Sierra, Bob, Jaxon, Ashton & Alexia

Faces of CHD

2012-02-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

As everyone knows my Husband has CHD (Congenital Heart Defect) known as Tetrology of Fallot. Well Pinterest is doing a thing where they have everyone's stories and I sent Bob and Lexi's to the girl. So if your on Pinterest or just want to read the story...Here is the link. You'll have to excuse my typos, it was day....oh wait I lost track of no sleep.

Anyways. Next week is CHD awareness week. I have decided to do some posts about Bob. Its been awhile and after all, his heart defect is never going away, its with us forever and its not something that I can not face anymore. Sometimes I find myself wanting to forget about it, because it was such a bad time in my life, but then I look back and because of all of that, I am a stronger person TODAY.

So stayed tuned, its February 7th-12th and feel free to wear RED. I myself cannot believe how many people are affected by heart disease. I give props to all the heart Moms who have to watch their child go through the countless numbers of tests and surgeries. Luckily, my Daughter is just watched my cardiology and they don't think anything will ever change, but you just never know.

January Blues

2012-01-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Ugh, I've been in this weird funk lately. Everything and EVERYONE bothers me. I even bother myself....is there such thing? I get easily frustrated with myself, my kids and my husband.

I've had 5 meltdowns in the last 2 days. Yeah, sad I know.

I have good reasons for my meltdowns.

1. I've been sick for over a week with a stupid sinus infection. I even told Bob at one point that I wanted to cut my nose off. I found out that I take for granted how glorious it is to be able to breathe out of both nostrils. Never again. And I'm still trying to kick the stupid cold.

2. An unexpected call from a radiologist about Lexi. She is extremely back up and after 2 days of trying to clean her out and NOTHING happening, looks like we'll be going to our favorite place....Primary Children's. The girl can't win. Its one thing after another. We aren't sure whats going on. It could be a number of things, right now, I can't think about them.

3. I need some hot warm weather, I need the sun. The more I stay in Utah, the more I realize how much I HATE the cold. But how do you pick up and leave a state that you have known for the last 20 years and leave everything...it just can't happen.

4. My baby sister is moving to Texas, she has met an amazing guy and leaves on March 9th. I'm happy for her and even though we don't see each other all the time, its going to feel weird.

5. I realize in the last several months that I need to work on the relationship with my other Sister, things haven't been the same for a while now due to events that happened last August. It breaks my heart and makes me sad.

6. I feel bad complaining about my kids especially knowing that I have friends that have been trying for awhile to have kids. BUT....THEY ARE DRIVING ME INSANE, the other reason I need warmer weather. I have got to have them out of the house for more than 30 mins where they aren't coming in frozen solid.

7. I've been getting on my Husbands nerves and he in return on mine. He is working full time and doing school full time. I have to keep the kids quiet for hours on week nights and well thats not always possible. But on Mondays and Thursday while he has his classes, I have to really shut them up. So its an hour of threats to keep them calm. The other day I lost it myself (again I wasn't feeling good), my daughter likes to harass our dog and after telling her to quit picking up the dog by her neck for the 100th time, I couldn't do it anymore. I yelled (and feel extremely bad) at Bob about how convienent it was for him to have school when it was 20 degrees outside and we could do NOTHING like it was his fault that school started when it did. Then last night, I just wanted to go to bed by 9pm, thats it. Well he was up doing homework and I flipped again. I told him this morning "I just need to run away for a bit with no access or contact with anyone or anything and I'll be good." Did I mean it? Yes, part of it, I will need access to the internet....LOL Not that I am leaving, I couldn't do it, but doesn't mean I haven't dreamed about it.

These are the reasons for my January blues, good thing there is only 1 day left and I only have 58 days until my vacation to somewhere warmer....TEXAS.

I'm sure I'll be fine, I'm really not CRAZY even though I feel like it. I just need a non-sick week and a good nights sleep....thats it!

The greatest show on earth

2012-01-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

We decided last week that we were going to surprise the kids and go to the circus. It was a rough week though, so I wasn't sure we would make it. Lex was almost admitted to the hospital (more on that later), I got sick and everything was falling apart. But I decided we needed to go, it was a must. I would bring my box of tissues (sinus infection...YUCK!!), not breathe on anyone and lots of sanitizer.

Its kind of neat how it works out, instead of paying $17.00 for nose bleed seats, it was $17.00 for wherever you wanted and no seats were bad seats. At first we right on the front row, but decided we wanted to move up. So we were on row 5 right in the middle. Oh and the best part.....the kids were FREE.

I don't think I have ever seen Ashton smile so BIG. He was so happy to get on that BIG GIANT ELEPHANT. Jax, he wanted NOTHING to do with it. SN: Please excuse the lighting, they had these giant lights and they were screwing with my pictures.

We got there an hour before the show started. I love to people watch. I've never seen so many strange people in one place. We of course had the most annoying family behind us too, the lady couldn't quit yelling everytime something happened and her Son kicked my seat the ENTIRE time. I held my patience though, because I was at a KID PLACE.

We got snacks before. Jax and I had a churro, Lex and Ash had popcorn. I can't believe how expensive some things are, but we stuck with buying stuff from the concessions and not the Circus itself.

AND THEN THE SHOW BEGAN...

First up...the tigers, oh they were beautiful. There were 2 white ones and 4 regular ones.

I loved the tigers, they were so neat.

Next up was the tight line, it was very intense to watch and I didn't get good pictures.

After that some juggling, where I didn't get good pictures either.

Then it was the circle thing that a guy goes around in, also....not good pictures.

And next up, one of my favorites of the show...

THE DOGS, they were all so cute and so fun to watch.

It was tons of fun watching them. They had a little chihuaha and it reminded me of Daisy.

And then intermission and it was an hour long and the kids got bored easily. It was the only thing that I didn't like about the whole show.

After intermission was the flying trapzee people and they were so good, but I have no pictures, I didn't even attempt to take any. It was too dark.

Then the Aerial acrobats, they were pretty good.

My next favorite was this guy, he was amazing, he stacked 10 chairs on top of each other and it was unbelievable. A couple of times I couldn't watch.

He definately has some talent.

BUT my favorite part of the whole show...

THE ELEPHANTS.

Loved, loved, loved them. They were so fun to watch and I loved them.

And to end the show, Jaxon's favorite part...

3 motorcycles in a ball...talk about SCARY. First they started with 1, then 2 and ended with 3. Jaxon thought it was the coolest thing on earth. I thought it was the scariest thing on earth. Then he proceeded to tell me that thats what he wants to do. Don't worry, I'm not too worried, because I know Jax all too well. He is ALL talk...no DO and if he ever even thinks about it, I'll think of a grand story to talk him out of it.

Ashton's favorite part was the Tigers and the dogs, he loved those both and of course his ride on the elephant that he advised he "can't wait to tell my teacher about."

Lex favorite part....eating "corn, corn" Hey, I'm just glad she ate it, even if it was only a little bit.

I'm so glad we went, it was totally worth it.

A Sunday drive

2012-01-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

Some of the best memories when I was a child, was when we would just get in the car and DRIVE. We didn't know where we were going, what we were doing or how long it would take. We just went.

Today we decided to go for a drive up Trappers Loop.

It was beautiful, the scenery was amazing and all the fresh snow was just glowing.

We pulled off to the side of the road where we played for like 30 minutes.

The kids had a blast climbing to the top of the snow piles.

Even Daisy loved the snow.

We had lots of fun.

January Randoms

2012-01-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

I feel like the only time I can blog is on the weekends. Well its true. Life is so busy lately, its insane.

Here are a couple things keeping us busy:

*Bob started school 2 weeks ago and things have been crazy, our lives on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are a little out of control. Bob has class Monday and Thursday, but is in school full time and has to do homework every other day. This will all be worth it in 3 years when he is done. He will graduate with a Bachelors in technical science. I'm super proud of him.

*Next consuming our life is Basketball. We have practices on Wednesday, so I go while Bob does homework. We normally have to get dinner on the go or do something quick. Saturdays are games. Todays was early at 8am. Talk about not getting to sleep.

*Next....kids homework. I'm sure anyone with kids knows what I am talking about. I feel like I spend so much time on homework. The other night I spent 3 hrs with Jax re-doing a paper he didn't do well on. Ashton has started math at school too, so we are spending more time with him.

*The best thing in the last two weeks is that we bought a WII. Bob wanted it for Netflix, but the boys talked us into Just Dance 3 and we have been doing that all week.

*The bad thing about this past week. Lex hasn't been doing to good. She has complained about an owie in her tummy for quite a while now. I kind of blew it off thinking she was just being a two year old kid. On Thursday night things took a turn for the worse. She was up all night, screaming that she was in pain. She wasn't running a fever, puking or anything else, so I assumed she just had an upset tummy. I rubbed her tummy until she crashed in my bed (my kids have NEVER slept in my bed) and we got an hour of sleep. All these things raced through my head....heart, hernia or something bad. Friday I tossed up taking her in, she complained off and on. She really wasn't her self, wouldn't eat, wouldn't rest...NOTHING. At 6pm I took her to Instacare, they ran tests, did x-rays and found that she has excessive gas bubbles in her tummy. It could mean a number of things. Blockage, infection and if she got worse to take her to the ER. So we go home, she gets some milk (her favorite drink in the whole world) and immediately following is in pain again. It didn't click until I started thinking back to her getting the pains and complaining. Yesterday, she had milk with her breakfast and was in pain. Lunch she ate 5 bites of Mac N' Cheese and was in pain. Yesterday evening she ate yogurt and was in pain. DUH!!!! She is lactose intolerant. So we are testing her ourselves, we doing 48 hrs of NO DAIRY. This is going to be a struggle, but we have got to figure it out. So far today, she has been great. She is exhausted, but great. We bought her SILK, some oatmeal for breakfast, apple juice and lots of fruit cups. She loves cheese though, so its going to be hard. I feel extremely bad for her and wish I would've caught it sooner.

So this is what we have been up to, nothing much at all. We are preparing for our vacation at the end of March to Texas, we have 67 days and I can hardly wait. Trying to explain to our kids that we need to save money for our vacation is a little hard, they don't get it.

Can you believe this crazy weather? Rain all day and now we are having a blizzard.

Sunday Fun

2012-01-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

We got up early this morning, got ready and hit the road to Salt Lake for the Car show. Not sure if I have mentioned this or not, but the Car Show was where Bob and I went on our VERY FIRST date, that was nine years ago and we have gone every year since. Its something will do FOREVER.

