Just Another Day in Paradise

Its Been a LONG Time!

2012-01-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

I havent updated in so long, but there is a good reason! In case you have missed it elsewhere, we are VERY surprised to be expecting a baby!!

I found out the first week of August that another one was on the way, and by mid August I was on bed rest and have pretty much been there ever since, due to numerous causes. At some points it was not allowed off your bed for any reason other than restroom use bedrest to more relaxed bedrest.

Right now I am at "allowed one short outing per day, no lifting, vacuuming, or carrying things up stairs."

Im almost 30 weeks, and no one thought we would make it past 28. My OB and my Peri both thought it would be amazing to get to 28 weeks. Our goal was 24. Baby is doing great though, we go in weekly for Non Stress Tests and then often for growth scans. If at any point they see she isnt growing at the same rate she has been, we will deliver that day.

Anyhow, that is where I have been, just to fill in the two or three people who read here :)

Hope all is well with all of you.

How To Make a Girl's Twirly "Strip Skirt"

2011-07-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

First off, let me say, I hate that I always call them "strip skirts" but that is what they are, skirts of strips.

Pick out two or more coordinating fabrics. How much you will need depends on your child's height and waist size. I picked up one yard each of two fabrics, and had more than enough to create a skirt for my 7 year old who is 50 inches tall. You will also need a GOOD thread that matches your fabric, EXTRA WIDE DOUBLE FOLD Bias Tape that matches your fabric, and thread the same color as the bias tape. Oh, and some 3/4 inch wide elastic long enough to comfortably go around the child's waist with at least 1 inch to spare.

Ideally you need a rotary cutting made and rotary blade. I suppose if you don't have one, nor a family member you can ~~steal~~ borrow one from, you can measure and cut by hand but I wouldn't recommend it. My brain hurts just thinking abouthow long that would take, and how unsteady my hand is.

Once you have your fabrics (I adore Hobby Lobby, they have super cute fabric, grouped by designer, with coordinating fabrics together and they are WAY cheaper than my other favorite place I wont mention here) Measure your childs waist. Multiply that by five. Yes, five. That is how wide you will want your skirt. If you prefer it to be less "twirly" you can go less. Then measure on your child how long you want it to be. I wanted my daughter's to go to about her knee. From where she wears her pants to her knee is 14 inches. I cut my strips 13 inches because by the time you take away for edges and add the waist, it all works out.

For this particular skirt I chose a large print fabric, so I cut my strips 5 inches wide. (Im not going to lie, the wider the strips the less I have to sew together to get to 115 inches) I have done skirts with 3 inch strips.

First, decide which fabric you want to have as your waistband and make sure you set aside plenty for that. The waistband should be about one half the width of the skirt, less if needed, but no more. I didnt want to buy more fabric just for the waistband, so while the skirt is about 115 inches wide my waistband is about 45. Next, figure out which way to lay your fabric to get the most amount of strips, carefully cut your fabric using your rotary cutter.

For this tutorial I used French Seams. They just look SO much better than regular seams. However, they take double the time. To me, it is worth it. If you choose to use regular seams, just ignore the extra steps. If you are fortunate enough to have a serger then that is the best option for nice finished edges and speed. One day I will have one.

Take your first two peices of fabric. Ignore your instinct to place the fabric right sides together. Place them WRONG sides together and sew along one long edge of fabric, remembering to backstitch at the beginning and the end of the stitch, staying close to teh edge. I think Im about 1/8 inch here.

It will look totally wrong to you and that is perfect. Grab another strip of fabric and place it to one you have alreaday sewn, again, wrong sides together, being sure to keep with the pattern of your fabric. Then add another.

And another.

This goes on FOREVER.

Once you have a ridiculously huge strip of fabric pull out your iron and make sure it is full of water.

Starting at one end, fold peices one and two together, right side facing, getting the sewn seam as close to the edge as possible. Press. Then do the same with two and three, three and four, all the way til the end.

Back at yoru machine, sew peices one and two together in the direction you steamed them, RIGHT SIDES NOW FACING being about 1/4 inch and remembering to backstitch at start and finish.

After you do your first one check it and make sure that you can't see the edges from the original seam poking through. If you can, just sew another seam a little larger this time. When this is done, the front should look like a normal seam, and the back should be so beautiful and finished that you may want to cry. French seams are THAT beautiful. (Apparently I was so moved by their beauty that I forgot to take a photo, but you can kinda see here how they look. I will add a better one later)

Now do that a million more times til all your seams are finished. Take the two ends together and create another French Seam so instead of a long strip you have a loop wide enough to go around your Suburban.

Trim loose threads and iron the seams all pointing one direction. Now pull out your bias tape and iron out the places where it was wrapped around the cardboard.

Place the first inch or so along the bottom making sure the seams are pointing TOWARD you. I sew with teh right side of the fabric facing up, but either way is fine. The seams pointing toward you is important, or when you are finished and taking pictures for the tutorial, your daughter will point out where the seam wasnt all the way down in the bias tape and tell you "You aren't a good sewer mommy"

Back to the Bias tape. First secure it to the skirt bottom with a backstitch. You CAN pin this, but for me, it is easier not to. Once you have done your backstitch, pull back lightly on the bias tape, slightly stretching it as you sew. It will help with teh ruffle. Go all the way around the skirt. For our skirt, the bias tape was 36 inches, but with stretching it made it around the entire thing. Barely. When you get to the back to the start, fold the edge of the bias tape under just a tad so the raw edge isnt showing and stitch over it, finishing with a backstitch. Then I turn the skirt and sew just a stitch or two along the opening so it is totally closed. This is your hem. For some fabrics, there just isn't a bias tape that will look good, so you can press and sew a regular hem.

Set aside the skirt and take the peice you have chosen for the waistband. Press in the side about 1/8 inch, then fold it over again and press. (Like a hem along the short sides) Stitch each side.

Then take the top of the waistband and fold it 1/4 inch and press, then one full inch and press again. You should have a few inches left under the folds.

Sew along the bottom of the pressed fold, closest to the rest of the fabric, creating the area for the elastic band to go through.

Fold fabric in half, creating a loop. With right sides together sew at 1/4 inch the left over fabric, TAKING SPECIAL CARE TO NOT SEW SHUT THE WAISTBAND. *Remember the waistband should be about double the actual waist that it will adorn)

If you haven't already, you probably want to refill your bobbin before this next step. Do one or two stitches about 1/4 inch down and backstitch. Without removing your needle, set your stitch to the longest possible. For most machines it is a 5. (Please make sure you are on LONGEST and not widest) Keep stitching all the way around the skirt, staying about 1/4 inch from top. When you get to the end, raise your needle and presser foot but DO NOT CUT THE THREAD. Pull the thread six or so inches before cutting it. Hold tightly to one thread while pulling the fabric away from you, or, use your preferred way of gathering. Your goal is to make the skirt the same width as your waistband.

With your skirt "right side out" and your waistband "inside out"match them up in size, pinning along the way. (The waistband is INSIDE the skirt, with wrong sides facing one another. You will likely have to adjust your estimated width of the skirt. Make the ruffles pretty even, though with this particular skirt its hard to tell if its even once it is finished, so I dont worry too much. As long as one section isn't ruffle-less it is all good. Once you have them matched as you want them, sew together, about 1/4 inch down. It is likely that you will have to help the fabric move along unless you have a walking foot. (Which I just realized I do and didnt use it. Oops) Now pull the waistband up over the skirt top and fold it down over the skirt, making right sides together. Stitch around the skirt at 1/2 inch, creating a French Seam where the waistband meets the skirt.

I had to do this step twice because the first time I was too close and when I finished you could see raw edges poking out. Now it looks like a skirt with a giant waistband. Cut your elastic to the size your child needs, adding one inch. Put a large Safety Pin on one end of the elastic and feed it through, making sure not to twist the elastic, while holding onto the loose end.

Now Im going to let you in on my dirty little secret. When the elastic is all the way through I lap then an inch over one and another and repin it. Nope, I don't sew the elastic. I suppose I should (and if you do overlap it like an inch and make a square with an X through the middle) This works for me. This way I can pass it onto another child without worrying that they will be too tall before the waist fits. It just works for us. I do it on all my skirts and have never had a problem. The girls have never complained of it bugging them. They go through the wash and everything. So pin your elastic together, tuck it in and Voila!! You have a twilry skirt.

PS If there are steps missing I blame the fact that ~~I'm an idiot~~ I was unaware that my settings were off. A special thinks to my gal Jenny for her help.

LIFE

2011-07-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

This week/month/first half of the year has been incredibly busy. SO much to do and very little time in which to accomplish my goals. Now more than ever, everything is a work in progress. As I mentioned before, I am trying to see my never ending "to-do" list as a way to realize how very fortunate I am, vs. getting discouraged that the room I just vacuumed now has cracker crumbs all over the floor. I am fortunate that most of the time, the children's friends play here. It isn't uncommon to have 9, 10, 11 kids here at a time. How fortunate that their friends are comfortable here, and that I know exactly where my children are and what they are being exposed to. (It goes without saying that the homes they are allowed to go to, I have complete trust in those families and what they may or may not be exposing to my children)

This past week I have been able to get lots accomplished in anticipation of an upcoming move (hopefully things work out) I have been purging like mad, even though the move is 6-9 months away. I figure if I purge now, and then purge again, I will get rid of WAY more than if I had just done it once. My kitchen was a toughy. My mom had come over last year and we purged my kitchen like you wouldnt believe. FILLED the trunk of my van full to the brim, but my cupboards were still bursting at the seams. I have SO much stuff that doesnt get used, especially Tupperware. Anyway, I repurged through my kitchen and got rid of so much stuff. I had 7 9x13 pyrex dishes, I cut that down to two. (They are sitting in my basement with all our other yardsale stuff and I keep debating if I should bring them back up and start doing freezer meals again. That was so easy to make two meals at once and freeze one..... any advice on that one?)

After I hit the kitchen I hit the hall closets. SO much stuff that NEVER gets used. A Lite-Brite cube I got Sage for Christmas back in 2009. I put in the lightbulb and it hasnt been touched once. Lots of extra sweaters and sweatshirts. Three huge bags, just from those two closets. When Aspen got home and saw what I had been doing, she was VERY excited.

She is a born organizer. She reminds me of Emilie Barnes. She knows just how to get everything in a place and she likes it that way. At four years old she would, on her own accord, transfer the wash to the dryer, being careful to set aside items she had seen me hang dry before. When she puts away her laundry, all her clothing would come out so it would be color coordinated in her drawers. (sage is my messiest child and them sharing a room causes Aspen a great deal of stress when it comes to the messes Sage leaves behind) As I was saying, mess and disarray drive her insane. She unloads the dishwasher every morning first thing when she gets up without ever being asked. She is always trying to keep things in order.

So, it is no surprise when she came home that day she was VERY excited. She asked for free reign over their room, which she was granted. The only rule was as she filled each bag, she had to get approval from me for the items. She filled five garbage bags with toys, books and clothes. All I pulled out was one book and one little purse (which was mine when I was 2) She was IN her element. (a few months ago she told me she didnt understand why people get their kids toys for christmas because the kids play with them for a day then they sit under the bed. She thinks instead of items, families should take a nice vacation they will always remember.) That girl is wise beyond her years.

Last night I cleaned out the game armoire. We have a beautiful armoire we bought for our bedroom. It doesnt fit, so our nicest piece of furniture is used to store board games in the living room. We often have family game night, and I play games almost daily when they kids are home and Farren is at work. The huge armoire was so full you couldnt shut it. Games had to go. I started sorting games and puzzles and Aspen and I were able to cut it down by about half. We got rid of about 15 preschool games and all our Melissa and Doug puzzles. That was harder than I thought it would be. I have so many memories of not only my babies, but nephews and friends children struggling with the ABC train puzzle the first few times. It would take forty minutes to piece it together, we would have to sing the ABC song at least 25 times to remember what came next. When they finally attached Z, they were always so very proud of themselves. But, it had to go anyway. The only preschool age game we kept was Crocodile Dentist, as it not only entertains the smallest of children (last week my cute nephew Zane (almost 3) and my adorable niece Gretchen (12 months) played it forever. It also entertains all of my children, and my husband too!

The kids also (finally) finished school yesterday. We had rootbeer floats to celebrate, and I discovered all my kids are weird and don't care for rootbeer floats. Only their friends wanted floats. Crazy kids :) I LOVE year round school September through May, but when May hits, I wish we had the traditional schedual. I would LOVE my kids home all summer AND often through the school year as well. The best of both worlds! (One can dream cant she)

I have LOTS of things I want to do with the kids this summer, I am excited that we can FINALLY get started!!

A Joyful Heart

2011-06-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the attitude I have when I am doing yet another chore. Cooking yet another meal, washing another load of laundry, answering another phone call. Eventually these things become mundane, and I catch myself dreading the things I have to get done while my kids are at school. I would much rather have the kids home with me. Hearing the playful teasing as I beat Kyson at Yahtzee (again) Seeing my beautiful girls play house with their baby dolls, and everyone piled on each other as I read them the same stories I have since they were babies. (Where The Wild Things are (we've gone through multiple copies) You are My I Love You (my favorite) and Love You Forever get read more than every other book combined.) These are the things I love. Hearing the laughter, seeing the smiles, and soothing the tears.

The other side of Mothering is not my favorite. Washing clothes and scrubbing floors (Though my steam mop makes that a breeze) are things I often think I would be totally fine if I never had to do them again. But, when I think about it, I realize how easy I have it. All I have to do is push a button and my clothes are washed. So much easier than the mothers before me. More importantly, I am so very lucky to have the opportunity to do these things because I am so very fortunate to be a mother. From now on, I am trying to do these tasks with a smile on my face and a joyful heart.

This also collides with other areas of my life. I was having "volunteer burnout" After serving as PTA President for two years, (technically just one, but I filled in for one who disappeared) I stopped volunteering as often. I no longer had a happy spirit when I was there. Instead I felt like I was there more than I was home. I wasn't happy with it and my husband wasn't either. My kids would groan when they found out I had a school obligation. I knew I needed to serve with joy in my heart and I just couldn't get there. I realized, however, that there are other areas that I can serve others and by doing something new I wasn't feeling the burnout that I had been. It didn't matter WHERE I was serving, what matters is that I serve and serve joyfully. So I do. I took the kids and we worked at the Utah Food Bank. It was a great teaching tool for the kids, and I very much enjoy being there. We will be returning very soon. Teaching my children to serve others selflessly and with a joyful heart is important to me. There is so much more to life than what happens in our home. The world is such a large place, and we need to do what we can to help out, not because it is a requirement; but because we want to and it brings us joy.

When I find my children *gasp* fighting I usually start by saying something like "Remember to be loving and kind and happy to share" When I ask them to do something and they complain, I try to remind them they need to help out with a smile on their face and joy in their heart. Lately, however, I find myself reminding them ALL. THE. TIME. And it doesn't always work, especially with my son. I find myself getting more irritated than I should. This morning I was on the phone with my Mom and Sage was trying to talk to me. I'm embarrassed to say that while I didn't yell at her or anything, I didn't use the nicest tone of voice as I told her to wait, even though she knows better. I need to remember that when you are seven, (or 28) sometimes you forget the right thing to do, and manners are forgotten.

So this week I am going to work on doing the things I don't want to do with a joyful heart. Wether I am scrubbing a toilet or disciplining my children, I need to remember how lucky I am to have the ability to do both and it should be done with a good attitude and a joyful heart.

Disney World 2011

2011-05-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

In late January I was fortunate enough to be able to take the kids to Walt Disney World in Florida again. This is my favorite place on Earth, I could go every month if our budget allowed. (It doesn't) Anyhow, I found a marvelous deal which included free dining!! We were able to experience so many things we otherwise wouldnt be able to. One such thing was eating at Coral Reef restraunt in Epcot. The kids were super excited because they filmed an episode of Full House in this particular location. I was excited because I LOVE sea food!!

As we were being seated, the kids mentioned to the host that they had seen it on Full House. Well, they were in luck. We were sat at the exact same table, right next to the glass. It was awesome. We saw scuba divers, sea turtles, sharks, and so much more. Of course, I had left the camera in the hotel room that evening, so Im lacking pictures.

The kids LOVE Pin Trading!!

Another awesome dining experience was Chef Mickey's. SUPER fun character interaction. We LOVED Chef Mickey's!!!!! Chef Mickey's

We also were able to go to the Luau at the Polynesian. It reminded me of the cultral center in Hawaii and was great. The food was delish and the show was so fun!!

