Pear Picking

Our church owns a pear orchard that is all harvested by vounteers. My friend Jill took this picture of me "platform picking". It is the most exciting way to pick pears!! The platform is raised several feet into the air to harvest the tops of the trees. You are harnessed so you can lean way out to pick the pears. The machine then travels down the rows at a slow pace. We fill our cloth "buckets" in front of us and then turn and dump them into the crates behind us. This is the churches only pear orchard and it supplies all the pears to be canned and used in Bishops' storehouses. John Nielson, the farmer, expects well over a million pounds of pears.
Please appriciate the practical fashion I am sporting! I discovered I needed to pull up my socks to minimize the scratches on my legs.
Every year after the harvest I "glean" missed pears off the trees to can for my family. I also have a recipe for a most delicious pear pie.

Macy's First Birthday

Our sweet little girl has just had her first birthday! We celebrated her big day at Grandpa and Grandma Jergensen's with a barbeque and yummy cupcakes. Macy was given her own cupcake. She enjoyed this new treat by dipping her pointer finger into the frosting and sucking it off. Her siblings were anxious for her to dive into the cake and make a mess, but we let her take her sweet time. Finally she discover there was chocolate cake under the frosting and picked up the whole thing and tried to stuff it in her mouth. Everyone loved watching her get messy!

I just love having Macy in my life! She gives the best hugs!! I love my special time of snuggling her close when it is feeding time or bed time. I have fun watching her learn to walk and speak. You can't beat the grin on her face when you tell her it is bath time. She can even say "bath". My favorite stage has always been one year olds! They are so sweet and fun, little babies trying to become big kids.

Baseball Games

This is the usual cheering group for Logan and Tyler's Little League baseball games. Their team is the Mariners and we enjoy watching them play even though their team has lost more games than it has won this season. Tyler has hit a few doubles and Logan has hit 3 homeruns this season and is also a pitcher on the team. Our little girls favorite part of the game is visiting the snack shack! Grandma West also likes to come out and cheer on the boys. (The video was taken just before Whitney's birthday, she is now 3 years old.)

Meet our new puppy - Jonah

If getting a Wii was not a big enough shock for all of you who know me....we now have a DOG! Tyler showed enough responsibility and met some goals, that he earned the priviledge to get a dog. Of course we all know that mom does the work while everyone is at work and school, but all in all, Lance and the kids have done a great job caring for the new puppy. He is a Bijon Frise and is 4 months old. This breed of dog does not shed and the white coat helps him feel cleaner to me. Potty training is the real challenge, but we have now read a book that has given us some direction. We also decided to crate train Jonah so he does not get free roam of the house. I am much happier with this current arrangement. I must say it is adorable to watch the kids with him. Sierra thanks me every day for the new dog. Whitney is no longer scared of him. Macy even enjoys him and he is very gentle with her.

I got tagged...

So my friend Jacque tagged me from her blog and so I am now supposed to answer these questions and tag some of you to do the same. Here is goes...

Instructions:
1. Post the rules.
2. Answer all the questions about yourself.
3. After you are done posting, tag 5 other people.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago, Tyler was just 2 week old. I was enjoying my new baby but was very sick with what was diagnosed as endomitriitis but years later we realize that I was having an appendicitis. Luckly the strong antibiotics I was on cured the infection in my appendixs. The appendix scared and attached to my ovary which is believed to have caused my infertility after Tyler. We have since been blessed with 3 daughter so I am grateful. I am also grateful to my mom and mother in law for helping when I was sick.

2. 5 things on your "to do" list today?
Teach Sierra's preschool (my last turn this school year), report office payroll (which took longer than expected), Do Macy's laundry (which just finished drying and will have to be folded tomorrow), Post on my blog (does it count as getting done today if I am posting after midnight?), and have family scripture reading before school (At least we got that accomplished!)

3. 5 snacks I enjoy?
Homemade cookies warm out of the oven!, toasted bagel with butter, wheat thins and cheese, all berries, esp. blueberries!, and a big bowl of ice cream!

4. What would I do if I was suddenly a billionaire?
First pay off our house and any debt we may have, close second is to hire a massage therapist to come to my house weekly, Hire someone to housetrain our new puppy!!!, go on a trip to Europe, and help our siblings get out of some of thier school debts.

5. 3 Bad habits
Staying up too late so I don't want to get up in the morning, eating sweets late at night, and
wanting to play before work

6. 5 places I've lived?
Fairfield, CA, St. Louis, MO, Alton, IL, Provo, UT, San Francisco, CA

7. 5 jobs I've had?
Brooks (clothing store), photography in the mall, Dental assisting, day care, Au Pair counselor

8. 5 things that people don't know about me?
This one is hard because I am not very private...
I like to count to the number 8 or a multiple of 8 when I am waiting. (wierd, I know), my favorite dates are going to a good movie with Lance, my favorite time of day is going to bed and knowing it is my time to relax!, I sing silly made up songs to my children, I dance for my children, I miss my friend Ashley (but I am glad we just got to visit).

Okay, my turn to tag some of you. If you read my blog, I tag....Jenni, Lindsey, Sherry, Molly, Mom

Tyler's Birthday Wii Surprise

As many of you know our family, we are not fans of video games and have never owned a gaming system. Lance was insistant that a Wii was "different" and that it would be fun entertainment. After talking to some of my friends that have Wii's, I decided that we would give it a try. Tyler lucked our that he got it for his birthday! We have set the limit that the Wii can only be played for Friday and Saturdays.......so far so good!

Tyler is playing a Jergensen family tradition birthday game. "Heavy , heavy hang over your pour head, What's it gonna be?" Then the birthday person guesses what it is. If they guess wrong, they get a "bonk" on the head before opening it. (Like the wrap job? Lance didn't have much time, so he grabbed a piece of fabric to wrap it.)

Tyler is SHOCKED! Can you tell by the look on his face?! He would have never guessed he would be getting a Wii. They set it up and have had lots of fun playing it!

Something to smile about....

The West family is officially making its debut into the blogging world!

We find we have so many memorable moments that fill our life with smiles, yet time keeps rolling on and those treasured moments seem lost in the past. We hope to freeze a few of these memories and share them with you so you can smile with us.

Our family is all smiles as we are enjoying a spring break vacation to San Francisco to visit Sunni's brother Justin and his fun family.

Behind us at about that moment, a seven car accident was occurring. It closed the bridge for the rest of the evening. Had we not taken a detour to take this photo, we may have been in that tragic accident. Counting our blessings!

San Francisco Children's Museum at Fort Barker
Logan loves Sierra / "Lance, don't eat the plastic crab!"

Tyler, Sierra, & Whitney in tree / Crazy hair Macy with cool Uncle Justin