Hogle Zoo Field Trip with Abbey

MAY 21, 2009

I went with Abbey's 2nd grade class on a field trip to Hogle Zoo. Each parent volunteer had a small group of five kids they were in charge of and we were free to roam and explore the zoo. We brought sack lunches that we ate there. Abbey's class made tie-dyed orange shirts, which they wore on this field trip. It helped keep track of them since we had a few little wanderers in our group.

Abbey with friend, McKinley. See if you can spot the tiger in the background.

The group I was in charge of..McKinley, Abbey, Kendall, Ben & Conner.

One of the classic Hogle Zoo photo shots...the kids in the egg at the playground.

Our group at the Asian Highlands. Personally, my favorite place at Hogle Zoo.

Abbey enjoyed taking pictures of the giraffe.

I miss you, Grandpa Max!

MAX JOHN ESCHLER
August 27, 1918 - June 5, 2009

It was one phone call that I didn't want to hear. One simple phone call can change our lives so much. A phone call telling me that Grandpa passed away Thursday night in his sleep. As I reflected on the life of my grandpa, there are so many things that I will miss. I was so grateful that I had spoken to him several times on the phone on his last week here on earth. Also, I was so grateful that the last words I spoke to him on Wednesday were, "I love you, Grandpa."

As I drove out to his house to see his body before the mortuary came, I teared up thinking of the reunion on the other side. To think of Grandpa reuniting with his sweet wife, my grandma, Katherine, brings me joy. They had such a sweet, tender relationship and truly were best friends. Oh how, he missed my grandma. I also thought of the reunion between Grandpa and my dad, Douglas J. Eschler, who passed away when I was 11 years old. My Grandma & Grandpa always told me, "There's no pain worse than burying your child. A parent never expects to outlive their own child." To think of this reunion brings me peace. I honestly am so grateful for the knowledge we have that we will see our loved ones again, that families are eternal and we will be together forever.

When I saw my Grandpa's body lying in his bed that he peacefully died in, it was so apparent to me that his spirit was not there. It was Grandpa's spirit that I knew and loved so much, which also helped me and testified to me that death is only a separation of his body and spirit. One of Grandpa's favorite books about death was a book he received by Missy's Dad, Spencer Kinnard, titled "The Gateway We Call Death," by Russell M. Nelson. One quote in the book has really helped me to this week, "Our ultimate and highest destiny is to return to our heavenly home. When that times comes, it can be as momentous as the time of birth. Birth is the gateway to mortal life; death is the gateway to immortality and eternal life."

Taken at Grandpa's 90th Birthday Party last August

Grandpa was so proud of his posterity. He often said he knew where every one of his posterity was on any given Sunday. To know that his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were active in the Church brought him much joy. One of the greatest lessons he taught me was the importance of raising our children to love the Lord. He often said, "When you're my age, the only thing that matters is how your children turned out."

Grandpa was a great example of service & missionary work. He faithfully served three missions with Grandma. They were so proud of each of us when we went on missions.

Grandpa was a loyal, patriotic soldier who fought for the freedoms we all enjoy today. He was a tank commander in World War II and has been featured in the KUED, "World War II Stories" that they often air on TV. We loved to hear his war stories.

Grandpa was a father figure to me & all of my brothers & sisters. Since we lost my dad at such an early age, we moved in with my Grandpa & Grandma until my mom bought a house for us in Bountiful. He came to all of my "daddy-daughter" church parties and every other event we invited him too.

One of my favorite memories is when him & Grandma came to visit me at the Comfort Inn in Logan. They loved to stay there and I would bring over whoever I was dating at the time. It was a always a great test to see how they interacted with my grandparents.

Another favorite memory is when he was a witness to mine & Jason's temple marriage at the Salt Lake Temple. He whispered when he saw me, "You're the most beautiful bride I've ever seen. Don't tell Grandma." I'm sure he told Melissa & Carrie this also on their wedding day. He was so proud of his grandchildren. I hope he knew how proud we were to have him in our lives. I truly feel blessed and the feel the love of the Lord that he sent Grandpa Max to us.

We love spending time with Grandpa Max. Michelle, Ava, Aliza, Grandpa, Melissa & Kate

I love this picture of Grandpa waving as he's driving off in his LTD.

Until we meet again, Grandpa! God be with you til we meet again.

Love, "Sophie Coolbear" (Grandpa's nickname for me).

Ava, makeup artist in training

Don't ask me where Ava found this purple lipstick (it's not in my stash of makeup), but she managed to get this lipstick everyone on her face, except her lips!