The BEST dining experience we wouldn't have otherwise done was dining in Cinderella's Castle. It was amzing and now I know why reservations are booked 6 months out. The food was awesome, and the atmosphere was not lacking. VERY cool experience, even Kyson loved it. (Though he is excited they are opening a Beasts Castle that wont be so girly, and is looking forward to eating there)

Sage was VERY determined to meet Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. They only allow X amount of people to meet them each showing, and the current showing was full so we got in line and waited for the next showing to begin. I warned Sage it was going to be over 90 minutes, but she didn't care. She just wanted to meet Rapunzel (she is currently working on growing her hair as long as Rapunzel's) When she finally met Rapunzel and Flynn Rider she was so excited, and it was well worth the VERY long wait. (At least in her opinion)

I had spent months making the kids custom clothes for the trip (which was a surprise BTW) I think the outfits turned out adorable, and I had quite a few people stop and ask where they could purchase the same outfits, so that was cool!! (I hired someone to make the hats)

Disney's awesome cleaning crew would make pictures with their hoses. SO cool!!
Fighting the troll in Norway

Kyson on Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road We found a paint brush on Tom Sawyer's Island.

That quickly became the first thing to do in Magic Kingdom

We had 11 nights of all things Disney. This time we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort. The atmosphere was super cool, Sandy beaches, hidden hammocks, it was great, but I wasn't a fan of the room. It had seen better days for sure. The grounds are better here, but the room was better our last stay. The kids LOVED the pirate ship pool. I loved the hammocks (minus the couple making out a LITTLE too aggressivley next to me) WONDERFUL time!! I cant wait to get back, hopefully in Fall of 2012 when the Fantasy Land expansion is complete. Aspen wants to stay at the Grand Floridian, but unless I play and win the lotto, that won't be happening!!!!

Happy Birthday Sage!!

2011-03-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy I haven't even had time to update about Sage's birthday. She turned SEVEN years old in January. Amazing huh? One thing she wanted to do was her own photo shoot, no one else. Here are a few of the amazing pictures......

We have come so far with Sage. From a few health scares to this amazing young lady we have today. She has always done things on her own pace, and her pace is fast. From deciding to be born when no doctors were present to zooming her bike up the sidewalk, when she wants to do something, so does. No stopping this Princess! She is so kind and generous to everyone. She adores babies and is happiest holding her baby cousins or the neighbors baby. We love Sage and we are so blessed to have her in our family. How lucky we are.

It was so sad. She was so sick on her birthday. She wanted to go out to dinner so bad though. She hadn't gotten "sick" for about 8 hours so I said okay. Not a smart move on my part, she got very sick all over the restraunt. Oops.

We didnt have a big party for her. We told her no party because she had a huge party last year, but really the reason was we were going to Walt Disney World on a surprise vacation, and I had a "dream surprise" waiting for her there!!

FAMILY PICTURES!!!!

2010-12-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

I always do my own pictures. They turn out pretty good, but I wanted a change of scenery. Kyson is also at the age where its humorous for him to not cooperate with mom. So, I bought new clothes and stuck them in the closet. They weren't about to wear them til pictures were done. I knew I wanted to use FotoFly, I had seen their work and it was AwEsOmE!!

Bad news is they are booked through mid January. I was on facebook yesterday and saw they had a cancellation. I called and YEA!! I got an appointment!! The staff was SO nice and looking at their wall of work, well, lets just say I already booked another session for next month for Sages 7 year pictures. (YES she is going to be 7)

Go to http://www.simplephoto.com/SC/index.cfm?fuseaction=Vendor&vid=22203&fn=FotoFly

and enter in code

20101659Jensen to view pictures. You can click up top to do it as a slide show. I am SO excited about these pictures!!

Life is Crazy!

2010-10-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

There is no other way to say it! We are always busy, and I rarely have my camera with me, so no pictures today. We had the Walk to Remember and I will post about that later. Its awesome having such awesome friends to come support you through this.

Friday night my kids went to go see Thriller. They had a blast and love going each year!

Saturday was a Trunk or Treat for our playgroup. Lots of fun in the pouring rain!! the kids got many treats, and I was VERY proud of them. A few children arrived late, after most people had left, so my children sat down and opened their bags and let these other kids trick or treat from their stash. Awesome!! I didn't take ANY pictures, so I will make sure I will get pictures soon!

Sunday. Well, even though it was only 2 days ago, I can't remember what we did. Couldn't have been too exciting!!

Monday was my birthday and my little brother, Victor, watched the kids while Farren and I went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. It is one of my favorite spots, but my darling husband just isn't a fan. I promise not to drag him there again!!!! Then we raced home and got the girls ready for dance class. They ADORE their dance teacher and were very excited to dress up in costume for dance!! After they got finished at dance we raced to the airport to pick up my In-Laws from their 15 day tour of China and it's surrounding areas. We brought them home and the kids are loaded with souviners. Lots of fun! It was LATE by now and we still had more to do, so we race back home to have birthday cake then fell into bed. Woosh! What a busy day yesterday was!!

Now if I can just get up the motivation to get some sewing done on my Carseat Canopies for the upcoming boutique Id be all set, but, I have other things I want to sew, so it is making it hard to find the motivation to get these one sewn!!

I Wish I Had Told Her

2010-10-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today was the Walk To Remember. I was interviewed by a newspaper reporter. I told her so much, so many things, but as I lay in bed tonight all I can think about is what I wish I had told her. This will likely be full of typos. You see, today I cried my way through my contacts and I dont have glasses, so I came downstairs and adjusted my text on the computer to the larget possible, though it doesn't really help because I can't wait for morning. What if I forget some of the things I wish I'd told her? Part of me wonders if I should have told my story at all, because now today its so raw again, and the memories keep coming back to me so vivid. I can smell her head and hear my own screams again, and it has been 3 1/2 years. So maybe I shouldn't have told her anything, but Im mostly glad I did. I need to put a face to what people don't talk about. But here is what I wish I had told her:

I wish I had told her that when I was leaving the ultrasound room, after hearing she had died, I could see the looks on people's faces. I knew they had heard my screams, but none of them would look me in the eye. They were staring at me,but avoided SEEING me.
I wish I had told her I don't have the slightest idea how my husband told our children their sister had died, and I dont even want to know.
I wish I had told her that when Savannah was finally born I covered my eyes because I was too scared to look at her, but at the same time I was screaming at the nurses to make her cry, PLEASE just make her cry. I can still hear that today, it sounded like it was someone else talking. In fact, it would take MONTHS before it finally hit me that this had happened to ME, and I wasn't watching some sad movie on television. This is my life. And then it got so much worse once I realized this was real.
I wish I had told her that when I DID hold my Savannah how beautiful she is. And she has her daddy's crooked ear. She was wearing this tiny pink hat and pink gown and was wrapped in a pink fleece blanket. I slept with that blanket for a long time, and one day her smell was gone, and I was so mad. Now it smells like the wooden box it is stored in. But if I think about it, I remember that smell.
I wish I had told her for a very long time, I would feel so much guilt if I caught myself having fun with my other children. I'd force myself to not have fun anymore, and just fake it for their sake. Fun was off limits.
I wish I had told her that I didn't realize how sad I looked to other people. I was at Target a few weeks after Savannah's funeral and I was walking out and I heard my name. An old neighbor I had babysat for for years stopped me. First thing out of her mouth is why do you look so sad? I thought Id been doing a pretty good job of hiding it. I guess I was wrong.
I wish I had told her about the old guy who was at the cemetary one night digging at a grave with a shovel then swatting it with a towel. I told Farren there is no way we are leaving til he was gone. He saw us watching him and came over to talk. He had had two sons who died as children and he was just trimming the grass around tehir headstones and cleaning the dirt off. We were speaking with him and I turned around and Sage was laying on her belly, sprawled out on the grass over Savannah's spot. (her headstone wasm't there yet) I said WHAT are you doing? And she, just 3 at the time says, "Im just giving Savannah a big hug Mama."
I wish I had told her about the time we decorated Savannah's headstone for Christmas. We had a little tree that was in a ceramic stocking and some other Christmas decorations. We pull up to the cemetray and panic sets in on both our parts. There was snow. LOTS of it. How were we going to find her spot in this. We dug and dug and finally found her spot. We set up the decor and Sage, who was almost 4, INSISTED that she put her ghost that said BOO in Orange and black letters right there with the Christmas decor. It was adorable. We had forgotten the camera.
I wish I had told her that I now know exactly where the headstone is. No more searching in the snow.
I wish I had told her that we would go out there every single Sunday and bring flowers. Sometimes we'd go out every day. I wouldn't have told her that we hardly ever go out there anymore unless it is her birthday.
I wish I had told her everytime we DO go out there, and get in the car to leave, everyone always says "buh bye baby Savannah, we LOVE you" and blow kisses. Then, as we leave the cemetary and drive past baby land on the main road, we say it again. Buh-bye baby Savannah, we LOVE you.

That time of year.

2010-10-05T21:15:00.001-07:00

First off, it has been a VERY long day and I'm tired, so maybe I'm more emotional than usual.

Let me also start off by saying that October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, so my little Savannah is on my mind more than usual as I see all the AwEsOmE pink and blue ribbons on Facebook. The annual Walk To Remember is coming up soon, and I'm so happy to have the support of a wonderful friend going with me this year, especially since I think it will be the first year Farren can't go. I had to warn her, that is the one day a year I really let myself be outwardly sad. (Is outwardly a word)

Tonight someone on my Facebook posted this link (I hope the owner of this blog doesn't mind)
http://www.formerlyphread.com/2010/10/ten-years-later.html While all of that feels familiar to me, parts of it did more so than others. The parts about not knowing what to say, or, more specifically, what NOT to say. And really, it is all a matter of opinion. What bothers Susie, may not bother me at all, in fact, it may be comforting. And then the things that people are told is "polite" to say can really irk me. It is all a matter of opinion. Really, you shouldn't HAVE to say anything, because this should never happen. You shouldn't HAVE to go in a funeral home and wait for them to pull out the tiniest coffins for you to choose from because they keep them hidden from the general public. They aren't displayed like the "adult" ones. No one wants to think about a sweet, precious baby dying, because it shouldn't happen.

Anyway, as I was reading it, I was greatly reminded of a post I had made, on Savannah's second birthday. I know that that post has stuck with people, because occasionally people will bring up that they no longer tell someone they are sorry for their loss.

here is a piece of that post that the for mentioned blog reminded me of.

I look back and see how we have moved forward, not moved on, but moved forward.I think of phrases people use that I hate. "I am so sorry to hear of your loss" I really hate that one. To lose something implies that you didn't care enough about it to keep track of it. If caring about her was all it took, she would be upstairs in her crib, sleeping in footsie jammies with her blankie and a nightlight. (well, probably not a nightlight, we don't use those) We would be planning another huge party for her, or our upcoming DisneyWorld trip would be her present. She would have a bedroom and countless scrapbooks instead of a cabinet in my living room. The back of my closet wouldn't be full of clothes with the tags still hanging from them and crib bedding that has never been out of the package. We would hear her giggle and tickle her feet and kiss her toes after we cleaned out the "piggie jam"So don't say we lost her. That phrase makes me cringe everytime I hear it, and I will NEVER tell someone whose child has died no matter the circumstance that I am sorry for their loss. Im sorry for their greif, Im sorry for the passing of their child, but not their loss. They know EXACTLY where their child is.

The only thing that has changed about that snippet is my closet is no longer stuffed with her clothes, tags still attached. I still have my 3 favorite outfits but all the other clothes are gone now. I finally gave them away. Nothing else has changed, I still cringe when I hear " Im sorry for your loss"

LIFE IS SO BUSY!!

2010-10-03T20:03:00.001-07:00

I have been SO busy lately, that all yuo will get is a brief run down of what has been going on, no pictures included for now.

School started. Kyson is in 4th Grade, Aspen in 3rd, and Sage in 1st. They are all loving school!!
School started. I am home, alone, almost all day. Yet, Im still so busy I can barely think some days. Seems I had MORE downtime with kids here, plus daycare kids than I do now, with an empty house!
We went Camping in July with Farrens Parents and two of my neices. We had lots of fun
In August we went to Hurricane Utah for my cousin Krystens baby shower. My sister flew in from Texas and we drove down with my two girls, my Mom, my friend Tiffani, and her mother. LOTS of fun! We saw TARZAN at Tuachan and it was SO good. We already have plans for The Little Mermaid next season.
Things on the "job front" are changing for Farren. I'm a tad nervous about where this is going to leave us, come March, but for now, I refuse to stress about it. What will happen will happen anyways, so no use in worrying too much!
I have started sewing like crazy. Im making cute carseat canopies, and they have been selling very well. I have a boutique coming up November 6th, and well, Im going to be doing NOTHING but sewing til then.
Aspen has made a quilt all by herself and will be entering it in the "Reflections" next week at school (I suppose she should finish it soon)
I've been enjoying my neice and nephews. They are always good when I need a baby fix, since it doesnt appear that we will be adding to our family anytime soon.

LOTS more has been going on, but too much to catch everyone up on, so for now, this is what you get!!!

Miss Sarah Perkins

2010-08-16T09:24:00.001-07:00

Dear Miss Sarah,

I got on this morning to see about your ultrasound and your blog is now private. I can't find your email address, so get in touch with me. Please and Thank You!!

(Yes, this can be a blog entry. I will post about our camping trip very soon though)

The Good Wife's Guide

2010-08-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

What makes a good wife? An immaculate home? Always being "ready and willing"? A hot, 4 course meal on the table each and every night? Birthing 8 9 or 10 babies? Or is it more simple? Listening, sharing, friendship, and laughter among other things?

I specifically remember in Jr. High our home economics teacher, Mrs. Hales discussing the article I will put at the end of this. She spoke about how times have definitely changed and roles are more equal. Women have now *gasp* entered the work place. You don't see women vacuuming in high heels anymore, but, I'm hard pressed to think that was ever the way it was. You see it on Leave It To Beaver, but it just doesn't make sense. Did the fumes for the oven cleaner kill the brain cells? High heels and pearls while I scrub out my oven just seems so impractical. If I know it is a cleaning day, I usually stay in my jammies til it is done.

I think it takes so much to be a good spouse, and while none of the ideas on this list are bad ideas, (except for a good wife knows her place) they just don't seem to match today's woman and the needs of family. I think back then, Mothers weren't busy running Jane to gymnastics and Peter to soccer. Little Mary didn't ballet and Timmy Debate Club each night of the week.

Mom's today spend so much time playing chauffeur that often it is impossible to have those sit down dinners every night. When my children were small, lessons fell during the day, but now they are in school and any extra activities take place in the afternoons or evenings. Tonight Aspen had Activity Days and Kyson had Boy Scouts. They were home for 50 minutes together at the same time, so I had to make sure dinner would be ready as soon as Aspen came home so we could eat together before Kyson had to leave.

The last thing on my mind tonight was if my hair looked nice enough for my husband. I was too busy looking for the pan to cook the chicken in (it isn't where it goes for some reason) and checking on my cookie dough (which is STILL in the fridge) I needed to iron Kyson's scout shirt and make Aspen's hair presentable for her activity tonight. I never found the pan, so instead of Chicken Tetrazinni, we had pasta with Pesto sauce and garlic bread. Making these last minute changes ensured there was no way on Gods Green Earth that dinner would be on the table promptly at 5pm. We ate about 540, and it worked for us and that is life.

That is one of the reasons (besides cost) that I didn't feel too terrible that Kyson missed football sign-ups. I want our evenings back. My husband is back to working days, home at 415 each day. My children are all in fulltime school starting in two weeks. I will have no children home during the day to run around to playdates and swimming. There is no reason why a nice hot dinner shouldn't be on the stove each evening. I am looking forward to having our evenings back. No softball, no baseball, no dance, no football. Dinner and board games, dinner and books, just dinner and family time. (though Farren usually retreats to bed after dinner due to his work schedule.)

There are so many aspect's of the list that I want to embrace, and some that I want to yell at my computer about. For example..... the part where it says that his topics of conversation are more important than yours... Sometimes that may be so, but sometimes I just need to tell him something or get something off my chest. I listen to him, but he also listens to me. That is a mutual respect. I don't think he would like it very much if I didn't have any honest thoughts or opinions.

