Heaven on Earth

I Hope They Call Me on A Mission

2012-02-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

This last month I have a had some really neat experiences with the missionaries. Ben serves as the Ward Mission Leader in our ward and we have been so luckily the past couple of months to have sister missionaries in our area. I LOVE the sister missionaries. Last month I was able to take them to the temple and do a special session with them. I had a special experience there that made me feel the presence of my grandmother who passed away about 8 years ago.

Last night we had eaten dinner, played some games with the kids, had gotten them down and asleep and we were playing a game of Sequence when Ben got a phone call from the Missionaries. They were at the home of a new move-in in our ward and they are not members, but they had some questions for the missionaries. The only problem was that there were no females in the home so the missionaries couldn't go in. They were calling to see if there was any chance that Ben could get a sister to come over so that they could go in. I hurried and got dressed....I was in my P.J's and headed over there.

I am SO glad I was able to go. The brother that we met with is a refugee from Conga...I call him a brother because he already has such a strong testimony of our Savior and the miracles that have come into his life because our his faith. He was born Catholic, but has always felt that it was not the true church and didn't have the fullness. He is a father of 6 children and grandfather of 3 and the spirit in the home was strong. I was able to bear my Testimony to him of my Faith and how the Savior has help me in my life. I was so excited that he set up another appointment for next Sunday. I was a little bummed thought that I won't be able to go due to a fireside I am doing.

When I got home I told Ben that I can't wait until we are able to go on a Mission together. I didn't go on one earlier in life because I got married, but I am excited for the opportunity to do it with Ben one day.

Happy 54

2012-02-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

This is a couple of days late.....but on Wednesday my dad turned 54. There was a time in my life when I wanted NOTHING to do with my parents....after all, they knew nothing and wouldn't let me do what I wanted. As time has gone on in my life I realize just how important my parents are and how much I need them....I did then....and I do now.

If you would have told me 15 years ago that I would turn out just like my dad I think I would have died!.......But it is the truth! I am so much more like him than I would have ever cared to admit at the tender age of 16.... I have gained his love for learning.....I am constantly wanting to learn how to do new things especially when it comes to photography and videography. I am stubborn....just like him.....I want to be a healthier person and have a strong body. Anyone who knows my dad knows this is important to him. I parent very similar to him. As much as it drove me crazy that he cared so much about me, I care so much about my kids and often times I think that I am to hard on them.....just like I though he was on me....yet I turned out to be a wonderful person....I think, and I hope that my children will regard me as I do my dad.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY dad! You are, and always will be one of the most amazing people to me and I love you so much.

Goof-Ball

2012-02-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

There really isn't much to report on in our house lately....ok, there is, I just can't talke about it yet. Anyways, today when I went to pick up Sweet Cheeks from Pre-school I was informed by his teacher that this little guy is the class clown. He is the leader of the goof-ball club. He recieved a sticker on his forehead in honor of his goofballness.....is that a word?

San Francisco

2012-01-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks I got a phone call from Ben who was at work. He asked me if there was any way we could get someone to watch thed kids for a few days. I asked him why, and apparantly there was a problem with one of the shipments at work and he needed to drive to San Francisco with his brother and fix it. Anyways, to cut costs they needed some cheap....ok FREE labor.... so I was asked to go.
So Thursday Jan. 12th at 1:30 PM we headed out on our 11 hour car ride. The ride actually wasn't so bad, besides my tailbone hurting like the dicken's by the time we got there. We pulled into the hotel at 10:45 that night and went to sleep. We woke up at 5:30 the next morning and got to the dock at 6:30. From 6:30 Friday morning until 1:30 Saturday morning we unloaded, palletized, and labeled 5 containers that had over 10,250 boxes of scrapbook product in them. I hurt SO BAD the next day.

We couldn't get into the docks on Saturday or Sunday so we had a couple of days to see San Francisco. I have to say I'm not much of a fan.....I have NEVER seen so many FREAKS in my entire life. It goes to show you that I live in a bubble.....and I love my bubble!

Ben's brother is a complete foodie...so we had to make it to one of the restaurants featured on Diners, Drivins and Dives. Rocco's was pretty good. Cute little cafe, but I think we were the ONLY people in there that weren't gay!

After lunch we headed down to the warf where I guess all the action is. All up and down Peir 39 are street vendors/acts whatever you want to call them. We stopped to watch one. It was an acrobatic act and I have to say it was quite entertaining.

I was a little bummed because really the only two things I wanted to see was the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz....unfortunatly the tickest to Alcatraz were all sold out....so this is as close as we got.

We walked down to the warf and saw the ships and battle ships. It was pretty cool.

I think if Ben and Kelly didn't have me with them they actually would have eaten at the warf....but I am NOT a fan of seafood....just the smell actually makes me sick.

I made them walk up to the old cable cars to get a picture. Poor guys could barely walk though so I thank them for trying!

Alcatraz Island again

On Sunday Ben and I found a ward to attend church with. We got back to the hotel...took a little nap and then went down to the consier to see what the best bridge to take to Oakland was. When we asked both people looked at us and asked if we REALLY had to go to Oakland. I asked them if there was something wrong and they told me it was the worst place to go as far as violence goes. Ben and I felt pretty confident in our GPS so we decided to go and see the Oakland temple. Before going though we had to stop off to see the Golden Gate Bridge. It is quite unerveing being on a bridge for so long over the ocean in Earthquake city!!

We did make it to the Oakland temple without ANY incident and I'm so glad we decided to go because the temple is BEAUTIFUL!!! The grounds were beautiful as well. It is actually one of the only temples that you can walk on top and walk around. The view was gorgeous!!!

Monday came, and so did another day of work. We were hoping to get out of there by noon, but we didn't end up leaving until after 7:00. We drove all night long and pulled into our driveway at 7:30 AM. It was so nice to be home....and I know my parents were especially glad we were home!

Faith of A Child

2012-01-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

I've sat in a car as one mother will tell the story about their young child and how they've lost something and the child tells their mother that they should "just say a prayer" and they will find it.

Well.....I HATE to balance my checkbook.

I do it every month, but I HATE doing it!

Yesterday I was balancing the books.

I had done it 6 times....and 6 times it came up uneven.

Not just a few dollars.......several HUNDRED dollars.

I could NOT for the life of me figure out what the problem was.

After nearly an hour, I was frustrated and ready to give up.

Then I remember the faith of that little child....

"Just say a Prayer"

So I did......

I decided to give it one more go......

Wouldn't ya know, I figured out what I had been doing wrong and everything was balanced.

Prayer does that for you.....

When in doubt, say a prayer and everything will balance out!

Camera Phone Download....

2012-01-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

I finally got a around to downloading some of my phone pictures to my computer. It's too bad they aren't better quality because they are just so darn cute!

When we were getting ready to go to Temple Square I wanted to make sure Sister's snowsuit fit her. I got her all in it and she just wanted to run around. I just love her face! She cracks me up!

Sweet Cheeks is such an AMAZING big brother. The other day I caught him as he pulled Sister on his lap and started to read her a book.

I took this picture because Ben was at a Jazz game and the kids were BEGGING to have a bubble bath. I thought the all looked so cute all bubbled up, so I took a picture to send to Ben. He told me that when he got it he thought it was a picture to always treasure because you see pure joy on all 3 of the kids faces. I actually had to give the a shower afterwards to get all the bubbles off!

New Years Resolutions 2012

2012-01-19T13:02:00.000-08:00

I have thought alot about my New Years Resolutions for this year.....

Obviously....because it's already the middle of the month.

We usually have a Family Home Evening at the beginning of the month to go over our resolutions as a family, but this year we haven't done it yet and it's about time I write down my resolutions.

Growing up, my dad always said,

"A Goal Not Written Down is Only a Wish."

So here are my goals, written down, for the whole world to see. I want to focus on a few things this year.....Health, Organization, Simplification and Spirituality

Health - As I mentioned, in the later part of 2011 I was able to lose a few pounds and get a little leaner. My goal for this coming year is to continue taking care of my body....Keeping it strong.....working out and eating right. I'm not going to say I am cutting out sugar because I could NEVER do that. I just don't want to overindulge.
Organization - There are two things I want to work on in this area. I have a "File Pile" next to the filing cabinet that gets bigger and bigger. I don't think anything has actually been filed in over a year...it just gets added. So my goal sit to get it all filed and keep up on getting filed....NO MORE PILE! I also am way WAY behind on my scrapbooking....I have gone mostly digital so I want to try and get caught up in that department. My goal is to get 2 layouts done a week.
Simplification - I love having dinner ready at the end of the day....there are days when I don't know what to cook and it stresses me out. For Christmas last year my sister made me a dinner menu calendar. My goal is to make the calender out for 2 weeks, do the grocery shopping and then I don't have to worry about what's for dinner. I have done this in the past and it works so well! I also want to work on keeping my house clean. With little ones it is so hard to take 4 hours and clean a whole house. So I want to be able to break it down to just a couple of things a day....that way something is always clean.
Spirituality - I feel I have been lacking this myself lately. I get so caught up in day to day things that I don't take the time to recognize or invite the spirit. My goal for this year is to read and Ensign article once a day, listen to uplifting music while getting ready in the morning, say morning personal prayers and read the Book of Mormon.

Hopefully these goals will help me balance my life and make me a happier person. If I can work and accomplish these goals I have a feeling 2012 will be an amazing year!

Imaginations

2012-01-18T13:42:00.001-08:00

For Christmas Sister got this really cute shopping cart and food from Ben's parents....however, this is what she would rather do with it. The girl has her brothers wrapped around her little finger. She gets them to push her around in it for quite a while before they get bored of it......Love that smile by the way!

Pickles = 0 Cal

2012-01-10T13:49:00.001-08:00

So last month we had our life insurance guy come and go over a few things with us. Come to find out we could save $100.00 a year if Ben had a physical done and met some requirements. So we said let's do it. Well.....we found out Ben needed to lose a few pounds in order to meet the requirements. So needless to say one of Ben's New Years resolutions is to get in better shape. He has become a calorie counting freak!! It's on the verge of driving me nuts, but I'm trying to remain supportive.