The car show improves every year, this year they did free Jeep rides for the BIG KIDS and the LITTLE KIDS. So Bob and Jaxon rode in the BIG Jeep and Lex and Ash rode in the small Jeep. I watched both of them.

After the car show we headed to Hooters. I love Hooters. Bob loves the wings, I just love going. While walking in, Jax said "This is where the girls who don't wear clothes work!" Not sure where he pulled that out of, because they do wear clothes, I've seen worse just walking in the mall. LOL

Bob ordered the hottest wings and Ashton inhaled them. Jax wanted wings, but not that hot and ended up eating Lexi's sandwich. I just ordered a chicken sandwich.

We had a blast, I love days like this one. And its been a 4-day weekend for me, I still have a whole day to go.

Basketball game #2

2012-01-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

Jax did a ton better at this game, but still has a lot of learning to do. I challenged him to get 5 rebounds and I would pay him 5 bucks and he didn't get one, but thats okay. I love watching him play so much, its so much fun.

Saturday FUN

2012-01-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

The kids all got new things from Grandma and Granpda on Saturday. Jax got a basketball, but ended up grounded, Ashton got a soccer ball and Lexi got a bouncy toy thing. So they played outside for hours on them.

Lexi Moments

2012-01-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

This little girl keeps us busy. She is into everything and has a sassy attitude. But we love her to death.

Just somethings about here that I don't want to forget.

*On the car ride home, I asked her what she had for lunch and she said "I had a shamshit Mommy!" I said "you mean a sandwich?" She said "NO, A SHAMSHIT!!!"

*She has officially gone 2 weeks with no accidents at night and over a month with no accidents at all. I am an all or NOTHING Mom, I don't like pull-ups, I think they're a waste of money and if I'm not buying diapers for all the time, why buy them part of the time? So she is definately potty trained and WE ARE BUYING NO MORE DIAPERS.

*She loves to talk about her poop, its quite hilarious actually. She tells us the color and everything.

*She loves her hair done. She came to me this past week and said "Mommy, you do my hair pretty...please?"

And this is what we came up with. She has beautiful hair, I am quite jealous of it actually. Its perfectly straight, but will curl and crimp with no problems.

*Another funny story while I was doing her hair, she laughed and said "I'm such a princess Mommy!"

Even though this little girl can test my patience to the max, she also lights up our lives. She is very smart and I can't wait to see what she does in this world.

A hero

2012-01-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I got the honor to go and hand out flags to all the people lining the streets for the procession for Fallen Officer Jared Francom. I am amazed at the outpouring of support that I seen, it was truly unbelievable. I did take pictures with my phone, but so wish I would've brought my camera.

The best picture by far was the fire trucks with the flag draped. This will be a day I never forget. All the Police Officers, Fireman and many, many people that were there. People who shedded tears, simply because this guy did what he was suppose to do and died doing it. My heart aches for the ones left behind, but I know he is in a better place watching down over his family and friends. RIP Jared Francom, thanks for all you did and have done.

1st Basketball game

2012-01-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

Its crazy to watch my Son play basketball, it brings back so many memories of being a kid. I miss it! Basketball is my favorite sport to play by far and comes close to being my favorite sport to watch with Football. I love football, I am 100% a football girl.

So Jaxon started basketball a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't quite get the game yet, but he did amazing. He did almost score for the other team and felt embarassed about it. But he is 7 and this is his first game.

Practicing before the game. He is #24 and of course the tallest on the team.

Since he was the tallest on the team he got to jump the ball at the start of the game. I remember always having to do this also, because I was always the tallest.

He wasn't sure which direction to go or anything. He hasn't ever played a real game, so I didn't expect him to get it right from the start.

After about 10 mins, he took a break. They play two 20 minute halfs.

But he didn't get much rest before he was back in.

I was trying to explain to him that he needs to go after the ball. I don't know why he is afraid, but he would sometimes just stand there and watch it and do nothing. But he is only 7 and this is totally a learning thing.

I had so much fun watching them. They definately entertaining at this age. Jax did great for his first game and I have no doubt that by the end of the season he will be ready for next year.

I also think we took up half the bleachers with all his supporters. My parents, his Nanny, his Aunt Joy, his Aunt Autumn, my best friend Misty and her family. It was great having all of them there.

A New Start....

2012-01-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

Its a NEW YEAR and its only taken me FIVE whole days to write this. But I have reasons. We started our new year off with a BANG. Long story short, Bob was sick and I mean SICK. He collapsed on the bathroom floor, doctors aren't sure what happened, all we know is the drugs they prescribe him the day before say NOT TO TAKE IF YOU HAVE A HEART CONDITION. GREAT. Thanks DOC!!! He is fine now. I swear he has someone watching over him 24/7. Then my dear friend at work lost her Husband on the 1st day of the year. This has had me broken. Finding the right words to say, wanting to take away her pain and most of all watching her suffer through all this has been gut wrenching. I can't describe it.

So my MOTTO this year is.....can you guess?

A NEW START!

I hate New Years "resolutions". Why? Because does anyone REALLY and I mean REALLY accomplish their New Years "resolution". Well maybe some, but come on. Everyone wants to lose weight, everyone wants to eat better and everyone wants to have more money. I would love all those things, but there are steps you have to take. So I set goals each month. This month my goal is to plan out my year. I like to plan out vacations, time off, school stuff, look at our budget and see what we can or cannot do. I am a PLANNER, I admit. Next month...well I'll think about it when it gets here.

But the whole reason behind my motto of "A New Start!" I want my family to be closer. I want to have girl nights with my sisters, I want to have date nights once a month with my Husband, I want to have single one-on-one time with each of my kids and I want to spend more time with my Mom. Its healthy to have better relationships with those you love dearly. I want to focus more on my family and less on the drama going on in the world. Sometimes I think people are too tied up in politics and all that stuff that they have no time to think about anything else. Me, I HATE politics. Yup, I just said it. I also HATE all the things going on in our world. I hate all the crime happening.

I was thinking the other night. When I was a kid we didn't have the internet (okay we did, it was dial up, but you tied up your phone line), we didn't have cell phones, laptops, mp3 players, Facebook, Twitter and of course the newest Pinterest. My parents spent their time devoted to us 3 girls. We traveled, learned about things, played games as a family and all that. Its so different now.

So here's to A NEW START, I'm ready, are you?

Top 11 of 2011

2011-12-30T16:09:00.000-08:00

I had all intentions of posting all about every month, but as I went over the months, some were boring. So I've seen some do this and I am joining them. Top 11 of 2011.

Here we go...

11.

Lexi broke her nose, not once....but TWICE. This little girl keeps me on my toes.

10.

My kids all got another year older...dang it. I can't believe I have a 2, 5 and 7 year old. But its scarier to think that next year I will have a 3, 6 and 8 year old.

9.

Lexi had hernia surgery in June, but did amazing.

8.

Jaxon completed First grade and did very well.

7.

I broke my toe, which resulted in not being able to wear shoes for 2 months. But its fully recovered now.

6.

We spent many nights outside by the fire roasting marshmellows.

5.

Bob re-did our yard and it looks amazing. We had several people stop over the summer to tell us how great it looked. We spent several dollars on it, but it was totally worth every SINGLE penny.

4.

We spent many days, hours and minutes soaking up the sun at the pool, Roy Aquatic and Cowabunga Bay. Some of my favorite memories with my kids are swimming, I love the looks on their faces and all.

3.

Giving Secret Santa to a very deserving family. I wish I could give more, its the best feeling in the world. Not only did 97.1ZHT help them, but Bob and I were able to provide this family with their first tree and some things that were needed.

2.

Our week long vacation to Island Park/Yellowstone. Although things ended bad, we still had the time of our lives and we made so many memories with our kids.

1.

Nothing can top all of our time spent at the lake. We were there EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND in the summer. We would get there at 8am and not leave until 5pm sometimes. Its the biggest highlight of our Summer and we are so looking forward to all the time spent there next summer.

We did a lot in 2011, I'm happy with how things turned out. Just a few other things that happened.

*Bob got a clean bill on his heart meaning he doesn't have to go in 6 months, it was extended to a year. Not a big extension, but hey going from dying to super healthy is amazing any way you look at it.

*We paid off all our debt and I LOVE IT.

I'm looking forward to another year of MEMORIES. Everyone stay safe and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Bucket List for 2012

2011-12-29T15:44:00.000-08:00

I can't believe 2011 is coming to an end, but I think we say that every year. Time flies by when your having fun....or I guess no matter what. This year has been good to Bob and I, I think we have grown a ton and learned what the true meaning is of LIFE. I have gained a better relationship with my Family, done things I never thought I would do and everyone came out healthy this year. I think life is on the right track and I love it.

We already have a couple of things planned for 2012.

We had all intensions of a cruise, but our plans changed when I knew I needed to go see my Grandpa who has liver cancer and has chosen to do nothing about it. So in March we are going....

to Texas. I am actually super excited. I love seeing my Grandpa, I love that my kids have a relationship with their Great Grandpa and he is extra good to them. I love my Grandpas Wife Bonnie, who is more like my Grandma then my Mom's Mom has EVER been. I think the world of Bonnie and I am so glad to see them in March. We are looking forward to this trip.

We also have a surprise coming hopefully an official announcement soon...

That should involve this....a wedding. My little sister has found an amazing guy, he truly is what she needed and they will soon be engaged and getting married this summer. I can't wait to welcome Andrew to the family. He is in for a ride of his life...oh wait, Lex already welcomed him.

And in 2012 I want to do more as a family, so...

We are starting with this. I am getting a Mason Jar and we will write down all our memories and share them on New Years, I of course found this on Pinterest (Where else can you get good ideas???).

We are going to have a dedicated family night twice a month where all electronics are turned off and its about playing games and making MEMORIES.

We of course will take our annual summer vacation, but we haven't set in stone where yet. We have thrown around Lake Powell several times, but we may end up at Bear Lake, which is fine with me.

I can't wait to bring in 2012 (Not that I stay awake to do that!). I am excited for a new year and new beginnings. I hope and pray that 2012 is just as good as 2011 was. So BRING IT!!!

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

I told Jax that he could get me up at 6am. But I was hoping he would sleep until atleast 7am, but nope, he set his alarm for 6am, but had been awake since 3:30am. It was killing him, I heard his alarm go off, I had no clue he had done that and then he came running up to tell me it was 6:00. So I managed to get 10 more minutes out of him and he was ready to go. Ashton and Lexi had to be woken up.

My kids could hardly contain themselves. I told them to take the stuff out of their socks first.

It was so funny watching them. Lexi was announcing very loudly everything that was in her stocking.