One aspect I love is just greeting him and making sure you are happy to see him. The day I dread seeing my husband walk through that door is not a day I can even imagine happening. Anyways, here is the list, judge for yourself. I know that there are aspects that SHOULD be followed, however, the day I stay quiet and don't mention if he just doesn't come home, well, that would blow the list out of the water. (not that he ever would) (It is not determined if this is a real piece from a text book or not)

Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal (especially his favorite dish) are part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work- weary people.

Be a little gay and more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and it is one of your duties to provide it.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables.

Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes.They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.

During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order and it will give you a lift too. Afterall, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

Be happy to see him.

Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first-remember his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

Make the evening his: Never complain if he comes home late or goes to places of entertain,ect without you. Instead, try to understand that his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.

The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

Don't greet him with complaints or problems.

Don't complain if he is late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he may have gone through in the day.

Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing, and pleasant voice.

Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

A good wife always knows her place.

What an Adventure Today Turned Out To Be

2010-08-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today started out like any normal day. Slept in a little too late and had to run to Costco. As we were getting ready for Costco Farren was teasing me and I squirted him with a spray bottle I was using on hair. That meant war and soon it was 4 vs. 1 (all of them against me) I ran and locked myself in the bathroom and they got in anyways. Lots of water later, I ended up getting the shower turned on me and my bathroom was under water. I grabbed Kyson and tossed him in the tub and soaked him, teaching him NEVER team up against Mom!! LOTS of fun, but a huge mess!!!!!

On the way home from Costco I decided I wanted to go on a "scenic" drive through the Alpine Loop. For those unfamiliar with this, it is a long drive through a steep and winding canyon where you end up no where near where you started. BEAUTIFUL drive.

RING RING Kyson's friend Jace calling to play, so we checked him off of the list of attendees for the day. Husband needs to sleep; check him off too. It is just the girls and myself. Off we go. About 10 minutes from home (and nowhere near the Alpine Loop) I chicken out at the thought of doing that drive alone, though I don't know why since even if there were another adult, I'd still be the one driving.

Hmmm... where to go, where to go.... I decide to go up Emmigration Canyon and connect to I-80 and go into Park City for an Ice Cream Cone from Rocky Mountain Chocolate. I jump on the freeway and head toward Emmigration Canyon. The kids are just sure we are heading to the zoo, and they were not very excited about it. (We use to do the zoo weekly when they were smaller, and our zoo, well, it just sucks) We pass the zoo and the girls are now very curious as to where we are heading. I tell them Park City for Ice Cream and all is good in the world.

We have a game we play, where we point out houses and see who would like to live there. Sometimes they are giant houses nestled in the trees, other times they are tiny little cottages, and sometimes a tin box. Sometimes we would all like to live there, and sometimes none of us would. Sometimes we are split half and half on the decision and we decide even though it isn't wonderful or even well built, living in our house, all together is the best place to be.

I have never driven all the way up this particular canyon before, so I purposely miss our turn-off and continue up. Higher and higher we climb, I had no idea there were homes up so high back there. We get to the dead end and turn back around, this time making sure to take this turn off that I have HEARD leads toward Park City, but I really don't know this for certain. After a few minutes we see a "Scenic Turnoff" and pull into it. A beautiful view of a small reservoir. We get out and take a few pictures. Aspen mugs for the camera and we are off again, this time winding downhill.

We come to a T in the road and this water is right in front of us. Left or right?? Well, I know Park City is left, so let's head left. Very quickly I knew I should have gone right, but I figured why not? Lets keep going. So we did. We kept going, and going and going. Climbing up a winding road. I see a pull off, and we turn into it. The view is beautiful. I see a sign for a trail head, and we were at "Mormon Pioneer Trail" The girls wanted to hike, but I was in sandals, we had no water, it was hot out, and we have been having some big storms over the last few days so we made it a very short hike.

On our way back to the van there were some other people who had turned in. I asked them if they knew where the road lead if I were to keep following it. They said we were almost to the town of Morgan and then the freeway was right there. We thanked them and continued on in the same direction we had been going. (almost to Morgan my butt) We drove and drove and drove and started a decline. I passed my camera back to the girls and they had a blast taking pictures of all sorts of things. These are some of their shots.

We were all thirsty and I saw a sign saying "Old Country Store" so we kept an eye out for a store. It wasn't just a store, there is a whole resort up there that I had no idea existed. East Canyon Resort. It looks like SO much fun. I grabbed a pamphlet and unfortunately it appears to be a timeshare property, but I would LOVE to take the kids up and spend a week there. We grabbed our drinks from the store (yes, I gave in and let the girls have a drink in the car, but it had to be Sprite so it would clean up easily if there was a spill) Off we go again.

Up ahead was a huge reservoir, East Canyon Reservoir. The girls asked if we could go there next time, but it looked like their beach area was all rock and it is more for boating then sand castles and swimming. Shortly after passing the reservoir we came upon this house. Or, what use to be a house. I think it is beautiful, but we all voted NO, we would not like to live in it.

WELCOME TO HENEFER UTAH-POPULATION 702

Henefer? I had NO clue where we were, and I certainly hadn't seen Morgan which we had been assured was super close (that was LONG ago) We continue up this road, passing the Rodeo Stands and some houses. This road comes to a T as well. It is a GOOD thing the van has a navigation system in it. At this point I had no idea if I was facing North, East, South, or West. After checking it, I see we are facing North. I figured we were pretty far East so we turned left, careful not to run over all the ATVs driving around town. I don't think we passed an actual car, but we passed plenty of people on ATVs.

Quickly I saw a sign for the Interstate and we hopped on that. Soon we started seeing signs for Morgan (ya know, that town we were "super close to" ) We passed Morgan (or maybe it was before Morgan) and I saw another sign for a "scenic view pullout" This pull out was only about 100 feet long and narrow, so I was nervous pulling into it from the highway, but we did. Just as I tell the girls I have NO clue what we are looking for I see it. It is called Devil's something. We hop out of the car to take a quick look (there is a sidewalk) Just as I am thinking this would make a really cool waterfall, Aspen says that exact same thing. Another car is pulling in, so back into the van we go. We are OFF.

Just Moments later I hear from the back seat, "Mom, that sign says Rest Stop 1 mile. Can we stop?" It is Aspen (Sage was abnormally quiet today) I ask if she REALLY has to go because rest stops just gross me out. She says she does so I pull into it and we all go in together. That girl locked her stall door and couldn't get it undone. I would explain how to undo the lock (they are hard to move and tricky also) and she just couldn't get it. We do this a few times and she gets the lock free. After LOTS of soap and water we are on our way. Again.

Now it is starting to look familiar. I see the turn off we take when we go to Pineview and I know exactly where I am. The girls recognize it too, so our "adventure" is now just the same road they have taken too many times to count. They ask to pop in a movie, and they turn on Pooh's Heffalump Adventure (a Winnie the Pooh Halloween movie) They are content and I know it is definitely smooth sailing from here.

We arrive home at about 715 pm. We left our house about 245. We have a quick dinner and I go to pick up Kyson. We come home and the four of us go for a walk in the neighborhood. We stopped and chatted with neighbors, and a quick jaunt through the neighborhood took an hour. The kids got ready for bed and after a loud reading of Where The Wild Things Are (we always ROAR with the Wild Things) and a sweet reading of Love You Forever the kids were tucked into bed. It was a long day.

And I loved every minute of it.

Friday, July 30 2010

2010-07-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had so much fun!! The day started off slow, but ended great!! I had plans to take the kids to Cecret Lake or to Silver Lake. We headed out the door with plans to stop by my Mother's house for lunch with my brother, Victor, and his family, and also my sister Kristine and her two youngest kiddos. My Mom grilled steak and we had that along with salad and baked potatoes. (Kids enjoyed Turkey Dogs) Thanks Mom, it was DeLiSh!!

Zane, Sage, Kyson Aspen

But, my favorite part was snuggling the two newest additions to the family. Gretchen Sophia and Zander Jonathon. They are only a few weeks apart, and both just adorable. After lunch we all hung out and just spent time together. Sage and Aspen LOVED playing with their cousin Zane again since we don't see him as often as we use to now that I am not his daycare. It was lots of fun!!

Aspen with Zander

Zane loving on Zander.

Sage and Zander

Aspen and Gretchen (I promise she isn't dropping Gretchen)

Sage and Gretchen

Zander and Gretchen

After everyone else left, my kids were still playing, and I had a headache, so we opted to stay and play at Grandma's House rather than head to the lake for a hike. The kids went out on the tandem bike, and when they came in they STUNK. Poor Sage, you put her outside in the summer and she smells like a wet dog. So, my Mom and I ran to Walmart and bought them all clean clothes so I could toss them in the tub at Grandmas. We ended up getting them new jammies.

I bathed the kids and decided to put the girls hair in rags. Looking back, Aspens was a bit too short still, because the back rags just wouldn't stay in (and I have no after pictures because I forgot that also)

For months my Mom has talked about how much she loves the movie Julie and Julia. I hadn't seen it (shocker I know for all of you guys who know how much I enjoy a movie) so we popped it in. I liked it. Mom says that Meryl Streep should have gotten best actress for her portrayal of Julia Child instead of Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, stating that Meryl did Julia perfectly, but, I am not familiar with Julia Child in any way other than knowing her name, so I can't compare. Maybe tonight I will find some old footage online and watch.

What started out as a quick stop by Mom's house was an all day affair. We didn't get home til 1130 last night!! Thanks Mom for having us for so long!

This morning we did our "Saturday Chores" and then I got in the mood to bake. We made a Lemon Chiffon Cake for dessert. (I made Santa Fe Chicken and Spanish Rice for dinner. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Lion House Cookbook. It ROCKS) I found these old pictures from a few months ago that I realized I hadn't shared, so I figure I will add them here as I write about our adventures in baking. The girls love making rolls. It is one of their favorite activities!!

After dinner we went back to my Mom's house for a game night. First we played Clue with everyone, then had a slice of my Lemon Chiffon cake for dessert. After that, the adults played Ticket To Ride. LOTS of fun and if you don't have it, I suggest you get it. I have the North American version, but I have heard that people enjoy the European version better. LOTS of fun!!

So I'm a Wee Bit Behind...,..

2010-07-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

And I won't even go into details. If I come across pictures I will post them, but just so you all know we ARE still alive, I will give you a quick run down of the last 4 months.

April-
April 10 was Savannah's 3rd Birthday. So odd to imagine that it was 3 years ago that we said both hello and goodbye to our little girl. I remember every detail and every smell, it seems like just yesterday.

Aspen broke her elbow and had to have surgery. (well, actually just a hair above the elbow) She was jumping on the neighbors trampoline and got bounced off. OUCH. As often as I am taking pictures, I dont hve one picture from the whole time she had her cast on. (she chose orange by the way)

We got season passes to Lagoon, so we went a few times this year, not as many as we usually do with Apsens arm, but we still got lots of whirling twirling and sliding in!

May-
Farren, Kyson and Aspen all had birthdays!! It was also the start of the track season, and this year, all three kids ran track. They all did incredibly well, and at the all county meet (in July) Aspen took first in the 800 meter. That girl is a distance runner. She should give her Mama some lessons!! Luckily she got her cast off in time, she did NOT want to miss track!

June- June was incredibly busy with PTA activities at the school. The year end always is, and because we are year round, we do it all twice.

June 25th my adorable neice Gretchen was born. She is so sweet!

Farren and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. CRAZY to think it has been THAt long!! Love ya babe!!

July- The kids got out of school July 2 and we have been running ever since!!

July 3, Saturday afternoon Aspen fell asleep and basically didnt wake up til Tuesday morning. She wuold wake up and take a few steps, but that would exhaust her so much that she would lay down, right where she was and sleep for hours, even on the kitchen floor. She walked into the wall, but didn't seem to realize she had. We took her to the hospital and she was admitted. They ran every test they could think of, but could find no anwsers. Her only other symptom was a fever. She was still sleepy after Tuesday, napping 3 or so times a day, but soon got back to that silly little girl we know and love.

Kyson attended a Football Camp at BYU where all the coaches were past BYU players who had gone onto play in the NFL. He had a marvelous time and is already counting down the days til next year. Kyson is all about football, so this was perfect for him!

We have made quite a few trips up to Pineview REsivior this month, and that is ALWAYS a blast. We love playing in the sand and swimming in the lake. We have plans to go up next week and rent waverunners. We always pack a huge picnic (that hardly gets touched since we are playing so much) It is one of our favorite places.

Farren decided that our minivan that we had for the last 6 years was "on its last leg" So, the search began. We drove all sorts of vehicles, but we kept coming back to the same one. I know have a beautiful 2011 Toyota Sienna in my driveway. I love her, and especially love having seating for 8, where all 8 seats are real seats (lap only belts don't count as seats at our house because I don't let the kids sit there, so a lap only belt is really just wasted space) I wasn't wanting another minivan, but, considering we have plans to go to California numerous times in the next year, I needed something with better gas mileage than a fullsize SUV, and we couldn't find any midsize SUVs where we felt the back seat had adequate leg room for our growing family. (growing as in growing up, not as in growing by how many people)

The dealership we bought it at carries the name of an ex-Jazz player, karl Malone. He was coming into town to do a promo, and Kyson wanted to go so badly. I did NOT want to take him (bad Mom I know) Luckily, the kids slept at my Mom's house the night before he was to be here, and our friend Bill took the kids to meet Karl. Kyson proudly displays his signed bsketball. Thanks Bill!

July also brought about another new baby!! My little baby brother had a baby of his own! Zander Jonathon was born July 17th and is just so snuggly. His birth brings the total for Farren and I to 15 neices and 10 nephews.

Yesterday we took the kids to Snowbird to do all their summer activities. It was so much fun!!!! They had a wonderful time doing all the activities available!

We have also gone swimming many times, enjoyed the local parks and the Splashpad. We have really enjoyed our Summer so far, and all the good friends we get to spend it with!!

I have a hike planned for Cecret Lake tomorrow, but, considering it is already 1123 and Im usually in bed by 9, I'm not sure that will happen. Maybe we will have a game day or drive up to the park we love in Heber.

I will try and do better about updating this, more so for myself than for anyone else; I like looking back and seeing the fun things we have done over time.

99 Things I Ought To Have Done

2010-03-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

Instructions:Copy the list, bold the ones you've done (with explanations if needed), share with friends.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (and Disneyworld with another trip planned for fall, but shhhhh dont tell the kids)
8. Climbed a mountain (if hiking to the top of Timp. counts)
9. Held a praying mantis-(often, with my old neighbor Michelle)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (nO WAY NO HOW)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm (I remember one night in St George when Kyson was a newborn and he was up all night and I didnt mind, because it was the most incredible lightning show I had ever seen)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I would love to)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (soon)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (thats the next big trip we have planned for next year)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (sure, more is fun, but I have never had to go without, and I have never had to deicde between milk or bread, so yes, Im satisfied)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (they cant even find the veins to draw blood when needed)
65. Gone sky diving (See #11)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (since I dont use checks, I did go into overdraft)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (then got frustrated and threw it away)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle (Ya, Brooke and I jumped on the bag of some guy we had never mets bike, (I will beat my kids if they ever do that) and my first date with hubby we took the bike out, so a few times
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Ive been on the news, doe sthat count)
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo (nope and won't)
94. Had a baby (one handsome son and three beautiful girls)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (Nope, but we use to pet them while they sat on flowers... I cant BELIEVE we were never stung!)

It appears I still have many things I should do. Some I never will (skinny dip, kiss a stranger, get a tattoo) but many more I need to do.

Las Vegas

2010-03-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

So for now, blog posts wont be in order. I have skipped Christmas and Sage's birthday party, among other things.

In january the kids were off track, and I was itching to get away. The Travel Bug has bitten!! Farren suggested I drive the kids down to las Vegas for a few days. This was decided Wednesday evening, and we were GONE early Thursday morning!

The kids are not use to being in the car that long. We are pretty spoiled and fly most places. As we pulled into Las Vegas, I pointed out one of the Wedding Chapples and told the kids that sometimes, in Las Vegas, people meet people and marry them the same day. Aspen does NOT think that is a very smart idea, but she did have fun counting the NUMEROUS places to get married as we drove down the strip!!

We stayed at the Luxor and the first two nights it was great! The third day, when we went to Hoover Dam there was SO much rain that our room (29th floor of 30 floors) flooded. They moved us rooms, and sent us to a dinner. When we got back, our new room had also flooded! So, we switched buildings and stayed dry!! We did so many things, I will just let the pictures do the talking!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Super Fun Give Away!