Last Saturday he was starving and looking for something to eat that had little or no calories....come to find out pickles have no calories! He was in heaven just eating them one after another....me on the other had have an adversion to pickles since eating a whole bottle in an hour while pregnant with K Bear!

SNOW....FINALLY!!!

2012-01-10T10:18:00.001-08:00

The kids (and I) have been waiting for this day for so SO long!

I wanted snow for Christmas....

we didn't get it.

I wanted snow for the day AFTER Christmas...

again, we didn't get it.

I wanted snow for New Years...

yet again, we didn't get it!

I was not a happy camper!

*********

I checked the weather last week and the

weather-woman said that we were to get a "dusting" of snow on Saturday.

The kids have been asking me EVERY day when we were going to get snow.

They asked me on Friday and I told them that we "might" get a little the next day.

*********

Saturday morning Ben woke up to go to the gym.

The next thing I hear is the shovel.

I was more excited than Christmas Morning!

I got the boys up and told them to look out the window.

JOY!!!! They were ecstatic!

For the next 3 hours they asked if they could go out and play......

it was only 7:30 AM!

After lunch we put Sister down for a nap,

got the winter gear on,

and sent the boys outside!

They had a BLAST!!!

15 Months

2012-01-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

With all the holidays I totally forgot to blog about Sister's 15 months! Which was way back in November...but better late than never right!? Anyways, here are her stats from her appointment back in November as well as the things she has learned and does at 15 months....

19 lbs 11 oz (7%)
30.6 inch (50%)
She loves fishy crackers, and ANY kind of Chocolate especially M&M's
She can say "Cracker, Thank You, Bye Bye, Dad, Mom, No, "B" for Binkie, Bath, Baby" and she nods her head "yes" for EVERYTHING! So cute!!
She is such a stubborn little thing...just like her Mama!
She has been to Nursery already and does so SO good!
She has THE biggest cheesy smile.
She loves baby dolls.....and real babies!
She "dances" ALL the time...either bouncing with her legs, or shaking her head from side to side...or both! I love it!
She loves to play on my piano!
At the appointment we found out she had an ear infection, which was #6 for the year....the a month later she had ANOTHER one! Poor girl.

I totally enjoy being her mother. She makes me smile and laugh everyday and I love to just hug and kiss on her. She is growing way to fast for me!

New Years Eve 2011

2012-01-10T09:36:00.000-08:00

We had such a fantastic New Years Eve. We had our friends the Speirs (with the exception of Matt, he was sick) and the Inmans over for a night of food and games. We played a few rounds of Mexican Train Domino's, ate some yummy finger foods, had fondue, played Apples to Apples and then when Midnight hit we gathered up all the kids that were still up (all the 5 year olds) and went outside and banged on the pans. The kids LOVED it. We watched some of the fireworks and then got to bed around 1:30. I was surprised that the kids made it! Such a great way to ring in the New Year...with fun times!

2011 in Review

2011-12-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is already the New Year! 2011 was a very eventful year for our family! Looking back it has been one of the hardest years for me personally to date. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly of 2011

January

Sister has her first ear infection, (the first of MANY this year)
We put Sister in the boys room
The kids earn star stickers for chores

February

Daddy & Sweet Cheeks go to a Jazz game
Sweet Cheeks starts Tiny Tots Basketball
We went bowling as a family for the first time
Take cute Valentines pictures
K Bear turns 2
Sister turns 6 months

March

Sister gets her first tooth
The Leprechaun leaves presents on St. Patty's Day
Sister 1st pony-tail
Sister is crawling

April

We go to Chuck-E-Cheese to see Sweet Cheeks Birthmom
Easter egg hunts and dying eggs
Ben turns 32
Riding bikes and going to parks

May

I am hospitalized for 5 days diagnosed with Guillian-Barre Syndrome - I finally get to come home on Mothers Day!
Missed our Disneyland trip
Sister sliced her thumb on the heater vent
Started Physical Therapy to get my strength back
Sister turns 9 months
Sweet Cheeks starts soccer
Sweet Cheeks finishes year 1 of pre-school

June

Physical therapy ends.....everyone so amazed by my quick recovery
We go to Lagoon!
Fathers Day
We see fireworks at T-Ville Dayzz
Fun getaway with the Walls to Park City
My brother has his first little one

July

Swim parties!
July 4th Fireworks and party
I get and iPhone!
I have Lasik Surgery

August

Camping trip to Camelot
Sister turns 1
Sister learns to walk
Ben's Family camping trip
Ward Camping Trip
I get a gym pass and start working out!

September

Labor Day Breakfast with my family
Home Drive-in movie and sleep-out
Sweet Cheeks starts year 2 of pre-school
I turn 31
I have a Tonsillectomy

October

Recovery from surgery....a HARD recovery!!
Gardner Village visit
Wheeler Farm
Fire Station
Mrs Fields
Ben and I celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary
Move the boys downstairs
DISNEYLAND.!!!!!! Finally!
Sweet Cheeks turns 5
Halloween!

November

Ben goes to California for work
Ben goes to Phoenix for work
Ben goes to China for work (Yes, I was alone most of this month!)
Re-do the kids bedrooms.....thanks Amanda!!
Host Thanksgiving
My sister has a baby girl
Ben and I speak in Sacrament meeting on Gratitude
I am down 12lbs!!

December

Ward Christmas party
Sweet Cheeks Pre-school program
Annual Eclipse Concert
Temple Square
Christmas!!

As I mentioned before, this year has been a hard one for me....both physically AND emotionally. I have been sick or recovering from surgeries much of the year and in turn I have felt that I have lacked on the one role that I feel the worst about....being a mother. I have had many blessings over this last year about my feelings of inadequacies and I have gotten one response over and over...and that is that my Heavenly Father loves me. He is proud of me and my dedication to my children and my family and that he understands.

I am not so sad to see 2011 go. IT HAS BEEN HARD!! Yet I have learned so much about myself, my children and my family during this year. I have realized how much people love me, how adapting children are, but how aware they are as well. Anytime I am not feeling well Sweet Cheeks will ask if I have to go to the hospital again. I realized just how much my husband loves me and that he will do anything for me. My parents and my family have been AMAZING this year. THANK YOU!!! You will never know how much you all mean to me. I have learned how thankful I am for my body and for each little part everything does. I will have to say that the best thing about this year is that I HAD to take the time to take care of my body. I am in the best shape I have been in a long time. I am working out 4X a week and I feel wonderful! As sick as I've been this year I think I'm healthier now than I've been since Sweet Cheeks was born.

So I have to say so long to 2011....May 2012 bring good health, fun times with family and sweet peace from the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. The boys have been SUPER excited for this day to come. We even had to make a chain to count down the days because they would ask us everyday!

We assumed that the kids would be us early....I mean they always are! Ben woke me up a little after 6 and could not believe the kids were still asleep. We went downstairs to wait for the boys. They didn't even get up until 7:45. They were both really excited though and came right up to see it Santa had eaten their cookies. They each loved their presents. Sister woke up not long after and was so excited to get her a new baby doll and a new little Dora couch.

After opening presents we had a yummy breakfast of French Toast, bacon and sausage. Then my Mom & Dad came over to see what Santa had brought us all. After getting ready for church we headed to our meeting. It was a wonderful meeting!! The Spirit was so strong. I kind of felt bad for Ben because he had to sit alone with the kiddos.

After church we came home and had some naps and then off to Ben's parents for Christmas party. It was fun, but went way to long and Sister had a major meltdown. We finally got home around 9:30 that night. It was a good Christmas, although I do feel it went way to fast. it always does.

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-27T12:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve morning I had to attend a choir rehearsal for the next days meeting. Then when I got home we headed over to my grandma & grandpa's house to visit. My dad is one of 10 children and when everyone gets together it is quite crowded, so we go over earlier in the day. When I walked in their house I smelled the fresh pine tree and it brought back so many memories of Christmas Eve's at their house when I was a child. It was good to visit with them and for them to see my children it is one of the only times in the year that we see them.

Later that evening we went to my Mom & Dad's for Christmas Eve. My Mom had cooked a ham and we all brought finger foods to eat with it. YUMMMY!! Everyones dip and food was so delish!! Just before we had gotten there, my brothers little one had fallen down the last 4 stairs and was having a hard time walking so they took her to the ER. Poor guys were there most of the night. She is ok though.

After dinner we all went downstairs and sang Christmas songs, or read a story. My kids and I had made a little music video. It is so stinkin' cute. I'll try to put it on here...having issues with blogger though! Then after that we opened presents. The boys got clothes, Captain America and a tubing tube, Sister got clothes a book and a new baby doll. Ben and I got food storage..YAY!!!

We went home and started our traditions. We baked cookies for Santa, sang some songs and opened our Christmas Pajamas's. They all looked so cute. Sister wasn't so happy though...she was so tired. Then we put the kiddos to bed and fell a sleep for the festivities of the next day!

Pre-School Program

2011-12-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

On December 16th Sweet Cheeks had his annual Pre-School Christmas Program. They go to a senior living center and performe for the residents there. Sweet Cheeks knew all the songs so well this year. In fact K Bear even knew most of them and we had a little surround sound with K Bear belting out the songs as well. They did such a good job.

This year when his teacher asked each one of them what they wanted for Christmas he wasn't shy at all and announced he wanted a Bumblebee Transformer. I'm so proud of him. He is slowly growing out of his shyness. What a cute kid!!

Must Be Santa!

2011-12-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

We had our Ward Christmas party on December 5th. I knew that we were going to have a visitor from the North Pole so I made sure to bring my nice camera. When Santa arrived Sister was having a meltdown, but as soon as she saw him she was quite intrigued. Wouldn't ya know, when we FINALLY got up to take pictures and visit with Santa mu camera decided to act up. The battery was dead! GRRRR!! So I had to use my camera phone. I think they turned out ok. Sister wouldn't get up there herself so daddy had to sit with her. When Santa asked the boys what they wanted here was there lists....

