Mimi

Nan Nats the fabulous Aunt

2012-02-18T21:08:00.004-07:00

The other day I sent a picture of Mia to Aunt Nats. She replied with, "how do you get such good pictures of her, and all I can get are pictures like this one?" Attached was one of the pictures above. I immediately started to laugh. Mia does like to make a lot of goofy faces... a lot of the time. Then the texts started to fill my inbox of all the pictures Nat has tried to take of my little comedian. She had a lot of these pictures... and then this blog was born.

Nat and Mia have a special friendship. Mia knows that Nat is in her corner and she can pretty much get whatever she asks for from "nan nats." Nat loves her (almost as much as I do) and it's fun to have someone so enamored with my little girlie.

Nat thanks for being the fabulous aunt that you are! My kids have loved the "dog dogs," the girls nights, the jewelry making, the nail painting, the dog walking, the baby shower attending, the nuggling, the fancy gifts, and all the special love attention you have given to them. They are lucky to have you.

My littles love you and so do I!!!

Sundays around here

2012-02-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

While everyone else was in Washington we got a lot done! not really... but I did manage to take a few pictures of Mees ad Sammer after church. Mia's expression is priceless. She looks extra focused in this picture. I had to post it. Sam clearly found some treats.

My mom is such a big part of their lives. I wonder if they will remember everything she does for them. It is a lot! Mia and Sam both love their Nana, and it is well deserved. Thanks mom for everything you do for these two!

Mia's little self... I just love her hair... her dress... her sparkly shoes. She is my girlie girl and loves to wear pretties and do "curler hair."

"Is CODY!" I made the kids come outside and it was probably 1 degree outside.

Sam didn't seem to mind... look at that ridiculously adorable face.

Sundays around here are full of church, relaxing, eating yummy food, and then relaxing some more. I love Sundays. I wish we had two Sundays a week.

Trip back to Washington

2012-02-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

Mimi found 60 dollar flights to WA and we could not resist. This was perfect timing since we weren't able to make it for Christmas and the kids were in serious need of some Washington time. In the end it was just Jensen, Ellie and myself. It turned out to be a really good time. It just so happens that leaving the little monsters home is more conducive to relaxing and having conversation with other adults!

The kids were so much fun to fly with. They were excited and it seemed that everything was fun and exciting for them. Ellie spent half of the flight back with the sterwardesses. She would go back and chat them up for a while, and in between socializing she would bring back a new shipment of peanuts and drinks.

Not sure what this face is all about...Probably worried that she would soon run out of peanuts.

The first night we stayed over at my dad's house. That was really fun since we have never really had the opportunity to stay over with Grandma and Grandpa McDonald since we had lived so close for so many years. When we arrived at the house, we were happy to find Ryan, Shanna and their kids were there. I hadn't met baby Caden yet and was able to get acquainted. I took a lot of pics so I could make Mimi jealous of all my baby time. Meanwhile, Jensen was having a good time trying out the "kinect" game console. He was also introduced to Halo on the big screen, another smash hit.

We had a really nice day with Dad and Carol and were able to have some delicious gourmet scrambled eggs, we did some serious fishing in uncle Joe's neat fishing boat and we played some harrowing rounds of go-fish. We had such a good time exploiting the kids that I laughed so hard I had tears coming out my eyeballs. The kids were fun to manipulate and COULD NOT resist picking the old maid that was all too obviously poking out of the top.

Here we are on the boat. It was a really nice calm day for fishing.

Later, we headed over to Thai Chili for some good eats with Dad, Carol and all six of us McDonald siblings.

Next we headed over to grandma and grandpa Conway's house. On our way we picked up some cousins. I don't remember being invited to this snuggle party...

Ellie and Evie getting hair done by grandma. I love how my mom is always fixing up cute girlie hairdo's. I have a pretty mean french braid, but most I can't do.

Jense and Levi- a few months apart as well as a few inches apart in height.

Ellie and Karissa. Together at last.

The annual Christmas tree torch! An essential part of family tradition.

We were taking turns showing off different skills, and when it came to longest tongue I looked over at Jens and almost had a laughing fit as my own progeny seemingly unrolled his tongue. Meanwhile, aunt Heather won the prize for shortest tongue in the western states. She never would have made it had she been born a cat or anteater.

An early birthday song to Ellie

The boys are showing grandpa the ways of the DSi.

Knocked out.

Fun with Jeff. Always down for a good time and socializing, we were pleased that Jeff and Logan were able to come and visit with us while we were hanging out with the Eugenio's. He turned into a one man entertainment show. First he fried up several different veggies. Multiple colored carrots, italian broccoli (google this, it was really cool looking and quite tastey.) It actually tasted a lot like cauliflower. Phase II he whipped out his tea equipment. He had several different types of teas that were quite delicious. It was interesting that several of the flavors were sweet even without the addition of sugar. My favorite quote for the day from Jeff was, "What can I say, I like tea parties!" Anne and Dillon were fun to hang out with and converse with as usual. Thanks for letting us drop in on you guys!

And for the grand finale Jeff whipped up some bananas foster. Ellie went hog wild over this. The first thing she said to me the day we got home was, "I need some Foster."

We stopped by the Pierce residence to hang out, laugh, eat etc. The kids played and it was fun to see them with their old pals.

The Dolan's have added an awesome new addition to their family, a pingpong table. They really have a nice place for entertaining peeps. Lots of room, big kitchen, entertainment center and good company. I let Chris beat me down in pong...being a guest and all.

Jensen got to spend a night over at the Kovacs residence.

I like to see Jensen getting tossed around by Levi. Having no big brother, he needs all the toughening up he can get.

Whoa! Glad he made it out of this scenario in one piece.

At the time we left Utah we had seen hardly a flake of snow all winter...and this is us living in the Utah mountains and it was already January! Well, Washington dumped 5 inches on us while we were there. Too funny that we had to come back to WA to get our snow fix.

Here are some of those Kovacs cousins. We sure miss playing with you guys.

Looks like Jens build himself a bunker, ready for a snowball throwdown.

One of my favorite things about the trip was all the baby snuggling I got to do. Making up for lost time. Just look at these cuties.

The entire bowling crew. On the last day a bunch of the family was able to make it town to the bowling alley for some good times.

The hugs goodbye were really sweet.

That's a lot of love.

Soaking up some serious Dolan. Look at these beauties.

Bowl it!

A knuckle sandwich? That's not nice.

These guys really love to travel

Jensen was cracking me up. On our flights, he got a lot of comments on his airforce jumpsuit and a serious double take after it sunk in that this kid was wearing bug-eyes.

It was all I could do to keep them from climbing on for a ride. I swear they rode each escalator a dozen times. I guess they get that from me. I raced them going down the wrong way. I realized you get different looks when you do that as an adult, than when you are a kid. Interesting.

Jensen and Ellie were sad when it was all over. Jensen said, "Dad, it is really fun before we go to Washington, but not very fun when it is all over."

Here is must be looking at something or remembering something disgusting.

Happy Valentines Day Meems

2012-02-14T20:49:00.003-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day Mimi! You are even hotter today than you were when you took this Glamor Shots photo. I love you and I want to have your babies.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELVIS!!

2012-02-14T11:17:00.001-07:00

My little girl turns 7 Today!!!

Ellie you are my little firecracker

and I love you so!

I hope you have a perfect birthday today!

My not so NEW job

2012-02-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sooooo... I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet, but I have been busy blogging about them on a different site. Back in the beginning of November I was hired on as the assistant coach to the wonderfully fabulous Waspettes. At the time, I actually had no idea how fabulous they would be, but it didn't take me long to realize that I had made a great choice. The job had been posted for quite awhile before I decided to apply. I had a back and forth struggle only because I would have to have my mom get my kiddos off to school a couple of days a week. Between John's schedule and my mom's willingness (unless she is a good liar) it has worked out really well so far. I LOVED being a Waspette myself, and knew it would be really rewarding. I don't know how to sum up the last three and a half months, but here are some things I have loved about coaching these girls.

- One of my first interactions with them was me laughing at how they are in love with Justin Beiber. I thought it was a laugh together, we are all in faux love with Justin Beiber... nope. They legitimately love him, and talk about him like teenagers would. I learned quickly that despite not feeling even one day older than them... I am. I am much older than them, and I would need to appreciate their honest adoration for "JB." Luckily I have a JB in my life... so when they refer to "JB" I just think of my man. They are endearing... refreshing.... Justin Beiber loving teenagers and I love them to pieces!

- I love dancing! I just can't escape being affiliated with a dance program somewhere. Watching these girls dance and LOVE IT, is shuga for my soul. They can move you with their lyrical, make you angry with their military, smile with their character dance, feel inspired with their dance drill, and make you want to join in their hip hop. They love to dance and being there every single morning is a true joy. Getting out of bed is another story... but once I'm there- I'm thrilled.

- My kids have loved their interaction with the Waspettes. Other than the early mornings, this is an extremely kid friendly job. Here they are getting ready for the flag ceremony and Mia is running around like she owns the joint. It cracks me up to see her weave in and out of them without a care in the world.

- Mia even calls them the "Waspettes" and says it perfectly. She is a little mini mascot and has loved watching them dance too. It's fun to watch her face watching them... she is almost in a trance.

The kids get plenty of attention from the girls. It's just fun!

During a basketball game (favorite part of my kids' week) the fire alarm went off so we all ended up outside. I love how Jense just wants his helicopter to charge so he can fly it already. He loves going to the games and has made some friends to hang out with. He doesn't pay too much attention to the girls, but he does call them the "black girls." so awesome.

All of the girls and super sweet. This seems really rare for a large group of teenage girls, but it's true... they are loving and kind to each other, and I have never heard one unkind thing said... at all. I am so proud of this, they are truly beautiful people.

Besides being really good to each other (and us coaches) they are full of spunk and personality. They have fun and are genuinely funny. I just can't say enough about this team. I am already lamenting the day when this school year is over and half of them graduate. It will be so entirely different without them.

Sammers is kind of a wild card at the games so he gets left at home most of the time. When he does come he enjoys himself, but he just wants to go up and down the bleachers and he wants his mom to go with him.

Anytime music is playing he is dancing. He was going crazy during the halftime dances. He is a hoot. He was entertaining a little crowd there for a minute. My little up-stager.

I loved when Sammy reached for some of the girls. He is a pretty friendly guy, but showing affection to them was just down right adorable. I swear I don't know how every post I have ever written about anything besides my kids... morphs into a post about my kids. It's a disease!

The head coach Miss Jordan is hilarious. She is much younger than I am as well, but she can often bridge the gap for me. I have been out of the drill team loop for so long... and so much has changed... that she keeps me up to speed. We also quote a lot of Brian Regan, I wonder if any of the girls have ever wondered what in the world we are talking about. They just seem to ignore us when we are laughing in practice. She is a great coach and I hope to be coaching with her for FOREVER :-) This picture was after our first competition and we had a random guy take the picture... but things just got really strange, really fast.

The one person that I think is the most in love with the Waspettes... in fact I know she would beat out anyone for the number one spot is my very own 6 year old Elvis! She is OBSESSEDDDDD with these girls. no lie. She asks every single stinking day when the next time is that she can see her "drill team girls." I think hanging out with the Waspettes is a lot like being at Disneyland for this girl. She is always right in the mix and sometimes proves to be helpful.

I have never had Ellie so motivated to do things she needs to do if she knows that being with the Waspettes is the reward. She gets her room clean faster than she ever has in her life. She pretty much does whatever she is asked if she knows that drill team hangs in the balance. It has been a lovely bargaining chip with her... thank you Waspettes!

She truly loves these girls and can't imagine her life without them. My kids ask me often when will we be moving back to Washington. I always tell them that I am not sure and it all depends on if daddy gets into his program at school. Last week after she asked me when we get to move, I told her that when we do move that we won't be able to see the Waspettes, she was in immediate hysterics. When she stopped crying she said, "I never want to move... actually I want to move, and I want them all to move with me." Oh my daughter.

The girls have done really well at the competitions so far, and I know they are going to finish the season really well. They are all beautiful dancers, and I'm glad we still have the rest of this school year together. Ellie does too!

* update: competitions are done... the Waspettes did GREAT! More update to come

Cutest CHD face

2012-02-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

"Once on a time" (Mia says that a lot) there was a little girl name Mia.