2010-02-15T17:56:00.001-08:00

Go to THIS awesome site and from there you can enter to win a photo shoot from Studio Lush! They do AmAzInG photos!! Go enter!!

(and I know I havent been here forever, I have TONS to share, so hopefully soon!

What a difference a year makes!

2009-12-23T08:02:00.001-08:00

I am sure I have put this first one here before, but I really want to show it to "Ben's Mom" and I also thought it would be fun to see what a difference a year makes! This first video is a year old, and just a quick interview I did with Sage. Then I will post a recent one from today.

We have been very busy lately!! The beginning of December, my sister flew in from Texas for a weekend and we had a wonderful visit. We had our annual family Christmas party, and the kids have been skiing. This was Sage's first year and she loved it! We also have been baking a TON and the kids love helping me in the kitchen (though Kyson needs to remember that when he cracks his egg to open it OVER the bowl, not over the dishwasher!)

We are excited for Christmas and all the joy that comes with that.

Happy Holidays!

A Heartbreaking Story

2009-11-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

This awesome family has kids that go to our school. Please read their story, post a comment on their blog, and take whatever steps you feel is appropriate. I can't imagine being charged and convicted of exposing minor children to a dangerous cult for taking them to the LDS Church. If you have a blog, I ask that you please post their story and ask others to do the same. No one deserves to be forced back to a country where, because of unique circumstances, they can not freely embrace their chosen religion, and fear persecution from those who should help them most. Their family.

http://www.keepourfamilytogether.blogspot.com/

A Love Hate Relationship

2009-11-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

I have a Love-Hate relationship with laundry. I Hate doing it, but I LOVE what it represents.

I hate the endless cycle. I always have a ton to do. If it is all washed, I still have to fold, iron, and hang. It never ends. Tonight I was sticking yet another load in and suddenly started singing. (Yes, I do that sometimes, just burst into song like my life is a musical. Kyson's teacher's wife caught me singing to my nephew as we were grocery shopping. An embarrassing habit to say the least, especially since I can't sing worth a darn)

Anyways, I started singing "The Song That Never Ends" from Lambchops. I don't know why that one popped into my head, but, if you think about it; Laundry is the song that never ends. Those are the things I hate about laundry. The endless cycle. It isn't like cleaning a room. You can shut the door and keep people out so it stays clean. You can't keep people naked so you don't accumulate more laundry.

But, there are things that I love about laundry. I love what it symbolizes. It shows the growth of our family. I remember the very short period when Farren and I were first married, and I had two piles of laundry. One for me and one for him. It was so simple, maybe one load a week and we were good.

Then Kyson came along and our pile grew. Soon (very soon) afterward, Aspen came and once again our pile grew. Our piles stayed that way for almost 2 years before Sage added another pile of laundry. Now we are 5. 5 stacks of laundry. I love to see how much we have come since the days of two meager piles of laundry. Hopefully within the next year or so we will have 6 piles of laundry.

Running With Angels

2009-11-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

So this post has been slow coming. Every year since we had Savannah, we attend the Annual Walk To Remember. It is a wonderful way to remember and honor our Savannah Grace. My Mom attended, getting there just in the nick of time. She went to the Larkin where Savannah is buried, in Sandy, instead of the one where the walk was, in Salt Lake. She got there just as the speaker was finishing up.

The speaker wasn't particularly good this year. The first year was the best speaker so far, and last year they had the man who designed the Christmas Box Angel Statue. This years speaker wasn't very interesting, but it has played a role in my life lately, which I will get back to.

After the speaker, they did a musical number. A man sang "Glory Baby" which happens to be the song that we played at Savannah's service. Of course that brought on the tears. This is the one day a year I let myself be sad. Her Birthday we always do something fun and happy, go to the cemetery and sing her Happy Birthday, and this is my sad day I get each year.

We did the walk and I was honored to be able to release a balloon for my dear friend Jenn and her son Coco Paul. We also released Savannah's balloons. It was really nice.

I saw a woman who I had met once at a SHARE meeting and we figured out that our babies are buried right by one another. Her son Maddox died shortly after birth. It was so nice to see her, and I was THRILLED to see they have another baby boy who is the picture of health. I'm so happy for them.

Now back to the speaker. This woman spoke about needing to DO something with her grief, and get it out in a positive way. So, she started running. Through this she started a 5K that is held each year at Thanksgiving Point called Running With Angels. I knew as soon as she mentioned it, that THIS is something I want to do. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a runner. I struggle with my weight and I am just not a runner. At all. But I AM going to do this. I know I can and I have a darn good reason.

So I started by Googling the race. It will be in May next year, so I have a good chunk of time. Yea! Then I wasn't sure how to get started. I had tried to start jogging a gazillion times, but nothing has stuck, the motivation just wasn't there. So, next I Googled Training for a 5K, and I came across a site called Couch to 5K and it breaks down the running into 9 weeks, and it says that in 9 weeks you should be able to do a 5K, running the whole thing.

I downloaded some pod casts, but the music that went with the timing you need for the program just wasn't my style. Minus some 2pac, I can't stand rap for the most part, but I pushed through it, but couldn't finish the program. I was walking through runs and it was killing me. The next time I made it a bit further and a bit further. I did week one for two weeks. At the middle of the second week (so my 5th time) I could make it through the whole program. I was so proud of myself. Yea!!! Then this last week was busy busy and I havent ran in over a week, so I will start again tonight.

I WILL do this. I know I will. And I would love you guys who are local to run it right there with me.

A whole bunch of stuff.....

2009-10-17T15:23:00.001-07:00

Because sometimes it can be a hassle to upload new pics from my CF to the computer, I don't do it very often!! So, I have quite a few things to tell about!

First, Sage started Kindergarten. She loves it, and we are in so much trouble with her. She always tells us what boys chased her that day, and there is one little boy in there who often tells her that if he walks past her just one more time he might have to hold her hand and that would make Sage his girlfriend. Oh boy she is 5. Here are some pictures of her that day with her best friend Jesi.

My sister Kristine planned a "family reunion" to plan future ones. She and her husband Joe brought up their rock climbing gear, and both girls climbed up the mountain in their harnesses. They did such a great job. Aspen wanted to go much higher, but we were worried since she doesn't weigh much that she wouldn't be able to repel back down. Kyson was too busy playing with Jaden so he didn't climb, but my cousin's kids climbed also. It was lots of fun, and I think we settled on Jackson Hole next August for a big family trip.

Kyson and Jaden

Aspen

Sage

Jasmine

Tri and Sage

Saturday night is usually "Family Movie Night" at our house (today is an exception) Sometimes we switch it to game night, but lately it has been movies. 2 weeks ago we decided to watch Pirates of the Caribbean. So I surprised the kids and for dinner I made pasta that was shaped like shells and homemade cheesey garlic bread. I cut the bread into slices and turned each slice into a sail boat. They were really cute. We drank Matey Milk, all on a bright blue tablecloth so we could be in the ocean. After dinner I gave Aspen a clue, and off they went on a treasure hunt. They were SO excited to figure out where the next clue would be hidden, that when they got to the treasure (snacks for the movie) they grabbed the paper out of the treasure and ran off to read it. No one even noticed the treats. It was hilarious, however, as Farren reminded me, now the kids want fun creative family nights each week, and watching bedtime Stories in jammies isnt going to cut it anymore. So, I will have to get creative and see what I can some up with!

The next morning I got up bright and early and started making applesauce again. We went to the Farmer's Market and bought 66 pounds of apples. This time I had an attachment for my Kitchenaid and it made it SO much easier!! Aspen was a trooper and stayed in there the whole time, feeding the apples into the machine, while I cut and cooked them, prepping them for Aspen to do. We have a LOT of applesauce. Even though it was easier, it was still a lot of work and very time consuming. However, with how fast we go through applesauce, it was well worth it. I also love the feeling of accomplishment that I get when I know I made something. Silly I know, but I still feel like I accomplished something.

Kyson cutting apples

Aspen feeding the machine

Sage feeding the machine

Cooking apples. See all that dark around my burner?

Well, that is all over now from the big pot you do the canning bath.

I have tried bleach, Mr Clean erasers, everything and I can't get it off.

HELP!!!!!!

All done! Red apples make for pink applesauce!

Today was the Walk To Remember, and I will post more about that later. Hope this catches us up a bit!

Catching Up

2009-09-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

So I realize that I have been slacking on updating our family blog. Things have been SO busy, I guess it took a very small accident on my part to slow me down. I dont have any pictures because my camera is up in my closet and I just can't climb the stairs one more time today. However, we have been very busy and had lots to do.

Kyson is doing very well in school and LOVES catching all sorts of bugs to bring to his teacher. Tonight they found a snake, but when he came back from getting a jar to catch it, he was gone. Im sure Farren is VERY grateful that they didn't find the snake. He isn't too fond of them! Kyson had a sleepover with his cousin Jaden, and they had a blast.

Aspen is such a great helper and I just adore her. She excels at all she does, and always wants to try more things. At our Family reunion a few weeks ago, she rock climbed up the side of the mountain in a harness with her Aunt Kristine and her Uncle Joe. She has such a crush on Joe, it is adorable, and he is so sweet with her. I think it started at DisneyLand when she decided she wanted to hold his hand, ride things with him, and have him carry her when she was worn out. I just love this picture.

Sage is doing very well in Kindergarten and is beginning to read more words. She loves to help with the babies I have during the day and have tea parties. Her tea set is the best thing the Easter Bunny ever brought!!! On Thursday I took her and a lil guy I watch to the pool, and they had so much fun! She was so very proud of herself that she has grown enough to walk all around the pool (they have a separate lap pool) without her head going under. She loves the monkey bars, and her hands are torn to bits to prove it!

Farren is still looking for a job, and we hope the interview he has this coming week goes well. However, we are well aware that he is competing with over 6,000 other applicants.

I am doing well also. PTA and kids keep me busy. Thursday I had a small fall and badly sprained my ankle, but I can finally walk again. Kind of. It finally made me sit and do nothing for 3 1/2 days, though I read a good book and cleaned out my DVR. Thursday night my dear friend Tiffani kept the kids while we were at the doctor and also made us dinner. It was SO yummy, and as soon as I get a recipe from her I will share it. She says it is SUPER easy. All the kids were begging us for our portions. The kids also had peas, which I have never made because I don't like them. I need to be better about serving my children foods even if I don't like them. Sage apparently loves peas. She says Tiffani makes the BEST peas ever because she adds a little bit of salt. She also said she ate them with her hands because Britton (tif's adorable toddler) was. Tiff, I promise she has table manners!!!

I am starting to prepare for the Holidays, and they will be like no other we have ever had. Something tells me that will be a GOOD thing though!

I have also been more "domestic" lately. I made and canned strawberry jam (which is SO yummy a jar only lasts a couple days) and I also made and canned Applesauce with my Mom. She has all the pictures of that though. We had SO many apples, but they sure didn't make very much applesauce. We are going to pick more apples and make more sauce hopefully this week. It always seemed like so much work, and it is a lot of work, but the feeling of accomplishment when you hear your jars pop is so worth it!! I also am anxious to try a few other types of jams, and possibly canning my own spaghetti sauce. We shall see how adventurous I get!!

Ramblings

2009-08-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

Last week Kyson and Aspen started school. Both are loving it, and their teachers. Kyson's teacher has two class pets. A snake and a tarantula. Yikes! So now the boys in class spend their afternoons catching things to feed it. Friday Kyson had two friends sleepover, and they were out catching all sorts of things for hours. Of course they would bring each catch in to show me. Yum! Good thing I have a full stash of baby food jars!

Aspen is loving second grade. She has all her friends back in her class, but this year she is separated from Kyson, which I am excited about. With them being in the same class last year (it was a split) they never got a break from one another, and the amount of fighting went from hardly ever to numerous times a day. She is so fun and quite the little lady. She loves to bake and made her first batch of brownies with no help (minus the oven) yesterday and they turned out great! I love that girl!

Sage enjoyed some Mom time this week, and also loved having Jesi back over to play. Those two are too cute together, the best of friends. We are so sad that Jesi and her family are moving away. Sage had her Kindergarten assessment on Tuesday, and did very well. She is SO excited to start school this Tuesday. I always sing silly songs with Sage, adding her name to the mix. Her favorite is the "sageycakes song" but I will make up silly songs and add her name in, or well known songs and slip her name in so it is about her. The other day I was singing with her and she smiles at me and says, "Mom, I don't really believe that every song you know has Sage in it" Busted!! She is such a joy and I can not believe she is in fulltime school now.

Last night I mashed strawberries, and this morning I tried my hand at making jam. Minus a burn on my finger (my pot wasn't deep enough) I think it turned out pretty well. I love hearing the POP that means you were successful! The kids were disappointed that all they got to help with was washing and cutting the stems off the berries, but it was just too hot for them to handle the jars or cook the jam. We will have to find another canning project they can help with. They all love being in the kitchen and helping with whatever they can. Hopefully in a few years they will still love it and they can each take a night cooking dinner!

It was all good til I hit the floor!~End of Summer Fun!

2009-08-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know Summer isn't over, but school starts tomorrow, so things will definitely be different.

We have been having so much fun spending time together as a family. It isn't that often that EVERYONE in the house is available at the same time.

Thursday we got up and I packed a picnic lunch. We hopped in the car and headed to Pineview Reservoir for the day. We all swam in the lake and had a great time. It was a bit cooler than when we went about 2 weeks ago, so the water was cooler, but nothing to complain about. Kyson seems to think I am THE coolest Mom ever because I swam out to the buoy. (It wasnt THAT far)

Aspen made a new friend who swam with us and played ball with us. The BEST thing was that this time, our keys didn't get locked in the trunk and we didn't have to get a tow. (Last time Aspen locked them in the truck and we had to get towed and the kids hadn't had lunch and it was awful, BUT, we met some very nice people who fed the kids)

Over the weekend we had Game Night again and of course played Blokus. That is the favorite at our house! We need to add some variety so we are hunting out new games for this Christmas!

Sunday morning we were at Sams and our friend Bill called. He invited us up to Snowbird where he works so we could enjoy the activities they have to offer.

The kids had so much fun!!! They rocked the rock wall, and the Alpine Slide. We rode the tram up (which I HATE, I dont do heights) and then hiked a short way down and rode a ski lift the rest of the way down. I was NOT planning on hiking and had dressy shoes on. Oops! Oh well!

We got back down and Bill and the girls went to the bounce houses, and Farren Kyson and I went to do the zipline. I was SO not sure I wanted to do this and I almost chickened out, but once they opened the doors, I had no choice I was sailing. It was AWESOME and I am so glad I did it!!!

After we did the zipline, Kyson wanted to do it again so I sent him, Bill and Farren up while I kept the girls. They wanted to do the bungee trampoline. We stood in line FOREVER. I was standing there, and next thing I knew my vision was kinda orangish. The next thing after that I hear a lady saying are you okay? are you okay? then yelling We need some HELP over here.

Yes siree I fainted. My hip is killing me today! But the good news is my camera is no worse for wear which I was worried about. As soon as the girls jumped we left. We had SO much fun and hopefully can go back again!! Thanks Bill!!!

Today is a slow day, doing laundry and getting ready for school to start. Its going to be a BUSY week!!!!

Its a Beautiful Life

2009-07-23T17:42:00.001-07:00

Its a Beautiful Life

Kyson was having a rough morning and chose not to participate as much as the girls, so you wont see him as often. (Click the picture)

Our Week So Far

2009-07-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Late last week we went up to Park City. Farren and the kids went up the Ski Lift and rode down on the Alpine Slide. Its these cement tracks you ride down the mountain while sitting on these little plastic car things. Aspen wanted to do the Zero Gravity Trampoline instead, so I hung with her while she did that. I dont have any pictures of Farren, Kyson or Sage coming down the track because the line for Aspen took FOREVER!!! But here are the pics that I do have! On the way home we drove through Guardsman's Pass.

Sunday we went back to Park City and did some shopping and drove up Lambs Canyon (waste of time)

Today we packed a picnic and Headed for the Alpine Loop (despite the name, its not near the Alpine Slide and actually is a scenic drive from Alpine to Heber.) On the way up, my Mom had asked that we stop by the campground we have reserved for Saturday, just to check it out. She was a bit worried since that was the ONLY one unreserved. No worries Mom, it was great. Right by the water and restrooms, clean and fun!

