So this is love

Four!

2011-05-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

My little man turned 4 on Monday, so on Sunday afternoon we had a little family party. Den'ja requested a Power Ranger theme. Yep, you read that right, Power Ranger. I blame an old 18 minute long VHS circa 1994 that he discovered at my mom's house. Oh yeah, and the red ranger costume that resides in the dress up arsenal. Are these guys even around anymore?! When I asked the lady at the bakery if they made Power Ranger cakes she kind of laughed a little and said, "Not, anymore". Hmmm, so I of course turned to good old Etsy. I love that people are so giving of their talents. Isn't it a neat way to share something you are good at? I had party circles and invitations custom made and was very pleased with how they turned out. I found cute little water bottles at Michaels for a buck a piece and filled them with Den'ja's favorite candy: Sweedish fish, Gumballs, Tootsie rolls, and Dove chocolates. Yum!

He was completely spoiled with lots of fun presents. I chose to put this picture on here because of his little tongue sticking out. He is like this most of the day, concentrating so hard on whatever it is he is doing.
Blowing out the candles. He was over the moon about this Oreo cake. Cake and Oreos together? True love!
I will probably say this about every birthday he has for the rest of his life, but really I can't believe his is already 4 years old! He is so perfect! I admit I was a little bummed when I found out our first child was a boy. I was sure that a girl would make a better first child. Aren't they more naturally responsible and motherly? He however, changed my mind about little boys. He is the sweetest most caring person I know. I could tell you so many nice things he does for everyone. He is quiet, thoughtful, tender hearted, imaginative, loves to read books, and play games, be outside, build things, go for rides in the razor, is super organized and neat, loves yogurt smoothies, corn and peas, and Popsicles, is a great big brother, a good listener, and seriously hilarious. We love him so much!!

You had me at Aloha

2011-04-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, Hawaii. How I wish you weren't so far away. We made another trip to the Islands. This time to Oahu. Getting there wore us out a little, but it's always worth it! We had so much fun. We visited the Polynesian Cultural Center, played in the water and sand, snorkeled the reefs, played volleyball on a sandbar in the middle of the ocean, ate lots of yummy food, had relaxing evening walks along the beach, made new friends, and created countless memories! Thanks Mom and Dad. I'm always so grateful to have a family that enjoys spending so much time together.

My sister Kylee and Kohana sleeping at the airport

Chilin at the PCC

My water baby
Captain Bob's snorkel cruise; Highly reccomended!
This sweet Japanese lady asked to take a picture of her son with Kohana. So my mom held them on her lap to comply. The Japanese people there were in LOVE with my baby. They all wanted to hold her, touch her, talk to her, ALL the time! It's a dang good thing I'm not a germaphobe!

Six Months!

2011-01-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

At 6 months I will remember

16 lbs. 12 oz
26 inches long
your pink painted toe nails
those two bottom teeth poking through
your big beautiful curious eyes
that you will smile at anyone...unless they have a camera
your contagious giggles
that you can sit up on your own
how much you hate your carseat
watch out because you grab at EVERYTHING
how you smile when I sing to you
that big brother still holds your finger while you fall asleep in the car
your chubby thighs
the silly faces you make when you try new foods
your sweet little grunts when you're trying to reach something far away
how you close your eyes and sigh as you eat
that you get so upset when I am out of your sight
how you hold onto my hair
how much you are loved

Happy Half Birthday Kohana

The cutest pumpkin in the patch

2010-10-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

And the best big brother too!

And then there were four

2010-07-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

The Delivery: PART ONE

On Wednesday, July 14th we finally got to meet our sweet little girl. About 3 days before the scheduled C-Section I started to get extremely nervous. I wasn't sleeping well or thinking well for that matter. I think the only thing I was really good at was being worried. I was worried about how the spinal would feel, if the surgery would go okay, if the baby would be alright.......let's just say I was a mess! The night before Joe gave me a priesthood blessing to put me at ease and I was finally able to get a few hours of sleep. We woke up bright and early so that we could be at the hospital at 5:30 am.

It was so calm and quiet up in labor and delivery and things got started right on time. After being hooked up to some fluids and getting my IV it was time to head into the operating room. The anesthesiologist was so great. After a little sting from the numbing shot he put in the good stuff. All of a sudden my right leg shot right out in front of me. It felt like every nerve in my leg had been electrocuted! It was crazy! I guess it happens all the time, but it was really the strangest thing I have ever felt! They layed me down on the table and in a matter of seconds I couldn't feel a thing! 20 minutes later, after a little tugging and some pressure, she was out! She was beautiful...and tiny!!

Joe always jokes that the reason he married me is so that I could give him some good athletes. Let's face it, with Joe being 6 foot 3 and me at 6 feet tall we are bound to get some big kids. Den'ja was 9 lbs. 1 oz and my doctor was guessing our little girl would be pretty big too. Instead we got a little 6 lb. 14 oz sweetheart. She barely cried at all and I was a little worried, but they assured me she was just fine. There is really no explanation for the way it feels the very first time you see your baby. My heart was so full of happiness and gratitude. I got to hold her right then and was already in love!

The caped crusader!

2010-05-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

This show debuted on television in 1966. It debuted via youtube in our house yesterday. It's a hit! Den'ja has himself a Batman cave complete with Batman, Robin, Joker, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, and Two-Face. He likes playing with them so much that Joe thought he would enjoy the show too. I think it's funny that a show from 44 years ago can peak the interest of my 3 year old, but I'll take it! You'd be shocked at how much laundry I can get put away during an episode of Batman!

Play Ball!

2010-04-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been so lucky! I get front row seats to an action packed game of baseball at least twice a week. The best part is that I don't even have to leave the house. See for yourself.