Sweet Cheeks - Bumblebee Transformer
K Bear - Cars

Gratitude

2011-12-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

Last month Ben and I were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting. It had been a while since I had spoken. I was given the topic of "Count Your Blessings" and Ben was given the topic of "Gratitude." Now when I talk I really try to put into the talk personal experiences. I feel that is the way I have gained my testimony about whatever subject I am asked to speak on. After everything I have gone through physically this last year I have so much to be thankful for and so many blessings to count.

I spoke first, and then Ben spoke. He always blames me that he is emotional during his talks. The spirit was so strong in that meeting and I am thankful that we had the opportunity to reflect on all we have been blessed with.

Temple Square

2011-12-15T13:10:00.001-08:00

Last Monday night we called Grandma & Grandpa L and invited them to go with us to Temple Square to see the lights. It was so SO cold, but the kids really enjoyed themselves. Sister was amazed by all the lights, K Bear loved the Christus and the Nativities, and Sweet Cheeks just loved being there are walking around.

There is truly a special spirit about that place. especially as you are watching the large nativity and listening to the Tabernacle Choir sing The First Noel. It was a nice family night and it was nice to have my parents with us.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we always try to put up our Christmas Tree and start the Christmas season. The kids were SO excited this year and I think I have hear "Is today Christmas?" everyday since then. We even had to make a chain and every night take off a link to countdown to Christmas. It has been extra hard to keep the tree decorated, with 4 little hands that can't keep their hands off, so now the tree is only decorated on the top half.

It is so fun to have little ones in the house during this time though, because they are the ones that are helping me feel the Christmas feeling.

Cute

2011-12-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

Last night the kids were eating Mac & Cheese and I looked over at Sweet Cheeks. He was eating each noodle by itself. It was so cute! So I started laughing and Sweet Cheeks asks me why I'm laughing at him. I tell him "Your adorable!" To which he reply's.... "I'm not a door bell!!"

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

As if my husband being gone for nearly a week and a half wasn't enough for me, we got to host Thanksgiving this year. I have to say I cook a pretty yummy turkey, but my brother-in-law smoked a turkey as well and let me tell you it was DIVINE!!! So yummy! I think I will request that from now on! It was a good day, full of good food and good company. We don't get together with Ben's family all that much so it was nice to have everyone together.

Before everyone left I had to get a picture of the families, mostly because I have none of Ben's family. By the way.....his brother is available!

Potty-Training #2

2011-12-07T13:21:00.001-08:00

Child #2 is now potty-trained. I can't say that he was easier nor harder than child #1, but he was about 4 months ahead. Both of my boys have not been so bad to potty-train.....as soon as it was their idea! K Bear started to take an interest back in June and I thought we were well on our way to potty-training. He would tell us when he needed to go most of the time, and then it just stopped. He would cry and cry when I put him on. A couple of months later I was done with diapers and decided to have a no pants day.....that backfired and didn't work at all. Then finally when we got home from Disneyland HE decided he was ready and we haven't looked back. I can only hope Sister will be as easy....I heard girls are easier in that department. I guess we'll see!

Single Parent

2011-12-07T13:05:00.001-08:00

A week and a half before Thanksgiving Ben left for an 8 day business trip to Hong Kong. There was a lot of anxiety on my part about him leaving. He helps so much with the kids I didn't know how I was going to do it.

But we made it! And I got a few projects done in the meantime. I will be posting about those later. We were able to Skype almost every day and it was so funny because K Bear just couldn't understand why Daddy was going to bed when we had just woken up, or vice verse. The kids were good and I only had a few meltdowns. I even braved church by myself with three little ones and we all made it.

Ben got home the day before Thanksgiving and I don't think I have been more happy to see him! Well...except when he came home from his mission. The kids were all really excited to see him as well. Poor guy was SO tired though. After a 16 hour plane ride from Hong Kong to LA he had a 10 hour layover at LAX and lets just say they were not that accommodating!

Anyways, Ben brought a few things home from China. Sister got a head-dress, K Bear got a new dinosaur and Sweet Cheeks got a sword. Ben also got a bunch of movies and we had to check them because a few of them were filmed in the movie theater while they were watching. One was in Chinese. Funny! I am so glad to have my other half back because I could not be a single parent!

Speirs Family

2011-12-05T14:14:00.001-08:00

I am SO. IN. LOVE. With this session!! This family was so fun to work with and they were troopers! It was bitter cold the day we shot these! This is my friend Amanda and her family. I am always so flattered when people say we look alike because she is gorgeous! What a beautiful family. You can view more here.

5

2011-11-30T11:59:00.001-08:00

While on vacation Sweet Cheeks turned 5. He actually got to spend is birthday in Disneyland (I don't know who we're going to top that one.)Can you believe he is 5? I sure can't. He has grown so fast! Next year...off to Kindergarten. But until then he is mine. All Mine and how I love him. Sweet Cheeks is one of the most sensitive kids I know. In a good way. He always recognizes when there is something on your mind. And he feels REALLY bad when he has done something to hurt someone else.

He is the MOST adorable 5 year old as well. Just look at those eyes...we are in TROUBLE!! It seems to hard to imagine 5 years ago we brought home this little tiny baby, whom we waited for so long. I am so blessed to be his mother. He is THE BEST kid ever! We were so spoiled to have him first!

In honor of his birthday I asked him some question and here are his answers....

How tall are you? "12." As he starts counting from his toes to his head.
How much do you weigh? "Whats weigh is?"
What's your favorite color? "Red"
What's your favorite sport? "Basketball and Soccer."
Who is your favorite person? "Spencer & Carter."
What's your favorite food? "Sandwich, chicken nuggets, corn dogs and Mac & Cheese."
What's your favorite holiday? "Halloween & Christmas."
What do you like to do? "Play the Wii, watch a movie with K Bear, play toys and clean up."
What's your favorite song? "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, ABC, and Old MacDonald"
Where is your favorite place to go? "Grandma's house."
What's your favorite movie? "Scooby-Doo, Spiderman & Toy Story."
What yours favorite thing about being 5? "When it was my birthday and you gave me cake and ice cream."
Who is "A"? "My birthmom."

Mine

2011-11-30T10:14:00.001-08:00

My adorable, ADORABLE, family! While in San Diego on vacation I REALLY wanted to make sure we got some family pictures done at the beach. Not to bad for using a tripod. I am in lOVE with the pictures of my kids. It captures their little personalities to a T. I am so blessed!

Miss Abby

2011-11-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

Last week I got to go to my sisters and do a photo session for Miss Abby. Such a precious baby. It alsmost makes me want another. You can view more here.

New Baby

2011-11-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

My lil' sis Melissa had a new baby a week and a half ago. We have all been little sickies here at our house, so we had to wait a little longer than we usually would to see the baby, but we were all so excited to see her! She was a big one too... 8 lbs, 7 oz, 21 inches long. If you were to see my sister you would wonder how she carried that big a baby! Miss "A" is adorable...she looks JUST like her sister! My kids loved holding the baby, in fact when we tried to take her away from Sister, she started crying and wanted the baby back. It was funny.

Disneyland....FINALLY! (Warning, lots of pictures)

2011-11-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

After nearly 6 months of waiting....on Saturday, October 22nd our family FINALLY headed off on our trip to Disneyland! We all got up bright and early and Grandma took us to the airport where all 3 kids would take their FIRST plane ride. I won't lie to you....getting 3 children, 2 adults, 3 car seats, a double stroller, 4 carry-ons and 4 personal items all through security was a bit of a pain, but we did it and we even got to board the plane not long after we got there. The boys loved the plane ride, and Sister slept through most if it....until we got to San Diego and the airport was closed and we had to circle in the air for an additional 25 min to land. All the kids ears were hurting from the pressure and they weren't very happy. Luckily the airport opened and we were able to land.

We stayed in Escondido at the Lawrence Welk Resort. It was AMAZING! We had a villa with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and it was actually bigger than the top level of our house! Our first stop that day was to the pools. There were about 7 in all and we chose one to go to that had a splash pad and a water slide. The kids were in HEAVEN!

The next day was Sunday, so we found a ward to go to. It was actually their Primary Program so we all enjoyed Sacrament Meeting. Then we headed back to the Villa for lunch, changed and headed to the Mormon Battalion Church History site. If you haven't gone, I suggest you go. It was great! The kids had a great time with all the things they have you do and learning the stories about the pioneers. They even take a family picture for you! I learned a lot about the people that came even more West during that time and helped establish San Diego.

After the Mormon Battalion we headed to the San Diego Temple. We went last year, but it was all covered in scaffolding plus the kids were asleep. This year....it was BEAUTIFUL! I have to admit this is my favorite temple. We took some family pictures here. Sweet Cheeks even had a hand in the picture taking. After the temple we went to the beach to do our family pictures, but you'll have to wait to see those. Then we went back to the Villa, had a yummy dinner of Lasagna, watched a movie and went to bed.

Monday morning we headed to Disneyland. It was also Sweet Cheeks 5th birthday! When we got to the park we went into City Hall and got him a birthday badge. Although he didn't like all the attention he got while wearing it. Our first stop was in Tomorrow land. I was a little amazed at how busy the park was. Usually in October it's not that bad. We went on AstroBlasters first and then Ben took Sweet Cheeks on Star Tours and then I took him. Rider Swap is a great thing!! We then went on MY favorite ride Space Mountain...it wasn't one of Sweet Cheeks favorite, although he did go on it twice. After lunch we went on the boys favorite ride of all time.....BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! We rode it 3 times that day. Then we headed over to ToonTown for some rides.

After those rides we went and got a spot for the parade. IT.WAS.FUN! The kids got so excited to see all the characters and it was the highlight of their day.

Disneyland closed at 6 that day, so then we headed to California Adventure where we saw "World of Color." I wish I would have gotten better pictures because it was AMAZING!!!

Tuesday morning Ben got up with the kids and I heard the dreaded....."Amanda, Sweet Cheeks threw up!!" Why can we not have a vacation without puke!? We were supposed to go to Sea World that day, but decided to take it easy and not go. Instead, we went to the beach in Carlsbad which the kids thought was even better. We all built a sandcastle and after fun at the beach we went to a YUMMY Mexican restaurant, went home and headed to bed.

