h A l l O w E e N - Ha hA Ha ha! ! !

So, we're trying to come up with what the Bishop family costume concept will be this year. We pretty much have had a group theme every year. Starting with me as a baker, Kim as the oven and Aiden as the "bun" inside Kim's belly. We've done Batman theme, zoo theme, construction theme, farm theme, Cookie Monster and cookie jar, etc. I do think there were some years in there that Kim and I didn't dress up, I know "Blasphemy!" you say, but I'm sure we didn't.

So this year, I was thinking of going as the super cool Yodajuice as pictured above - that's a little shout out to my bro, Bryan, and his SupaJuice days - Not to be confused with his high school band SuperTed, which was also excellent. But, this year transformed from Star Wars to Magnificent Seven to scary monsters to knights and dragons (no, we won't have twelve-sided dice). Let us know if anyone has cool knight costume ideas. We have the dragons (Grey and Jace) - although only one of those truly fits the "dragon" persona, Grey really wanted to be one instead of a knight. Kim and I will be the king and queen, but I thought we should be servants since that's how I feel.

Here's a little blast from the past:

2003 - Cookie Jar and Cookie Monster

2004 - Life on the Farm

2005 - Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Poison Ivy and the Penguin

2006 - Zoo Family

Bishop Family Update - October 7, 2007

Oh, how I wish I would keep up with these newsletters better. So much time passes each time. I imagine things will never slow down so I need to accept that I am only mediocre in my journaling.

I thought perhaps I would do our news in alphabetical order…



A is for artichoke! My boys love artichokes. I have bought them three times in the last month, and they literally devour them. On all three occasions Mitch has been late coming home when we have eaten them. One day he did not get any. The other two times, he ate only a few leaves. And yes, Jace knows how to scrape them too! When I go to the grocery store, Gage begs me to buy them. Some kids ask for ice cream and others ask for artichokes- OK, Gage begs for ice cream too!

B is for Beige Man Group! Jace found some of my liquid make-up (which I never use) in the bathroom and covered himself in it. He was literally unrecognizable. His head, arms, and legs were covered in it, and he had splotches of it on his clothing. Gratefully he was in the bathroom so I stripped him and threw him in the tub. I did have to scrub the tub afterwards, which was the most clean up of all.

C is for Cinnamon Rolls and Cartoons! Jace took a spatula and chopped Mitch’s homemade cinnamon rolls that he baked at 6:00 a.m. for their new season of cartoons Saturday Morning Extravaganza! The boys had been looking forward to the new season of Saturday morning cartoons for weeks and Mitch made a yummy breakfast to accompany their morning of TV. Jace decided that he could “help” Dad by cutting them up. Gotta love him!

D is for Dropped a table! Mitch and I got a stellar deal at the RC Wiley Clearance Center on a new kitchen table. As we were trying to get it into the house, I dropped the table out of the back of the truck. Yes, the table top cracked a little, but we are hoping that with a little TLC we may be able to make it less noticeable. Argh!

E is for Editing! I have been editing my friend’s English papers every week. It has reminded me of the good ole’ days of college papers. Were those good? Oh, yes they were because in the midst of the papers, I remember the drives in the canyon where boys peed on the fire to put out the flame, Y days where I organized massive service projects, and dollar movies at Movies 8!

F is for fundraising. What is with a different fundraiser every week for the schools? I taught for years and I never knew where the funds went that we raised. I just send it all back and Aiden languishes over the fact that he never earns those Oriental Trading like prizes that I could buy thirty times over for the amount that he has to sell to be awarded one! What a marketing scam! It is kind of sad that I am an educator, and I do not do fund raisers. I will if they ever sell anything stellar, but thus far- nothing.

G is for Gallbladder. I finally got my appointment, and I am getting a test on my gallbladder, liver, thyroid, and cholesterol check. Apparently my doctor thinks my body is all out of whack. I have done the blood work, and now I wait for the ultra sound. I have had no other attacks- yeah!

H is for Hot Air Balloons! We went to Balloonapalooza with our five boys and Deven- our nephew. The boys loved the bee balloons and the panda balloons the best.

I is for Italian Seasoning! Jace poured a Costco sized Italian Seasoning on a plate of Texas Sheet Cake brownies. Oh, was I sad. I love Texas Sheet Cake brownies.

J is for Jace and the laundry soap! Jace spilled an entire box (warehouse sized) of laundry soap on the floor as we were trying to get Aiden off to school. I was not willing to trash it. I swept it up and put it back into the box. I decided if laundry soap washed dirt out of clothing and linens, then a little dirt and dust from the floor would not hurt it.

