have collected somewhere. Ahh, those were the days!

David's Dinosaur

2008-11-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

David has taken an interest in Dinosaurs lately. Last week he said, "Mommy, next week I want to go to one of those places where they have Dinosaur bones." Lucky for me I had already planned on going to the newly reopened California Academy of Sciences! Lucky for me they had a cast of a T-Rex! Lucky for David he has a 17 year old brother that can lift him up high for a cool picture!

Halloween Gunk!

2008-10-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

My Connor is very good at expressing thoughts and feelings that we all have! Carving pumpkins is hard work and yucky too!

Bride - 1962

2008-10-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

For years my mother always said she didn't have any pictures from her wedding. Recently we came across some slides taken by her brother-in-law. When I was visiting her we found them again and I scanned them! Isn't she beautiful!

Hillcrest Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

The TreeHouse had our annual trip to the pumpkin patch today. It all went well if you don't count the fact that Boone was in one of his moods and kept shouting "Shut up!" at everyone including me. I think I may need to change my parenting technique with him. What do you think?

Spider Buddies

2008-10-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

The boys got new PJ's from Target today! They decided they were spider buddies!

Football

2008-10-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

Connor has been playing Football this season and doing great! I'm very proud of how hard he has worked for his position on the team. Today we played Fancher Creek (that is way out there, by the way). We won! Connor made a few excellent tackles, and almost made a sack. Isn't he cute!

Gray Cemetery in Hadley, New York

2008-10-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

We went and checked out some family grave sites today. These ones, Loton and Betsey Herrick, were special to me because I just did their temple work last year.

The Wild Center - Tupper Lake

2008-10-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

This was one of the coolest nature centers I have ever seen. And I loved these twig blocks we made this tower out of so much I bought some to take home.
But probably our favorite thing was when they brought out Stickley the Porcupine. I'm not sure if I have ever seen a porcupine at such close range!

Help!!!

2008-10-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Will somebody please show me how to make my blog super cute like everyone else! I'm going to get an inferiority complex!

Rafting With Dad

2008-10-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today I took a break from my slide scanning project and went river rafting with my Dad. The colors where absolutely beautiful and we had class 3 and up rapids. Never hurts to sit across a boat from your parent for a few hours, even if you are, well, as old as me.

They Don't Make Clothes Like They Use To!

2008-10-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

No matter how hard they try, they will never be able to truly reproduce clothes from the 70's! This is my paternal grandparents with my siblings and I in our driveway in New Jersey, 1973. Those were the days!

Me in 1972

2008-10-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

I'm at my parent's house in Albany, New York with a tempermental slide scanner and around 2,000 family slides. There is no telling what you will see this week! This picture was taken in Florida in 1972.

Big Baldy

2008-09-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

What a busy day! I hiked Big Baldy, watched a soccer game, and hosted my husband's office party all in one day! I'm going to bed!

Memories of the '80's

2008-09-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken in Provo, Utah during the fall of 1989. My husband, Eric, (in the car) had just gotten back from his mission. This Porche 914 had been his car since he was a teenager and his parents had stored it for him. I (on the car) was living in this decrepit old house on 100 West. I seem to remember on this occasion we had just washed it in the front yard of my house, which I shared with his brother and my good friend, his sister-in-law. Right around this time we decided to get married. We kicked out my roommate and Eric moved in!

Labor Day in SFC

2008-09-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

We took a walk at Land's End. We toured the Balclutha. We had ice cream in Ghiradelli Sauare. We rode the Cable Cars. We went shopping. And we did it all in one day!

New Bike

2008-08-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

I would not even know where to begin to build a bike. Fortunately my husband is not overwhelmed by the prospect! He built this bike for me piece by piece. He even designed custom decals for it. It says 'Six Boys Racing' on one of the main tubes and 'the jiller ' on another. I've taken some short rides this week in the mornings before getting the kids ready for school. I'm looking forward to many more!

Santa Cruz Tennis Academy Challenger

2008-08-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Seth took third place at the Santa Cruz Tennis Academy Challenger. On the way we stopped at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

A New Use for My Living Room

2008-08-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Oh well, it never got used that much as a sitting room. We don't do much sitting around here!