Wednesday morning we headed again to Disneyland. We had a plan this time and wanted to see SO MUCH more that we did on Monday. We were successful! Did I mention I LOVE RIDER SWAP!? Also, Single Riders! The crowds were MUCH better on Wednesday as well, I don't think we stood in line for more than 15-20 min for anything...except to meet Mickey! We were able to see a lot of the Characters this day and the kids LOVED it. Sister was so cute with them, playing peek-a-boo with Tigger. Sweet Cheeks rode Splash Mountain and was even on the front row. He did NOT like it! They loved Haunted Mansion as well as seeing Woody from Toy Story. It was a successful day. That night we decided to stay in Anaheim instead of going all the way back to Escondido because we knew we were going to California Adventure the next day. We were all exhausted and went to sleep at 9:00!

Thursday morning we got tickets to have breakfast with Minnie and Friends. All the characters came right to our table so we didn't have to chase them down. Sister, however must have had bad dreams about the characters because she did NOT like them this day. Every time they came over she would completely flip out. Breakfast was yummy and we all enjoyed the interaction.

We then headed to California Adventure. The crowds were so slow and we loved it! We got to see K Bears favorite...BUZZ, ride on the new Toy Story ride, Screamin' California, Souring over California, Sweet Cheeks loved this ride, Grizzly Rapids, Bugs Life 3D which is so cool! and tried to get Sweet Cheeks to do Tower of Terror, but when he heard everyone screaming he about flipped and didn't want to do it. We were just about to get on the ride, so we had to take the back way out. Ben said it was more me that didn't want to ride it! He might be right! I've ridden it before though so that was not an excuse!

We went to see Disney Jr. Live and that was a treat for the kids because they LOVE to watch Disney and knew all these guys. It was fun to see the kids get excited about them. We then headed back to Disneyland to ride Haunted Mansion again, but it was closed so we rode Buzz Lightyear for the last time and headed back to the Villa.

Friday we went to Lego-land. They kids had fun, but we should have done this our first day because after Disneyland it wasn't as fun....however they did LOVE the Pirate Ship. We were prepared this year with swim suits so they had a blast.

All in all it was a great trip! It was so nice to be able to spend time with my family and my husband without being interupted by phone calls 24/7. It was worth the wait!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T13:17:00.001-07:00

This year for Halloween we have.....

Captian America
A Ninja

And Tinkerbell

We have a Halloween party with my side of the family. We had just gotten back from Vacation a couple of hours earlier and Ben and I didn't know what to dress up as. So 5 min before we leave we get the idea to dress up as "Wal-Mart Shoppers." If you have ever seen the YouTube video you will know what we meant. We got a big laugh. After pizza and Halloween movies we came home and all went to bed....we were exhausted!!

Facebook and Facetime and their little Ballerina

A cowboy and his pardner'

and here are my 4 kiddo's all dressed up and ready to go get them some candy. Trick or Treat!!

11 Years

2011-10-31T13:35:00.001-07:00

On October 20th Ben and I celebrated our 11 wedding anniversary. It has been a wonderful 11 years. We have been through SO much together. Schooling, job changes, infertility, adoption, miscarrage, births, illness, and surgeries just to name a few. This year has been especially hard on Ben. He has taken up so much of my slack being a mom due to illness and surgeries this year. He has stepped in and done EVERYTHING that needed to be done. It's not easy taking care of 3 kids...and then throw in a sick wife, owning a business, and church callings and it is near impossible. Yet Ben somehow made everything work. He is such an amazing man and I am so glad he chose me to spend eternity with. I am such a lucky woman!

Fire Station Field Trip

2011-10-31T13:23:00.001-07:00

I always love the field trips that I can bring the whole crew on! This was an especially fun one. We got to go to the fire station and see the fire fighter all dressed up, we got to see where they stay and hear the fire truck siren and climb in and out of the truck. K Bear loved this and though he was just one of the big kids....next year buddy! What a fun little trip.

Gardner Village 2011

2011-10-31T12:58:00.001-07:00

Every year we get to go to Gardner Village with my side of the family. Mainly just the moms, kids and Grandma. This year was Lindsey and Lukes first year with us! The kids ALWAYS look forward to it. This year we had to put it off a week because I had my Tonsils out, and it was a mistake because IT WAS BUSY!!! The kids still had fun seeing the witches and eating the yummy cookies from the bakery. I got some great pictures of the kids in their costumes....but you have to wait for those, they are coming! I just LOVE Sisters reaction to the witches!

Long time.....no post!

2011-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

I serioulsy can't believe how long it has been since I posted. Things around this house have been down right crazy and I don't know how I have found the time to do much of anything. So much has happened that I plan on creating posts about each one because they have all been quite big things. The main reason I haven't posted is that my body decided to fail me again. I have been having quite a few problems with my Tonsils the last few years and had multiple bouts of Tonsilitis, so I finally went to a Dr. I went on a Monday morning and by Friday I was having a Tonsilectomy!

A Tonsilectomy for an adult is NOT an easy thing to go through. In fact it is miserable! I would rather give birth. I was in so much pain and could really not eat much of anything for about 3 weeks. Ben has been such a trooper and taken care of so much! What an awesome man....but that's a post all in itself!

I am FINALLY feeling pretty much back to normal. I still have a little soreness swallowing and yawning, but all in all I feel MUCH better. I can't believe it has been a whole month since the surgery. I swear turning 30 was the worst thing I ever did! I just hope this next year is free of surgery and hospital stays!

True in Blue

2011-10-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I was able to do some pictures for my other brother. What a cute family they are. You can view more here.

"L" Family

2011-10-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Two Saturday's ago I did a photoshoot for my brother and his family. You can view more here.

Wheeler Farm

2011-10-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Amanda's kids were out of school and she called me to make some plans. After discussing our options, and frankly neither one of us wanted to spend money, we decided to head out to Wheeler Farm. Funny enough Amanda has never taken her boys there! Crazy hu! So we packed out lunches and headed out.

While we were driving there K Bear kept asking me where we were going and I told him to see the animals. So we get there are he announces that he is now ready to see the Lions. I told him "wrong animals. We are seeing the Farm animals." He was a little disappointed.

Our first stop was to let the boys run after the Geese and then it was on to feed the ducks. More like the ducks were attacking us for the bread. I think it traumatized K Bear a little. A duck came and took it right out of his fingers. Nipping them in the process.

After feeding the ducks, seeing the other animals, playing in the tree-house, taking pictures, and taking our turns in the out-house we went to see the cows. The boys were pretty set on petting one. Unfortunately Carter and Sweet Cheeks chose the wrong one. This one decided to sneeze and lick both of them with was VERY SCARY for them. Funny for Amanda and I though! I didn't think we had little girls with us. (Except for Sister.)

After the cows we went and ate our lunch on picnic tables and our outing wouldn't have been complete without a fall and band-aid. I'm just glad it was yours Amanda and not mine this time!

Mrs. Field's field trip

2011-10-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

On September 23rd I was able to take Sweet Cheeks to his first field trip of the year. It is so nice to have some one on one time with him! We got to go to the Mrs. Field's factory in Salt Lake. Just walking into that place was heaven! It smelled SO SO good! We watched a little movie about Mrs. Field's when it was featured on "Good Eats." Then took a tour of the place. Then we even got a free cookie. YUMM-O!

BYU/UTAH Game

2011-10-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

So one of the BIGGEST reasons we celebrated my birthday on Friday and not Saturday was because it was the BYU/UTAH game. Yes, a pretty sad one at that. But we still dressed up in out BYU attire and went to the Elder's Quorum tailgate party. This was the last time you saw Ben happy for a a few days! Poor Guy!

31

2011-10-04T14:41:00.001-07:00

Last month, on the 18th, I turned 31. Most people when they turn 30 start to have an issue with it. Funny enough, I didn't and funny enough it turned out to be one of the hardest years on my body! So as I approached 31 I was having a harder time with it than last year.

I had a fun birthday though. We since my birthday was on a Sunday, we decided to go out with some friends for dinner on Friday night. We were actually going to go bowling as well, but it took us so long to get into the restaurant we didn't end up going. We went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and it was DIVINE! So yummy! And the company was even worth the nearly 2 hour wait we had. The Brownie Sundae Cheesecake is THE BEST!

The next day Amanda and I did some shopping! It was so fun to get away, just a girls, no little ones and SHOP! We were successful too. Finding jeans, Cardigans and skirts....we are just so much alike that we choose all the same things...FUNNY!

Sunday we went to church and Ben and the kids had bought me a cake and ice cream so we celebrated with my parents at home. It was nice. Such a great birthday! Hopefully THIS year will be less eventful than LAST year was!

Labor Day/Night

2011-09-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

While looking through my pictures the other day I realized that I forgot to post about the rest of our Labor Day. For the last 4 years or so we get together with the Aloi's and the Nihbours for a BBQ and MAN is the food GOOD! This year was no exception! Oli had made YUMMY ribs..they fell right off the bone! So good!! We also had a bounce-House, Snow Cone machine and pop-corn popper. The kids were in heaven! Another great end to the summer!

"Drive-In" & "Camping"

2011-09-14T12:36:00.001-07:00

All summer Ben has been wanting to do a "drive-in" in the back yard. Set up the projector and screen and watch a movie. Then he wanted to have a camp out with the boys. SO this last weekend we did just that. The boys were so excited and had so much fun. K Bear only lasted about 45 into the movie, but Sweet Cheeks made it the whole way. Then it was time for bed. The camp out lasted until about 4:00 when I heard the boys come in. I guess K Bear wasn't sleeping so hot! All in all it was a fun night for the boys...all 3 of them!

Pre-School...Year 2

2011-09-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

This kid has been SO excited to start Pre-School again. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that he is 1 of only 3 kids in his Primary class that didn't get to go to Kindergarten and everyone has been talking about school lately.

I just can't believe how grown up he is! Even from last year. Funny story....I had bought him a new shirt to wear his first day, but when I went to put it on him it was WWWAAAYYY to big on him. He was REALLY upset about it, but I found a nice outfit to wear. He told me that his teacher wouldn't like it. Well we get to school and the first thing the teacher says to him is that she likes his shirt. He looked back at me and I gave him a big smile saying "told you so!" What a handsome guy!!

