Toone Family

Yup, this one's got it all: livestock, bowling, quiche -- all the essential elements of a good blog post, really. You'll just have to bear with me here. These photos appear in no particular order, but I will give a brief explanation for each one. Let the oddity begin! Ah, the State Fair. It was the first time I'd ever attended (same with Lily, and probably this goat, too). Amanda's first day olf pre-school (or joy school, or whatever you want to call it). I've already had the opportunity to teach twice. I think I'm getting more of an education than any of the kids... More fun at the State Fair. Lily was ver persistent about riding on the carousel, but before the music and the spinning stopped, this pony had lost its appeal. Lily opted for her Daddy's arms. Amanda insisted on a pony ride and ended up with Thunder, the powerful stallion pictured above. She loved every one of the two minutes they shared together... "Little Hands on the Farm" was ...

Oh, my heck. I can't believe that it's been nearly a MONTH since I last posted! Horrible, horrible, horrible -- I know! I had such hopes that this blog would not follow the same pattern as my journal (long periods of neglect followed by periodic marathon entries), but considering their common author...well, you get what you get, I guess. Anyway, this isn't really even a real post. This is just to give a little explanation. Logan and I decided that our lives needed a little more structure in order for us to accomplish all of the most important things. We gave ourselves a curfew (it's 10:30 p.m., so I'm obviously breaking it tonight) and set up a schedule for scripture study, chores, bedtime, etc. Its been very good -- in most ways. I do laundry on Mondays and Wednesdays; cooking, sewing and household/craft projects on Tuesdays; housecleaning on Thursdays; catch-up and errand running/shopping on Fridays. However, this is all amidst church callings, Logan'...

Here you have my 37 responses. Enjoy! 1. Do you like bleu cheese? I have recently begun liking bleu cheese dressings and a little crumbled in salads, but I am not yet to the point where I could say that I really crave a big old moldy slice of bleu cheese. 2. Have you ever smoked? Nope. 3. Do you own a gun? Nope. 4. What flavor Kool-Aid was your favorite? I can't remember what it was called. The powder was red, but it turned blue when you added water. I probably should have hesitated to ingest something that used artificial colors and chemical reactions to appeal to children, but I didn't care about that stuff. It was cool, and therefore I wanted to drink it. 5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes, but not because I'm afraid of anything specific. I just don't like the doctor's office. I also don't like calling to schedule doctor's appointments. My mom always did it for me when I lived with her, and now Kara does it for me. I know it's ...

I've been tagged by my cousin-in-law Kate. I encourage everyone who reads this to do it, too -- but I'm specifically encouraging Logan to do it. Okay, here it goes: "37 Odd Things About Me." 1. Do you like blue cheese? Mmmmm, cheese. I heart my frommage in pretty much any variety. I like blue cheese (and yellow cheese, and white cheese, and orange cheese)... 2. Have you ever smoked? Nope. 3. Do you own a gun? Absolutely not (as a child, I remember being extremely uncomfortable/afraid whenever I would catch a glimpse of an old BB gun of my dad's in the back corner of the closet underneath our stairs). Me no likey guns. 4. What flavor Kool-Aid was your favorite? Some kids go through their first years with a Kool-Aid mustache tattooed on their upper lip. I was not one of those kids. I think the same three packages of Kool-Aid were nestled among the onion soup mixes and unused Top Ramen seasonings in the spice cupboard for the entire 18 years my parents lived in ...

Kara is up at Stake Young Women's Camp this week which means that I get to be a stay-at-home dad ... Yea! I love being able to spend time with the kids and doing fun stuff with them. It's a nice break from the routine of going to work. Since Kara left, I have gone to great lengths to maintain my position as the favorite parent, and it seems to be working very well. Already, we have stayed up way past bed time every night, eaten kids meals at Burger King, had pancakes or cheese things (what we call quesadillas) for almost every other meal, watched more than one movie per day (Kara only lets them watch one), and gone outside whenever (and for however long) we wanted ... without sunscreen. It's been great! Tomorrow we are going to go to Krispy Kreme and will do some kiddie-pooling. I'll probably try to get around to folding laundry too. One thing that I didn't realize is that Benson throws up or poops on something about every hour and a half. It makes for lots of cloth...