Pokemon-the great equalizer

2008-08-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

Pokemon spans the decades in this picture. All six of my boys seem to be drawn to this Asian card battling game. Go figure!

Panoramic Point - Kings Canyon

2008-08-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

We had a picnic dinner up past Grant's Grove tonight. A series of bad events culminated in a bee sting. The pictures turned out okay though.

Taylor Creek and Sailing

2008-07-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

This morning, my parents and I took 16 kids to the Taylor Creek Cutaway. The kids loved it. Basically, it is a piece of glass in between you and the stream bed.

Then we rented a Catalina 25 for the afternoon. Unfortunately we didn't have much wind, but we still had a good time.

Painful Pictures

2008-07-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

We took family pictures tonight. It was easily the most painful picture taking session ever. Eighteen kids in white shirts on a dock? It is nothing short of miraculous that one or more of them didn't end up in the drink! I don't have a group picture because we used a tripod and timer for that. But here we have my parents with their four children, my parents with their 18 grandkids, and my parents with their children and spouses.

Is that a ......BEAR???

2008-07-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us drove over to Rubicon Bay for a hike. The kids were thrilled because we saw a bear! We hiked to what is called a 'lighthouse'. The kids decided it much more closely resembled an 'outhouse'. When we were done, in order to get everyone back to the entrance and not have to hike another 3 miles back up hill, we loaded 22 people in our 12 passenger van. Don't tell the State Trooper!

Lake Tahoe! Emerald Bay and Vikingsholm

2008-07-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

Friday we arrived in Lake Tahoe for our Eckenfelder family reunion. We are staying in the Richardson house at Camp Richardson. Today we drove out to Emerald Bay and went for a short hike down to Vikingsholm which is the coolest vacation home ever built (wishing it was mine!).

Not So Little Boone

2008-07-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here is not so little Boone, who was nasty and said he absolutely would not let me take a picture of him with his sand castle (in the way only a four year old boy can). But as you can see, I managed to get one anyway!

Whoa!

2008-07-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

I think Seth and Connor felt a little rattled when they came down from this one!

A Good Day on the Lake

2008-07-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how you could possibly have a bad day on a lake, but never the less... I love to see my boys enjoying the company of their girl cousins. Since my boys don't have any sisters I think their relationships with their girl cousins are even more meaningful. This is Seth with his cousins Miranda and Bea. I love the composition of this photo. I just happened to snap it at the right moment!

Family History Sleuth

2008-07-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm in the Salt Lake area I try to take a day and spend it at the LDS Family History Library. Today was my day. The best part about it this time was that my sister, Tina, came with me. I had previously decided to focus my attention this time on the Drewes branch of my family (the maiden name of my great grandmother pictured here). The Drewes family resided in Hoboken, New Jersey during the late 1800's and the beginning of the 1900's.

My sister and I gathered up some of the films that we had decided to use to begin our search and were happily reeling away at them on the microfilm machines. We were discussing the different counties that we were investigating and all of the sudden a voice from the other side of my sister said, "Are you searching in Hudson County? I'm from there." Turned out this guy was on his yearly two week genealogy trip to Salt Lake. He was able to give us all kinds of advice and practical help. He was also very entertaining. What are the chances!

In the end we were able to locate the birth record of my grandmother, Sophia Anna Drewes's, brother. They came from a family of twelve children. I've now identified ten of them. Only two more to go!

First Snake Catch

2008-07-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

Am I Too Old For Fun?

2008-07-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

Over eighteen years ago when I first started coming up to Bear Lake with my husband, his parents and Aunts and Uncles would sit on the stone embedded porch and I would go out on the water and have fun. Two watersking back injuries and almost two decades later and I'm the one sitting on the porch? All I can do is take pictures as I watch my own children go out and have fun. It is a bitter pill to swallow. I won't take it sitting down, so to speak. I am not too old for fun. My fun just might have to be a little bit different now.

Alex Gets Big Air

Driving To Bear Lake

2008-07-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Driving all night is not my favorite thing. Driving for over 16 hours is ugly no matter how you slice it. We left Clovis around 1:45p.m. yesterday and arrived in Fish Haven ID by 6:00 this morning.