Rock Climbing

My dad had a plan for the kids to learn how to rock climb. The kids were so excited about it. We strapped the kids up into their harnesses and let them climb.

Alex kept going over and over and over again. He loved it! He was the last one climbing after everyone else was tired.

This is to show how far Caleb went. He was so close to touching the ceiling, but wouldn't go the extra mile to get there.

I think Leah just liked being strapped into the harness to hang there. She didn't really "climb" anything, but loved dangling from the ropes.

Jon's turn. He climbed that wall in no time!

I made it to the top too. Gotta love the way those harnesses make your rear end look so hot!

And here's the professional...my dad. He had all of his own gear from being involved with search and rescue. Thanks for taking us rock climbing! It was a blast.

Here are some videos to enjoy.

Caleb saw Jon doing a flip, so of course he had to try it too!

The Lightsaber Wars

My boys know that we don't allow lightsabers. They ask for one EVERY time we're at Wal-Mart, or any other store that they see them at. We tell them NO every time! You'd think they'd understand by now. Well, one day Alex got creative and decided to make his own light saber! He took apart his dart blower, added some other parts, put a small flashlight in the end and VOILA! He made his own Darth Vader lightsaber. It turned out pretty well. I'm so proud that he was able to be so creative and discovered how to make one.

P.S. A few hours later I made him take it apart because, homemade or not, lightsabers are NOT allowed! It makes the boys fight even MORE than usual when we have one around.

Who Stole the Cookies From the Cookie Jar?

My kids have always loved going to Nanny and Papa's house. One of the reasons they love it is because Nanny has a cow cookie jar filled with treats. One day I went to my mom's house with Caleb and Leah during the day. Caleb wanted a treat, but we told him there wasn't anything in the cow. He didn't believe us and when we weren't looking he climbed onto the counter top and tried to look inside the cow cookie jar. He accidentally dropped the cow's head and it broke. He felt so bad.

So, for the next month I had been looking for cow cookie jars every where I went. NO ONE has cookie jars anymore! I did find two cookie jars at Bed Bath and Beyond, but they were all pretty plain...of course NO cow. Caleb and I went shopping all day one Saturday looking for a cow cookie jar. We went to 10 different stores, but to no avail. So, I went home and bought one off of ebay.

The package came right in time. My mom was over at our house when it came. Caleb wrote my mom a nice note saying 'I'm sorry'. Then he gave her the package. My mom was so surprised!



One of the reasons Caleb picked this particular cow cookie jar was because the bum of the cow is where you get the candy.
We had even bought some frootie tootsie rolls to put inside of the new cow. Now there will be treats in the cow at Nanny and Papa's house again and Caleb will be sure to ASK for treats instead of trying to get them himself.

Ward Campout

So, my pictures aren't that great. It was starting to get too dark to take good pictures. We had a lot of fun at the ward campout. There was a TON of yummy food for the dinner Friday night. They had a dutch oven dessert cook-off after dinner. It was a close call between the peach cobbler and the smores brownies.

The Krueger's

The Lanier FamilyLots of food, lots of fun, lots of dirt, freezing cold night, rock-hard ground...and

We loved every minute of it!

Caleb's 6th Birthday

Caleb Friedrich Lanier was born at 7:01am on Sept 10th, 2001. He weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 19 1/2" long. I can't believe it's been 6 years since we brought home our little guy!

He started out his day with us singing "Happy Birthday" to him at exactly 7:01am. He then requested pancakes (in the shape of a "C" and a "6") for breakfast.

I took him to school this morning. Alex walked him into his class. I went back to his class later in the morning to bring cupcakes for the whole class. Caleb got a lot of special treatment from his teacher for his birthday. He got to be the "special helper" and he also got to be the first one use the hand sanitizer before we ate cupcakes. At the end of class he got to be the first one to get his backpack and line up at the door. He had a great day at school.
Caleb took this picture of his teacher, Mrs. Miller, eating a cupcake.After school Caleb and Leah went to computer class, then we went to Jon's shop to share the extra cupcakes.

Caleb wanted his most favorite food for dinner--PIZZA! So, we ate our pizza while we waited for Alex's soccer game to start. After the game we went home to open some presents. My mom and dad, grandparents, and the Kruegers all came over to share the cake with us. Here are some of his gifts he recieved.

2 small transformers from Alex and Leah
A checkers set from Alex and Leah (Caleb LOVES to play checkers)
2 small transformers, 1 bigger Bumblebee transformer,

and a transformer outfit from Nanny and Papa

An Elmo bath towel from Grandma and Grandpa Holt
A Spiderman Addition and Subtraction book

and bubble gum from the Kruegers

And his own air compressor set from Mom and Dad!

Caleb was so excited to eat his "Death Star" cake. When he decided that's the kind of cake he wanted he told me, "Mom, it HAS to have the green lasers that shoot out of the death star!" So, I found some skinny green candles that created the green lasers. He was really happy with it. In fact, when I told him to come look at his cake this morning he said to me, "I already saw it. I went and looked at it as soon as I woke up." Silly kid!
When we lit his candles that cake was on FIRE! He had a little trouble blowing out the massive flame protruding out of his cake. Dad had to step in and help him huff and puff and BLOW the fire out. Check out the video...


Overall Caleb had a great 6th birthday. I asked him if he felt 6 years old and he told me "no." I guess he's taller now that he's 6 though 'cause Alex was telling him that he grew and now he's almost as tall as Alex. So funny.

Also, as a side note, my friend Randa had her baby today! Caleb gets to share his birthday with this cute little guy. They had a baby boy this morning. His name is Carson. What a cute baby--look at all that hair!

Our Needs

I saw this on a friend's website and thought it was fun, so I tried it out. You google your name plus "needs" and pick out the top 10 things. Here it goes...

Angela needs...
1. to constantly "feel" the presence of God
2. her space
3. to get away from her kids
4. help
5. a time-out
6. to eat something
7. a new wardrobe
8. to stay focused
9. a place to live where she and those around her are safe
10. to complete a psychological evaluation

Jon needs...
1. to learn how to count
2. YOU!
3. prayers
4. a job
5. to touch his roots
6. a new shift key
7. the spirit
8. cupcakes
9. lots of support on the home front and elsewhere to help him
10. your votes

Pretty funny. I thought some of them were pretty accurate too! Although, I already feel like I have a place to live that's safe, and I'm sure Jon doesn't need any more cupcakes!!

Leah's First Day

Now it's Leah's turn! Today was her first day of computer class! She was excited to put on her new "school clothes" and "school shoes". We picked up Caleb from school and went straight to the computer class. Since Caleb is only in school half day he still gets to come too.