Stokes Family

Stella Girl

2012-02-07T22:06:00.003-07:00

A few things about Stella:

She is finally converting to full time walking. She has been taking steps for a couple months, but really couldn't be bothered switching over because of her turbo crawl. I'm not sure I've ever seen a baby crawl faster than her - I will miss hearing those speedy crawling noises all over my house! We are loving her cute little wobbly walk but it's making me a little sad to think she is no longer a baby.

She loves her dad. Every time he walks in the door she shouts out, "DAD!" and heads over for a big hug. She loves talking to him on the phone during the day.

She loves to look through her books in her room. I love peeking in on her as she sits, surrounded by toys and books, lost in her little world!

She is the most social little thing. She looks forward to the days I go to the school to volunteer because she gets to go play at neighbor's houses. On Sunday, she watched her friend Ayden be carried in to sunday school clear across the room. She quickly wriggled down from my lap and booked it straight over to say hello (and check out his treats). She has no fear of strangers and will pretty much smile, talk and be held by anyone. Whenever I leave her, she just smiles and waves. . . never cries. I love that she is so secure and friendly!

She got her first haircut on Sunday when Tierra was here. She had a pretty awesome mullet going. I am loving her new, sweet little look.

She loves hanging out in the pantry. She is constantly bringing me anything she can find on the lower shelves. She loves to dump out and sample everything within her reach. She's the pickiest eater in the world, but when it's her idea, she'll try anything!

She loves TV. Every time we walk in the house she finds the remote and brings it to me. When I buckle her in her carseat, she starts pointing to the DVD player hoping I'll turn it on for her. Anytime she catches sight of the iPad, she begs for Netflix. Her favorites are Elmo, Dora, Barney (ugh) and her Baby Einstein videos.

This is such a fun age - she amazes me every day at what she has learned. She makes us all laugh with her crazy antics. She gives the best, sloppy, open mouthed kisses, but only when she's in the mood. . . we all beg for them. She is a busy little lady, but such a little sweetheart that I usually just laugh at the tornado that she leaves behind.

Miles Turns 7

2012-02-02T11:31:00.004-07:00

Happy Birthday to my cRaZY Miles man! I keep thinking he will get less crazy with age but I'm beginning to realize that just isn't going to happen. . . and I'm ok with that most of the time!

We started the day off with a big stack of chocolate chip pancakes with sprinkles on top.

He got to pick one present from his present pile to open before school. . . big decisions!

After school his friend Brennan was over to deliver this fabulously fun guitar. . . Miles was in heaven!

That night we went to Olive Garden with Lise and Mike to celebrate. Miles LOVES the breadsticks there. . . once he asked the server if he could have the recipe.

Afterwards we opened the rest of his gifts and had cupcakes. And yes. . . that is a #5 candle perched atop his cupcake. Unfortunately, I used my last candle for breakfast pancakes and could only find this one. Miles didn't care one bit. . . because that's just the way he rolls.

Love this 7 year old who keeps me on my toes each and every day and stretches me farther than I thought I could stretch. He also shows me how to love and accept, how to forgive, how to show true joy, how to properly entertain a 1 year old, how to make people feel important, how to make a good, quality mess, and how to live life to the fullest. I can't imagine how boring life would be without him around!

January

2012-01-25T10:24:00.004-07:00

Here are a few things going on in our world according to my iPhone. Someday I will get the real camera out again, but until then. . .

We have to pry the iPad out of the hands of this one. .

We cram our big bodies into tiny baby chairs. He may or may not have tried to ride around the restaurant in the chair.

We laugh as we cause destruction to sister's toys. . .

We look pretty in our shades for a sunny drive down to granny's house. . .

We cuddle cousin Asher after Sunday dinner. I'm so glad my mom makes sure we do this once a month. . . sometimes it's hard to get down there after church, but it's so wonderful to stay in touch and spend time with everyone!

We have great conversations on the ski lift about the most random of things. I am always amazed to see how many treats this one has stuffed in his coat pocket. It keeps him going all day long!

We are proud and amazed at how good of a skier our oldest is getting to be. I love seeing him enjoy it now that it's less work and more fun. I didn't get a picture of Miss Lola skiing, but she is so cute snowplowing down the hill. She is really liking it and has surprised me with how hard she works and how good she is getting. I LOVE having 3 of my kiddos with me up on the slopes. . . I can't wait till Stella is old enough to be there too!

Our view from the lift taken my last run with Jackson and Miles yesterday. They were tired and cold but took me to the top of the highest lift for one more run. So much fun!

SO. . .

2012-01-09T12:29:00.003-07:00

I came down here to blog about Christmas.

Blogging about Christmas is my nemesis. . . every. single. year.

There's just so many great pictures, and so many great memories and I just don't quite know how to do it justice. SO I sit. And I stare at the pictures. I make collages that never make it to the blog. And then I start clicking on my sister's blogs. Sometimes I become really ADD and check out Pinterest. And then usually about then I hear my cute little Stella waking up in her crib.

So, instead of reinventing the wheel, here's the greatest summation ever of our Fackrell family Christmas from my superstar blogger sister. Pretty sure the only people who read my blog are my sisters anyway. I will someday work up the motivation to cover the Stokes' family Christmas with Nate's fam. It was pretty spectacular and so much fun.

And then you can just skip right on over to my other blogging sister genius' blog and check out this cute little post about our summer camping adventure.

If my sisters keep up the good work, I might never have to blog again.

2011-12-19T15:31:00.004-07:00

Today while I was putting things away, I ran in Miles room and glanced over at his nightstand. It is normally a mess of legos, random treasures, papers, books, candy wrappers and who knows what else. But he had apparently cleaned it last night. It made me stop for a minute. I love the things he chooses to display - some of the things he treasures.

his soccer trophy from last Spring. . . oh how he loves himself a trophy
his Home Depot workshop snowman napkin holder that him and his grandpa had so much fun making
his 'Hollister' perfume box turned pencil holder given to him by aunt Elise when she lived with us
his Logan Temple picture
his back to school crown
his surf-mobile that we brought him back from Hawaii

Love these little snippets from his life!

Santa Breakfast

2011-12-17T22:36:00.004-07:00

Last Saturday we had breakfast with Santa.

See that look on Jackson's face? That says,"I don't feel like smiling because I don't eat buffet style pancakes. My dad took me to Elements breakfast once and now I am high maintenance. I will also accept Kneaders." Everyone else enjoyed the food. . . Miles came straight from a basketball game and ate 27 pieces of bacon. Or something like that.

When Santa asked Miles what he wanted, Miles just shrugged and continued petting Santa's plastic beard. Later I asked Miles why he didn't tell Santa what was on his Christmas list this year and he said, "That Santa was so fake mom." Apparently he didn't even want to waste his time!

I love that my 9 year old is still such a believer. I'm sad that someday soon that magic will be gone, but for now I will fully enjoy his innocence.

Pretty Lola

This picture kills me. . .check out her sideways glance at the man with a beard. She was not about to take her eyes off him. But there were no tears. Way to go Stella!