Labor Day Breakfast

2011-09-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of time....seriously, I don't remember a time when we didn't....we have our annual Labor Day breakfast with my Dad's side of the family. It is quite the production as my Dad is one of 10 children, and the counting just goes on from there. Most of the grandchildren are married with children of their own and so I think there are about 150 people or more at this shindig. It is one the 2 times I see my grandparents during the year. Although, I don't know if they remember who I am anymore. It has changed quite a bit over the years. But it is a tradition that keeps going.

Of course the sprinklers were on and OF COURSE it is MY children who think they need to run through them!

Ensign Truth

2011-09-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

I read the October Presidency Message in the Ensign about a week ago. It was about getting ready for Conference and how to make the most of it. One of the suggestions that was given was to pray about things that you need answers to and write them down. Then to listen to the talks in search for those answers.

We had our stake conference this past weekend, and so I decided to do just that for this conference. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been struggling with self-esteem. Not only that, but feeling of worth and feeling like I matter to someone. I have been praying that I will know, without a doubt, that my Father in Heaven loves me and that I matter to someone.

I was so thankful for the talk given by the newly sustained Relief Society Pres. I felt like the talk was directed to ME. She said that she had written her talk numerous times over that last few weeks, and early yesterday morning, when she wasn't able to sleep, she was prompted to share a story. It is one that I have heard MANY times. "You are Special." As she was reading it, I was brought to tears, realizing that underlining meaning. That I am special to my Heavenly Father. He made me. He doesn't care what others think about me. He doesn't care whether I am fat, thin, the most beautiful, or the most homely. He loves me.

The devil is much like a mirror in a circus. He makes us see distorted things. He wants us to see our flaws because then we can not strive to be the Kings and Queens that our Father in Heaven wants us to be.

I am a Daughter of my Heavenly Father who loves me. It has been years since I have repeated the Young Women's theme. After the talks this past weekend, I have the strength to push forward, to love myself and to carry-on with the most important role I have at this time.....A mother.

Harder than I thought...

2011-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

As a tween/teen I was ALWAYS so self-conscious of what I looked like. How thin/fat I was. What I wore and so on. I guess I figured I would grow out of it, and I think I did for a little bit. But lately the way I look and feel about myself has bothered me more than I would like to admit. After I had Sister, I felt really good about myself. I had lost all the baby weight as well as about 10 lbs about 2 weeks after I had her. Then I turned 30! Really, it didn't bother me...until May. Then I was laid up in the hospital, unable to fully function. I have put on an optimistic front about the whole thing, but really it has been a lot harder than I have let on.

Once I was released from the hospital I still wasn't able to do very much and so my activity went down the drain. Combined that with AMAZING food that people were bringing in and it leads to weight gain. But it's not just the weight gain. It's the feeling that I have about myself and the exhaustion I STILL feel. I know it is 4 months later, but it is still very present in my life. I am SO TIRED....ALL.THE.TIME.

We finally got a membership to the local fitness center hoping that it will help me get this weight off....mostly around the mid-section, and I am pretty proud of myself that I have gone at least 4 times a week for the last 3 weeks. But it hasn't helped the insecurity issue. It is hard for me to go to those classes and have to do the easy version of some of the moves like most of the old people are doing. I used to be very physically fit! It is hard not to be ABLE to do it. Then add on the fact that I look around and see all the women with toned, flat abs and it makes for low self-esteem.

I really thought I would be over it at my age. I have a wonderful husband, 3 beautiful children and a pretty amazing life, but I still worry about how I look and how people view me. Maybe I;m not the only one. I guess that's why the gyms are so full!! Hopefully my new found fitness will help in the healing....both Physically AND Emotionally.

Family Camping Trip 8-26-11

2011-09-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge fan of camping. I do like to be up in the mountains, seated around a campfire and having good conversation, but I don't like sleeping in a tent....with a baby. We have actually done more camping this year that we have in past years. The boys have had a blast though and I hope they remember the good times.

Ben's family decided to do a camp out this year. They did one last year, but I had just had Sister and there was NO WAY I was taking her up there. I'm really out of mt element when it comes to camping, but as long as I have flush toilets and a sink to wash hands I'm good. We didn't have either on this camping trip. They decided to go, really in the middle of nowhere and there are NO bathrooms. So we have to rely on trailers and campers.

It was actually quite pretty up there. I was a little uptight because as soon as we got there it started raining. There is something with me and camping, you and bet it will rain. I was a little bummed because we still had to set up a tent and everything.

It finally stopped for a little bit and we started a fire and had some yummy chili dogs. But not long after it started raining again and we got the kiddo's into bed. It was a LONG night. I don't think Sister slept for more that 30-40 min in a stretch. UGG!!

We had a yummy breakfast in the morning and then all took turns taking a spin on the 4-wheeler. Then we played some games and Ben and I headed out. We needed to get back for church the next day.

We got some fun pictures, and we even got one with the whole crew....looking FAB I might add!

Pucker Up!!

2011-08-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Yet another fine picture from my phone camera! Sweet Cheeks had a nice wedgie going! I had to take a picture....whenever I was having a bad day I just need to look at this picture and I get a good laugh!

Exhausted!

2011-08-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

I just downloaded a whole bunch of pictures that I took with my camera phone and I had to laugh a little bit when quite a few of them were of K Bear sleeping.....in MANY different positions. I guess when your tired, your tired!

Color Doesn't Matter

2011-08-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

I have to write this story down before I forget it....

A several months ago we bought a Bumbo for Sister. I got it out and had the box sitting on the counter. Sweet Cheeks came up to me and pointed to the picture on the box. He then went on to ask me "Is that a picture of K Bear and Me when we were babies." I looked at the picture....then back at Sweet Cheeks....laughed a litte to myself and then asked him, "Which one is you and which one is K Bear?" He pointed to the Caucasion baby and said that was him, and then to the African Amercan baby and said it was K Bear. I then had to giggle again. It goes to show you that color doesn't matter because my son thinks his brother is another color that he is! So funny!!

One...

2011-08-25T12:06:00.001-07:00

Well here are the stats for my now one year old....

18 lbs 12 oz (13%)

29 3/4 inches (68%)

Has 6 teeth

Learned to walk a week after her birthday

Say's "Mama, Dada, Tick Tock and growls when she see's a dog.

Loves, loves LOVES, shoes

Loves to eat grapes, and anything CHOCOLATE!

Loves ice cream

Hates to have pony tails in her hair

Smiles a TON!

Loves her brothers...and can hold her own with them

Is a princess in every way

You can view more pictures from her 1 year photo shoot here.

Ward Campout

2011-08-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went with our ward up to our ward campout. They boys we so SO excited to go (mainly because Spencer & Carter we coming.) I think everyone had a fun time. The adults played Dominos Mexican Train (Amanda was cheating) while the kids ran around in the dark with flashlights. We slept (tried) in a tent...all 5 of us together. That morning the men made breakfast of french toast and fruit. Then we played a fun game of BINGO, had a fishing pond and a pie eating contest. All in all it was fun and Matt & Amanda even made it out of the canyon with enough gas! (They were below empty when they got there. Ha Ha)

Lilberty Park

2011-08-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

Last week I got a phone call from a sister in our ward inviting us to meet then at Liberty Park for some lunch and fun. It has been YEARS since I have been to that park and they have done so much with it. There is literally something for everyone and every age there. The kids had fun through the water features and playing on the play ground and we all had fun chatting it up and watching the kids.

Birthday Girl!

2011-08-24T12:38:00.001-07:00

I still can not believe my baby is 1! We sure had a fun Birthday party for her though. Friends and family came to swim and eat pizza. We had birthday cake and my WONDERFUL friend Amanda made the cute cupcakes. It was so fun to do everything in pink....she is a girl after all! She enjoyed her cake and just about got it EVERYWHERE. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated our sweet girl's 1st birthday!

Bouncin' Off the Walls

2011-08-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

A few years ago we went to a birthday party at one of those blow-up play places. It was just Sweet Cheeks, but he had a blast. The kids have been rather bored lately so I decided to get online and see if they had an open bounce time. Sure enough, they did! I went with Amanda and her boys and ALL the kids had a blast! My camera wasn't working very well so I only got a few pictures, but the ones I got sure showed the fun they were having....ok...we were ALL having. The favorite place was the slide and we all had our turn down it. Sister wasn't so keen on it, but the rest if us loved it! I LOVE Amanda's face on the slide!!

1 year later....

2011-08-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

From this....
To this....

I can not believe how fast this last year has gone. I am sitting here reflecting on this sweet little girl that is a part of my life. I am thinking back on one year ago and bringing this little one into the world. It is such an amazing experience! I went back and re-read my entry about the day Sister was born and tears were brought to my eyes remembering the feelings and the spirit that is in the room when a child enters the world.

This past year has been one filled with so much love. It was has been hard. I won't lie. To add another child to our family. Many days I feel very inadequate, but when I look into each one of their faces my heart fills with love for my children. When I look at Sister I feel so blessed to have a daughter. I know there will be years ahead that will be filled with hard times, but right now she is innocent, sweet, lovable, she lets me kiss on her, cuddle her, and most of the time she just wants her mom.

One year ago today she came into my life and changed it for the better. I want to be a better woman because of her. I want her to know who she is and that she is a Daughter of our Heavenly Father and that she is loved.

Camelot Campground

2011-08-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

I am not a camper. I won't even claim to be. Yet once a year we go camping with some friends from our old ward. We have done it for 6 years now. It was our turn to reserve the campsite, so we decided to got o a place that I had been to when I was young. We used to go there with my ward on ward campouts. So I called Camelot Campground up in the Strawberry Pinnacles and set it up. When we went when I was younger it was quite the "posh" little resort with a pool and everything. Things have changed over the last 20 years or so. It was still a beautiful place to go and we had a fun time though.

One of the boys favorite things was a 4-wheeler. Ben has one that they bought for work so we decided to take it up. We had SO MUCH FUN! K Bear especially. I could barely keep the kid off of it. Ben and I even got to go on a ride together. We went up to the top of the pinnacle and we were able to look down on our campground.

Besides being eaten ALIVE my mosquito's, we had a fun time. 'Til next year!