Oh, Canada

2010-04-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

WAAAAYY back in February, Joe and I took a little trip to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. We were able to spend a whole week there and see so many awesome things! I think I was cold before we even got there. I was so glad that I had made sure to pack my extra fat pants so that I could wear 4 layers underneath them.

We:
Left a debit card in our coat pocket (and left the coat at home) (ME)
Lost a suitcase (Joes)
Were grateful for our GPS
Stayed in a little town outside of Vancouver called Squamish
Gorged ourselves on our favorite Canadian treats
Took public transit more then I think I ever have in my life
Met lots of nice people
Walked, and walked, and walked
Bought tickets from scalpers
Saw firsthand just how much them crazy Canadians love their hockey
Missed Den'ja like I couldn't believe
Got to see lots of Concerts
Payed way too much money for bottles of water and Olympic souviners
Saw team USA win their gold medal in bobsled
and had so much fun!

Someone once said....

2010-03-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

.....that when people stop blogging for a while they assume that they are pregnant. Well...I guess she is right this time. If you haven't heard yet it looks like we'll be needing some of these....

One of these

this...

and of course some of these.

She's expected to arrive in July and we are so excited!!

P.S> We've also been busy doing lots of fun stuff so look for some other posts soon. Really.

I'm not laughing.....okay maybe I am

2010-01-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

Last week Joe and I were screening a magic-mind trick show from the UK to see if it was "clean" enough to show to his psychology class. We had it recorded and had been fast-forwarding through most of the commercials until we got a little distracted and actually found ourselves watching one of the commercials.

I saw it. I laughed. I begged that he rewind it and let me watch it again. Twice.

It was a boy band. Not just any boy band. They are called JLS and it was like N'Sync and The Backstreet Boys adopted 4 British orphans and raised them in a secluded house with no contact from the outside world. They sang. They danced. They used hand gestures to convey every word that came out of their mouth.

Later that night I just could not help myself and searched for them on youtube. Between my fits of laughter I learned that they are fans of foundation, spray on tans, baby oil, and pulling their shirts down to show off their unimpressive, although smooth (and well oiled), pecks.

I made the mistake of having my facebook up in another tab while I was watching their music videos and the second I set my laptop down Joe grabbed it, found their page on facebook, and clicked the "become a fan" button. Yes people I am now a fan of JLS on facebook.

The next day I hopped in the car to run Maeson to gymnastics and to my surprise, instead of hearing Jason Mraz come out of my speakers I heard something quite different. My husband had downloaded the whole JLS album, burned it to a cd, and cued it up to play when I started the car.

So....if you have ever sat around and thought to yourself, "Man! Sometimes I just really miss the late 90's" go get yourself some of this on youtube.

Perspective

2010-01-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

It seems that each time I find the need to complain about something our Heavenly Father gently reminds me of how truly lucky I am, and today I am thankful for that.

Many times in life it seems that I am looking for the "Now" button. Why can't I have what I want right this second? Am I unworthy? Have I done something wrong? It is often difficult to for me to understand. So lately I have really been pondering the virtue of patience. I am by nature a very patient person. I always have been. I remember as a child not being able to understand arguments and anger. I was always the peacemaker of the family, and still am. I can handle crying babies, tantrum throwing toddlers, people driving slow in the fast lane, and the dentist office running a half an hour late. I am able to put my faith in the Lord that things will happen the way they are supposed to, but I am ashamed to admit that I lack the patience to wait for it. Whether it is having another child, finding the perfect job, or finding that person we want to spend the rest of our lives with we must have patience. Timing is not up to us, it is up to Him. I am challenging myself to stay firm in the truth that our prayers our heard, even when they are not instantly answered. We are heard and we are loved and he knows what is best for us.

I am so glad that I have what I have and am so thankful for gentle reminders.

Today

2010-01-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

I took a shower at 10:00 and still haven't dried my hair...in fact I still have a towel on my head. It's almost 1 now.

My son is walking around the house in a pirate shirt, buzz lightyear underpants, and princess shoes, while holding a screwdriver (you know in case something needs fixed)

I've had two diet cokes

I've taken four Tylenol

and can't believe that I have another sinus infection. I had surgery six years ago to fix this problem.

Apparently it didn't work and now all I want to do today is lay in a dark room, with a hot towel on my eyes, a humidifier, and an intoxicating aroma of Vicks Vaporub.

But, Maeson has gymnastics at 2 and I should probably get some pants on Den'ja.

If this goes on much longer I'm going to have to pay someone to change my blog background for me. It's okay if Thanksgiving was over a month ago, right?

I'm not tired

2009-11-22T20:14:00.001-08:00

After Gymnastics

Me: Maeson, why don't you go lay down and rest
Maeson: I'm not tired, I want to color

5 minutes later
Den'ja: Mama, Maeson is sleeping

When the kids learned about the letter "I" in preschool, teacher Heidi showed them some instruments and said something along the lines of, "I just made these with stuff I had at my house, you could make some when you get home" and of course they remembered this. We grabbed some paper plates, poured some macaroni in them and stapled it up. Then the kids decorated their instruments. They had lots of fun and played with them for lots longer then I thought they would. It's the little things.

Ah, the memories!

2009-11-03T21:50:00.000-08:00

I used to love playing with these things when I was younger. We borrowed them from my mom's house and the kids and I had a great time building roads, train tracks, houses, and farms.

Joe and I read to the kids every night and have been thrilled lately that they are choosing to read books that we actually had read to us as children. Some current favorites are "The Monster at the end of this book" and "Rocks in my Socks" it's so fun to see them enjoying books that we enjoyed too and we are so glad that we are able to share them with them!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T22:55:00.000-07:00

My mother spent a small fortune on this so cute Captain Hook costume for Den'ja when we were at Disneyland. Thanks mom!

