Whipple Family Blog

We finally got it done, here are few of our recent family pictures...

Brian and I started running about a year and a half ago. It was right after I turned 30 and started getting a spout of health problems that I realized I want to be moving my whole life so I need to do something about it now. I started running in the afternoons when Brian would get home from work (wasn't much of a morning person). Brian would run at the gym at work in the morning. This worked great for a while and we were feeling much better. Then Brian one day said he wanted to run a marathon. I thought he was crazy. I mean, really we were only running about three miles at the most, and most of his mileage was on the dreadmill, oh I mean treadmill. One day Brian decided to run outside. He got to the bridge, about a mile away, touched it and hobbled on home. That is when he decided never to run inside again. From then on he was determined and each week he did a mile more. I couldn't believe when he actually hit four miles. I was getting a little jealous. I still had NO plans wha...

This last summer we decided to take our family trip to Nauvoo Illinois to see the church history site. We live about 12 to 14 hours away, so we thought we might as well do this while we have a chance. So, Bri took off a few days of work and we packed up the car and did it. The ride was long, but not too bad. We got a few books on tape, a whole lot of movies, books, and we were set. The only one who really had a hard time was Raegan, since she didn't understand the books on tape and she can only take so many movies... Nauvoo was great. Being there and seeing it, really put things into perspective for me. The saints had such a beautiful place and had put so much of their lives into building it and making it their home. We were only there for a day and an evening. We got to see the Nauvoo pageant though, and it was amazing. The next morning I took a run around Nauvoo and the mississippi river. Then, we took a wagon ride, a carriage ride and toured a few of the buildings. I was sad whe...

Hello fellow bloggers! Wow, has it really been that long since I last posted??? Well, as any mother knows, summer is such a busy time. But, more than that, it was a decision I had to make. Although I LOVE reading blogs and posting my own, I decide it was consuming my life a little too much. So, I gave it a hiatus for a few months where I didn't read blogs or write. Now that those months are over, I also realize how much I miss keeping up with my friends and also posting my own thoughts and experiences. It is a really fun hobby, don't get me wrong, just a little time consuming. So, I have decided that I will still keep a blog and write whenever I can, but I won't let it consume my time as much. Forgive me friends if I don't check your posts on a regular basis, I still do care so much for you and love to hear how you are doing. And I will read them, but not quite as often and maybe not as many comments. And for those of you who always read mine, thank you! I really do kno...

Okay, this is a catch up post. Yes, I have been a slacker with my posting lately, but since this blog is mostly a journal for me, I'm going to quickly catch up on the happenings for the past couple months. Feel free to skim... (: *Bought a new sectional and console for our t.v. room downstairs. Yes, it is officially not our play room (at least in one side of the room). We divided it in half, bought a new console for our tv and a new sectional and moved our toys and bookshelves. Whooo hoo! We love it! Finally, we want to stay in our basement. I will take pictures and post soon. *Spring break with mom and dad! This was awesome. We had a great time and loved their visit. We're waiting for another soon mom and dad! *John (my cousin), Ruth, and their little boy Jeffrey came to visit while they were going through chemo with Jeffery in Philadelphia. They spent one day in DC and then we dragged them to Ashtyn's ballet the next evening with us. We had a great time with them and love...

Okay, I wrote this a long time ago, but never posted so here you go, my post from spring break back in April. (:" Yesterday my parents left after a ten day visit. Now, I am sitting at the computer pouting a little because it is quite lonely in my house after sending them back home, sending Bri back to work, and sending my older girls back to school. We were lucky to have a week without sickness while they were here, and luckily Raegan was finished with her antibiotics from having Strep throat, phneumonia, and an ear infection all at the same time last month. We also had some great days with little or no rain. So, here were our events of spring break... *Went grocery shopping with my mom- I love to do this, she always has some great ideas and fun recipes to try. *Watched conference- Yes, I love General Conference time and it was even better sharing it with grandma and grandpa. *Girls night in- you probably have heard me talk about this before. When the men go to priesthood, we hav...