Warming up a little. . . still no smile.

Why is Santa hiding behind Miles? Definitely not the best Santa around, but we'll take what we can get. At least we didn't have to wait in line at the mall. . . that's worth a lot!

Oh cHriSTmaS tRee

2011-12-09T23:55:00.007-07:00

I was kind of feeling like a scrooge this year.
Christmas is so overwhelming.
I would have been happy to just leave the tree out in the snow.
But. . . Lola wasn't having that. She begged and begged.
So, we hauled it in.
I put the dang lights on it.

And suddenly it felt like Christmas.
My house was sparkly and smelled Christmas-y.
We opened our new Christmas jammies and beautified our tree.
Oh, and Stell ate plenty of ornaments.

All I ever want is a cute picture of my perfect littlies under the tree.
This is what I got.
Check out Miles scowl.
And poor Stell was an hour past bedtime.
Memories, huh?

Toilet Papering

2011-12-09T11:42:00.001-07:00

And then there was the day that she discovered toilet paper. . .

Gingerbread House Party

2011-12-07T22:09:00.004-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I love having girls?
I love doing fun, crafty things with this Lola of mine. She loves planning a good party with me and gets so involved in all of the details. We decided to invite her friends over for a gingerbread house party and had such a fun time planning it together.

Cute Stella wasn't about to be left out of the preparations. Lola made sure they were both wearing their holiday outfits for the festive occasion.

Could she have cuter friends? I LOVE these girls!

They got so into the decorating. It was so fun to see them all be so creative and work so hard on their masterpieces. They decorated those houses for over an hour, loving every minute of it.

After we wrapped them up, we ate cupcakes and then cuddled up for a Barbie Christmas movie. What a fun time!

The Annual Hunt

2011-12-07T21:26:00.008-07:00

We headed up to Preston on Thanksgiving weekend for to find our Christmas tree. We love this tradition and look forward to it all year. It was such a beautiful day - the sky was bright blue and the snow so deep and pretty.

Jacks was so excited to cut our tree down. He did it totally by himself and was so cute focusing on sawing.

After some mountain-side hot chocolate, we trekked home for our "Christmas Kick Off." We had a yummy dinner, lots of delicious Christmas-y treats and my mom had made the most fun Christmas gift sacks for all of us. The kids all got new Christmas books, shirts, and advent calendars and the adults got cute decorations and festive Bath and Body Works loot. So much fun!

We finally got the tree lit and decorated last night and are loving it. So far Stella has refrained from knocking it over and undecorating it completely. We will see how long that lasts.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T15:08:00.005-07:00

We had such a fun Thanksgiving with Nate's family this year.

We arrived to find the most perfect kids table set up by my amazing mother-in-law. She and Katie made the cutest little gift packs for each kids chair, 'turkey legs' filled with popcorn, and turkey crayon holders to go with a coloring page placemat. The kids had so much fun with it all!

Nate's dad has officially perfected the art of turkey cooking and we ate the most delicious turkey I have every had.

The kids played with their cousins, wrote in their Thankful journals, signed the annual tablecloth, and watched a couple movies. The men watched at least 7 football games. In their entirety.

Katie, Betty and I scoured the newspaper deals, planned our Black Friday and even had time for the crafting of our annual Christmas Organizer.

I am so grateful for these in-laws of mine. I feel so blessed to have married into such a wonderful family. We have such a great time together and there are few people my kids would rather be with then these cute cousins of theirs.

Path Of Destruction

2011-11-20T10:53:00.010-07:00

This morning I had to make a pie. This is the path of destruction I found when I popped it in the oven:

Toy box dumped out. . .

Cupboard completely emptied. . .

Pantry ransacked. . .

Body being crammed into the tiny shoe bin. . .

At least she's cute!

And the twins made themselves a stellar fort. Awesome but messy.

Never a dull moment. Wonder whats happening while I'm blogging?

The day Baby Girl turns one

2011-11-16T17:09:00.003-07:00

Hard to believe this one is turning one.
She has brought so much joy to my world .

I remember having Jackson and feeling such a crazy amount of love.
Then I found myself about to deliver baby number 2 and couldn't fathom loving him as much.
But I did.
When baby number 3 arrived, everything was just as exciting and I loved her every bit as much as when that baby number 1 was placed on my chest for the first time.
When Stella arrived my heart just opened wider and I felt so complete. I was so smitten with her and found every moment of her first year so amazing. I have enjoyed every minute of this little one and tried to soak in all of her newness.

Everyone tells you that babies don't keep. . .
I've tried to make her stay little but time is moving at warp speed this time around.

Happy, Happy Birthday to the sweetest, happiest, smiliest, most fun baby girl around!

Partying 1 Year Style

2011-11-13T15:15:00.006-07:00

We had Stella's 1st birthday on Saturday night. Her real birthday is on Wednesday, but since most of our family live in SLC, we did it this weekend.

We were so happy to have ALL her family come. . . other than Joe on his mission, everyone was there.

She loved everyone singing happy birthday to her, but she was not so sure about her cake. . . she didn't especially love the frosting mess all over her hands!

Love this little birthday gal of mine!

How to Have the PERFECT October

2011-11-06T16:07:00.005-07:00

Visit the Paradise Pumpkin Patch. . .

Go Trick or Treating with the Hollands at the Jensen Historical Farm. . .

Go to the Pumpkin Walk. . .

Have a super fun cousin Halloween party thrown by grandma and grandpa. . .

Go to an adults only neighborhood party and laugh until your cheeks hurt. . .

Be amazed at the over-the-top Halloween festivus put on by Tierra. . .

Help with as many classroom parties as possible. . .

And finally. . .go trick or treating on the most beautiful, warm night ever. . .

It's been non-stop busy-ness this month, but we've had a blast!

Luckiest

2011-10-28T10:15:00.005-06:00

My kids are so lucky. My mom and dad take them on sleepovers, one at a time, several times a year. And it's not just a 'come on over to granny's house and we'll have a boring sleepover' type of sleepover.

This time it was Jackson's turn. He headed down for the entire UEA weekend. My dad took 2 days off work and they went on many adventures! These are a couple of the pictures my mom texted me during those days. . .

They went shooting, visited Kennecott's mine, spent an entire day at Boondocks, went to a movie and had a blast going to Frightmares at Lagoon.

My kids come home with so many great memories of these times with their grandparents one on one. They get to do things that we don't get to do normally. They get to feel super important. They get really spoiled. They stay up way past bedtime and get lots of treats. They have lots of great conversations with their granny and grandpa. They know that they are loved.

I love that my kids have such a great relationship with both sets of their grandparents. We truly are the luckiest!