Maeson originally wanted to be Gabrielle from "High School Musical" I think the day after I ordered her costume online she changed her mind and wanted to be a Musketeer. Yes, a musketeer. She got this idea from watching Barbie and the Three Musketeers. I thought, "Oh No! How am I going to come up with a musketeer costume?" But I actually ended up having a fun time putting it all together and she looked adorable.

Here are both of them before heading out the door to one of our many Halloween parties.

Ever since returning from Disneyland Den'ja has been obsessed with a certain movie.

So of course when we were wandering the Target Halloween section and he saw this costume he had to have it. Halloween is too fun to have just one costume anyway, right? Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!

I'm told....

2009-10-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

that you can draw much better if you actually get ON the table

Leaves!

2009-10-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

Den'ja's new friends

2009-10-05T15:17:00.001-07:00

He had to ask all of them questions, that unfortunately they could not answer. You know the whole not being able to speak and all. Den'ja: "You wearing your cowboy hat?" "You wearin your cowboy boots?" "You wearin your cowboy shirt?"

Den'ja: "George! Say Cheese!" "Are you a pirate?" "Are you coming with us?"

Den'ja: "Is this your house?"

We had so much fun!

Are you ready for some football?!

2009-07-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

I tried to take some pictures of Den'ja while we were over at the lake this weekend. Unfortunately he would only cooperate if I allowed a prop, aka the football. He has also decided to start really "cheesing it" lately. Oh well, he's still cute!!

4th of July

2009-07-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July! We went up to my hometown to watch the parade and spend time with family. Den'ja was thrilled to be there!

He watched the parade until one of the floats came by and threw out frisbees

Then he decided that playing with his frisbee would be a lot more fun then sitting around and watching things drive by. Thank goodness for an active child! I wouldn't trade him for the world.

We played on the slides

And went back to grandmas for fireworks, but my little guy was so wore out that he fell asleep eating his chocolate cake and missed all of them. Papa moved him to the couch and he got nice and comfy. (chocolate face and all)

My uncle Nick went camping and so I got to have his sweet little girl spend the weekend at our house. I had so much fun getting her a pretty little 4th of July outfit and snuggling with her. Seriously, there is nothing better then snuggling with a sleeping baby. Ain't she sweet?! And such a good baby too!
Hope you all had just as much fun as we did!

Happy Campers

2009-07-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

My dad's side of the family had a little "get together' this past week. We headed up to a little spot called Lamoille Canyon which is about 20 minutes from Elko, NV. It was beautiful! We hiked, got dirty, threw rocks in the pond, played in the river, stayed up too late, wore matching t-shirts, and had a blast!

My Mom and Dad

Brothers

Our lavish sleeping quarters

Away from it all...

2009-06-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

My bestest friend and I. We love Karaoke. Notice our background dancer.

Den'ja's Birthday!

2009-05-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

My sweet little guy turned two and I'm still in shock! He had a wonderful, happy day! All he kept saying he wanted for his birthday was a kitty and a motorcycle and lucky for him grandma came through. Lucky for me, it wasn't a real kitty! He was spoiled, as always, by everyone!! I think that Joe is enjoying some of his toys just as much as Den'ja is. It was hard to get a smile out of him when I had the camera out, but trust me he was a happy dude! We had a great "Jungle Safari" party with lots of family.

Remember my cousins cute little twins? Look how BIG they are now! Crawling around, making messes, and cute as ever!

Den'ja is such a joy to our family! He is obedient, has good manners, LOVES sports, is always happy, makes us laugh all the time, and reminds me that we need to say prayer together even on nights that daddy isn't home. He thinks of others and is such a good sharer. Whoever gets him as their big brother someday will be so super lucky! I can't wait to see what he will make out of life, but wouldn't complain if someone finally found the "pause life" button.

We love you little man!!!! You are mommy and daddys reason for all the good things we do!

She's 4!!

2009-05-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my lack of posting. We have had a lot going on in our lives that hopefully I will be able to tell you about soon!

Our little monster had her 4th Birthday this week. I cannot believe she has been in our lives for four whole years. Where does the time go!? I have spent this last week reflecting on her life and how Joe and I are so blessed to have her as a part of our family. Even though she is not really our daughter, from the moment we saw her, we have loved her as if she was. She brings so much joy and laughter into our home and we feel like something is missing the weeks she is not here. We are constantly proud of her and the decisions we see her making as she grows.

We love you miss Maeson and hope that you had an awesome birthday!

He's obsessed with basketball

2009-04-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

The Evidence

Favorite Movie: Space Jam

Basketball Hoops: Everywhere

Things we hear coming out of his mouth:

"Dribble, Dribble, Shoot!"

"Michael Jordan!!!"

"Basketball Jones...oooh eeeh oooh"
"Slam Dunk!"

"Whooosh!"

Shoe of Choice: Nike Jordans

Our Little Rock Climber

2009-03-19T20:32:00.001-07:00

She was so brave! The best part was seeing how proud she was of herself...Priceless!!

Happily Ever....the "After"

2009-03-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

Remember when we moved into our new house and I showed you pictures of how horribly 70's it was? Remember I promised to show after pics? Well I forgot! It seriously hasn't taken us 8 months to do a little updating. Today I will show you the kitchen. We really couldn't have done it without my Dad. He totally rocks!!

THE BEFORE

THE AFTER Tah-Dah!

Now, I will admit that sadness was in the air the day we moved the avocado sink out of the house. The only good that came from it is that now I no longer feel like I need to cook wearing this.

2009-02-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

...Doing my part of the CHAIN...
The first FIVE people to respond to this post will get something given by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make/get for you!

2. What I create or find will be just for you.

3. It'll be done this year.

4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a song. It may be a self portrait or maybe even some creation I haven't yet dreamed up. I may draw. I may bake you something and mail it to you. It may not be big or impressive. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! But lets be honest here. This is me and I will likely do something amazing. =) So come on, sign up!

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to post this same blog on their blog and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS gift from me! Let's keep the chain of love going around!!Hey...just do it...don't be LAZY...it will be FUN!