K is for knitting hats. We're back knitting hats. Our stake is making hats for people in Serbia, so I've started knitting and have enlisted Mitch again. He asked me yesterday how much I spent on the yarn and if it wouldn't be cheaper to just buy some. I told him that then they wouldn't receive something homemade. It was very funny as we discussed the different goals of the effort. He argued it was to keep them warm. I argued that it was to keep them warm and give them something I had made. I won, of course, so we're still knitting.

L is for Lukas David! Krista and Derek had their baby on Monday, September 17, 2007.



M is for Mount Charleston. We drove up to look at the fall colors. The aspens were changing and it was breathtaking.

N is for Naked Jace! The other morning, I lost Jaceroo. I was looking everywhere and calling for him throughout the house. I was starting to look in each room more carefully hoping that he would be hiding somewhere. When I came into my room and called him like three times, he opened the sliding closet door and in just a diaper (He was clothed prior to me losing him.) exclaimed in an even seductive like voice, “Hewwo Mommy!” I am totally dying with fits of laughter. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he has been watching some adult TV. No wonder we call him the "Naughty Gnome!"

O is for Open House. We went to Aiden’s Open House and my, we were the sight to behold. I think we barely all fit in Aiden’s classroom. Aiden’s teacher even asked for a favor from Mitch regarding a field trip to the Springs Preserve. I imagine she loves having Aiden in her class. Not only is he a terrific kid, but he has connections!

P is for Pie Painting! While entertaining friends, we enjoyed pie for dessert. We then turned our back to the counter where Jace climbed up and helped himself to the remaining pieces in the pie tins. He then climbed down, all unnoticed by the six of us who were playing Apples to Apples and thinking that all the boys were in our bedroom watching Tarzan. He went into the bathroom and created a masterpiece on the bathroom mirror, using chocolate silk pie and dutch apple cheese cake as his paint. Oh, we wanted to eat those remaining 5 pieces, but I draw the line at licking the mirror even if I had just wiped it down hours before.

Q is for quick. Our days just fly by and before we know it, another week is done.

R is for Ringing Chimes! Aiden goes to a little music class at the library and learns how to ring those pipes to Christmas tunes. He has said now that he wants to play the piano. I do hope I can get my kids into piano lessons some day.

S is for sewer run! Mitch spent three hours using a huge trencher that is self propelled on Friday for the sewer run for the casita. He was so sore. He did an awesome job and we saved like 5500 dollars doing it ourselves. CRAZY! Thanks to Grandpa and Bryan that came to help him steer the beast!

T is for tutoring. I am tutoring five kids now and I got three more calls this week alone. I told them no! I am so proud of myself. I do like tutoring and I enjoy keeping up with my skills, but I need to say HOLD IT because I want to enjoy tutoring not dread it.

U is for uninvited guests. Each morning, because the evenings are cooler, Mitch and I have an extra child or two or even three in our bed. They typically join us about 3:00. Grey rarely ever joins us so in the night time hours, Grey is our favorite.

V is for Victory! We went to Uncle Derek’s alumni football game and Derek’s team won. We have to say that Derek is a good player. He can tear it up even at 26 or 27. These guys played full contact, tackle football in pads and everything. Derek’s team won 21 to nothing!

W is for Wrestling! The boys live to wrestle. When Mitch and I were trying to push the table back together, Jace climbed on top of Mitch’s chest and began to hug and wrestle. Mitch was lying on the floor with his arms above his head and squeezing with all his might, and Jace thought he would join in the fun.

X is for XII Night! For a Girl’s night out, Tara, Kim, Cooper, Dax, and I braved wind advisory 50 mile per hour winds at Lake Las Vegas to watch Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It was too cold for Dax to sleep so we had to go home early, but it makes for a funny memory. We also lost the car in the parking garage. As soon as we packed up to go home, Dax just smiled and chilled in his stroller- gotta love babies. They learn to rule our worlds so soon, don’t they?

Y is for Yawning! Do I need to explain?

Z is for Zucchini! Mitch took Grey and Gage to the Gilcrease Orchard and got a zucchini as big as Cooper. We made six loaves of zucchini bread and froze enough to make 5 more- incredible. It was delicious!

Hope you have enjoyed my alphabetical journey.

Until next time…The Bishops

Top Ten Reasons Why Kim Doesn't Have Any Time

Seeing that I have not made the time to sit down and update our blog, I have decided to write in the spirit of David Letterman and write the 10 reasons as to why I have no time anymore.