Pumpkin Pickin'

2011-10-21T11:03:00.008-06:00

Stella loved crawling all over those pumpkins. . . she was only happy when left to do her own thing. Lots of energy was used by her 2 siblings in finding her a teeny pumpkin that wasn't green.
Lola chose the 1st pumpkin she saw. Then she changed her mind every 10 feet as we walked. At the end, she cried that everyone had a pumpkin but her. She decided that the only way she could be happy in life was if she could have her dads pumpkin.
Miles wandered through that patch acting as if choosing the perfect pumpkin was a decision he would have to live with the rest of his life. It was a very big deal to him. We made the rookie mistake of taking him to a VERY big pumpkin patch. We were the last car out of there at dark.
Jackson was off on an exciting UEA weekend adventure with my mom and dad. I'm sure doing much more awesome things than this!

Nate's least favorite Halloween activity has been officially checked off the list. Merry Halloween.

September Birthday Extravaganza

2011-10-18T21:47:00.006-06:00

Grandma+Grandpa and Lise+Mike came over to celebrate Jackson and Lola's birthday's with us this year. We had steak and mashed potatoes, Jackson's favorite dinner. I love these 2 birthday kiddos of mine. . . I can hardly believe they are 9 and 5. So grown up!

Jacks invited a few friends to the golf course for his birthday party. They had lots of fun 'putting for dollars', hitting range balls, and then finishing the night at Pizza Pie Cafe with all-you-can-eat pizza fun.

Lola and her best friend Kayte are 1 day apart and have been having their birthday party's together since they were 3 years old. This year they had a gymnastics party at the Sports Academy. They had so much fun running around the gymnastics room, going on a treasure hunt, eating cake and ice cream, opening presents and breaking open a pinata.

These back to back birthdays are lots of fun, but I always breathe a sigh of relief when I make it through September 27th!

Bear Lake

2011-10-18T21:34:00.003-06:00

We went up to Bear Lake with my whole family over conference weekend. We had tons of fun times. . .

lots of cuddling with baby Asher. . .

the boys golfed, and the girls checked out the freezing, cold water. . .

and found ourselves a playground. . .

we surprised Tierra with a birthday celebration. . .

watched conference, ate yummy food, relaxed, stayed up way too late, and had so much fun being together.

Thanks Steve and Betty for letting us use the ever-beautiful cabin!

Caught In the Act

2011-10-10T10:16:00.001-06:00

At the Beach

2011-10-03T22:40:00.009-06:00

Wow. . . life will not slow down these days!
We have been keeping busy with vacation recovery, laundry, Jackson and Lola birthdays, homework catch-up, Bear Lake, chasing after a busy 10 month old and lots of life thrown in.
But we have been having lots of fun!

One day soon I'd like to write about our fabulously fun vacation to California. We had lots of good times, many cute pictures and such great memories made.

But. . . until I get around to that, I had to post these pictures of my cutest little monkeys at the beach. Is there anything quite like the beach? I think not. Of all the great things we did in California, our beach day stands out to me as impossible to top.

At the beach Miles is in a zone. He can be a little tricky to manage on vacation, but at the beach, I can relax knowing that he will be kept busy for hours. He makes mud balls (an art form he learned from his uncle Joe). He throws mud balls in the ocean. He buries himself in sand. He chases sea gulls. He plays with seaweed and searches for sand dollars. He runs. He does lots of digging and designing. He gets fabulously dirty. And he gets in the water from time to time.

At the beach Jackson spends hours in the ocean. He is drawn to the waves. He loves to go out as far as his mama will let him and try and ride the waves in. He is easy to spot from the shore because of his cute little skinny body. He stays in the freezing California water until his lips are blue and his body is shaking. He comes up where the sand is warm, covers himself in it and lays, content, until his body temperature is back up. Then he heads back to the ocean.

At the beach Lola becomes daring. She is happy to head out, hand in hand with cousin Izzy, and play in the water. Because of her short legs, she hangs back just a little from the rest of the kids. She runs, smiling, back to shore when the big waves start to come in. She searches for seashells and sand dollars. She makes a turtle nest with Izzy and Jackson in the warm sand. She is happy to lay on her towel and relax. She is so pretty standing against the colors of the water and the sand.

At the beach Stella gets to experience something brand new. I love seeing the beach through her eyes. She isn't sure about the sand when we first get there. She doesn't move off her towel. She likes the wet sand but isn't fond of the freezing water. She laughs and hollers at the seagulls. She crawls around for hours searching for treasures to put in her mouth. She is covered in sand by the end of the day and doesn't seem to mind it one bit. She puts a smile on my face as I watch her soak in this experience.

Innocence?

2011-09-11T20:28:00.004-06:00

See that face?

Just the picture of innocence, huh?
Well. . . I'm hear to tell you it's not true. Don't believe what the picture tells you.
It's a really good thing he's so cute.

But even in the midst of the day to day struggles, I find that I am so, so grateful for the ways in which this little guy helps me to grow. He stretches me, that's for sure, but he also teaches me.

Oh. . . I love that face!

#3 Heads to School

2011-09-07T10:28:00.005-06:00

Today was Lola's big day.
She woke up early, was dressed, breakfasted and ready with hours to spare.

She headed off to preschool with quite the crew. She is so, so lucky to have such great friends.

Good luck to my Lola baby!

9 Month Old Stelly Mo

2011-09-04T21:44:00.004-06:00

The Day my Sister Became a Mother

2011-08-26T22:08:00.004-06:00

One of the very best things to happen this summer was the day Chelsea became a mama.

I am so happy for her and Marcus. So proud of her and the amazing mom she has been to baby Asher from the very first moment she laid eyes on him and his cute little nose that looks just like her own cute little nose. She worked so hard to bring that little guy safely into the world.

I'm so happy to share the feelings of being a mama with my sister. . . something that has been so, so dear to me for almost 9 years now. Something that you just can't quite understand until it happens to you. The ups and the downs. The love that runs deeper than you ever thought was possible. The extreme exhaustion that only an infant can bring to your life. The emotions that come when you look into those eyes and realize what a gift you have been given. And what a responsibility that gift comes with.

Welcome to the world little Asher man. . . we already love you to the moon and back!

the boys went back to school

2011-08-26T21:49:00.006-06:00

Crazy how this summer flew by.
I still remember the day these 2 jokers got off the bus,
celebrating the first day of summer vacation.
I was a little scared about how I was going to handle summer break with 4 kids.
That seems like yesterday.
We have had such a fun summer. . . living every moment up.
I wasn't sure I was ready to send them off.

Jackson headed off to 3rd grade. I remember 3rd grade.
I remember feeling really old. Like I knew more than a lot of other kids.

And little Miles. . . to 1st grade.
All day.
Seems like a long time for him to be gone.

They were excited. And ready.
And had stayed up rather late discussing things like where they'd meet after school, and
what Miles should expect for school lunch.

And then the bus came. The house was quiet with just me and my 2 little ladies.
And I remembered why I enjoy this time of year too.

Happy back to school to my boys!

Back to School Dinner

2011-08-23T21:25:00.006-06:00

We had our "Back to School Dinner" tonight.

Jackson, Miles and Lola were so happy to have a dinner just for them to celebrate the excitement that is going back to school. We made their favorite dinner - meatballs, fruit skewers and caprese skewers (isn't everything better when served on a stick?), with cupcakes for dessert.