Confession Tuesday

2009-02-24T12:04:00.001-08:00

There is something that goes on in people's bathrooms that drives me absolutely nuts! In fact, I am so bothered by it that upon setting foot in anyones bathroom I am compelled to fix this problem. It doesn't matter if I know you a little or if I know you a lot. I just can't help it!! What is it?

THIS

Yes...your toilet paper! In my opinion this is the WRONG way to put your toilet paper on the roll. It just doesn't make sense to me!!

Doesn't it look so much better this way? The right way?! I believe it's more functional too!Anyway, I know I may seem a little odd because of this, but I just wanted to get it out there. You're not going crazy! Someone actually is switching your toilet paper roll around. Its me!

Love

2009-02-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

Den'ja.....I sure do love you!But, I do not love the giant messes you create

So each day when you're done making your messes, I would really love it if you'd do this

Why spend money on toys...

2009-02-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

When you can play with boxes?!

My New Blog!

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

For a long time I have been thinking about starting a blog of my own. I believe that every mom should take a moment for herself each and everyday and hopefully this blog will help you do it! Click on the picture to view it and visit often!

Warmer weather!

2009-01-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my mom thought it would be fun to head down to the St. George condo. It was a little spur of the moment, but we weren't going to pass up an opportunity to go somewhere a little warmer. We had a lot of fun!

We played tennis in the Kitchen

Rode scooters

Played video games with uncle Keenan

and ate at Jonny Rockets

Of course us girls couldn't go away for an entire weekend and do no shopping! We drove into Vegas one day to hit our favorite outlets and our favorite mall. While we were at the Fashion Show mall we were able to see all of the Miss America contestants. Maeson thought it was quite awesome!Naturally, she wanted Miss Utahs autograph. While we were waiting for our turn we also got one from Miss Vermont. The first words out of Maesons little mouth were, "We are from Utah too!!" She was so excited!
We couldn't get Den'ja off of this thing. I think we put like 5 dollars into the silly merry go round. Each time it stopped he had to get off the horse he was on and try out a different one and he was waving to everyone like he was the star of a parade. The only bad thing about this little weekend adventure was that I got sick! Seriously sick! We'll just say the ride home included some hurried and unscheduled stops. I jinxed myself before we left by saying, "Ugh, I feel awful....but at least I'm not throwing up". I'm keepin my mouth shut next time.

Snow Fun!

2009-01-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry I really haven't been on the ball with the whole blogging thing for a while. I wish I had some incredible excuse to give you, but I've got nothing! I do however have some cute pictures of Joe and Den'ja shoveling the snow.

In case you didn't notice....let me point out the view behind them in the pictures. This is seriously what we see when we walk out our front door. Isn't it beautiful? We are incredibly lucky.

So where have I been?

2009-01-08T17:12:00.001-08:00

I was absolutely blessed to be born into a family that LOVES to vacation! It is definitely our favorite thing to do and tropical locales are our favorite! The week before Christmas Den'ja and I left with my family for a Carribean cruise. Joe couldn't miss that many days of school, but assured us that we could go ahead and have a good time. Thanks honey! Some people might think I am crazy to take Den'ja "cruising' but rest assured he is our little traveler and has been more places in his 19 months then many people my age have been. He is one lucky kid. This was actually his 3rd cruise! Grandma and Grandpa completely spoiled him and we all had a blast! Here are some pictures from our adventure.

Most of the gang

My mom and I.......we look nothing alike, right?

Little brother Keenan, Sisters boyfriend Keith, Sister Kylee, Grandma, Me, Den'ja, and My mom!

What not to wear

2008-12-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like packing for a vacation to make you realize you have no clothes. This happens everytime I go somewhere. I'm sure you know what I am talking about. You fly through the vast sea of shirts pausing to consider some and completely ignoring others. You almost speak to the shirts as you push them to the side, "no, no, mmm....maybe" etc. As you near the end of the row you realize that you've only chosen 2 shirts when you need at least 7. So reluctantly you start over again and are forced to pack some that aren't quite right, but will just have to do. I honestly have a closet full of clothes so why is it that I have such a dislike for most of them? I'm considering starting a neighborhood shirt program. I picture a giant closet full of shirts that you can "check out" and then return when you are done and of course it is eligible for some kind of government grant that allows us to purchase new shirts twice a month. I suppose while I'm at it we might as well add shoes too. Yeah...I think I'll get right on that.

When at Grandmas

2008-11-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

This past week my parents ventured to Baja California/Mexico for the 41st Baja 1000. Last year my Dad actually rode in it. How cool is that? They came in 15th place which is awesome considering that the average age of the riders was....well, we'll just say over 40. This year the old guys decided that they had done it once and met a goal of theirs so they decided to just sponsor a team of younger guys. While they're away Den'ja and I have been staying at their house to keep an eye on My youngest brother and my lil sis. Den'ja loves it here and stays so busy which is different for me. He is usually at my feet all day long, but here there is so much room and so many things to play with and get into that he is in Heaven. Of course his favorite thing is the basketball hoop. Apparently it rocks to be able to play basketball indoors. One day Uncle Tyler stopped by and played some b-ball and wrestled with Den'ja. As you can see he had absolutely no fun.

So I'm mad at the Gateway......

2008-11-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

***Warning! I'm totally complaining here

Just for your information DO NOT go the the Old Navy there. I went there two seperate times today (long story) and the first time I stood in line for 15 minutes waiting to pay. There was ONE person in front of me trying to make an exchange and only ONE person working the registers. The second time I went in they had two people working the registers and I stood in line for 20 minutes while the person in front of me applied for an Old Navy card. I pride myself on my patience. It's one of my best quailities and even I was getting upset! Not to mention that it's really difficult for a 3 year old and an 18 month old to stand still in line for that long. I'm also mad at the GapKids there. I could barely fit the stroller through the store. I was bumping into displays, racks, and tables of clothes the whole time. It was ridiculous! A children's store should be aware that people with children will probably be coming in. Whew! I feel much better getting that off my chest. I think that I'll try shopping online from now on. :)

I can make that!

