Tag!

So I guess I got tagged for the first time! Thanks a lot Maryanne! Hmmmm 6 random things about myself.

1- I hate things touching my nose. Snowflakes are bad but people are the worse.

2- I'm a night owl. I like staying up late then of course like to sleep in but it's pretty hard with kids that have to get up for school. I wish I was a morning person but I'm far from it.

3- I was a "jock" and super shy in high school and didn't date or go to any dances. Boys or girls choice. Man if I could do that all over again.

4- I was a total tomboy growing up. That probably explains why I didn't date. I loved camping, riding horses or playing ball. Hated barbies then, and still do and that's what my girly girls love doing. I've dressed more barbies in the last 7 years then I ever did as a kid.

5- I think I'm addicted to my computer. I love the Internet and especially blog-stalking.

6- This is a family thing but we (meaning the Beddoes' because Greg would never) put raspberry jam on our grilled cheese sandwiches and peanut butter (with syrup) on our pancakes and french toast. Don't knock it till you try it!

There it is. Random enough. Now I get to tag 6 people. Mmmmm. Billie Jo, Jamie, Neina, Aleena, Addison and Mindi. Can't wait to see how random everyone else is.

Now we're cookin!

Yay! We finally fixed our oven. In case you didn't know, we've been without our oven for the last 3 or so months which really sucks because we've only had it for about 3 years. The stove top still worked but the oven was kaput! I was in the middle of baking cookies one day and it made this really horrible noise like something from the movies when they bring Frankenstein to life. Then it started smoking and then it was dead. (If you ask my dad it was all the cobwebs inside burning up) I was scared to death thinking it was going to be a super expensive repair so we waited a while till we had some extra money. But after talking to my mother in law who has fixed her oven many times we decided it was probably the heating coil. I was getting really annoyed at not being able to use it so I bit the bullet and I called and ordered one and was relieved to find out it was only a $50 part but of course it was on back order and ended up taking about a month to come in. Apparently it is pretty common for the heating coil to go our. (News to me but i guess I did grow up with gas appliances) So when we took it apart It was obviously burned up because it looked like a giant used up sparkler and it was broken into 3 pieces. Anyway we replaced that, turned it on, and still no heat. Great. $50 down the drain. So we called in a professional to come check it out. We (Greg) had a pretty good idea that the next step was the control board so we asked the repair guy to bring one with him which of course he couldn't until he confirmed that's what it really was because It was a special order part and couldn't be returned blah blah blah! Cha-Ching! Another $75 just for the Maytag man to look at it and say "yup it's the control board". We said okay order the part and we'll put it in. Cha-Ching $225 bucks! So after $350 dollars or so we are finally operational. (I found a new one on line for $389 but I won't even go there!) Everyone has put in their order for what they want. Greg wanted home-made pizza, Hayden wants meatloaf and Gracie wants cookies. I however just want someone else to do the cooking.
Now is the part of the post where I complain about Maytag appliances. Since we moved into our house 3 years ago we've fixed the dishwasher twice, the microwave has been overhauled twice then finally replaced with a new non Maytag one and now the oven has been overhauled. I guess we're being punished for not buying the extra warranty but when you're starting out with all new appliances and by the time you buy the dishwasher, microwave, stove, fridge, washer and dryer, we just couldn't afford the extra warranty on 6 new appliances. That's the whole reason we went with Maytag in the first place is because we thought it was a better brand and was suppose to be quality merchandise. We couldn't buy the most expensive models but they were mid-grade at least! One salesman even told us we didn't need a warranty because if something were to go wrong it would probably be in the first year or not at all and it would still be covered with the basic warranty. Well come to find out 3 years later, like so many other big companies Maytag was bought out by Whirlpool who owns other big names like Amana, Magic Chef, Jenn-Air, etc, and so all their parts are basically the same. So if you buy a Maytag it may as well be a Whirlpool or a Jenn-Air. One repair guy told us they just basically interchange parts anyway. I've definitely learned my lesson and although I'm sure there are great Maytag appliances we didn't get them. They just don't make things like they use to. My parents had the very first microwave they bough for at least25 years and the only thing that ever got replaced on it was the handle that opened the door! Phew! I feel better now. I guess I'll go bake some cookies and get over it finally! (Well maybe after I write a letter to the Maytag Corporation) And the next house we build we will be researching the appliances and definitely buying the warranty!!!!

Cutest girls!