At the end of the night, as they were helping me clear the table, Jackson gave me a big hug and said, "Thanks mom for making this such a fun night. I bet this took you a lot of time. I had a really fun time."

And THAT is why I love doing these sorts of things!

Good Mornin' Sunshine!

2011-08-22T18:52:00.002-06:00

Check out my newest trick!
No matter how hard they try. . . they can't make me stop growing up!

Lise+Mike

2011-08-18T14:46:00.009-06:00

Lise and Mike got married on Tuesday. It was the most fun, magical, beautiful, perfect day. Lise was beautiful and so incredibly happy. I'm so glad for her and Mike and so glad that they found each other!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the day:

Congrats Lise and Mike!

2011-07-23T17:46:00.003-06:00

We had our family pictures taken before my brother Joe left on his mission.

It didn't quite hit me how big this brother of mine is until I saw this picture of us siblings. Even though I still think of him as my little brother, he is all grown up!

I'm so proud of him for serving a mission. He seems so happy in Orlando. I'm so glad my boys have such a great uncle to look up to. . . even though we're going to miss him plenty!

Cousins

2011-07-22T12:26:00.003-06:00

I came across this old picture of cousin Izzy holding baby Lola:

I couldn't believe how similar this picture looks of Lola holding Stella:

It's a little crazy to me how much my kids look like their cousins. . . even though with Nate and Katie being adopted, they don't share the same genes. It definitely shows that families are meant to be together!

FoUR

2011-07-14T22:25:00.002-06:00

Just trying to figure out when I got old enough for these fOuR kids to call me mom.

Love them.

Baseball

2011-07-14T22:18:00.006-06:00

Jacks had such a great time playing baseball this season. He improved so much from last year and I loved seeing his new confidence. He wasn't on the best team this year, but he had so much fun with the boys, had such great coaches, and we loved spending our summer evenings at the baseball diamond.

Stokes Camp

2011-07-14T22:00:00.004-06:00

Every June we head up Logan Canyon for the annual Stokes camp out.

This year we only went one night since we were leaving for Seattle, but it's something my kids look forward to every summer.

It's such a great time to spend with these amazing great-grandparents

and these amazing grandparents, to eat yummy food, to run around in the trees and enjoy being together as a family.

Floodin' the Sandbox

2011-07-14T21:31:00.002-06:00

So far this summer Miles' favorite past-time is a little game he likes to call, "flooding the sandbox." It involves digging intricate roads, passageways, tunnels and other whatnot and then taking the hose and destroying it all.

It is a huge mess.

But it keeps that little guy's mind and body busy so this mama allows it to happen way more often than most sane people would.

Seattle. . . iPhone style

2011-07-06T09:07:00.022-06:00

We had such a great time in Seattle but have come home to some BUSY days. I have some really great pictures on my real camera and will post them someday, but for now here is a quick vacation overview according to my iPhone.

On the road. . .

Our condo was on the Puget Sound. Miles could have spent HOURS exploring the beach, finding treasures, and collecting shells and sand dollars. His favorite treasure: the huge, dead, stinky crab!

Jacks got to go golfing with Nate, Marcus and my dad. They golfed 18 holes and there were no carts. He was a trooper!

Jacks LOVED the crab, mussels, oysters, clams and shrimp at the Crab Pot. He was the most daring of all of us! Miles was in heaven with his wings at Hard Rock. Lola managed to order a hot dog at almost every restaurant we went to.

We loved Pikes Place Market. All the pretty bins of pasta. . . the fruit displays. . .the fresh fish. . . and the flower markets. Lola could have looked at all the pretty flowers for days!

We had such a beautiful view outside our condo. It was the perfect place and the setting for lots of good times until all hours of the night!

Summer

2011-06-12T18:46:00.005-06:00

It had been raining all morning and
the kids hadn't stopped fighting with each other.
It was looking to be one of those days. . .

Then we looked outside. . . the rain had stopped
and the sun was out.

I herded my crew outside and
suddenly things had changed.

flowers were blooming. . .

there were friends to make bouquets with. . .

I was finally able to plant my zinnias. . .

And it shaped up to be the perfect weather to watch a baseball game.

Oh summer. . . how I love you!

Graduated!

2011-05-29T21:55:00.004-06:00

Little miss fancy pants graduated from preschool Friday night.
She's had such a great year with such a great teacher:

I can't believe this school year is wrapping up. . . where did it go?

2nd Grade Race

2011-05-29T21:07:00.002-06:00

Our new elementary school has each grade train for a race at the end of the school year. In second grade it's 1/2 mile. For months now, the kids have been spending their morning recess, rain or shine, practicing. I love this! I love that they're learning how to get in shape. . . how to compete. . . and even how to win or lose.

Jacks was so serious about this whole thing. . . determined to beat some of the faster kids in his grade. He woke up that morning with butterflies in his stomach. He did so well. . . ran as hard as he possibly could. . . and took 3rd place! He wore his little plastic metal all day long with great pride.

I don't much care whether my kids win, lose, or fall somewhere in between. But I love to see them work hard at something, set a goal and work towards achieving that goal. I love to see the pride that comes from hard work. Way to go Jacks!

6 Month Old Stella

2011-05-21T22:05:00.010-06:00

Our little lady at 6 months. . .

Some of her favorite things:

rolling around on the floor. . . laughing at her brothers and sisters - especially Miles man. . . putting everything in her mouth. . . people talking to her. . . Lola's songs. . . sitting in the bumbo while I make dinner. . . going on walks. . . when dad comes home at night

She continues to be such a happy little soul - she is so very social and makes everyone around her smile. We wonder what in the world we did without her around!

Cinco De Mayo

2011-05-06T22:54:00.005-06:00

We had a rockin' Cinco de Mayo party Thursday night...

The kids LOVED the
fake mustaches,
sombreros,
pinata &
fruity margaritas.
So glad that Lise and Mike could join in our festivities!

I'm pretty sure Stella thought we were all CRAZY!

Happy Friday!

2011-05-06T22:37:00.003-06:00

Welcoming the weekend with a couple pictures of Stella
l o v i n g
the swing set!

We are so,
so,
v e r y
h a p p y
to have
s u n s h i n e !

Date Night

2011-04-27T16:23:00.006-06:00

The other night Jackson and I went out for a night on the town. I love being with my oldest without any other distractions. He's such a quiet little guy most of the time, it's fun to have him all to myself and see him open up and talk about the things that he loves. We talked about basketball, school and even a little bit about girls (who are thankfully, dumb, at this point in his life).

We ended with a trip to his favorite ice cream shop to get a caramel shake for him and a chocolate m&m malt for his mom. I told him about my memories of coming there when I first moved to Logan. . . way back when Charlie's was pretty much the only joint in town!

After posing for a few goofy pictures, we were homeward bound. The more kids I have the harder it is to carve out the time for these one on one dates, but I appreciate them even more!

5 Month Old Stella

2011-04-25T22:22:00.000-06:00

How did it happen that this girl is 5 whole months old?
That's almost half of a year. . . if you do the math.
I know it's cliche and all to say such a thing, but really. . . this 4th child of mine is growing up WAY too fast.
I look at her chunky monkey bod every day and think how it was just like 2 days ago that she was still in my belly. And now. . . she's huge!

