Family Fun at Dinner

Gavin was really digging those french fries!

Love the fireworks on our dessert. The kids thought that was so cool!

After picking the kids up today Rich surprised us all by taking us out to the Mayan to eat dinner. It was so fun. It wasn't that busy and so we felt a little free. Taking turns taking our kids on walks around the restaurant to get better and different views of the cliff jumpers. It is so fun to go there. They switched owners and we don't think the food is as good, but the entertaiment is still awesome and the kids say it is their favorite restaurant! What a fun family dinner today.

Happy Anniversary

Seriously, EIGHT years??!!!!!! Time flies... And life is beautiful. When I finally got home and washed the campfire off of me we were off. We borrowed the hot yellow jeep of Aaron's and went to (an over priced) dinner, walking downtown Ogden, and to the drive in. What a great night! Even when it started to sprinkle on us on the drive home we were happy! And the BEST part was waking up with NO kids in the house. Ahhhh sleeping in is real without them. It is great that we can trade babysitting with Rich's sister for our anniversaries. It works out perfect with us both having 4 kids and having our anniversaries relatively close.

These past eight years have been wonderful, especially when I look back and see the growth and hard work and happiness we have enjoyed. Life is sometimes hard in the moment, but always amazing and unforgettable when seeing it in the past. I wouldn't change a thing, because in changing even one thing, I change who we have become, and that isn't an option. All things happen for a reason. Including marrying the most amazing man in the world. Here's to us, and all that we have become over the last 8 years. And here's to the rest of our amazing lives together...

Girls Camp

I am serving as beehives advisor right now and I love my girls. I feel lucky that I could go up to girls camp this year at Lake Lyman. It was great, even just for the one night. I went up the last night and had a carload. I didn't get the latest email and we took the roughest way possible. It was so bumpy, but we made it. We even passed a truck pulling a camper pulling a jet ski that had rolled over on the side of the road. Only later did we realize that it was from our ward! Poor family!! We love them and are thankful no one was hurt.
I will never forget the rain... And then some. It poured on us that day AND night as we slept in a tent. The next day was my anniversary and I was in a rush to get home. But for some reason our ward took forever to pack up. We did the best we could but we were still the very last ward out of there. Oh well, it was a beautiful day and the rain had finally stopped. And unknowingly again, we took the wrong and bumpy way home, but we still made it safe and sound.
The stake theme was Be Believers. And our ward theme was Be Strong. It was awesome and Biffy was so great as Ward Camp Leader. She was unbelievable in her preparation and energy and excitement and ideas. What a great woman and example to these girls. She made camp awesome!! Her and her assistants too. You can't forget them either. Together those sistas rocked out a girls camp never to be forgotten.
This was a great experience for me. I LOVE girls camp. Even if I only get to be there for one day. It is worth it!

Green eggs and ham... and yellow carrots

I made lunch for the boys. And their friends too. We had Kaimen, Aiden, and Josh here for lunch. Our fancy menu was ramen noodles, bananas, and carrots. I found these fun carrots at the store. "Rainbow Carrots" I thought the kids would love them. Nope. Yellow carrots apparently reached past their imagination and they didn't like the idea. After a little convincing they all chomped a bite and to their surprise I got this response...

"Hey these taste like orange carrots!!!"

The rule in our house is to always try new things... And sometimes it's even GOOD!!!

Getting Ready for Bed

Gavin is so easy to put to bed. I change him into his jammies, give him a quick snuggle and kiss and lay him down in his bed. He usually sticks his thumb in his mouth and wiggles around to find his comfy spot. I turn out the light and shut the door behind me. It seriously is that fast!! Sometimes he cries for a minute and sometimes not. 1,2,3 easy as can be.

Fun Brothers

These boys are so cute. They are into wrestling each other lately. It is so fun to watch them. Not too long before Gavin joins in the fun, I'm sure!