I Heart Cousins

2011-08-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

Last week all of my sister-in-law's family was in town for their baby's blessing. I was so excited when they asked me to take pictures of all the kids for them. SERIOUSLY CUTE KIDS!! Just look at those eyes! You can view a few more here.

Long-Time Friend

2011-07-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

I have been so blessed to have some great friends in my life-time. A couple of years ago my brother and his wife moved into some townhouses in South Jordan. to my surprise my brother told me that one of my friends from high school and her husband also lived in the townhouses and were in their ward. Marcie was one of my best friends during my Junior and Senior year. We were on the Cheerleading squad together and had lots in common. She and her now husband Chad were dating back then and Ben and I met during that time and doubled with them a few times. She was a great friend! The last time I saw her was at her wedding reception about 8 years ago I think.

When my brother moved in we exchanged emails and have been able to get caught up in each others lived through blogs. Marcie and Chad have not had an easy life the past few years. Chad has undergone not 1 but 2 liver transplants and has had numerous health issues. I have been able to see the strength that Marcie has for Chad and her little girl. She has such dedication and love for her family and I am amazed by her strength.

Last Sunday my brother blessed his baby and I got to see Marcie and chat with her. It was so fun to see her again! She hasn't changed a bit...she is just as gorgeous as she was in High School! She will probably kill me for posting these pictures, but they are some from high school and the good old days! Love you Marcie!

Discovery Gateway

2011-07-26T13:36:00.001-07:00

Another summer day....another activity! Today we decided to head out to Discovery Gateway. The kids always have fun there. Thankfully today wasn't as busy as it was the last time we went....although it is a pretty penny! Anyways, this was a first for Sister and I think she had fun. She played with the balls at the beginning and then I took her to the little tot play area. She had a wonderful time crawling all over and playing. The boys had fun an usual in the water area and going up to the helicopter. Afterwords we went over to McDonald's and got a bite to eat. K Bear was completely rotten towards the end, but what do you expect from a 2 year old? I was lucky and got a few pictures before my camera died!

So long old friend.....ummm....enemy!

2011-07-25T14:35:00.001-07:00

In 7th grade I was cursed with wearing glasses. Thankfully when I was in 9th grade my parents let me get contacts and I have worn them every since. Last Monday I said good-bye to both and went under the knife...actually it was a laser...and had LASIK done. IT. IS. SO. WONDERFUL! Seriously! I was actually pretty scared to have it done and was freaking out a little bit Sunday night. I had Ben give me a blessing and that calmed me down a little bit.

Monday morning I got to the office at about 8:30. They took me right back and took my vitals and gave me a VALIUM! So nice! Then they had me put on a head cover and booties. They took me back to have the 1st of 2 mini surgeries. I layed on the table and the put numbing drops in my eyes. They then put these suction things on and turned a laser on to create a flap. They did this on both eyes and then took me back to some massage chairs while the bubbles created the flaps. After about 20 min they took me back and layed me on another table where I got more numbing drops and the doctor pulled the flaps back and a laser shot into the eye and corrected the vision. Then the doctor folded the flaps back over. At this point my eyes were still numb, but they were watering REALLY bad.

Ben then took me home. On the way, the numbing solution wore off and my eyes started to burn, kind of like when you have gotten lotion or something in them. I got home and took a nap for a couple of hours. When I woke up I looked to see the clock at the end of the room and I COULD SEE IT!!! It was amazing! The pain was got and I could see!

Over the past week I have had to put prescription drops in my eyes every 4 hours, as well as artificial tear every 30-60 min. I will have to continue the tears for about 3 months. When they create the flap, the suction bursts the blood vessels in your eyes so they are really red, but they are getting better.

It has been one of the best things! No contacts or glasses to deal with...just great vision!!! Modern medicine is AMAZING!!

Dinosaur Museum

2011-07-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

It seems as though (at least in my case) that the older my kids are the faster they get bored. So a couple of weeks ago I talked to Amanda and we decided to go to the Museum of Ancient History at Thanksgiving Point. It just so happened that week they were celebrating their 11 year anniversary so they were having a birthday party all week long with a pirate theme. The kids had a BLAST! They got to make a pirate hat, a spy glass, they even got to have their face painted. We had lunch there are then they went to the Captains Quarters and listened to a story and made a boat. Then we went to through the actual museum. We spent about 3 or 4 hours there. Such fun! We love spending time with Spencer, Carter & Amanda!

Emerson

2011-07-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

I am SO lucky! In a matter of days I got a new Nephew AND a new Niece. Both of which I got to take newborn pictures of. Little Emerson is suh a cutie! I think she looks JUST like her sister! You can view more here.

July 4th!!

2011-07-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

July 4th Monday and the weeks leading up to it was so much fun. The week before we had gone to Park City and then it was a Holiday on Monday. It was so nice to have 5 days with Ben and no work!

July 4th was fun. We had a BBQ at our house with my side of the family. We were missing Deborah and her family as well as Lindsey and the new baby, but we had a lot of fun. The kids had a BLAST sliding down the slide into the pool and the little ones enjoyed getting wet in the little pools. We had a hard time breaking them away from the water to come eat. When they were finally done they kids were all blue in the lips and shivering from cold...but they had so much fun. While we waited for it to get dark the big boys played basketball.

Once it was dusk the kids couldn't wait any longer so we pulled the fireworks out. I love fireworks! I love being with my kids and looking and loving them! K Bear wasn't TOO thrilled though because we had gone to see the BIG fireworks a couple of weeks before. After each one he would ask "are we done?" Fun times with family are the best!

Park City

2011-07-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

So because I was in the hospital in May we didn't get to go on our vacation that we planned and by the middle of June Ben was in dire need of one! So I called some of our friends and we scheduled to get a condo up at Park City for a few days. So the Wednesday before 4th of July weekend we all headed out. We got there Wednesday night and we were all IN LOVE with the condo! It was so spacious and the kids were excited because they had their own kids room. We got pizza that night and listened to it storm outside while we played games and watched movies inside.

Thursday morning we did a little grocery shopping and then headed out for a fun-filled day. We started off by going swimming, which my boys LOVED! They had so much fun sliding down the little slide and jumping off the side into dad's arms.

After swimming we headed up to the Park City Mountain Resort to do the Alpine Slide. Can you believe that neither Ryan or Whitney had ever done this?! We all had so much fun....the slide was a hit! I however almost had a heart-attack going up the lift with K Bear in tow!

After the Alpine slide we did a little stroll on main street to find a good restaurant. Ben and Ryan dropped us girls with the kids off and found a parking spot. We met up and still hadn't found anything...we wanted Mexican food...so the boys went to get the cars and go somewhere else. On the way out we found the Blue Iguana. So we parked the cars again and went inside for dinner....YUMMO!

Friday morning Ben and Ryan went off to play some golf so Whitney and I let the kids get in the hot tub for a little bit while the babies napped and then we went out for a little nature walk. Madison was so cute and found lots of pretty flowers and made an arrangement for the condo.

When the boys got home it was Whitney and my turn to go shopping! Yeah!! We found some good deals and wore ourselves out. We ended the night with dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, a little Hot Tub and some Ticket To Ride!

We had a lot of fun just even hanging out at the condo, playing games and being together!

Saturday morning, my sister had given us free tickets for the Gondola lift at the Canyons, so we went there and took the lift to the top. While we were there we took a little hike. The kids had so much fun!

It was so nice to get away for a little bit from all the that has been going on in our lives. No work, no sickness just good times with good friends!

SUMMER!!

2011-07-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

It is summer and we have been so busy that my blog has gotten a little put aside...but we have been having lots of fun! Here is an update of what we have been doing so far...it makes me tired just looking at these pictures!

My friend Amanda has this fun inflatable water slide and she has invited us over a few times to enjoy it wil her and the boys! Sweet Cheeks is in LOVE with it. He has so much fun! We actually set up 3 little stations at her house because of the age differences in the kids, so they all have fun and Amanda and I sit back and drink Crystal Light in the shade. Good Times!

Every year when Ben turns on the spinklers and checks to make sure they all work, we get the kids in their swim attire and let them run through the sprinklers. They have so much fun and it's a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Ever since I was little...and I mean little, my dad's company has a Lagoon day. We have gone almost every year! This year was no exception and it was actually fun because I wasn't pregnant! The kids had so much fun too! Sweet Cheeks is getting tall enough to ride most of the big kid rides and that was fun for Ben and I too! K Bear was so fun to watch because our niece Em didn't like most of the rides, but K Bear was there to put his arm around her. It was a VERY HOT day, but after running the Rattlesnake Rapids we were able to cool off a little. Such fun times!

Another fun tradition that Ben and I have started with our children is to go to the Taylorsville Dayzz fireworks. They are are hands down the best in the state! We have so much fun with the Wall family, dancing and eating cupcakes while waiting for the fireworks to start. Then once it gets dark the show starts. Fireworks, music, the whole Sha-Bang!! The kids are SO tired when it's over, but it is so worth it! It is a wonderful tradition.

AND THIS IS JUST JUNE!!!

Baby "L"

2011-06-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

So the day we have scheduled to do some maternity pictures for my SIL Lindsey I get a phone call from my mom telling me that we are now going to have to do newborn pictures because Lindsey was in labor. Ha! A week later I get the chance to photograph my new little nephew. It's amazing what a little prayer can do. The session went wonderful and we got SO MANY good pictures. I have posted a few on my Photography Blog. It is under construction so please excuse the lack of everything!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Father's Day again this year. The kids and I woke up early and made breakfast for Ben of eggs, pancakes and sausage. Then we went to church and had some good meetings. Although Sweet Cheeks wouldn't get up to sing with the Primary. He is so shy when it comes to that. After that we had a yummy dinner of roast and potatoes and then went to visit the grandpas. The kids helps make all the gifts and they had so much fun putting their little hand prints on the t-shirts.

The men in my life are so amazing! I have been so blessed to have a wonderful father, husband and father-in-law that all respect the priesthood they hold and use it to benefit my life as well as the lives of my children.

