Sunshine and Joy

Valentines Day!

2011-02-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

SO we had a great V-day! Did I take pics? NO! Do I ever take pics? Nope, its in my DNA apparently to always forget to use the camera.

Oh well I can still tell you all about it :) We had a fancy candlelight dinner for 6. We all celebrated together! It was so cute. I put on the nice tablecloth, red heart napkins, and the candlesticks. We even used our glass goblets. (K they are from the dollarstore so thats not really as cool as it sounds) I set the table and lit the candles and put a valentine on each of the kids places. They LOVED it. And we didn't even knock over the candles and light the house on fire.

And no one died, which sounds morbid, but could have happend. First Sydney choked on a piece of sausage. She managed to help herself, but geesh kid smaller bites. Then 2 minutes later Carter tried to swallow a chunck of chicken without chewing! He even started turning shades of blue, but never fear Jeff got it out and he was fine. But SERIOUSLY kids!!! who taught you how to eat?!?!

On Saturday we made chocolate drizzled rice crispy treats for Jeff and my primary class. We also gave some to our own kiddos so they thought that was pretty neat. I just love my cute little family, and my completely wonderful husband. I am so lucky and blessed to have them.

3:33 pm

2011-01-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Sofia watching the pony rides at Thanksgiving Point.

Playing at the Dinosaur Museum.

Rockhounding yes I said rockhounding, as in really looking for rocks. I know, I know! But they really love it.

Hamburger night! A favorite at our house!!

Monday thru Thursday my girls walk through the front door at 3:33 pm like clockwork. And by 3:50 my house is a disaster area, backpacks, shoes, socks, papers, toys they couldn't wait to play with, snack crumbs and probably spilled water juice or milk. By 5:35 when Jeff walks through the front door we generally have it mostly back in order, but by 8:00 I am wondering why I bothered, and we do the clean up thing yet again. (SIGH!) The kids go to bed and I pick up some more, do some deep cleaning and go to bed. (Those sweet girls can mess things up even after they are in bed :) In the morning by the time they walk out the door I am looking around and wondering how we can do so much damage in so short a time.

And yet I find myself at the window by 3:30, waiting in excited anticipation, for my little tornados to return to start the cycle all over again. Its funny what being the mom does to you. I wouldn't trade a minute of the craziness......even for a house that stayed clean longer than 5 minutes.

I am so GRATEFUL to be a mom, and so happy I have my four little whirlwinds!!

Pictures with Santa

2010-12-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

Every year it seems like I end up with less than perfect pictures of my children and Santa. It doesn't bother me though. I feel like this is just one of those things that my family will always be known for...bad pictures. We have bad pics of us everywhere. Someone not looking at the camera, someone not smiling, or more often than not someone has a big stain on their shirt or smear of something on their face. Oh wells...right?!?! Like I said this doesn't bother me. Half the time we don't even do their hair before taking the picture. I like to think that this means I am laid back and relaxed, that I must spend time on the important things in life (and only a little lazy) Still I treasure all of my imperfect photos because they really capture what we are like any given day, and not what I WISH we were like on any given day.

Blue Sky Please!

2010-12-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

It's official, the thing I miss about St. George the most is the blue sky. I have an amazing view out of my kitchen windows and from my little deck, but what good does it do me when there is so much haze I can't even see the mountains. I was really spoiled living in St. George all those years. I just took it for granted that the sky was blue everywhere. Well it isn't, up here in good ol' West Jordan, the sky is grey for at least half the year. Plus the sky up here is broken, it keeps on leaking white stuff.

A food blog

2010-12-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of hard and fast blogging rules. One of them is that I do not blog about food, the reason, I don't want people to think "well, no wonder she is fat!" But I am throwing that rule out the window today because I might be officially obsessed. There are two things that I just can't seem to get enough of right now.