And then I told them they could open the BIG gifts from Santa and boy did Santa do good.

From Santa: Jaxon got a netbook, Ashton got a 3D DS and Lexi got a white puppy and princess scooter.

In Stockings: Jaxon got toothbrush set, mini skateboard, coloring books, crayons, pencils, pencil holder, watch and candy. Ashton got the exact same. Lexi got a watch, coloring book, crayons and toothbrush set.

My kids made out like bandits.

Jaxon got from us a laptop case, mouse, 3 sets of jammies and 2 sweaters.

Ashton got from us 2 DS games, a DS case, 3 sets of jammies and 1 sweater.

Lexi got from us 3 sets of jammies, a dress, Cabbage Patch, My Little Pony set and blocks.

She quite loves her baby.

After the excitement we got ready...

All dressed up where staying clean didn't last long.

And off to Grandma and Grandpa's we went...

I was most excited for my Mom's gifts.

I had this beautiful blanket made with my kids pictures, my Mom's only grandkids for right now. I think it turned out amazing.

And then I also...

I made this for her, my friend Sunset did the vinyl for me. It turned out amazing.

My kids also got super spoiled once again.

They got tons of clothes.

Jaxon got the one other thing he had been requesting....A POGO Stick. I honestly had no clue he wanted one until a couple of days ago. My Grandma kept telling him she couldn't find one, so when he opened it, his look was priceless.

And Ashton got his new scooter that he has been wanting.

But the next biggest surprise for the kids was this...

Kayaks, I think they are pretty lucky and since we spend our entire summer living at the lake, these will be put to good use. I can't wait for them to use them.

And since Lex is a little too small for a kayak, Grandma and Grandpa settle with this...

She loves her wiggle car. We plan to buy the kids all one for our house, they put them to good use at my parents.

And one last thing that I made for my Grandma

This is a canvas looking picture on wood. I did it with this special stuff from wood creations and I am addicted to it now. I think it turned out amazing.

Bob and I made out pretty good ourselves. From my parents we got money. my Grandma got us a new bed set, my Aunt got us clothes, My Sister Miranda got us clothes and Autumn got us a Giftcard to Applebee's. I also got perfume, make up and jewelry from Bob. Bob got tool set and chocolate.

Hope you all had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

I just have to take a minute and talk about how blessed I am. Never in a million years did Bob and I think we would be where we are today. With his million dollar surgery and all the medical stuff with Lex and I from 2009, we thought there was no way to recover. I was wrong, with lots of hard work, dedication and prayers, we did it. I was able to provide my Family and kids with the best Christmas ever. I am already planning next year, we are looking into a Disney land trip and leaving the day after Christmas.

Our Christmas Eve was very chill, we didn't do much. I baked cookies, kids played outside and we cleaned up the house a bit.

All the presents under the tree with the anticipation of whats in each one killing the kids.

Opening ONE present and I tried to tell them it wouldn't be a fun one for them, but it was killing them to open it anyway.

And away they went and then Jaxon discovered...

IT WAS ONLY JAMMIES.

Lexi was quite hilarious and Ashton is ALWAYS happy to have Jammies.

When Lex finally got her box open she said "Oh panties....I mean Jammies...YAAAAAAY!!!!"

After opening jammies we decorated cookies.

Ashton used one whole tube of GREEN on ONE cookie.

And our cookies were done.

I love the tree all lit up. Its my favorite.

All 3 of monkies in their Christmas jammies. Oh and my little Daisy Doo!!!

Then it was time to calm down. My kids wanted to go to bed, but the excitement of Christmas wouldn't let them go asleep. Suprisingly, they were all asleep by 9pm.

And then Santa came. He wasn't too quiet though, putting that dang scooter together was a COMPLETE NIGHTMARE. Plus he(me) kept cutting the wrapping paper too short to cover the gifts. So after many bad words and taking apart and putting back together, all was good.

And then it was off to bed, where I couldn't sleep either, because I was excited for them.

My Christmas gift

2011-12-24T06:59:00.000-08:00

Because the next couple of posts will be ALL about the kids, I have to show off what I got for Christmas.

Isn't she beautiful, I sure think so. I am feeling pretty good about it. I've never had anything like it. My original wedding ring was a last minute choice, because the one we chose was sold because I had surgery when I was suppose to pick it up. I wore a sterling silver ring while we were engaged. So this thing is beautiful, I keep staring at it and it sparkles.

This is the better picture on the website.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone, be safe!!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from our Family to yours, we hope you find JOY this holiday season and that you all stay safe. 2011 has been good to us and we are super excited for Christmas Day.

Lots and lots of chocolate

2011-12-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

I think I was on a sugar high yesterday. I spent 5 hours making neighbor gifts. I did Oreo Truffles and Chocolate covered pretzels. My Oreo Truffles didn't look like the pictures (I am not a baker), but they tasted AMAZING!!!!! And they were super easy to make.

Oreos mixed with cream cheese and then crushed Oreos.

And a little bit of help from this guy.

And TA DA....yeah, they don't look like balls, but hey, they tasted AMAZING!!! And I didn't buy anything from the store to hand out, it was hand made by ME.

And then lots and lots of these...

And then they were put all together and delivered. Yay, glad to have that done, now its Christmas week and all the chaos of getting everything prepared for the big day has begun.

Last minute Christmas stuff

2011-12-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

First I had to add these pictures. This girl has every color boots you can think of. She is pretty obsessed (and so is Mommy...shhhhh!!!!).

Life has been so busy. I am ready for some time off work, but that won't happen soon enough. I work 4 days the upcoming week and I am off for five days. It just goes by way too fast though.

I feel like I am ALWAYS on the go. I have spent this weekend getting last minute Christmas shopping done and I still have two more to buy for. I swear it never ends. I will honestly be glad when its all over. I have never stressed over finding the perfect gifts, but this year everything I planned.....fell through!

And then my next pet peeve is finding stocking stuffers. I don't want candy for stockings and I don't want cheap breakable toys, I want something that will last. So far I have......tootsie rolls and M&M's, I know I said no candy, but I am okay with a little. But what else can I get? I was thinking flash lights, my boys are obsessed with them and a gift card to a store. What kid doesn't love spending money?

And then the highlight of my weekend....Jax has his basketball draft today. I am super excited and will have pictures tomorrow. Its like Christmas for me already, watching my oldest child play sports. He is dying to play already. We will see how this goes.

Making Memories

2011-12-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

I swore I wouldn't do a gingerbread house this year. I honestly don't like them. Mine never turn out, they get me frustrated and my kids get dirty (I know, I should be use to this.)

Well my kids begged and pleaded to do one. I thought, "Wow, out of all the things that we do, they remember us making Gingerbread houses!" Why not?? Its all about making memories and these are things I want my kids to remember.

So we put the house together, got out the candy and I followed the directions to a T. Did you know you have to let it sit for 15 minutes before decorating? Well I didn't know that. Explains the reason its never worked before.

And whats making a gingerbread house without posing in front of it.

So we waited 15 minutes and well, I am shocked....

So we started with decorating the roof with peppermints and lights.

And well time quickly moved by and before we knew it.

We were done. I'm proud, my kids did good with my help of course.

I love making memories...

Christmas Village

2011-12-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

Its tradition. We bundle up and go out in the freezing cold to Christmas Village in Ogden. I don't know why, but there is no better Santa then the one at Christmas Village. He isn't fake looking or grouchy and I like that.

Last year, Lexi hated Santa, she wanted nothing to do with the Jolly guy. So I was curious how she would be this year. We stood in line for about 15 mins, once we reached the top, she peeked her head around the door and shouted "Mommy, I see my Santa!" I knew at that moment that she would like him. She couldn't stand the wait. She kept saying "I need to see him!"

Oh I love this picture. She sat on his lap after giving me a great big hug and saying "I love you Santa!!" He asked her what she wanted and she announced loud and clear "A white puppy, you bring him to me?" She wants the $50.00 cookie dog that talks. Don't worry, we have it. Its all taken care of, if I could get the thing to shut up, it would be great, because he might take my secret away.

The boys love Santa without a doubt. I was worried Jax would stop believing, but I tell him everytime he questions...."You stop believing, he stops coming!" Ashton told him he wanted a DS and Jax a Netbook. They are both getting those things. I know they seem like big gifts, but these are the only things my kids are getting this year. I am tired of the chaos with toys that they don't seem to play with forever. So Bob and I decided that we would do a DS for Ash and Netbook for Jax, they are getting bikes to replace their torn up ones and some clothes. I am pretty excited. Lex on the hand is different, she is still a baby in my eyes, so I have to grant her request of the dog even though I think its insane.

I love the magic of Christmas. There is just something about sparkling lights and the laughter in the air.

I can't wait for our next events. Christmas Party with friends in Provo Saturday, Neighbor gifts on Sunday. Woo HOO!!!

Pinterest....I've been sucked in...

2011-12-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

I didn't think I would get sucked in, but I did. My friend Sunset asked me if I had been on there and I said no, but send me an invite, I'll check it out. 3 hours later and I am still addicted.

Some of my favorites...

Barns, I am OBSESSED with old barns and new ones. I don't know what it is. I have this secret obsession, well that isn't so secret anymore. I am determined to find many more pictures of barns and pin them to my wall.

I am a Mother of boys and I loved these two sayings. My boys are my world, not that my daughter isn't, but my boys and I have a pretty tight bond. I love being the Mom of boys, they keep me going and they truly love their Mommy.

Do you ever have days where you feel like this? Oh, I have many! So I liked this.

I'm still learning this whole thing. I have no clue how to find people, no clue what my name is, no clue how to upload things, but I do know how to pin things and thats a good start.

I will be trying to make a couple of things myself.

I will be making these soon.

It went a little something like this...

2011-12-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

Bob and I have talked and talked and talked and talked about getting a camcorder. I really really really really wanted a Canon one to match my camera, but beggers can't be choosers right.

Yesterday Bob and I went Christmas shopping, we had no intentions of getting one just yet, but knew we wanted one before Christmas.

Wellll....

Yup, its not the Canon, but hey its Sony and I am super excited. This baby will be put to very good use, especially with Jaxon starting Basketball in January.

Can you believe its already December, because I can't?

We started these things and oh how it brings back memories of being a kid. I love it.

We hope the Holiday Season brings...

We have quite the list of to do's lined up for this Christmas season, so many posts are to come.

Secret Santa

2011-11-28T15:47:00.001-08:00

I got to do the most amazing thing today. It started off my Christmas season perfectly. Listen at http://www.971zht.com/pages/secretsanta/, but grab a couple of tissues, its a tear jerker.