Well this weekend was fall break ( I guess really only for Gracie) but we didn't do one fun thing. We didn't go to any pumpkin patches or corn mazes or weekend getaways. How boring can one family be! Greg was shipping cows this weekend so he was tied up for a couple days and the girls and I just hung out and slept in. The one thing we did do was get pictures of the girls. It was a dance fund-raiser and we got family pictures done not even a year ago so I didn't think we needed the whole fam again. (Truthfully I just didn't want to be in them. I hate pictures of me) Last time in all the fuss trying to get Chandler to cooperate we didn't get one of the three girls together so I definitely wanted to get one this year along with each individual girl. Needless to say the big girls don't have a problem in front of the camera and I thought this year would be better with Chandler being another year older. Not. She was a stinker of course and we were lucky to get one or two okay shots of her by herself. She wouldn't even cooperate with her sisters sitting right next to her. We had to call in reinforcements and get Billie Jo and Mia to come down and help us and even bribe her with lollipops. I guess it will have to do though because if she acts this way in a familiar place like the neighbors dance studio, there's no way she will humor us in someplace like kiddie kandids. Here's a peek.Although they all turned out OK this is one of my favorites. It pretty much sums up life at our house. Someone is usually crying and everyone else is trying to figure out what the heck is wrong.

girls, girls, girls

I got some cute pictures of the girls playing outside with the neighbors the other day so I though I would post them. I made them go outside and play because they're not going to get the chance for too much longer with cold weather quickly approaching. We are so lucky that our neighbors have 3 little girls about the same age as ours. They don't always get along but most of the time they have a ball.

Ellie and GracieTess and Hayden

Mia and Chandler

It's really comforting to know that in about 8-10 years when the hormones in our house start to really peak we won't be alone. Tim and Billie Jo will be in the exact same boat and a couple years ahead in fact so they can give us really good advice on how to handle teenage girls.

We've been doing swim lessons for the past few saturdays also and I though I would throw in some pictures.

Girls weekend-

Over the weekend, the girls and I went and stayed in Salem. We haven't been down in a while and now that we'll be doing swim lessons for the next 6 Saturdays, I figured we'd better get down there. Greg was vaccinating calves and helping his dad bring cows down off the hill on Saturday and Sunday anyway so it was a good time to go. We don't get down there as much as we use to. With 3 kids it's gotten harder to pick up and leave for a couple nights. Packing for 4 is a real pain and especially when I forget something major like someones underwear (usually mine) or even worse, a stuffed animal!!! When we are there though the girls have a ball. My parents and my older sister live next door to each other so we don't just visit grandma and grandpa we visit the whole fam-damily! This weekend however, all the boys were hunting so it was just the girls! We didn't do anything too exciting. We couldn't talk anyone into babysitting so the big girls could catch a movie but we did get to go bummin' for a while till the BYU game started then grandma deserted us. Then we went out to eat at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and Jamie and I made some cute headbands and flower clips for the girls hair. On Sunday we got to visit with my Grandma Maida, We try to see her every time we are down because she loves to see the girls. She's over 90 and is still so sharp. Sometimes it takes her a minute but she seems to remember all the kids names. My parents live just around the corner from her so it's always fun to walk down to Grandma Maida's. After that we went and "stole" some peaches. My uncle planted peach trees years ago so in the summer we go "steal" them. We don't really steal them because we have permission but it's sort of become a tradition to steal peaches from Uncle Shirl. Unfortunately my uncle died a while ago so although I have many memories of my uncle, "stealing peaches" is one I share with my kids. Sometimes we'll be in the grocery store and see the peaches and one of the girls will say something about getting ours from Uncle Shirl. I wish I was more ambitious and would bottle some but I'm just not there yet.

So when we left Salem we headed home to Francis where the big round-up was over and Grandma Dixie and Andrea had prepared yet another feast for the cowboys. Whenever they move the cows or haul hay or do anything that requires extra helpers, Dixie wont let them leave with an empty stomach. She goes all out with dinner and dessert and she invites their spouses too. I'm not sure how she does it because she's never sure how many mouths will come or even what time to expect them ( you know how cowboys are) As always it was awesome. Thanks Gramma Dix it was Yum-O. It's plain to see why they're always able to get so many helpers. I think the cowboys outnumbered the cows this time! Anyhoo- It was a busy but fun weekend and now that my two days of babysitting are over I can catch my breath and get some stuff done around my house..... maybe later.