We continued up, my mistake though, was we drove the van. My plan was that we should drive the van so the kids couldn't touch/lean on each other. They have been getting a bit annoyed with each other, and lately it seems it is the end of the world if one happens to fall asleep and leans on another. However, the brakes on the van didn't like my plan, and the car would have handled much better. Chalk that up as a lesson of what to do next time! (Or rather what NOT to do)

On the way down we stopped by Sundance, and just walked around for a bit. Then we continued on to Heber and had our picnic at the park. It was lots of fun, but the equipment was too hot to hold too much enjoyment.

We haven't made it to bear Lake yet, the day I had planned other stuff came up, but we will go soon. This Saturday everyone is hiking up Timponogus and then we are cooking out and doing smores. Yummy! I will definately remember my camera (I hope)

I just noticed Sage is wearing the same shirt in both pictures, and so is Aspen. I promise it was washed in between, they just have certain outfits they really like!

here is video from Aspens track meet!!! She ROCKED it and took 3rd overall in this race out of 8+ heats! GO ASPEN!!!!!!!!! (She is in the bright blue)

Aspen Jensen-Track Star!

2009-07-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

Last night was the all county track meet. Over 200 kids were there competing. Aspen raced the 50 yard, 200 meter and 400 meter. She placed in EVERY event. She got 3rd place in 2 of the events and 6th in the other. At other meets she has placed first and second. She did so well, we are so proud of her!! She is speedy thats for sure. She had many people there to support her, and we thank all of you who came and sat in the heat with us.

Bill had his camera, so once I get the pictures I will do another post with those.

She is amazing. We are so proud. She can't wait to get a Bulliten Board so she can hang up all her ribbons in her room.

WAY TO GO ASPEN!!!!!!

Pioneer Days

2009-07-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

This morning we drove out to Tooele to an old Historic Mill that was having a Pioneer Day Celebration. The kids had so much fun! They churned butter, dipped candles, washed clothes, played Pioneer games and milked a "cow" Let me tell you, Kyson is a natural milker. It was hard, you had to do it just like you would a real cow. He would get constant streams of milk out, where the rest of us could only get small drips!

We had lunch and the girls bought new aprons. We put a bonnet on Kysons head, but he wasn't willing to pose for a picture and was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up!

We had lots of fun and Im glad we made the drive out there! We will be very busy over the next week, but hopefully we will have time to share pictures from our planned outings, like Bear Lake this Wednesday!

Hot Rockin' 4th of July

2009-07-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

This year we had such a fun holiday!!! Growing up we would always do something at the celebration in Sandy, but now as an adult, I don't like going out there. It has gotten SO popular that you can barely walk through the crowds. So, most years we stay home til afternoon then go to my Mom's and swim. Thats fine and its fun, but the kids HATE waiting half the day before we go out.

For a bit of a change, we went to Grantsville with our friends the Critchlows. Their daughter Ashely is in Kyson and Aspens class, and is good friends with Aspen, so that was awesome for the girls! The parade was so much fun. My kids had never been to a parade, except as Sage pointed out, at Disney World. They had so much fun collecting candy and Frisbees and even Kosher Salt! They are already talking about next years parade.

Cute Tyler was so adorable going after the candy, and Kyson was very sweet to make sure that Tyler always got some candy. I cant believe I dont have a picture of Tyler!

One bonus to driving ALL the way out there is that we passed an old mill, and we are doing family pictures there next Wednesday. This coming Saturday they are having a Pioneer Days Festival where the kids get to do all sorts of hands-on activities, so we are looking forward to that!

After we left Grantsville, we headed to my Mom's house with some of our other friends, the Kirkhams. We swam (well, the kids did) and then we had a BBQ. Kristine, Joe and Zane headed over too after moving into their new, beautiful home in Lehi. We missed Jaden though!

Sage was in heaven because Jesi is her best friend, and she loved having her with us at Grandmas house. My Mom lives right by Murray Park, so after the BBQ we all just headed down to the pool to enjoy the fireworks. We all had so much fun, but by the time we got home the kids were beyond exhausted, and Kyson got out of the car, layed on the grass and went back to sleep!!!

It was an awesome holiday, and Im glad we were able to share it with so many friends and family.

Proud

2009-07-04T00:21:00.000-07:00

I am proud of my kids. The Awards Assembly at school was this past week and Kyson was on honor roll all year long and got National presidential fitness.

Aspen was on honor roll all year and got Presidential level for presidential fitness.

They both worked so hard. I am so proud of them!!!

Oh, and Aspen kicked some serious butt at her track meet this week!!!!!

Because Im a slacker

2009-06-27T09:59:00.001-07:00

And can't manage to finish blogging about our Disney trip, I will just add the rest of the pictures here, and a few tidbits.

Breakfast with Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland at the Grand Floridian. WOW what a hotel. Loved it. The food was good, and the service MUCH better than at Crystal Palace. We took the Monorail, and Farren and the kids got to sit up front with the driver. Very cool.

Clearwater beach- The kids had a BLAST and so did Farren......until he ripped open his foot in a cut that I KNOW needed stitches.

HollyWood Studios- We knbew ahead of time to get to Toy Story Mania first, that was a great ride. With farrens hurt foot, we only stayed a few hours, but we made sure to do Star Tours for Kyson. We also watched the Little Mermaid show which was really neat.

After that we went swimming at the hotel, where Kyson fell and cut open his leg. We met a nice couple from MA. and chatted with them for a few hours while the kids swam.

The next morning Daddy had to go back home and we were off to Epcot. That was awesome. Once again I am SO thankful for all teh research I did. The waits were very minimal. Because we were tired and took a mid day nap, we didnt get through the countries, but we did the rest. Test Track was awesome, even Sage liked it. There was a person doing writing in the sky (unassociated with Disney) so we wathed that for a while too.

This is made entirely from Sand.

Here is our favorite thing the Mousekeeper set up while we were gone, the kids thought this was HILARIOUS!

At Epcot the kids started their Pin trading collections, so the next day, at Magic Kingdom, most of the day was spent pin trading.

Last day we went back to Hollywood Studios for a few hours before we had to catch our flight. Kysons dream was to be chosen to do Jedi training. So, we camped out and guess what? he got picked. And so did both girls!!! This was the highlight of Kysons time at Disney.

Once back at the hotel, we boared the bus. Sage looks out the window and says Goodbye Hotel, Goodbye Disney World, and burst into tears. It was so sad!

Day 3, yes, Im a slacker!

2009-05-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry Tiffani! I know this took FOREVER!!!!

Day 3 started bright and early again. We got to the Magic Kingdom and met a few characters.

We did Buzz Lightyear and the Speedway, things we hadn't done yet this trip. We also did the Carousel of Progress which I had never seen before. The kids really enjoyed it! When we finished all that we met Buzz.

We had done everything in the park now, so we headed back to Aladdin's Flying Carpets, since Sage decided that was her favorite ride. On the way we met Jasmine and Aladdin, she suggested I sell their autograph books and then I could buy a palace in Morocco. Its not my designs inside, but, I know they would sell well with whoever designed them.

We did that and then we were in line for Captain Hook and Smee. We got ALMOST to the front and it started to pour. We ran into the restaurant there since we were planning on doing lunch afterward anyways. Not a seat available, so we improvised and used an empty buffet chest as a table. We had yummy tacos and headed out to get in line for Hook and Smee again!!

We got almost to the front of the line and they went on break. We hung out and waited and then we finally saw them!! I told the kids to say Tick Tock to Hook, and his reaction was AWESOME!! He grabbed their books and ran away and hid. It was awesome!! We had their books organized by movies, so Captain Hooks page was right by Peter Pans. He took the book when he saw Pans name and where it says Peter Pan he added is a Cod Fish. Then on another of their books he drew on Peters picture to make him a pirate, it was GREAT!!!! (Okay, I cant find their books, but it may have been Hook is a codfish, I cant remember) After watching Hook freak out, Sage was not willing to get near him for a photo!

When the kids showed Peter and Wendy their books, they made a huge deal about how dreadful Hook is! The kids loved all the extra attention!!

We finished the day off with DoleWhips and headed home early. I had a surprise for them! Daddy was coming out!!

When the kids saw their Daddy they were SO excited! A woman walking by commented that it must have been months since they saw their Dad, but no, only a few days! That night we took the boat to DownTown Disney!

They have so many cool things in the Lego store. The kids had a blast. I could have shopped all night!

We did dinner at Dinosaur, and while the atmosphere was neat, we will never go again. It was so loud I had to shout to talk to Sage, who was sitting right next to me.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel and went straight to bed. We knew the next day was going to be very busy!!!

Day Two~ The Magic Kingdom

2009-05-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

Rise and shine!!!! We had to be up EARLY to get to our breakfast at Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and Friends! When I say early, I mean EaRlY!!!!! Considering it was our first morning, we were still on Utah time, so that put us getting up about 430 am Utah time, 630 Florida time. I got myself dressed in the dark, thankful again for the ziploc bags that held all our clothing. Then I got the kids up. They weren't too keen on the idea at first, but once they were up, they were ready to go!

I grabbed the backpack and off we went. It was SO neat walking into the Magic Kingdom and having it almost completely empty. Hardly anyone on MainStreet. We took some pictures in front of the castle, and then went in search of Crystal Palace. I had heard so many wonderful things about this from my new friends on Passporters, A.K.A. the most helpful Disney website in the world, so I was really excited!!

We waited out front a bit and then I went to check in. It was about 30 minutes til our reservation time, but as soon as I checked in, our name was called. Our host Reggie was really nice, and was very helpful later when we needed a bit of assistance. We sat down and waited for Pooh, Tigger, Eyore, and Piglet to come visit us. In between visits we helped ourselves to a yummy breakfast. They have the most scrumptious Puffed French Toast, and the cutest mini waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse's head! Too much fun!!

Yummy food aside, it would take a LOT of convincing to get me to go there again. The character interaction was certainly lacking. Each character was at our table less than 30 seconds. They would hurry and sign the kids books, snap one picture per table and be on their way. For the cost, I certainly expected better. In fact, even without the cost I would STILL expect better.

We finished well before rope drop so we headed up through the castle to the rope at Fantasy Land. The kids were getting anxious, and that 15 minutes was SO hard on them!! We were using a Touring Plan as a guide, so we knew what we were doing first. Dumbo of course!! When the rope dropped, we did Dumbo. We refilled our water and used the single serve KoolAid packs we had brought from home.

The park was practically empty!

We did Peter Pan next, and while it was whimsical, I don't see why people will wait in such a long line for it. Kyson really enjoyed it though. We grabbed fast passes for that and headed to Phillar Magic. That show was really cute, and I am glad that Sage was able to see a 3-D that didn't have snakes and lions trying to eat you, or spiders climbing up your legs.

We then went to get in line for the Carousel, the guy working it let everyone off, and I noticed a little boy, MAYBE 2 years old still strapped on a horse. I got the guys attention and pointed out that a little boy was stuck on the horse. He thought I meant the child was mine, and once I assured him he wasn't mine, no one had come to get him and claim him, the guy working didn't know what to do, so the little boy rode again. Hmmm.... call security maybe?

We also did Winnie the Pooh and then headed for the TeaCups. Kyson didn't want to ride and neither did I, so we opted to sit this one out. I guess kids as young as my girls can't ride alone, so I had to ride, and so did Kyson. Once I was trapped on it, Kyson decided it would be SO much fun to spin us as fast as he could. Oh Joyous!! They thought it was hilarious, so I guess my needing to puke was worth it!!!!

We headed back toward Peter Pan and did Small World. I suppose everyone has to do that one at least once. I vaguely remember it from when I was little. I wasn't loving it, but Sage really enjoyed it. Right from the beginning we had a rule that if one person wanted to do something, we all did it, with the exceptions of water rides, as I know Sage HATES getting wet. (the reason we skipped the river ride at Animal Kingdom) That said, by the time our vacation was over, we had done Small World a few more times!!

We did The Haunted Mansion and all the kids were a bit nervous, but wanted to proceed. 4 can't ride together, so Kyson and Aspen were on their own. I knew once we started they would be fine, and I was correct. It turned out to be another favorite!

We grabbed Fast Passes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and had about 30 minutes til they were active, so we took the raft to Tom Sawyers Island. I had banged my knee earlier, so I didn't climb everything with the kids, but they ran around while I hang at the slide and I just watched them enjoy it. They all loved it, and while I would normally have never even gone over there, I'm glad our plans had it included. The kids LOVED it and it gave me a minute to regroup and also call Eleanore and check on our dear friend Hannah.

It was time for our FastPasses for BTMRR o off we went. We had to wait about 6 minutes, and that was by far, the longest wit of the day so far. NOT that I'm complaining, I was worried about the record crowds we had heard about the week before, I never imagined 6 minutes would be the longest wait of the day!

When we finished Big Thunder Mountain I was trying to get fastpasses so we could ride it again. Sage was being a bit of a stinker and tried to get the cards out of my hand so she could do it instead. A cast member, Lee, saw this and pulled her aside and talked very nicely to her. He called her "Pooh" in reference to her shirt. When he was done with her, he gave us more fastpasses for BTMRR. Lee would turn out to be on of my kids favorite things about Disney World. It seemed he was always there, showing up at just the right time.

After this we hit the Country Bear Jamboree. I made sure to do this because it is my Mom's favorite attraction and she was disappointed when it was closed at Disneyland when we went in October. I will say now that NEVER again will we do that one. Sage fell asleep, Aspen and Kyson were bored stiff. The jokes went over my head, in fact, they went over everyone under 50's head. Only the Grandparents in the crowd were laughing. I think this is one attraction that they should modernize.

By now it was lunch time, but because we had a large breakfast, we didn't need lunch, so we wandered into AdventureLand and got a DoleWhip on our way out of the park. YUMMY!!!! All I had heard was true!

We went back to the hotel and swam for about an hour. I don't have any pictures because I was in the pool with them. The pool is neat and has a serpent slide. After swimming we napped for about 3 hours.

Back at the park we met Chip and Dale. They were so much fun and beyond thrilled that we knew who was who! They played with the kids so much, and grabbed their autograph books and ran and showed them to everyone in line. It was awesome!!!

We ate Hotdogs at Caseys (I think that's the name) for dinner and then we hit Aladdin's Magic Carpets (which surprisingly is what Sage says is her favorite ride) Pirates of the Caribean, and the Jungle Cruise. On the Jungle Cruise the driver was teasing Kyson til she noticed a teen girl on her cell phone and wouldn't get off it. SO, she grabbed the girls cellphone and called whoever she was talking to back, it was quite funny!

We were leaving Jungle Cruise and went through a breezeway. Who should we run into but Lee? He was roping off the parade route. We walked by, not recognizing him, but he spoke to us and gave us front row parade seating! Woohooo!!!! He chatted with us and another family for about 20 minutes. Kyson noticed the pin Lanyard he wore and asked me where people got them. Lee asked Kyson which one he like best and Kyson showed him. He casually took it off and dropped it in Kyson's lap and then when kyson tried to thank him, he pretended like he has NO idea what Kyson was referring to!!!

The family we sat with was there celebrating their daughters birthday. We had time to kill before the parade, so, of course I had to make a scene. I took the little girl out into the center of the street and yelled to every "Hey everybody its _________ birthday today!!! (everyone claps) Can you all join me in singing ____ Happy birthday? So, everyone did. The little girl thought that was totally cool, and then it was time for Spectro Magic to start!

The Parade was neat and when that was finished the kids were still wide awake. It being 2 hours later there, combined with the nap, we were still good to go. So we went and re-rode everything we had collected fast passes for throughout the morning. (except BTMRR, it was broken)

We also did Toon Town that night. We rode Goofy's barnstormer and met the Princesses. We noticed going in that the lobby was full of boys and men, waiting for the Princesses in their lives to finish meeting the Disney Princesses I am sure. Apparently its rare for the boys to be willing to get pictures and autographs with the Princesses because all three of them commented how neat it was that Kyson wasn't refusing to meet them and get pictures.

Last we met Mickey and Minnie Mouse! Besides this line (which was probably 20 minutes) the longest line of the day was still BTMRR at about 6 minutes, NOT BAD AT ALL! It was after 1 am, but what a perfect way to end the day!

