Birthday Bowling Fun:)

Happy Birthday Brock:)



We bowled three games, had lot of food and tons of fun!


Showing off their bowling shoes.


Everyone's bowling ball except Kade, he had to hold his most of the time.

Too Tired

This little guy was just too tired to get on his pj's! He fell asleep with them in his hands! He had played so hard all day that he collapsed at around 7:30 (when his normal bedtime is around 8:30).

A fun time playing at the park

Today we had a FUN time! Kade and I met up with Jenn and Seth at the Park. The kids had fun playing but I think they had a better time posing for the camera.



Kade made sure he rolled in the sand and Seth didnt want me to miss him riding the scooter. He had to turn around just to make sure I took the picture:)




Here is Kade making a bridge for the little kids to go under.

Thank you Jenn for meeting us there:)

My Little Valentines

Sugar + Blender =

Did you know if you run out of powdered sugar that you can put white granulated sugar in a blender or food processor and blend it, that it will turn to powdered sugar?

I know powdered sugar is ground white sugar, and for some reason I just didn't realize that I could grind the sugar myself and make powdered sugar! I have always just bought it at the store. Isn't that where every mom gets their powdered sugar? Mine did! Well I was at my Mother in Laws a while back and she ground some sugar in her blender and made powdered sugar. I have learned so many little hints and tricks from her that I am thankful for. I was thankful I had learned this and I was able to grind up some sugar and make frosting for some cinnamon rolls chantel had made on sunday . I wish I could share the cinnamon rolls, but they are all gone now! Chantel can really bake and when she makes something they usually dont last very long!

Free Agency Vent

Free agency as my Dear mother in law puts it is a "mothers worst enemy". I saw this step into agency before, and I am seeing again as I let my five year old walk himself (sometimes) to class. How heartbreaking that he doesn't want me to follow him or let me hold his hand. I keep asking him not to grow up but I cant stop it.

Sometimes these steps into agency are seamless and go unnoticed, other steps are big and they need our help and when they finally get it is amazing, and some we do not want them to take and we try and protect them but we cant.

As my older two children grow and progress I am finding the enemy of agency creep its ugly little head again. They can maneuver and manipulate both their parents and others. This can lead you wonder how in the world you didn't notice certain things and wonder how everyone sees it but you. Communication between a parent and child is essential, but when that child has a hard time telling you things, you don't know how to help them and by the time they come to you, they have to answer and pay the consequences for what they have done or said. It is a hard road to travel.

I know the things I am dealing with are nothing compared to some others but I am having a hard time trying to decide how to handle a situation and some feelings might be hurt and there maybe more drama than I can handle at the moment. The normal avenues for handling things cant be taken and I am having a hard time trusting anyone that I talk to about this. I am so mad and, hurt over allegations and rumors being spread that I want to scream. If you know me at all I cant stand to see any one hurt or mad and I am always trying to the point sacrificing myself so that others don't feel bad. It is killing me that I may have to make a deciscion that might make someone else upset but I have to do it so I can protect my free agency and that of my child.

Sorry if vented to much but this is where I am at this moment and I cant pretend that I am not here.

Funny things Kade has said lately

Kade has come up with some cute and some funny questions over the last week and I thought I had better write them somewhere so I don't forget them!

1: I had some strawberries that needed to be cut so we could make some strawberry muffins. Kade had the strawberries out washing them and starting to cut them by the time I got over to help him. As I started to help him, he so excitedly said" Look mom now we are two players, instead of one player. I love it when we are two players." I had to tell him that I liked it better too when there were two players instead of one.

2: I walk Kade to his class everyday and this morning out of the blue he asks if it is OK to hug other people. I wondered what he was thinking and I wanted to make sure he remembered what I have tried to tell him about stranger danger. I answered him with "Yes, as long as he knew the person he was hugging." He then asked me if it was OK to hug Aunt Jamie. I said of course, and he then said "that's good I think I can wait for a hug from her" I had a hard time holding in the laughter.

3: After handing him a bowl of popcorn to snack on, he asked if I had bought the popcorn from an apricot tree! I had to tell him yes or he would not eat it!

Last week...

Last week was my 40th birthday! I keep telling myself that I cant be that old! I still feel like I am nineteen. I had a wonderful birthday ! I was surrounded by friends and family for lunch at Macaroni Grill. I was very spoiled by everyone. I love having my birthday at the end of January because most everything I get is usually pink and geared toward Valentines day! Thank you so much for everything! I don't think I tell my friends thank you enough:)

For dinner that evening my Dear Husband and Children took me out to dinner at Mi Amigos! It was great not having to cook or clean that day! Thanks Kirt :)

The next day all of the sisters in my family got together and had lunch for my Mothers Birthday. My mother never had a birthday lunch and it was great to be able to go out to lunch with her and all my sisters! I got a great card and magnet from my sister Candace! It has been a hit around here. The magnet is a "how are you feeling today" one and it is funny to see where everyone puts the frame for how they feel! I think all of us sisters need to do lunch a little more often:)

