Ricardo

What a fun night. Rich baptized Poliana and Ricardo (brother and sister) on his mission in Brazil. They have stayed close and in touch all these years and we try to get together when Ricardo comes to visit in Utah. He lives in Boston right now. Poliana lives in Utah, and we wish we could see her more. It was such a fun night full of Brazilians, old mission buddies, and great (smelling) brazillian food. I couldn't have ANY of it. We got there at 7:30pm and that is my eating cut off time - until this contest is over. But they wrapped some up for me to take home and eat for lunch tomorrow. It was so nice of them! Peter made friends with one of the guys there and played hide and seek. Peter would hide behind the tree in the corner, under the blanket on the couch, under the coffee table.... He thought he was hiding so well and got a kick out of all the attention he was getting. Fun night.

Thirty Eight Weeks

What a happy little guy.

The Floors

Next to last on our project list is refinishing the hardwood floor. Rich and his dad did it together. With the huge industrial sander and everything! It will be a pain this week while we try to stay off of the hardwood floor, or with socks only if necessary. The kids think it's great fun to slide on the floor with their socks on. Rich and his dad did a great job, and the floor looks new again!!!

Watching the horses

The kids love to pull the little play toy over to the fence, stand on it and watch the horses behind us. They stay out there forever! It is so cute... They even try to help pull Max up onto it.

Puppy kisses

Max didn't even mind Casey licking the coolwhip off of his face. He thought it tickled!!

Binki Be Gone...

Gee, that is what Max calls it...

After almost 2 1/2 years of binki bliss, we have started a new phase in our lives. No grand ceremony or planning. Just woke up one day and thought, huh, maybe I'll take the binki away from Max now. And that was that. It is gone. Absent from daylight. Shut away in the closet in the binki box. Yes, we have a binki box. Max has had a serious addiction for a long time. A crutch. But I figured we could all handle it now. He can talk so much more, which makes him happier more often, which means less (they still happen) fits, and more fun. It has been one full week and we survived. I make him willingly relinquish the coveted object before he can be taken out of the crib. So one day this last week he spent more than an hour in his crib after nap time with the door open and the binki in his mouth. He wouldn't give it up, and I wouldn't fight with him. I was upstairs doing laundry and peeked my head in every few minutes and tried to make a lot of noise so he would know he wasn't alone. And in his due time he handed over the binki, without tears. Victory!! I wasn't ready to forgo the binki at night yet. One step at a time... So now there are no more panic attacks when we are out and about, wondering if we left the binki at the store, or what I would do if he started to cry. Speaking of the store. I'm sure my wallet is about to get fat again. We were buying binkis like a staple. They were always getting lost, replaced and then found. In that order. We have 6 binki's in the binki box right now. It is amazing how they have come out of the nooks and crannies of our house. This is one hurdle I have been dreading, and it was a piece of cake. Yes!!!

PS- In October we were at the corn maze and I saw a boy who was seriously 5 or 6 walking around with a binki in his mouth. That image has stuck with me since then. I was determined not to be that boys mother.

I can do it!!! - tag

It seems like we are all striving for perfection, or at least striving to find a way to be our own 'better selves'. Feeling discouraged, we tend to forget how far we have come...

3 things I am better at today than I was yesterday

1. Waking up before any of my kids

2. Cleaning my kitchen

3. Work on the computer when there are no distractions

3 things I am better at today than I was one month ago

1. Keeping my mud room clean and orderly

2. Getting outside with the kids

3. Journal writing and scripture study every day:)

3 things I am better at today than I was six months ago

1. Laudry. 2-3 loads per day now

2. Keeping my family in a routine

3. Exercising 30 min/day :) :)



3 things I am better at today than I was one year ago

1. Staying awake all day long, I was pregnant then

2. Staying on budget

3. Turning off the TV/computer


3 people you choose to do this tag

Anyone who wants to realize how great they are doing in life!!