Yummy Crush Cups

The big kids convinced me to buy the latest craze. Crush cups. It is basically yogurt. In thin plastic containers that are easily bent and crushed to the point that you can basically suck the yogurt out of the cup. Dumbest idea I've ever heard of. But I let them try it. Seriously. If you want yogurt in a cup, use a spoon. If you want to suck the yogurt, buy gogurts. They are great too, especially frozen.
This is Max with his crush cup. Reason enough never to buy them again. What a mess!!!

Fourty Seven Weeks

Gavin is loving the Johny Jump Up. He is getting bored on the floor so we pulled it out. My babies have loved it, but it is a short lived love until they realize that they can't get around at all. So we are living up the moment and are hoping it will last a little while. Gavin is all smiles lately. 6 teeth and all... (4 on top and 2 on bottom) He is a great teether. I am counting my blessings on that account!

The latest on me:

-I sleep 12-13 hours at night without waking up

-I take to naps each day. Morning nap for 1-2 hours, and an afternoon nap for 2-3 hours.

-I love to 'swim' across the floor to wherever the action is, take the main attraction and stick it in my mouth

-I am not shy

-You had your first babysitter that wasn't family this weekend, and were fussy for her

Little Zoo

I can't even tell you how many turtles we saw today at the little zoo with Cyndi and Shelby. It was fun to picnic and play with them today. We even took the neighbor, Josh along for the ride. The zoo may have been small. but it was perfect for our kids! Thanks for the great time everyone!

I'm on a diet

Since my contest, where I went without sugar, I have taught my kids how to read labels on food packages. This afternoon I sent the kids out with 100% real juice juicy juice juice boxes for a little treat. We are not juice drinkers by trade (all water here!!), and so they thought it was a fun treat. Next thing I know, Sophie comes marching in and announces:


"I can't drink this. I'm on a diet and it has 23 grams of sugar in it!"

We had to sit down and talk about the different kinds of sugars, and the fact that she doesn't need to be on a diet, or get any skinnier.

New Camera

So our old camera of 1 1/2 yrs died. When we got it we bought the 2yr extended warrenty. I wasn't really for that, but we did it anyway. Well, that $3o really paid off. We took the camera in, and they couldn't fix it. So they replaced it with a similar camera. I was so excited. And yes, we bought the new 2yr warrenty again. This time with smiles on our faces. It was totally worth it. First time I've ever used my bought warrenty, and now I'm a believer!!!

Fourty Six Weeks Old

Those rolls are to die for... When does it stop being cute to be so chubby??? No new progress in the crawling or standing department.

Saying Goodbye...

Christmas Day 2007. That is when Casey (the dog) came to live with us. He was a Christmas Present from Aaron to Matt. Surprise!! A puppy!! The kids were so excited... They have loved having the benifits of a puppy without having to do any of the work. And it has been a fun 1 1/2 years with him here. But I think we all knew this day had to come when we would say goodbye to Casey. It just doesn't make sense for 2 guys mission and college age to have a dog. And really it has been their parents who have taken care of him. The kids have loved wrestling with the dog. Recently Max had realized that he could open the back door and let Casey come running into the house. He thought that was so funny. Peter loved playing tug-of-war with him with any toy or stuffy laying around. Sophie just loved to see and pet him, and play fetch. None of them liked it when Casey would try to steal their popsicles or cheese strings if I sent them in the backyard with their treats. But it is for the best, and Casey will now have a little girlfriend named Cocoa in his new home, and he will get to travel the country. Not too bad for a dogs life.

But the kids will miss him greatly. Goodbye Casey...

