Well, I have been a major slacker about adding to this blog. I was going to add after we went to Idaho to the May Family Ranch and tell a bit about that, then they decided to call me as the secretary in our Primary presidency. Holy Cow! I have been sitting at my computer for about four days straight trying to get things under control enough to know what's going on. Then Ben started school on Wednesday, Aaron learned how to open a doorknob, and he started into his "terrible twos". It's been a full two weeks.

Here we go catching up on the last few weeks.

They have this great waterslide up at the ranch that Paul built. He diverted part of the stream to go down the waterslide so it has a continuous stream of water going down it. It is very fast and has a bump in it so you have a little jump. The kids loved it and spent most of the day going down it over and over. It was really fun to watch. They had contests to see who could go down the fastest, who could go down the slowest, who could do the most spins and tricks on the way down, and lots of other things. They had a blast!

Here is a picture of Aaron playing in the little play cabin.

There was also a very interesting thing that happened while we were there. There was another family there while we were there. They were a smaller group, a mom and her three or so kids with their spouses and kids. Maybe 13-15 in all. They stayed to themselves mostly and did their own thing. On Saturday they were packing up getting ready to go, and one of the moms had her baby (about 9 months old) in a high chair in the mess hall. Somehow he fell out of the high chair and hit his head on the cement floor. Dixie checked him out (she works in the emergency room in Boise). He was unresponsive for about fifteen minutes. They called the ambulance and it took them awhile to get there. During that time some of the members of our group were given permission to give the baby a priesthood blessing. As soon as the blessing was over the baby woke up and started acting normal. He was playing and things. Then the paramedics arrived. They checked him out and said he was fine. They decided to call life-flight anyway and fly him to Boise in case he had internal bleeding in his brain or something. It was exciting for the kids to see a helicopter land in the field.

They ran an MRI and CAT scan and he was fine. They said that it was like nothing ever happened. The grandmother and one of the kids are active in the Church but the rest are not. They are hoping that this experience will maybe get the Mom of the baby interested in the Church again. Needless to say, we had a very spiritual testimony meeting the next morning. The spirit was so strong at the Ranch after that experience. I hope the other family could feel it too.

While we were there Josh asked Clark if he could draw a portrait of him. Here it is. It took Clark about 15 minutes to do. Josh was really impressed with Clark. He wants to be an artist when he grows up. During the testimony meeting Clark talked about a time when he forgot about a promise he made to Heavenly Father and he lost his talent. He talked about how it felt and how sorry he was. After he remembered and kept his promise he got his talent back. He could feel it flowing back into his body he has never forgotten that feeling. It really impressed Josh. He is so excited to have this picture as a reminder of that wonderful weekend.

On to the next big thing.

Ben started school (junior high) on Wednesday. I took him the first day. I think I embarrassed him. (Isn't that what parents are for?) I was taking pictures of him and he kept saying "O.K. Mom. Don't you think it's time to get out the scissors and cut the umbilical cord? I'm going to be late." It was about 15 minutes until school started and he had plenty of time. Finally I had to let my baby go. I was fine- I really was. The next day he started taking the bus. When I sent him out the door I got a little teary and my

"wonderful" husband made a snide remark that I didn't appreciate. Mike keeps saying that he's glad I have such a tender heart, but then he makes fun of me for it. I guess that's just my lot in life.

Ben is having a good time with this new adventure. I was worried that he would have a hard time with having seven classes to remember, but he seems okay with it so far. Of course it is only the first few days and they don't really start having homework until they go back on Tuesday after Labor Day. Then he might have a little bit of a time, but I think he'll do great!

I need to go and get some things done. You know, like cleaning up the breakfast now that it's after 10:00, changing a diaper for the first time today, getting dressed, etc.

Have a great day!

Kati has started playing this game and "tagged" me to play it too. You can see her answers on her website by clicking on her link in our friends column.

Here are the rules. You GOOGLE your name then "needs". So when I did it I GOOGLED "Michelle needs" and these are some of the things that came up-

• Michelle needs to get her game together. (Well, I think that's obvious to anyone who has visited my house lately.)


• Michelle needs a long break. (Mike and I have been trying to find a time for a get-away for months.)


• Michelle needs a good man to care for her and tend to her as she deserves. (Fortunately I already have one that treats me much better than I deserve.)


• Michelle needs every advantage possible. (DUH!)


• Michelle needs a home that can accept her limitations.


• Michelle needs a family that will be patient, consistent, kind, loving...(maybe a little less loud and rambunctious, too)


• Michelle needs to fatten up! (I DON'T THINK SO!)


• Michelle needs to return to the Chicago airwaves. ( I don't know what I'd do once I got there.)


• Michelle needs an Oscar!!! Acting will one day save the world. Maybe, Michelle is the actor that we have all been waiting for. (I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille.)
• Michelle needs to spend some of her newly aquired wealth. (What? Does someone know something that I don't?)
• Michelle needs to pray more, think more, be more patient and more resilient. (This one is right on the money.)

This is what I think Michelle really needs-

• Michelle needs more help from her children.
• Michelle needs more hours in the day to get things done.
• Michelle needs to have ALL the boxes unpacked and things put away.
• Michelle needs more sleep.
• Michelle needs more time with her husband.
• Michelle needs a vacation-sans children.
• Michelle needs to read the scriptures more.
• Michelle needs to talk to and/or visit her mom more often.
• Michelle needs less cooking and more eating out.
• Michelle needs more hugs.

Well, that's it for now. I would tag some people to do this, but Kati already tagged everyone that I know would do this. Apparently, Michelle needs more friends, too.

crazy baby

I was so hysterical watching this that my kids came running to see what was wrong. If you need a laugh, watch this. You can't NOT laugh along.

