I need an Alice....and other stuff we've been up to.

Okay. I need an "Alice". I think having four kids has finally caught up with me. It didn't seem so hard, but suddenly, it just feels like there is not enough time for anything to get done. The house feels constantly messy. Poor Lila is always sleeping in her car seat because we are always in the car. If we're home, I'm probably feeding Lila, so not much is getting done. So, I decided I need an Alice.
We don't have cable, but we do have a really nifty HD Antenna that gives us great TV. We have 4 KBYU channels, and 3 PBS channels, not to mention 4 channels of Christian Television....so I'm not complaining. Anyway, the other night, the kids were watching KBYU, and the cartoons got over, and "The Brady Bunch" came on. The kids always say, "This is so lame", but none of them turn off the TV. They are such couch potatoes!!

Back to "The Brady Bunch". So, Mrs. Brady and Alice are in the kitchen. Mrs. Brady is sitting there at the table, and Alice is making something in the kitchen. Then Mr. Brady walks in and say something like, "Man, I'm starving", and Mrs. Brady says, "Alice, fix something for Mr. Brady." WHAT???!!! That is my dream. To just sit at the table while someone else does everything else for me, and not feel guilty!! I figure that if the Brady's can afford a live-in maid, why can't I??? Oh, wait. They were just a TV show. Still, one can always dream.....



On to other stuff, we've had a lot going on the last month. First we had Lizzie's b-day. She got a new bike, and she loves it, but she can't figure out how to peddle yet. Then there was Halloween. The kids all had lots of fun, and Lizzie is especially excited about the candy. She would say, "Treat" when asking for candy. Then last week I had her with me when I was begging people door-to-door for money doing "Friends of Scouting" (not my favorite thing I've had to do!), and Lizzie would say, "Treat" as we went to each door. It's much easier to ask for candy than to ask for money! Anyway, the kids all had fun, and I'll post some pictures when I can figure out how to find them.....Our computer died, and we are using an old computer, but I know the pictures are here somewhere, I just don't know where. Can you see why I need an Alice!?!

Also in October, we went to St. George and visited Zions National Park. We had a good time, except we were not prepared for hiking, and decided to do it anyway. We were carrying Lila, no pack or anything, carrying Lizzie, I was wearing flip-flops, and trying to keep Parker and Jase on the trail and away from the edge of the trail. Okay, so the hike was only 0.5 miles round trip, but it was up hill. I think it was called Weeping Rock. We made it to the top fine, but as we were starting back down, Parker got a little ahead of us, and lost his balance and fell off a small 4-foot ledge. I didn't see it, but this lady saw it, and said she almost had a heart attack when she saw him fall. Poor guy. He had mud in his hair, and was soaking wet, because he landed in a small stream. We were just glad he didn't fall all the way down in to the river. I also have pictures of this...arghhh!!! Oh, yeah, and we got a 4-wheeler while we were visiting my mom and dad. Jared took it out once here, and already we've had one accident. I'm thinking the 4-wheeler might have been a mistake......

Parker also had a birthday. He is 7! I can't believe it!! He and Lizzie had a combined family party with Jared's family, and they had lots of fun. Parker got lots of fun presents. I especially love the "Hulk Smash Hands". If I get a little frustrated, I put them on, go in my room, and punch the bed. The sounds they make is really satisfying, and it really eases the tension! I advise all moms to get these. If I had an Alice, I wouldn't need them, though. I would not be stressed out ever. Alice would have to deal with the kids, and I would just sit back and smile and teach them lessons about being good people.

Last thing. I've been watching some of the cute things my kids say, and here they are:
Lizzie: We were at the fabric store, and I was showing her all of the cute fabric. We came to the Minky section (you know, that really soft, plush fabric with the raised dots that is on a lot of baby blankets). She touched the fabric, and said, "Night, night, ahhhh". So cute!
Parker: He likes to say, "It's not FAIR", all the time. Most of the time it doesn't even make sense. Like I say, "Parker, come and eat." He says, "It's not fair". What? Eating isn't fair? Whatever! The other night, I went to check on the boys, and I was fixing Parker's covers. He rolls over, and says, "It's not fair!". It cracked me up.
Jase: The other night, the boys were upstairs, fighting--I mean playing. Jase was really tired, and I could hear him saying, "I can't take it anymore. I just can't take it anymore". I have no idea where he got that. Okay, maybe I do know. You see why I need an Alice??
Lila: She doesn't say anything, but she is so dang cute. I took her to get her pictures taken yesterday, and she did awesome. She got some really cute shots of her! When I showed Jared the picture I got, he said, "She's even got her pajamas on." What!! It was a super cute fleece outfit, not pajamas. There were no feet, so they were not pajamas. Here is the picture. NOT PAJAMAS! Judge for yourself...
So that's what's been going on with the Lemke's. As soon as I figure out where the pictures went, I'll post some more pictures. They've got to be around here somewhere. Alice, can you please find the pictures for me, upload them to blogger, and post them for me? Oh, wait, that's not real, it's just TV.............................