Update

Well, I am catching up. I posted some drafts I have been hanging onto for a while now. Back to mid May if you can believe it. Including Peter's birthday, and I uploaded video from Sophie's piano recital if you can believe it! So, I may not be all the way there yet, I'm getting closer!
Happy Thursday ;)

Just take a deep breath

When my kids get all worked up and feeling anxious and crazy I sometimes tell them to take a deep breath and calm down. Today I need to take my own advice.
By all regards it has been a great day. I went to the gym, had a yummy breakfast (thanks hubby!), got my kids to their fun summer reading class ON TIME!!! Ran all the errands I needed to with only one kid (thanks again hubby for taking our lovable Max at your office during your prep time so I could do errands faster). Then I was even ON TIME to pick the kids up. (Can you tell that I am sometimes late places. Because it was a big deal that I was on time both times today) Then, being in a jolly mood, I decided to let the kids each have a friend over. I think that's when it started. Just the over excitement of a bunch of kids playing together. There was NO fighting, or problems with the kids. They even let Max tag along. Great, right?? Well, they were so loud (from having fun) and I could not calm them down. Running around didn't help, watching a show didn't help, playing at the neighbors didn't help... And I thought they would calm down when their friends went home. Nope... It seemed to get worse. I guess the up side is they were still getting along. Eventually they wanted to invite another friend over. So Peter had his neighbor friend, Josh over. And Sophie had her friends (twins) from school over. Twice the fun, right... Just more loud laughter and playing. But for some reason, their sunshine was really getting under my skin. I sent them to play outside. I could still hear them!! But it was ok until they woke the baby up. And Peter skinned his knee while playing and it was a life or death situation according to Peter. It took him a good hour before he calmed down and was able to walk again. But he got an extra Popsicle out of it. Hmmm. And Gavin went back to sleep after a bottle, so all was not lost. When you look at it on paper.

This is where my story turns from good to ugggh.

We live in my in-laws house, and they live in the attached apartment. It seems to work for the most part, but they have this dog that apparently none of them seem to want. They always talk about getting rid of him, but don't. It's ok, they probably love him despite his problems. I don't. I usually put up with him. But today I am about ready to drive him to the animal shelter myself...
He bit Sophie's first friend this morning. While she was timidly walking by him with her arms folded. So we put him inside. Then he was out again this afternoon. With Sophie's new set of friends they were playing with him, and then I guess they had enough and put him in the house without me knowing and didn't put him in the kennel. While I was at the door talking to a friend he escaped out the front door and before he took off running around the corner he decided to bite one of the twins on the arm!! I could have killed that dog!! I was so mad!! And I guess before he came inside he somehow got the garbage out and there were diapers strewn and opened all over the back yard. Talk about nasty!!! And as I mentioned, he did run away. I was sort of ok with that, but felt guilty. He came back, of course. And everyone is feeling better and the garbage is picked back up. But I am not a happy camper. And I am cringing, listening to his yippy bark as he is back in the backyard as we speak. Ahhhh...
I am not a dog fan today.

And I don't get to go to bunko tonight. I am totally bummed...

I think I need to take another deep breath now.

Fourty Five Weeks

Scoot, scoot, scoot. That is the word on Gavin street! He can go anywhere now.

Ready for Church!!

So in his quest to get ready for church on his own, he missed a button, flipped the collar and didn't get the tie under the collar. But he was so proud he did this all on his own. I love this handsome boy!!

Scottish Days

A fun and rainy day today. We have been looking forward to a fun day as a family. with Steve, Cyndi and Shelby for a while now at the Scottish Festival... and we got rained out!! Before the storm hit we had fun walking around, eating a picnic, and even seeing a real live knight!! Was that cooler, or was playing in the sand? I think Sophie liked the rainbow tatoo on her cheek the best!

A Good Day

Can I just tell you how nice it is to have a good day with happy and obedient kids???
Especially after a horrible, rotten, no good, very bad day the day before...
Today was a great day, all around.
You wonder what makes the difference.

You know you've been on the computer too long when...

You know you've been on the computer too long when...

A. The mess you made in the kitchen this afternoon from making bread is STILL on the counter and it's time to make dinner

B. Your two year old has gotten his own cup of water so many times that there is an ocean of water on the floor in front of the fridge

C. Your baby has been crawling on the floor so long that he has crawled OUT of his pants and socks

D. While the cupboard door is open and you can't see, your two year old has somehow managed to pull out the sugar container that is about about half his body weight and dumps it into the above mentioned ocean of water on the floor, therefore creating a coating of sugar sludge all over the kitchen floor with a little bowl full of the mixture and a spoon in it in the middle of the mess, and the two year old has pants wet up to his knees and sugar up to his elbows

If you guessed all of the above, you are correct...