We are completely smitten with this Stella girl. She is such a little sunshine and makes every one of us smile all day long!

Catching the Bunny

2011-04-22T21:51:00.003-06:00

This is Lola.
Tonight. . . about 9:55 pm to be exact.
She has set up her post, and is convinced she is going to
catch the Easter Bunny when he pays our house a visit.
She made a construction paper carrot with which to lure him.
She has a camera ready for a photo op.
She put her bunny bank on the window sill, hoping he will think it's one of his friends and come in.
She requested loud music in her room so she didn't get tired and accidentally fall asleep.
I politely declined.

I wonder how late she will sit in her green chair watching?
What a funny girl!

Mischievousness from the Past

2011-04-19T16:37:00.008-06:00

Please humor me while I take a trip down memory lane. . .
Today I came across these pictures of my Miles from ages ago.

I love that even back then he had that twinkle in his eye that showed how mischievous he was.

If I only knew what other tricks he had up that sleeve of his!
I think I might have been afraid.
Just maybe.

Oh but he was the cutest little thing ever!
Am I right?
I kinda want to go back in time and squeeze that little ball of mini-Miles.
I love him and his larger than life personality to pieces.
What an adventure it is to be this lucky mom.

St George

2011-04-07T16:47:00.004-06:00

We had so much fun spending time with Nate's parents in St George over Spring Break . The weather was amazing - it was so sunny and warm!

The kids love hiking in Snow Canyon. It's so beautiful there and Jackson and Miles become little monkeys running all over those red rocks. It scares me to death but I try to relax and let them have fun!

We spent hours at the pool. Even Stella loved swimming.

It was so great to have a little break from reality and even though there isn't much relaxing to be had when vacationing with Miles, it was still lots of fun!

My Girls

2011-04-06T15:00:00.006-06:00

It was October 1996 and I was so excited to begin a new adventure at USU - new plates, dishes, bedspread and school clothes were packed and ready for my first time living on my own. I was going to be living with my friend Amber who I had been friends with in junior high but hadn't seen much of when our high school boundaries were split and we were sent to different schools.

On that very first day in Logan, I reconnected with Amber and met Brittney and Christina. Little did we all know that we would see each other through the next four years, virtually inseparable. My college experience was the best it could be: I look back on it with absolutely no regrets and only the best of memories - most including these girls. Life was easy, carefree and oh-so-much fun.

I have a hard time believing 15 years have passed. We have between all of us 11.5 kids. We are not nearly as crazy or energetic. We have added husbands all around. We live in Logan, Boise, and Kaysville, and don't see each other nearly enough.

We have seen each other through bad relationships, graduations, weddings, lost pregnancies, many moves, babies and now we watch Christina as she fights for her life. All those years ago we never could have predicted how life would turn out for each of us and how hard it would get. We also couldn't have known the rewards that were in store for each of us.

We had so much fun getting together last week. It seems like no time has passed at all - it's so great to spend time with people who know your history. Months have passed since we've seen each other but it's so easy to pick up right where we left off. I'm so grateful for these 3 girls and all that we share.

Beauty

2011-03-30T13:08:00.004-06:00

The other night the kids were watching some random 1980s kids movie Nate found on Netflix. I paused it so that they could all go get their pajamas on and this was the face that stared back at me:

Yikes!

As I was contemplating the scary facial expression, large ears, crooked teeth and general non-attractiveness of the poor actress, Lola came running out, took one look at the screen and told me,

"That looks just like you, mom when you were little. She just needs glasses!"

Kids can be so great for the self esteem!

*don't mind the weird ketchup/blood stained background. I promise it was a children's movie and not some freaky weird horror film.

Hearts

2011-03-25T14:26:00.000-06:00

I heart this little munchkin

This Week In Pictures

2011-03-25T14:08:00.010-06:00

These weeks seem to be flying by. Time is so weird that way - it can seem to go so slow and yet so fast at the same time. Here are a few things we did this week:

woke up with some good bedhead. . .

dressed up literally every second we were home. . .

cuddled us a fat baby. . .

colored on the windows with window markers. . .

made the poor baby wear goofy eyewear. . .

and sat around looking super cute and rather innocent!

A Little About This Guy

2011-03-13T18:52:00.003-06:00

I love this Jackson guy of mine. . . here are a few of my favorite things about him:

He LOVES basketball. He plays it in the driveway every chance he gets. Rain, snow, sub-zero, whatever - he's out there. He works hard and pushes himself to get better. He won't come in until he hits a certain number of shots. I love that about him!

He LOVES the NBA. He knows any obscure player on any obscure team. He comes straight home from school and checks the iPad app that tells him scores, shows videos, etc, so he doesn't miss anything. I love listening in on his conversations with friends about games.

He does so great at school. His teacher tells us that he is a joy to have in her class. He has made lots of new friends this year at his new school, but also knows when to be quiet and learn. He expects a lot of himself and works hard to do his very best. He loves to learn!

He is my sensitive, responsible oldest child. Sometimes I feel bad that he puts so much pressure on himself, especially since I'm also an oldest. He takes care of me, especially when his dad isn't around. He is fantastic with Stella. She trusts him and loves for him to hold her. It is such a help to me!

He has grown up so much since he turned 8. I feel like this year he has gone from being a little boy to a big one. I love the conversations we have. I love hanging out with him at night after the little kids go to bed. I love that he is my buddy.

Stella's Blessing. . . Picture Overload

2011-03-07T21:10:00.010-07:00

We blessed Stella on February 6th. She looked so pretty in her beautiful dress made by her amazing grandma. I think my girls are so lucky to have these handmade blessing dresses. . . I know they are something that they will cherish forever. They are a labor of love - countless hours go into their creation!

We were so happy to have all our family and some good friends there to celebrate this day. Lola had been looking forward to Stella's blessing for weeks. . . even though most of the time she got confused and called it Stella's baptism.

We love this chubby baby!

Things I Learned This Week

2011-03-06T14:58:00.008-07:00

That it is possible to stay up for 3 nights straight if I really have to.

That I will spend any amount of time holding my sick baby in a steamy shower if it makes her feel better even for 5 minute

Just how deep that mother love is. . . reminding me once again how much my own mom loves me.

How to work an oxygen tank and a BBG (Baby Booger Getter. . . real name. . .seriously. Does just what it says - sucks the snot out).

That our hospital has GREAT nurses that made our stay so much better.

That I CAN survive for 2 1/2 days in a 10X10 room. Thank goodness for free diet coke and my iPad.

How much my older kids love their baby sister.

That Nate and I have figured out how to be a really good team during hard times. He held the fort down at home like a champ and I love him for it.

How supportive family and friends are so very important during trials. Both of our parents were beyond wonderful this week. All our siblings kept checking in on us. Friends made sure that Nate and the kids had food. Neighbors made sure Lola's hair was done and that she was wearing season-appropriate clothing.