The first is this Pineapple black bean dip. Jeff found the recipe in "The Friend" magazine a year or so ago, and I just can't seem to get enough of it lately. I made it Saturday night and had to make another batch last night cuz I ate it all and couldn't get through the day without some more of it. Bad I know! However, I am going to give myself some credit for all of the fiber. Plus all of the ingredients are healthy, I'm just not sure it counts to eat my healthy ingrediants on fried chips.

The second is Pumpkin Cheesecake. I needed a new recipe for piefest and that was it. It is really easy to make and really great to eat. But once again, a recipe with 5 or 6 Tbls of butter and a couple packages of creamcheese should be eaten in moderation. (For the record although I know the definition of moderation I generally don't use it in my daily life)

I am really hoping that this post will work the same way as getting a song out of your head. If I sing the song to you and you get it stuck in your head maybe it will stay out of mine. Same theory with sharing the recipes. Hopefully someone else will become obsessed and they will get out of my head ;)

Pineapple and Blackbean Salsa

1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatos with cilantro and lime juice
1 can corn (Jeff likes the super sweet variety)
about 16 ounce of crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits drained (this is a texture decision)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup Italian dressing

Mix, chill, tasted best the next day.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 sleeve of graham crackers crushed into tiny pieces
5 or 6Tbls of butter melted
1/4 cup sugar
Mix together and press up 2/3rds sides and bottom of 9 in pie pan

2 8oz pakages of cream cheese room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs room temp
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cloves
or 3/4 to 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

First cream together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla until smooooooth. Add in eggs one at a time. Spread one cup of the batter over the crust. To the rest of the batter add remaining ingrediants, stir gently. Smooth over the plain batter. Bake at 325 for 35-40 min until the center is almost but not quite set. turn off oven, open door let cool for approx 1 hour in oven. Remove from oven and put on counter to continue cooling. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, top with whip cream and enjoy!

Ahh, hopefully this post will curb my enthusiasm for these yummy treats.

Someone hit the grumpy button...

2010-12-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

And I don't like it!! I am now convinced that kids have grumpy switches. I am not sure where they are located or how I am supposed to turn them on or off, but they are there. And someone hit both Carters and Sofias today. W-O-W!!!! Double whammy. They were fine in the tub before church, we had a good time bathing and getting dressed, but then things started going downhill...rapidly. Church was a nightmare, getting changed after church was a nightmare, and now waiting for dinner, a nightmare. Im currently ignoring grumpy gus 1 and grumpier gus 2 but I bet Jeff won't let me for long. All I can say is "Please Please Please flip the switch...soon!!"

Funnest Thing We Did This Summer...

2010-12-04T21:23:00.000-08:00

We went to Cascade Springs to hike and also went fishing at Tibble Fork Reservore. It was BEAUTIFUL! I don't have very good pictures but I am going again this summer because Cascade Springs is amazing so I will get more then. The girls love fishing. We suck at it, and having never caught a fish I find it very very boring ( I did catch a fish at the golf course once, but thats another story and I dont count those fish because they are golf course fish and not wild fish). They have their little poles and little tackle boxes, they get jeff to bait their hooks and I get to stand back as they cast. Dangerous...of course, but apparently they will eventually get the hang of it. This is also the trip that I messed up my ankle on, stupid paved trails! 5 months later and I am still trying to recover

We all knew...

2010-12-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

that this day would have to come sooner or later, and it finally arrived. This was the first time that Abigail got to stay up to watch a movie with mom and dad, and Syd had to go to bed. They have done basically everything together since Syd was born, same bed times, same movies, same computer games and tv time. But we all know that eventually there is a shift in the dynamic and suddenly Abbi is big enough to do things that Syd just isn't ready for. Tonight we got to watch the Sorcerers Apprentice (good movie by the way). We started it a little late and Syd wasn't really interested anyway(good thing cuz she wasn't going to get to watch it anyway) so she was downstairs reading. But at bedtime when I went to turn off her light and kiss her goodnight she was a little miffed that Abbi wasn't down there with her (They have always shared a room). Well, there were a few tears but she came through it all right.