We finished our bathroom!!! When we moved into our house hmmm... about two and a half years ago, we had a basement that was half finished. A finished play room or tv room, but an unfinished bathroom (no walls, plumbing, electricity etc.) and an unfinished bedroom. Our plan was to finish them up and then have four bedrooms in our house, and a convenient bathroom downstairs. So, we started on the bathroom first and now finally after two and a half years, it is finished!! I have to say, it really wasn't me too, mostly just Brian. When he told me he wanted to do it, I pretty much just laughed. He had never done electrical work before or plumbing! Yes, it has taken a while, but oh I am so happy and proud of him for doing it and it looks great! The plumbing was definitely the hardest part, but I thought the dry wall and the shower was because, well, that was pretty much the only part that I helped with. He even put in tile! You will now have to come visit me to see!!!! But while I'm...

The idea of running a marathon is horrifying to me. Brian got the idea in his head a few months ago that he wanted to run a marathon this year. I thought he was crazy. Slowly, he has been working on me though, and I have finally come to be a little okay with running a half. No, I am still not close at all. Actually, pretty far away from that goal, but at least the idea is starting to sink a little into my head. Well, just when it started to accept the idea a little I went out and bought some good running shoes. At least so was the claim, and then three days later, I tore my Achilles tendon. After just a couple of days of running, I started to have a pain (which I first thought was an internal blister) and then I just couldn't do it anymore. My ankle hurt so bad. I thought it was related to my sprain last year, so I decided to call the podiatrist. After feeling my tendon crunch back and forth, he concluded that it was torn and put me in a big old boot for four to six weeks! So here ...

Did I mention the Science Fair is over??? Hmm... Well, if I didn't, here's proof.... Shaylee's: What kinds of foods do Ants Like Best. She compared sugar and cheese and apparently they like cheese better... Teralyn's: Which Bridge holds the most Weight. She made three bridges with her dad, put lots of weight on them and continued to increase the weight until each broke. She concluded that the Beam bridge held the most weight. There's the proof, oh, and a happy smile on my face!

Just when I got done telling Brian what a crazy day I have had, we found this.... Yes, she found the lotion and the toilet paper...

This last week has been a little crazy for our family. Most of us have been sick (except Brian, Shay, and I) so it's been fun battling fevers and antibiotics, but also trying to do field trips, volunteering at school, doctors appointments, science projects, birthdays, basketball, ballet, iceskating etc. Whew!! I'm glad it's over. Although today is a catch up day on Tera and Shay's science projects, so I will let you know if we survive or not. Okay, a little recap on some of the things we did this last week. *I went on a really fun field trip with Ashtyn and her preschool. We went to Brookside Nature Center to see the Maple tree farm they have. I have to tell you, it was one of my favorite field trips I have ever been on. We got to see the sap from the Maple trees come out and into the buckets and we got to taste the real maple syrup. It was so yummy. It's going to be hard to go back to the fake stuff... We learned all about photosynthesis and it even stopped rainin...

I just have to blog about how much I have been loving this school year. I was trying to decide what has made it so great for me and here are the reasons: 1. First and foremost, for the first time since Teralyn was eight months old, I have a couple of hours to myself each day!! Yes, this is my favorite part of all. My two oldest girls are in school, my little Ashtyn is at preschool in the afternoon or a friend's house (on Tuesdays and Thursdays we trade off, but when they are here, I don't even see them!), and my little Raegan takes a nap at 12:30 until 3:00. Therefore, I have a couple of hours all to myself for reading, blogging, catching up on bills, whatever. And it is so great! 2. I'm not pregnant. GASP! I know, I know, how could I say such a thing? I have many friends out there who LOVE to be pregnant and say they would do it again, just for the pregnancy part. And, more power to you my friends! But no, I am not one of those people. No matter how hard I try, I really do...

Bri left on a business trip this week to St. Louis and left me with a few things... On Monday I was informed that a package is coming and I needed to get it out of the cold AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. No, it wasn't for my birthday... It was a package of live red ants!! Yes, you read it right. He is doing another scientific experiment this time with Shaylee and this time instead of flies, ants... So, they were supposed to come while he was here, but of course they died in the mail so he had to order new ones which came on my watch. And, to make it even better, on the package it says, "CAUTION, DO NOT TOUCH ANTS, THEY WILL STING!!" Then it proceeds to tell you what to do in case you get stung for about a paragraph. In the next paragraph it says, "Transfer the ants out of the shipping tube as soon as possible." If you know me well, you know how much I hate bugs, insects, mice etc. etc. Anything that crawls. I really hate them. Whenever we have a spider in the house, I try...

