Quick trip to Boise

While the kids were on Spring Break we decided to take a quick road trip. We hadn't seen Raymond's grandparents since their 90th birthday party two years ago, so we decided to head up to Boise. We loaded everything up, grateful for the space a minivan offers and were off. I am also grateful for portable DVD players. We got there late Thursday, but the kids were excited to sleep in a hotel. The hotel had a free program you could order that was kind of new age called "rest." It had images and soft music. We put that on for the kids to watch while they fell asleep. It really did help them calm down and fall asleep faster.
Friday morning we took advantage of the hotel swimming pool. It had been awhile since any of us had been swimming. Aa had never been. Unfortunately we discovered a hole in our baby float. It was in the inner ring, so it didn't work great for Aa, but J and G were still able to use it.
After swimming we went to lunch and then over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. They still live alone, thanks to hospice care and Meals on Wheels. Grandpa still putters around the yard, but Grandma has a harder time. She kept saying, "You have five kids?" And then she'd count them.
The kids played outside on the tree swing. J picked the flowers and then showed them to Grandma. Raymond helped get a pile of pine needles and pine cones into the garbage. We ate dinner and Grandma and Grandpa's and then headed back to the hotel.
Grandpa and especially Grandma were sure unhappy with us for staying at a hotel. I have to tell you though, I'm glad we did. That way we didn't have to worry about breaking things or making a mess. The hotel had free breakfast and beds for everyone. Not to mention the pool.
By the time we got back to the hotel, Aa was asleep, but the boys wanted to swim again. Raymond took them, while J and I watched "Beauty and the Beast."
Saturday we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's for Grandpa's family famous sourdough waffles. Yum, yum. We sang some songs for them, and Grandpa gave all the kids a harmonica. He even played us a tune on one of them. The kids loved the harmonicas.
We left Grandma and Grandpa's house to head home. We decided to stop at Fossil Beds National Monument in Hagerman, ID for a break. It was fun. The kids enjoyed it. We drove past 1000 springs on our way to Twin Falls.
We than stopped in Ogden to visit Raymond's sister. The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins. It was a fun trip.

Crawling around is fun to do

None of my other children crawled until they were ten months old. In fact they all crawled at ten months. Why would I expect anything different this time around? But despite his small size, Aa is determined to remain ahead of the curve. He refuses to be left behind. He has the army crawl down!
But that's not enough for Aa. A few days ago I was sitting on the floor playing with G and J when Aa came crawling over. He grabbed my shirt and pulled himself on up. I was impressed. Later that day I found him crawling up two steps. Again I was impressed. He's such a curious little baby. I don't remember any of my others being as curious as Aa is. He is so fun. It seems like he's all the sudden "grown up" in just the last month.

If you missed it...

If you missed Raymond on TV you can see it here.
http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=55&sid=9906879

Raymond on TV

Raymond is going to be talking about his business on KSL's Studio 5 Tueday, March 9th at 11:00 am here in Utah. Thought you might want to know!
His website is www.savinggreenathome.com

S turns seven

Here are some photos of the birthday bash. I used an Elmo pan for the tiger cake. S is such a silly boy!

Saving Green

Raymond is finally ready to launch his new business! We are hoping things go well and he gets lots of customers. He has been out of work for a long time and it has been a lot of work to get his business ready. We are having two parties this week to let people know what he is doing. One will be Wednesday at 6:30 and than again Saturday at 6:00. There will be pizza. You are welcome to come if possible.
His business is helping people learn how they can save money on their energy costs. It is interesting stuff and some things I had never heard of before. Pray for us that this goes well.

Happy New Year!

It's about time I got back on this blog! Here are the ups and downs of the Crane's 2009.

In December 2008 the company Raymond was working for went out of business. This started a new adventure for us. We searched and searched for a job, but never found one. This gave Raymond the opportunity to open his own business. He moved through several ideas before settling on energy consultation and green remodels. He is getting ready to start talking to customers soon. Hopefully he will be in a place to go by the end of this month.

At the beginning of the year, Raymond and Jamie were able to participate in our stake production of "Beauty and The Beast." It was a lot of fun! We made a lot of new friends and really enjoyed getting out of the house for a few hours.

We have been working hard on our rental properties this year. We are now pro's at painting. We were able to sell our house in Magna after some remodeling. It ended up looking pretty nice, I must say. We've also learned a lot about the court system, but we won't go into all of that.

The most exciting and wonderful thing this year happened in June when we welcomed Aa into our family. He is such a happy and easy going little baby. We all love having him here with us. All of our children are such blessings. It amazes me how unique each one of them are!

We love you all! We are hoping for a fabulous 2010.