She had a CHD

Then she was given an angel heart

A little boy's heart named Jacob

We love him

She has to get her blood tested often

When we get in the car she often mistakes where we are headed for the lab

"go get an owie poke?" she asks

"not today."

"oh, okay... no owie poke mia?"

"nope."

On the day that we do have to get an owie poke she talks about it like it is a treat.

" Mia turn? owie poke? right there?" (pointing to her arm)

"oooo sticker Mia?"

"Mia turn? Mia turn?"

As she sits in the chair she indicates to the lady where to draw her blood

She asks her if she is going to get a bow.

Once the draw begins Mia cries for a second then says, "oh, did ya get it?"

It makes me want to cry when she asks this.

She has probably heard me ask them if they found her vain... over and over again.

Once they are all done she celebrates: "All DONE!"

Then with a big smile she loudly exclaims, "THANK YOU!"

I don't think she has ever had a blood draw that she didn't say thank you.

She is beyond gracious.

You can tell by the picture that she is all smiles even at the owie poke place.

It makes me wonder if her personality would be any different without all of the "owie pokes."

CHD snippet #2

Nearly twice as many children die from Congenital Heart Defects in the United States each year as from all forms of childhood cancers combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for Congenital Heart Defects

Santa, is that you?

2012-02-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

I forgot about these pictures chillin' in our b-team camera. I have the perfect story to go along with my little Santa kids.

Sam, as you are all aware, is by far my busiest kiddo. He is crazy busy...all day... everyday. Lately when I am upstairs and he is downstairs he comes to find me. I usually have about two minutes before he realizes that I am not in the room. Mr. Speedy himself heads up the stairs to find me...all the while calling, "MOM!? MOMA!? MOMEEEEE!? Once he reaches the top of the stairs he goes from room to room opening the door and yelling MOM??? There are seven rooms upstairs, and after about his third room or so he gets a little more serious. He opens the door goes inside and in a serious voice quietly asks: "mom?" then after a few seconds he quietly asks, "Santa?"

I LOVE THIS! I laugh out loud every single time. "mom?" "Santa?" I can't get enough. The best thing about this is that he has done this a half a dozen times! I wonder if he is really expecting to find Santa one of these days. I just can't get over how hilarious this is. Santa, is that you?

February is CHD month

2012-02-05T23:09:00.000-07:00

This is the face of CHD!

I am a few days behind, but I wanted to kick off February with a post about my little CHD girlie! I love promoting CHD awareness and always feel a little more expressive in February because it is CHD awareness month.

Mia girl- CHD survivor- transplant recipient- happiest little 3 year old alive-

living with an angel heart!

If you need a cause to promote... this is a guh-oooood one. So many mamas are having babies with CHD's. Chances are you know someone- other than the precious face pictured above that has a CHD. We are gaining in numbers, and we need to be diminishing. I have a few more posts coming about CHD's- hopefully by the end of February you will be experts on this cause!

One of my fellow heart moma's has been super busy creating these great personalized CHD hearts. She has been making them for all the Inter-mountain healing hearts kiddos. A.Rae, thanks for the cute lady bugs for my little lady bug. I love it.

CHD snippet 1)

Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 birth defect worldwide

Enter Ninjago!!

2012-01-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

My kids are suddenly obsessed with lego Ninjagos. It's all the rage in this household. In fact, Ellie and I have been talking about her birthday party and she all but convinced me that she truly, honestly, undeniably wants a ninjago party. I would have been fine with that... but when we started looking up ideas online, she quickly changed her mind to a sparkly party!! She assured me that she would DEFINITELY have a ninjago party next year.

Jense is considering changing his name to ninjago. He cannot be found without a ninjago item in his hand... or pocket... or backpack. Whenever he goes... they go.

The second grade program was a few weeks back. It was all about reading. The children were assigned parts according to their favorite book. Jensen decided he wanted to be a ninjago. I had one day warning because he could not decide so my mom and I (yes yes... I helped) made him this little ninja costume. After the initial sewing I fell fast asleep while my mom finished up. These pictures were taken after the program and he was fidgeting with his mask the entire time so it doesn't look as official as it did.

His part was "I am Kai the ninjago and I fight bad guys with my awesome ninja skills." He is so endearing when he gets in the spot light. His shyness surfaces, and he will participate, but I know it is difficult for him. After the program he came and gave me a hug and proclaimed, "Mom! That was easy!" This is a phrase that I have ingrained in that boy. When I was trying to train him out of the sidelines and into the action he would always refuse and I focused a lot on giving him a lot of praise when he would try something new. The phrase, "Mom, that was easy" has been in existence for years... and we re-visit it now and again. I'm proud of you Jense!

This guy shows you how to turn a regular old T-shirt into a ninja mask. We have had fun with this. We are now a family of ninjas! Pardon his language... there are also videos out there if you'd rather watch the instruction. Go get your ninja on. I don't think i will be getting my red t-shirt back... any time soon. Jense has labeled it his ninja mask, soooo I won't hold my breath.

The person that came up with ninja legos is a genius...
and I am paying them handsomely for their ingenuity!

What I love about small towns

2012-01-30T15:50:00.001-07:00

- Today I took Mia into the local publishing office and as we were standing there waiting for our printing order when an older gentleman walked in the door. He made a bee-line over to Mia and hit her on the head with a small book he was holding. She of course thought this was hilarious. I was caught off guard, but I have an affinity for elderly people so just thought he was cute. He asked Mia where the Christmas present she bought for him was. She immediately replied, "I'm six!... I'm six too." The man laughed at her but continued to question her about where his gift was. Mia just kept telling him, "yep yep yep!" It was adorable. He asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said, "Christmas present!" He said, "Well, she seems easy to please." After a few minutes, two more people walked into the building and quickly struck up a conversation with Mia. She felt like a little celebrity with so many people wanting her attention. When the one gentlemen said that he couldn't hear her she quickly ran to him and touched his leg while she repeated herself that "I go to preschool too!" There just seems to be a lot of friendly people here.

- Without fail you see someone you know at the grocery store... sometimes you run into two or three people. It's fool proof- grocery stores+small towns= a lot of chit chat.

- You are never stuck in traffic... EVER! It takes the same amount of time to get anywhere... at any time of day. So lovely.

- You can go ice skating a few blocks from where you live. Okay, this isn't really small town specific, but it is something I love about this small town!

- I have yet to wait in line at the post office... no lie. You walk in, you send off your packages or what have you... and you get on with it.

- Everyone seems to be related to someone that you know.

- The local newspaper highlights births/weddings/first birthdays/high school sports. The paper is all about people who live in the community. Love it.

- Seeing deer grazing in someone's front yard is commonplace. Again, more location of this small town, but it's still unique.

- No traffic lights.

- Life is just slower here.

* You probably guessed that this post is old. It is. Like I said... life is just slower here- and my blogging is no exception.

It was a spooky night

2012-01-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Mia says the most adorable things. One of my favorite things that she refers to often is "spooky night." Spooky night basically means anything dark or barely lit. When we turn off the lights she announces, "it's a spooky night." I always want her to say spooky night... always.

It's finally HERE!

2012-01-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

It's a little late, but the snow finally decided to show up. Sam loves the snow and will barely hold still long enough to get his snow gear on. Sorry about the pink pants buddy! I have no idea where the snow pants your size (that aren't pink) are. I loved watching him try to navigate through the snow... in his boots. He kept looking back at me yelling, "SNOW! SNOW!" I feel the same way!

Mia stood in one spot for quite awhile. I don't know if she knew what to do.

"Mom, you stuck me out here in the cold, now what?"

Once she started walking around making foot prints she really started to enjoy herself.

The snow is so beautiful! As I was shoveling the drive way (I only shoveled for about one minute) I had flashbacks to when the snow was so high we could jump from the roof into the snow. We're going to need a lot more snow fall if my kids are going to re-peat that adventure. It's time to take these crazies sledding.

Happy New Year ala Ice Skating

2012-01-17T13:45:00.001-07:00

We had nothing to do after Christmas so we headed up to the skating rink a few blocks away. The sun was shining, and not a single cloud was in the sky. It is so strange to be hot... outside... a few days after Christmas!! This has been the warmest/ non wintery winter of my life. Where is the SNOW?? I got the kids all bundled up, and we all immediately took off the layers because it was crazy hot. We were skating comfortably with short sleeves on. This is what Christmas in Arizona must fee like.

Mia tried a few laps, then we benched her. Not really... she liked it alright, but asked to sit down.

She had a much better time in the stroller! Safe and Sound in the stroller!

We tried to get her to smile, but she was being grouchy that day. This is the face she makes often... it is the "I don't want to, but I want to" face.

The "snellers" joined us.

Still not wanting to smile- little goofball

Sammers was supposed to be napping, so he was pretty chill the entire time. We rarely see him in this state. He is either rapidly destroying the place, or sleeping. I loved him just chill and sleepy.

Jense took to the ice quickly and probably enjoyed it the most out of everyone.

John actually put on some skates and took a few laps around the rink....then he decided it wasn't for him. If there is a sport where he could potentially "break his tailbone" he is out. He stayed with Ellie, and took a majority of the pics.

Ellie got into it there at the end. She kept asking me where her "figure skates" were. I laughed it off, but realized after the fact that we did in fact own a pair of white figure skates.

Hmmmm... I wonder what happened to those?

Ultra Concentration. She made it quite a ways by herself, but discovered that the other kids were off eating treats... so she abandoned the rink for some snacks.

My mini moma loved pushing the stroller... and got a good feel for the ice with some assistance before trying it out solo.

Kye has some skating skills... he must get them from his dad! His dad, i am told, played hockey.

Go Hawks! (his fake team that I just made up) :-)

COUPLES SKATE!!

The music was perfect for a couples skate

John and I were getting a kick out of the song choices!

1 boy + 1 bag of Doritos's = best afternoon EVER!

Ellie was cracking me up because she kept skating against the grain. It didn't really matter, but it just goes to show that this girl is a free spirit and DOES HER OWN THING!

Snacking spectators.

I was chattin' with a family on this bench for awhile. They thought Mia was adorable.

I will never get tired of people telling me how cute she is.

She wins people over with one interaction because she is so sweet and friendly.

I was totally laughing as I was clicking away at my sister and her husband. He was gearing up for a smooch, while Suz was gearing up for her closeup. I just love the lean in... and the deny! love it.

He got her on the next lap.

Mr Kye... just being sweet.

We went out to eat after skating.
The plan was to go to the grill room at the Homestead, but they were completely shut down... the entire Homestead.

Instead we went across the street to the Zermatt. Lovely place.

The kids loved the huge tree and the little waterfall in the lobby.

I was reminded in more ways than one (if you follow me) why I rarely take my four children to an eating establishment... together. They are cute though- I will give them that!

Teach me to Pray

2012-01-10T22:26:00.001-07:00

My minis are really into praying. Mia and Sam take turns saying the prayer at meal time... they both need a turn! Mia loves to squint and often has a really happy/entertained look on her face. Sam will close his eyes for a second, then blinks rapidly throughout the rest of the prayer.

"MEN!"

Sam has to get his "MEN!!!!" out of the way before he will take it seriously. Somewhere along his prayer education path he learned to scream "MEN (amen)" as loud as he can almost immediately after the prayer begins. He is really enthusiastic about his "men" and we only reinforce him because we can't stop laughing. Here he is yelling "men" while Mia is taking it seriously. I caught this sweet little interaction between them on my camera.

"No sammy, close your eyes yike dissss!"

"now say, Heamly Fader..."

"Dis Day"

"food, bessings, family, nana, papa, jense, ellie, mia sam, mommy, daddy, Jacob family, peeschool, good day, be happy, be nice, dos right (do what's right)."

"AMEN!"

"MEN!!!"

"here Sam, now take a bite."

"Owe, Sammy did it... he bite Mia."

A mother disguised as a big sister

2012-01-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

Ellie and her "two babies"

Ells is the main mother of the household. It so difficult sometimes being the actual mother of the real mother. She seems to have all the answers... good ideas... toddler strategies, etc. There really is no use arguing with the girl. She was put on this earth to be a mother and she is getting her training early! I think the phrase that I say more than any other as a mother is "Ellie, leave the baby be!" Sometimes I even ask nicely. :-) The term "baby" encompasses both Sam and Mia. Mia loves being included in the baby category so we just leave her there. She (Mia) asks me on a daily basis if I want to "snuggle two babies?" The answer is always yes. When I carry them both down the stairs she announces, "moma's two babies." She likes being one of the babies... we like it too. She is also a "big girl" and a "princess" on most days as well. Most of the time the "babies" don't mind the attention, but Ellie has a way of trying to force them into playing library, or school, or kitchen, or anything... and they scream like they've been stabbed. This is when the "leave them be!!" demands ensue. I wish I was exaggerating, but we deal with this on a daily basis. I need the book, parenting a child who wants to be the mother... if one exists.