Thirty Seven weeks old

OK, easy entertainment for Gavin is his highchair. He'll sit their forever and eat his cheerios or puffs, or baby cheetos (as my kids call them) - the baby cheesey things. But, I can't serve plain cheerios. Only multi grain or honey nut. He's no plain guy. Full of flavor only. I love this picture with the cheerios stuck all over his arm. Saving some for later I guess:) Also, he finally cut another tooth! He has had his 2 teeth on the bottom for 2 months. Now at 8 months old, he has 3 teeth. His top right tooth is in and the top left tooth will be here this week I am sure. Another great thing? He is a great teether. No crying, fevers, sickness, fussing, sleeplessness, appetite changes, runny noses... Just drool... Pure heaven in my books!

Painting, again

Another long weekend... We undertook the BIG project of painting our family room and kitchen. I don't have any energy left. But we'd still be at it without Rich's dad, Tawna and Justin, and Rich's brother Matt - the expert taper :) :) Those vaulted ceilings in the kitchen were a beast... And we felt lucky that we only had to do 3 coats of the red. I don't have any after pictures yet because the paint is done, but the room is not put back together yet. Remember the no energy thing?? But it looks awesome and the colors really brighten up the place and make it feel like a new house. So much fun:)

Thirty Six weeks old

Gavin is so perfect. I love his baby soft skin and wonder when it will finally fade away. Hopefully not for a really long time. And I am loving his chuba-chubs and rolly-rolls all over. I have noticed that his hair is changing. It is starting to turn into a fuzz all over and always sticks straight up! We love this boy.

Happy Easter

We didn't start soon enough in our search for religious traditions for Easter. We want to balance it out with the Easter Bunny and help focus Easter on the true meaning. We have a great easter egg FHE that talks about the resurrection, but we want more. Any ideas friends??? We have found some ideas for next year, but would love some more suggestions. In my internet search I ran across some interesting facts. I was curious how the Easter Bunny came about and this is what I found.



- Easter is a pagan holiday. Starting from the goddess of Spring. Her name was Eastre, and she was a rabbit. Over time she was forgotten and through language changes it has become Easter, as we call it today. So in reality, the easter bunny is a woman:)

-The pagans passed eggs around to their neighbors as a symbol of bringing spring in. They would dip them in dyes, or wrap them in gold leaf foils. Not too far from what we do today.

-This spring holiday was the same time as the passover and resurrection. Coincidence???

-The early missionaries allowed the pagans to continue to live their customs like worshiping Eastre and spring in the hopes that they would soon forget them and fully devote themselves to Christianity. It didn't happen that way, and now we have both.

I love my cute kids!!

Grandma's Easter Egg Hunt

The rain didn't bother the kids at all as they ran around the yard looking for all the eggs, and especially the one of the four golden eggs!!! This year the luck ran out for my kids, but that didn't mean a lack of surprises. The eggs were packes with things from bouncy egg shaped balls, candy, hair clips, plastic horses, candy, and loose change. Sophie didn't get a dollar bill, but she did get $1.80 in loose change:) Lucky girl. Fun times...

It was fun to watch the kids crack the eggs open and see their treasures. Then I have a great time putting some of the hundreds of eggs back together again ready for the next year when the excited kids run off to play. Better sooner than later.

Baby hunt - indoors

Max knew what was inside the eggs - candy... so he wasn't shy at filling his basket:)

Shelby was great at independently picking up the eggs, just like a pro:)

Ben, silently collected a super full basket of eggs:)

Macie - love the cheesy smile:)

What a crummy day to have rain! It rained off and on all day long, but it was continually wet outside. Grandma always has an easy egg hunt in the front yard for the littlest kids, but this year it was moved indoors to the living room. The 4 kids had a great time and loved all the bright eggs they collected into their baskets. Still just as fun as ever.

The Neighborhood egg hunt

I love our neighborhood egg hunt. It takes place in a huge field and the eggs are just scattered out there. The kids are allowed out in age groups, and this year Sophie was in the oldest group. She ran fast and found a basket full of eggs!! More than her share, so we shared with some of the other kids. It was so fun to have Shelby with us as she and her parents were visiting for the weekend. She is so stinkin cute! Max loved the egg hunt too and didn't need any help at all. And Gavin was happy to watch from the sidelines. Happy baby!

Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny was generous this year! Baskets for everyone filled to the brim... Even for me and Rich!! We deserve baskets too!!! Everyone got a movie, a rainbow row of peeps, lots of candy filled eggs, sunglasses, bath poofs, and then the kids got extra candy, special little toy, sponge bob t-shirts, and instead of a regular big chocolate bunny the kids got special ones. Lambs for Sophie, Ducks for Maxwell, Piggies for Peter, and little bunnies for Gavin. Gavin loved laying on the floor with his bottle, rolling around in wrappers and candy. Max loved the chocolate 'quack quacks' and wanted to play with them instead of eat them.

The best part of Easter Bunny Saturday is watching the kids try to search for their baskets. The Easter Bunny hides them in the house in great spots! Sophie got stumped. But she did find Gavin's and Max's in the pursuit. Peter found his after a little search. No one found mine and Rich's so we had to find them. The kids were super surprised to find an egg with a clue in each of their baskets this year. They said things like 'go look on the driveway' and to our surprise, we all got bikes!!! Yeah!!! Happy Candy Day:)

New Bikes!

So, the Easter Bunny brought us new bikes for the whole family!!! We were all surprised and super excited... We rode all day long, and have great plans to ride every day we can!! Sophie got the 20' bike she has been dying for although it is a little tall and she can't get started on her own, and surprisingly, Peter wasn't afraid of his training wheel bike at all. He rides it around the cul-di-sac all the time. But he has given us specific instruction NOT to take the training wheels off. No problem. The babies are loving the bike trailer, and Peter too. He isn't fast enough to keep up with us, so all three boys squeeze back there while Rich and I take turns pulling the trailer on our awesome crusier bikes!! So fun...

Finishing Touches

I got my vinyl lettering, and finished my cushion today. Yeah, now the room is complete!!!

So, my father-in-law joked that this should be the new time out spot, and the kids should have to repeat the be's before they could get out. I'm totally doing this, and taking it one step farther to make them decide what lesson from the be's they need to learn from their naughty behavior. Wish me luck:)

PS - Sophie was reading the words as I was putting them up. She did great and didn't need any help until it came to 'be positive'. She read it 'be disney' - because of the disney font. I thought it was so cute, but she was a little embarassed. She thought she was really reading it.

We love Grandpa

Grandpa helping take the kids up to bed...