So, I'm sitting in my room on my bed watching the seventeenth hour of the 24 hour "Craft Day" on QVC and working on a super secret project that needs to get done (I'll tell you later-at the end of the month) and suddenly I hear a blood curdling scream. MMMOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!! I jump off my bed and run down the stairs, almost tumbling headfirst down them. It was Emma. She breathlessly runs up to me and says, "My tooth is coming out!" I thought she had broken a leg or something. She has been asking me to pull her tooth out for about a month. It was barely loose, then it kindof solidified or something because then it wasn't loose (even though Emma thought it was), then it started to be a little loose again. I know this because she had me "check" it about three or four times a day. Anyway, I checked it about two hours ago and it was a teeny bit loose. I told her another week or so probably. She went out to play and low and behold, her teeth knocked together while she was riding her bike, and it almost fell out. Here is her new grin-

Today was also a big day in the Price household. We had to go to the Junior High and pick up Ben's schedule and locker assignment. (Man, am I old or what?) Here it is-

• first period- Career/Tech Ed. a requrement for all 7th graders-I don't remember what this class is for



• second period-English



• third period-Reading Team a special class that helps teach how to take effective notes and how to study



• then lunch 10:45 am (short morning, long afternoon)



• fourth period- Utah Studies



• fifth period-PreAlgebra a special math class for those who are struggling with math



• sixth period- Beginning Band Ben thinks he wants to learn the saxophone-"because it's cool"



• seventh period- Science

He will have lots of new things to get used to, and lots of new people to meet. Here he is trying to learn how to do the combination that will open his locker-

Mike is in Phoenix. He flew out yesterday(monday) after work and he'll be back late on Wednesday. He had some training meetings, how to do a budget and stuff. Pretty exciting I guess. Here's a cute picture of him and Aaron-

Well, I am missing hour eighteen -"digital scrapbooking". See you soon.

Bear Lake 2007 - What a HOOT

Hey everyone, Mike reporting about the fabulous family reunion with the Lalliss family up at Bear Lake, UT. Things started out with Mike being incredibly lazy and not getting into gear on Thursday morning. To make matters worse, it was Belle's birthday on August 2 and she was busting up her birthday trying to pack and get things ready to go for the trip. We, I mean Belle, did not get everything packed until the kids were out of school on Thursday. We wanted the kids to be in school on Thursday because it was picture day. We finally got all the crap packed into the car, which with 7 people and their clothes, sleeping bags, air mattresses, tent, crib, dining fly, 2 coolers, blankets, and pillows it is remarkable it all fits inside, and on, the minivan. When we packed it all back in, up at the camp, people were laughing when they saw the pile of stuff and were amazed by the packing miracle.
We finally got driving and we got nailed with a rain storm just before we got to Rendezvous Beach on Bear Lake. It was good we weren't setting up a tent during the rain. The kids scattered as soon as the doors of the van opened and searched out their cousins. We finally sank some $ and bought a new tent this year. It is a 12x15 tent and it has flaps that can create multiple rooms. It was so nice to have a tent I can actually stand up in and move around without tripping over stuff. Of course my boys were gone so Belle and I had to figure out how to get the thing up. It is HUGE! Then we blew up the air mattresses, carried all the stuff down to the camp site, and set up the boy's tent. It was then 10:00pm by the time we were ready to start our, my, Bear Lake experience. It was great to talk to everybody and to play games and see people we hadn't seen in a while. Belle got a big birthday singing and her parents and sibs had a big poster with balloons stating her incredibly old age of 40. I can't believe I am married to such a great looking older woman. (SWEEEET!!!!)
We spent most of Friday down at the beach. The kids had a blast playing in the water and playing with their cousins. We had lunch down at the beach and I read a book and wrestled with Aaron and we all had a generally great time. The wind was strong but the clouds rolled in and Mr. Sun didn't get on us to much. (or so we thought).
Rick and Kim put together a great Dutch Oven Dinner and we had Chicken and Rice and Peach Cobbler for dessert. The Talent Show that night was fun and Josh did a ventriloquism act with his wolf. Kim sang a song and Ben did a skit with the other cousins. All the cousins did a great job with their sand castles and the Lalliss boys and Turner girls and Brian Lalliss Girls all won prizes for their design.
The bright red of the sunburns came out the next morning and Josh was a bright red with blisters on his shoulders. Kim and Emma both had burns on their swimsuit lines. Everybody was really not feeling well and so we decided to pack it in and head back on Saturday afternoon. The $1 table at the auction was a big hit with the kids and it was a lot of fun to see all the people that attended. We got all the stuff from camp packed up, asked for another miracle and it all fit back into the van. We had to wait a while because Kenn and Jolene had some car issues. They finally got their car started and we followed them home to make sure everything was OK.
We got home and got everything unpacked and the last thing I wanted to do was to cook dinner so we went and had some supper out which hit the spot and then we all came home and crashed.
We are including some pics from the festivities. We would like to put a postscript on this note that we are really not bad parents. We caked on the sunscreen on these kids but my albino superpowers have been passed on to my children and they absorbed the sun like a solar cell. If you do have an issue with the sunburns, please send you complaints to: Ura Hoser - 42 Geta Clue - Homerville, UT 0U812.
We did have some great fun. Martin and Jannette were great to talk to and they were always helpful in watching Aaron and giving our mooching children food. Rick and Kim were both reading the new Harry Potter book and it was good to talk with them about life in general. Monique was a lot of fun for the kids with her little pooch. And Kenn and Jo even had some time to go into the city and bring me back Ice Cream and for that they should be given a medal. The biggest thing was that the kids had a great time. They love the beach and staying up late and eating junk food until they are sick. So on the whole it was a pretty fair family whohaa!