New Daddy

2011-06-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

My brother Kurtis and his wife Lindsey had their first baby last week. Baby L 6 lbs 10 oz 20 inches long. I got to go up to the hospital and see them the day after he was born. He is such a cutie! Lots of dark hair. I am so excited for my brother and his wife. It was so fun to see my brother as a dad and I can just see the love in his eyes for his son! What a wonderful Father's Day for him!

They don't let children under 14 at the hospital so we waited until I went to take baby L's newborn pictures for my kiddo's to meet him. The pictures are coming and they are SO cute!

My little Love-Bug

2011-06-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

K Bear has ALWAYS been my little Love-Bug. He is such a cuddler and loves to just sit on my lap. In fact any time he wakes up from a nap he always has to come have cuddle time before going to play again. The other day he came up to me and said, "I love you!" My heart just melted! That is the first time he has told me that. Usually I tell him I love him and he says "You too." What joys of being a mother.

Sleep is over-rated!

2011-06-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

As of right now we have all 3 children in one room. It's really not THAT big of a deal, except when we have bad nights we REALLY have bad nights because everyone plays off of each other. So we have thought about putting the boys in the bedroom downstairs.

Friday nights are Movie night at our house. We let the kids stay up, pop popcorn and pick a movie. So this last Friday night we though it would be fun to let the boys sleep in their sleeping bags downstairs to see how it would go. It didn't go very well. We ended up putting them in their beds upstairs.

I think we will try to put them downstairs though because they aren't scared to go down there...heck they play down there all day long....and they will have their own beds as well. We'll see what happens!

ZOO!

2011-06-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning I was at my friend Amanda's house and she tells me that This Is The Place park is having a free day the next day. So we decide it would be fun to get the kids out of the house and go. Friday morning we load up the cars with kids, strollers and lunches and head out for our adventure. We get to Foothill Blvd and it is a stand still of traffic. I call Amanda and tell her that I hope all these people aren't going where we are going......to late.....they were! So here we are in traffic, Sister starts screaming because she wants out of the car seat....K Bear starts screaming because he now has rubbed sunscreen in his eyes, and we are stuck in traffic. We finally got to the park and there is no parking, so we decided to just go over to the zoo. It was a MUCH better idea. The kids had fun and so did the grown-ups.

After 4 hours of pushing a double stroller up and down hills I was COMPLETELY wore out. I went to bed at 9:00 that night!

Soccer Spring 2011

2011-06-12T15:05:00.001-07:00

Sweet Cheeks played another year of soccer this year. For the most part he did really well! He even scored 3 goals this season....ok, so they may have been for the other team....but what do you expect from a 4 year old? He had so much fun playing with his buddy's again this year!

Just because.....

2011-06-01T12:53:00.001-07:00

I have found that I have to just take my camera out and take pictures for no reason so that I actually have pictures of my kids. When we just had Sweet Cheeks I was ALWAYS taking pictures of him. One, because he was our first and only, and two, because I knew I needed to send pictures to his birthmom. So the other day I just got my camera out and took some pics of Sister. She already plays so well by herself. I love how she already is "cleaning" her kitchen. Love her!

Pre-School Year 1

2011-06-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Sweet Cheeks ended his first year of Pre-school last Tuesday with a VERY cute little program. He has LOVED pre-school this year...in fact so much that he prayes for his teacher and school AT LEAST 3 times every night. He just loves Mrs B and everything he has learned. I was pleasantly surprised Tuesday morning when I asked him to sign the card we made for his teacher, knowing that I would have to help him, but he wrote his name ALL BY HIMSELF! So proud! He is excited for next year and can't wait to start again.

9 Months

2011-06-01T12:27:00.001-07:00

I finally got around to taking Sister's 9 months pictures. She was NOT very co-operative with me, thus we didn't get very many where she is smiling...ok we really didn't get any where she is giving me a goot smile, but that is just her. STUBBORN!! I wonder where she gets it from..ha ha...anyways here are my little girls stats:

16 lbs 10 oz (14%)
28 inches long (82%)
Has 3 teeth and 4 coming in
She is a mover....crawls ALL over the place and is very fast at that
Pulls herself up on everything
Does not like to eat anything chunky or with chicken
Loved to swing and be outside
Can clap
Say "Da Da" and sometimes "Ma Ma"
Throws terrible tantrums already!
Loves her mama
Is C.U.T.E!

Recovery

2011-05-18T14:55:00.001-07:00

I had my first Physical Therapy appointment yesterday and I think it went REALLY well. All the therapists are just astonished by the rapid recovery that I have made. Every time I talk to someone that knows what this syndrome is, especially someone in the medical field, I feel more and more blessed by the severity of the syndrome I had and by the recovery I have made. I have not talked to a single person who knows of someone that has recovered this fast. I am now able to walk pretty much by myself as long as there are walls to hold on to when I loose my balance. Basically I have to do everything really slow, but I can do it. The only thing I really am not allowed to do is lift and carry the kids. My shoulders are not strong enough yet and my balance is not that great. I do get REALLY tired REALLY fast, but that is to be expected. One of the best things is that for my home therapy I HAVE to play the piano for 20 min a day!

The Lord has had a hand in this whole thing and has been watching over me. The events that took place to get me the medical care as quickly as I did was a miracle. I am not the type of person to go to the Dr for anything. The ONLY reason I went was because we were supposed to fly to California Saturday morning and I though I better just get it taken care of before we went on vacation. Once were were at the Dr and he told me to go see the Neurologist, the soonest they could get me in was the 16th. Just before we left the Dr didn't feel good about it and talked to the Neurologist directly and that Dr said he would see me that day on his lunch break. From there I was admitted VERY quickly to the hospital and started on the therapy treatment that very day.

Today has been the first day in 2 weeks that I was alone with my kids for a couple of hours. It was HARD and VERY tiring, but it is a step forward.

I feel so blessed to be able to do all that I can do and that I haven't had things taken away from me. I keep being reminded of the Hilary Weeks song, "If I only Had Today." The house will get cleaned, someday, the bills will get paid, but the time you spend with your family is so precious and you never know just when something can happen to take it all away.

Little Budah

2011-05-15T10:21:00.001-07:00

My sister and her family were here in town a couple of weeks ago, and it just so happened her little guy turned 6 months....so we got to do a little photo shoot with the little guy...who is not so little. What a cutie! You can view some of my favorites here.

Finding faith...

2011-05-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Being a mom to 3 little ones is a hard task....one that has gotten a little harder with the events of the past week and a half. However, I think the thing that has made it so hard is that I have lost something. I have gotten so busy in the day to day stuff that I have forgotten how to recognize the Spirit in my everyday life. Church has gotten a little easier with the release of Ben from the bishopric, and I can now actually listen to the speakers in church every once in a while, but since all this has happened with my health I have realized just how much I was missing during the week.

Last week when I was admitted to the hospital Ben gave me a blessing. In it he mentioned that I needed to take this opportunity to come closer to our Savior, to read the scriptures and feel the spirit in my life. As I have done things to bring the spirit I have realized just how much I have missed it. As I sit here even now, listening to uplifting music my eyes water and my heart is swelling. Oh, how I have missed this feeling! It seems as though we are given Faith building experiences so that we can be humbled and recognize the hand of the Lord and the spirit in our lives.

I remember these feelings when we were waiting for Sweet Cheeks to join our family, and again when we lost our first pregnancy. My eyes were constantly watering and my heart was always so full. I again feel that. I only hope and pray that I can keep it and not wait for something bad to happen again. That I can help my children recognize it and they will continue to recognize it through their lives and always rely on our Father in Heaven and Savior to help them through tough times.

I am so blessed.....

2011-05-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

I have a seriously beautiful family! A couple of weeks ago my cousin Jess and her husband Dave took some MUCH NEEDED pictures of my family. It has been 4 years since we had a family picture and we were missing 8 people. Now, by the end of the year we will only be missing 2. My SIL Lindsey is expecting a baby the end of June and my sister Melissa is expecting a baby in November. We LOVE new babies!

As I look at these pictures I feel so blessed by the family I have. Each one of them is such an amazing person. My parents did a wonderful job at raising their family! I am so grateful for the brothers and sisters I have and for the choices they have made in their lives. The Lord has blessed me!

How quickly we can be humbled....

2011-05-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last weeks started off as any normal week...although it wasn't just a normal week. We were getting ready to go to fly out to California on vacation on Saturday morning with our friends. At FHE on Monday night we told the kids and watched a really fun movie all about Disneyland. We watched our movie from last year because we were also going to Sea World, Lego-Land and the beach. The kids were EXCITED!!

Tuesday morning I got the the kids ready to go so I could drop Sweet Cheeks off at pre-school and then head to the store for the shopping we needed to do for the vacation. Just before we left I hear Sister cry and look over at her. She was playing with the heater vent and she sliced her finger open. I call my sister to come over so she can drive to the Urgent Care with me and hold Sister's finger while we drive because it was bleeding all over. We get there are it is not deep enough for stitches, so they just clean it and wrap it. I was so thankful! I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that THIS was going to be our little bump in the road to get on vacation. Little did I know it would get MUCH worse!

Tuesday night, before I went to bed I noticed that my feet were a little tingly and that my legs felt really tired. I just went to bed and figured I was just tired. Wednesday morning I woke up and noticed that my feet were even more tingly and that my hands were now as well. I got up to go to the bathroom and my legs were REALLY wobbly. As I came back from the bathroom I fell on the floor and could not get up without assistance. I called my parents and told them what I was feeling, they told me to call my sister, who is an MA. I called here and told her what was going on and she told me to call my Dr and if I couldn't get it in I needed to go to the ER.

I called my Dr and they were able to get me in at 9:00. I had Ben take me because everyone was afraid to have me drive. We talked to him and he said it could be a couple of things. One is MS and the other would be Guillain-Barre Syndrome. At that point I still had my reflexes, but was having a hard time walking. He told me I needed to see a Neurologist. They got an appointment for me for May 16th, however my DR said that I needed to be seen ASAP. He called and talked to a Neurologist directly and they said they could see me during his lunch break. We headed right up there. That Dr had me to a couple of things and from there told me he was 99% sure I had Guillian-Barre and that I needed to be admitted to the hospital for treatment. Ben and I asked him about us still being able to go on vacation on Sat and he told us that there was a chance, but it didn't took promising.