2008-11-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

One of the blogs I like to check out often is Just a Girl. Right now she is hosting and "I can make that!" party. The idea of the party is to share an idea of something that anyone would be able to make themselves and would make a great gift. What a great idea with Christmas coming soon and everyone trying to save money. You should really go check out all the great things people have submitted. Better yet...if you have one to submit I'm sure everyone would love to see!

See her blog by clicking here:

My Honey!

2008-11-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my honey's Birthday! He is officially 28 years old now. He started the day with some amazing gifts!! His football boys came over for films and brought him a fabulous cake. A PANcake that is!! Haha. Not to be outdone (those competitive boys) another player brought him a bottle of water. What sweethearts! They are seriously good boys and they crack me up! My gift was a bag of his favorite treat: Nibs licorice. Now I know you're thinking, Geez Joe you really got ripped off! So I have to tell you that he recieved his "real" present from me about a week ago when we went to the Jason Mraz concert!! Yay! We love Mraz, but Joe especially! It was a fantastic concert (despite the weirdos we sat by...wait..were SURROUNDED by) He puts on a great show and his voice is absolutely flawless. I swear when he does his recordings he must be able to have it all done in one take!

Here is where I would insert a picture, but I can't find the cord for our camera...maybe I will add it later.

Then we spent the rest of the day with Joe's Mom and Step-Dad. We had lunch at Olive Garden and then Joe got to pick out his next gift, a new coat. I hope that he had a good day! How could you not when you start it off with pancakes and bottled water!? In honor of the big 2-8 I am posting some random yet wonderful things you may/or may not have know about Joe. I love you millions hon!!

1. Joe has a great singing voice. I love being serenaded on car rides!
2. Joe is supersittious when it comes to sports. He wears his khaki shorts to every football game despite the fact that it is freezing cold outside! Which brings me to number 3.
3. Having Joe around is like having your own portable heater. He is always warm! Having him next to you in bed on cold winter nights is heavenly!
4. Joe promised me when we got married that he would make me laugh everyday. He has been true to his word. He's hillarious.
5. Joe is almost always the one that does the laundry. Love it! (this may be because I'm terrible at getting it done)
6. Joe likes to make up words in the kids' storybooks. I'm sure they are better that way. Den'ja and Maeson love it! Sometimes I will be reading a story and Maeson will say, "That's not how Joe reads it!" Ooops
7. Joe has perfect (or beyond perfect) vision. I truly hope that all our children inherit this from him.
8. Sometimes on his way home from work Joe will stop and get me a nice big Diet Coke! Somehow this always seems to happen on days that I am especially stressed out and it really hits the spot.
9. Joe didn't mind one bit when I wanted to have my cousins little girl come to our home and he loves her and treats her just like he would his own little girl
10. Joe was able to finally get me in the habit of saying my nightly prayers. Before we met I was horrible at it, but since we've been married we haven't missed a night!
11. Joe is a big kid. He skips in the parking lot with Maeson, jumps over puddles with Den'ja, and you can totally find them in any store because they are so loud! :)
12. Even though we are busy and don't have a lot of time, Joe always finds a way for us to spend some time with each other.
13. He is a fantastic Dad! You will never see Den'ja more excited as when his daddy comes home from work. It's my favorite part of the day too!
14. Joe rocks at making up silly songs. We do this in our house daily, and we're both pretty good, but Joe is the best!

Aren't I a lucky girl?

Sweet!

2008-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but between Maeson and I we are always needing ponytail holders. I found this awesome coupon for two bucks off any Goody brand ouchless product. If you print it out and take it to Wal-Mart you can get them for 12 cents! Here is the link to the coupon if you're interested.

http://www.goodycomfort.com/res/pdf/ouchless_coupon.pdf

Babies Everywhere!

2008-10-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend we babysat my cousin Cassie's adorable twin boys. I was worried about how Den'ja would react to mom taking care of someone other than him, but found out that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. He was the best little helper. He constantly wanted to hold one of them and as you can see when he had them in his arms he was thrilled!

Den'ja and Cannon

Den'ja and Parker

Sorry it's blurry, I was making a dive to catch Parker before he tipped over.

I think it's hillarious that they look nothng like each other. Cannon looks more Asian and Parker looks more Hispanic. (My cousin is neither one, haha) It was amazing to me how extremely different their personalities were. Cannon is so layed back and easy, and Parker is demanding and a little whiny. We had so much fun with them!!

No Way!

2008-10-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

So who can resist those cute little baby/toddler jammies? When last winter ended I went on a pajama binge to stock Den'ja up for this Winter. Not only were they on sale, but they were cute to boot! Since it's been getting colder I decided it was time to break out the warmer pjs. Out of the six pairs of pajamas I bought only one pair fits!! Blah! I shouldn't have assmed that because he was going to be 18 months, that he would actually fit into 18 months. So in trying to save money I think I will end up spending more instead. Boo Hoo. So here is Den'ja snoozing in the one pair that actually fits. He hasn't been feeling very well so I layed him on my bed while I went to clean the toys out of the tub. This is what I found when I came back. Poor little guy!

Oh, how I love the magic eraser....