Growing up

2011-11-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

Before the weathers turned bad I wanted to get some more pictures of my kiddos.

So we headed to Beus Pond in Ogden, its beautiful there. Yesterday, we had a minor problem and today again we did, so Lexi is not allowed back there....LOL Yesterday, she was chasing ducks and fell into the pond and today, she was chasing her brothers and split her lip open. She is one tough girl though, I think her Dad hurt worse than her.

I love this pictures. I recently learned how to use my black & white option and it looks amazing. I have more pictures, but can't share them yet as some of them will be Christmas presents and then I will have some at the top of my blog or atleast try to put them there.

I love my babies so much, I just wish they wouldn't grow up so fast.

Setting up Christmas

2011-11-26T07:23:00.000-08:00

We have officially put up Christmas. It is such a work of art trying to figure out where everything is going to go. I still need to figure out a place for my stockings and get a new nativity set, I have been eye balling the one at Costco, I may purchase it on Friday, we will see.

This girl wasn't much help, she had 500 ornaments on one branch, the poor branch was touching the ground, it was quite hilarious!!

These two boys loved it so much they could set up trees everywhere.

Love this picture.

I should be mad right now at my Husband, but I can't be. He mistaked our new tree for something else and took it to the dump. Our new one was a lot bigger and was just white lights, I loved it. But its a good excuse to get a new one at the end of the season and we just used our back up, its still pretty, but nothing like last year.

Love my little monkeys, they are what makes the Holiday Season so much more FUN!!!

And the rest of the decorations. I'm excited, Christmas isn't very far away, we are making our list of things we want to do, we have some very busy weekends ahead of us.

Black Friday / 28th Birthday

2011-11-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

YES, I turned the BIG 2 - 8 today and even though I am one year closer to my 30th Birthday, I still feel like I am 21. LOL

I by far had the best Birthday ever. My Husband SPOILED me majorly!!!

I didn't go shopping late last night, I hate it because you spend the entire day recovering and I didn't want to spend my Birthday that way, so I spent, got up, put Christmas up (next post), got ready and headed out around 10am. It was perfect.

First STOP:

Can you guess? New shoes, not just one pair, but TWO. I love my new K*Swiss, never had a pair and they are the most comfortable pair EVER.

Then we hit up Walmart, where I did some Christmas shopping, can I tell you how good it feels to know I have my kids big gifts out of the way? Well it feels good, I got jammies, toothbrushes for stocking and some odds & ends to tie things to together. I will officially be DONE next weekend.

Then we went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A, that place is a nightmare, but totally worth it.

Then we went to Costco, where I got spoiled again...

Yes, I am the proud new owner of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10. I am in love already. And although I would love to have the CS4, my budget just doesn't fit that in, maybe in a couple of years. I can't believe how expensive it is.

Then it was dinner at Garcias and now time for some RELAXATION.

Happy 28th Birthday to ME!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

I way love Thanksgiving, I always have the best time with my Family! We laugh so hard that by the end of the night not only do we have stomachaches from eating, but from laughing also.

I love my 3 babies to pieces. I am so thankful these three, I hope they know ONE DAY how they mean to me.

These two monkeys went up and down the hill a couple of times. I love the giggling out of Lexi, she loves when her brothers pay attention to her.

And this big boy helped his Grandma with leaves, what a sweet guy he is. He even carried them to the garbage for her.

Ashton learned how to skateboard and was showing me his moves.

He loves to show off.

Jax hard at work whiddling (I think thats how you spell it). He gets a pocket knife from his Grandpa and a stick and pretty much makes the stick raw.

My tiny dog, I love her.

My Son colored his belly button pink with permanent marker, oh the JOY of a five year olds.

My Aunt Joy and me. Love her.

Anxiously waiting Turkey dinner.

And then it was time. Funny story about the turkey. My Dad was cutting it and it was all dark meat, we were kind of scared. Well he was half asleep putting the turkey in and put it in upside down. Made for a good laugh.

Bob made Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake, it was AMAZING!!!!

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Being Thankful

2011-11-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here trying to figure out what to say. I'm thankful for many things in my life, but this Holiday Season means so much more than just gifts. I've been struggling the last two days because for the first time in 26 years my Sister is not joining us for Thanksgiving and I am heart broken over it. I don't want to discuss the reasons why, but I feel like Thanksgiving just won't be the same. So I am going to hold my kids a little tighter this day because one day that might be my case for my kids and I hate to think about it. I feel like sometimes we rush life by and we don't really stop to enjoy the moments. I feel like I am in a strict routine and if I step outside the boundaries it just wouldn't feel right, but I think its okay to be adventerous, to let things happen as they come and to go with the flow.

So some things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving week:

My family. My Husband and kids, I love them so much that its hard to describe. Ashton often tells me that he loves me more, but the truth is no one loves more than a Mother loves their children.

My Parents. They are amazing, my rock, my example and my friends. I love them both dearly.

My Sisters. Even though we fought growing up, some of my fondest memories are with my sisters playing barbies, arguing over who was going to sit where in the car, our dance competitions at our house (oh girls!!!), girl horomones (my poor Dad, 4 women in one house), picking out dresses, arguing over clothes and spending the Holidays together. I miss it all at times and I would give anything to have those moments back.

My Grandma. She does so much for me that at times I feel like what she does goes un-noticed, but the truth is, she is spending the day with 3 kids who love her dearly.

My Aunt Joy. She is like the older Sister I never had. I can always rely on her for a good chat or advice. I love her dearly.

My Friends. I have some of the greatest friends in the world. I can rely on my friends for a good talk and everything. Love you Misty, Cara, Sunset and Rachel. You girls don't know how much you mean to me.

My Job. I recently took on a new job and it has been the greatest blessing in my life.

My home. The place I love, the place I enjoy with my kids. I was thinking about this the other day. Some of our greatest memories will be in the house that it will be so hard to sell it when the time comes. How do you let go of a memory?

Photography. I haven't talked about this much. But I recently have started taking pictures on the side as a side job. I will actually be attending my first photography class in January. I'm super excited and plan on making it an even bigger side job (or as I like to call it....HOBBY!) in the next year. The truth is I eat, sleep and live photography, its my stress reliever after a long day.

I also wanted to mention that on Monday I will be on the radio at 9:30am. 97.1ZHT is giving the family that Bob and I submitted for Secret Santa, Christmas. I am thrilled. Its the best feeling in the world. I can't describe it, but its amazing. So listen if you can, I'm sure I will cry, but I love things like this.

I want my kids to realize that there is so much more than gifts for Christmas and I think I am teaching them right this year. My Family has seen a lot and I think my kids realize they have a lot compared to a lot of people.

So Happy Thanksgiving my blogger friends!!!

Our Saturday 11/12/11

2011-11-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

Saturday was kind of a BORING day. My kids were dying to get out of the house. I had done crafts all day and they kind of just lounged around. Around 3pm, we decided to go to Syracuse Family Fun Center. I hadn't been there for awhile.

We got the boys passes for the super big trampoline and the blow up toys. We didn't waste our money on buying them for Lex, she doesn't go within 5 feet of a trampoline or the blow up toys they scare the living day lights out of her.

Lexi was perfectly content with riding the train over and over and over and over and over and over.

And while the boys ran wild and crazy, because we all know thats what boys need to do.

Lexi pretended like she was driving.

We then played some minature golf, Jax got really into it. I hate golf, I think its the dumbest sport on earth. But I had fun watching.

We ended our fun with another ride on the train only with big brother.

So our BORING Saturday ended pretty well.

Lexi at 2 1/2

2011-11-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with Lexi I was thrilled to have a girl. I grew up with sisters only and I knew a lot about girls, well atleast I thought I did. What I am realizing is just like my boys this little girl is teaching me something new EVERYDAY. I honestly can't imagine life without her. Even though she tests my patience on a hourly basis, she is so much fun and we quite enjoy her.

Some things about Lexi at 2 1/2:

*She isn't shy, there isn't a shy bone in her body, she will talk to anyone and everyone.

*She is majorly obsessed with Babies, she always has one with her, when we to Grandma's, to sleep and when we go to the store.

*She is the pickiest eater by far. But she looks at something and doesn't like it, I try to make her atleast taste it, 90% of the time that doesn't work.

*She loves Mandarin Oranges and cheese and would eat it for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner EVERYDAY.

*She likes to shop!!

*She loves shoes, I am pretty sure she got this from her Mama, I will take blame for this one.

*She is a Daddys girl FOR SURE. There for awhile she wasn't, but she has Dad wrapped around all fingers a couple times.

*She is bossy!

*She is very very very smart. She knows her ABC's, She can count to 10 in english and spanish (THANKS DORA), she knows all colors and shapes.

*She is a fighter, if she wants something she is bound and determined to get it.

*She doesn't like her bike, but loves her tricycle.

*She loves milk and probably drinks too much of it (Is there such thing?)

*She hates naps

*She is FINALLY potty trained minus night time.

*She wants to start dance (First of the year for sure).

*She wants to go to school (Looking into next fall).

*She still LOVES Dora

*She recently started loving jewelry

*Her favorite thing to say is "I not cute, I LEXI!!!" She is very clear about making sure you know her name.

*She loves to cuddle, but ONLY on her terms.

*She loves to play cars with her brothers, but rarely do they like her too.

*She loves to sing "twinkle, twinkle little star" and "Rain, Rain go away!"

*She never stops talking and we on several occasions have to ask her to be quiet for 5 minutes.

And then at the end of the day, I have to remind myself that she is this little girl that has grown up so fast. I love every minute of her and I can't believe in 6 short months she will be 3....Where does the time go?

Week Randoms

2011-11-12T12:26:00.000-08:00

Life has been crazy busy lately, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm not sure I ever mentioned, but in August I got a new position at work and a promotion. I love my new job so much.

Many days have ended like this, we are constantly on the go. Poor Lex was worn out this day.

Ashton had his Thanksgiving feast at school this week. He loved it. Eating at school is apparently the coolest thing these days according to my 5 year old.

And on days like this...

I spend time doing this...

And I just learned 2 days ago how to knit and I LOVE IT! So I am making this beautiful scarf.

And you know its Winter (Well Utah weather says so) when your coat rack is full.

Coming up....Lexi turns 2 and half tomorrow, CRAZY!!!

Giving

2011-11-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

There is nothing more that I love than giving. I love giving to my kids, my family and my friends. Its just me. I would be fine if I never got anything for Christmas as long as I could give to someone in need.

