Andrew, Stacey, Ashton and Aiden♥

Christmas tree o' Christmas tree

2011-12-29T22:46:00.000-08:00

I LOVE my Christmas tree this year!

Andrew and I went to three different tree farms (In the icy cold of Utah night) to find just the "right" tree... when we walked into the third place, we both saw this one right away, like it was glowing and meant JUST for us... maybe thats why I love it?! OR, maybe, its because it's in our very own home this year?!! Or, because those huge red flowers were clearanced out for 50 cents each?!? Or possibly, its because my little boys LOVE it... They get more excited about the lights being on than I do (if thats possible) and the ornaments become the perfect little balls for them to roll into every room of the house.... lol, but seriously, I don't mind. Because I "get it", CHRISTMAS TREES ARE AWESOME... :)

...I dont ever want to take it down.

5 Years of bliss.....

2011-10-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today is our anniversary! 5 sweet years under our belt. :)

Im grateful that I found this catch of a man and for all of our crazy adventures together.

I love being Mrs. Andrew Terry...

Happy anniversary, babe!

Brought to you today by the letter D...

2011-06-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

D is for Daddy!

It's been a while since I've written on here, but I thought to myself, what better time to get back on then Fathers Day? Am I right?

I wish this picture bigger, so you could clearly see the love that my Daddy has for me. :)

I have the BEST Dad in the world! From toddler tickles to teenage tender letters, he has always showed me how much he loves me. All I can say is that Im sure I have him wrapped around my little finger, because I know that he would do anything for me!

...and how lucky are my boys to also have the BEST Daddy in the WORLD!?!? :)

Our hearts have a huge place for you, Daddy, this weekend and always!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to ALL of YOU AMAZING DADDYS!

Noa Lorelai Shook

2011-01-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the world little Noa!

Congrats to my sister, Chrissy and her husband, Gregg!Their sweet little girl was born at 3:47am on Jan. 3rd. She weighed 7.1 pounds and came out completely adorable.

I was honored to be there to witness the miracle and see her just seconds old.
She is an exteremely special little girl, loved sooo much (especially by her big sister)! ♥

The four of them are all together at last! :)

Christmas Morning

2010-12-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas was full of trains, cars and motorcycles, plus a lot of hugs and smiles.

Aiden kept saying "whoa" after opening each gift and Ashton LOVED every single thing he got,

A LOT. :)

He would say, "Mom, I love you" all throughout the day and give me big hugs-- that was my favorite part of Christmas day...

We had a wonderful day and hope you did too!

It's been POURING!!

2010-12-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

Finally got to see Santa...

2010-12-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

...before his busy weekend! :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Chick-Fil-A Carolers

2010-12-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

Bradley, Jammie, Brady and two of their friends are hoping to win the Chik-fil-a
Christmas Carol contest! Watch and see what you think!
If you want to vote you can go to the hidden valley pkwy chik-fil-a facebook page, "like" their page and then "like" the video submission you think deserves to win.
I know I'm a little biased, but I think they seriously are the best!

My pirate-cowboy turned THREE!

2010-12-14T17:52:00.001-08:00

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

2010-12-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

(The goose, being Me.)

Boy, wasn't Thanksgiving delicious!?

I really blew it on my Thanksgiving count down. I'm not going to give any excuses... I'm just going to move on.

Christmas!

I'm ready! Sure, I haven't bought a single gift yet or placed any decorations around the house. So, I'm not that kind of ready, but I can't wait for Christmas morning and I'm loving the anticipation of it all.

We kicked off the month with an FHE walking through a huge neighborhood that lit their homes with the spirit of Christmas. It was a joy to walk through. We all had bright eyes, especially Ashton. :)

I lost count of the days...

2010-11-17T10:34:00.001-08:00

I'm a few days behind...

We went to Utah for my brother in law, Nic's, wedding!!

It was wonderful... and I know you'll all forgive me for being away. :)Nic was married in the beautiful Bountiful temple. It was a fresh, crisp, snowy day! Such a beautiful day to get married!

I am SO grateful for temples and that our families can be sealed together FOREVER!

Welcome to the family, Jeanette! You two are perfect together and we love seeing you both so happy!While ALL the Terry's were together we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving!

It was delicious and wonderful to spend time together.