Catch up

Mass posting with all the recent things we've done. All under this post.
Once again. I have let blogging slip. I only have blog posts for the pictures I've taken. I have missed and therefore lost, some of those wonderful and priceless moments that I used to keep on my blog. I have been busy. My washer died. Thank goodness Rich's parents are so close (in the attached apartment!) and have another washer there. It just means that much more effort to carry my dirty clothes basket down the stairs and into their apartment to do a load, and to make sure it is at a time when they, or their two other sons, are not using the washer. I am proud to say that I am still up on the laundry. I have even moved it up to 2-3 loads a day because their washer is a little smaller than mine is - or was:(
I have joined book club 2 months ago. So that has taken up some of my blog time too. Last month we read Jane Eyre. A classic. And it took a little time. This month it is Recovering Charles. A more modern story. I love to read and am surprised at how I've been able to fit it in.
I am still in my healthy lifestyle contest. 4 weeks to go!!! ( May 4th is circled on my calendar in red! I am waiting...) I am still tied in first place. I have so much more energy than I used to. I get (at least) 7 hours of sleep each night and exercise 30 minutes each day. On top of eating NO sugar. Let's pause and talk about that a sec. Sugar is in everything. And that means I eat almost none of the things I used to. I guess sugar substitutes are allowed, but I do not believe in splenda of others. I think they are worse for your body than sugar, so that really cuts out a lot of food. But I have found new favorites and discovered old ones. We are eating so much fruit!! I can't keep enough apples, oranges or bananas in the house. And I used to buy grapes, mostly for the kids, but I have been eating them too. Cheese is wonderful and no are (raw) nuts. I love bittersweet chocolate, but think its too close to a 'treat' so I haven't eaten that either. I have also gotten used to plain cheerios. And I already enjoyed my whole wheat bread we make from scratch each week. And dinners are just as tasty with my chicken, beef or fish as usual entrees, with a good portion of yummy veggies. Fresh is always better than frozen in my books. Not eating after 7:30pm as my personal goal has been really hard. I wish I would have said 8pm. Rich usually gets home late and eating together hasn't happened as much because of it. I also have limited my snacks to 2-3/day. Hard at first, easy now. I am no longer a grazer. I am not always putting handfuls of food in my mouth each time I enter the kitchen. Yeah me!! Did I mention I am up to 12 pounds lost!! And 2.5 inches on my waist!! Serious benefits. Not to mention better overall habits for the entire family. What a blessing for all of us.
Oh yeah, Peter is now registered for kindergarten. Yes I'm sure he's old enough. That was a shocker. I'm still not sure I'm ready for that. I'm ready to have a daily 2 1/2 hr break, just not sure about school and Peter mixing so well.
Max is talking so much, and we can understand most of it! Yeah!
Sophie is as emotional as ever and has taken to the phrase 'whatever'. To be used at her discretion. Whether she is happy, mad or somewhere in between.
Rich and the office are still tied at the hip, but walking along at a steady pace. We are so grateful. And Rich is wondering why he hasn't lost any weight on his diet consisting of brownies, candy and donuts as daily needs. He tries to support me in my contest though, by getting up with the baby on those rare days he wakes up early, and he is living with the fact that I haven't made sweets in such a long time. He has been going to the gym with me, and that is fun. I do run faster than him though!! I'm sure he'd pass me up too if he went everyday though.
Overall, things are sitting pretty right now. We are being so blessed in every area of our lives. And general conference this last weekend just added to it all. What a great spiritual uplift.

Binki Boy

How many binki's do you spy? I spy 4!!! 2 in his right hand, 1 in his left and 1 in the mouth. When is he too old to have them anymore?? My pediatrician says 6 months... Uh, that was 20 months ago!!!

Thirty Five Weeks Old

Gavin is starting to move onto bigger and better things. He is enjoying real people food by eating a full bananna for breakfast every day after he drinks a 9 ounce bottle!! Big eater!! And still as happy as ever. Must have something to do with his awesome sleep schedule. Down at 6:30pm and up at 7:30-8am. Almost like clockwork.

The Mud Room

Having a mud room just off the garage is wonderful. I love it. But it has been white and boring and not super functional for my family for a long time. The cubbies for shoes was always a mess with shoes always falling out. The kids coats were always on the floor because the hooks were too high for them to reach. Papers and books and misc toys were pouring out from all corners. It was a catch all room.

BUT NO MORE!!!!

This weekend we did a room make over!! Everything old went and all new came it. Good bye white, hello blue!! Rich and I painted along with our good friend Tawna (thanks again for your help!). And the new blue paint makes the hardwood floors really stand out and look beautiful! And after the paint got put up, more fun began. We got rid of the old coat board/hooks and replaced it with this new version. Hooks mounted on individual blocks, high and low!! I have a new message center. No more over sized generic cork board. I have two cork squares and two magnet squares. I even made cute tacks and magnets. Too fun! A new key rack. With fun decorations on it including the little white clock that I thought was so darling. I had the kids do paintings and displayed them in floating frames on the one wall. I also had to replace the old long rugs with these way cute and fun ones! Not to mention the 14 baskets to hold shoes, random toys, books, hats and other household necessities (didn't get a good shot of those for you). I am still waiting on my vinyl lettering for the wall by the key rack and also waiting for a little help to make a cushion out of the fabric you see on the bench. I even went as far as buying and replacing the old brass door knobs. It's a whole new room... I love it. It's mine.