As you have heard me talk about several times, Bob and I are helping a family, the Romo Family.

One day Bob was talking to the Father about Christmas, he explained to Bob that they have never had a Christmas tree in their 4 years of marriage. The first year they lived with her Family, then the second they spent at Primarys and then last year they couldn't afford one. I just couldn't imagine those 2 sweet little girls going without a tree, if anything. So Bob and I bought them a brand new tree with ornaments. It was the greatest feeling to give them the tree. I have never seen two people smile so much over a christmas tree. And it warmed my heart.

Bob and I also submitted them for Secret Santa, as you can remember Bob and I were given Christmas by 97.1ZHT in 2009 and I wanted to pay it forward to another family. So keep your fingers crossed that they choose this family and hopefully I can share all the details later.

Bob and I have been able to give this family some clothes for their girls, winter coats for them, a tree, diapers and shoes. But it doesn't even put a dent in what they need.

Changes...

2011-11-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

I hate cutting Ashtons hair, I think he looks so grown up with his hair short and it makes me sad. But I got tired of stressing on whether or not his hair was brushed for school (because I work a full time job). So this is the new Ashton and I think he is pretty cute. Oh this kid, he makes me smile.

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!

2011-11-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

We had a WONDERFUL Halloween. It was probably one of the best Halloweens ever.

All 3 of my kids chose Pirates, well Lex didn't really decide, she doesn't care yet, but when I said Lex was being a pirate, thats what my boys both wanted to be. I loved it. My sister made Lexi's costume and I way loved it.

I sometimes wonder if my neighbors think I am crazy. I am always out doing photo shoots for everything. But the one thing I will proud of is that my kids will have pictures to look back on.

Lexi totally it down and many times during the night declared "This is FUN!!! I love it!!!"

I had to drag Lex home, it was horrible. She fell in mud and got all dirty and I begged her to come home. She said she wasn't done, but her pumpkin was overflowing with candy. I let the boys go with my neighbor and they returned about 30 mins later in HEAVEN.

And now we have so much candy that I don't know what to do. I honestly hate having candy in my house. I don't know why, but this is the only time of the year we have it. I know...WEIRD!!!

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween, because WE DID!!!

The weekend...Well if thats what you call it?

2011-10-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

My weekend was spent in a chair or bed. I spent the majority of Saturday puking my guts out. I know for real, it was HORRIBLE!!

Friday we decided very last minute to go to the trunk or treat for the ward in our neighborhood. The kids froze the bums off, but it was still nice to get out.

Saturday, we, I mean I did a whole lot of the above. I think this is the only picture that Jaxon isn't buzzing around like a bee.

And this guy has decided I take way too many pictures.

And this girl, I'm finding it hard to keep up with. She came downstairs on Saturday and said "Mommy, I colored my door blue, its pretty!" Oh if she wasn't so dang cute I'd be mad, but its hard NOT to laugh.

And at the end of the day, I'm thankful for these 3 monkeys and I love them to moon and back a million times. They also take good care of their Mommy when she doesn't feel the best.

So thats our weekend, not too exciting at all.

We did it...

2011-10-29T09:54:00.001-07:00

As Dora would say....

She is FINALLY potty trained...FINALLY. We are going on day 5 of no accidents and I am ONE PROUD MOMMY!!!!

She has by far been the hardest to potty train. I tried it all, the bribing, the timer thing and nothing worked. So I asked for help on FB and my cousin advised me that she let her Son run around with no bottoms, just put a long shirt on him. So I thought...WHAT THE HECK? If it will work, I'll try it. So Sunday, we woke up and put a dress on, no bottoms, no underwear, no pants (Unless we left the house), no diaper and it was pretty successful minus her pooping on the floor. So Monday right after she got home from Grandma's we took off everything and she was getting it. It was the first time she went #2 in the potty and I was so happy. Then the next it was the same, no accidents and so on. On Thursday, she got the tummy bug, I worried that this would mess our plan, but my little princess went to the bathroom still even when she was sick. She even got up in the night to go potty. I am so happy! I think its finally clicked and we're there. So its underwear all day long, to the stores and all. Then right before bed, its a diaper. I'll only do this for another month and start winging her at night. We'll do trial periods to see how she does, but normally she wakes up dry.

So I AM HAPPY TO SAY...MY LITTLE GIRL IS POTTY TRAINED.

Pumpkins

2011-10-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

We jam packed EVERYTHING in to one weekend and I am just realizing we did that. The boys insisted on carving pumpkins yesterday, I've never let them do it. I hate the mess it makes and the pumpkins don't last long after that, but since we got our pumpkins late this year, I said "OKAY!!!"

The boys hard at work. I bought the kits and they went to town, I left it all up to them minus opening their pumpkins up. Jax decided he just wanted to do his own thing and then Ash did too. But Ashton was just cutting and not really making anything.

Jaxon finally asked his Grandma for help, after all he is a Grandma's Boy!

But Ashton took some convincing, he is very independent and wanted NO ONE to help him. But I finally begged him to let Grandma help him and well....

she made it perfect for Ashton. I love his pumpkin, its him!!!!

And Lex wasn't allowed to help, I know I am a mean Mom, but she would have been a disaster, she sat with Grandpa and talked the entire time.

Fall Days

2011-10-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

This fall has been amazing to say the least. I love having a fall and not going from super HOT to FREEZING!! I've enjoyed the 70 degree days and being able to not wear a jacket in October.

Also, I think the leaves are beautiful this year or maybe I just recognize them more.

So today we raked up some leaves and the kids had a blast. Ashton isn't in very many pictures because he isn't feeling too hot today.

I love my three babies.

I love days like today, I love watching my kids have fun.

Black Island Farms Year 4

2011-10-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

After a stressful week of work and a very sick Husband I was ready for some FUN. We made plan several weeks ago to go to Black Island Farms over UEA.

I've given up on getting good pictures of this 2 year old. She is always looking somewhere else. I think this is the only picture of her looking.

I love it here, I'm not sure if its because there are so many pictures to take or if its truly that my kids laugh and giggle and smile the ENTIRE time we're there. We'll go with both.

My Daughter was obsessed with the pig, she laughed and laughed and laughed. She kept saying "Its a pink piggy Mommy!!"

Ashton was quite impressed with the water troft (I think that how you spell it?)

Jaxon eye-balled the slide from the moment we walked in...

And then I said, "GO!!!"

And they made a mad dash for the slides.

The slides are always a big hit.

And the looks on their faces are PRICELESS.

Well minus this girl whose Dad sent her down the big steep slide by herself...Oh wait!! That was my Husband and my Daughter, poor thing. But she did say "I want to go again!!!"

I am pretty sure we paid the $50.00 just for the slides, but it was totally worth it to me.

And this little girl, I'm sure next year we will have to fight her to leave the slides.

And then we continued our quest to the tractor ride.

This picture melts my heart. Jaxon always protects his little sister.

Lexi loved this ride, she would go over and over and over again if I would've let her.

And we did get lost in the corn maze, but don't worry we didn't have to call 911.

I truly love taking pictures at this farm.

And we got the perfect pumpkins. I was proud of Jax, his was the best pumpkin. I love the whole adventure at Black Island Farms. Its a tradition that will never end for us.

Our Weekend

2011-10-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

I had an AMAZING weekend...I know I am 2 days into my week and almost half way to another weekend, what can I say, my life is pretty crazy at times.

First off...

Yes, good-bye stupid suburban, HELLO Mercury Mountaineer. I love it, every single thing about it. We have A/C, heat, doors all work, it locks and unlocks, its clean and it doesn't wake up the whole neighborhood when started.

We bought her on Friday and still have NO CAR PAYMENT.

I spent Saturday shopping for a new wardrobe for ME, yes thats right MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I haven't bought myself 3 outfits in one day in who knows how long, I can't even remember. When you have kids, you put yourself on the back burner, well I needed new clothes and it felt good to get some.

Later that night, Bob and I headed to Morgan for a Senior Management Party, but before we took a drive, just him and I up Trappers Loop and took pictures of the beautiful leaves.

We may have snuck in some pictures of us.

We do indeed still love each other.

And it was nice for just him and I to spend some time together in the beautiful mountains.

Its breath taking up there, I love it.

I love the fall leaves.

Meet the Romo Family

2011-10-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is the family Bob and I are going to help. I got the honor to take their pictures today. Something they have NEVER had done. The girls don't even have nice clean clothes, I bought their outfits for the pictures and new shoes. My heart is heavy, because I want to put everything in my life on hold and help this family get to where they need to be.

This is Khia, she just turned 3 a week ago, she has a heart condition and will require a heart transplant before her teen years. She is so full of life. She requires oxygen at times and her lips are constantly blue.

This is her sister Kyra, she will turn 2 on December 8th, she has the most precious face I've ever seen and is super shy.

My plan is to buy these girls some clothes for winter including winter coats and some boots.

I know that this family was sent to Bob and I for a reason.

What I've been up too...

2011-10-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, I clearly have an obsession. I am in love with everything at Wood Creations and I mean EVERYTHING.

NO, there aren't 32 days til Christmas, but this is my Christmas count down I made and I way love it.

I'm buying 4 more of these, I love them and they are WAY easy.

And my FALL letters.

Next up...

Finish my HO HO HO!!!
All my kids names
Our last names
And some Christmas gifts.

Fall Favorites

2011-10-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else find theirself soaking in all of the fall TV stuff? I really can't keep up with any of it. Its really good that I have a DVR, otherwise, I had have to give up some shows.

So here are my favorites...

TWO AND HALF MEN

I have to say I love it way more with Ashton Kutcher in it. I think is an amazing actor and I love all his shows/movies. I am 100% addicted to this show.

MIKE AND MOLLY

If you haven't watched it, you need to, its hilarious and I laugh non-stop. I love this show so much.

BIG BANG THEORY

I laugh for 30 mins straight watching this and sometimes even 15 mins after. Its a bunch of nerds with this hot girl. I have watched this since it started.

2 BROKE GIRLS

This show is new, but hilarious also.

PARENTHOOD

Another funny show that leaves you laughing non-stop, the episode this past week, I am still laughing about.

THE MIDDLE

I still have the last two shows DVRed, hopefully soon I'll get to them. I love this show also.

THE BIGGEST LOSER

I have watch this show since the first season, the people on this show are very inspiring, I especially love this season even though Julian is gone.

SURVIVOR

I am a huge Survivor fan. Love this show and I am really into this season.

CRIMINAL MINDS

I started watching this 2 seasons ago and I AM ADDICTED. Some of things in this show give me the creaps.