I am so grateful I joined an amazing family.

I got that double-double package... I love my inlaws. Best deal ever. :)We were also able to celebrate Aiden's birthday with everyone in Utah!

His birthday was yesterday and he turned 1.

I am SO grateful we were able to have a second baby...

He makes me smile more than any one in this whole world.

Happy birthday! Best 365 days ever.

17 days...

2010-11-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

By midnight, I knew it was going to be a long night... Aiden threw up and then Ashton. He kept it up all night long. A marathon, 16 episodes.

I finally fell asleep at 5am.

I am SO grateful for my body and the healthy and "normal" I usually enjoy.

I am even more grateful for the perfect little bodies I adore. I wish I could take away their misery... :(

I am so fortunate that they are usually healthy and strong.

Health is one of my FAVORITE blessings...

...Of all time.

18 days...

2010-11-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to rain.

I opened the door to peek and the air was so fresh and the sky so breathtaking, that I left the door wide open for over an hour just to watch the rain fall down. My boys were equally in awe.

It was the perfect morning.

I am so thankful for the beauty of this world.

19 days...

2010-11-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

Today, I've been overwhelmed.

My Primary counselor moved away months ago and I have had the hardest time replacing her and a primary teacher who moved away. I have been submitting names and for so many different reasons, no one is available to except the call. It took me 9 months to find a Primary chorister, so I was ecstatic when I finally found someone who would do it and I could rest my very full, droopy arms. :)

So, today and every day, I am grateful for people who support each other and who are willing to volunteer and help someone who is overwhelmed or can't do it alone.

Even if it's just signing up to bring a potato salad or taking down the chairs.

Okay, okay, so hopefully I'm not sounding less grateful and more ornery...

I'll just say, I sincerely appreciate the time and service that people put into their wards and friends. What a blessing to have support. What a blessing when your load is a little lighter...

20 days...

2010-11-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for my Grandparents. ♥

Tonight, we are celebrating their 60th wedding annivesary!

They are incredible.

They make each of their grandchildren feel loved and special.

I am a very lucky girl to be surrounded by such love.

A month of ThAnkSgiViNg....the countdown begins.

2010-11-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving is in 21 days...

I love this time of year.

Both of boys were due November 26th, so, naturally, Thanksgiving reminds of that special time when I was either impatiently waiting or happily holding the brand newest little person of my dreams...

I am SO grateful for my two little bundles of boy. :)

They are the greatest joy of my life.

I'm a pink color.

2010-11-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Ashton had all his crayons spread out on my bed with a cute little coloring book he got for Halloween. He started picking up his crayons and telling me which colors they were...

Blue: "Racecar color"

White: "Ghost color"

Green: "Monster color"

Brown: "Dirt color"
Pink: "Girl color"

Red: "Red color"

2010-11-01T11:58:00.001-07:00

2010-10-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

One last one...

Because after all, Halloween is a family holiday.

Pirates, Sharks, Monsters and Ladybugs...

2010-10-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

My ward Halloween party is next week.

I am in charge of the costume contest, so I've been working on the categories and these award certificates today. Heres what I've come up with...

Now, how can I possibly decide which children should win?!

...I'm going to need to more judges.

What were you doing four years ago, today?

2010-10-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

~October 21, 2006~
Four years ago, today, I was waking up early, curling my hair, putting on a beautiful pearl necklace, white dress and a sparkly diamond ring.

I was cutting the most beautiful cake I've ever seen, dancing to special music, smiling so much my face hurt and promising over the alter to spend the rest of my life with a man who adores me.

It's been a pretty great four years from then to now.

♥ Happy anniversary! ♥

~October 21, 2010~

Halloween is coming!!!

2010-10-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

This video was taken back when Ashton was an only child... aw, he's so little.

We were at the party store and we finally got him to look up!

He loves Halloween.

We can't wait.

Baby Steps!

2010-10-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

He's getting ready to take off!!!

During these pictures he took 3 consecutive steps!

He stands up on his own all the time, but when we try and make him walk to us, he cracks up laughing until he ultimately looses his strength and falls over in laughter.

It's pretty fun.

(and to answer the question on all of your minds, yes, I do usually dress my children, everyday, like a normal mom...)