A Sacred Moment

I love to have those sacred teaching moments with my kids, and today we had one. Kade decided to watch our video of " Finding Faith in Christ". I was skeptical that he would actually sit down and watch it, but he did. As I sat there with Kade, he started asking questions. He asked "Why is Christ the light of the world?" My reply with out thinking to much was "Because he is the Son of God." I started getting choked up as I thought on what I was saying and realizing again the similarities between our temporal sun and Christ. Kade seemed to understand and kept asking me questions, and I kept marveling at my answers. Heavenly Father Does Love us and Sends us Angels especially when we need it the most! I needed one today and I am so thankful for the Sacred moment we had.

A day at the Zoo

We spent monday at the zoo with friends! It was lots of fun! We started the day of with the Sting rays! I think most everyone got splashed:) The boys had fun on the spider web and climbing up on the post to sit.



Kiley was too fun:) Here she is showing me her muscles! By the end of Bonnie was one of the lucky ones to get a ride in the wagon pulled by the kids.



We had quite a group of boys! (Seth and Kade were missing in this picture) Chantel and Kiley were the only girls!

I had to much fun taking pictures, I think I took too many!

I am trying ...

I have been trying to keep up but, it has been hard the last couple of weeks!

I have been busy with:

• getting a crown
• going to Colorado for a wedding
• coming back and needing a root canal badly because I spent my whole trip in SEVERE PAIN!
• Trying to catch up on laundry and house work.
• Getting ready for a primary activity day
• running errends, babysitting
• going to birthday parties
• Mother daughter enrichment night
• and finally getting a chance to edit pictures and start a new photo journal blog for all my pictures!

I hope tomorrow I can get a chance to come up for air and breath a little before we start into another hectic week!

Learn!!

I think I have finally come up with my word for the year!




"LEARN"




I ended last year by getting something new and I have started this year by learning all about it and I am having more fun than I should be allowed :) I have also learned some hard lessons with this and I am grateful for that too! ( I shot pictures for a birthday party and I lost a memory card full of pictures when my computer had a melt down with my sd card in the slot)


I also learned another hard lesson ! I learned that when you get carmel corn as a christmas present be careful when eating, you could crack a tooth and need a crown ! I went in today for a build up and a crown today. Thank goodness I did not need the build up but Note to self: Do not let the Dr. drill when things are not all the way numb, It causes severe pain!


In our ward our Bishop challenged us to read all the talks given by President Monson in the last General Conference. I found this and thought it fit my word for the year pretty well:

Learn what we should learn.
Do what we should do.
Be what we should be.

Hopefully I can put all three into practice!

I had way to much fun Today:) Can you Tell?



Of Course I owe my Dear Sister big for helping with this today!



It was sooo much fun to take these GREAT to be Eight pictures of "Perdy" ! She was so fun and a good sport for being the first one to for me to experiment with. I have learned so much and I cant wait to learn more!

a picture from the park

I took my daughter to the park today to meet up with some friends and I took my camera so I could practice. I think this is a fun picture and I have to say that this is my favorite picture of the day!

Happy Birthday!

Chantel, I hope you had a perfect day! I sure enjoyed taking you to the movies and out for lunch with your friends!

I am a very thankful mom right now! I got to spend time with Chantel and her friends and I am so Impressed with the friends she has chosen! What a blessing that is in our lives! I had lots of fun playing the limo driver and being a fly on the wall while she had her day! It was about time she had something special for her birthday since she has not had a birthday party from the time she was four!

Merry Christmas

Playtime pictures II

I am fun playing with my new toy and I have to say THANK YOU to my wonderful, and MOST PATIENT sister who took a couple hours out of her really busy day to help me learn something new! I still have a lot more to learn and and alot of practice ahead of me, but I am really looking forward to the challenge:)




It was fun to use my sisters kids as the subject of my pictures! They are so stinking CUTE!!!
I think I did pretty good on some of them and as you can see I still have a way to go.



I am going to have to learn how to take landscape pictures too so I can get all the beautiful pictures I can while I am in Colorado this winter and summer!

A Re-post of the Baked Potato Soup Recipe

4 to 5 Baking Potatoes

1/3 cup of butter

1/3 cup of all purpose flour

3 cups of milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup bacon bits, divided

2 green onions chopped

5 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 (8 ounce) container of sour cream

Directions:

1. Bake the potatoes in the oven or the microwave. (I prefer to bake them in the oven) After Potatoes are baked, peel and cut into cubes.

2. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly till thick. Stir in milk a little at a time and cook about a minute. Stir in potatoes, salt and pepper, 1/4 cup bacon bits, 2 Tablespoons green onions and most of the cheese.(I did not add the cheese to the soup, I just served it on top of the soup) Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sour cream and heat through. Serve with remaining bacon, onion and cheese.
Makes 6 servings.