2008-10-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

I am always unsure of what to do when I return from Sam's Club/the grocery store and have to bring all of our purchases into the house with Den'ja. Especially since he is a little clingy lately and doesn't like me to leave his sight. Usually I just hope and pray that he will fall asleep on the way home and I will be able to unload the car as he snoozes away. I have even been known to drive around town for a few minutes if I can tell he is close to falling asleep. When we pulled into the driveway today after our shopping trip he was still bright eyed and fully awake. Shoot! So I brought him into the house and distracted him with some toys. I then snuck out to at least bring in the frozen and cold items. I am completely unsure of how he was able to do this so fast. I am just sure that he was formulating his plan the whole way home. When I came back into the house I found Den'ja on the kitchen floor with three different crayons just scribbling away. The worst part is that I have to take the blame for this one. I am the one that left the box of crayons within reach and I am the one that has been encouraging him to be artistic lately. (I just love his little scribbles) After confiscating the crayons I attempted to clean the floor with a wet rag. It wasn't working. I then tried scraping the wax with my fingernails. Still wasn't working. So then I whipped out the good old Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Tah Dah! Good as new. So today I must give my thanks for it's cleaning abilities and make a mental note to ALWAYS put the crayons away.

We love grandma!

2008-10-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Den'ja got a package in the mail. Here is what was inside.

We see grandma in person at least once a week, but since getting mail is so fun she decided to send it this way. Den'ja loves his "pumpins" and we hear "vroom, vroom, vroom" wherever he goes! Thanks Mom!

I'm it!

2008-10-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

7 Things

7 Things I plan to do before I die:
1. Have at least 3 more children
2. Learn to play the piano
3. Write a children's book
4. Visit every continent (Except for Antarctica...that just doesn't really interest me)
5. Convince myself that I actually enjoying running
6. Take Joe to every Major League ballpark in America
7. Enjoy every moment with my children

7 things I do now
1. Blog
2. Drink Diet Coke
3. Laugh (Living with these two guys is sure entertaining)
4. Read the Princess and the Pea or more like recite it, since I have it memorized. It is Maesons current favorite.
5. Change diapers.
6. Think about how blessed I am
7. Love my Husband

7 things I can't do
1. Paint my own fingernails. My right hand always ends up looking awful.
2. Hold a snake. Ewww!
3. Sleep through the night
4. Go an entire 24 hours without sweeping my kitchen floor.
5. Watch TV on Saturdays. For some reason our television won't show anything, but college football. Strange huh?
6. Win a game of Clue against Joe. He is very sneaky!
7. Sleep without my favorite blankie

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex
1. Makes me laugh
2. Honest
3. Tall
4. Smells Good
5. Good with children
6. Hard Worker
7. Is Sweet (I am a hopeless romantic)

7 celebrities that I like
I chose to omit this one. I don't know any celebrities well enough to know if I would like them or not, but Matthew McConaughey is sure nice to look at.

7 favorite foods
1. Anything with peanut butter
2. Costa Vida chicken tacos
3. Crab Legs
4. Joe's famous "Salmon Spectacular"
5. Oreo Milkshakes
6. Tuna Fish sandwhiches
7. Grapes

I don't know who has done this tag already and who hasn't. So if it's a slow blog day and you're looking for something to do feel free to do it!

A Time Saver

2008-09-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

Den'ja LOVES to play out back on the swingset. The other day I was trying to finish cleaning up the kitchen when Den'ja started whining at the back door like a dog that really had to go pee. Haha. I decided that the dishes could wait and out we went. While we were playing he discovered that it is much quicker to climb up the slide then it is to take the ladder. I believe that this will be his default method of scaling the swingset from now on.
The people that lived in our house before we bought it really loved yard ornaments. They left a ton of them and since I'm not a big yard ornament person I let Maeson use them to decorate the swingset (aka her house). When Den'ja saw poor Mr. Terra Cotta Turtle and Miss Plastic Ladybug he thought that they would enjoy a little fun on the slide. I think he had more fun pushing them down then he did pushing himself down!

It's really too bad that I practically die when I am outside for more than oh, 2 minutes! This awful allergy season had better be over soon! It was worth the runny nose, itchy eyes, and sneezes though buddy!!

Photo Shoot

2008-09-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

I love taking pictures of my little guy. Especially since he seems to grow and change everyday! I just think he is adorable and he make the silliest faces!

Cupcakes and Shoes

2008-09-09T15:27:00.001-07:00

I found a cupcake kit on clearance at TJ Maxx and knew that Maeson would just love it. It had everything that you need to make a dozen cupcakes complete with sprinkles. Maeson's has already decided that in life everything is better with sprinkles. She wants to put them on everything we make. Den'ja LOVED eating the sprinkles

Don't mind my squinty eye. We're lucky if we get one eye open with me. Two is simply too much to ask.

This sunday before I took Maeson back to her grandma's I walked into her room to find her frantically shoving her shoes onto a shelf. This picture is where her shoes go when they are put away.

And here is her handywork

When I asked her why she was putting her shoes on that shelf she said that she didn't want Den'ja to get them. I had to laugh. Den'ja loves shoes. He is especially concerned with the poor shoes that aren't being worn. We seriously can't leave our shoes out or else he follows us around with them until we put them on. I found it hillarious that she was worried that while she was gone Den'ja would be hauling her shoes around. After she was gone I put them back where they belong. And yes Den'ja has already drug them out of her room. Shhhh! Don't tell.

Busy, busy.....

2008-08-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that you have all stopped even looking at my blog, as it has been so long since I have updated! :) We are still here, but have been completely enjoying our summer. We have had a lot of fun so this well be a LONG post! We went to Vegas to visit Joe's dad and see him get married. We took Maeson with us and I seriously couldn't have asked for better behaved children. They were troopers through the airport and angels on the plane. Every once and a while the plane would dip and make your stomach drop. It wasn't bad, but scared Maeson a little. She asked if we could ride a bus on our way home. So funny! She mostly just watched Dora on the Ipod, while Joe and I entertained Den'ja. He, of course, fell asleep about 5 minutes before we landed. Oh well! There was a aquarium at the hotel that was full of huge fish and stingrays. Every night they would have a mermaid go down into the water with the fish. Maeson was in awe. She said to me, "Look JJ a mermaid! They are REAL not pretend!" I think she could have sat and watched for hours. Den'ja was afraid of the fish. We must need to get out more. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures. I loaded them onto my mom's computer to print some and it deleted them off of my memory card. The wedding was in a itsy bitsy little chapel and it was soooo hot! But it was very nice. They wrote their own vows and it was probably the fastest wedding I have ever attended! Congratulations Bryan and Jill!!