But Mommy...not so much. This feels a little like the begining of the end. My baby girl is growing up, and with that comes all sorts of things that I would rather not think about. (boys, dating, cars, trying to look mature and spending hours on the phone, the phrase "Id rather be texting) All these things and more are enough to keep me up at night, and prompt jeff to buy a lock for her door and a big stick to keep those boys away.

But I guess thats just how it goes, little girls grow up, and young mommys turn into old mommys. (Not that I plan on letting that happen to me! :)

Sofia

2010-12-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

So my little munchkin is finally walking. Shes been trying for months to get it down but without much success. I think she was being chicken, which would be ironic considering that she is pretty much fearless in her exploring. But yesterday I pulled out a little toy for her to walk behind as she pushed it and off she went. She played with that thing for nearly 2 hours and then at the end of it all she took off on her own. I love it. The first few days of careful toddleing are so much fun. I am sure that in a few weeks I will be wanting her to slow back down...but for now I think I will just enjoy it.

oldies but goodies

2010-12-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

So these are a bunch of random pics that I should have posted long ago, months and years ago. But as we all know I am not a good blogger. I always post that I am going to be better and I almost always believe it.....but time has proven me wrong. But at least I can enjoy this tonight, just don't expect too much from me.

Sledding last November, it was great and we all had fun. Well Carter did not have fun, "Snow is toooooo slippy mommy"

My kids love to play with the camera. They can take dozens and dozens of pictures in a single sitting. They take turns and pose and set up shots of us all. Good thing for digital cameras.

This is little Sydneys turn at using the camera. She set us all up and gave us all sorts of instructions. So much fun to play with my kiddos.

And this one is just because. Syd was maybe three, and she really really liked CHEERIOS. We basically got these faces with every bite. In case you can't tell this is a look of sheer delite. :)

This is not a mistake...

2010-04-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

I really am posting on my blog. SHOCKING!!! Not that anyone even checks in anymore, and I don't blame you. But I am posting this so I don't go a whole year without posting (So sad). We are doing great in the great white north, especially now that the snow is melted and the sun is coming out. Lots has happened in the last year. Obviously we moved out of sunny St. George, we have a new baby (only she isn't new anymore she is now 5 months old) Her name is Sofia Elizabeth. I would feel bad about not having a picture right now, but she looks just like all my other kids. :) Actually Lisa took some super fun pics of us all over Easter and I can't wait to post them. Abbi is now in 2nd grade, she was baptised in December and is now going to achievment days. shes getting all grown up. Syd is 5 and will start kindergarden in a couple of months. She can't wait, and to get ready she has taught herself how to read, write, and add, also to count by 2s and 10s and she is working on 5s so shes not behind. I can't convince her that you don't need to know it alll the first day, they teach you as you go. Carter is a bundle of energy, boys just come different. He loves starwars, dinosaurs, cars, big trucks and FIGHTING!!! And little Sofia is just starting to roll around the living room. BUt its hard work rolling over those cheecks. pictures coming soon!

WICKED!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

We stopped at the Arby's in Filmore, it took forever but on this trip even Arby's was FUN!

Lisa had never riden tracks before, so here we are. Yup just ridin on tracks.

We went to the end of the line(almost) and got off at Temple Square. So fun and soooo cold!

We were so lucky to get tickets. Thanks Mom for the hours on the phone!

We had so much fun last weekend going up to SLC to see Wicked! I had never seen it, but we have been listening to the soundtrack for months. My girls bounce around the house singing "Popular, you're gonna be popular" and other various lines from all the sogs. To be perfectly honest...so does Carter, and he usually does it in a necklace and heals! :)

So Jeff and I took Abbi, and Syd and Carter got to stay home with Grandma Roni ( They think they got to do the fun stuff, treats, movies, and late nights with Grandma, with all of that who wants to see a stinkin play? She is so AWESOME! It was so nice of her to stay at our house with the kids.) We had a great time, great seats 7 rows back, and it was amazing. I would go back tonight! And I was excited to see Temple Square because I hadn't seen it since before the plaza was renovated. It was really neat to be there with my family. And even though I was sad that Robbie couldn't come because of finals, I was thrilled that Steph could make it on such short notice. We havn't hung out like that in years. It was so worth it!!