***crazy coincidence, I was just looking through past videos I've posted and exactly two years ago, today, October 13, 2008 I put up a video of Ashton taking steps!!---and yes, he was in only a diaper then too, history repeats itself.

You can't just freeze the expiration date away...

2010-10-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

I obsess over expiration dates.

If it's not within the date on the packaging, I toss it out. It doesn't matter if the mold hasn't taken over yet or if it still smells normal.

It grosses me out, period (don't hate me for sounding wasteful)...

So, I was excited to find out the amount of time things stay fresh when you freeze them.

I am happy share this vital news, because, even if frozen, food does not last forever...

Bacon: 1-2 mos.

Bread: 2-3 mos.

Casseroles: 2-3 mos.

Cooked beef or pork: 2-3 mos.

Cooked poultry: 4 mos.

Cookie dough: 3 mos.

Fruit: 8-12 mos.

Frozen dinners: 3-4 mos.

Hot dogs: 1-2 mos.

Lunch meats: 1-2 mos.

Sausage: 1-2 mos.

Soups and stews: 2-3 mos.

Uncooked chicken (parts): 9 mos.

Uncooked chicken (whole): 1 year

Uncooked steaks, chops or roast: 4-12 mos.

Uncooked ground meat: 3-4 mos.

Vegetables: 8-12 mos.

♥Thank you Yahoo for this great information.♥

Home made cookies, EVERY day!!

2010-09-30T10:07:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, I learned a juicy secret from my childhood...

First you need to know the background history,

If any of you know my mother, you know she is exceptional in the kitchen! Her bread has won ribbons, her cinnamon rolls make our mouths water... So, I grew up with homemade pies, breads, scones and cinnamon rolls on a regular basis, my favorite was always the left over raw dough from anything, :) but after a long day of work, my Dad's favorite were home made chocolate chip cookies. So, we always had them in the house and we always admired Mom for happily jumping to my Dad's request at the end of her long day to whip up a fresh daily batch.

Talk about LOVE! When we reminisce about the chocolate chip cookie days, we say things like "aw, mom you must really love dad", "wow mom, you're such a great wife", "someday, we want to be just like that with our husbands", that kind of stuff...

Well, this last weekend I learned the truth!!!

It turns out, those many years ago, my mom was actually making those cookies for herself!!

lol. She needed a sweet treat at the end of a long day with 8 kids. Who can blame her??

What I want to know is, how many of those cookies did she eat before she arranged them so beautifully on the platter and hand delivered them to my Dad? :)

Love you mom, I need that recipe!

"Color Ashton, Mom"

2010-09-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

It's just another normal day.

OooooOOOooOoOo

2010-09-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

I was up at 5 o'clock this morning in preparation for Halloween...

It's going to be an extra great one this year... finally, a Halloween where I'm healthy and not huge with child.

I can really focus on the TRUE meaning of Halloween (cackles). :)

It's going to be spoooooktacular!

...and my early morning ebay win has got me extra excited!

It's not all bad...

2010-09-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Instead of going on and on about all the trouble my little Ashton is getting into these days, I thought I would share some happier times. :)

Ashton went to Knotts Berry Farm last week without us. So, Andrew and I had fun watching these videos his Grandma took.

He's so brave...

Ashton strikes again!!!

2010-09-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

Seriously?

And this is just a glimpse of the kind of day we've been having.

The worst part of the day was when I went to put a bag of baby clothes in our storage and Ashton locked me outside!

I was in the yard with my crazy mismatched pajamas, banging on all doors, with no cell phone, no keys and no idea what was going on inside with my babies. Arrrgggh. The neighbors probably think I'm crAzy! It took Ashton 20 mins before he finally let me in.

Yes, I will keep my keys in my pocket for the rest of my life.

Then, after lunch the reoccurring blue nightmare happened. Where did he even find this marker?!?

It was worse then the first time. :(

Poor innocent little Aiden.

Can a mother not own a permanent maker these days? Can she not leave the room without being locked out or returning to find blue marker all over her baby?

...I see craZy bloodshot eyes in my near future. :)

In fact, I'm making the poor kids sit on my lap as I write this or else my back would be turned on them and we all know thats a disaster waiting to happen.