A week after getting home, Den'ja and I went back to Vegas with my mom, grandma, and sister for our annual shopping trip. It has always been a school clothes shopping trip, but since my sister is a senior this year we decided to continue in the future and just call it our girls shopping trip. We drove this time and Den'ja did great in the car. He became obsessed with the movie "Harry and the Hendersons" because it was one of the only dvd's to watch in my moms car. He would pick up the dvd case and hold it up to the screen and when it was on he was glued to it! Can you believe it! I have so much fun with my mom, grandma, and sister. They are totally a blast and we laugh the whole time!

Den'ja playing in my makeup bag in the hotel room.

My sister practicing her "Kim Kardashian Pose" (Yep she has a tissue up her nose, I'm so dead)

We've also had a couple of fun trips up the the Bear Lake condo, and visited Hogle Zoo.

Den'ja helping Kyle get the cooler ready for the trip to the lake.

Joe began his first year of teaching. He has three different classes so it is a lot of work preparing three different lesson plans each night. The football team is hangin in there and they are 1-1 so far. Joe is really liking working with the boys and I think he is teaching them a lot. He is such a great coach and teacher for them.

Den'ja couldn't be more thrilled that football has started. He loves to watch them throw that ball around. Anytime we are near a football game we have to make sure we take Den'ja his own football, otherwise he is trying to steal someone elses. He just watches, grins, and yells "football, football, yaaaayyyyyy! "

Friday, I was up in Cache Valley to help with the Charity Golf Tournament. Every August my Dad's company does a golf tourney benefiting Special Olympics. It's a lot of fun for everyone and Friday was such a beautiful day! We were able to raise a record $11,000 this year which is fabulous. USU has one of the largest special olympic teams with around 80 athletes and we are so excited that we are able to help. As I drove home through Sardine Canyon I noticed that the trees are already starting to change colors. Fall is my favorite time of year so I am excited! I hope that you all have had a great summer as well!

Forgive me, but I feel the need to brag

2008-08-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Joe calls me on the phone and asks what my plans are for the night. I tell him that I don't really have any and he asks if I want to go to a Bees game. I say okay and then he hits me with the big news. He couldn't contain it any longer and blurts out, "I'm working the Bees game!" Now this is big news. Joe has been dreaming of umpiring a triple A game for such a long time. He began umpiring to make extra money and fell in love with it. He is so good at it and has moved up the ranks at an incredible pace. Many umpires will NEVER get the chance to umpire at this level. We of course had to get tickets that night and we watched him much more then we watched the game. He was awesome and says that the experience was "Incredible". He is still on cloud nine about the whole thing. Here are some pictures!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-07-24T14:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. In honor of her special day I thought I would share some thoughts about my mother. I am quite certain that if you were able to pick your mom, sister, daughter, aunt, or grandma that my mom would have quite a line up of people for her. So many that we'd probably have to do a lottery to make it fair. For example, my mom bought eight tickets, front row, for the stadium of fire this year so that my little cousins could see Miley Cyrus. She didn't do this for any specific reason, only because she knew it would bring smiles to their faces. My mom routinely takes Den'ja for sleepovers. He loves his grandma so much and I am able to relax knowing that he is in very capable hands. The best part is that I don't have to pack a single thing for him because she has everything he needs at her house. Recently she has been spending evenings up at the hospital with my cousin who is on bedrest expecting twins. She takes her up movies, magazines, and games to help pass the time and stays with her so she's not lonely. Also, my mom is a great example to me. Recently she was called to be the primary chorister. This is funny for three reasons. One, my mom cannot read music. Two, she cannot carry a tune. And three, she has no idea how to lead music. Despite these facts she readily accepted this calling and has decided to give it her absolute best shot. She is learning a lot and although I'm sure it is a little stressful for her she has shown me that a positive outlook and willingness to serve are what's most important. I could go on and on for days about my mom and her amazingness, but I will quit now. Happy Birthday, I love you and you're the best mom!

Finally.....some fun!

2008-06-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy lately working on our house. It seems like we get up early, stay up late, and that their aren't enough hours in the day. I feel so bad for Den'ja and Maeson. They've been couped up inside watching us work. We decided that we needed to have a little fun this week. It's finally feeling like summer so I let the kids play in the sprinkler. Den'ja LOVES water, so we broke out the Elmo Sprinkler that Uncle Keenan got him for his birthday. They had such a blast. We will definitely doing it again.

Den'ja Splashing

He got brave and decided to crawl into the middle

Maeson "tasting" the water

If you know our family at all, you know that we love our bees games. Our favorite day to take in a game, other than opening day, is when the Famous San Diego Chicken comes to town. This guy is hillarious and he happened to be here this weekend. He performs various pranks on the field and is quite entertaining. Maeson calls him "my chicken" and loves him from far away, but is scared to pieces when he gets close. If you've ever thought about attending a game, but thought you might be bored. You should really give it try. I thought the same thing, but the people watching is fabulous, the hot dogs are great, and I've always thought that guys looked good in baseball uniforms. Seriously though, Joe has turned me into a baseball fan.

The Famous Chicken

Den'ja and Daddy

All of us

And just to make your day I'm including a future blackmail picture. Den'ja thought that he would try on one of Maeson tiaras. I couldn't resist.