Often Ellie's insistence on taking care of the "two babies" comes in handy. She is creative and keeps them occupied for a long time. This mothering a mother does have it's perks I suppose.

Mia looks so happy. She plays the little sister role so perfectly. She would sit in that box all day long if Ellie continued to push her around. That particular night Ellie had a difficult time managing the two who both wanted turns... so she cut a hole in the box and put them in together

Sam rode around on the flap..looking enormous I might add. They stayed in this box together for longer than you would think a three and one year old would.

Ellie just adores these kids. They seem to be more than willing to be the adorees.

I have distinct memories of being maneuvered via my pink "bed spread." I remember longing for my turn to last longer. I never got my fill of this activity. The kids play this often, and I finally got the camera out to remember these little goof-balls just as they were.

I thought this picture was fitting for this post. This is the tile that Ellie gave to John and I for Christmas. She decorated it and said what she wanted to be. "When I grow up I want to be a.... mom." Her truest most honest desire. There is no doubt in my mind that this is what she wants very most of all. Hopefully she won't get burned out with all the current mothering she's doing. :-)

Elles, you are a great little moma- thanks for your help!

He's a maniac... maniac

2012-01-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sammer Jam keeps us hop hop hoppin' all day long.

He wanted to wear this fancy headband... so we went ahead and let him.

Sammers newest development is how he likes to get in trouble, and then report to an adult about what he has done. If he knows something is a "no no" he will attempt it and then bring the evidence or yell from the scene of the crime. He is usually yelling, "Nana! Nana!" in a semi panicked voice. He loves the attention he gets, and then he runs around saying, "no no no no." to himself. It is quite amusing. We probably shouldn't enjoy it as much as we do because it is going to burn us in the end, but we can't resist the need laugh at this little ball of energy. The best is when he points his finger at himself and said, "no no no!"

These pictures were taken before he started making his latest facial expression... THE SCOUL! or as we like to call it, his "mad doggin" face. It's pretty much to die for- you'll see.

When he is not destroying something he really is the funnest kid to have around. He loves to play and giggle and rough house all day long. He can carryout a conversation in his own little way, and says the most random words perfectly. He wants to help me doing everything, and is the epitome of monkey see monkey do.

We sure love you Sammers!

My brother in law emailed me this clip... he caught a little of Sam's craziness on his fancy phone.

Christmas Jammies

2012-01-02T19:25:00.001-07:00

Christmas morning all of the kids got these adorable Jammies from their Grandma Conway.

It is a yearly tradition- she makes 30+ sets of pajamas now. Now that's some sewing!

The fabric says "I love Grandma" They had better love her after all of that sewing! :-)

The kids were being extra goofy while we were trying to get a good shot to send to grandma to say thanks.

This is usually how taking pictures of my four kids goes down-

"OK, say cheese!" "hands out of your mouth Mia"

"Jense look over here dude" "Ellie, can you smile for real?"

I usually give up, and just join in the fun.

The kids are out of control. Someone... rescue me... or at least relive me of my picture taking duties.

*Sam's little fingers are going to dislocate- love!

Each part of the pajamas are individually monogrammed. I love Sam's tank.

Maybe if they don't have to look at the camera at all... I will get a good picture.

Grandma, thanks so much for the lovely Jammies. The kids love them, I love them, and the kids will be nice and toasty this winter. To view previous version of the Jammies click on pretty much any Christmas post from any year. Last year, all the cousins were together for a picture... that's a lot of Jammies. This is such a fun tradition, and I know the kids look forward to it every year.

Christmas Morning and celebrating Jacob's life.

2011-12-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

This Christmas was wonderful. Christmas morning is exponentially more exciting as a parent of four small children, than any year I can remember. It was a great morning... and I think everyone was really happy with the gifts they received. As always... here is an entirely too long blog with entirely too many pictures. That's just how I do it.

First up, Mia received that "purple one... Mia" sleepbag she was hoping for. She has enjoyed it these last few days and can now participate in all the sleeping bag ghost games.

Santa brought a lot of treats... too many treats really.

Santa found a deal he couldn't refuse on Jensen's #1 item.

It was very worth it! This kid was ecstatic about his new gadget.

Little mis Happy is jumping for Joy... literally.

I don't think she really believed that all the goodies were for her.

A little sampling of what was in the stockings. Everyone gets new headphones from Santa.. YAY! Headphones disappear like chocolate around here. It seems someone is always needing to be plugged into something.

Mia was thrilled at her tray full of goodies!

I can't say I blame her- those white/vanilla tootsie rolls are YuuuumEEE!

This is the end of the crazy/sleepy normal Christmas morning hair-do's because after they saw what Santa brought we had to make a mad dash to church. Our church is super early! Which worked out nicely on this day. None of the kids put up a fight at all- it was lovely. I wish I had a picture of them all ready for church on Christmas Day, but they were like little ninja's already changed and ready to open gifts before I walked through the door.

We took turns opening gifts one by one. Mia got involved with opening gifts besides her own and watching her opening all of those gifts was a gift to us all.

We made the mistake of letting Sammers open his "CHOO CHOO" early on in the game.

He absolutely loved it- and didn't want to open anything else.

We had to pry him away from the "CHOO CHOO" to get him to open anything else. He sure loves his train. I kind of wish we still had our train table. I'm sure he would spend all day bellied up to that thing.

Miss Mia opening up gifts for her Papa! Pistachios are the perfect gift for him.

Ells got her number one wish... a walking/barking dog. She also got her American Girl doll clothes.. and two new winter coats. She cannot find her coat EVER! Now at least we have a few more to lose.

Ellie is such a gifty girl. She mostly likes to give gifts... but it's fun to see the look on her face when she receives them!

Sammers refusing to be disturbed while playing with his new train.

New outfits... I think she had them all on the doll before we were done opening gifts... there were five new outfits. Joanns is the BEST place for new outfits- if your girls are into American girl dolls.

Naners got some curlers from Boonie. These curlers will forever remind me of my mom. I think these are to serve as replacements... they are the exact curlers she has used my entire life.

My boys! Sammers did take a few breaks from the train to load up on candy. The kids got some excellent gifts from their grandparents this year. Thank you grandparents for the cute clothes, yummy homemade jammies, and sonicare toothbrushes. My kids are so lucky! I will post pictures of the outfits/PJ's as soon as I take them :-) Maybe I'll even get a picture of them all brushing their teeth :-) It's always sad not to be with all family members around Christmas.
We sure missed seeing you all at the holiday gatherings.

I should have known that Mia and Sam would want to own that dog! Christmas morning quickly turned in to Christmas fighting once that dog was out of the box... not to be confused with cat out of the bag ;-) Everyone needed a turn... and 1 year olds aren't keen on sharing.

The kids were so happy with their gifts which made for really happy parents! The night before Christmas we stayed up watching the nativity, and you tube videos about Jesus' birth. The kids were captivated and wanted to keep watching. I would have let them just fall asleep with me, but I still had lots of gifts to wrap and I would have hated from them to be awakened up by Santa.

A few hours later the troops showed up. We had a lovely Mexican Dinner with the most delicious enchilada sauce known to man. My mom and I cooked everything all while listening to THIS CD. I couldn't stop laughing. After a few hours though... I had to turn it off. Once we turned on a Christmas CD where actual humans were singing i was shocked to learn that Mia knows quite a few Christmas songs I had no idea she knew. I know they were practicing some at preschool, but couldn't believe how many words she could recall from various songs. She has "up on the rooftop" down pat.

Sammers finally gets his turn with the "dog dog." Sometimes I wish we could have pets for the sake of my kids. Sam would just just eat up a little puppy. He really would. He loves my sisers dogs, so I guess that will have to do for now.

My sister and I planned on giving these monster rice krispie treats bricks to my dad to be funny. He loves rice krispies... a lot. After we bought them at the store the kids (hers and mine) needed a bribe, so we had to sacrifice one. It's not as funny to get just one, but it is still an unusually size rice krispy treat. He didn't laugh... but we were laughing... we had been holding out for over a month.

After dinner Papa set up his trains. This was the highlight for Sam and Mia. It was fun to see the train whiz by all aglow. We turned the lights out and just watched the train.

The train is so fancy that it smokes as it is going around the track. Sam was fine, until he was by himself in the corner when the smoke started puffing out of the train. He was terrified. I rescued him from the scary train, but couldn't stop laughing that it was the smoke he was afraid of. So cute.

Boys and Trains.... I don't know which they like better...trains, or electronic gaming devices.

Throughout my youth at Christmas time I have very distinct memories of laying next to the train... as close as possible without getting hit. Despite convincing myself not to blink the next time it came around, I always blinked. The train always went around the tree (not possible with Sam this year) and I think it must have had sharper corners back then.

Mia tried it out... but wasn't close enough to be afraid for her life... I mean her face. No blinking.

Yep... that's how it goes... one second you're brave... the next you are sure that the train is going to smack you in the face!

Little train conductor Mia!

She just wanted to stop and start the train over and over.

She also likes to hold down the whistle button for a long time.

Girl's like trains too! Ellie, Mia, and the doll Ellie didn't let go of for 24 hrs enjoyed their time as conductors.

Jense wants one of these trains next year... good luck Jense! :-)

Thanks for getting the trains out Papa... it wouldn't be Christmas in Utah without them!

After all of the kids had a turn running the train, we gathered to sing Happy birthday to our sweet angel baby Jacob. He was born on Christmas Day and we celebrate his life everyday via our little Mia, but we have a tradition to sing to him on his birthday. He would have been four years old on Christmas day. We love and honor him and his precious little heart which has been our biggest blessing. It was really touching for me to have a lot of my family singing... "dear Jacob." It's almost more than my heart can bear- to think of his moma on his birthday. We love you both!

Merry Christmas!!

Boo visit

2011-12-23T22:52:00.001-07:00

My little sister has the cutest little "squirrely" girl ever! This is her first time meeting her Grampa. She thought he was fine and dandy, but was fascinated with his reading glasses.

While Ava was busy with her grandparents her mommy was busy giving Mia loves. I do have to admit that it is extremely easy to love this little girl. She is sweet and polite and full to the brim with adorable things to say.

As usual Ellie wanted to keep Ava. No one loves babies as much as my baby. It's true!

Mia waiting patiently for a turn and got Ava giggling.

I don't think that Mia has held another baby besides Sam.

I'm pretty sure she was enjoying herself.

Ava, anytime you come to visit you are guaranteed non stop attention and a couple of girl cousins who want to keep you... for keeps.

While we sat and visited, the kids needed their daily dose of rough housing. Aunt Rae taught us this new fancy "circus trick." We usually just hold them by their feet... but this is much more comfortable.

Sammer Jam turns into crazy baby when he gets up in the air. I can't hold him anymore because I am too afraid to drop him. For some reason John is unaffected by his squirminess.

I'll stick with the "sit and drive."

My sister recently hurt her back... hopefully it wasn't all of the foolery that messed her up.

Mia turned the front room into a racetrack.

We learned the hard way that all fun and games comes to a screeching halt if one of the racers decides to run in the opposite direction.

I wish I had more time with my sis. It stinks that they will probably always live out of state. I guess I lived out of state... but now that I'm home I want everyone home :-)

LUCKILY- they flew back into town the week after.

This time she brought along her husberdin.

We had a lovely time visiting and ended up going on the train AGAIN with her family. I'm glad we went because Mia got really into it this time and participated in singing songs into the microphone. She went up probably three or four times to say "HO HO HO" loudly.

Sammers is still terrified of Santa... although in this picture he looks intriqued. When I told my mom to try and put him on Santa's lap he immediately started clawing his way back to Nana.

Jense asked Santa for a DS, and a remote control helicopter. I think remote control helicopters have been on the list for three years running now.