Who ever said Saturday nights at home were relaxing? :)

2010-09-12T14:43:00.001-07:00

We had such a busy week that it was actually nice to just stay home this past Saturday night.

Andrew rented a movie and Ashton and I made cupcakes! Actually, I should say Ashton made cupcakes, since he did everything, even the EGGS and the hard parts like, stirring and picking sprinkles. :) (man, I LOVE my camera)
Then, after all the chocolate frosting, baths were given so we'd all be clean and ready for Sunday morning.
It was then that Andrew and I were finally able to relax on our huge, clean bed with our shoes off, phones off and a redbox movie in the dvd player. While we were enjoying doing absolutely nothing, Ashton was busy discovering his artist within.
...with permanent blue marker.
...on his poor baby brother.

There is just no end to his creations. :)

Two really is terrible...

2010-09-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of stuff my two year old does when I turn my back...

...and if I leave the room, he thinks even BIGGER.

You'd think I'd learn my lesson. :)

See ya real soon...

2010-09-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today, our Disneyland passes expire.

We knew the magic had to come to an end sometime...

But, we got a lot of use out of our passes and we will always remember the great year we had at "Mickey's house", as Ashton affectionately calls it. :)

Dirt made my lunch...

2010-09-01T18:18:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I wonder how wild my mommy imagination is compared to other moms. :)

Lately, the thought of letting Aiden crawl alone on the floor is driving me cRaZy!

I'm not worried about the regular stuff, like, um, swallowing a penny or choking on a lego... even getting stuck behind the couch or pulling the books off the shelf wouldn't be so bad... ( I know that sounds horrible--and it would be) BUT, I am worried that if I don't keep my eyes on him constantly, he will find a big scary bug on the floor and start chewing it...

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Am I the only mom?

I googled and couldn't find any pictures of babies eating bugs, so maybe that means it doesn't happen very often? OR, maybe it just means that most people aren't particularly worried about it? hmmm... maybe I've seen one too many bugs on my floor? :)

I wonder...

Oh, Poop. :)

2010-08-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

I remember watching an episode of Jon and Kate plus 8, back when it was "Jon and Kate + 8", I was pregnant with Ashton and watching it on a night when Andrew was gone, since he, lets be honest, hated that show. ♥ It was the episode where Kate was taking pictures of all her kids next to their potty chairs after their first, shall I say, MAJOR use. :)

I seriously thought, even I, who take pictures of ALL things, would never do that, but if I did... :) I would especially never let anyone see it...

Well, today, I was put to the test and pulling out the camera was like, the first thing I thought to do. :)

Needless to say, I am very proud mother.

We bought this potty chair today and Ashton figured out how to use it, literally within minutes of being home! How could I not expose his major accomplishment to the world? :)

Lots of huge hugs and high fives were given and of course a handful of tasteful photographs were taken. :)

Such a milestone.

I hope you all can understand.

A new day, A new shoe...

2010-08-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

Aiden's lost shoe never resurfaced...

SO, we are SO grateful to a shoe fairy who gave us a fresh new start!! :)

We were able to pick up this↑ brand new pair of adorable shoes!

...and I am keeping an extra close eye on these ones. ♥

Rhinos, Rabbits and Bears, OH MY!

2010-08-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

I was having one of those nights when everyone was asleep, but I was still WIDE awake with just my crazy thoughts to entertain me. :)

I was thinking about all kinds of things, but somehow my mind starting comparing my children to animals and thats when the game totally consumed me...

I knew Aiden was definitely a bulldog puppy. No doubt.

Ashton would probably be a rabbit, or a meat eating dinosaur.

Andrew's turn is when I realized I was obsessed with this game... I spent waaaaaay too much time thinking about it. :)

But, I think he's a cross between a Rhinoceros, a brown bear and a panther. Could you imagine such a creature?!? ♥

...and Me?

... that's when I finally fell asleep!:)

Why is my Moms baby floating around in my subconscious?