10. I am still recuperating after a thrilling vacation to Utah! After Mitch finished his school, we piled into the car- we really do pile now seeing that we fill every seat and need 4 suitcases and 5 bags of stuff- between diapers, car diversions that are individually wrapped to make the dollar store treasures even more appealing, extra changes of clothing for Cooper and Jaceroo, DVDs (again, how did our ancestors live without these?), Junie B. Jones (Book on tape that the boys adored and I did too since she is a little like Anne of Green Gables- If I am never going to get my girls, at least I have Anne and Junie B.), food, drinks, and food for lunches while vacationing because who can afford the hotel room for a week and food out while on vacation?, we filled our car. (David has some great run on sentences in his top ten so I thought I should too.). It took me two days to complete all the laundry- and then I had to do the new laundry on the third day.

9. VACATION! While on vacation, we visited with friends and family (Skinners, Jones, Cooks, Clarks, and McDonalds--we had a fabulous time with all of you!), went to the This is the Place pioneer village, the Hogle Zoo-perfect size for the Bishop family, IKEA and bought nothing but milk in the café, the Heber Creeper and rode the three hour train into Provo Canyon, the big Red Barn for ice cream, peaches, fudge, chocolate covered cinnamon bears (I got em for you, Aud), and Christmas tree ornaments, and Cove Fort. While on vacation, we did not have one temper tantrum until the very end at Cove Fort. Gager came unraveled in the middle of the tour and you could literally hear him 300 yards away. The tour guide was an angel and helped me with Cooper while I wrestled and I mean wrestled with Gager. It was one of those moments where you ask yourself, “Am I teaching him anything here, or I am embarrassing myself for absolutely no reason at all.” He pulled it together, and I think that the woman helping me did not think I was a terrible mother. I do not know why we get so embarrassed when our kids have melt down in public. I know nearly every child has had one. I never think twice about it when I see another mom struggling with an unruly child- I always think to myself that I am glad that a parent is dealing with it rather than giving in to their naughtiness. It is a face-reddening ordeal nonetheless regardless of how rational the reflection is afterwards!

8. Preschool- I not only taught preschool this last week, but I am teaching preschool this upcoming week and I had to finish getting ready for preschool since I am the one who organizes it. I love it and this time was no different. We made homemade pretzels, made mirrors so we could practice our good speech, made All About Me Books, practiced opposites with cold ice cream and hot fudge, practiced our letters in shaving cream and play dough, sang songs, played alligator and shark with bean bags and sorted items around the house. This next week we will learn about friendship! Jaceroo was wonderful- he was actually as well behaved as the other kids in the preschool. Cooper slept both mornings for the entire two and a half hours and then an additional half hour while I cleaned up. Gotta love it!

7. Kool-Aid! The day before I left for vacation, Jace dumped an entire container of Kool-Aid all over the tile floor. It took me HOURS to clean! It was a brand new container that you can buy at Sam’s. I was feeding the baby and in just about five minutes, Jace managed to get it all over the pantry shelves, all over the kitchen, playroom, and hallway, and ran into the den and got little red Kool-Aid footprints all over the edge of the carpet-Ohhhh….. was I ever overwhelmed. I did not even yell at him. I was so in shock by the mess and the red that was everywhere (How he introduced moisture into the mix, I still do not know.). For the entire rest of the day, whenever his nose would run, it ran Kool-Aid red. I scrubbed and scrubbed the floor, but I still cannot pull all the red up from the carpet. I thought that I had swept and vacuumed it up, but, oh no. As I began trying to mop it up with my Floor Mate, the red filled the discard water tank. I used three tanks to wash up the floor, and yet to this day, I am still mopping up pink. I will never buy Kool-Aid again!

6. First Grade! Aiden has begun first grade and loves it! He loves Mrs. Eeklor. My only complaint is that all the work he has brought home is way too easy. I am not sure if this is just the beginning of the year and I need to chill or if I will need to supplement all year long with more appropriate work. He is bringing home preschool work in my opinion. Gage, yes my three year old, did one of his pages of homework. I am serious. Aiden completed it in 22 seconds. I timed him.

5. Passing of a dear friend. A friend of ours lost a battle to cancer- a three year fight. The services were so nice. Her principal offered the eulogy and said such kind and endearing things. He even had some of Linda’s former students write letters to her. It ripped my heart out. I have never seen such a kinder tribute to a teacher in my life. It makes me want to sign up and give to children tomorrow. This season may come again….I need to remind myself that I can do more good within the walls of my own home right now.