E. And then while you are on your hands and knees trying to clean up the sugar mess from the floor your two year old follows that by ripping off 16 keys from the computer keyboard and throws them across the room (the 'enter' key is broke for good, and the rest of them now look like they belong in the pawn shop) all while calling Alabama from your cell phone



And then your husbands first response is "and you were in the same room with him the whole time this was happening???"

Lagoon with babies

I went to Lagoon with my awesome sister in law, Karolee, and her family today. It was so much fun! The plan was for me to bring Max and Gavin and leave the older ones at a friends house. And it was so much fun. She has 2 kids ages 4, and almost 2. Since the kids were all little, we had fun doing kiddieland and not much else. It was so perfect. Max LOOOOVED everything! I can't even try to pick a favorite of his. The new Dragon?? Ladybug drop??? Bumper cars?? The choo choo chrain??? Every ride was so fun for him, and he always wanted more. Nothing was a disappointment. We were worried about the weather this morning with a chance of rain, but it was perfect. It poured twice, and we happened to be under covering both times and we just waited it out. And because of the bad weather, the lines were either short, or nonexistent. And it wasn't hot or too sunny at all! Gavin was awake almost the entire time. And I was worried about that. But he was a champ. Oh, and we saw Rich's brother Aaron. He is in one of the shows at Lagoon this summer. It was so great. You should see him if you can. So fun to watch.
I couldn't have asked for a better day at Lagoon. We even had a parking spot 6 cars in from the front gates!!! That NEVER happens!!! Here's to next month when we take the older two and leave the babies. It'll be fun because we won't have anything holding us down and we can go on all the fast and fun rides, at least most of them. The kids are still a little short for a few of the biggest rides. But I bet we'll have a blast then too...
This is going to be the best summer ever!! (as soon as I get my camera fixed)

Washer

So, for the last 3 months I have been washing laundry at my in-laws laundry room in their attached apartment. 6 adults and 4 children with their dirty clothes, sheets, towels, and everything else that gets dirty, all sharing the washer during limited 24 hours each day has worked, but wasn't easy or fun. It has been a pain in the rear - to put it nicely. I had had enough this last week and put things into action. Looking around on KSL I found a deal I could afford, and that was that. We drove a little ways and picked the baby up. Can I just say, this is the first major appliance RIch and I have ever purchased in our almost 8 years of married life!!! We've never even bought a microwave or anything! It's a new step into adulthood. So our new/used washer is great. It may be old and not as hot as our old one, inherited from Rich's parents, but it washes my clothes. And that is all I need. Ahhh, the necessities of life (like a washer) are often taken for granted. This was a sweet reminder of how wonderful it is to have my own washer. We feel so blessed and grateful.

My camera

Ok. My camera broke... It was a sad day in the house that day. It happened while I was at Sophie's last day of school party. And the worst part is, I didn't even need it. I didn't end up taking any pictures at all!!! Luckily I bought the extended waranty on it. So I'm taking it in to be fixed. Wish me luck, and I hope it's not gone for long. I wonder how I can get the pics onto my computer from my little memory card, without my camera. Any tips?


What a terrible way to start off the summer. Today is officially the first day of summer vacation.

Fourty Four Weeks

I love his fun trick of sticking his tounge out! What a goofy kid. And he loves to SIT and play with Max whenever Max will give him the chance. I hope they turn into best buddies!

Just like Peter

Pete was putting his half of the dishes away from the dishwasher today when I hear "help mom, helppppppp!!!". He had all of the water bottles in his arms and was about to drop them. Before I opened the cupboard I grabbed the camera of Peter smiling and putting dishes away. A rare occurrence... He doesn't exactly rush around to see how fast he can get his chores done. Unlike Sophie. She does them fast and then brags about it. Peter usually needs the motivation of a timer and a consequence if the chores are not done before the timer goes off. Maybe they balance each other out.