Mia asked for "Christmas pesents" again. So sweet. Although the other night when the kids were playing in their sleeping bag Mia kept asking for a turn. I asked her if she wanted a sleeping bag and she said, "yeah... sleeping bag Mia... a purple one." You better believe that she'll be getting a purple sleeping bag come Christmas morning. :-)

Ells wanted a furreal walking dog, and American girl doll clothes. I think I might have already mentioned this in the last post I did about the north pole express... I rode the train three separate times so the experiences are running together in my mind.

If you didn't go on the train this year... plan to go next year. My kids loved it!

12 Days of Christmas

2011-12-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

This year we did the 12 days of Christmas for all the kids teachers. Again, thanks pintrest. We changed some of the ideas and kept some... but it is too cute not to share. I should have taken pictures along the way, but I was about at my limit preparing nine gifts for 12 days. Next year I will prepare them ALL on the same day. I always plan to be on top of all of the holiday rigmarole, but I haven't been successful yet.

Here are the print-outs.

ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…a partridge in a pear tree. Sorry, but we can’t find the partridge, so we are giving you some pears from the tree the partridge flew away from. (attach to a can of pears)

ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…two turtle doves…but we are fresh out of them…will candy turtles do? (attach note to caramel turtles)

ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…three French hens…well, we don’t have any French hens, so we’re giving you some chicken noodle soup, compliments of the three French hens. (attach to can of chicken noodle soup).

ON THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…four calling bird. Those calling birds flew away. Here is some bird seed incase they decide to come back. (Attach sunflower seeds)

ON THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…five golden rings, but sorry, we’re too poor for golden rings, but we got you some golden pineapple rings instead. (attach to can of pineapple rings)

ON THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…six geese a laying, but we thought the song said, "grease a sprayin." Maybe this can help with your holiday cooking (attach Pam spray) - my mom thought of this one :-)

ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…seven swans a swimming! OK, we looked for the swans, but couldn’t only find these fish swimming. (attach package of gold fish) you could also use Swedish fish...mmmmm

ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…eight maids a-milking. Here is some milk we got from the eight maids — we think they must have been milking some brown cows! (attach to a container of chocolate milk)

ON THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…nine ladies dancing…Here are some canes used by the nine ladies who were out dancing all night! (attach to a nine candy canes)

ON THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS: your true love gave to you…ten lords-a-leapin’ – Here are some energy bars that the Lord's used to get all of their energy. (attach energy bar)

ON THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…eleven pipers piping, but we thought the song said pipers popping. Popping is more fun, right? (attach bag of homemade carmel popcorn)

ON THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you…twelve drummers drumming, but we figured twelve drummers drumming would take up way too much room, so we drummed up some treats for you…hope they keep this from being just another hum-”drum” day for you! (attach to a plate of treats)

Park City Get away

2011-12-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Me and Monica a la cell phone picture! I took this picture to send to Rebecca- to be mean. not really. ;-) A good chunk of her "people" have moved to Utah and we like to rub it in. We are starting a campaign for her to move here too. It would never happen in a million years, but it won't stop us from trying. Monica has a super fancy condo that she wasn't going to use for five days or so she offered it to us. Since we live next door to Park City we packed up and lived there for a few days.
It was fabulous!

Me y mis hermanacitas. One of the nights that my family wasn't staying there, my sisters came up and we had a little girl's night. I had to get up crazy early to get home and get my kids to school... but it was totally worth it! We made delicious food and spent the night laughing at a certain website that I will not disclose :-) I think I was trying to cover something up in this picture... I need bigger hands! :-)

I had on extra fancy make-up because my friend the make-up artist did my make up. You can click HERE to watch the video, but we warned that I look drastically larger on camera... in my opinion :-)

"Oh... this place is the BEST!" was Jensen's first statement after we walked in the door.

They were really excited about:

- the insane amount of feather pillows on the bed

- the "hot pool"

- the game room
- the olympic sized bath tub

- the promise of watching a movie while floating in the swimming pool aka "float- In."
The kids were in love with this place! Thank you so much Monica!

*I just have to mention Jensen's baseball pants- with snow outside!
He must be my kids because I didn't make him change.

This little man ran the loop of the condo over and over again.... screaming... loudly. Every once in a while he would run up to someone with a big open mouth like he was going to say something, then he would just run away. I think he was mimicking our excited faces. He had so much fun and learned the word "funny!" on this trip. We ALL had a ton of fun. Thank you so much Monica for giving us such an awesome place to hang out for a few days.
After utilizing three big screens... my kids will never be the same!

Do you remember the interpretive dancing I was telling you about? Well, I'm not sure why Suz isn't in this picture, but this is a modified Five Gold Rings dance move. Maybe we'll have to do a tutorial and you can all teach your children "the dance." Trevor (Monica's fiance) snagged my camera and took a bunch of pictures.

Park City in winter time is so beautiful! I love the mountain side all aglow from night skiing resorts. It makes me want to go night skiing because it looks so magical. We had fresh snow and we could look out of the window to a ski lift. I have so many wonderful memories of park city and ski school through the years. I might have to revisit Park West... I mean Wolf Mountain... oh wait, it's the Canyons now I think- for old times sake. Nothing beats hot soup and a monster order of fries after a long day of skiing.

Oh Christmas "Tee"

2011-12-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

Tree decorating 2011

Jense in action

Elvis in action... or pretending to be while I take the picture.

Mia took it easy...

Until we put a "twinkle star" in her hands.

Then she got to work decorating the tree with the "big kids."

Mia has turned into quite the Christmas enthusiast. She exclaims, "SANTA!! HE IS COMING TO TOWN!!!" anytime there is anything resembling a Santa Clause. She learned the song in preschool and can sing it pretty well. A few days before Christmas she was sitting at the table and quickly stood up in her chair and said "Oh santa!" While she was sitting back down she would add, "he's coming to town." I just love the after thought. She did this over and over and we looked forward to each and every announcement.

Sam is pretty pumped about everything- yes everything. He would request that we turn on the Christmas tree lights by yelling, "tee tee tee tee" in almost a paniced voice. Everything is an emergency in his world and his middle name is wide eye'd. He is so excited we just can't contain him.

I showed him how to put the ornaments on, but he still stood there for a longer that expected amount of time with the ornament next to the branch. I think he was hoping it would magically string itself up.

He would eventually just hand them to me and insist I put them on the tree for him. A few times this Season I caught him just looking at the tree... pondering about something. It would be fun to know what his thoughts are.

Mia was pretty partial to the star ornament and put it on the tree then took it off... then put it on, then took it off again. I think she was hoping it would end up at the top of the tree. We had an angel at the top of the tree this year, which was a big hurdle for my kids. Don't mess with tradition mom!

I don't know why I am posting another picture nearly identical to the one before this one. She is so sweet... and so in love with "Christmas time." Toddlers and Christmas are all sorts of fun.

Sam is my last little baby elf. He is so big and so chatty. Every day he presses the fast forward button and every day his moma tries to capture his every move. He is moving/growing up at an impossible rate.

Child Labor

2011-12-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

The kids have been earning their keep around here.

What is it about hand held vacuums that are so exciting for kiddos?

What I should be asking is...
What it is about plastic stair runners that are so necessary for baby boomers?

North Pole er Express

2011-12-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

* I hate to demote the video post, but my blogs are stacking up. Thank you to everyone who watched and re-shared it. I have received some beautiful emails from complete strangers who loved the video. Thanks so much!!

A few weeks back the kids and I along with the Sellers fam went on the "North Pole Express." I guess it used to be called the "Polar Express" but they had to change the name. So... we call it the "North Pole er Express...cause we refuse to conform. :-) One of my favorite people from my teenage years works on the train with my dad. She was Mother Christmas that night. Sammers was not scared one bit of "mother Christmas" but Santa was a completely different story.

Girl's vs. Boys. We decided that the boys should have one side of the train and the girls should have the other. I don't have a picture of the girls' side, but the boys' side is plenty cute!

Miss Mia was in Heaven on the "choo choo train." The first item of business once on the train is getting yummy hot cocoa and cookies. I really loved the hot cocoa. I usually pass on hot cocoa, but this cocoa was particularly tasty.

These two played musical chairs... which was fine because all of the seats behind us were empty. I think they were excited to be in a locomotive (who uses that word still?) and not strapped down.

Suz and Syd. I think Syd is trying to communicate in sign language in this picture.

YAY Santa!! Santa goes from car to car visiting all of the kiddos and giving them a bell. Ellie loved the attention and was sure to tell Santa exactly what she wanted. She

asked sweetly for an American girl Doll and American girl Doll clothes.

I was trying to get a pic of all the kids with Santa. Sam was terrified. Once I set him even close to Santa, he was instantly in tears. This is the closest picture I have to a "group shot."

Mia was more than willing to chat up Santa. She said, " I go peeschool, and choo choo train."

Ellie tried to prompt her on what to say... but, Mia just said, "yeah presents."

Once they had the bells from Santa Claus it was ring-a-ling central. I don't think they stopped shaking their bells until we got off of the train. Luckily it was a pleasant bell sound.

When Papa wasn't doing his duties on the train he came and sat with us. The kids love that he works on the train. Last night as he was leaving to go work on the train Jensen yelled,

"Good luck on the train Papa!"

Ellie and Jense were good little volunteers for reading jokes and holding signs for singing. Suz is in the background doing an interpretative dance we made up as children. We grew up listening to this CD every year and we made up a dance to go with the 12 days of Christmas. We had no problem going ahead and performing it for each other as we sat there. She is doing the hand part to partridge in a pair tree... so original eh?

Back at the station and ready to go eat at the "train restaurant." The kids love Dairy Keen! While we were sitting there eating I had flashbacks to when I always wanted whatever my older sister ordered. I usually just ordered the same thing as her because she has good taste like that. Both her husband and I decided to split the thing that she ordered (after we already ate our meal).

I guess somethings never change. Once a little sister... always a little sister.

We had to make a stop at the "Christmas time tree." I am of the opinion that it is fine to go ahead and set up your Christmas tree prior to Thanksgiving. I understand that most people have a holiday by holiday policy... but pretty much anytime after Halloween works for me. The tree is now up and it officially feels like the holiday season. I thought Sam would be in constant un-decorate mode, but he has left the tree 100% alone. It's pretty much the only thing he doesn't get into- so we'll take it.

Stay tune for the Christmas Tree post.

John Boy is practicaly 40!

2011-12-10T15:05:00.001-07:00

Ever since I became slightly addicted to Pintrest I have lost all originality. Truly... I have not had one original idea in months!! This idea for birthdays is one that I am particularly fond of. Opening one gift every hour on the hour... sounds like a fabulous birthday to me! The kids and I purchased all of the gifts and then realized that they wouldn't be around for the majority of the unwrapping so we nixed that idea. Instead, the kids sorted the toys, hid them, then gave their dad clues to find them.

I suppose that was sort of original :-)

Sammers was right in the mix the entire time. He grabbed his wrapped gifts and headed out to find the perfect hiding spot. Sam's gifts for daddy were not so much hidden as they were opened.

Mia is suddenly really really into "pesents." not to be confused with peasants- they just sound the same. :-) Anything associated with Christmas quickly turns to the phrase... "ooo Christmas! pesents too? pesents Mia?" I think she just knows the word- it's not like she has asked for anything for Christmas. She just knows that presents go hand in hand with Christmas. It makes me want to buy her a lot of "pesents."

The sorting is very serious business. All piles MUST be equal or mommy's sanity flies out the window. Being the giver that she is, Ellie gave a majority of her pile to the "babies" and a neighbor kid who wanted to help too.

Jense was clever with his hiding places and clues. My Jense buddy does everything with his whole intention... and I love it.

Sam ran through the house with the same two gifts screaming with excitement, but not really knowing why. Every once in a while I would hear him yell "wedy go!" mixed in with all of the happy screams.

He runs through the house and can now clear the step with ease. I want my cautious baby back!

After his workout he needed a little water break.

This little grouping of goofballs are the biggest joys in my life!

Not sure who the accomplice was, but Sammers had a bag of Swedish fish opened and distributed before the unwrapping was complete.

Mia kills me in this pictures. She is learning the art of the courtesy smile... LOVE IT!

For his birthday dinner JB requested "crockpot ribs, with a yummy salad, brussels sprouts, and yummy drink." I didn't realize it until this second, but he uses "yummy" a lot to describe dishes.

Jense was in charge of the candles this year. He did great!

Mia and Sam were in charge of being incredibly adorable.