Baby Robbie!!

2009-05-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

So I've been watching baby Robbie the last few days, and let me tell you he is darling! Carter does not agree. He is still a bit jealous of the baby. Today he was yelling (just because he thinks its fun) and it made the baby cry. "oh oh baby crying" he said. Then as soon as Robbie stopped he ran over and screamed again, and then when Rob started crying again he said it again...except this time with a huge grin on his face. Carter you little terror! :) He actually did this 3 times before I got after him. Then Carter gave us both the sweetest smile and leaned over to kiss Rob and say "Sorry baby Robbie" Now, you can't stay mad at that!

I got tagged

2009-04-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

So I am getting in trouble a lot lately. Apparently I don't post often enough on my blog. Like twice a year isn't plenty. But I have never been taggd before, so I had to post... :)

Eight Things I am Looking Forward To...

1- The end of morning sickness...Thats an announcement YAY!
2- Jeff coming home!
3- Cinco de Mayo
4- Finding out if we are having a BOY or GIRL!
5- Seeing Wicked again! I don't have tickets or anything
but I am going to have to see it again! IT was awesome!!
6- Bryan Regan
7- New shoes
8- Summer vacation

Eight Things I Did Yesterday...

1- Went on Abbis field trip to Lins.
2- Rode on a school bus for the first time in a lot of years!
3- Went to work in Levis.
4- Put my Wicked key chain on my keys
5- Ate Veggie pizza from Papa Murphys, a new favorite
6- Went to Young Women's
7- Played "G" rated Truth or Dare!
8- Laundry

Eight Things I Wish I Could Do...

1- Go to Wicked again (Theres a theme to this post)
2- Button my Levis
3- Sell my house
4- Grow my hair out in no time
5- Take a nap
6- Walk on my hands
7- Keep my blog and facebook up to date
8- Go on a cruise

Eight Shows I Watch...

1- Biggest Loser
2- Chuck
3- Discovery Health
4- Dora the Explorer
5- any and ALL Scooby Doos
6- Barbie everything
7- The Price is Right (Carters new favorite phrase is
"Forty dollars")
8- Fringe

Eight People I Tag...
Well lets see I don't think that eight people look at my blog so... I only tag Stephanie!

The "B" word

2008-12-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

So Abbi came home from school and told me that someone in her class got in trouble for saying the "B" word. Oh dear, I am not ready for this, So I told her that we don't say things like that and then because I was very curious I asked her what the word was. She looked at me very seriously for a minute and then announced, "Mom you know what it is, its dam it" I about fell off my chair. Oh they are so funny at this age!

Why we need Sisters!

2008-11-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

I went to the scrapbook expo on Friday with my sisters. We had a blast. Thing is-- I would have never gone on my own. I wasn't really sure it was something that I would be all that into. But Steph assured me that it was something I could not miss. And she was right! The deals were fantastic but really spending that time with just the girls was so much fun. We even won a contest and each got a great package of Christmas paper! (We yelled so loud my throat hurt and Lisa was dizzy, totally worth it! ) And I won a raffle. With all the great stuff I got even I will be able to come up with some cute cards for Christmas!

Now when I watch my girls play and fight I think of all the time I spent with my sisters growing up, and I am glad they have each other.

Grosgrain: Sarsaparilla Skirt & Vest GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-09-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Grosgrain: Sarsaparilla Skirt & Vest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Sew Genious

2008-09-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the stuff this chick cranks out! Its fabulous, and leaves me wishing I could sew a straight line.http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarsaparilla-skirt-vest-giveaway.html

Don't ya just LOVE it!

2008-09-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would post a couple of cute things from Abbi, since I am using this as kindof a journal as well as a show off space :)

Abbi "Mom don't ya just love it"
Me "love what?"
Abbi "Homework, I just love first grade because there is soooo much homework!"