So Wed afternoon I was admitted to the hospital. I had to have a Spinal Tap done so that they could verify it was Guillain-Barre. They also started me on the treatment for the syndrome, which is IVIG. It is a 6 hour IV treatment and I would need to have it for 5 days. Thursday morning I woke up and my legs would not work and my arms were REALLY weak. I could not take the cap off my chap-stick or squeeze my lotion bottle or even pick up a drink. I had some Physical Therapists come in that day and explain just what the syndrome is and how it will affect me. That's when I realized just how serious it was and I KNEW we would not be going on vacation. Friday I got a really bad spinal headache from the spinal tap and it was not a good day. I also felt the tingly move up my legs into my lower stomach. I started to get really scared because I knew if it hit my diaphragm I wold most likely end up on a respirator. Thankfully it did stop rising. One of the nurses jokingly (not really) said it stopped because I opted to leave my garments on under the hospital gown. We also were told that we would NOT be making our trip and had to start all the cancellations. We were REALLY bummed out!

Saturday I felt a little better and a little stronger. Sunday came the headaches and nausea again, but it also meant my last treatment and hopefully going home. It was after all Mothers Day! About 4:00 they finally released me. I was able to go home and cuddle with my kiddo's.

So now I start the recovery processes. It may take a while. I feel really good right now, but they told me that would be expected because I am pumped full of meds. In about 2 weeks we will know how my recovery is going. I start rehab on Tuesday, so hopefully that will help as well.

I am so humbled by all the help we have received. I am not able to do much. I can't lift my baby, I can't even walk without assistance. But we have received SO MUCH help. The ward has been bringing in dinners and helping with the kids and Ben, my Mom and Sister have been AMAZING!!!! I will NEVER be able to repay they for all they are doing for me. I am a very independent person and it is SO hard for me to have sit back while everything is done for me. But I am learning to be patient. I am also learning how many Christ-like people there are in this world. The Gospel is true and the power of the Priesthood is very real. I have been the recipient of many prayers and blessings over the past week and I know they have been the reason we caught it so quickly and for a hopeful speedy recovery. I was again reminded of the plaque that sits in my living room that a friend gave me when we had the miscarriage, "God doesn't give us what we can handle, He helps us handle what we are given."

Chuck - E - Cheese

2011-04-27T12:44:00.001-07:00

Last Monday (4/18/11) We met with Sweet Cheeks birthmother again. She is leaving to go out of state for a while and called us up to see if we could get together. OF COURSE!!! When Sweet Cheeks found out he ran to go get his picture of her on his dresser and brought it to us. We asked him if he knew who she was and he said "A." We asked him who "A" was and he told us "my birthmother." The funniest part was that he and K Bear fought most of the week because K Bear said "A" was his birthmother too. KIDS!!!

We went to Chuck-E-Cheese, ate pizza and played and played. We all had a blast and it was so good to see Sweet Cheeks birthmom again.

Easter 2011

2011-04-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. The kiddo's woke up to presents from the Easter Bunny, we went to church and listened to our own dad speak to us...he did a great job, we came home and had some much needed naps and then we had a yummy Easter dinner with my parents and the full-time missionaries. It was a good day!

Solberg Family

2011-04-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

This is seriously a GORGEOUS family!! I have been friends with Amy & Chad for years. I had so much fun taking their pictures and was honored they asked me. Little Parker wasn't a happy camper, but we got some good ones of him. You can view a few of my favorites here.

Dying Eggs 2011

2011-04-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

Every year we get together with my side of the family and dye Easter Eggs. This year was no different. The only difference was that K Bear was now "big" enough to do them on his own, or so he though! He had dye EVERYWHERE! The kids had a lot of fun though and they even got a little treat from Grandma.....Sister thought the book was yummy!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T13:01:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday Ben's family had a birthday lunch and so we decided to make it fun and doing an Easter Egg hunt for all the little ones. My kids LOVED looking for the eggs....and they loved the candy even more. Such cuties!!

Wheeler Farm

2011-04-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Sweet Cheeks had a field trip to Wheeler Farm. It was a nice day (one of the few this month,) and so I called my mom and sister to have them join us. The kids really had a fun time. There were some new baby animals, and the boys liked seeing the horses and cows. they had fun feeding the ducks, but the thing that Sweet Cheeks couldn't stop talking about was the peeing Mountain Goat.

Expecting....

2011-04-15T14:44:00.001-07:00

Ha Ha...I got you all didn't I. Nope, not me that is expecting. My friend Angela is expecting a baby boy any day now. I was thrilled (ok a little nervous) when she asked me to take some maternity photo's for her. We had such fun. You can view a few of my favorites here.

Sunshine!!!

2011-04-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

A week ago the weather was A-MAZING!!! We have been couped up in the house for WAY.TO.LONG. and thus decided to enjoy the new found sunshine. So we....... Went on a walk and ended up at the park.....where we layed on the grass..... ......and played on the jungle gym......

.....and slid down the slides......

The next day we went in our own backyard and enjoyed our new swing set we put in last year.....the kiddos had a BLAST swinging on the swings.....it is Sister's new found joy!

The boys played some basketball....I must say K Bear has quite the shot! NBA...here we come....he only needs to grow several feet!

Just a Reminder

2011-04-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

If you haven't left me a comment by April 15th, here... I am cleaning up my viewer permission list and deleting those that are not still reading to make room for those that want to.

(Katy, I have got you, I just didn't want to post your email.)

Playful Little Girl...

2011-04-10T14:21:00.001-07:00

Kids just grow up WAY.TO.FAST! Especially at this age. They are learning so much so fast. I swear it was just last month all she could do was lay there...now the little one is all over...into everything. She is such a playful little girl. She loves to play with her toys. She can't fully crawl on her hands and knees yet, but she is a little inch worm and can pull herself almost anywhere, usually she gets stuck under her jumper or between the couch and the coffee table. Oh, how I love this little girl though. She brings me such joy and makes me smile.

I Love Basketball....

2011-04-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

For the last 6 weeks or so, Sweet Cheeks has been playing basketball on a Tiny Tots basketball team. He has loved EVERY second of it! He was on the team with his cousins Ethan and Savannah and Ben was the assistant coach with my brother Chris. I have to say he learned quite a bit and it was fun to see these kids actually guarding each other and playing by the end of the season. Such fun!

Bikes & Buffing

2011-04-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

So at our house we call passing gas "buffing." Yesterday it was so nice I decided to take the kids are a walk and to the park. I put the little ones in the stroller and Sweet Cheeks rode his bike. We had a good time. Enjoyed the weather and each other. It came time to go home and Sweet Cheeks got back on his bike. As he is getting going a rock gets stuck under his tire and makes a funny noise to which Sweet Cheeks tells me, "Hey mom, I think my bike just buffed!"

Scrapbook time...

2011-04-01T13:15:00.001-07:00

For those of you that scrapbook and knew what KILLER deals we got a few years back, I am letting you know that I just got some 12x12, 3-ring, leather-bound albums. There are 3 colors...black, light blue and light green. I am selling them for $5.00 each. I only have about 5 of each so if you want one let me know ASAP!

A first....

2011-03-23T13:07:00.001-07:00

Sister finally cut her first tooth....it made it's appearance Monday night. Glad to know all the orneriness was not for nothing!

Luck O' the Irish

2011-03-22T14:06:00.001-07:00

This year I decided to go all out for St Patrick's Day. I had been looking at crafty blogs and got some ideas for the day. Wednesday K Bear, Sweet Cheeks and I made a Leprechaun trap...the rainbow is courtesy of Sweet Cheeks. That night after we went to bed the Leprechaun came and left us a treasure hunt to go on. At the end was a treasure. The kids had so much fun. Sweet Cheeks was hilarious! When he woke up he was so excited to see if we caught the Leprechaun. When we lifted up the box he jumped and screamed. So Funny! Here are some fun pictures of the day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

Do you ever.....

2011-03-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

Do you ever just feel like a failure? Well there are days that I do and the last two days have been some of them. I teach piano lessons....I have for about 12 or so years. Over the years I have had some good, OK GREAT students. The ones that practice, that progress and the ones that make it fun to teach. I get excited for recitals because not only are they showcasing their talents, but it's also a chance for me to toot my horn about how amazing some of these kids are. There was a time, just before K Bear was born that I was teaching 17 students....I know...crazy, but it was great! After K Bear was born I just couldn't do it anymore. I had to cut back...it killed me because I had to lose some students that I would rather not have lost. I went down to 12. Still I had some great students. After Sister was born I had to cut back again. I lost some students that I would rather not had to lose. I went down to 9 students. Over the last little bit two more of the great ones have had to leave for one reason or another. Yesterday as I sat at my piano, playing songs to get ready for recital...I started feeling really sad about losing all the great students. I started to wonder if I am really a very good teacher. Feeling like a failure.

Today, I went to a funeral of a sister in our ward. She was older. 81. She lived a wonderful life. Everyone had so much good to say about her. She was happy, a wonderful mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. She took the time to spend with her son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It made me think about what would be said at my own funeral if I died today. Would my children remember me as the mother who played with them, took them places, taught them things. Would they know I had a testimony of the gospel. Would they know I love them? Or would they remember me by the mother who constantly told them "NO", who brushed them off when they wanted my attention? Who always told them we would do it "later."

There are times I feel like a failure as a mother. That I don't do everything I wish I could, or should do. They are only little for so long, and only just MINE for so long before I have to send them to school and share them with everyone else. There are nights before I go to sleep that I feel like a failure, that I didn't spend enough time with them, I didn't hug them enough, or all I did was yell at them that day.

I pray for a little more patience, a little less selfishness, a little more Christ-like attributes so that one day my children will remember me as the mother that spent time with them, loved them and took the time to let them know what amazing little people they are.

Spring Cleaning....

2011-03-14T15:50:00.001-07:00

It's that time again....I need to do a little blog Spring Cleaning. With Facebook and everything and having my blog private I am needing to delete those that aren't reading anymore so that I have room for those that want to....so if you would leave a comment on this post if you are still reading that would be great! I will have have this up until April 15th because I know if your like me you don't get to reading blogs all the time. Thanks!