Home Improvements

2008-06-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't know, Joe has accepted a job teaching and coaching football in the thriving metropolis known as Morgan, Utah. Although it is a small town we are excited that we get to raise our son in such a good community. We managed to find a great house with tons of space and enough property for us to be happy with. There was a large additon done to the house in 2004 that provides me with my wish list (a huge jetted tub and walk in closet, yay!), but the downside is that the rest of the house was built in the early 70's and you can so tell! I kid you not, when you walk in the front door there is carpet on the walls. I have never seen this before and would be okay if I never did again. The bathroom tub and sink are a lovely shade of yellow, the kitchen sink is avacodo green, and one of the bedrooms is half carpet, half linoleum with paneled walls. As terrible as this sounds I am actually quite excited! I am such an HGTV DesignStar wannabe and I have a vision. We spent all day Friday up there painting and I am always amazed at how big of a change a $25.00 can of paint can make. There is still a lot to be done before we move in, but by the time we are finished you won't even recognize it. I am including some pictures so that you can see I'm serious. Just remember that these are the "befores" and that there will be "afters".

Den'ja is huge and meet Maeson...

2008-05-31T22:38:00.000-07:00

This last week we took Den'ja in for his 1 year check up. When we arrived the nurse informed us that he would be needing SIX shots. I said, "What!?" and she explained that since he didn't have any at 9 months he would need six now. This is when I got a little concerned. See, I know for a fact that we took Den'ja to the doctor at 9 months and that he had two shots at the time. I explained this and it turns out that the nurse who gave him his shots never recorded it in the computer. How does this happen? Needless to say I was a little upset. My big guy ended up with four shots instead and screamed like a girl until the nurse gave him a sucker. He's no dummy. He is well aware that tears are rewarded with treats at the Docs office. He weighed in at 26.4 lbs. and was 33 inches long. Both of which are in the above 95th percentile. He's a big guy!

Then it occured to me that some of you who read my blog may wonder who this Maeson is that I sometimes speak of. It's true that we do only have one child, but every weekend the fun, the laughter, and the love is expanded. She is my cousins daughter and we love having her. She has been coming to our house since she was six weeks old and we would consider her our own any day. So here is a little about Maeson. Maeson is 3 years old. She loves music. She memorizes songs so quickly and loves to "perform" for whoever will listen. Her favorite song to sing is "Take me out to the Ball Game" and if that wasn't enough for Joe to be proud of, she also LOVES baseball. Her favorite thing to do is go to Salt Lake Bees games with us. She is especially fond of the nights that we can run around the bases after the game. She loves to play catch and hit balls and already has her own baseball card collection. She also loves helping make cookies (She's the best peanut butter cookie smasher), Dora the Explorer, chicken nuggets, anything princess, reading books, and riding her bike. She loves her Den'ja, or Dayna-Boo as she calls him. They play really well together most of the time and make each other giggle often. She is a sweetie pie and a real joy to have around. We truly love her.

And lastly, this weekend we went up to Evanston for High School Graduation. Joe completed his student teaching there this spring and he was excited to see some of his students again. I could tell that they all really missed him after he left. He is going to be such a wonderful teacher! Congrats class of 2008. We also got to spend time with Joe's mom and stepdad. I got some great bargains at the yard sales and Den'ja was happy to see Grandma and Grandpa. We appreciate them letting us stay.

Our feathered friend

2008-05-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

We have a bird problem. The last few days we have had a little birdie who has made himself at home on the deck. The problem is that he sees his reflection in our sliding glass door and thinks that he has found a friend. He squawks at himself and then tries to make nice with his "friend" by pecking his mirror image. Now, some of you may be reading this and saying, "oh, how cute". It is not cute. It is extremely annoying. The only thing we can think of to get rid of him is to set up some dummies to scare him away. So, at the moment Den'ja's baseball playing bunny and Maesons "Pandy the Panda Bear" are sitting at our window. Yes, it's not the best look as far as curb appeal goes, but we don't care. Hopefully he finds a REAL friend soon and moves on.

Happy Birthday Den'ja!!

2008-05-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today is Den'ja's first birthday. I was flooded with emotions today as I thought about what we were doing one year ago. Since our stubborn son was alrieady eight days late I was going to be induced. Joe called up to the hospital at 6 AM on the dot (the earliest we were allowed to call). He was so anxious and excited. It was adorable. I layed in bed, terrified. It's funny as I think about it now. I really had nothing at all to be afraid of. Even though I spent hours pushing and ended up needing a c-section none of it was as bad as I had imagined. It's funny how we can work ourselves up to fear things we don't really understand. Today I was first sad. I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by. It's like I blinked and my baby is not a baby anymore. I'm certain that the next years of his life will go by just as quickly and I suppose I am mourning that a little. Then I was proud. Den'ja impresses me each day with the things he learns and does. It's amazing that such a little body can bring such joy and love into our lives. I could talk about him for hours and wouldn't run out of things to brag about. Lastly, I was overjoyed. Sometimes when I sit and watch Den'ja and his daddy playing, laughing, and having fun I have a silly grin spread across my face. I think of how I am so lucky. This is what I've been waiting for my whole life. Motherhood is undescribable. I could try to explain it, but would never do it justice. My heart soars to think of what a wonderful opportunity I am allowed. I guess I'll just say that being a mom rocks and I would highly reccomend it!

We are celebrating Den'ja's birthday after Sunday dinner so check back for an insanely cute cake on the face pic. I won't dissapoint!

What was life like before?

2008-05-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today while I was fixing myself some lunch I was also filling a sippy cup, cutting up orange slices, and picking up toys that had been flung to the ground and it hit me. I thought to myself, "Wow, I must have been so bored before we had Den'ja". I was thinking about how simple it used to be to just make myself a sandwhich and plop down in front of the TV to chow down. Sometimes I am stressed with all the stuff that comes with having a child. They are really a lot of work, but I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. My life has never been busier or more complicated and I love it!! I am truly lucky.