This really isn't a picture of my kids, but I had to laugh at this picture I just received in an email. I use black sharpies all the time and we've had a few of these incidents with drawing on their bodies, clothing and walls.

Aliza's Preschool Graduation

MAY 19, 2009

We enjoyed watching Aliza's preschool graduation. Her teachers put together a scrapbook for each child. It's been so interesting to see what they've learned & how they grew this past year. Her two teachers, Miss Chris and Miss Ann, have been incredible and we are so grateful that she'll be going there again next year. Ethan & Emma (also pictured above) live in our neighborhood and we've carpooled with them this year.

Aliza & her preschool class

National Dance Competition

Saturday, May 16, we spent all day at Skyline High School for Ashley & Abbey's dance competition. Both of their teams did extremely well. Abbey's group placed 1st in their category and then also received this high point trophy for receiving the highest # of points in their age category (out of approximately 50 teams).

Abbey with her dance group.

Ashley's dance team took 3rd place for their novelty dance & 3rd place for their jazz dance. By the end of the day we were all worn out (we had to be there at 9:00 am and it didn't end until after 9:00 pm).

Jason completes Wood Badge Scout Training

MAY 7-9, 14-16, 2009

I'll ask Jason to write about his wood badge training.....To be continued

Ranch Chicken by Ashley

For activity days, Ashley learned two new recipes which she made for our family. This one is Ranch Chicken, which was delicious. Thanks, Ashley, we loved it! Feel free to cook for us anytime!

3/4 cup crushed cornflakes or ritz crackers
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 package ranch salad dressing mix
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 eggs beaten

Combine cornflakes or crackers, parmesan cheese and ranch dressing. Dip chicken breasts in eggs then roll into mixture to coat. Place chicken breasts in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Makes 8 servings.

Green Lemon Roasted Potatoes by Ashley

For activity days, Ashley learned two new recipes which she made for our family. This one is Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes, which was delicious. Thanks, Ashley, we loved it! Feel free to cook for us anytime!

4 medium baking potatoes, peeled & quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup water.

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Place potatoes in dish. Add all above ingredients. Toss potatoes. Bake 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through. We doubled the recipe and cook for 1 hour.

Chicken Puffs

2 Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded & cut in small pieces or 2 cans chicken
3 cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 package cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
Butter

Cook chicken & shred & cut into small pieces (or lately I've been using canned chicken and it still turns out great.) Stir in milk and cream cheese and mix until mixture is smooth. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll croissants and divide into half to make 12 rectangles. Put one tbsp chicken mixture on each rectangle and fold into balls.

Place the balls on a large baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes till golden brown. One of the kid's favorites.

Ashley & Abbey with side swept bangs

MAY 9, 2009

Ashley & Abbey have wanted bangs for a LONG time, but I'll admit I've been putting it off, because I know bangs require more work and I'm into low maintenance hair. I finally caved in and took them for haircuts, which I ended up being really happy with how they turned out. Here's just a few pictures I took in our backyard.

New record...4 teeth in one day from Alex's mouth

MAY 3, 2009

I talked Alex into letting me pull some of his teeth that really needed to come out. He already had braces in 4th grade (phase I) to straighten his upper & lower 4 teeth. The orthodontist told us he'll probably be ready for a second round of braces this summer, but said before he can we need to get some of the baby teeth out. I've been continually reminding Alex to wiggle his teeth and finally decided to take matters in my own hand. As you may recall from previous posts, I really do love to pull my kid's teeth out. It's the same satisfaction I get with picking scabs & popping zits. Gross, I know, but quite satisfying.

So it was a day of great success. I pulled out 4 teeth, my new personal record. Have any kid's with teeth that need to be pulled? Bring them on over! Jake & Josh, you're next. Aunt Michelle is ready for you!

Relaxing Trip to St. George

APRIL 19-22, 2009

After finishing the tax season, Jason & I decided to take the kids out of school and enjoy a quick trip to St. George for a few days to relax. We stayed at the WorldMark timeshare and really had a great time. We swam every day at the swimming pools and ate at our favorite St. George restaurants (The Pizza Factory, Pancho & Lefty's and Inn-N-Out Burgers) and watched movies.

One of talks that really stood out to me from General Conference was "Sacred Homes, Sacred Temples" by Gary E. Stevenson of the Seventy. Click here to read talk. Our stake has also challenged the youth to visit the temple 9 times in 2009. With all of this in my mind, I thought I need to make more of an effort to visit various temple grounds. So on this trip, we stopped at the St. George temple and visited the visitor's center.