DATELINE

I DVR it every Friday, I don't know why I am addicted to this, but I normally DVR it and watch it Saturday morning while doing laundry.

And then some of my other fall favorites...

WOOD CREATIONS

Yes I love this store, not sure my Husband is thrilled about this, but I have spent quite a bit of money there and only been twice.

OLD NAVY

I seriously love their slippers and I am going to buy these this week.

EDENS EDGE

I love the song "AMEN".

These are just some of my FALL FAVORITES.

Paying it forward

2011-10-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe that two years ago I was worried about the Holidays, the truth is I didn't want to face them. I cried daily about it all. I didn't know how I would provide a Christmas for my kids, but realized at the same time that I had the best thing ever and that was my family. We made the best of things, we had so many people step in to help us and its been the back of minds to pay it forward one day. We have done little things here and there. BUT...

We have found an amazing family that needs our help. We don't have all the details yet, but we know the father in this family and they have a sick baby girl with a heart condition. He is working two jobs to make it and pay for all the medical needs of their daughter. We feel that this guy was sent to us for a reason. We happen to meet him at the gas station, I know a little strange, but he is an amazing guy. I hope I have more details to share later. I'm truly excited to do this. Bob and I are at a point in our life where we feel very blessed. We have worked so hard to get where we are. Having conversations with this guy, he has advised us that we have given him HOPE. Its nice to know that someone can look at us and know that good things can come out of bad things. What I am having a hard time with is why so many bad things happen to all the good people in this world. But then I remember that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle and EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.

So hopefully soon I can share all the details and possibly pictures of this amazing family.

And a post wouldn't be a post without some pictures of the 3 people who make me smile on a daily basis.

Why does my baby girl look so grown up? It makes me sad!!

My kiddos

2011-10-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

Do you ever just sit and stare at your kids? I find myself doing it all the time. I wonder how I got so lucky. I've been blessed with 3 kids who at times get on my last nerve, but I would do anything on earth for them. They are my world. I sometimes wish they understood how much they mean to me, but the truth is they don't and won't get it until they someday become a parent.

I love that my boys are boys. They love the dirt, bugs and getting into things. I love that they know how to have fun. They find that life is adventure. They aren't afraid to try something once. They have been through alot in their short 5 and 7 years, but they learned what life is about. They ask questions. They love each other. They are best friends. They watch out for each other. They love me. They come to me for advice.

And this little girl, she is lucky!! She has two big brothers who love her even though she drives them CRAZY. She is a true DIVA. She is spunky, full of life and has enough energy to fill a stadium. She is adventerous herself. She is always trying to see how far she can push your buttons. She is a fighter and I love that about her.

This picture melts my heart. Ashton was explaining to Lexi that they were going to catch a frog. Lex didn't get it. What can I say she isn't a boy.

And all we did was capture a picture of a giant frog and I mean GIANT frog. But we still had fun doing it.

These are the things I hope my kids remember. Hanging out at the park, trying to catch frogs or tadpoles. I hope they remember that I treasured these moments. I love watching my kids have fun, I love the smiles on their faces when they try something new or the curiosity in their eyes. I love the questions they have about something or why the frog got away so fast. I love watching them grow and learn. I simply LOVE BEING A MOM of these KIDDOS!!!

OCTOBER

2011-10-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

I'm actually excited for the weather to cool, yes, I said it!!! BUT I AM NOT READY FOR SNOW. I love this time of year, I feel like I see my kids more and we have more family talks. Instead of everyone running to friends houses or being outside scattered everywhere. I love sitting on the couch with a blanket and watching lifetime movies. I love the smell of fall, the look of fall and I love that right after fall follow some fun Holidays....Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So I'm ready for fall, are you?

Yesterday we went back up to Snow Basin, I love it there. The crisp fall air is amazing!! I love the leaves, I love the flowers, I love it!!!

We took my parents with us and took the same trail only we went a little further since it wasn't muddy.

The view was amazing.

We seen lots of beautiful flowers again along with this bee, I was scared to death to take this. I am allergic to bees.

I'm hoping we can make it up one more time and do some fall pictures. We'll see, it gets muddy fast when it gets cold.

Happy Fall!!!

Crafts

2011-10-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out the new place in West Haven called Wood Creations, I highly suggest checking it out. Its amazing! Their wood is super cute and they have tons of different ideas. The paper and paint are a little pricey, you may want to stick with Walmart for those, but I loved all their wood.

I did the following two, started yesterday and finished them today.

I love them and am in love with this place. I will be going back Friday for more....Yay for being crafty!!

School Stuff

2011-09-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

I don't really remember Jaxon coming home with all this stuff in Kindergarten, we were lucky if Jaxon's stuff survived the class room let alone coming home. Ashton on the other hand is proud of his work and loves to show it to EVERYONE.

The one thing I am learning is that kids really are so different, it doesn't matter that they have the same Mom and Dad, they are just different. Jax loves to play, run, be creative (in ways that have nothing to do with school) and do lots of activities. Ashton loves school, he thrives off of school, he loves to share his work with us, he loves homework, he just LOVES going to SCHOOL. I'm not saying Jaxon hates school, because he doesn't, he loves school because he gets to see his friends, not because of work.

So today was Johnny Appleseed Day and Ashton came running out to the truck with a big smile on his face to tell me about the day. I almost cried because I love how excited he gets. He told me what they did from the time he got there until he left. It was the cutest thing ever.

Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM

2011-09-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

I honestly had never read this book and I am sad that I just found it.

Jaxon was given a project....OH WAIT, I, YES ME was given a project to find a silly story and make it into a play thing. I stressed and stressed and stressed about this. I honestly felt like I was in school again. I went to every store looking for a funny book minus Barnes and Noble. I found this at the Target in Riverdale and loved it. I made a coconut tree and found some letters and Jax presented it to his class today. He was super nervous and so was I, but I'm pretty proud of him. He concurred a fear and did very well.

He got a classmate to help him with the letters, but they wouldn't stay up.

If you haven't read or seen the book, you'll have to check it out. Its a fun book for kids.

PEACHES ANYONE...

2011-09-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

So Friday we went up to Brigham City and picked 6 bushels of peaches, we got 2 bushels, my friend got 3 and her neighbor wanted 1. I cannot believe how many peaches we got. I stressed all night Friday and all day Saturday about what to do with them.

So here it is...

Blanch them in water for 1-2 mins.

Then peel the skin off and slice them.

Put them in jars with sugar water...how to make sugar water? 3 cups of sugar for every quart of water, it gets you through about 3 quarts of jars with peaches in them.

Then process for 25-30 mins.

Then flip them upside down until they seal. Which is normally about an hour.

We got 28 quarts and 9 pints of canned peaches.

A good portion of the seeds.

I also made jam and holy crap it is AMAZING...

This is simple, I buy the instant pectin by Bell and follow their directions, it seriously takes 5 mins and I did 3 batches of these.

I got 23 jars of jam and I'm sure we're good on jam for quite some time.

And this is all the jars minus 6 processing and 4 waiting to process.

I love peaches, can you tell?

Our Saturday

2011-09-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

I needed a nice weekend after this week.

Ashton ended up having asthma attacks all week, then got a double ear infection (the kid has never even had an ear infection) and missed 2 days of school. I lost it all on Thursday, Ash was up late crying from 1am until I went to work at 5:30. I was late to work and I am NEVER late, I was 1 minute late and normally I'm there 20 mins early. I cried because Ash didn't feel good and I had to go to work. It was quite a week, but I survived and only used a couple hours of unplanned time.

Sooooooooo.....I wanted a good weekend. I love Saturdays, its my time with MY FAMILY all day LONG!!

So we got up, cleaned house, the girls went to Ross for some shopping and then we went grocery shopping as a family. ALL 6 of us, we have Bob's daughter this weekend. Then we came home unloaded and headed to my most favorite place....WANNA GUESS? Jensen Park.

Fed the ducks...

Do you think ducks ever get sick of bread? I'm just curious!

Ate some rocks....naughty puppy!!

Drank some nasty water to help the rocks go down....AGAIN naughty puppy!!!

Throw a piece to the ducks and then eat one myself....I got proof LEX!!!

Tease the ducks from the bridge...

Or strut your stuff on the bridge...

Sneak up on ducks

Then we took the trail and on the way to the back ran into this girl and her Dad, they had caught the biggest frog EVER...So guess what we did for the next hour. 3 kids were determined to find a frog.

So we hunted...

And hunted...

And hunted.....

And hunted with NO SUCH LUCK. They spotted a few, but were impossible to reach. The girly side of me was happy, but the Mom side of me was bummed for my kiddos.

And this little girl...I've decided, she is 90% girl and 10% DIRT...yes you read that ride, she is a girly girl, but loves DIRT...WHY???

And then this little girl gave me the best laugh, she is a brave little 1 pounder. Walks in the water and it drops off and down goes Daisy, she had to swim for her life, but made it out alive.

And then she rolled around in the dirt. I seriously love this dog, she is hilarious!

The kids discovered tadpoles or "tadfish" as Ashton called them and we spent another 15 mins trying to put one or three into a water bottle. ITS WAS UNSUCCESSFUL, but they still had fun trying.

The one thing I learned though is that my Son Jaxon has NO PATIENCE whatsoever. He was mad that he didn't have one the first minute. I had to explain to him that he is going to go through trials in life and things aren't always going to go his way, but its in how he deals with them that makes things happen. I don't think he gets it still....BUT we're working on it.

Overall, a great Saturday and now its relaxation and I'm making the Husband watch a chick flick....I know I'm mean...lol!!

Life Lately...

2011-09-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

I've been really spoiled lately....

First, I got a new refridgerator, but because our other one broke, the my camera and now.....

THIS

Bob and I have never bought a couch together. My Mom buys new ones quite often and since we moved into this house we've had one she gave us. This is leather, its got two reclining chairs on the outsides and I LOVE IT!

We've also been getting ready for fall, I love the fall colors, seriously I could do fall in my house all year long.

My new wreath that will probably stay up all year long, it fits perfect with my new couch.

I found these cute things in the dollar section at Target, perfect for candy corn that I don't need.

My new glass vase filled with popouri, pumpkin spice.

And some more decorations...

I love FALL!!!!

Change of season...

2011-09-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Bob and I decided this year we are going to spend each Sunday at Snowbasin until the leaves change. I love it up there, its beautiful. So we took a drive up today and this is how it looks right now...

The leaves are definately changing, but in a couple of weeks this will look totally different.

While up there we went for a little hike. Lex did pretty good and kept up.

We even took Daisy with us and she was in HEAVEN.