That RSV is so very horrible and scary. It broke my heart over and over again to see my normally happy, smiley, content baby use every bit of energy in her little body to breath.

That although Stella has only been here for 3 1/2 months, she is such an important part of this family. My parents stayed at the hospital one night so I could run home and shower. When we knelt down for family prayer our home felt so, so empty without that 15 pound bundle.

Mess of All Messes

2011-03-02T12:42:00.004-07:00

This is what greeted me when I walked into Miles room today. Apparently while I was taking care of a sick baby, Miles and Lola decided to throw a blanket/book/doll party.

Yay.

Looks like they've got their afternoon plans solidified.

Heroes, Villains & Force Fields

2011-02-25T19:40:00.004-07:00

"Come play blocks with me mom," said Miles the other morning. Stella was asleep, reading homework was done, showers were taken, breakfast was eaten and cleaned up, rooms were clean and Lola was occupied in her room. This was a rare moment in our hectic morning routine!

As I sat down with my little engineer, being the designated 'block finder,' I thought back to the days when he was a baby. Jackson was 2 1/2 and we spent many a day building block towers, playing cars, pretending with dinosaurs and putting together puzzles. We had few deadlines, no carpool to drive, no school to get off to, no classroom volunteering, and no sporting events to hurry to. We woke up in the morning with an open schedule - plenty of time to sit in the playroom together and do whatever we wanted.

Everyone told me life would get crazy, that they would grow too fast and to savor this time when they were little. Looking back, I hope I did that. . . I hope I soaked up every minute of our slow paced lifestyle.

As for this day: how glad I am that I followed my little guy down to the playroom. That I ignored that sink full of dishes, the dirty kitchen floor and the load of laundry in exchange for the chance to enter Miles' pretend world of good/bad guy castles, force fields, heroes and villains, spike areas, bomb areas and hidden weapons.

I think I'm finally realizing that they really aren't staying little forever. That my days making towers and pretending with my boys are slowly being replaced by endless games of basketball in the driveway, Wii, friends, and long days spent at school.

And that's ok too.

Skiing, cabins and babies

2011-02-22T17:22:00.007-07:00

Yay for Presidents and a day off from school and work...

We headed up Logan Canyon Monday morning with the Hollands. First stop, Beaver Mountain where Jackson and Miles experienced their very first powder run with Will, Elli and their dads. Sam and I dropped the skiiers off and continued our trek up the canyon to spend the day with Lola, Kayte and our cute babies in the warm Bear Lake cabin.

Lola and Kayte spent 2 hours getting on all their snow gear, and then spent about 2 minutes outside playing in the snow and sledding.

They had fun anyway and spent the rest of the afternoon painting and watching movies with the occasional fight thrown in for good measure. Sam and I cuddled the babes and had a great time keeping each other company.

The skiiers headed to the cabin after skiing and we all headed back down the beautiful canyon to our beds.

It was a perfect day.

First Baths

2011-01-31T22:20:00.006-07:00

I always love those first bath pictures. . . you know, when they're trying to figure out if this water/naked combo is a good thing or not.

It's not all bliss, but we're figuring it out.

I can't help but be a little more sentimental about this last babe of mine. . .

The Twins

2011-01-17T21:13:00.002-07:00

These two, (currently referred as 'the twins') are either the best of friends, or the worst of enemies. I love those moments when they are friends, but it usually means some kind of mess. Or wearing every item from Lo's dress up bin.

LoVe

2011-01-17T20:51:00.004-07:00

The last few nights when I've gone back in Stella's room to get her ready for bed, I have found something like this:

She may maul her day and night, but at least we know she loves her little sister!

2 Months

2011-01-16T21:29:00.004-07:00

life of a 2 month old Stella. . .

eating, sleeping, pooping
growing big squeezable cheeks
smiling lots
a few giggles
managing to make her way into mom's arms most of the day

Favorites

2011-01-04T23:28:00.011-07:00

A few of our favorite things at Christmas-time. . .

Decorating the tree. . .

Christmas jammies. . .

Dressing up for Church. . .

Christmas parties. . .

And visiting Temple Square. . .

Stella Smiles

2011-01-04T23:23:00.003-07:00

So loving this little girl and her sweet little smiles. . .

She has plenty of fussy moments but more than makes up for it with these big, gummy grins!

Finally. . .

2011-01-04T23:07:00.005-07:00

So I'm mostly doing this for the sake of Marcus, who constantly reminds me that I no longer blog. . . but I'm trying to reenter the blogging world. Tonight I sat upstairs on my couch perusing over all my old blog posts and realized that it really was a good way to record the everyday happenings in my life. I'm not committing to anything, but I'm going to TRY to post here and there at least.

Every New Years, my mom and dad take us all skiing at Solitude. We stay at the cabin for a few days and enjoy being together.

This year we. . .

Cuddled little Stella. . .

Made late night snow forts in the sub zero temperatures with awesome aunt Tierra. . .

Discovered a new talent in leather work with a patient, amazing grandpa. . .

Huddled around the iPad. . .

And had so much fun skiing with everyone, despite those 3 degree temperatures!

Today

2010-04-29T13:55:00.003-06:00

Today we. . .

Woke up to the most fabulous bedhead:

Cleaned the bathroom in our underwear:

Made a fantastically messy fort
in the middle of the living room
(and got extra grumpy when asked to stop playing for a bit and pose for a picture).

Life is Good!

Easter Best

2010-04-23T08:11:00.002-06:00

Tonsils

2010-03-28T21:32:00.004-06:00

Lola before her tonsil/adnoidectomy:

Lola after:

I'm pretty sure she had no idea just what was coming!

She has had one rough week.

Moab

2010-03-25T15:33:00.007-06:00

This past weekend we headed down to Moab with my siblings for a weekend of good food, lots of condo time (due to the FREEZING temperatures), golf for the boys, a mini-hike and a 13.2 mile jaunt down the canyon. Several months ago, against my better judgement, I allowed my sisters to talk me into running the Moab half marathon. I spent most of the winter postponing my training and dreading the middle of March.

March 19th found us in Moab, driving the course so we knew what to expect. It seemed a lot more uphill than down to me and I found myself more and more nervous as we drove! Jackson drove it with us and kept telling us that this was going to take us all day. . . I think he had no idea until that point just how far his mom runs. I also think he decided I'm plum crazy.

Morning of: it was a beautiful, clear day. At least that's what I thought until Nate informed us that it was currently 28 degrees. Despite the freezing temperatures, I started to get excited. This is why I do this to myself: the excitement of 4,000 people all freezing their trash off in the shade of a beautiful red-rocked canyon, huddled around the start line, with a similar goal in mind. I decided that I could do this thing.

I had so much fun starting with Tierra, Chelsea and Marcus. We had fun passing the time by critiquing all the different running styles, talking about anything that comes to mind, and weaving our way through those 4,000 runners as we made our way down the canyon. Chel and I ran together till about mile 9 when her knees started killing her and she dropped back just a bit.