2010-08-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

We recently got a new camera!
Our old camera lasted us years, but it was getting slow and the flash started poofing out giant clouds of smoke?! What? So, we upgraded to the Rebel and we love it.♥

Lately, our new camera has been showing up all over my dreams.
It was there during my freeway in the sky dream... when I was petting the baby elephants dream... and when Andrew's brother was a zombie dream.
But the two cRaZieSt dreams were both pretty similar...
...the first one, my Mom and I were in a hospital room where she was about to give birth to a baby, but we both realized we forgot our cameras!! So, obviously, we had to leave together to get them. We went down stairways, elevators and through cornfields. We climbed through windows and ended up back at the hospital in time for her to deliver her baby. :)

Trusted camera in hand and ready to go.
...the second one was even crazier,
My Mom was in the front yard and we were just hanging out, then suddenly she announced she was pregnant and she went into labor right then!
I pulled out my camera right when the baby came out and the baby literally landed on my camera, shattering it to pieces!! I was devastated.

I woke up so confused... wondering why I love my new camera more than my moms babies??

...and does my mom have something to tell me? :)

Everybody's doing it....

2010-08-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

I just found out what the #1 selling item at Walmart is every year...

One of these pictures is the #1 selling item and the others are what I would've guessed it to be...

Diapers? Batteries?

Bananas?

Chocolate?

Shampoo?

Whats your guess?

The answer is in my comment section!

PHEW...

2010-08-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

The very 1st thing I did when I got my computer back was shout hooray! Then, I was on a serious search through all the picture files...

It was a huge relief to see them ALL!! :)

So, In honor of the returned computer and to celebrate my pure happiness, I have gathered together some of my favorite photo memories...

I am a happy girl.

Disaster at the shopping center...

2010-08-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

It was 10pm and I was desperately trying to get my kids to fall asleep.

I finally gave up on the tickling, singing and storytelling and just picked them up and put them in their own beds, Ashton to his Lightning McQueen bed and Aiden to his crib.

I turned off the lamp and blew out the candles (yes, I had candles lit, doesn't every mom?).

I climbed back into my bed when I heard Aiden cracking up. Like, HUGE laughing, so I had to see what was going on... Ashton was giving him his Pluto stuffed animal and Aiden was throwing it out of the crib, over an over again. Apparently, it was the funniest thing he had ever seen and they were both rolling with laughter... So, I took a very dark video on my phone, then we soon fell asleep. :)

Fast forward three days later,

THRIFT STORE SHOPPING!!

Andrews mom bought an adorable pair of baby shoes for Aiden.

Little brown suede loafers, perfect for the little man. I was excited because Aiden had just lost the only pair of shoes that fit him during our last trip to Disneyland. :( (by the way, I walked the whole park, twice, backtracking our steps, looking for that lost shoe. I am one dedicated mother). Anyway....

The next day,

My two boys and I were happily making our way through Target.

I was pushing the big red cart, browsing through the basic aisles, you know, the eyeliner display, the Thomas the Train shelf. Aiden was getting fussy, so I picked him up and threw him on my hip, making sure I didn't bump off one of those new adorable shoes. I pushed the cart, had a passionate conversation with Ashton about why I couldn't buy him the 59 dollar train set, then put Aiden in the back of the shopping basket. SHOES STILL ATTACHED.

It was about 3 minutes and 4 aisles later that I noticed his shoe was gone!

My mind went back to the crib shenanigans nights before. I just knew he must've thrown his shoe out of the cart!! I turned around and retraced all my steps, thinking, how far could it have gone?

I ended up spending almost two hours going around and around the store, like a crazy person. By now, the store employees knew me on a personal basis. I talked to every single one of them about the baby shoe. I could feel myself starting to lose my mind and I finally just had to leave. Give up. Surrender to the missing shoe.

I almost broke down into tears at my final approach to the customer service desk... and why not? Both of my babies were balling their eyes out... It was seriously awful.

It has now been 3 days and the shoe is still missing.

I call Target twice a day and before I even have time to explain anything about the shoe, they recognize my voice and tell me NO SHOE. :(

...yet.

A Week of Freak Accidents...

2010-08-12T14:47:00.001-07:00

The poor little children had an off week...Ashton cracked a raw egg onto the hardwood floor and Aiden got to it before I did...

↑This is what happened to his adorable face. Who would've thought?!?

And Ashton had a struggle with a can of root beer. ↓ The soda can won. :(

Their poor faces!

Bath tub babies...

2010-08-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

It took a while, but I finally figured out how to get both of my boys excited about bath time... I fill up the baby bath-tub inside of the real bathtub!!