And we seen lots of beautiful things...leaves, flowers and just the scenery all around.

We were going to take a ride on the tram, but they won't allow dogs, so next weekend, thats our plan.

I'm excited to watch the leaves change...

September randoms

2011-09-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

Oh I love September, I love everything about it. The weather is cooling down, the leaves are changing colors, its beautiful everywhere you look and its closer to the holidays (I'm in no rush for them to get here though). I love the change of a season minus when it snows, I'm not ready for that white stuff to fall onto my sidewalk or grass, but its coming whether I like it or not.

Here are just a few things we've been up to....

Potty training these two girls. Daisy outside and Lex in, but Lex is a little confused she would rather pee outside. Oh the life of a two year old when your young and innocent.

Bath nights into new jammies instead of gowns or no jammies. Thats when I know its changing season.

Homework, homework, homework....does anyone else with kids in school feel like their in school again? Because I do. 2 hrs every night is devoted to homework and reading....JOY!!!

Riding bikes from the time we get home until bath time...because heaven knows we won't be doing this once that white stuff makes its first appearance.

Taking advantage of the last days of shorts weather, because its going to be gone real soon.

Falling asleep on the couch because your so worn out from all the running and playing.....oh and your puppy joins you, she is there I promise....LOL

I can't wait for fall pictures honestly its my favorite time to photograph, I love all the colors.

Meet....

2011-09-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

Daisy. My new puppy! Yes, you read that right she is mine.

Here's the scoop, I had no intentions of getting a dog honestly. The truth is my baby is growing up and I can't have anymore and it makes me super sad. So relieve some of my sadness I got a cute little puppy, she weighs less than a pound, but is so cuddly and cute. And she is already WAY attached to me. She also loves the kids.

I love her.

Camera Fun

2011-09-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

I love my new camera...Love it!!

Its good for capturing sassy attitudes.

Shocked attitudes when a certain girly girl doesn't get her way.

Love faces.

giggly faces.

Tired faces.

Loving Daddy moments.

I am still learning how to use the bigger lens, I didn't realize it was that different. I am looking at a class to take, but can't decide on one just yet with my extremely busy schedule.

I have lots to blog about...hopefully soon.

Family Pictures 2011

2011-09-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

We took our pictures out at the ranch at Antelope Island. My kids were all naughty and it was a struggle. Next year, I'm threatening them all. For the most part they turned out good. I love the ones of Bob and I. I just wish Lexi would've looked in a couple of them and that my eyes didn't look squinty in a bunch of them. But o'well I love them anyway. Thanks to Sunset for taking them for us.

Getaway

2011-09-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

First of all.......GUESS WHAT??????

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Okay, I won't make you wait any longer......I GOT MY CAMERA, I am the proud and I mean PROUD owner of a brand new Canon T2I, to say I am in love is an understatement. I'm so happy that I have a permanent smile on my face and I can't stop thinking about all the pictures I wanna take with this thing.

But I'm sure you are sick of hearing me wine about a camera.....SO, lets talk about our little getaway.

We packed up...

Took this little girl to spend the night with her Grandma..especially since Grandpa was gone.

Picked up these two cuties who were surprised by my new camera and Jax said "OH NO, Mom has a new camera!!!" Yes, I do Son, YES I DO. We decided to take the boys with us, its tradition now to go to Park City, spend lots of money and have fun.

Then stopped after checking into our hotel at Crown Burger to eat.

I think he is pretty cute, the girl who gets him when he is older is going to have to have a LONG talk with me, because she better treat him right....LOL

We went back to the hotel (did I mention we got this for FREE? Yes, we did. A dear friend at work gave us her reward points to use for a FREE hotel stay.) and swam. They have a water slide that goes on the outside, but it was closed for the winter....YES WINTER....YUCK!!!!

Then I bribed them with their treats to go back to the room. I wanted to relax and watch Big Brother...yes, I'm addicted to reality TV.

I'm telling you he is so cute and I could photograph him ALL DAY. He has that perfect face for photography or maybe I am biased, who knows, I am his Mom.

We had every intention of going to the Alpine slide, but they didn't open until 11am. I am an early riser, we got up to Park City at 8am. I like to get things done. Well the outlets opened at 10am and shopped til we dropped and the boys were NAUGHTY. Jax was on a roll and Ash was SICK OF SHOPPING. Funny thing is, they got tons of new clothes and brand new shoes. I had no intentions of buying more shoes for them and well, I DID. So I think they should be happy we shopped...right? So by the time we lefted, we both decided to go home, I was missing Lex bad. Next year I will take her for sure.

We let the boys run around at the park until the stores opened. Then we hit....ready for this....Old Navy, Childrens Place, Fossil, Downeast Outfitters (My fav store), Famous Footwear, Bose and Carters. Yes, we spent money in every single store. Bob finally got his watch he has been wanting and new Bose speakers for the computer that he has been drooling over for years. Hey, he did buy me a new camera, so I had to let him get SOMETHING.

While I was in the store, the boys did this...

Which is a good thing, because they may not have came out of a couple of stores ALIVE.... :\

We then left, hit McDonalds for kids meals and went home to see this cute face...

She is pretty cute and I missed her quite a bit.

Dora slippers....whats better than that?

And now its time to put all this away....YIKES, anyone wanna help?

Stay tuned...Family pictures on Sunday, I'm pretty excited.

8 Years

2011-09-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

On this day 8 years ago, I married my Husband Bob, he was 30, I was 19. It seems weird to look at the age difference now, but in reality we just fit. Our wedding was perfect, we got married at 5pm at Layton Park in a pavilion. We had many family and friends there. The judge was 30 minutes late and I was freaking out, but when he arrived all was good. The weather was gorgeous and everything just came so perfectly together. I had surgery two weeks before my wedding, but I have the best family and they took care of everything while I was down. I ordered my cake the day before my wedding (yes, thats how chaotic everything was). But the cake turned out amazing.

We had a good reception from 6pm-8pm with music, food and dancing. After that we left and headed to Draper where we stayed in a hotel.

The next day we headed to Vegas and I learned that Vegas is not all its cracked up to be. We came home early and got everything together in our house.

I can't believe its been 8 years. I wouldn't change anything. Bob and I may not have the best luck, but we always work through every single trial thrown our way.

We truly love and care about each other. I thought I was going to lose him two years ago and I still fear that at any time he could be ripped away from me. We enjoy the moment and live for today instead of working about tomorrow. We have learned so much from each other and there isn't another guy I would want beside me. He treats me so good and takes care of our family.

We are celebrating our anniversary on Thursday into Friday in Park City. So more pictures to come.

Happy Anniversary Bob, I love you!

Labor Day

2011-09-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

First of all, I have decided on a camera. I was dead set on the T3I, which is the most expensive, but NO ONE around here sells them and the last thing I want to do is WAIT, I have zero patience, as I am sure you are well aware of. So here is what is came down to, I could buy the T3I for $1000.00 from Best buy and just the camera, no extras at ALL or I found at Costco a whole package deal on the T2I for $849.00, it comes with an extra lens, extra battery, SD card and some other extra stuff. To me this was the better deal and really there aren't many differences between the T3I and T2I, so I will be getting the T2I and spending $150.00 less. Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good deal, so thats the deal. I will have my brand new camera in hands tomorrow (when Costco is open, because they closed today). I probably won't sleep tonite....LOL

Next, I thought I for sure knew what I wanted to do for picture outfits, well that was until I sat down to figure out what the boys would wear and could match NOTHING to Lexi's outfit and I meant NOTHING. I have searched HIGH AND LOW....so I'm changing it, but I there will be gray in it somewhere, because there is tons of gray stuff, just tying it all together will be a challenge and well Lexi has a new outfit for Fall. Nothing wrong with that right? So here is what I have in mind. A guy sweater with this adorable cute skirt that has brick red in it from Old Navy for Lex. For Me, a gray sweater with a brick red shirt underneath it with jeans and boots. For the boys, a gray button up with brick red shirts under them and that does include Bob. Next year, I'm hiring someone to pick out my outfits.

So for now the whole reason for this post...Labor Day. We did nothing, which is okay with me. My Sister and I picked out material for Lexi's halloween costume, its her new hobby, so she says. Stay tuned for that, its a surpise.

This morning while the breeze was blowing and it wasn't scorching hot, we went for a walk at Jensen Park in Syracuse. We took food for the ducks and we had lots of fun. The ducks kept following us and the kids were cracking up.

Our weekend

2011-09-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the park to let the kids run around. I'm staring at this pictures and they make me sick, because the quality is HORRIBLE, but I guess atleast I have pictures right?

We had a very low key weekend, Bob spent ALL day Saturday fixing the truck once again. The boys went to the lake yesterday, hence Ashtons outfit at the park.

Later we sat out back with a fire. It was nice, not hot at all and I love it. Having a fire in the summer is torture. The kids ate an entire bag of marshmellows, talk about stomach ache, I had one for them.

Jax took Lex for a ride all around the yard on his scooter, it was funny and she was laughing so hard. She is also in her underwear, they are inside out and backwards.

Today, I think were gonna for a hike or walk or something. And TOMORROW, Bob and I celebrate 8 years of marriage...Yup, we sure do.

OH how I love September...

2011-09-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

September ranks up highly with May, I love September. Its not scorching HOT, its just right. Its the month I got married and one of the many reasons I love September.

Just a picture I never posted and thought was cute, well Lexi, not me....LOL

Lexi is obsessed with popcicles or doracicles as she calls them. They are slow melt and I love them, because she isn't covered in them by the time she is done.

Boys, their pretty goofy. My boys come up with the most random things to do. Today it was trying to fit both of them on one bike.

This little girl is always left alone to figure stuff out, I feel bad for her, she is never invited to play with the boys. But she is pretty independent.

We have a pretty good list for Fall/Winter and here it is...
~This is in no particular order at ALL

*Celebrate our 8th Anniversary
*Lexi completely POTTY TRAINED, she is on day 6 of no diapers, but she does wear one to bed. Is it sad that I am not ready for her to be potty trained?
*Park City, Alpine Slide and SHOPPING!!!
*Snowbasin tram ride to the top of the mountain
*NEW CAR....I want to shout this REALLY loud, I'll save this for another post.
*Salsa making...YAY, my favorite
*More Jam, Peach and Raspberry
*Canned Peaches, one of my favorites growing up
*Halloween decorations, I want to decorate my yard, buy a little each year
*Family pictures, thanks to my dear friend Sunset and I will have a NEW camera.
*Pumpkin patch
*Pumpkin carving
*Costume shopping, we have a new halloween store right around the corner
*Haunted houses, Jax wants to go this year, I was younger than him when I first started going.
*Sledding in Park City
*Soup party (its tradition now)
*bake cookies
*Gingerbread houses, even though ours NEVER turns out.
*Neighbor treats
*Christmas decorations
*Pumpkin cheesecake

And I am sure there are many more, but these are all I can remember right now.