Then it was me and my iPod. The last 2 miles are always the hardest 17 minutes of my life but I passed that finish line, one hour and fifty-eight minutes after that oh-so-cold start, so relieved that it was over! So happy that my sisters talked me into it and that we were able to accomplish this thing together.

Mickey Boat!

2010-02-22T14:33:00.003-07:00

We had such an amazing trip! First stop - DisneyWorld. The kids had such a great time riding all the rides and enjoying the magic of Disney!

Next stop - MICKEY BOAT! We were so excited. . . our first port was Key West. We found a beautiful Butterfly Conservatory to visit. The kids loved it except Miles got WAY TOO hot and Lola became deathly afraid of the "Owl Butterfly."

COZUMEL! We found a beautiful, not crowded beach. The kids loved the sand and waves. They had amazing snorkeling. . . Jacks and I went out with Katie and Trav and saw so many pretty, colorful fish. Jacks was a pro at snorkeling after just a minute of figuring it out. It was so neat to be out there with him! Oh, and the BEST nachos ever.

Grand Cayman! Such a pretty island. We went with Captain Marvin to Sting Ray City. What a neat place. . . so amazing to be swimming around the sting rays. Jacks and Miles LOVED it. . . Lola was afraid and spent half the time in the boat with Captain Marvin. She finally came out for the last few minutes. . . I was proud of her!

Can't do Disney without the characters! Lola talked her daddy into a fancy Sleeping Beauty dress from Disney World. . . she was so happy to dress up in it and get her picture with all the princesses. She was quite the poser! The boys just wanted to get pictures with Captain Jack and were willing to stand in line for it for quite some time!

We had such a great time with everyone on the boat. . . swimming, eating, kids camp till all hours of the night, Penuchle for the adults, shows, FREE SODA, movies, unlimited dessert, Pirate party, BINGO, and tons of laughing!
Thanks grandma and grandpa for an amazing trip!

Pink, Pink, PINK!

2010-02-22T13:17:00.005-07:00

It was a cold January morning. The sky was a depressing shade of gray.

"Can we make Pinkalicious cupcakes?" my daughter asked.

Soon it had turned into a full blown Pinkalicious, Fancy Nancy, Princess party complete with best friends Kayte and Melia.

A little bit of pink fanciness always brightens the day!

Birthday Boy

2010-02-22T11:41:00.005-07:00

Miles had such a fun birthday. . .

First it was a fabulously fun day spent with granny: birthday shopping for the perfect present and McDonalds for lunch.

Then it was time to open presents and head to dinner with our family to Miles favorite - IHOP.

Finally, up to grandma and grandpa's to blow out birthday candles. What a perfect day!

Turning 5

2010-02-22T11:03:00.002-07:00

I can't believe Miles is 5! He had so much fun having his 1st friend party. . . he's so lucky to have such cute kids as friends.

Cupcake Sculpture

2010-02-22T10:43:00.004-07:00

The other day I asked Miles to put some cupcakes on a plate for me. As he arranged them, he told me he was making a guy out of them. Showing me his masterpiece, he pointed out the key characteristics,

"see mom, here are the legs, here are the arms, here's the head, and here are the nipples."

The nipples? Seriously? I'm not sure where this guy comes up with these things!

mERry ChRiStmAS

2009-12-23T10:46:00.002-07:00

Oh Tannenbaum, Oh Tannembaum!

2009-12-13T19:53:00.005-07:00

The Christmas Tree Hunt

2009-12-08T21:01:00.003-07:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we headed up with my family Preston-way for the annual tree hunt.

We had such a great time trying to find the perfect tree. It was a beautiful day with just enough snow to make it seem festive. We missed my mom who couldn't be there and Elise who is in Argentina on a mission.

We all headed home with trees that were at least 5 feet too tall for any of our houses.

ThANksGiVinG

2009-11-30T10:41:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving. . .
spent with Nate's family
lots of time with cousins
lots of laughing
not a lot of sleep
great food
good times!

A Little Bit Of Nothing. . .

2009-11-23T14:11:00.005-07:00

There has been nothing exciting to blog about lately. . .
And so, I present you with life according to Miles.

Miles has changed his name to "Mile" because it is too hard to write the letter 's.' He even went so far as to inform his preschool teachers of this new fact.

The doorbell rang today and Miles and Lola ran to answer it. As I came around the corner Miles says, "Oh, don't worry mom, it's just that guy that always rings our doorbell and drives off." Apparently the UPS man has been coming quite often lately.

The most exciting thing for Miles this Thanksgiving weekend? Not the turkey dinner. . . not the lazy day filled with family and festivities. It's the fact that Chelsea and Marcus are coming up and going to "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" with us. Miles lives for a good flick.

Miles has been informing all his little friends that he is going to Hawaii for his birthday. He was kind enough to let them know that they can come if their moms will come with them.

How nice to have a little person around to give my world some spice!

Grateful

2009-11-04T17:15:00.001-07:00

Today I am extra grateful for these 3 in my world.

TriCk oR tREaT

2009-11-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Dance Class

2009-10-22T16:46:00.002-06:00

Lola started dance a couple weeks ago.
I was a bit hesitant to start her, but after seeing the absolute cuteness of all those little tiny girlie- girls I was completely on board! She loves, loves, loves going and always shows off her new dances for dad after. She's always on the look out for new 'dance clothes' whenever we're out shopping and tries to talk me into new tutu's by justifying that she absolutely needs them for dance.

I so love that little girl!

Pumpkin Picking

2009-10-12T22:12:00.003-06:00

We love pickin' pumpkins in the fall.
The crisp air and crunchy leaves,
wandering around
to find just the right pumpkin.

Heading home
to homemade
caramel apples.

Just about perfect.

Hawaii

2009-09-30T11:40:00.008-06:00

Last week Nate and I returned from 7 fabulous days in Hawaii. Hawaii was amazing. This was my first time visiting and it exceeded any expectation I had. Such an beautiful, magical place!

We spent a few days chillin' beach-side on Waikiki, books in hand, soaking up that hot Hawaiian sun. We had fun exploring the beaches on Oahu's North Side. I couldn't believe how differently beautiful each beach was.

We loved Pearl Harbor, spent a few hours at the Polynesian Cultural Center, walked around the beautiful Temple, did plenty of shopping, spent a couple days snorkling, spent an afternoon wandering through a beautiful botanical garden that led up to a waterfall that we swam underneath, and had a blast at the Dole Plantation eating delicious Dole Whips and seeing the cute little pineapple's growing. Who knew pineapple grew like that???

We ate delicious food and especially enjoyed mealtime with no little rugrats to cater to! We had the most yummy shrimp ever from the ghetto shrimp trucks in Haleiwa, loved our Matsumoto's shaved ice (complete with ice cream and Hawaiian red beans), watched Nate go to burger heaven eating a burger just about the size of his head, visited the Cheesecake Factory (twice I might add), and had plenty of other good stuff.

What an amazing trip! We had such a great time just being the two of us, feeling as if there wasn't a care in the world, relaxing together, feeling young again, being goofy and remember exactly why we fell in love so many years ago! How grateful we are to all those who made it possible for us to have this time by watching our cute little ones.