Silly boys, someday they'll realize how limited this is, but for now, we all enjoy the happy splashes and the cleeeeean soapy results. :)

*** p.s. the huge amount of bottles in there are Ashton's "BOATS", poor kid needs some real bath toys, but those help too! :) ***

JUST for ME!

2010-08-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, all the dots connect and the stars align just at the right time...

When it does, it turns even a small thing it to something AMAZING!

It happened just the other day and occurred in the form of a diaper.

I was pushing the cart through Walmart, I had one thing on my list and 10 minutes to get in and out of the store. We had a swim date with some friends in half an hour and not a single swim diaper for my non-potty trained children.

I found the packages of water diapers, in the baby section, stacked on the shelf. They were $10.00 for like, 20 diapers, which shouldn't have have been a big deal, but we only needed 2 diapers to last us the rest of the Summer (we're just not in the water very often) and I had $15 in my wallet to last for a few days. ugh. I kept looking, hoping there would be a smaller, cheaper package of diapers, somewhere. Up and down the isles I looked, determined to find a different solution. I came up the last isle of baby stuff and there they were...

One lone, beat up package of 11 water diapers. A much smaller package with a beautiful red clearance sticker right on the top. It was the ONLY package in sight and they just happened to be the exact size diaper that both of my boys wear!!

It was a swim-diaper miracle and I knew at that moment, that the package was meant to be purchased just by me. :)

I love when that kind of stuff happens.

Primary Dollar Day

2010-08-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today was an exciting day in our Primary.

The Primary kids have been working hard to earn Primary dollars and have been waiting patiently for the day they could cash them in.

After deciding not to do it at our Primary activity yesterday, TODAY became THE DAY.

It was fun to see how hard it was for each child to decide how to spend their dollars and what they finally ended up picking. I'd say, overall, the fruit roll-ups, mini bubbles and airheads seemed to be most popular. Who would've thought?? :) Personally, I would've gone for a gaint pixie stix or a glow bracelet. ♥

The average was about 2-4 things per child.

It was really fun and I loved being able to reward the kids for doing GREAT things! :) $71 Primary Dollars were redeemed.

...not too shabby!

We're not really Summer-time people, BUT...

2010-07-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

Here's some proof that we, occasionally, leave the luxury of air conditioning to enjoy some festive Summer activity.

The Pink of Perfection.♥

2010-07-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

All of the Hampton Grand kids were together this week, so obviously, it was time to pull out the camera for a photo shoot. :)

They love being together...

...and we're excited for Chrissy and Gregg to add another baby to the group!

Bacon wrapped with frosting on top...

2010-07-27T22:39:00.001-07:00

I took a picture of our dinner tonight.

I think it's probably one of the most delicious foods possible.

Jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and baked with bacon wrapped around them. It's pure perfection... I love them.

I know they can't be good for us, blah, blah, blah... so, that's why we only ate that for dinner, no extra courses. :)Speaking of disgustingly-delicious and horribly bad for you foods, I also droool over these sugar cookies.

Pure sugar, I know, but as I'm sitting here, eating one, I strategize how I'm going to make the container of cookies last while still being able to eat them constantly... What's wrong with me? :)

And those, folks, are my two favorite disgusting foods.

What are yours? :)

Skittles make everything easier...

2010-07-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

While the search is on for a new primary chorister, yours truly is filling in.

This week will be fun and delicious, thanks to a bag of skittles.

The kids will pull out a random skittle to eat and then we'll sing a song that's written in the same color as the skittle they picked.

So easy...

After all the songs are sung... skittle party!!

Taste the rainbow.

Wind of change...

2010-07-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

Change is exciting.
Change is scary.

Change is inevitable.

Today, we welcomed change.

We are excited to announce... drum roll please, a career change!

Andrew walked in, asked for a job and walked out employed!

Just like that.

He's been self employed for over 6 years, so it's kinda a BIG deal.

We are excited for the steady work and feel like it's a HUGE answer to our prayers!

Complete and absolute destruction.

2010-07-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

While Andrew and I were sitting, enjoying a nice movie together, our children roamed the hardwood floor below us. It seemed harmless, but within seconds Ashton was under the computer desk flipping the "off" switch on the power bar. