Buchanan Spot

April Family Fiesta

2010-04-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

Mark your calenders for Sunday April 25th for our family dinner. We'll send our palates south of the boarder with Tacos and Taco salad

Mom. Tortillas, tortilla chips and salad dressing.

Mary. Dessert

Jon (assuming you're in town) tomatos, onions, and any other veggies you like on tacos.

Dave. Taco meat, refried beans, lettuce. (Nathan, I would be happy to perpare some TVP meat substitute for you, but I could use some pointers on making it taste good).

Nathan. Salsa and sour cream

Aaron. Cheese

Mark. Drinks. Piña coladas would be good or pink enchiladas.

Adam. Happy thoughts :)

If you have any other Mexican dish you'd like to bring or try - we won't object. Feel free to switch assingments.

April Birthdays
12- Aspyn
16- Kel

I'd like to send a care package to Adam. I'd like everyone to bring something to put in it, and a scripture to go along with it. Like; post it notes -Isa. 30:8, or deodorant - Psalms 38:5. I think this could be a fun monthly tradition.

Charla

Rockets!

2010-03-13T07:33:00.001-08:00

We had a great time launching rocket. This could make a great annual tradition. Here is a link to the photos I took. Rocket Photos

Brothers Rocket Launch this Sat.

2010-02-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

Hopefully you've heard by now, but remember those rockets all the brothers got from Mom and Dad for Christmas? Well, if you haven't assembled/decorated them yet, now's the time, boys!

You are invited to:

The Buchanan Rocket Launch

When: This Saturday, Feb 27th at 10:00am

Where: West Jordan Junior High School

Come rain or shine- this is the last chance to be together before Adam leaves!

Prizes will be awarded for: Highest launch, most artistically decorated rocket, best named rocket, and more!

March Birthdays

2010-02-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Well, it was great seeing everyone at the February Buchanan Birthday Bash! I think we were actually all there at the same time, it was amazing! :)

I believe we are up to plan March's get-together and since March is a busy month for us, I'm hoping Sunday, March 14th will work for everyone? If not, please let me know. More details to come but, basically, same time, same place.

Adam's Farewell!!!!

2010-02-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

So, in case you hadn't heard (or, as a reminder if you have) Adam's Mission Farewell Talk will be on Sunday, February 21st at 11am at Mom and Dad's church. I assume we will be convening for a farewell luncheon / family birthday celebration following church - but Mark and Adam are in charge this month so we will leave the specifics up to them. :)

January Birthdays!

2010-01-13T08:40:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Don't forget, we are celebrating Adam, Gavin, Charla, Quinn and Makea's Birthdays this Sunday Januray 17th) at Mom and Dad's House! Aaron and Niesha are in charge, so it's sure to be a grand old time! :) Contact Niesha for food assignments. Hope to see you all there! Also, FYI for anyone interested, Aunt Mary Jeanne's mission farewell is this Sunday as well, at 11am.

Give and Take, Anyone?

2009-12-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

Hey Fam! I had an idea the other day, and was wondering if any of you are interested. Our previous ward had something called "Give and Take" where you could offer up items you no longer wanted (for free), and occasionally mention something specific you were looking for. It was a lot of fun, and I wondered if anyone wanted to try something like that on this blog. I often freecycle and donate thing to a local "Community Exchange", but if I knew my family members were interested, I would much rather give to them first.

So, I'll start. Please lmk ASAP if you're interested in anything, as I'll likely be donating them to the Community Exchange this weekend!

UP FOR GRABS:

~ A "mini" air hockey table (almost as high as my waist, about 4 ft long) - seems to work just fine but does not include the hockey pucks and drivers.

~ Several 70-s style sewing patterns

~ A few adult coats

~ Some cute womens size 10 shoes

This Saturday's pictures and party

2009-12-07T05:07:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Just a reminder, pictures are this Saturday at 10 am! They are at Wayman Photography Studios out in South Jordan/Riverton area. If we could meet there 15 minutes early, that would be great, so we can get settled and be ready for the photographer.

As far as attire, it would be great if we could all wear our Hawaii shirts and dresses. If not, some type of solid bright color would probably fit in well. Any other suggestions?

Just mapquest the name above for directions, if you could.

Let's endure well and then party at mom's afterwards! (p.s. do y'all think it is too late to ask everyone to bring a random white elephant gift if they could?)

Love to all!
Mary :)

2009-12-07T05:04:00.000-08:00

Today we found Piper busily cleaning off dark paint off of her hands in the bathroom after painting...admirable in itself. However, in light of the dark streaks all over the faucet, the sink, the soap, and the light switch, it wasn’t so rewarding a sight (. And then, as I heard her sweetly singing to herself later, knowing that Havala was in there as well and not fussing, I thought, "Well, it’s quiet, and I am playing "Farming Game" uninterrupted as things stand right now, so...I’ll ignore it." A few minutes later, Lily frantically called out, "Mommy, mommy! Come here quick!" Well, the last time I responded to a similar call from Kel, it was to find a trail of poop in the hall and my bedroom, the toilet smeared with it, and Piper hiding in her closet, spreading the glory. So, I believe my hesitation to respond to the call can be understood.

Lily, as always, was quick to help me see the problem by bringing Havala in to me, with her hair full of hand soap. Lovely. Piper had done similar things to herself, smearing hand soap all through the top of her hair. She was thorough, too. Not only had she "cleaned" herself and Havala, but she had "washed" all the toothbrushes with hand soap, and the cup that hold them as well. Wonderful. Nothing a little water can’t fix, right? (

I had a miracle happen today as well. I spoke with Piper about how she could only wear panties if she was going to keep them dry. And here’s the miracle...I think she actually listened and understood me!! Woohoo! Not that she actually believes me, but I think she knew what I was saying!

One of Hyrum’s favorite sayings lately is: "Mom, you are pretty all over yourself!" or "Mom, I love all the girls all over the world all over themselves" and I need to respond, "Hyrum, you are awesome all over yourselves" to which he replies, "All the girls are pretty all over themselves and all the boys are awesome all over themselves." What an observant lad!

One of his other astute observations: "Mom, you will be dead a’fore me."

Update--long

2009-11-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

Hyrum spent most of last week as a fairy dancing princess, from the tip of his crown to the bottom of his slipper clad feet. We have listened to the Nutcracker suite numerous times, with many renditions of quasi-graceful ballet movements across our front room wooden floor. Lily and Piper were good company for our feminine little man, much to Quinn’s chagrin (. Fortunately, Hyrum had decided by the end of the week that a cowboy costume was more to his taste.
Piper is transitioning to potty-training, meaning, she takes off her diaper whenever it is full and wanders around. She has had a couple of times of success, was thrilled at the prospect of wearing princess panties, but I slapped a diaper back on her pretty quick after a mini-accident at church. Maybe she’ll do it on her own eventually (.
Lily, Tova, and I were able to attend a production of The Nutcracker up at the Browning Theater by Weber State University last weekend. After Lily got used to the idea that there was not talking (it took her awhile) they really enjoyed the dancing and the very familiar songs set to dance. I rushed back afterwards, for Tova and I hadn’t been to the temple yet that week. It was nice to go together. We then hurried back to pick up Quinn and Tova’s violin for a "group" lesson with Terry Durbin at Layton High School. Tova said she enjoyed it, but she wasn’t quite ready with the piece of music she needed to have memorized. Some of those little kids up there were amazing! Quinn and I enjoyed a nice "date" walking around a pond and talking while we waited for her. I was exhausted and fell asleep in the car while Quinn listened to the last of the BYU/Airforce football game in the car. We had a delicious cream puffs and pudding dinner that night, along with a couple rounds of Phase 10.
Havala has been sick off and on for quite some time now. I suspect it is the swine flu, that has so many people in a panic. Poor dear. She alternates between runny noses, throwing up, and diarrhea. She is still quite the snuggler and loves to snuggle to sleep. She is trying to use words and sounds to communicate, and is getting a sense of what she wants in her mouth and what she doesn’t. Ahhh. They get so picky so soon!
Drew loves to build Legos into Star Wars characters and has been talking to me for the past 10 minutes about Star Wars, Lego Star Wars, and all types of military weapons and characters. His faces is covered in face paint from our "Time Traveling" trip back in time to ancient Australia and New Zealand (the Maoris). I had Tova and Kel use my face paint to make them pretty awesome, just like Maori warriors. I got it on camera, since they washed it off pretty soon thereafter. Even Piper had her own ornate decoration. Drew has a heart on the top of his head (thank you, Tova) and "BYU rocks" on the back (thank you, Kel). He loved it. He is also obsessed with sucking helium out of balloons.
When I told Drew to tell Quinn why his face was so "grotesque" he carefully said, "We are Maui warriors from New Jersey". Oh well. :)
Last Wednesday, we celebrated Isaak’s birthday as a family, with a day full of each other! We started off playing basketball at our building after a delicious breakfast of waffles. It was fun to play together, as the older kids are actually getting more a hang of it. We had a great time! Then we enjoyed some lunch together (left over pizza, yum!), and then got the cards ready to send up with the balloons we got for his birthday. We went to a nice place up in the mountains and released them, "taking the cards up to Isaak". Our discussion led to where they balloons go, and Quinn looked it up, discovering it was not quite the "killing the turtles" scenario I had always been told. They apparently break into very small pieces, and actually are responsible for very few turtle deaths. Apparently, mass sending balloons are typically made of a biodegradable substance which negates the whole problem.
I started my "Joy Lunch Club" in our ward, a simple lunch experience once a month that women can bring their thoughts, stories, quotes, etc. to, to find "nobility in motherhood and joy in womanhood". Sister Kim Bracken has a bunch of quotes and songs that she can share, so she agreed to get together with me on this. We had a cozy group of about 6 women, and I loved it. "Wherever two or three are gathered, there am I, in their midst"!
I have a new calling,...a Bear Den Leader....woohoo! It’s funny, though, how the bishopric member who called me said, "maybe now you can have a little break on Sundays and go to Sunday School with your husband." As if playing for the Primary wasn’t incredibly relaxing (. That’s alright. I am looking forward to interacting more with others in a calling capacity. I definitely know "boys"!
Tova just took the "Love Languages" test and determined that she appreciated "Quality Time" first-most with "Service" as a close second as her "love languages". She is looking forward to our more relaxed schedule this week. She played her book 3 Suzuki graduation piece in a recital a few weeks ago and did a marvelous job. She is going to play for both our homeschooling Choir performance at a rest home in a couple of weeks, as well as at the Kaysville Tabernacle on Saturday. It will be fun to see her!
I have been asked to speak at the upcoming Thomas Jefferson Education Forum coming up in March. I am excited! Finally, maybe I will be able to give back a little. I am speaking on "Core Phase" and TJEd in a large family. It will be a wonderful challenge to make "my debut", as it were.
Book of Mormon ah-hah! I realize the other day that out of the 1000 year span of the Book of Mormon, over 3/5ths of it is dedicated to the account of the people just 120 years before and including the coming of Christ. Can there be any doubt that it was written for our day, we who are alive before the coming of the Savior?
Tova came up to me the other day, looking for an interpretation of Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken". I told her that I thought that if I told her my interpretation, she would be influenced and I would miss out on her fresh interpretation. Other than asking about possible definitions for a few of the more ambiguous phrases, she sat and puzzled about it on her own. I can’t wait to hear what she comes up with.
Kel is on a Phase 10 kick...he can’t get enough of it! Fortunately for him, Tova loves it too, and they have been having fun doing it. Kel also came home from Zachary Moore’s house throwing around face cards with a central square cut out of it. He insists that they are a powerful thing, when thrown correctly, and proceeded to cut out the centers of several of our own cards. I told him he would have to pay for the deck, silly me (.
Kel and Drew had a great time working in the snow together yesterday. It was our first play-able snowfall, and thus the cause of much celebration. They came in exhilarated and friends. I loved it. Kel has also contracted with me to do all his own laundry. It makes it interesting on those Sunday mornings when he is literally scraping the bottom of the bucket for something to wear. However, he is thrilled that it gets him out of folding everyone else’s socks.
When we played Phase 10 last night with Tova and Kel, it was great to relax with them and have fun. They are great kids!
We are planning on staying the whole weekend at Buchanan’s...kind of a mini-vacation. Hopefully they will still love us by the end! ( Most of the kids are looking forward to football on Thursday morning, thanks to Quinn’s influence, and we will all enjoy watching the BYU/Utah game on Saturday.

November Birthdays!

2009-11-12T19:00:00.001-08:00

Don't forget, Nathan and Justin are planning a rip-roaring good time for us, this Sunday, Nov. 15th! We'll meet at Mom and Dad's around 5-ish for dinner, presents, and fun with the family! This month we are celebrating Malia and David's birthdays! If you're unsure what your 'food assignment' is, email Nathan. We look forward to seeing you there!

Welcome To The Buchanan Spot Blog!

2009-11-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

This is a place to post upcoming events, past events, thoughts, recipes, picture, memories, or anything else you think the family would be interested in. We can still do movie quotes.

I narrowed it down to three things that I want out of a family website, pictures, blog, and wish lists.

On the right, each family has a wish list section, it's easy to edit (once I give you admin privileges) just click on the little tools and the rest is self explanatory. I'm hoping this will make christmas a little easier.

In the middle here, is the blog (duh.)

On the top left is a link to Dave's MobieMe picture gallery. It is by far my favorite web photo album interface (interface? look at me I'm a techie nerd.) It is pretty easy to upload pictures, and awesome to view and download pictures. But it's going to be tricky to organize. So I'm thinking you can upload your pictures there OR if you have a favorite online photo album, (picasa, flicker, etc.) you can post a link to it on the left column.

This blog is currently public (so you can come take a look.) I will make it private in a week or two, before it is indexed by google (again with the nerdiness.) Before you will be able to find it on a google search.

Once you have admin privileges, feel free to mess around with stuff, add gadgets to the columns, change the background, or what ever.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-01T07:10:00.000-08:00

Here are this years Jack-o-lanterns. I was browsing through last years pictures, it turns out Moey picked the exact same cat pattern as last year. :)

Thanks Mary and Family for coming and helping us decorate the maze! That was so much faster then if we would have just done it by ourselves.

2009-10-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

stuff stuff stuff