Mia is a wish making/candle extinguishing pro... Sam is just getting started.
John's birthday cake was a yummy Jell-O dessert that his mom makes often. I thought it was delicious, but it John made another one the next day... the right way :-)

Hopefully daddy made a good wish! I wish that he does a good job on his finals this next week.

He has had a great semester! Way to go JB... we are proud of you and are proud that you are gettin so big! Happy Birthday to our daddy/Johnboy!

FOR JESSICA

2011-12-01T11:21:00.002-07:00

I feel like Christmas came early today. A friend has been working on a video for Jacob's mother these past couple weeks. It is finished and now I get to share it with you all, and most importantly with Jessica. I have watched it over and over again and am still teary eye'd. This video is for Jessica, and when I heard this song I knew we needed to make a video... the lyrics are perfect. Mindy Gledhill is perfection.

Lilly, you are a true artist! I love the video and all of your work for that matter! After this experience I think I will need a video every year. We are customers for life. Thank you thank you for filming our family and putting this all together. I Love it and I hope she will too.

- Grab a Kleenex before you watch.

For Jessica from Lilly McDowell on Vimeo.

Click HERE to go to Lilly's Website. She has lovely videos that make you want to go back in time!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving Story-

Once Upon a time... there was a little girl named Ellie who brought home a Thanksgiving book. It contained many cute wonderful pages of Pilgrims, and Indians, and thanksgiving food.

The back page was a list of things she was thankful for. Nana, Sam...then number 4. Number 4 clearly states satin. I'm pretty sure my six year old does not know what satin is... but is is definitely something to be thankful for. When she was reading me the book and got to number 4 she read "Satan." I said, "Oh... ok, why are you thankful for Satan?" To which she replied, " Well, nobody likes him and says that he is really bad... and I just want to be nice."

I didn't have a reply. I just said, "that's nice of you."
I am am so thankful for my satin/Satan appreciating daughter. She is so sweet... even showing compassion toward Satan. This girl. So much love... so little time.

Making the rolls was a family affair.

Everyone got to put in their respective ingredients. Flour was a big hit.

We added a little too much flour... but they were still tasty!

Our Thanksgiving FEAST! All of my sisters had other plans so it was just us. It is by far the smallest group gathered for Thanksgiving (except for when we had Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital) to date.

Sam didn't mind that the rolls were oversized and had too much flower in them.

He ate them by two's!

Happy Thanksgiving from all us roll making crazies.

Transplant Anniversary Day

2011-11-27T23:46:00.001-07:00

Transplant anniversary day was a great day. Definitely a day to be thankful! Thanksgiving day has nothing on transplant anniversary day. If the two were competing for day of most gratitude, transplant day would win hands down. It was a beautiful day.

Our first stop was to the hospital for her check up. She did awesome. She is such a flirt will the doctors, nurses, and echo ladies. The fist words out of her mouth when someone talks to her is a grocery list of everything she does in preschool. It's pretty important stuff, and everyone needs to know! Coloring and snack are extremely important topics in her world. Medically everything looked great. No changes, no concerns. They even gave her a little blanket for her transplant anniversary... which she fell in love with. She labeled all of the animals the entire drive home.

It was such a speedy appointment that we made it home in time for her to go to "pweeschool." My mom had cupcakes all ready to go for her classmates. I frosted them up headed out the door. We also took some of her favorite snacks to share for her big 3 year anniversary. Mia is such a lucky little girl to have six teachers. One of them was not there, but she has really fantastic teachers and loves going to class. She gets so much attention and is learning so much. It is going to be a shock when she has to go to Kindergarten with only one teacher.

Sammy took Mia for a stroll after school.

He didn't get very far using the baby doll stroller

Mia didn't seem to mind that they were barely moving.

Mia and Sam waved to Heaven and we sent balloons off earlier for Jacob. It was a wonderfully peaceful day.

Papa said he would have something special for Mia later that night.

He did not disappoint.

Mia was in love with her surprise.

Papa set up his train and Mia got to play trians with Papa.

After a lot of "ooo's" and "ahhh's" we went and got Sammy.

Sammy loves "choo choo" and it might as well of been Christmas morning in his book.

Papa showed him which button to push to make the whistle blow.

Buttons and trains.... heaven on earth

It was really entertaining to watch their joy. Sammy kept squealing with delight and Mia kept giving Sammy the play by play about the train. "It go round and round Sam, round and round."

Papa stepped it up a notch and let Sammers wear the conductor hat

Then he hooked on the train pocket watch- he was adorable.

Mia shared her special treat with her little bro.

They stayed and watched that train go "round and round" for a long time.

I sat and watched their Joy and thought about our sweet Jacob.

Then I thought of his sweet Mama.

I wish she could see the sweetness of little Mia... and know that the heart she gave her is so happy... and that maybe he was there playing trains with Mia in spirit.

Despite the cold, it was a beautiful day. Mia was fascinated with all of the leaves stuck to the fence. It must have seemed like magic to her. Mia living each day is like magic to me. We are so blessed and have been given so much. Thanks to our sweet donor family we have our little girl. I know it is a difficult time of year for them, and I know that no amount of me saying "thank you" takes away the pain of not having her son and their grandson. I hope they know of our love and gratitude.
Thank you!!!!

Terrible One's!!

2011-11-27T23:35:00.002-07:00

We've got Naughty

Yes we DO!

We've got Naughty

How bout' you?

Santa has got one tough decision to make! :-)

Superheroes and Washington Love

2011-11-22T19:28:00.004-07:00

My friend Rebecca came into town to visit me. Ok, I was actually an after thought, but whatever, I'll take it. We wanted to do a photo shoot together so she gathered up all of her girl cousins and a boy from our old ward brought his friends and we had a superhero photo shoot. It was awesome. The rain was POURING down 20 minutes before we were going to take pictures. I told her it was all her fault for coming from raining Washington to sunny Utah. We lucked out and the clouds parted right in time.

While we waited for the photo shoot to begin, we did a little shopping and then we took a nap on the grass by the bell towers (before the downpour). Sleeping next to the bell tower is not the brightest idea... but we were crazy tired and would have crashed pretty much anywhere.

After naptime we went to the BYU creamery for old times sake (even though we weren't there at the same time) and both got the burnt almond fudge. It might as well have been plain ol' fudge because there might have been one maybe two almonds. I knew I should have gone with the mint/chocolate chip :-)

A day after she left, Jensen and Ellie got these adorable pillow cases in the mail from Alice and Ruby. They have pictures of their friends so they could see them every night before they went to bed. Such a cute idea!!! I am going to make pillows with my face on it for all of my sisters for Christmas- HA! totally kidding!

ok- onto the awesome photo shoot-

We sped up to Orem to find some fabric for capes and some masks. It is still up for debate who can cut out a better block letter. She claims that cheerleaders (really old cheerleaders mind you) ;-) have the upper hand when it comes to block letters...I'm pretty sure that my M smoked her M. When the two of us get together it goes on and on like this... we have so much fun together! Once everyone got there, it was all fun and games after that! Here are a few of my fav's from the million that I took. Oh, and the picture above is completely out of focus... but I still like it.

Super Hero boy....

Meets super hero girl.....

and another girl.....

and another girl. That is just how it goes down at BYU. he he. totally kidding

We were hoping they would be as enthusiastic about each other as they were about being superheroes.

Toward the end of the shoot they warmed up... but 19 year old boys... are 19 year old boys.

I love this superhero shot- I wish his cape would have flown up more...

it looks like we safety pinned it to his rear... which we did not.

This cape did its job...

Superhero Boys by Day

Superero Boys by Night

The girls (Rebec's cousins) were nothing short of perfection. How fun to have your sisters (four on right) and cousin at college with you?? Talk about clothes swap!! I'm all about the sister thing... all about it. I was never at college with a sister, but I can imagine the fun times. These girls were so fun, and seriously must have the the best mom EVER! :-)

"Superman" - I just like this one.

Everyone jump on the count of 3!!

I said 3!

- I have more pictures of this beautiful girl that I will post soon.

This was one of the boy's idea... we just went along with it. Love it.

Would you believe that this very photoshoot was the begining of a relationship for them all? Yes, they all went on a big group date and pretty much fell in love. No not really... but that was our plan!

We are going to go into business taking pictures of complete strangers hoping they like each other and end up dating. It's called matchmakerograpy. Book now cause we're filling right up.

On a totally separate note, can someone PLEASE tell me why my a handful of my pictures are coming up like this on my computer? This has never happened to me before and I am at a loss.

the end.

Remember These?

2011-11-20T23:55:00.001-07:00

Since I have been home, I keep running into random stuff that I used to own. My mom has been trying to get everyone to take their stuff. This first picture is just cute. Mia loves this shubu cake doll... and it smells delightful. Strawberry Shortcake dolls have an extra yummy smell. The blue bear is just kind of random and gets thrown around a lot, but she was loving it this day. One of my "treshures" that my mom kept around is....

My colorful caterpillar. I loved this toy... I kept him on my bed lined up straight with my pillow. When I saw it, I remembered which foot was barely hanging on by a thread. I haven't played with this thing in years, but sure loved it for a lot of years. I used to twist his antlers... and his name was Cool Colorful Caterpillar. Original eh?

My other toy that was well loved was my Popple. How are Popples not on the market right now? It is the best toy a girl (and boy) could have. A stuffed animal that turns into a ball AND you can keep your stuff in the pouch.... a must have! To step the fun up a notch you can leave the tail out and use it as a wrecking ball or weapon. I am thrilled that Mia and all the kids for that matter get to enjoy this gem of a toy. Someone please, bring back the Popple!

There are other "remember these" items in this house just waiting to be blogged about. until then.

Go BYU!!

2011-11-20T23:45:00.001-07:00

This post is a little late in the season- but We are true blue BYU fans!

John and I want to take the kids to a BYU game someday. Every time we pass the stadium in Provo the older kids ask if that is where we fell in love. It is not where we fell in love... that was at Ricks, but our relationship did change drastically during a football game years ago.

Both Jense and Ells are convinced that they will go to BYU and find someone to marry. If they do, that will make three generations of BYU engagements. There is definitely something in the water down in Provo, UT. It's just a place where so many find "the one."

Go BYU... if you know what I mean ;-)

Mommy Daughter Date

2011-11-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

We have been pretty lazy about mommy/daughter daddy/daughter dates. Most of our routine has changed, but we have had a few lately. The first date was a few weeks ago. We went and watched the local high school production of beauty and the beast.

Yay cell phone picture. Anyway, she as an affinity for our neighbor girl. She really is super duper adorable. She is really sweet and very accommodating of Ellie's adoration of her. She was a "singing and dancing fork" in the play. Ellie kept telling me over and over again about her part in the play. She did a great job.. and could definitely have a career in show biz :-) They did a great job... the candlestick totally stole the show, but I think that is expected. Ellie is all dressed in red for red ribbon week.

Last week Elvis and I headed out for another mommy daughter date. We stopped by a jewelry party then went out for frozen yogurt. As we sat there eating our yogurt our conversation quickly turned from normal mommy daughter conversation to Ellie wanting to talk about my boyfriend. This is how our conversation went.

E: Mom, who is your boyfriend?
M: Ummmm? my boyfriend?
E: yeah... telllll me?? telllll me!?
M: Well technically I don't have a boyfriend I have a husband and you know who he is
E: No! tell me who your boyfriend is???
M: Well my very last boyfriend was a boy named John, and then I married him, and now he is my husband.
E: So now you can't have a boyfriend? wait, is it Justin Beaver? Can he be your boyfriend?
M: ha ha ha, no... Justin Beaver is half my age. Honey, once you get married you have a husband, he is your permanent boyfriend.
E: Can I tell you who my boy friend is?
M: trying not to be shocked by the news that she has a boyfriend I calmly answered, "of course."
E: Ok, but you can't tell anyone (here I am telling the world... or the handful of people that read my blog... But I'm not really gonna tell :-)
M: Ok honey, I won't tell.
E: "NAME OF BOYFRIEND" said in a very slow and doting voice
M: Oh, is that a kid in your class?
E: Yep
M: Well, how do you know he is your boyfriend?
E: I don' know, he just is
M: Does he know that he's your boyfriend?
E: NO NO NO
M: Oh, gottcha. But you like him?
E: Yeah
M: What do you like about him
E: Um, I dunno.... he's nice
M: Well OK

I learned some very interesting things on my mommy daughter date 1) My little girl is super grown up 2) She is really girly 3) She is interested in boys out of nowhere! That hit me like a freight train. She has made "Justin Beaver" comments in the past... but this is a real boy. 4) She has "boyfriend" in the same category as "a crush." I'm cool with her having a "boyfriend" as long as he doesn't know about it.