I bet I don't hear that in a few years.
and dropping B off for school this morning

Abbi "I will miss you so much today and tonight"
Me " Well, I will miss you, but only today because I am picking you up at grandmas after I get off work. And I can't wait to see you again."
Abbi "Well don't you think it would be more fun not to see me until in the morning and that way I could have a sleepover and miss you all night!"

I think I will hear that one again!!

Spanglish

2008-09-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

One of the things that makes me sad about moving to SLC is moving Abbi out of her duel immersion school. We love it at Dixie Downs and she is learning so much Spanish. She knows way more than me and is catching up with Jeff. I think it's great that she is in a place where there is so much diversity, different languages, accents and cultures. Plus it is so dang cute to hear the kids speaking Spanglish on the playground. :) Even Abbi does it, mixing English and Spanish through her sentances. A few days ago she came home and told me that her friend Nori (who might have been born in Mexico, 6 year olds are often fuzzy on details) can count all the way to 100 in Spanish. "WOW" she told me "That is like the coolest thing ever, and Nori knows all kinds of Spanish words. But its okay because I know all kinds of English words" I wish we were all this accepting of people's differences, the world would be a better place if we could see the world more like our 6 year olds see it.

Fancy Nancy

2008-09-17T07:59:00.001-07:00

So the girls and I read a book a few month ago called Fancy Nancy about a very fancy little girl who trys to get her family to be fancier. It was so fun. Well Sydney decided last night that she needed to dress up just like Fancy Nancy and this is what she came up with. SO SO SO cute!!

Butterfly or Moth??

2008-09-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

So Abbi's friend Megan invited her over the other day to catch caterpillers. (Oh joy, I thought). But Abigail was all excited, she was going to catch a catterpiller put it in a bottle and create it a habitat. (Where on Earth did she learn that word?) So off she went to explore the wild of her friends back yard. Well, what do you know, she actually caught a catterpiller (I have no idea if I am spelling that right, and I really might not even care :) She is so proud of that little thing, but when I looked in her jar my heart dropped, she didn't have a catterpiller she only had a little worm. Crap! what was I going to do, I couldn't break her little heart, I couldn't tell her so I kept my mouth shut. Well the very next morning she was looking at her jar and started shouting , literally, for joy. Her little bug was growing up!!! Sure enough what I thought was a worm really was a catterpiller and it had quadruppled in size overnight. It has now been almost a week and we have a chrysallis (SP) and soon we will have a beautiful butterfly or moth. We can't wait! Let's just hope we don't kill it. Wish us luck!

Summer Fun!!

2008-09-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

So it has been a totally crazy and busy summer, and once again I am wofully behind on my posting. We went to Lake Powell in July and it was so much fun. We had wonderful weather, like 95 degrees and a little breezy. Aunt Oralin always picks the best weeks!!

Abbi was so brave, she jumped off the top of the houseboat with her Daddy and it only cost me $12. Then she went fishing. Now she only had this little butterfly net, some animal crackers and a whole lot of patience. I showed her what to do and she sat there determined to catch a fish! The boys were all very jealous. Even her dad was jealous.

Then over Labor Day we went up to Zion National Park. It was beautiful, and we had a great time. We hiked the River Walk, Weeping Rock, and the Lower Emerald Pool. Sydney thought we were trying to kill her off, She kept telling me that she was "hot, tired, thirsy, hungry, and only a little kid. " But she was a trooper and despite all of that she kept up and had a good time. The only problem we had was that there were a lot of bee's at our camp 6 or 8 flying around us at all times. Carter thought they were great and kept trying to grab them, but the girls screamed and cryed everytime they even thought they saw one. So after 2 spilled dinners, spilled OJ, spilled hot chocolate, and a bevy of bruises from tripping and falling trying to run away, we finally let them sit in the tent. They stayed in the tent almost the entire time we were at the campsite. So much for the great outdoors!

So don't worry about it, my girls are super posers. I don't think we took a normal picture the entire time we were there

Boomerang!!