The Happiest Place on Earth!!!-Day One

2009-04-30T14:05:00.001-07:00

We are HOME from DisneyWorld. I wish it wasn't so, but it is. Can I just say that this pay par bag and 50 pound limit on each bag REALLY sucks. I was super organized when I packed (Yes, me, I know HOW to be organized) I put each outfit together and then into a gallon sized ziploc. Socks, underwear, shorts, shirt, and bows ect all went together. This was SUPER handy. Everything stayed together and I knew what each kid was wearing each day. Anyways, I moved things around about a zillion times. Farren would take the suitcases into work and weigh them. We would add things and repeat the process. Finally before we left Farren weighed them again and we were good. 48 pounds and 49 pounds. Phew!!!

So Friday before we left I bathed the kids and did the girls hair in a style that I knew would stay put through Saturday night. When the time came, we woke the kids to leave. (It was about 11 PM) I go in to wake up Sage and she kinda moans at me, I say Time for DISNEYWORLD and she bounces straight up and yells DISNEYWORLD and she was good to go. Kyson took a few more minutes, but once he realized why we were waking them up, he was good to go. Aspen was just not waking up and we carried her out to the car.

You have to understand that when we booked a red-eye flight, the flight was empty. I had great vision of the kids laying across empty rows and sleeping peacefully. Then I had a flashback to the movie Flight Plan and wasn't so confident. I figured I could always just stay awake the whole time. All was well time a few days before we left and the plane filled to capacity. This was NOT good. Panic set in, and for those I consulted, YES, they flew in their jammies.

We get to the airport, and our bags are over weight. CRAP. Whose scale is off? We moved a few things and are okay again! We get through security, and say goodbye to Daddy. Time to board the plane. When we booked our seats, we took the 3 on one side of the aisle and then one across from it. That isn't how it worked though. It went stranger, Kyson, Sage, aisle, Me, Aspen, stranger. Hmmm... This could get tricky. Luckily the woman sitting next to Aspen was so sweet and Aspen laid her head on this woman's lap and her feet on my lap. She was set and slept the entire time.

Poor Sage. Kyson said she could lay on him but she refused, she was SO tired. After about 2 hours she finally fell asleep sitting up. Kyson was MISERABLE and I tried holding him, nothing would help. Finally we broke all airline rules and made him a bad on the floor of the plane. FINALLY he was able to sleep. I got zero.

We get to Atlanta, and like an idiot I checked our tickets for the gate departure and not the official departure screen. The kids are exhausted and we take the trains to the correct (or so I thought) terminal. I grab them breakfast and we arrive at the gate. Ya, that plane was headed to Detroit. So, I am now carrying 3 blankets, breakfast, a carry on, and keeping my 3 sleepyheads while I find the new gate. YEP, it was RIGHT next to where we arrived from. So, hop back on the train and go back to A21. They hurry through breakfast and this flight is empty. Sage lays across the seats (as I happily imagined would happen for the first flight) and slept the whole way. It was only an hour from Atlanta to Orlando.

We got to Orlando and we are walking toward Disney's Magical Express service. On the way we met another family heading to Disney also. They lived in Belgium, and they had plans to stay at the Grand Floridian. Ya, color me jealous! We got on our bus and we were off. Can I just say that i LOVE this service. They mail you special tags for your luggage and as the luggage goes off the plane, it is put on a separate belt and goes into a truck. It then magically appears in your room a few hours later. We didn't have to do a thing with it!

By the time we got to our hotel, the French Quarter, I was so tired I thought I was going to be sick. I told the kids that I had to nap before we headed out to Animal Kingdom. We got to our room and there was a Mickey head made out of towels! It was a sign of many room surprises to come!!!

I napped about 2 hours and we were off to Animal Kingdom.

Because we were getting there so late in the day, I didn't have any plans to follow. We were able to walk onto everything with literally zero waits. We did the Safari, saw the Lion King show, rode Dinosaur, the kids played in the BoneYard, and many more things. Aspen and Kyson rode Primevil Whirl (sage is too small) While watching the parade, Balloo danced with Sage!! It was GREAT!!!!!!

They have this HUGE tree thing called the Tree of Life in the center and it has all sorts of things carved in it. Its REALLY neat!!! We didn't get to explore everything, and definitely will next time!!!

We also got to meet Minnie Mouse,

Brer Bear, Brer Rabbit,

Pochahontas,

Goofy, and.... drum roll please.............

Lilo and STITCH! Stitch is beyond Aspens favorite. She adores him!!

The biggest adventure of the day? my scaredy cat Sage is now a brave chick! She rode Expedition Everest and LOVED it!!! She is so proud of herself! E.E. is a very fast scary coaster. Anyone who has done Disney or Lagoon with Sage knows she hates things that go fast or off the ground. Anyone remember the chunk she bit out of my side on the Tidal Wave?

more to come...............

We're Back!

2009-04-26T06:26:00.001-07:00

We had a WONDERFUL time! Pictures and recaps coming soon!

Happy Birthday Savannah Grace

2009-04-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

Ya know, I have gone to start this entry many times over the last few weeks as I begin to think of Savannah and her 2nd Birthday. Everytime I sit down, I change my mind and busy myself with another task I have to do instead. I have put it off, but I can't any longer. Her birthday is in 49 minutes. Technically not til after 2 am, but the day starts in 49 minutes nonetheless.

I look back and see how we have moved forward, not moved on, but moved forward.

I think of phrases people use that I hate. "I am so sorry to hear of your loss" I really hate that one. To lose something implies that you didn't care enough about it to keep track of it. If caring about her was all it took, she would be upstairs in her crib, sleeping in footsie jammies with her blankie and a nightlight. (well, probably not a nightlight, we don't use those) We would be planning another huge party for her, or our upcoming DisneyWorld trip would be her present. She would have a bedroom and countless scrapbooks instead of a cabinet in my living room. The back of my closet wouldn't be full of clothes with the tags still hanging from them and crib bedding that has never been out of the package. We would hear her giggle and tickle her feet and kiss her toes after we cleaned out the "piggie jam"

So don't say we lost her. That phrase makes me cringe everytime I hear it, and I will NEVER tell someone whose child has died no matter the circumstance that I am sorry for their loss. Im sorry for their greif, Im sorry for the passing of their child, but not their loss. They know EXACTLY where their child is.

I have gotten to a point where (minus this week, and an occasion spurt on drives with Mary) that I can talk about her when asked without breaking down completely. I can think back at things the kids have said about her and smile. And the compassion they have puts a smile on my face. Sure, I wish they didnt have to have that experience, but I know they are more caring, loving children because of it. I can see how far they have come as well. We love her and we miss her and would give anything to have her with us, but I know we are okay.

Tomorrow I am sure that we will put the CD of her service in for the drive up to the cemetary and down to orem for dinner. Listen to it a few times at least. Ya know, when we were at Larkin, and Hank (the guy who helped us) asked if we wanted an audio recording of her service. I said okay, but I secretly thought that was so weird. We have 5 CDs (all teh same) now and I am SO grateful to have them. Im sure we will also put in Glory Baby and listen to that a few times too. This is what we played at her service. The words are perfect and I will see if I can get it to play on here. If not, and you want to hear it, its on YOUTUBE.

One of the poems we read at her service is this one. I think its perfect.

Daddy Please don't look so sad, Momma please don't cry
Cause I am in the arms of Jesus and He sings me lullabies
Please, try not to question God, don't think he is unkind.
Don't think He sent me to you, and then He changed His mind.

You see, I am a Special child, and I'm needed up above.
I'm the Special gift you gave Him, the product of your love.
I'll always be there with you, and watch the sky at night.
Find the brightest star that's gleaming,That's my halo's brilliant light.

You'll see me in the morning frost, that mists your window pane.
That's me in the summer showers, I'll be dancing in the rain.
When you feel a little breeze, from a gentle wind that blows.
That's me, I'll be there, planting a kiss on your nose.
When you see a child playing, and your heart feels a little tug,
That's me, I'll be there Giving your heart a hug.

So daddy, please don't look so sad, momma don't you cry.
I'm in the arms of Jesus, and He sings me lullabies

We will go buy lots of balloons. Each kid will pick out some. We will get those and flowers and probably a stuffed animal or something. We will go to the cemetary and sing her Happy Birthday and decorate her headstone just like we did last year. (pics will come soon) We will each send a balloon up to her, and Im sure at least a few of us will cry. As we get in the car and drive away, at least one of the kids will say "Bye Bye Baby Savannah, we LOVE you" and blow a kiss just like they do everytime. And as we drive up and exit teh cemetary, we have to pass by Babyland again, and the kids will say it again, we all will. "ByeBye Baby Savannah, we LOVE you"

Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you!!!

Yep, we are still alive!

2009-03-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

This will be REALLY short. I find that lately I have zero time to jump on here and just do nothing. I have a few things we are doing that we are very excited about!!!!

First, this Friday, Sage gets her Kindergarten shots. That isn't exciting, its sad to me. She is SO grown up!

We decided to cancel our trip to Texas. I decided I want to go at a time when either Farren can go with us (I wasnt keen on driving in a strange place alone) or when my sister could take time off work. So, we will still go, just at another time.

Instead I am taking the kids to Disney World for 8 days! We are staying on site and got a killer deal! I have spent HOURS making the kids their own unique autograph books, making ADRs for the places we want to eat, and planning our time. (I am hoping for a cancellation at OHANA's so we can have breakfast with Lilo and Stitch (Aspens fave) but so far, they are booked our entire stay.

Yesterday Farren, Aspen and Kyson went skiing. Kyson and Aspen both did great! This was Aspen's first time, and my Mom said she is the easiest of all the kids to pick it up. Im not surprised. That girl is a natural athlete. First time she tried a two-wheeler she did it, no falls. First time we threw her a ball, she hit it across the yard. She excels at all she does.

My last piece of things we have been doing, well, I just got back from taking the kids to Disney On Ice (can you tell we like Disney) It was a great show. Sage was SO adorable! When the skaters would come out and wave, she would wave back, and get SO excited, absolutely sure they were waving to her and her alone. That totally made her night!

Its going to be a busy week ahead of us again! I will put recent pictures up soon!

Ever the responsible one....

2009-03-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

Recently, each of my children were given 25 dollars to spend on whatever they please. Yesterday morning we finished the household chores and headed to Toys R Us. Kyson knew, the moment he had the money what he was buying. Some Legos set.

Sage knew she wanted something, but wasnt sure what. After wandering the store, she left with a Disney Princess dish set (for her to use, not to play with) a set of Mickey Mouse bubbles, and a new Play-Dough set. I have NEVER seen a kid like Play-Dough the way she does. It is brought out every day and played with for hours.

Aspen told me from the beginning there is nothing she needs or wants. We got to the store and she showed Sage things she thought Sage might like, but never looked for anything for herself. She just wasn't interested. She may spy an interesting item, but would always stick to her guns, she wasn't buying anything.

Aspen is now the proud owner of her very own bank account that she opened with her very own money. That was her idea and her decision.

She always has been my most responsible child. I don't know of any other 6 year old who would take 25 dollars to Toys R Us and not spend a dime.

Not Too Shabby!

2009-02-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got 370 dollars worth of groceries for 62 dollars! Wooohooo!!!!!!!

I am bummed that I was a day late to get the free tubes of colegate, I could have gotten 10 of them. Also a day late for SUPER cheap Lysol kitchen and bathroom cleaners. Oh well.

Now I need to clean out the spare room and add some shelves in there. I have food and things coming out of my ears!!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2009-02-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

So my sister in law is in town working on a project she has to do for school. She is almost done with getting her cosmetology licence. So, we did the kids hair. She did highlights and then added fun (permanent) colors to the girls hair. Then I taught her a few styles that she had been wanting to learn.

Aspen

Sage

Aspen

Aspen likes it, but Sage thinks she is Hannah Montanna and puts one hand on her hip, one on the side of her head and shakes her butt. Too stinkin funny.

Ugly Shoes

2009-02-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Aspen needs shoes desperately. I have NO idea what happened to one pair, and her other ones she wore in the snow with no socks on. They reek beyond belief. You cant even sit at the bottom of the stairs to put on your shoes without gagging.

So I tossed them.

I am trying to find her new shoes. I usually love Target's shoes, but they were all ugly today. The toddler sizes were super cute, but she is too big for that. I checked Khols and didnt like any, and none at Payless either. What is it with ugly shoes? They were all awful, and I am NOT that picky. The ones that weren't just ugly, were way too old for her. She is 6, she doesnt need Hooker boots and she doesnt need heels higher than any I have worn in my entire life. But, at the same time, I refuse to let them wear character shoes. We WILL find shoes.

Usually we go to the Sketchers store, but I just don't have the time to drive that far. I think tonight we will hit shoe carnival and see what they have.

My kid is at school in church shoes because she has nothing else.

On a different note, while I was at Target this morning I got a GREAT start on Sage's spring/summer wardrobe. She will need a few more tops and lots of bottoms and shoes, but I found about 8 cute tops for her. She is my kid who needs everything for this coming season. Aspen will need tops and shoes, but has plenty of bottoms from last year that still fit. Kyson, well, he hates what I like and I hate what he likes. So, thats Farrens job. Of course, a lot of that is pleasing his Dad. If I tell Farren to point it out to Kyson, then Kyson will like it (usually) but if I point it out, Kyson hates it.

Chocolate and Vanilla

2009-02-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

This is a conversation Sage and I had today while I was making lunch.

Me: Sage, do you want spaghetti for lunch?

Sage: No, something else. A Sandwich.

Me: Okay, ham or peanut butter.

Sage: Peanut Butter. But Mom? Can I have it on the vanilla bread?

It took me a second to realize she meant white bread. We recently switched to whole grain whole wheat bread.

I make her sandwich and she is eating it while I make my own lunch. After a moment she says Mom? I like the chocolate bread too, I just wanted vanilla today because it shines like the sun.

He's Just Not That Into You

2009-02-09T12:54:00.001-08:00

My friend Mary and I went to see this over the weekend. It was pretty good. We were cracking up though. There is a "sex scene" in the movie, nothing too graphic, in fact, it isn't even a sex scene, its a make out scene, clothes were on. Anyways, a group of very elderly people stood up as soon as that started and left. What did they think the movie would be about?

Thanks for the fun Mary!

Thanks Mom!

2009-02-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago my Mom told me about Grocery Smarts. It is kind of like Grocery Game, but its totally free! I started saving my coupons, but never had utilized them yet. Today I did. I got:

26 boxes of Wheat thins/Triscuts (I know thats a lot but with how many kids come in my home they will be gone in no time)
16 boxes of Kellog's cereal

My total for that came to 39.64

Then I headed to another store and I got:

5 pounds red grapes
2 gallons milk
2 gallons chocolate milk
4 4packs of Yoplait Yo Plus
4 packs of lunch meat
12 boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks/Fruit Rollups (Yes I let my kids eat that crap. Sometimes I eat it too )

My Total there was 30 and some change.

According to my reciepts, my total savings today, was over 180 dollars! Woohoo!!!!!

I am shameful

2009-02-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

:) Today I broke my no spending. I splurged and spent 1.06 on a drink. Horrible I know. :) Otherwise doing well.

I think its official. This is my shortest blog entry ever.

I am so ready

2009-02-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

for the kids to go back to school. Its quite the catch 22. I LOVE having them here, but, 8 kids makes for a huge mess. I feel like I do nothing but pick up after them, yet nothing is ever clean. ARGH. Its frustrating! I try to just do it at night, so we can play games during the day. Today we played Sequence, did puzzles, and things like that. I think Saturday Farren will take the kids to a movie or something so I can catch up on my neglected house.

This morning I went to make Zane a bottle. I opened the fridge to get his milk out, and one of the kids had placed a full 2 litre bottle on some chicken I had thawing. The pressure of the bottle pushed the juices EVERYWHERE. Needless to say, for at least today, I have the cleanest fridge on the planet. Its kinda funny, all week I have opened the fridge and thought I have GOT to clean that out, but kept putting it off for another today. Today I got the message loud and clear!

So far things are great on the financial front. Still no spending, though I am sure having more kids than seats in my car is helping with my self control! I haven't left my house in days! That's okay though, less temptations that way!!!!

Today

2009-02-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

I have nothing else to title my post, so I will keep it simple.

With my goal to avoid ALL unnecessary spending, so far so good. Yesterday Farren had to buy the van I new battery, but, considering it owuldn't start, I consider that I necessity! Today I took the little girls to preschool and then headed to Walmart with the 5 kids I had left. I did VERY well, only buying fruit, veggies, milk and bread.