I know I’ve mentioned several times that we’ve undertaken a big project in our front yard. It’s been done for quite awhile now, but I’m just getting around to blogging about it. Everything we planted (with the exception of some of the herbs and the potted annuals on the porch) is perennials, so it will be pretty low-maintenance. I’m excited for it to fill in over the next couple of years! I’m glad we were able to do the front yard all at once. The backyard will be a different story; it’s going to take years for it to become what I envision… By day... ...and by night! The approach. At the time this picture was taken, the roses were in bloom, but nothing else was. Now the roses have slowed down a little, but everything else is blooming! The herbs! I love fresh herbs in the summer. They're great to cook with, and they smell so nice as you approach the front porch. I think they look pretty, too! Logan piped sprinkler heads into each of these planters so the herbs are sure to get...

One of the best things about having a garden is seeing how excited the kids get to harvest the produce. Amanda doesn't look particularly excited in this photo, but if this doesn't make you crave a juicy, red strawberry straight off the vine...well, you're just not human. Here's an Amandaism: Amanda loves to watch mine and Logan's wedding video. Once she asked me why she wasn't in it, and I told her she hadn't been born yet and that she was just a twinkle in her daddy's eye. Yesterday when we were coming home from our trip, one of the songs from our wedding video started playing on Logan's Blackberry. Amanda said, "Hey, this is from your wedding! Daddy, I was tinkling in your eye!"

Logan and I took the kids down to Monticello for the 4th of July holiday. For those of you don’t know where Monticello is (hard to imagine, I know), it’s in the southeastern corner of Utah in San Juan county. It’s a small town; the population is around 2,000. My grandparents have lived in Monticello for their whole married life (over 50 years), and my Grandmom’s family settled it 120-some-odd years ago. I took a TON of pictures, so you’ll have to forgive me for posting so many. One of our favorite things to do in Monticello is visit our family cabin. Our family built it at a family reunion 18 years ago. There are cabins that are essentially second residences, complete with every comfort a home offers. This is not that kind of cabin! There is no plumbing or electricity. It’s a place you go to get away from the world, and we have some wonderful memories there. Amanda really enjoyed her time at “the cabinet,” especially the playhous e that Granddad built for the grandkids and great-grandk...

It occurs to me that in the last post I made (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I was instructed to take pictures of whatever my husband/kids were doing at the moment. Weeks went by before I realized that I had listed the whereabouts of Logan, Amanda, Lily…and not Benson. This illustrates several facts: 1) I’m not 100% accustomed to my status as mother of three; 2) I am a somewhat-negligent mother of three, and 3) Benson is the world’s most content and low-maintenance baby. I sleep at night by telling myself that it’s mostly due to fact #3. Anyway, in an attempt to make up for the fact that I overlooked his very existence, I’m dedicating an entire entry to my adorable, ignorable baby boy. I hope I haven’t already given him a complex. When Logan and I first decided it was time to start having kids, it took a lot longer than we expected to actually get a baby here. After a year of trying, we finally got pregnant – but I miscarried before the first trimester was over. It was nearly two ye...

Did you know that in the five or so months since I started this blog, I have not been officially tagged until today? It's a big moment for me! : ) Becky tagged me, so here goes nothin'. The instructions are to take the following photos exactly as they are at this moment. No cheating! I guess I'll be showing my true colors... #1 Post a picture of the kitchen sink (In case you're wondering about all the sippy cups, my sister-in-law's kids were over this morning and they had snacks while watching a movie.) #2 Post a picture of your toilet Oh, geez. Logan and I were just saying the other day that our bathroom is in need of a major overhaul. Little did I know that I would be asked to post pictures of it just days after this conversation. #3 Post a picture of your laundry room As you can see, I am once again procrastinating folding the laundry. Sigh. #4 Post a picture of the inside of your fridge Exciting, huh? #5 What your hubby/kids are doing right now Logan's ...