2008-06-27T19:57:00.001-07:00

Jeff stayed home with the girls today and he wanted them to clean the house with him, and he came up with a great motivater. If they were really helpful he would take us to Adventure Pizza when I got home from work. Well they did awsome and so off we went. We have never been there and it was lots of fun, the girls had a blast collecting tickets for prizes. Well Abbi had a great time, Syd spent most of the night with her hands over her ears complaining that it was really loud. But they both had a great time picking out prizes. Sydney got a braclet and a ring and some candy, and Abbi got a ring some candy and a boomerang.

Well she knew exactly what they were supposed to do and Jeff told her that he could teach her to throw it so it would come back to her. So off we went, home to try out our newest cool toy. Jeff and Abbi were having a great time and Jeff even got it to turn around and almost back to us, and Abs had a fun time trying. I on the other hand was not so good at it. My first throw hit Abbi in the wrist, no harm no foul, I did not even throw it hard, and after a few minutes it was my turn again. I really wanted to let it fly this time, I figured the more momentum the better chance it would have of getting back to me. Jeff was standing 6 feet to the side of me and a little behind me, evidently not quite far enough away.

Good news: He does not need stiches

Bad news: He can't remember why :)

Lesson learned and I will leave the boomerang to the experts. I am sooooo never ever living this

down. He is such a good sport. (it looks worse in person)

Ward Party!

2008-06-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

We had a ward get together on Saturday, it was a blast. Don't worry, it was only 110 outside, and we were having a bbq at noon at the park. Truly we must be crazy! However, it was a lot of fun, there were snow cones, a fish pond, water slides and a pie eating contest that my hubby won( I am so proud of you Jeffrey!!) also we had a visit from the Fire Department. That was really cool for the kids, they got to get inside the truck and meet real firemen and then get squirted with the fire hose, they were in Heaven. Abbi and Syd love firefighters, so getting to go inside the truck was a dream come true for Abbi. And Jeff and I got to sit with Carter on our blanket with Jennifer and Jared in the shade and just chill with grown up conversation. Really a great day!

Memorial Day!

2008-06-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

I hope there aren't any rules on posting things really late and out of order, but lets be perfectly honest with my track record shouldn't we just be happy that they are getting posted at all.

So for memorial day we went to Pioneer Park to do a little kid friendly hiking. It was a blast, and really the girls left us in the dust. They were having so much fun we kept having to slow them down and reign them in, I didn't really think they needed to hike to the top of the tallest mountain. Sydney told us that "this hike is fantastic!!" really what 3 year old says fantastic, what a sweetheart! Even Carter couldn't stop babbaling from his backpack. I think next time we will do something a little more adventurous. Does anyone have any ideas for next time??

Ballet Recital

2008-06-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

Abbi and Syd had there ballet recitals a couple of weeks ago and they were so cute. I may be biased but thats okay. Sydney had her at the studio and they danced a bunch of the dress up dances that they did all year and then got to have a tea party with their dads. It was so fun. Syd had such a blast showing off. And of course she did all of her dances with her tounge sticking out of her mouth!

Abbi had her recital at the Cox auditorium on the "Big girl stage" She couldn't wait to show us her dance. She was a swan this year. This is her last year in pre-ballet, she will now be in regular ballet and be working with the bar and everything. I am so excited for her. I am not really a dance person, but she seems to love it so I hope she sticks with it.

Indiana Abbi

2008-05-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Abigail was having a very hard time going to bed, and after an hour of in and out of bed we heard something strange from her room. Jeff got up to investigate and came back in the living room with a hysterical Abigail. He told me that she was stuck in her window. Her feet were on on the window sill and her arms were wedged against the sides of the window. It took almost 5 minutes for her to calm down so we could talk, and then she would not tell us why she was in the window. Well several minutes and lots of convincing later she finally gave me this explination, "Well, I was not supposed to leave my room so i was playing a game...a pretend game, and something touched me and I just had to get away." Momsense kicked in at this point and I asked "Abbi were you playing Indiana Jones." The look on her face was all the confirmation I needed. Aparantly she and her Dad had been watching movie trailers before bed,. Dad says he will be much more careful choosing bedtime activities from now on! But now we can call her Indiana Abbi

Happy Birthday!!