4. Aiden and his 10 dollars! I gave Aiden lunch money, for he wanted to buy his own lunch soooo badly. He was so excited that he could barely sleep. He woke up and asked four times if he was going to buy his own lunch. I said, yes again and again and again. I sent him off to school with his first and last name along with his student ID number on a white card and ten dollars! When Aiden got home from school I excitedly asked him how his lunch experience went. Oh, no! Wrong question to ask. He quickly said that he was never going to get hot lunch again. He informed me that he got a white card, they took his money, they had no idea what to do with his white card with his name and number, and he did not even have time to eat all of his lunch. When I looked at his “white card,” I read that he owes $1.40 for a hot lunch that he did not even eat and he paid the five dollars to the lunch to which they gave him no receipt for. I guess tomorrow I get to drag Aiden and his four brothers into the lunch room to reclaim my five dollars and settle his account. Perhaps they need to revamp their procedures for the lunchroom to help the poor six year olds who become scarred for life after buying their first hot lunch with their very own money.

3. Gallbladder! I tried to go to the doctor and get an ultrasound to see if I have stones in my gallbladder. About every other night I am waking up with dull aches in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen. It is not a full attack—I am waiting for that. I know that dairy foods make it a little wiggy, but sometimes I can not trace a food at all- it is merely the fact that I am eating past 7:00 at night. Well I have an appointment on the 18th so I am hoping that they can figure this all out for me. A woman needs her sleep or she yells at her children a little more than usual.

2. Cooper. He is actually sleeping sometimes 8 hour stretches, and he is really good, but no mother of a new born can not describe their newborn as one of the reasons why she is tired. He adds to it, but I actually think he may be the least of the reasons as to why I am tired.

1. I have 5 kids and I take them everywhere including the library, Sam’s, the grocery store, the mountains- Mitch helped me on that day, the park, Michael’s, the Dollar store, Target, McDonald’s, Leid’s Discovery Museum, The Springs Preserve-again Mitch helped me with that one too, and the Doctor’s office. I get stares, gasps, and comments such as oh, I bet you are busy, do you sleep?, wow, I bet you have your hands full, are they all boys- oh I am sorry, oh, are they all boys, they will be easier one day, and one lady actually said on Friday to the gal she was with, “wow, why do you think she has so many children- they could not possibly be hers- no one in 2007 would actually have all those kids!” When I hear these comments, I think to myself, so they think I am deaf and dumb! I love my boys and all their craziness. I do wish I had more time for family history, scrapbooking, housework, quilting, and spending time with my mom and girlfriends, but I guess there are seasons for all things.

Mitch actually has more potential time on his hands, but he has been working extra nights lately- irony, eh? He did get an A- for his last class and he will be graduating in December- yahoo! I cannot wait to have all the boys with me as they see their Dad in his cap and gown (yes, you detect a tone of sarcasm…). I want them to see that education is important and I am willing to sit in a boring graduation for the memory, tho. I better film us in the audience too since they will not all remember it. Maybe I will go back and get another degree so I can walk once more, and they can see that in another 5 years- just kidding. That almost makes me want to gag. I will stick to the five credits every six years to keep up my license. That alone makes my stomach hurt.

Love to you all!
Kim and the other 6

This is Mitch... In reference to number 4, Kim just informed me that she went in this morning to rectify the situation. First of all, the lunch lady is not one of the brightest bulbs, so Kim pretty much found out why Friday was so chaotic for Aiden. Long story, short, she finally fixed everything. However, while she walked Aiden to class explaining that everything was now set for next time, he simply said, “Oh that’s OK, I’m never buying hot lunch again, so it really doesn’t matter.” So don’t be surprised if we write at the end of the year that we received a rebate of $8.60.

Mas Yewtah!

Little train buddies


Jace glamour shot


Gage taking on a ferocious mini-goat at This is the Place Heritage Park petting corral


Grey and Aiden at the head of the class, also at This is the Place

This is the Place - Photos Too!

A little refreshment at Southridge Farms in Santaquinn


Hogle Zoo (with a few more Bishop animals added to the exhibits)


Heber Creeper chugging up Provo Canyon


Heber Creeper pitstop at Vivian Park

This is the Place - The Photos

Gage and Aiden at BYU



The Family at BYU

This is the Place

What a wonderful time we had in Utah last week! I really enjoyed the relaxing time, all the visits and the somewhat cooler weather. Thanks to all the friends and family we were able to see (and mooch a meal off)!


I have some great pictures to post, but right now I can't get Blogger to upload them. So they will be coming soon!

So You Think YOU Can Dance? Check These Boys Out

So I debated putting this on here because well it was created from a beer website, and the opening is a little questionable. But, seeing my boys get down is just too funny not to share. Check it out!