And here is a sneak peak at the cutest boots for Lex for our family pictures next weekend.

I'm in love...and I am getting my camera Tuesday....YAY!!!!

Happy, Happy!!!

2011-09-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

I get to debate all weekend about which camera I want to get....

These are the top choices right now.

First, the T2I, its been out for awhile, its rated good and looks like an awesome camera, its within my price range and comes with an extra lens.

Then, there is the brand new Canon, that I am in LOVE with, its also ranked good, a little pricey, but what I really want.

This is the thing, I am scared that it will be taken away from me again. So I am not sure I want to spend $900.00 on something that someone else thinks they have the right to take away. SO I would probably carry it EVERYWHERE with me including work, no joke, I would buy a bigger purse.

What do you think I should do? Either way, I am getting a camera and I AM SO EXCITED.

OH you make me smile...

2011-08-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

I want to remember this week for the rest of my life....well the time before 6:30pm when homework started for Jaxon and he threw a COMPLETE UTTER FIT.

The things I want to remember are these:

1. Ashton on his first REAL day, he woke up and came in the bathroom while I was doing my hair with a BIG giant smile on his face and said "Mom, I am so happy to go to Kindergarten."

2. When I picked Ashton up from my Moms and he immediately ran to the door screaming (because Ashton DOES NOT talk quiet) "Mom, you've gotta see what I did on my first day!" He talked and talked and talked and talked and talked about his first day and I loved every SINGLE minute of it. I truly wish I had it recorded, because NOTHING beats it.

3. Today, he said to me, "Mom, I have a friend thats in a wheelchair." and he sweetly declared his name. Seriously, I had a tear run down my face. I love this kid. I love his outlook on life. I love the way everyone is his friend no matter the cirmcustance.

4. When Jax on DAY 3 FINALLY completed his homework without a single tear and said "Well, thats wasn't so bad!" Yes, Jax, my love I have been telling you that for 3 days now.

Somedays I just want to freeze time, it seems like its racing by. Its already September, before we know it the year will be over and we'll be making plans for next year. I still can't believe I have 2 kids in school, someone needs to pinch me.

Life with a 2 year old...

2011-08-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

I have a very busy two year old and I mean VERY busy. She is protesting naps, passing out anywhere her little heart desires.

This is where she passed out today. This was after a fight to try to get her to her own bed and I finally gave up, looked over 2 mins later and she was GONE.

This is her face today. I actually thought it would look worse. She looks like she was in a fight. Her nose hasn't really stopped bleeding, but its not a constant flow, just if she crys, it bleeds.

Its also a constant battle to get this girl to eat. She is picky and I mean picky. I ordered her a grill cheese at Applebee's and she wouldn't even touch it, thats how picky she is. Normally all she eats is cheese, but she doesn't like bread with cheese, she is weird, I'm telling you. I hope this pickiness ends soon, its killing me. I hate trying to figure out what she is going to eat. The only good thing is that she normally eats her meat, she is definately a meat eater.

Life with a two year old GIRL is a struggle, this girl is sassy and try to work her way into the danger zone ALWAYS. She thinks she is the boss and we are working on not laughing and letting her get away with things, because she is acting bad more.

P.S. Still NO word on my camera, I bummed, I cried almost everyday this week. Its hard to realize that it really truly is gone. Good thing I have my other camera, but it just DOESN'T do the job and anyone who has a DSLR knows what I am talking about.

It never ends...

2011-08-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

This cute funny silly little girl...

Looks like this in a matter of hours.

I keep thinking I've seen the worst of it all with my boys, but this girl is 10x worse. She is party monkey, I swear, so another broken nose and a black eye to with it. I'm afraid to take her in public.

Sick to my stomach

2011-08-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

I feel that maybe writing about this will ease some of my pain. I have been sick to my stomach for 3 solid days, I haven't slept, I am worried, I have a awful feeling and I feel unsafe.

Here is what happen:

My parents came over for a barbecue Saturday, they left around 6, we decided to run to Target, I needed some stuff and just really wanted to get out of the house. I set my camera on the counter before we left, never in a million years did I think that would be the last time I saw it. We were gone 45 mins, thats IT!!!! Came home, the back door and screen door were open, I said to Bob "Someone broke in!" He said "No, the wind blew it open." I blew it off, thought nothing more of it at all. Fast forward to Sunday, got up, we wanted to do something fun for the kids last day of Summer. We thought, Cherry Hill (Closed), Raging waters (expensive), Zoo (Too Hot)....Finally we settled on a picnic and splash pad. We left to get Ash a haircut, I realized I forgot my camera and asked Bob to swing back home. I knew I left it on the counter, but thought maybe Bob moved it. It was no where, we spent 2 hrs searching our house and NOTHING. I knew it wasn't good the minute it wasn't in the place I left it or in the camera holder where Bob ALWAYS puts it. I called Dispatch Non-Emergency and they were here in less than 5 mins. The officer took my report, but here is a scary part. Two weeks ago someone broke into the house next to us that is vacant. I swear someone is living there, its just kind of crazy things happening. The guy cut the screen off, took out the screen and opened the window. Cops verified that someone is indeed staying there or has stayed there. When the cops arrived after our neighbor called, the guy told the cop he was doing yard work (if only you could see this yard, its HORRIBLE!!!) for the bank. Its all ONE BIG LIE. This guy fooled the cops and now its turning to be worse. There have been 6 break-ins in our neighborhood. Cops took the serial # for my camera since I still have the box. I check KSL all day long and craigslist. Then yesterday Jax was talking about his DS and that it was missing, he said "Mom, my DS was right next to your camera." And it was, he was playing it before we left for Target. I don't know what else is missing, this is all I know so far. But I am scared and so are my kids. I told Bob we will have a security system installed or I am buying a gun. Ashton cried all last night, I tried to reassure him that everything will be okay, but I am scared too. No one should have to feel this way ever and its the sickest feeling in the world. Someone, I wish I knew who, walked into my house and stole MY things that I have worked hard for, not them. So friends, lock your doors and be safe, this world is kind of crazy.

A day of many firsts...

2011-08-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

This boy has joined the school fun. I can't believe it. Ashton's Kindergarten teacher is Mrs. Porter, I'm excited for him, she sounds way awesome. Bob and I were talking about how he was just a baby and now he is this 5 year old boy with an imagination that runs wild. This boy is so fun, he has the funniest personality and he keeps me rolling. I definately shedded some tears. It scares me to send my kids out into the world, its a cruel world and I want to protect my kids always. Happy first day of school Ashton, as I told you last night, today was the first day of the rest of your life. This is when life truly begins...in my opinion.

And this cute boy, he started second grade, but what I can't figure out is why he seems so grown up, I looked at him sitting in his desk and I couldn't help but cry again. He went from this happy go lucky baby and toddler to this grown up kid. He was really excited for second grade, but really misses his teacher from last year, she was pretty amazing. He has Mrs. Williams and she sounds amazing.

So proud of my boys and who they are today. I am excited for this school year, I think its going to be great. We have 3 year until Lexi starts, so I think were good for a bit.

And then, Lexi had a first today....

This little girl had her first dentist appt, surprisely she did amazing. I thought I had traumatized her forever with all the doctor visits she has had in her life. But she shocked me and she has NO CAVATIES. My boys, well thats a whole other story.

Last Day of Summer Break

2011-08-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well the end of summer couldn't of ended worst. Our house was broke into last night and my camera was stolen. I am so upset. I finally have myself calmed down enough, but I feel sick to my stomach and I don't feel safe at all.

But I knew I couldn't ruin my kids last day of summer, so we headed for a picnic and to play at the splash pad.

We still managed to have fun even though I am so sick to my stomach and worried. I can't believe this is what the world has come to, people stealing from other people who have worked so hard for the stuff they have. Trust is huge and I don't TRUST anyone.

So its back to school tomorrow, I'm sad, my middle one is starting school, he is a big time Mama's boy and I'm going to be a mess. But he is excited. And Jax is going to second grade.

Back to school...

2011-08-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, this summer has flown by. And this year I have two kids going to school. Its pretty stressful getting them ready and all that stuff. I am pretty much done minus a few things here and there, but all the major things are done.

Backpacks, I got these awhile ago from Old Navy, I love them and so do the boys. My boys have never really been into the animated backpack character people or whatever they are. But I'm afraid that will change with Lex, she isn't giving Dora up anytime soon and the newest is Strawberry Shortcake.

Shoes, I got a screaming deal. As I have said before I am ALL about coupons. So I was sent a $10.00 off JCpennys card, the shoes ended up being $25.00 a piece, they are Sketchers and were normally 65.00. I got two pairs of shoes and 2 pairs of socks for $60.00 all together. I love sweet deals.

Pens for Mommy to sign Tuesday folders, reading charts and all the other fun things and Pencils for the boys for homework. I am dreading this, I love not having to fight with my kids about homework or worry about early bed times and getting everything ready the night before. I love being able to say, "Yes Jax, you can wear your flip flops and Ash, just don't worry about shoes." So this is going to be hard to get back into a normal routine, but I know we can do it.

So Happy Back to School!

Island Park Day 4 and coming home...

2011-08-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

We really didn't have anything planned this day, nobody was sure what they wanted to do, so we played it by ear and decided to raft the river this time.

Lexi in her own world, she is a busy busy busy girl. Into everything, I have to watch her closely.

We went to Mack's Inn, rented a raft and we brought our tubes. The plan was that my Mom, Bob, Lindsey and all the kids would ride the raft and my Dad and I would tube down, while Phil was in his pontoon boat, but we switched off the whole way down.

While rafting down we ran into this (these pictures are from Phil's phone. A Mommy Moose and her baby, not very old according to Phil. It was heaven, a little scary, but the coolest thing ever.

We went back, showered up and relaxed for the evening.

We had s'mores and Lex fell asleep in my Mom's arms for the second night in a row.

We hit the bed early, we were all exhausted.

And today we woke up early, Bob, Lexi and I left at 7:30am and got home a little after noon.

Lex fell asleep 20 mins before we hit our drive way. I was hoping it would've been sooner, but nope.

I can't wait until next year, hopefully a lot less drama and somewhere new, like LAKE POWELL (thats the plan right now).