I remember thinking that Carston Carter was the most important person on the planet, but I was in fourth grade... FOURTH... not first. Actually there might have been a little crush on Zack prior to that, but who's keeping track.

Mia gets plenty of mommy/daughter dates, but usually to a medical facility. We need to schedule some frozen yogurt trips just me and her. Now that I am backing down from not taking her in public places. I sure do love my girls.

JB takes the kids out too... I'll let him post those. Jensen is our kid that is always labeling the outings. He earns money and immediately wants to go spend it so he goes on a lot of Jensen/mommy dates and daddy/Jensen dates. How do I get my kids to save their money? It seems impossible. They both have the burning a hole in your pocket mentality. Can't say I entirely blame them, but at this rate Jense is never going to make it to his go-kart.

Well, It is all snowy outside and all of the kids are dying to get out there.

SAM SAYS

2011-11-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

"Wub Yoo"

" A Mess"

"Choo choo!" train

" Hewoah"

"bye bye"

" I get it" door bell

" EAT!"

"Mores?"

"nuggle"

"Nigh Night"

" Ba doo ba"

" Sibby"

" Mines"

"Bes" -you're the best

" tiss" kisses

" peeese" please

"taint do" thank you

" nis" nice

" bus" tooth brush

" on"

" But" button

"pooos" push

" DANS" dance

" dark"

"moont" moon

" mmm num" yummy

" dog dog"

"DAD"

"MOM"

"Dense" Jense
"tand up" Stand up
"Oh dee" All done
"bebe" baby
"bed" bread
"Show"
"cars"
"NO NO" as he points to himself

"oweeee"
"bont" bonk
"MON!" c'mon

Sam is talking nonstop and I don't want to miss one word!

More greats from my cell

2011-11-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

Now that I can get pics from my phone to my computer, I have some lovely pictures from a few years back. Ellie in the dentist chair. This was when she was in love with going to the dentist... read below for when that all changed.

Oh my little chubster. I'm pretty sure she wasn't on steroids at this time, but she sure looks like it.

I miss this little face... she was/is the sweetest little girl.

I distinctly remember having some major anxiety because I took her to a public place. I was so OCD back then, I sanitized her hands probably 13 times before we left the dentists office.

This picture cracks me up because Jense had cavity and I totally made this mistake.

Here is the picture to go with that story.

Our house... it seems like so long ago since we've lived there.

Yes, much of the year we had our outdoor toys indoors. That is just the Washington way

Jensen's bike crash. Poor kid

My kids and their silly faces. A few years back.

Nat and I took Mia to Walmart. She was trying on hats. I love the polka-dot snow boot combo. John really really really wants to dress up Walmart style and take pictures in Walmart for our family Christmas card. Merry Christmas... ala Walmart. Still deciding.

Everything should be funny in his world.

Ok, this is my favorite picture of the lot. Ellie was getting her teeth cleaned and the hygienist practically had to wrestle the girl. I was the annoying mom who sat in the corner and took pictures instead of trying to help. Actually I did intervene... I felt bad for the poor girl. My kids are traumatized by all things dentist, which if you read the other post is probably mostly my fault.

- Now I'm off to see what Gems are on JB's phone.

ER for Daddy

2011-11-13T19:57:00.002-07:00

One night we were chillin' with the Bowns and John was in some serious pain. It is not the first time he has been tossing his cookies over being in so much pain. He has had a gall stone the size of a golf ball, ok ok a gum ball for over a year.

He pretty much thought he was going to die so we headed off to the ER. I called my sis who works in an ER. She wasn't working that night, but when we got admitted her face was on the wall... on a poster... pretty as can be. She is famous. I felt all fancy being in a hospital where my sisters face was plastered on the walls.

Some times I feel like a giant idiot. In the past when I have taken pictures with my phone, I always text them to my sister and have her email them back to me. She has one of those snobby I- phones, that can pretty much do everything except for walk her dogs. I could never connect my phone to my computer, and it just seemed easier. I just discovered bluetooth!! Yes, it has been around forever, but I just bluetoothed my pictures from my phone to my computer and I pretty much feel like a rock star! Where have I been??? If you didn't know about this, it is awesome. Zappo presto they are on your computer- so nice!!

Maybe I'm starting to head "down hill" with technology. I have always felt "techy," but come on... I didn't know about bluetooth!! Talk about wake up call. Jensen reaffirmed that I am the "older generation" the other night when I downloaded an app for him. It was a random game that I played a few times with my sister once. I tried to show him how to play, but my game was over ten seconds after I started. I handed him the ipod and without any instructions he pretty much mastered the game. I kind of sat there wondering how I got to this point. My son just smoked me on his first try. No need to try and teach him how to play... he should be teaching me. The funny thing is, I remember showing my mom how to run electronics in my youth.... but now I'm "the mom." I need a bluetooth to my brain.

Back to JB- he is fine now. He had surgery to remove his gall bladder, including the stone. He is completely recovered and now we have matching scars right above our belly buttons. Mine is from a chest tube, his is from the laproscopic instrument thinger. Twinners!! ;-)

Red Ribbon Week

2011-11-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

This year for red ribbon week the theme was " I-tune out drugs"

Crazy Hair day was by far their favorite day. Mia's hair looked awesome.

Jense wanted a blue Mohawk and his initials on the side of his head.

The big J. I didn't know that spraypaiting hair could be so much fun.

After crazy hair day the kids spent a long time jumping/swimming in the leaves.

Mia was yelling "HI HI HI" to people passing the house. She is a friendly little thing.

When Ellie came home from school she promptly replenished her pink and purple spray paint. We could have gotten a little crazier with her actual hair-do, but she was running late that morning.

Mia stayed and played in the leaves long after the older kids were over it. She would yell, "surprise!!" and throw leaves up in the air then fall back into the leaves and laugh and laugh.

It was a scene straight out of a movie, but I didn't have my video camera close by. Mia is growing and growing and is such a bright little thing. Her teacher says she is really smart... I think so too.

3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

2011-11-10T14:05:00.001-07:00

Today marks the 3rd year that Mia received her angel heart from our sweet baby donor Jacob.

Today I wish I could jump through the computer and give his momma a huge hug! I wish I could do that everyday, but especially today. If you are reading this, and you know her... please hug her from me, and Mia, and everyone one in my family.

We are so blessed, and have been given the most precious and wonderful gift. Mia is the happiest little girl, and has had a really happy life... all possible because of the selfless decision made by Jessica to donate.

Jessica, We love you! We think of you daily! We hope to meet you soon! Today we honor you and express so much gratitude for giving our daughter life.

We have been working on something for you... coming soon.

Here is a look back at this monumental day.

Last year Mia was in the hospital click here to read. That was ugly.

If you want to read her first year anniversary click here She was so cute and little!

Then, if you still have time... click here for transplant day. You might just want to click on NOV of 2008 (on the right of the screen) because there were multiple posts.

We will be celebrating tonight, but wanted to post this on the actual day.

Happy 3rd Anniversary Mia! We couldn't possibly love you more!

First Snow

2011-11-09T07:51:00.001-07:00

It is snowing here! AAhhh! The kids are excited. Mommy, not so much. I love the snow, but on my terms, and I am not ready to break out the snow boots.

We rarely have time for a family picture before church because church starts crazy early this year. We were all ready to go and had time for a picture because of day light savings time. Yep we forgot, and to be completely honest we ALWAYS forget. I don't think there is a "fall behind" that I wasn't an hour early to church. It has happened to me for at least the past five years. It's not even a being in the dark thing either. I know it is coming, but somehow I (and JB) completely forget on Sunday morning. At least we are consistent. It makes me laugh that we do this year after year. Can some one pretty please call me next year in the morning and tell me I get an extra hour?

HOWWEEEEN 2011

2011-11-09T07:28:00.001-07:00

Ellie went to a costume party and decided to be a pirate girl.

She tried on a few costumes before she settled on this one.

You can't go wrong with dressing up like a pirate!

Mia was a tad concerned about the pumpkin guts. She got over it quickly and scooped out guts like crazy. Her favorite part was popping out the eyes, nose, and mouth after it was carved out.

Daddy gets into it. He says it is for the safety of his kids... but I think he genuinely likes to carve pumpkins.

Jense was super proud of his pumpkin. He tried to cut some out, but the knife was quickly removed from his hands. He did a few cuts, but pumpkins are difficult to cut through. He had his hand holding the rim of the pumpkin with his fingers on the inside and the knife ready to puncture through right where his hand was.... woopsie. Maybe next year Jense! He is learning about knife safety in scouts.

All the guts! Now the question is, should be roast the seeds this year or not?

Mia was in love with her costume and wore it plenty before it was even "spooky night." More on spooky night farther down. I have been blogging for an hour... I'm gonna let JB finish this one.

The kids like to try on all the many costumes we have collected, and Ellie decided she would be a witch as she went out trick or treating.

I am thinking that Strawberry shortcake would indeed be a tastier victim for a hungry vampire.

Here is Jensen looking all hard core like he is "Blade" or something. See next pic.

That is some scarey beezneez right there.

You can see her teeth in this pic. She is missing two on top and two on bottom. We have been calling her Jack-O-Lantern for the past week. She has been trying to figure out how to get a glow stick in her mouth for the full affect.

Mimi brought home some glow-in-the dark fake fingernails to round out the costume. I think she liked this more than collecting the candy.

Not the kind of witch you want to make angry.

No broom needed.

The hat that wouldn't stay on her head.

The perfect costume for a little monster. Sam Sam is a busy little stinker these days. He has us laughing non stop, and we cherish all his toddler moments especially since he is our last. We try to soak it in and marinate in it.

Watching the older kids trick or treat was indeed a treat this year. They ran from house to house at top speed for hours on end. I think that instead of slowing down, they were actually moving faster by the time it was 8:30 and I was telling them it was quitting time. I made a deal that we would keep going until we didn't see anyone else out. It took Jensen years to figure out that there is a bunch of free candy and it needs to be gotten with urgency. I remember watching him balance on curbs and fool around whilst kids were banking mass amounts of loot all around him. I kept saying, "Run Jense, follow those princesses!" He probably knew even at a young age that mommy has candy stashes year round and that there really is no need to run around chasing it.

Sammy was so cute. He didn't want people putting candy in his bucket. He would move the bucket away and reach his hand out. He wanted that candy in his mouth as quickly as possible.

He finished the night with an empty pumpkin and a full tummy.

The McDonald Spooks. Speaking of spooks, Mia uses the phrase "spooky night" for all kinds of situations. A dark room, spooky night! Pretty much anything that is not well lit she will holler "spooky night!" And it is really funny when she yells it out when something she sees and perceives to be scary.

A fun part of the night was listening to Mimi tell the kids about "the patches house." Apparently they were the place to trick or treat throughout her childhood, and she insisted that we take our own kids. It was terrifying back in the day, but worth it in the end. I guess it's been years since they had a haunted driveway, but the kids all got a full sized candy bar and were as happy as clams. This picture is not the Patches, but they has some fun decorations.

These are our little beauties! We couldn't find candles when we needed them and the kiddies had glow sticks placed in each of them lickity split. Gotta love our little problem solvers.

Here is Mia at the end of the night. She spent a lot of time out there just fooling around with them.

Hope Kids Retreat

2011-11-08T23:36:00.000-07:00

We went up to bear lake (again... I know I know) a few weeks back. It was a hope kids event, and the kids were out of school (daddy too) so we packed up headed up for a few days. Mia was all about the fire and wanted to be in charge of the wood. Sam stayed close to mommy and just yelled at the fire. He was yelling "HOT!" and pointing like we were all crazy standing by a "HOT!"

Mia is starting to show some signs of being like her big sis. Which means she will be overly affectionate to any small human. She is usually telling Sammy "no sam sam" so I was loving on the super snuggle.

As I sit here and blog about this John says that both kids are looking pretty raggedy. We were camping... aren't you supposed to look raggedy when you're camping? Isn't there a code? I think they are cute!

The place we stayed had a little miniature golf course.

Sam learned how to happy scream like his big sister.

"Cousin it" is getting better and better at the mini golf. She would celebrate by announcing,

"Mia did it!... it go down do hole!"