Monkey Miles

2009-09-27T15:13:00.004-06:00

This is Miles being self-sufficient:

Apparently he was hungry and needed something from the top shelf of the pantry.
I find myself in awe every single day that we have yet to find ourselves in the ER with this one.

Note: Please ignore the messy pantry!!

Top of Utah Half Marathon

2009-09-27T15:06:00.002-06:00

I am so far behind on posting, but. . .

On August 29th I ran the Top of Utah half marathon with my sister Chelsea and friend Sam. After training hard all summer, I was so glad to see the day finally arrive! It was a perfect, beautiful day for running.

I was able to run with Chel the whole time and it was so neat to cross the finish line together. It was so fun to see all our family there, cheering us on. We finished in 1 hour 51 minutes.

Such a great run, but even greater that it's OVER!

Tomorrow. . .

2009-09-10T17:31:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow. . .
I head off
to the paradise that is
Hawaii

To celebrate
10 years
with my favorite person
in the whole wide world.

I can't wait.

Preschool Firsts

2009-09-10T17:15:00.004-06:00

Lola and Miles started school this week. . .

Miles was off to Sports Academy
where he starts swimming
tumbling and tennis

Lola stays closer to home
at a preschool in our neighborhood

Both were more than excited
to head off on their own. . .
backpacks and all!

And me?
I celebrated an hour and a half
with no kiddos.

A big milestone!

Off To School

2009-08-23T19:24:00.006-06:00

Last week marked the first day of school in these parts.
Off Jackson went, donning new clothes,
shiny new backpack slung across his shoulders. . .
off to discover all that 1st grade has to offer. . .

school lunch
3 Recesses
a new teacher
new friends

I'm just wondering when he went from this:

to that big kid who boarded the big yellow bus without looking back.
That kid who will be gone all day.
Time flies!

Jackson's most important 1st grade accessory?
His missing 2 front teeth!

Today

2009-08-21T16:01:00.003-06:00

Something that made me
smile
today:

Seeing my Jackson become
passionate
about a
stick and a little round ball.

Boys

2009-08-07T16:40:00.005-06:00

How many
boys
can fit around
one wii?

Beach Day

2009-07-20T15:58:00.003-06:00

a trip to Bear Lake
with my
3
little beach
bums
and some good friends.

soaking up the summer
as we realize
school
is a mere
31
days away

4th of July

2009-07-05T16:33:00.006-06:00

We had a busy 4th of July weekend, but oh so much fun! My parents and brother Joe came up and stayed a couple days with us. . . we all had so much fun being with them.

Cuddling with granny during our BBQ

Miles was just a blur of activity waiting for fireworks to start. Doing pops, playing with glow sticks and pretty much just wearing us all out!

I ran the 9.3 mile Freedom Run on the morning of the 4th with my friend Sam. It was a beautiful run down Blacksmith Fork Canyon, reminding me once again how lucky I am to live in this valley.

Chillin' at the Cache Valley Cruise-In. A highlight of the summer for Jackson and Miles. Nothing better than eating junk food, watching great cars and checking out crazy, crazy people!

Creativity and Persistance

2009-06-25T16:04:00.004-06:00

This morning my boys painted sun catchers. After several hours, they were dry and Miles was ready to hang them in his window.

I, unfortunately was in the middle of something.

"Miles you have to wait and I'll help you," I told my impatient 4 year old.

He stormed out of the room.

Realizing it was a little too quite, especially for child lacking in patience, I went to check on him.

There he was, tape in hand, covering those sun catchers with enough tape to secure an elephant to the window.

One thing about Miles. . . .

That kid is not lacking in the creative solutions department.

Cousins

2009-06-24T16:04:00.003-06:00

I can't believe how much Lola and her cousin Isabel look alike! I think they could be sisters. They were so excited to wear matching dresses to new cousin Sam's baby blessing. I'm so glad my kids have these cute cousins to play with.

Elephant Ears

2009-06-17T10:07:00.004-06:00

We went up the canyon the other night with Nate's family and came home with this little gem:

It's just so out of character for Jackson to be so goofy. . . he's at that age where it's no longer at all cool to dance and sing. It cracks me up every time to see that little booty shakin'!

Preschool Program

2009-06-14T20:34:00.004-06:00

Last week was Miles' big preschool program. He was so excited and so proud to show us all that they had been practicing.

He sang so loud and so clear. . . such a big difference from his program last June when he didn't make a sound the whole time.

We had mixed feelings that day. . . he has officially graduated from his speech preschool. Good news because he is caught up. Bad news because we have to say goodbye to fantastic teachers like her:

And friends he adores like him:

He has loved every minute of this preschool and it has truly been a tender mercy in our lives. We feel so blessed for the help he received there, the amazing progress he made and for how much he was loved.

Growing Up

2009-06-08T15:25:00.003-06:00

When I saw these pictures I couldn't believe how grown up my Lola is getting. As she nears her 3rd birthday at the end of the summer, I am slowly seeing her baby ways disappear as she becomes more and more little girl.

Some of Lola's favorite things:

Her babies, all of which are named Anna, are carted with her everywhere.

Books, called bookies in her lingo, surround her all day long. . . to bed, in the car, on bike rides and all over the house.

Cuddling with mom or dad on the couch. She could do it all day long if we had nowhere to go or nothing else to do.

She's getting more and more dramatic the older she gets. She's all about putting her hands on her hips and dramatically folding her arms when she's mad. She thinks it's her sole responsibility to keep her brothers in line.

We love her feisty little personality and her sensitive, loving ways too.

Memorial Day

2009-06-08T15:11:00.003-06:00

On Memorial Day my parents took us waterskiing. My kids had the time of their lives on the lake for the first time this year. The water was freezing but it didn't stop anybody from jumping in!

Jackson loved going super fast in the tube and dancing to the tunes on the boat.

Miles loved when grandpa let him drive the boat all by himself and when he fell off the boat while we were sitting in the middle of the lake having lunch. Yes, he was wearing his life jacket.

Lola loved cuddling with granny with a big smile and her eyes scrunched closed because she was just a little scared.

Thanks mom and day for a fantastic day!

Grandma's 60th!

2009-05-28T14:38:00.002-06:00

Last month we surprised Nate's cute mom Betty with a 60th birthday party at Maddox. The kids were so excited to keep a secret and help make her day fabulous.

We're so grateful for Betty. I definitely lucked out when it came to mother-in-laws!

Selling Nature

2009-05-28T14:16:00.003-06:00

Yesterday afternoon my doorbell rang and I found 2 cute neighbor girls on my porch.

"We're selling Nature," said one, "want to buy some?"

A bit confused, I followed them out to my driveway where I found 2 big wagons full of all sorts of Nature. Old walnuts, big green maple leaves, 'airplane' maple seeds, and purple leaves were among their offerings.

For a whopping 35 cents I came away with quite an amazing display of Nature.

In all my years, I would have never come up with such an idea!