So, if you have ever talked to my husband for longer than ten minutes or so, you probably know how much he wants an HDTV. Yes, he wants it that bad. Over the past say, about three years he has wanted one and has given subtle hints on a continual basis (which is actually not like him unless he wants something BAD). At first it totally surprised me. I really thought he was kidding. We really aren't the kind of people who typically get the biggest baddest thing on the market. I don't know, I guess we are too practical and a little cheap. I mean, we just got a cell phone for the first time about two years ago. And yes, I don't buy anything unless it is on sale. It just kills me. When his little hints first started coming, I thought it was just a phase. But then, he got his friends and the Bishop in on it. Yes Bishop, I remember that night at your house where everyone tried to talk me into it. I thought to myself, "they don't know who they're talking to". I mea...

You know that old movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, with the flying car? Well, my kids love it. Okay, Bri and I do a little too. But my kids absolutely love it!! You know, it seems the really old cheesy movies are the ones that my kids love the best. Hmmm.... go figure. I guess I am a little on the old fashioned side too, in a way. Anyway, about that movie, we decided to break the bank a little this year and go see the musical at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore. We got our tickets about three months ago (before the Christmas crunch) and waited patiently for it to come. Well, we finally got to see it and it was awesome!! I guess I thought we broke the bank a little more than we did though, because I thought I remembered buying pretty good seats, but it turns out we were third from the top! Yes, it was so so crowded for our long legs, but since no one sat in front of us we just stretched out. It was great, and totally worth it. Our favorite part by far was when Chitty sails up in the ...

I have some not so great spellers in my family. Yes, It's true. I will admit it. I didn't realize this when I agreed to marry my husband. You would have thought that he would have told me huh? I mean, who knew that all of our little offspring would get this wonderful trait from him. Okay, okay, I shouldn't blame it all on him. I am not a born fantastic speller either. It took some hard work. Although, I have to say I always thought I was. I won two spelling bees in elementary school. I thought I was on top of the world. I mean I thought I was amazing! Who knew that I once had problem with spelling? I sure didn't, at least not until I got married. Then one day my mom mentioned that she couldn't believe that I had won those spelling bees because I was horrific! What!? All this time I had thought I was an amazing speller. You mean all those years of being so confident in my spelling attributes was all a hoax? So, I have finally come to the conclusion that I am just gre...

I am dying to go running again. I know that sounds crazy, but it's amazing how much it helps me to feel good about myself. I started it last March (almost a year ago), took off for a few months for a sprained ankle, but have come back and am finally loving it. Okay, I shouldn't say "loving it". It's hard, and sometimes I want to quit. Some days are harder than others of course, and sometimes I have to take one step at a time to meet my goal, but it always feels so good when I do. The ice and rain are the hardest times for me, and I have to say if it wasn't for my husband who rolls me out of bed every morning it would be much tougher. My goal is a half marathon. No, I'm not quite halfway there, but almost... I am getting so I can do almost four miles a day. Now, I need to get past that point. One of my biggest problems is time. I go at 6:30 in the morning, but need to be back in enough time for Brian to go to work. I can't go much earlier (it's pret...

Yes, it has been quite a while since I have written. I have to say now that my older girls are in school again, life is finally coming back to normal so hopefully I will be getting my routines back. I could spend all day blogging about what we've been up to, but don't worry, I won't. I'll just make a quick list of our December and early January events... *Annual work Christmas party - my kids love this! They get to see Santa (Raegan's favorite part, see below), watch circus shows and reptile shows, eat lots of yummy food, and all the ice cream bars they want. It's great. *Shay's basketball on Saturdays- Yes, my Shay started basketball. I have been amazed at how aggressive those little girls can get. I think Shay was pretty amazed too. I don't think she realized it was okay to grab the ball when someone else looked like they wanted it... She is getting much better. (: *Gingerbread house- I know this is a tradition in many families, but this year was so m...