Snellie loved staying in the "cabin" and we witnessed a super organized extremely helpful little girl. She categorized all of her clothes and set them out perfectly, and organized all the food. We have seen this side of her a coupe times, but we just watched her in amazement really... who took our child? Usually her area is a tornado. The awesome part was when sam threw up all over her corner of the cabin. We then were able to discover just how much laundry detergent costs at a resort town gas station.

Part of the event was a Halloween Carnival for all the kids. Ellie picked this recipe book at one of her prizes for throwing apples into a basket. She has been asking everyday to make some of these recipes. I need to get on that. They are all cookies... and post halloween is the wrong time to be whipping up a batch of sweets.

Mia and Sam wanted to do bowling the entire time. Throwing pumpkins on bowling pins was the highlight of their trip.

"Mia did it!!" The girl only knows 3rd person.

If sammers missed a pin or two he made sure his pumpkin got to work knocking down the rest. I sound like a broken record but he is so much fun right now. Pumped about everything!

Jense was a shoe in for the donut eating game. Believe it or not he beat Ellie.

Sometimes you just want to cram a donut in your mouth.

"Uhhhh guys?"

Sam was all about the "hot" when marshmallows and chocolate were involved. Trying to feed an 18 month old a smore is like trying to put your socks on after your shoes.

Jense was pulling with everything he had in him. They had so many fun games and tons of great prizes. It was definitely worth the drive. We will not miss it next year.

Thanks hope kids- we loved ever minute!

yummy

2011-11-08T20:45:00.001-07:00

Halloween treats have never been so convenient, thanks to pinterest. Is anyone else addicted?

Jensen's masterpiece.

Ellie loved the skeleton so she made one right after her spider web. Um yes that is a syringe, we have all sizes kicking around this place. They have many uses. Many many uses. I should make a list.

Mia's spider web turned out perfectly... and stayed perfect for about as long as it took to harden, and then it was promptly consumed.

I apologize in advance for the other Halloween posts I have yet to post.

She knows

2011-11-03T13:55:00.002-06:00

She knows where to stand on the porch for her picture to be taken

She knows when I tell her it's time to get her backpack that she gets to go "play with friens"

She knows that her backpack is just like putting on a superhero cape in her world.

She knows how to steal my heart.

Groban Snuggles

2011-11-01T13:51:00.001-06:00

Sammers and Nana spent some time on the floor snuggling and listening to her Josh Groban CD.

Would life be so sweet if we could spend a good section of our day snuggling and listening to music we love? With our mom's cozy coze robe to boot?

I think it would be extremely sweet. Sign me up.

The first of many Halloween Posts

2011-11-01T13:45:00.001-06:00

Elvis is in the Hoouse!

Sammers barely squoze his little fully clothed body into this rockin Elvis Jumpsuit.

We had some fun with the wigs. He was a good sport.

F.H.E dress up edition. We had a little get together with the cousins and broke out the bin of costumes. The kids (and adults) had fun trying on different costumes. We had a few crafts and games planned, but only got around to candy corn bingo.

The Pumpkin and the Strawberry getting acquainted.

SUPER GIRL!

No F.H.E is complete without the treat. Jense thinks that is the most important part.
We made caramel apple bites for the treat. They were sooo tasty!

I'm all about using sliced apples. Slicing the apples before hand is better for so many reasons. Apples, chocolate, caramel, toffee chunks.... Um, yes!

This guy (my bil) seems to think so too!

5 things I wish I could bottle up today

2011-10-30T23:09:00.000-06:00

- When Mia helps me fold laundry she quickly smells each item of clothes before handing it to me. She takes a big breath in when the clothes are next to her nose. I love it. She does the "stinky test" after the clothes are washed.

- How Mia talks in the 3rd person... all the time. "Mia's turn now... pease!!" "play in Mia's room?" "Mia go get in tubby?"

- Sammers. His entirety. He yells, "dans" and waves his arms spins in circles, and sways back and forth. I love it. He sure loves his music and can also yell, "MINE!" when Mia tries to take away his tunes.

-The look on Ellie's face when we praise her for doing something sweet. She is a an approval sponge.

- Jensen's willingness to sing loud for FHE. He will sing, and he sings well. I hope this lasts.

- How John says "wang chung" for many things that hold different meanings. When he gets hurt "Wang chung!" when he wants the kids to hurry... "come on kids! wang chung." When he has to go to the bathroom, "I'll be in the bathroom... wang chung." I think he thinks it is a good closing to any sentence. It's bizarre and funny... and just totally him. He has certain go to phrases he uses often and most of them make sense besides "wang chung." I don't even know what Wang Chung means... and I don't think he does either.

I guess I don't need to bottle this one up because he will be saying it for years to come I am sure.

- Samers willingness to give me kisses when I ask.

Well, it was more than five... whatever. Wang Chung.

All Aboard the Pumpkin Train

2011-10-26T14:50:00.001-06:00

"All Abooooaaard" is what we heard Papa yell when it was time to get on the train. It is pretty awesome that Papa works on the train. It couldn't be a better fit really. He has always loved trains and now gets to literally "play trains" for his job. Here he is taking tickets.

A mommy with her monster and a strawberry boarded the train. Dressing up isn't necessary... but it really is if I'm the mommy. There is a costume quota that must be filled before Halloween. Mia pretty much wants to wear her 'shoo boo cake dress" everyday. It's gonna need a good washing for Halloween night.

Jense got this awesome air force jump suit from a friend in WA. He is in the same boat as Mia. He wants to wear it all the time... and he does. He isn't even going to be an air force guy for Halloween, but we didn't have his costume ready yet. He's been wearing it so much maybe he'll change is mind and spring for the air force get up instead of the vampire.

The pumpkin train is pretty stinkin' awesome. You board the train... get off at the pumpkin patch... pick a pumpkin... get back on the train... decorate the pumpkin.... eat hot cocoa and cookies.... head on back.

All the kids with their Papa. The cutest thing EVER about my dad working on the train is now when Mia hears the train whistle (we can hear it from the house) she gasps and says, "Papa!"She has added, "choo choo train today?" to her requests to her Papa.

Sammers can say "choo choo" now. It was a post train ride vocabulary word.

To say I am in love with these kids would be an understatement!

All of these kids!

After everyone picked out their pumpkin they got busy putting on their pumpkin faces.

Mia kept saying, "woah... heaby (heavy) mom... really heaby"

They are pretty proud of their pumpkin faces.

COOKIE MONSTER

I just love this pic. She was fascinated with all of the wind surfers right out of her window

Now he really is a monster... three eyed monster!

"tees" Sam is all about "tees" lately. I am too!

It's a little difficult to see them, but there were a bunch of wind surfers out that day. It has been such a warm October. In fact, I felt a little bad for my kids in those costumes because it was HOT!

Lovely view from the train. This is pretty good advertisement to come ride the Heber Creeper eh?

This surfer broke free from the pack. We watched him wipe out. Jense got a kick out of that.

If you need a wonderful fall activity come on up and say hi to my dad. He will be the one yelling "all aboard." They also have a Spooky train... I hear it's scary. They also do a Polar Express in the winter... can't wait for that one! Thanks for the train ride Papa.

Nana and the big 60

2011-10-24T23:02:00.000-06:00

This post is about my mom, but thought I would throw in this pic of her parents. It was Grandma's birthday too right after my moms. Don't they look like kids? I also have a picture of my grandma walking the beach in her bathing suit, and had to laugh because right when I was getting all these pics ready for my mom to take to Oak Harbor I saw this commercial. It's true.... grandma was a hottie!

What does one 60 year old want for her birthday dinners?

- Pulled pork Sandwiches

- fruit with fruit crack

- delicious salad make by Rae

- chocolate costco cake... yes the one with the chocolate shavings... mmmmm

- Homemade grape juice with a kick.

- Cheeeps

Meener babiner was the perfect party guest. Those little fingers are constantly in her mouth... I ask her all day long to get her fingers out of her mouth. She no listen.

Jense and Andrew chowin down

The birthday girl... this is a courtesy smile.

I constantly have my camera in her face. She'll get used to it :-)

Snats and Sammer Jam. He has a thing for brunettes

We planned a little variety show for her big day. The Bown kids did a bang up job of singing "Na na na na you say it's your birthday!"

They had a few skits a la scouts, and also sang "My Gran" to the song "My girl."

Loved it!

Uncle Nathan painted a picture of Nana.

He is the artist of the family.
You can hire him if you want- he too can paint you!

Kye sang a little ditty called, "you are my sunshine"

He changed the words... it was super cute.

Suzie sang and played La guitarra
She is the vocalist of the family

The Mcdonald fam demonstrated their only talent... dancing!

Mia was shy of course.

We also made a slide show of her life that I made all fancy but because I didn't have the blasted connector cord from my computer to the projector I had to transfer it a different computer to show it. The computer didn't support it...so much for all of the time I spent making it fance. She still loved it and still got to see all the pics to the tune of the Beatles no less.

Sam tried awfully hard to get adopted by my sister Rae. Raegan Bown chica bown bown.

With a name like that... what male (baby) stands a chance!

He loves her... the most. Last time we went to their house he made a b-line to her arms.

Nats and Mees walked home with her sad "banoon."

This past week Mia kept wanting to call "Nan Nats" (Aunt Nat) so when we got her on the phone Mia convinced her to come up... ok ok it was me... but she came for Mia. Mia, no one (besides your family and grandparents) loves you like our "Nan Nats" We took her shopping and Nat got to witness the sheer excitement of seeing ordinary items like apples and cheese in mass quantities in a store.

She is so much fun! "look look look!!! BANANAS!

Sinee and Mees were little buddies.

Give these girls some glasses and they will be quite entertained.

After the party Sinee had stowed away in my van and I had no idea. Her mom asked me if I had her and I said "nope." When we reached the house she piled out with the rest of the gang. Turns out I did have her. She's blonde... about Mia's height- I'll blame it on that.

I tried all weekend to get Alyssa to love me. She is the opposite of Sammers and wants nothing to do with anyone but the momma. She warmed up a few times and I got her to play a little here and there, but it was over quickly when she noticed that her mom wasn't around. It was so great to have Jess and Alyssa here. One evening after we got all of the kids to sleep Jess and I stayed up really late in my bed. When any sisters come to visit- John gets the boot! Totally kidding... he was studying downstairs. Anyway it was one of those nights when everything was funny. I would tell her about a funny/random/odd experience and she would reply with, "I can one up you on that..." and she sure did. She has some funny stories. I think at one point I fell asleep while I was laughing. How is this possible? Is it my age? because I have 4 kids? I have never before fallen asleep while laughing. I'm so glad you flew in Jess... it was such a fun night and thanks for your help with the party.

Cake time. Mia looks pretty serious about getting some of that

"chockit cake"

While we ate chock it cake we watched a little movie for her b-day. I interviewed the kids about Nana and as you can probably imagine the answers were adorable. None of the younger kids knew her real name. When I asked them what nana's real name was they all said, "Ummmm Nana?" Another one of my favorite responses was to where she worked before she retired. My favorite response was Pizza Hut! Oh and according to the kids she has average age of 15. These kids sure love their Nana.

Gift time. My mom has always wanted a Minerva Teichert painting, and she loved this one! She was also given the DVD 17 miracles which we stayed up watching after the party. After the DVD Jess told us a bunch of stories about our ancestors. The girl reads books about our ancestors... how cool is that? I felt like a little kid soaking up all this information she had for me about our geneology. I really should get my hands on those books... I was fascinated. I took a geneology class in college, but haven't really revisited it, except for cataloging here and there since. Thanks Jess for all the history.

All of the ladies minus Boon Docks. She has a wee litta babus back home.

Well Mamacita you are 60. You look like your 40... 45 tops!

I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Thanks for being the most wonderful mom and grandma.

I think the world of you and am so glad I have this time with you.

Muuuuaaahhhh!

Air Hockey Superstar

2011-10-20T23:59:00.003-06:00

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you will know that I am married to a, how shall I say this???... a man who is always trying to get me to laugh. Mr. Jokester. This is pretty much why I married the boy. He cracks me up. You never know when it's coming... and sometimes you miss it all together... like this por ejemplo:

A little background- over the course of our marriage I have been in charge of all the forms/documents...basically anything "official." That is just my department. When I first wrote his resume back in 2002 I never planned on updating it as much as I have. Now that he is entering the medical field I needed to completely revamp the entire thing. A few weeks ago he decided to apply for a part time job while he is in school. He emailed me his resume to "fix up." and I did.