2008-05-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jeffrey!! I just thought I should tell the world what a great and wonderful husband you are, and also what an awsome Dad. It is the Father's and son's campout tonight, and even though Carter is too young to go, Jeff was really looking forward to a boy's night. Then he found out that Abbi's dance recital is also tonight, and he is staying in town so he doesn't miss it. What a GREAT dad! So Happy Birthday to the World's Greatest DAD!

I PROMISE

2008-05-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

I PROMISE that I will more faithfully update my blog. I have had some technical difficulties and now 3 months later have figured it all out. So Sorry for all of you who have missed out on reading about Cater getting tubes in his ears (way fun btw) Sydney trying to fly off the top bunk bed and dislocating her finger, not very long ago she did the same to her elbow (thinks she is unbreakable) and the very exciting story of Indiana Abbi. Well I will have to write about that one on my next post, because it is very funny!

So there we go, I PROMISE to update my blog so I stop getting yelled at :)

The BIG D!!

2008-02-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

So I finally figured out the whole picture thing, turns out its not that hard. So We got to play with Alice, The Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins and Bert. We played Limbo and sang songs and Hokey Pokey. It was so much fun. I definatly recommend the Princess Lunch if your kids like the princesses It was so much fun and Abbi and Syd are still talking about it.

Valantines

2008-02-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

So Abigail got her first valantine from a boy yesterday. She came home with a blue braclet, probably from a happy meal, and told me that Tristan, the BOOOYY, had given it to her for Valantines. Only a 6 year old can turn a one sylable word into a 6 sylable word. She was happy for a present and I was thinking " are you kidding me you are only 6 years old and not old enough to be getting presents from boys" AAARGGG. Tristan really seems to like Abbi, when I volunteer in her class he just hangs on every word she says and follows her around. She only seems anoyed that a BOOOYY won't leave her alone. Thank heavens, Im just not ready for a crush yet.

5 K what the $%^%

2008-02-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

So Lisa and I ran my first 5k on Jan 19th. I finished. No, actually I did pretty well. I finished in 35 minutes. Lisa did a little better, but she waited for me at the finish line so our times are pretty much the same. Lou told me that during the race i would probably hate it and wonder why the &^% I had paid to do it, but by the time I got home I would be ready to sign up for another one. Guess what... She was right. Who knows maybe I could even work up to a 10k. I would have never guessed that I would ever call myself a runner, but it feels pretty good to give myself that title.

DISNEYLAND!

2008-02-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

So we are back from Disneyland and it was so much fun. Carter stayed home with Grandma Trisha and Papa Amazing. He didn't think he would have any fun if he went :) And the rest of us had a blast!! Some of the highlights...
* The princess lunch- The princesses came around to each table to say hi sign autographs and give hugs. Sydney could hardly stay in her seat, she was so excited to see Cinderella. And she kept yelling Abbi there is your favorite one to, see see see Sleeping Beauty!
* The Electric Parade- Abbi was so excited to see Alice in Wonderland, and I thought she was going to hyperventilate when Alice singled her out to say hi and ask her questions. Then later in the park Abbi and Syd got to play Limbo and the Hoky Poky with Alice, and the mad hatter.
* Quote of the trip "Dad, you really need to chew up and swallow your food better so it doesn't get stuck in your neck" Abbi thought Jeff's (Little, tiny only shows up when he bends his head) double chin was food that he hadn't swallowed. Good thing jeff has a sense of humor. We are still laughing about that one.

There were so many fun things that I can't even tell them all, but all of the fun stuff made up for the way the trip began. Abbi gets car sick and it was really bad this time. Jeff has learned that when I say pull over I mean pull over this instant. He learned that the hard way, projectile vomit into his hair, and all over his seat. enough said.

Soap!?!?!