BYU football and Elder L. Tom Perry

Jared got season tickets this season to BYU Football games. He's been taking different people to each game, and last Saturday was my turn. The game was fun, even though it was cold. It didn't snow or rain, and besides the annoying man in front of me sticking his back in my knees the whole time, it was great! BYU won, so in the end that's all that matters, right? I forgot to take pictures, though.

After the game was over, we were leaving, and there were a ton of people. Up ahead, I could see a man in a suit, with a bunch of people around him. I realized it was Elder L. Tom Perry, and started tugging on Jared's arm so he could see him. Well, Jared was just thinking of the quickest way out of the stadium, and he saw the opening up ahead in front of Elder Perry. So, I'm pulling on him to get him to LOOK UP and STOP, and he's heading for the opening. Well, we bumped right in to Elder Perry and his wife. Elder Perry grabbed his arm and was trying to get Jared to go in front of him, and I am still trying to get him to LOOK UP! Finally, Jared noticed who it was, and Elder Perry seriously pinched his arm trying to get us out of his way! Not in a mean way; they were all laughing. Still, it was a funny story, and it was neat to get so close to an Apostle!

Utility belt

A couple weeks ago, Jason found one of our old cell phone belt clips and started packing his Game Boy Micro around in it. Then he decided to clip on his Spiderman water bottle for good measure...What a crack-up!!!! Holly even overheard a kid at the store mistakenly pointing out to his mom that "Hey! That kid has his own cell phone!"

Rollin' along

Lila did it! She rolled over! We knew she was getting close, but she surprised us all by just doing it already! I'm pretty sure she is the earliest roller-over yet. Parker and Jase were both about 4 months, and Lizzie, although I suspect she rolled over at 6 months, didn't really start rolling over until she was EIGHT months! (She had a pretty big belly to get over!) Now Lila can't stop rolling over. It's like she MUST roll over, even though she doesn't really dig being on her tummy much. She's getting used to it now. Here's Lila in action.

And finally, she did it!!

Girls Room

We just finished doing the girls' room. I am so excited! I really love it. Jared did all of the hard work, and I just did the easy stuff (just like life should be!!). Lizzie really likes her new room, and I know Lila loves sleeping in the crib in there. So far, there haven't been any big episodes with them sharing the same room. Lizzie, for the most part, has stayed out of Lila's crib, and Lila sleeps all night, most nights, so she hasn't woken Lizzie up.

Picture time!

Here are some pics of the kids in the last little while:

We went to Michon's little girl, Madison's, birthday party. It had a zoo theme, and they gave out these cute masks. Here is Lizzie in her mask, asleep, on our way to the zoo with the whole Ott family.
Here is Parker at the zoo. What a monkey, er, I mean Gorilla!
Michon and Lizzie at the zoo. Her family was so nice to help me, since Jared and Jase were at the BYU game, and I had three kids to watch. We didn't even lose anyone (well, for very long, anyways!). Thanks again!
I love this picture of Lizzie....
Lila...what a sweetie. This was Lizzie's Christmas dress. Lila looks just like Lizzie in this pic!
Jase, Jared, and Lila at Cascade Springs. We love to go there, and I really love this picture:
This is so cute of Parker and Lizzie:

Pokemon in Love

On Thursdays, Parker goes to the library at school. This is the book he came home with last week:

You have got to be kidding me! Not that this is the book he picked, but that they even made this book in the first place!! First of all, what is a "pokemon"? Seriously? I have read the book now probably 5 times, and I still can not figure out what it is talking about. That could have something to do with the fact that a page is torn out, but I really think I wouldn't be able to understand it even if the page was still there! Second of all, is this some way to sell more stuff at Valentine's Day? Who buys this book? I guess Parker would! He told me he picked it out because a friend of his just returned it, and so Parker just had to have it. We don't have cable at our house, so if my kids get the chance to watch/read these cartoons, they jump at it. They could get their hair cut for 3 days if she would let them sit in the chair and watch Sponge Bob Square Pants the whole time! These silly kids! I can't wait until he returns this....we'll see what he brings home next week!