ONE PROBLEM- there is a section at the bottom that pretty much stays the same and is basically just a space filler. I added the things that applied to the position he is trying to get like when we were in-home care takers for Josh etc. I 100% ignored the last section of the resume because his "Accomplishements and Special Talents" haven't really change...knowaimeen?

Tonight he pulled up the resume that I emailed back to him so he could go review it and prepare for any questions they might have... this is what he found when he read the resume he had already SUBMITTED along with his application. Aaaaaahhhh! Go on... read his special talents and interests.

Accomplishments & Special Talents

Certified Nurses Assistant (CNA), FluentSpanish speaker, College Honor Roll, Rice-Eccles Scholarship recipient, RicksCollege Business Scholarship, Eagle Scout, Hot Wife, Working knowledge ofInternet and Microsoft Office suite, Honest, Self Motivated, Hard worker. Currently impotent and can’t make babies.Air hockey superstar. Bed wetterextraordinaire.

I don't know how he even got called for an interview.... I mean, "bed wetter extraordinaire?" I think that the people at the hospital either thought it was funny or they actually just have to lay eyes on the guy who put this stuff in his resume. I'm betting on them interviewing him out of curiosity.

John was completely expecting me to laugh at his goofiness and take out his "extras," but that section was completely over looked... completely.

Well his interview is tomorrow and I am DYING to know if it comes up... or if they ask about his problems, and Air hockey superstarness.

I have been laughing so much tonight that I think I pulled something. I will be more thorough in the future. Lesson learned! Maybe "hot wives" shouldn't be in charge of revamping resumes.

Wish him luck! He's gonna need it! ;-)

The corn maze of all corn mazes

2011-10-20T23:55:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving Point only lives (or exists) by one word EXTRAVAGANT.

The corn maze was loaded with activities for kids... and I mean loaded.

We only made it through about half.

First stop was the jumping pillows. Sammers was intrigued but due to lack of a nap he was pretty clingy.. I think on a normal day he would have been all over it. I had to jump with him and he cracked a few smiles, but not his usual enthusiasm.

Jense was in love and after two minutes of jumping was scheming on how to get one of these in the yard. They are quite interesting, and the pillows should have been our last stop because the kids could have stayed for much longer.

Ellie ran from pillow to pillow jumping like she had never jumped before. She jumped with Mia every time she went to the little kid pillow. Little Mia is always getting instructed by her older sis. Little Ellie just wants her to have fun... and takes it upon herself to ensure that it happens.

Jense jumped really

high.

Mia enjoyed the pillows, but quickly found another activity. She ran from activity to activity gasping with excitement when arriving at each new thing.

She was especially fond of the "down da hill."

Someone at TP... TP... he he is an exceptional craftsman and built many a play structure.

The kids really enjoyed the boat.

Mia's little face when she is having fun is such a mommy payday. Every time we take her somewhere I feel like she thinks we're at Disneyland.

My little cougar. Sweet, tired little cougar.

They had tunnels going through big hay stacks...

We took a tractor ride through the corn fields.

I love Ells in this pic.

Tractor races. We peddled tractors that went surprisingly fast.

Mia kept saying "woooo." She gets this from me... I say "wooo" a lot.

Sammer still being a tough crowd.

At least daddy is having fun.

Our final stop, which was a big mistake because they only got to stay for a few minutes was to the princess area.

They had a little area to dress up in a princess dress.

Then they were off to take a pretend ride in a carriage... or on the fancy horse... you pick.

Mia is really really into "pule pule" lately and was thrilled about wearing a purple outfit. She also wanted to climb into that bounce house. She stood at the door for awhile not quite sure if she should... but finally went in for about 30 seconds. This girl loves a good bouncy house. I wish she didn't... I just think of all the germs and I have to close my eyes.

They had a stage and music going for the little princesses to dance.
This is Mia's too shy to dance expression. adorable.

Eventually she warmed up and did some princess twirling for the audience (the random people sitting there). Ellie was born for the stage and had no problem dancing with people around.

My two girls! One pink lovin, one pule pule lovin. I can't get enough of these girls.

Mia was wiped out from all of the excitement she fell right to sleep on my sisters couch. I'm almost positive this is the only time she has fallen asleep on a couch.

Cornbelly's you are by far the fanciest corn maze (we didn't even do the maze) we have ever visited. We will definitely be going again... possibly this season because there is still so much to do!

Hair Cuts all around

2011-10-20T12:00:00.000-06:00

Ellie has been Beeeeegging me to take her to get her hair "cutted."

I held off for a few months, but she wore me down.

The before shot... in desperate need of a good brushing mind you.
My little peanut stayed close to her sister... and her bottle.

All jazzed and ready to go. I should have gotten a picture of the gal who cut her hair. She lived across the street from us when I was little. She was friends with my older sister and I remember wanting more than anything to help them sell lemonade at their fancy lemonade stand. Funny memory.

Fancy new do! She wanted it to her shoulders. She was in love with it... flipping it from side to side as she walked. This girl cracks me up!

Paint my Piggies is a super cute Salon with a fantastic little pink car out front. I took Mia along. I guess this was our first Salon day as girls. Kind of fun. Someday it will be miss Mia's turn.

She was really concerned about her friend being there. A cute girl in her class said she would come watch... her mom runs the salon. She didn't want to start until her friend got there. When they got there I think Ellie felt like a rock-star.

She wanted her hair curly for her first day back at school post hair cut. It's so funny to see my daughter wanting a "big reveal." She is so fun sometimes.

Cute hair Elvis! It grows so fast that I'm sure we'll be cutting it again in no time.

Speaking of growing fast....

Sammers hair gets so shaggy so fast. I like the shaggy look, but JB thinks he looks "homeless" and takes liberties with his boys hair.

My favorite trick for cutting my little ones hair is putting them on the bathroom counter with their feet in the sink. Turn on the water... bada bing... entertained long enough to get the job done.

Daddy did the cutting this time... I took the pictures.

Sam is just growing like crazy, and saying something new I swear, ever day. His favorite word right now is "but." He uses "but" for "button" and is really fascinated with buttons. We have a mobile/white noise machine in his room and the first order of business when we enter his room is turning on the "but." Lucky for Sam there are a lot of "buts" around the house for him to push.

I am in love with this boy. He is still a ladies man and wants to be held by any adult female.... it's kind of funny. He especially has a thing for my sister Raegan. No where but her arms is acceptable for him. Last week when I was going in for a kiss from my Sammer Jam he pushed me away and then turned and gave her a kiss. It was cold hearted but hysterical at the same time. He is growing like crazy and I feel like the mom in the RM when everyone is taking off doing there own thing and she is panicking yelling, "hold the line!!" He is now in nursery and any line holding I was doing before has disappeared. He goes a mile a minute, and there is now slowing him down.

I realize I didn't take an "after" picture. woopsie. There are plenty more pictures of him to come. PAALENTY!

Walk a Thon

2011-10-18T10:10:00.002-06:00

The kids had a Walk-a-thon at school. I still don't know after a million explanations if they understand the concept of getting pledges... walking laps... collection pledges... handing over the money... getting a prize. Multiple adults tried to explain... sometimes you just have to do something to understand. You mean we don't keep the money we earn??? huh? but why not?

Miss Ellie being the caretaker that she is pushed her friend who recently broke her leg around the field... they did quite a few laps. She was insistent that she push by her self.

Then she got some recruits. Ellie is one strong/ compassionate girl. She even earned "cowboy cash" for being such a good citizen. She was on cloud nine the entire day about earning her cash. Not sure what you do with cowboy cash, but hopefully something fantastic.

Once you reach lap 10 they give you watermelon. She walked a total of 19 laps. Ellie asked the watermelon distributors if she could give one to her little sister who was there... yes her little sister and not her little brother. Ellie knows Mia's love for "melmen" and didn't let her down.

Sammers and Mees stayed on the swings pretty much the entire time. Actually Sam yelled at the chickens in a nearby backyard for a solid 10 minutes, but other than that swings were a swingin'. Nana came down just in time for me to stop pushing the swings to get some shots of my boy Jense.

Jense ignored the term "walk a thon" and ran his laps. He is pretty determined.

It was a hot day.

Had I known he was going to sprint his way around the field I would have suggested that he wear shorts.

Run Jense Run! He did awesome.

Well I can check their first fundraiser off the list. Next year (If were still here) I will know that my kids walk/run a lot of laps.... and will pledge accordingly.

I think a few of my neighbors learned this lesson too. :-)

I go... you stay... no following

2011-10-15T22:34:00.001-06:00

This is the last thing that Eli said to Jense and they were driving away. It was the perfectly timed phrase, and he seems too young to be so witty. They watched the iron giant together and it just goes to show how quickly kids pick things up.

I go... you stay... no following. I'm still laughing. I love this kid. He was our neighbor and such a buddy to Jense. He missed him a lot! We miss his whole family.

Levi is definitely a keeper! Such a good sweet kid. Jense has such great friends/ cousins.

Mia said good-bye to grandpa and insisted on a kiss on the lips.

Same for Grandma, but she settled for a cheek.

Jense and Mia and a beautiful Sunday morning.

One final hug before the road.

Thanks again for coming- it was a special treat!

Jense buddy

2011-10-13T23:35:00.000-06:00

Says the sweetest things! He makes me feel like a great Moma.
Can I have another Jensen please?

The "Alfine Slide"

2011-10-12T09:12:00.002-06:00

We were so lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Conway drive ALL THE WAY from WA to come visit us and attend Jensen's Baptism. This picture was just moments after they arrived. Judging from Sammers and Mia we should have given them a warming up phase. Sam has a pretty intense cry, and he will even stop breathing... then he passes out. It's really bizarre. I don't know why he does it. It's as if he doesn't know how to breathe in when he is crying. It doesn't happen as often anymore, but they got to witness him passing out. It scares me, I don't like it at all.

Ah, that's better. He just needed a little one on one with Grandma. Sammers loves his police car. Back in the day when Jense was Sammers age the car had a little radio that would announce, "intruder alert.. intruder alert." I can still hear Jensen's little voice saying, "too doo lert... too doo lert." Sorry Sam, most of the hand-me-down toys no longer work the same.

Our first stop on the road to adventure was in Park City. We took the kids to go down the Alpine Slide...which Jensen has fondly referred to it as the "Alfine slide" since we left. Mia is such a little sweetie standing there with all the big boys.

Getting ready for adventure. Ellie wanted to get inside of the coal cart behind her.

She is one busy little senorita. Mia is gearing up for a funny face.

This is what the Alpine slide looks like. Loads of fun.

Ellie and Eli took the ski lift up with Grandma and Grandpa.

Jensen and Levi were pretty scared when they first got on the lift. Who isn't scared their first time getting on a ski lift? I snuck a picture of them holding hands... so sweet! They didn't say a thing for about a minute... Mia on the other hand kept saying, "all done!" Once we reached the top she was all about being high in the air, and wanted to do it again. Daddy held on tight to her the whole time. I was preoccupied with keeping my shoes on. One little wiggly and down they would go.

The only down side of the Alpine slide is lugging the awkward sleds down the path. You have to drag your own, and with camera bag/purse and kids in tow... I was ready for another lift. You can't see the worker dude... but as I snapped this picture he said, "AHEM, I am going to need everyone's attention in order to get started." I shamefully let my camera slink down to where it could rest around my neck. John thought it was pretty funny watching me get reprimanded by the Alpine Slide teenager. Be forewarned... once you reach the top... ZIP IT! Well, not even that... I wasn't talking... NO PICTURES!

Jense is a HUGE fan of the "Alfine slide" he has asked to go back over and over. We will definitely be going back because I must do the zip line. I haven't been to the Alfine slide in years and didn't know they even had zip line. You ride the ski lift up and zip on down... it looks like a riot! I can't wait. They also have something called the Alpine coaster that looked fun too.

I'll have to look into that as well.

Mia's middle name is slide, so it is no wonder that she was ecstatic about this one. I can't wait to take her back and have her go down with ME. Lately she has been calling slides, "down da heel." It's adorable. When we pass a park she will ask, "mom, go down da heel?" "peeeeeese!"

Ellie and Eli came down at pretty much the same time. I think Ellie pulled the brake a few times and Eli caught up. They loved it as well!

Ciao Park City. We had so much fun, and we'll see you soon for that zip line! I can't wait.