2008-01-22T14:06:00.000-08:00

So the blog 2 down from mine is a blog about soap. Can you believe it? I love everyones blogs, they are beautiful. I am definatly feeling blog envy! But it is all good, one day I may even figure out how to get my pictures to blow up when you click on them... but don't count on it being one day soon.

We are starting our Disneyland countdown!! YAY! I love Disneyland and so does Jeff. Abbi has been telling Syney for months about how wonderful dland is and all of the fun things you can do there, and Sydney decided that she had to go because "Cinderella will cry if she can't meet me! I have to go and see her mommy." Now watch we won't even see Cinderella. Abbi thinks I am the best mom ever, that won't last long.

Family Pictures

2007-12-30T16:28:00.000-08:00

We had new family pictures taken today. It was very very cold and some bad mommy decided it would be ok to do the pictures in short sleeves. OOPS. As you can see Sydney was following directions perfectly. When Lisa said smile with teeth, Syd smiled with teeth :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

2007-12-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas. We had our first Christmas at our oun house, instead of at my mom's. It was really different being on our own, but it was also really a great thing. The girls were so happy that Santa was coming and wanted to go to bed right after lunch on Christmas Eve. We had a really bust few days. First going to Jeff's mom's on Sunday for a Christmas dinner and her presents because she worked Monday and Tuesday. Monday we spent the day at my Mom and Dads playing, Jeff had to work that day and was gone for 13 hours. Aparantly the grocery store is very busy on Christmas Eve. Poor Jeff, he came home so tired, and right when he came through our front door we were off again to Grandma and Papa Great's for another Christmas party. Grandma's house was floor to ceiling decorations and the girls thought they had come straight from the North Pole. The girls got Princess gowns for pajamas this year, and spent a good 30 minutes bowing and twirling for all to see. They still go into Princess mode the second they put them on. We had to leave the party a little early because they were so excited to go to bed. We timed our parting poorly though. Carter had started to cry because he was hungry and on the way out our graceful Sydney walked into a rock and fell onto her face. So she was crying and then Abbi started crying because she was sure that with so much crying and puting Santa would not come to our house. :)
But we made it through all right and actually everyone was asleep by 9:15. And Santa was able to go to bed before 11. They were so excited Christmas morning Sydney got a kitchen and Abbi got Rollerskates, and Carter got an animal train. Then we had another party at Grandma Trisha's and Papa Amazings house.
It was a seriously busy holiday, but so worth it to spend so much time with family and friends. We don't spend as much time together as we used to so the time we are together is really special, and really really loud!! But at least I am not taking it for granted.
Everyone have a Happy New Year!!

Happy Halloween

2007-11-04T12:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween everybody!!! We had such a good time on Wed. The girls wents as princesses, Abbi as Sleeping Beauty and Syd as Cinderella of course. Carter was the most charming pumpkin you have ever seen, and Jeff went as the snack fairy. Much to the delight of all the other dads in our neighborhood. It was so fun we had grandma, grandpa, great grandma and grandpa, grandma Ronni, lisa adn Robbie, and Jay and Jill came with baby Jay. It was so fun.

Sundays at Grandmas

2007-10-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

So it's Sunday, and we are at Grandma Trisha's house again. We love to come to grandpa and grandmas and eat lunch and hang out with great grandma and papa, and Lisa and Robbie. The girls start asking about it Saturday morning. Today Abbi helped Papa 'mazing clean the house and sang "Tra la la la la la la Tra la la la la la" LOUDLY the whole time. And what can you say to that except thank you, because what other 6 year old will help clean for that long.

Sunshine and JOY

2007-10-26T13:49:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this is a page about all the things in my life that make me happy!! My Sunshine and my JOYS! My happy things are my family, Jeffrey, Abigail, Sydney, and baby Carter, good books gardening, cooking and of course my Primary children all 100 of them! And for good measure I think I should include Running. This is totally new for me and 6 months ago if you would have told me that running would make me happy I would have laughed in your face. So hopefully I will remember to post and let ya all in on ALL our happy things.