What have you Done?

I have highlited he things I have done:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Been to the top of a lighthouse
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (People haven't?)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Eaten New England clam chowder in New England
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Tag your it:) Now highlite the the things you have done!

Exciting

Nothing to exciting going on around here unless getting kids out the door and somewhat on time to school and church activities is exciting, and I think it is! ( Whoohoo no one late this week, Yet!!) . Trying to get ready for Christmas with decorating and gift buying is exciting but, seems a little hard this year. Maybe it's hard because Kade is five and he remembers things now, so no time to go shopping without kids! Shopping for younger kids is sooo much easier!

Last nights GNO was nothing to exciting, Just four of us girls meeting at Cravings to have dinner and talk and then back home by ten! NO I am not a late night girl and having just a few hours away seems to help and keeps me going for another week! OK, so that is as exciting as it gets for me:)

Oh! I just have to spill the beans! I am getting a new camera for Christmas and I cant wait to get it! My dear Husband ordered me a camera for Christmas and it came and then he found a better deal so he returned the camera and ordered me a new one and it has not shipped yet and I am so anxious! I cant wait for it to get here. I was supposed to wait for Christmas to open it but I don't think I will be able to wait! I want to learn how to use it before Christmas morning so I can take pictures with it! Watch out everyone in the family, Jamie wont be the only one with a camera this year! Can I say That I AM So EXCITED!?! (well I am anyway)

Got a good Bread Recipe?

I am looking for a good Whole Wheat or White Bread recipe. I dont have a Bosch machine and my kitchenaid has a hard time with the dough so I have to make the bread by hand.

If you have a good recipe and or some good tips and would love to share it with me I would be so very Grateful!

Family Pictures

Yesterday, My very Talented sister Jamie took our family pictures! I just love them so I have to share them! ( or brag what ever you call it! lol) There are more pictures of us and others on her photo blog.






I just had to add this one in. Jamie took this one on our outing to the zoo!

I am Thanful for....

In preparation for Thanksgiving my Sister in Law Amber had us do something special. We drew names of those in our family and wrote a little paragraph of why we are thankful for that certain person. I loved it and thought it was a perfect start for our Thanksgiving and I hope it will remind us of all the reasons we are truly thankful for the family and friends in our lives.

Chantel wrote:

I am thankful for my Dad. He is amazing. He is always willing to help me with everything. I am thankful for him helping me with my homework when I need it. He can do anything, I LOVE my dad.

Kade wrote:

I am thankful for Brock because he plays PlayStation with me! He also helps me pick up my toys.


Brock wrote:


I am thankful for my Mom because she helps us with almost everything when I am not home. She cleans my room and dusts the front room and just about everything else. The words to tell her how thankful I am for her do not exist.

KayDee wrote:

I am thankful for Chantel for many reasons (to many to write down). I am thankful that she loves music and is always singing or playing the piano, and that helps the mood in the house. I am thankful that she has a strong testimony and a soft heart. Chantel is an example to everyone she meets. I am also very thankful for all she does in helping me when I need it.

Kirt wrote:


I am thankful for Kade because I got a chance to be part of his life as a baby and toddler that I did not get with Chantel and Brock. I missed a majority of each of theirs because I was busy working working and going to school and was gone all the time. Kade also loves to help me no matter what I am doing and it is very fun to teach him how to do stuff and spend time with him.

Our Veterans Day in Pictures! (and lots of them)

We started today out by going to the Veterans day Parade! It started out with all the good intentions! It was awesome we left a little early to try and get a good parking spot and it worked! NO troubles there! And we had no troubles finding a good spot to sit. It was somewhat it the shade so that Baby M wouldnt be in the sun and burn her Cute little bald head! Everything was going ok, Kade was calm and watching airplanes pass and balloons fly into the air! Baby M was kicking back in the stroller watching people and clapping as they went by!

Kade even made some friends with these really cute girls.(one happens to be a daughter of a Girl that I grew up with )

I knew things were going too good when Baby M fell asleep! I guess Kade had, had enough because he started being just a little heathen! He would not stop cyring and whining! To make matters worse, I have been sick and I have almost , but not completely, lost my voice! So kade took advantage of it and we ended up leaving the parade early! Maybe we should have taken hints from the baby and stayed home and slept!

After we were home for a little bit and everything had calmed down we were invited to go to the zoo with my sister Diaper Diva!



The kids had fun together!

They got to see the otters, which are never out when we go! We also got to see the elephants and play around!

The weather was perfect and the zoo was not crowded and it was a nice relaxing end to a somewhat stressful morning! Thanks for inviting us!

I love this picture!

My sister took pictures of all the kids on halloween and I just love this picture of Brock! Brock dressed up as a Nerf CIA/Secret Service agent! He somehow sweet talked his Auntie into taking a picture of him pointing the laser at the camera! Good thing he did , this picture is awesome! Thanks Jamie:)