A movie I wanted to see, The Secret life Of Bees, came out today, and I didn't buy it. Anyone who knows me knows that I buy movies left and right, we have hundreds, many unopened. So, I am doing well so far. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

I also wanted to take a moment to wish my dear friend Tiffani a VERY happy birthday!

Pay It Forward

2009-02-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

So I got this from Tiffani's blog. Thanks Tiff, love the idea!

The Rules:
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!.
2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER... it is good... :) Pass it forward.

February!

2009-02-01T13:33:00.001-08:00

Kysons back! I missed him like crazy, though we enjoyed having absolutely NO sibling rilvalry while he was gone. He had a blast and was able to meet many new friends. He LOVED skiing and said he only fell 3 times. Not too shabby at all! Im glad he is back!!!!!! They are already looking forward to summer camp!

Yesterday my mother in law took my girls to the Draper Temple Open House. My neice Lexi went with them. They all said it was neat. While they were doing that, Farren and I went couch shopping. The couch he LOVES, just happens to be the couch my neighbors bought last week. We may end up copying them, which is kinda funny because the couch we have now, use to be theirs.

Last night I took Aspen and Lexi, along with my sister in law and her family, to the movies. Most of the kids saw Hotel for Dogs and liked it lots. The Adults and Lexi saw New To Town. The adults liked it, but Lexi was bored stiff. I think it was just too old for her.

My goal for February is to be more Frugal. My plan is to not buy ANYTHING extra. We shall see how it goes. Today I did have to get Sage some new shoes, we could barely get her foot in hers last night, but that was obviously a necessity. So, no movies, books, treats or anything for February. Farren doesn't have faith in me. In fact he laughed when I said I was going to try. I think I can do it.

Farren says if I do it, then by March I should be able to get the camera upgrade he wants to buy me. Im not sure if I need such a huge upgrade, though I certainly won't complain. I need some new subjects to shoot. My kids are sick of me! I will try and update each night, to see how the money thing is going. There are some things that I HAVE to buy this month, like a baby gate, since cute Zane is getting so fast, but, otherwise, this should be a budget friendly month!

Wish me luck!

Kyson

2009-01-29T20:21:00.000-08:00

So tonight was a big first in Kyson's life. He went away to Diabetes camp with his cousin Jaden. I won't see him again until Sunday. I am so nervous. He is so excited. Tomorrow they are going skiing, and they get to do so many other fun activities also. He has been looking forward to it for a month. I hope he does okay. I'm glad Jaden is with him.

Aspen was so bummed when she saw the cabins and bunkbeds they get to sleep in. She wanted to stay SO badly too! So, in the Summer, they can go for a week and do all the summer activities. By then she will be 7, and old enough to go. It looks like lots of fun, and their counselor seemed nice. He has grown up going to Diabetes Camp.

I miss him already, but I bet he hasn't thought twice about us since we left.

Oops!

2009-01-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks ago I let Kyson make Monkey Bread. At the end you pour a mix of melted butter, cinnamon and brown sugar over the top. Well, it boiled over into the oven. It was my lower oven, and I usually only use the top one, so I forgot about it.

Well, forgot about it til tonight. I spent all day reading Eclipse (I told you I like to read books in one sitting) and went to pop in a quick dinner. Tator Tots in the top oven and Fish Sticks in the lower. All was well til I saw flames in my lower oven. Oh my heavens! Freaked out. Farren was able to put it out, but now I am figuring out if I can run my self cleaner or if I have to do anything else. I am HOPING my oven still even works. If you have any advice or opinions about how to go about this, PLEASE let me know!

Poor Sageycakes. She was so scared and upset about the fire. She was screaming the house was going to burn down. Can we say DRAMA QUEEN? Anyways, she got herself so upset that she got a terrible nose bleed.

I had NO idea that could really happen. You hear it in the movies that took place long ago all the time. People tell people to calm down or they'll "get a Nose Bleed" Ya, apparently it really truly happens. Who knew?

Bedtime Stories

2009-01-24T17:09:00.000-08:00

Last night was a DISASTER. The fog was so bad the airport was closed, and we passed a car on its side smashed into the barrier. I don't think anyone could have survived. We dropped Kyson and Sage at my Mom's house and left to take Aspen to the movies while they went to the party. We went to many theatres and everything was sold out. We didn't pre-buy the tickets online because we weren't sure how traffic would be.

So, we were left with nothing to do. So we went to the party and poor Aspen had to sit and watch the other kids have fun. (We had to pick up our ids so that is why we didn't just go home) We cleared a slide and let Uncle Victor take Aspen down the slide very carefully on his lap once and she loved it. But for the most part she just cried. I felt terrible for her, it was hard for me not to cry for her.

Kyson went home with Jaden for a sleepover and both girls went home to my Mom's to sleep with Lexi. This morning I picked up Alexis and Aspen and took them to bedtime stories. It was really cute. I highly recommend it. The story is cute and it was well done. Definitely one to buy!

Tonight we went to dinner and now Farren and the girls are rocking out to Guitar Hero. I just adore my family, they are so cute and can have a great time doing anything! I am definitely lucky and was dealt a GREAT hand in the family department.

New Moon and Aspen's Poor Head

2009-01-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I bought and read Twilight. The next day I went out and bought New Moon. However, I never opened it. I have this thing about reading books in one sitting, and considering it is over 500 pages, I knew it would take a few hours. I finally started it last night and finished by about 12:45 am. Today I ran and picked up the two I have left. Hopefully they are a little less predictable and a little more descriptive.

On a side note, Tuesday Aspen, Kyson, and some of the Kirkham kids were out riding bikes. We didn't have enough bikes to go around, so Aspen was walking. They went down the street to the church, and Aspen got the bright idea to "ice skate" down the hill. Well, her feet went up and the first thing to hit the ground was her forehead.

One of the kids stayed with her and the others ran home. I went to get her and you could see her pupils were different sizes. I wasn't too worried and I called my dear friend Elly to make sure I should just watch her. Then Aspen's speech wasn't making sense. Her grammar was just terrible. She was saying "I is offy code" instead of I am awfully cold, ect. Then she pulled blankets over her face because the light was hurting her so badly. I was getting stuff together to take her to the ER and she passed out.

Driving to the hospital she was totally unresponsive. I would get loud and say ASPEN ASPEN and she wouldn't acknowledge us at all. Finally she would turn her head and look at us before passing out again. I got her to the hospital and Farren met me there. He grabbed Aspen while I took the other kids to my sisters house. Farren told me that she had no recollection of anything that had happened that day.

She stayed asleep the whole time we were there. She did her CAT scan and then the doctor poked his head in the room and said she is fine take her home, bed rest for 3 days. (Even though she was still totally out and hadn't been awake even 3 minutes since the fall) Then the nurse came in and told us that she had many contusions on her brain, may have seizures ect and if she does call 911. So, obviously we were very worried.

She threw up in my car, but otherwise was passed out for a few more hours. We went to my sisters to get the kids and she came upstairs and passed out again. Got home and was still passed out. Anyways, one thing we were told to watch for was stomach pain/nausea. She had terrible tummy pain on Wednesday, but tried to fake that she didn't. I brought her to PCMC that night and told the doctor we had been told two conflicting things, ect so he double checked her CAT scan. There is some visible bruising, but not much, and certainly not the contusions that the nurse had said she had.

She is doing much better, but keeping her resting has proven very difficult. Since that happened she has: bent down to pick something up and smashed her head into the bar counter in the kitchen, smashed her head on the bottom of the computer chair, and Sage tripped and fell, landing RIGHT on Aspens head where Aspen was resting. If this keeps up she wont have much of a brain left.

Tonight is her cousins birthday party at Bouncing Off The Walls and obviously she cant go. She is so sad about missing it. But, Farren and I are going to take her to the movies instead.

So I am a HUGE slacker!

2009-01-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

First off, I obviously let my Post a Day challenge go down the drain. I thought Sage's birthday deserved a whole week! Next month I will do better because I am challenging myself financially and will post a daily tally.

I am also a slacker because I FINALLY saw Twilight. Mary and I went Friday night after we grocery shopped. The first part DRAGGED and I thought it was so dumb, but the second half was much better. My favorite scene was the baseball game. There was one scene where my mind slipped into the gutter and I started laughing and couldn't stop. I was silent though. Not nearly as annoying as the teenagers snapping their gum.

Next week I want to go see Marley and Me or Bride Wars. See, Mary has me hooked on the theatre at Jordan Landing. Their popcorn is to die for. So I may be seeing more movies. I have been craving it since Friday. YUMMY. Much better than Jordan Commons.

Happy Birthday Sageycakes!!!!!

2009-01-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

Today my little Sagey turned 5. 5 is such a huge number, it represents so many things. She is "school age" now when you look at statistics. She can ride a two wheeler, she can buckle herself into her carseat, she can do math problems and spell basic words.

She certainly isn't little anymore. I remember when she was born. After 25+ hours of labor, I sat up to get my epidural adjusted and she flipped onto the bed, nearly falling off to the floor. When she was a few days old she was admitted to Primary's because her jaundice was getting bad. We dealt with that, her Mastocytosis and Kidney issues. She is such a strong child. No pain meds after surgery, but she didnt mind at all. Even sliding down off chairs right over her incision like nothing had happened.

Now she goes to school and tells me if she thinks the clothes I bought her are ugly. She knows who she likes, and who she would rather not play with. She knows to be gentle with the babies and rough and tumble with Daddy. She knows so many things, some more than anyone should know at her young age.

At the end of each day she gets back out of bed once, comes downstairs and says "Hug Mamma" She makes sure she gets that one last hug in. She brightens my day and I can hear her jumping on the bed this very moment. Little stinker.

I love that girl.

Happy Birthday baby girl! (who isnt a baby anymore)

Sage's Party...

2009-01-09T21:46:00.000-08:00

went well. They are watching Enchanted right now and I think its almost over. I hope anyways, I am exhausted. I will post more details and pictures soon.

I just can't do it Captain.......

2009-01-08T18:56:00.001-08:00

This "new post every day challenge" is tough. I have nothing to write about today. I cleaned all day, took a huge load to the DI, Sage played with jesi and Weston, and that is it. Other kids had school. BORING, and nothing to write about. Tomorrow is Sagey's birthday party. A very small sleepover with her cousins and Jesi. So, I will have pictures and stuff to write about soon. Just not tonight.

Build-a-Bear

2009-01-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

My kids have been asking to go to Build a Bear for as long as I can remember. Aspen and Kyson went once years ago for Lexi's birthday. Sage never had. I always say no because honestly, it is hard to justify spending THAT much on a stuffed bear. I decided that this Christmas they could each get a gift card.

So, we all got dressed and I told them I had to run a few errands at the mall, and would then go somewhere fun. I am mean and enjoy watching the anticipation of not knowing where we are headed grow in their little eyes and minds. We get to the mall and Kyson, ever so observant, asks why on Earth I am bringing my camera bag into the mall.

I couldn't help it. I lied to my child. I told him I had to photograph some shoes for someone who hired me to do so. Considering I am always taking pictures of "funny" things, he totally accepted that explanation. (Though I have never been asked to shoot shoes. Feet, yes. Shoes, no.)

We are walking through the mall and pass Build a Bear. Sage gets loud and excited. MOM, can we go look? PLEASE, just so we know what to use our gift cards on? PLEASE? Of course the other two had to chime in their please can we looks. I said No, you can't just look, but you CAN go make a bear.

Oh my heavens they were SO excited! Unfortunately, because it is right after Christmas, most the animals were sold out. But that is okay. They got some cute bears.

First you have to stuff it.

Then you Wish on it.

Then bathe it.

Dress it.

Love it.

They had a great time. We topped the day off with lunch, though lunch couldn't have been too great considering I can't remember where we ate.

By the way, I have to say, Sage's bear's boots; she chose those because Zane has some similiar. Nice furry winter boots to go with the summer dress she picked.

Speaking of shoes, dont look at Sageys feet, it appears they are on the wrong feet. Dang I love that kid.

Think My Mind is Trying To Tell me Something?

2009-01-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

I had the craziest dream. I was at Mary's house and we were getting ready to go out. We were trying to hurry and cook the kids spaghetti before we left. I got a pot and put some water on the stove. Mary got mad and me and said that takes too long.

So, she grabbed a bowl and the dry noodles, and put them in the dishwasher and started it. She said that was is MUCH faster than stovetop cooking.

Think its my mind telling me to cook real dinners more oft0en instead of going for conveince with things like Spaghetti or eating out?

Beautiful Life

2009-01-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

When people play music on their blogs, it usually annoys me. I have to mute it if I want to actually remember the details of what they write about. I vowed to NEVER play music on mine. Well, this song is up there temporarily so you can all hear it. I love it! I first heard it as a promo on TLC for their Monday night family shows. I YouTubed it and heard the whole thing.

It says so much of how I want my kids to feel and be raised. I want them to explore the world and not feel confined in one small city, state, or even country. I want them to know that there is more out there than I can possibly show them, and they should go see those things and chase their dreams, no matter how unrealistic they may seem.

I want them to know that some of the most wonderful things in life are right here if we just open our eyes and look around. I want to be right there with them as they search out anwsers to questions they may have. I want to walk the road of life right along side them, holding their hands when needed, and letting them run free if they are willing to try.

Its a beautiful life, a beautiful day, and a beautiful time to be here.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-04T20:28:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know I am a total slacker! Christmas was nice, though it didn't "feel" like Christmas to me this year. On Christmas Eve we went to my Mom's house for a soup dinner. There had been a tummy bug going around all the cousins (and a few adults) and unfortunately, that was Aspen's night to get it. I think she was worse than most the other people. She was screaming in pain. It was so sad. But, she still wanted to go to Grandma's. We didn't stay as late as we would have if she hadn't been sick.
Christmas morning we woke up pretty early. I am impressed though that even though Kyson was up SUPER early, he didn't wake his sisters. (This year I think he slept til about 5. On Easter he was up by 4) The kids were very pleased with their selection of gifts. Santa brought Kyson a bike, Aspen a digital camera (that Santa's helper almost got tackled over trying to get) and Sage got a new play kitchen. We had a play kitchen that was a hand-me-down from lexi, but the kids never played with it. So, I arranged to give it away (This was 2 years ago) The week I had given it away they started playing with it. I had been careful not to mention I was getting rid of it, I assumed they would never notice it was gone. WRONG! They have been asking for one ever since.
Kyson is also really enjoying his Legos, Nerf Guns and Wii games. Aspens favorite gift is her American Girl Doll, Kit Kitteradge. She has matching jammies with it and that doll is always with her. Sage is also enjoying Aspens doll, and has decided to not have a birthday party at My Gym if she can only have an American Girl doll. She can't decide if she wants Ruthie or Felicity. Sage is also enjoying her new Play-Dough and art supplies.
After we opened gifts we went back to my Mom's for some brunch. Victor had gotten Guitar Hero so we played that. Dang that is addicting! We also opened up Kyson's EyeClops. That thing is AMAZING. You hold it up to something and it magnifies things 200x onto the TV. Can I tell you how gross moles look up close?
Then we headed to Farren's Moms for lunch/dinner. She got the kids the Planet Earth/Blue Planet series. Those are AMAZING. We watched them again that night (well, some of them) LOVE them! Of course, Kyson's favorite part is where the wolf eats the baby cariboo, and that part makes Sage cry.

We had a nice holiday filled with good family and friends. I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday as well.

Best Cousins!

2009-01-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

Sage has a best friend, Jesi, and a best cousin, Illi. She says they are both "the bestest friends in the whole wide world" Illi is just a week or so younger than her, and they get along great. Illi, her sister Lexi, and one of her brothers Elijah slept over before Christmas. I went to check on them before I went to bed, and this is what I found. Those two are inseperable.

Oh, and no, Sage doesn't sleep in a crib. That is cute Zane's crib for when he is at my house!

Oops.......

2009-01-03T11:08:00.001-08:00

Can I just say that clicking on the NEXT BLOG button to see what is out there is NOT a good idea in any way shape or form while your child is on your lap. Off to bleach our eyes......

A Post a Day.......

2009-01-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

Back in November I was challenged to make a post a day. I decided to wait til January to try because I knew that I would be too busy through out the holidays. I challenge you all to do the same.

Weird. Its the second but saying its the first............ oh well. :)

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to say Happy New Year to all of you. We, of course, did nothing. Farren had to work. I was actually cleaning the kitchen and watching Savannah Smiles when the new year rang in.

In other news, we did get the bedroom finished and will take pics soon.