I had the kids walk up the stairs of the temple and touch the temple doors. In the talk by Elder Stevenson he said, "Even our young children have been encouraged to visit the temple grounds and touch the temple." President Thomas S. Monson once counseled, “As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us.”

That same day, we also decided to visit and take a tour of Brigham Young's Winter Home, which was interesting. Here's a picture the senior missionary that gave us the tour took of our family on the front porch.

Ashley, first to ride Jumping Dragon at Lagoon

APRIL 29, 2009

One of Ashley's friends, Jessica, invited Ashley to be one of the first kids to ride the Jumping Dragon Ride at Lagoon. Since Jessica's dad is in management at Lagoon, he and a few other key employees were able to invite their children and a few friends to ride the new ride. The Jumping Dragon is the newest ride at Lagoon in Farmington. Each time Lagoon buys a new ride for the amusement park, they hold a media day and invite all of the local news stations and newspapers to take pictures and feature the ride on the local news. Ashley & Jessica were interviewed by local news reporters and Lagoon gave each one of the kids a free lunch. Ashley was thrilled to miss a few hours of school and had a blast. (Photo published in Deseret News)

The $2.3 million ride features a 40-foot Chinese pagoda and can carry 36 riders at a time. Ashley & Jessica are on the second row in this picture. (Photo was published in Deseret News)

Ashley's friend birthday party

APRIL 18, 2009

To celebrate Ashley's 10th birthday, we invited her closest friends over for a party. The invitations read:

"It's time to get spoiled and pampered away.....

With manicures and hair up-do's to celebrate Ashley's birthday!"

We met at our house to open presents & have cupcakes and then drove the girl's to a hair school to have their hair, makeup & nails done. I called around and found Sherman-Kendall's Academy in Salt Lake, which did hair parties for only $7.50 per girl. I was thrilled for this price because the other hair schools wanted either $12 or $18 and could only accommodate 10 girls maximum. Sherman Kendall's had a maximum of 15 girls, which Ashley had a hard time narrowing her list down to. Ashley has been so lucky to live in a neighborhood that has so many girls her age. While the kid's were pampered with their hair up-do's, makeup & nails, I treated myself to an eyebrow wax for a mere $4.50. I'm liking the price of the hair schools. I'll take it!

The hair students at Sherman Kendall's did a great job with each girl. Here's their "after" shot.

I LOVED how Ashley's hair turned out. Ashley has very thick, naturally curly hair and the girl straightened and then did large curls which she pinned several of them up.

Here's a back shot of Ashley's hair.

And a side view shot of Ashley's hair

And then I took an individual picture of each girl. Yes, I took many pictures!

Sierra

Kalyssa

Hallie

Katelyn

Lexi

Brynna

Aliza

Hannah

Sarah

Summer

Jessica

Abbey

All in all, it was a great birthday party. I think it's one we'll definitely do for Abbey, Aliza and Ava.

Easter Sunday

APRIL 12, 2009

Unfortunately, Easter Sunday we spent home with sick kids. Ava & Aliza had ear infections and the rest of us had bad head colds. We usually have both of our families over for an easter egg hunt in our backyard & a barbeque, but had to cancel that. The kids all loved their easter baskets, the girls each had a new Webkinz in their basket and Alex had a new airsoft gun.

Happy 10th Birthday, Ashley!

APRIL 8, 2009

Happy 10th Birthday, Ashley! We love you so much & are so happy you're part of our family. We had a great time celebrating your birthday with you.

For each of our kid's birthdays, we let them pick their favorite restaurant to eat at for dinner. When they were younger, it was usually McDonald's. Then, most of them would choose Olive Garden. This year, Ashley picked Tepanyaki, one of our favorites. We'd probably go there more often if it wasn't so expensive. We all love their delicious food.

Our cook demonstrating the famous onion trick. Even though we've seen it many times, it never gets old.

APRIL 26, 2009

We had a family birthday dinner at our house to celebrate Ashley's birthday. I made sweet & sour chicken, one of our family favorites. We gave Ashley a pink IPOD, which she's been wanting for a long time. She was excited to get a itunes gift card from Steve & Margo, Jake & Josh.

Grandma (Jason's mom) made her some clothes for her American Girl Doll. Jared & Marize gave her a cute bag with lots of lotions and lip glosses. Ellen & Angie gave her a card and will take her for a "day of fun." Grandma (Michelle's mom) gave her several shirts and $ to spend. Jeff & Missy gave her a magnet board with darling magnets to hang in her room. Joe & Michelle gave her a photo factory to make different projects with.

Ashley with her birthday cake. Thanks to all of our family members for coming over to celebrate Ashley's birthday with us.