Sneak Peek!

2008-12-28T22:41:00.000-08:00

I have been SO busy! We have had parties, Christmas, normal stuff and we are also painting our bedroom! But, I know some of you are waiting patiently (and not so patiently :) ) for previews of the pictures from the family party. So, here are a few! I will have more of an update and Christmas pictures posted soon!

Jaden and Zane

The McGrails

SageyCakes

Aspen, Sage, and Kyson

Aspen

Shannon and Luke

Kyson

Noah

The Contratto/Harrison Family

Snow Day!

2008-12-19T20:59:00.001-08:00

It is COLD. My In-Laws only got an inch or so. We got over 8! I will just let the pictures do the talking! But yes, their father throws them into snow piles and burries them in snow!

Making Ornaments

2008-12-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

So my friend Sarah is one of those creative fun people that you just want to be! Her family made some ornaments from a dough that consists of equal parts cinnamon and applesauce. She showed pictures and raved about the wonderful aroma.

So, we tried it.

First batch of dough in the trash. Second worked better (I had to do a bit more cinnamon than applesauce) We made the ornaments and they smelled divine. And then they cracked and I threw them away. But, the important part is how much fun the kids had making them. They were terrifically messy! Here are some pictures!

Mixing the Dough

Rolling It Out

Gross Hands Sagey!!

Totally Messy Kyson!

The Finsihed Products!

I admit it, I am spoiled

2008-12-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

So my wonderful husband bought me THIS flash as an early Christmas Gift. It came tonight. These pictures are all ones while I was trying it out. All the lights were out, so it definately will do its job as I doubt I will shoot in 100% darkness often. Sage is also showing off her new cute jammies (Carters is having a HUGE sale)

This morning Britton and I drove down in horrid weather to Tai Pan to get some Christmas things for the photos I am doing Saturday at our family party. I got some super cute things. All their fall decor is 75% off, so I also got some neat things for fall pictures coming up next year! I love that store and want to go back and get things for my home soon!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week as you prepare for the holidays. Have safe travel and good times.

The Things We Do

2008-12-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, & try not to be a SCROOGE! Copy this entire post & paste onto your own new post!Change all the answers so they apply to you. Then tag a bunch of people you know....Tis the Season to be NICE!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper. I think it looks much nicer under the tree, and its harder for kids to peek. Not that peeking would EVER cross my kid's minds. :)
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. Real ones scare me. We always hear about people's homes burning down.
3. When do you put up the tree? Um, this year it was up by Nov.7th. For once it wasn't me who jumped the gun!
4. When do you take the tree down? Jan 1stor so....
5. Do you like Egg Nog? NO WAY, Sick! Farren and the kids love it though.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A baby doll that looked SO real. My Mom had it wrapped in a blanket and in a wicker basket. LOVED that! In fact, it JUST went in the trash a few months ago because her fingers were falling off.
7. Hardest person to buy for?Farren. He hates getting gifts.
8. Easiest person to buy for? My kids.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but I want the Willow Tree and the Fisher Price one so bad!10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?Ummm...no comment
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love so many. The Christmas Shoes I just watched and bawled.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Julyish
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but we did a wedding gift once. *blush*
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Shirley's DEviled Eggs just ROCK.
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, I like white, though this year I have started to like the multicolored.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Believe by Josh Groban. LOVE IT. If you haven't heard it, You TUbe it.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay Home, everyone but Codi is here :(
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Can anyone seriously not? What a SHAME!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Nothing
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open one gift on Christmas Eve, and save the rest for Christmas Day
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?traffic
23. Favorite ornament theme or color?This year we have a candy tree. Its not what I would choose as a favorite, but the kiddos LOVE it
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new flash and some photo editing software.

I tag: Tiffani, Mary, April, Sarah, Brandee, and Stephanie.

My Cute Neice Lexi

2008-12-13T18:57:00.001-08:00

Started a blog! She is my sister Raquel's daughter, and is 10. Please drop by and leave her a comment, I KNOW she would just love that!

http://adayinthelifeofalexis.blogspot.com

Six Girls and HighSchool Musical

2008-12-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

So tonight we are lucky enough to have the Kirkham girls and the Dent girls over for the night. So, that is 6 girls. They are watching HighSchool Musical 2 and signing and dancing to EVERY song. It is totally cracking me up. These girls are just too much fun! They have popcorn and are singing and jumping on the couch! Im so glad that my kids have such awesome friends! They are truely lucky! What a loud night this will be!

Poor Kyson is sorely outnumbered! He needs a BOY here!

Bagels and Babies!

2008-12-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I dropped Sage and Jes at school, then Brit and I headed to Einstein Bagels to meet some friends for breakfast. It was so much fun! I decided I don't get out to see friends often enough! The food was yummy! Tiny Brit ate the entire thing! Thanks Vanessa, Taryn, Laura, Lori and Cynthia! You guys are GREAT company!!!!!!!

Then we went to my Moms school to deliver her birthday present and treats for her class. I hope she can get lots of use from her new toy! Happy Birthday Mom!

Off to our school to sort and pass out fundraiser stuff. We didnt get home til 6. After I fed the kids I put them to bed early. (I am guilty. I wanted to leave and Farren had to get some sleep, so I grabbed a Christmas present out of my closet and let them all fall asleep watching Horton Hears a Who.

I headed to Lyndas house and we made jewlery. I made a SUPER cute bracelet. Well, okay, I suck, so April made most of it for me!

Thanks Lynda, Vanessa, Mariah and April for the great company! You guys are the BEST! I will add a pic of my bracelet soon!

(Oh and Tiffani, I really did think he was annoyed that I was going to go out with you. When I got home he wanted to know why the heck I was home. Sorry. Sometimes his humor is hard to read and I dont know if he is teasing or not. I hope you guys had fun!)

Hallmark Movies and our Tree

2008-12-10T18:32:00.001-08:00

Are Hallmark Movies sappy? Of course! Thats why I love them! I love the Christmas ones even more. I have my DVR recording most of them that come on, and at night after the kids are in bed I get toasty under a blanket and watch another one. I LOVE them! They almost always have happy endings. (Minus the Christmas Shoes, I bawled through that whole movie!) On weekends the kids will all get blankets and stay up and watch them with me. What a fun time of year this is. I didn't take any pictures of my tree this year, but its still the same ol' tree with the same candy decorations as last year!

When we bought it, Farren thought I was crazy for wanting a 12 foot tree, but now he loves it too! Let me see if I can find last years pictures.

(We have since added more ornaments to it)

This one is Savannah's Baby First Christmas. I couldnt find the other kids last year. They may have gotten ruined in the flood. We will order new ones.

Kyson

2008-12-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

Kyson had his SEPs last week. He has perfect marks on almost everything. (He got a 4 instead of a 5 on talking too much, but of course, I have NO idea where he gets that!) He is on honor roll and doing SO well. He is the leader of his class with AR points (for the week, til Lacey beats him again)

All this comes naturally to him. He has the Leap Frog Globe, and on it you can play games where you have to find cities, oceans, whatever. We were playing countries a few days ago. It would name off a country I have never heard of and Kyson would say Mom, look near Belgium, look in Northern Africa, ect. He knows where almost all of them are.

About a year ago we were watching the travel channel. It was about Sea World, and they showed the Killer Whale. I said WOW look how big that is. And Kyson pipes up, "actually Mom, the Blue Whale is the largest weighing in at X weight. Then he gets his encyclopedia out to prove it to me.

He is always doing things like that. He is so smart. I am so proud of that boy!

It was all good til she grabbed my butt.....

2008-12-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

Last night was Farren's work holiday party. We look forward to it every year. The food is AMAZING!!! Yesterday I went shopping and bought a new top set and some new jewelry. Did my hair and we got all spiffied up (I was really going to take a picture Brandee, but I forgot) We got our sitter, who I am begining to think is the world's BEST sitter ever, and off we went.

A bit off topic, but we called her a babysitter and Kyson freaked. She is our KID sitter because they are not babies. Had to laugh at that! Don't call that boy a baby.

Anyhow, we went downtown to the party. Saw some of Farren's good friends, and had a wonderful meal. The lady I sat next to reminded me of my dear friend April, who we really miss since she moved to Idaho. It was great chatting so comfortably with someone who I didn't know. It made me miss April though, so Farren says we should go up and visit after the Holidays. We will see what we can do.

We were getting ready to leave after dinner, and a friend of my husbands (a woman) said well, if HE (meaning farren) doesnt want to dance, then we can dance. So we did. It was all good til she started rubbing my butt. I think I jumped 3 feet in the air. Totally caught me off guard. I look over and Farren is laughing so hard. I about died. We left a few minutes after that. I did get Farren to kind of dance for one song........

At home the kids were baking cookies, having dinner, watching Movies and having a blast. All day today I have heard about how nice the sitter is, and when are we going out again. So, that is the most important part. They had fun in quite capable hands.

It was a fun though interesting night..........

(I only put this here because I have faith that she will never stumble onto this blog)

Make Your Own Snowflakes!

2008-12-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

My kids really enjoy playing with this site!

http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays/

Game Night at the Jensen's!

2008-12-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

Last Winter we had family game nights all the time. When summer hit we were outside all the time and never home, so we stopped doing game nights.

Sunday we got started again. Kyson was playing with his cousin, so he wasn't there. He tries as hard as he can to beat me, (he is his Father's son) so it was a much quieter game last night. We started off with CandyLand. Usually we pop some Popcorn, but we are smack out of it!

Sage is the Queen of CandyLand, and of course, beat us all. Way to go Sageycakes!!!

Then we played the family favorite. Blokus. If you don't have this, I suggest you get it. Its great for all ages (Sage is starting to be able to figure it out) You have to think and plan ahead, so its great for the adults too!

The first round Farren won, and the second round I won. Woohoo!!! (I beat him by a ton, but winning isn't everything so I won't gloat!)

It was tons of fun, and can't wait til Sunday again! We do need game suggestions though. We almost always play Blokus and Crocodile Dentist. If you have a favorite game, PLEASE leave it in the comments.

When we were younger, my friend Michelle had a game I think was called THIN ICE. You had wet marbles that you had to put on a stretched peice of tissue and whoever broke it lost. I loved that game, but can't find it anywhere. I also remember when I got JENGA for Christmas and slept over at their house and her Mom stayed up til what felt like SO late playing it with us.

Lots of fun, but we are ready for a new game!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T11:17:00.001-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. This year was lots of fun for us. We went to my in laws house for lunch.

After we all ate some of us played Pinocle. Afterward Aunt Carrie did the girls nails. They just love that everytime she is here she will cut/color their hair and do their nails. Lots of fun!

Later the kids all made these super cute Turkeys. I am glad someone is creative and thinks of these things, because I sure don't!

At midnight, a bunch of us went to SouthTowne Mall for some Midnight Madness. That was CRAZY. I felt like I was the oldest person there! We didn't buy anything, but my neices had a blast staying up so late. We got home just after 2am. I went to bed about 3, and was up at 330. Carrie, Allie and I were out the door by 4 am and headed to Walmart. This is the first year I have watched people rip items from each others hands. How sad. I grabbed what I wanted (I actually grabbed 4, hoping for some color variety) I took the one I wanted and gave the other three to some ladies I saw who had waited and gotten what they wanted only to have some guys rip them from their hands. We also got some other items, so that was nice.

Then we headed to FYE and the Fashion Place. We hit Sears, Children's Place and a few other places. By the time we were done, I was ready to drop. We got back to my in laws house and I slept for about 1 1/2 hours then got up to go get my kids from my Moms house. I visited with my Mom and sister for a bit and left about 2pm. By 4 pm we were back out the door. We headed to the inlaws again for a dinner of left-overs and then Kyle, Jody, Laine, Kade, Heather, and Emma joined us at Temple Square to go see some lights.

Kyle is Sage's favorite uncle, and I think of all the pictures I have of them together, she is on his shoulders 99% of the time! He spoils her rotten, and she loves it! Aspen stayed next to Aunt Jody the whole time, minus a bit when she was having a turn on Kyle's shoulders. We just love Aunt Jody! She is so kind to everyone, I don't think I have ever heard a negative word come from her mouth.

Saturday I took the kids to see BOLT in 3-D. Sage didn't want to go, so I took her to Grandma's and picked up my nephew Jaden and took him along. The kids liked the movie, but I was bored out of my mind for at least the first third of the movie. Definately wait for Redbox on that one!

Today I had plans to do my kids Winter pictures, but when I got Sage last night I discovered she had gotten into a green stamp, and her forehead is covered in green. Between that and Kyson's face art, I guess pictures will wait a week.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Update on a Poor Chikadee and a Worried Chickadee.....

2008-11-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note, Aspen did VERY well on her spelling test! She only missed two words, and not the same too she was having issues with. (Junk and Drink I think were the ones she had issues with) She missed print, she put prent and I can't remember which other she missed. Doesn't matter though because she did AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we are super proud of her!

Back In The Olden Days

2008-11-25T19:23:00.000-08:00

This was just too cute not to share. The other day, Aspen (6) was in my room. We save our change, and deposit it every few months for something fun. Anyhow, she picked up a quarter from the bucket. After examining it closely and commenting on the syrup being pulled from the trees, she said, "WOW Mom, this quarter is SUPER old. Its from the olden days Mom. It was made is 2001."

I then explained to her that was only a year before she was born, and the same year her brother was born. Certainly not the olden days.........

My bottom hurts, and my back hurts, my neck hurts....

2008-11-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Last night after dinner I started on Twilight. I read the entire book in one sitting without getting up. I am SO stiff today from sitting in the chair that long. We totally need a new couch. My nice couch is SO uncomfy to lay on, and my old couch, which is semi comfy, is ripped. (It was a handmedown and the people I got it from (thanks Marilee), well, it was a hand me down for them also.

Anyways, I enjoyed the book, it was a simple read. Predictable, but held my attention. I bought the second one this morning.

So, all you guys that have read the books and seen the movies, do I have to read ALL the books first, or is the movie based only on the first book?

I Gave Into Peer Pressure

2008-11-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I picked up my sweet neice and we went shopping. We went to Build a Bear and browsed the mall, then headed to Costco. I gave in. I bought Twilight. I haven't opened it yet, but I will probably start it later tonight. I have to finish it so I ccan go see the movie with friends. So, I will stay busy in the evenings doing that after kids go home.

This weekend was a bit slow. Yesterday was teh shopping and today we went to lunch then drove up the canyon. I totally spaced grabbing one of my cameras, so, no photos. Sorry, but you will all live :) It was nice, and Farren and Kyson had a blast freezing me out by undoing the windows. We were kinda sad to see that Guardsman's Pass was closed for the season, but we kind of expected it. Its "Our spot" that we go to regularly as a family, and we would have liked to get in one more trip before the season closed the roads.

Here are a few photos from Guardsmans Pass from over the years. The ones from the early days, WAY back when, aren't on this computer.

A Poor Chickadee and a Worried Chickadee

2008-11-20T20:12:00.000-08:00

Lately Sage has been having food allergy issues again. Her face breaks out in blisters if she eats something she shouldnt. She has stopped all egg product but it hasn't helped. Yesterday afternoon her face looked rashy, and by bedtime she was crying because it hurt so bad. It had become blistered and was bleeding. Poor babe. I think its back to see Dr. Goodman for a new batch of allergy testing.

Now for my worried chickadee. Tomorrow is Friday. Every Friday they have spelling tests at school. Aspen is a perfectionist. If she colors outside the lines, she throws it away and starts over. If she has to erase something, it is the end of the world. Well, tomorrow's spelling test is going to be a challenge. We have practiced, but she is still struggling. She is all sorts of worked up about taking this test. I hope she can calm down enough to concentrate. When she is nervous her b's are written as d's. and she loses points for that. Cross your fingers.

Some days I am so glad Kyson isn't a worrier. He doesn't care if he misses things (and sometimes I wish he would) He is so laid back. He is just like his father. His biggest worry is which friend he will play with that day.

Its lovely, I'll take it.

2008-11-20T16:14:00.001-08:00

So, there are a few blogs that I peek at on a regular basis that are not listed on my side bar. This is one of them. "It's Lovely, I'll Take It" Shows some very, shall we say interesting, photos that people use when showing their homes for sale.

Wether it be a home that looks like a hamster cage, to a nice enough home with the bedroom walls covered in porn (you cant see anything, so feel free to look with your kids around) People make some odd choices when selling their homes. Enjoy!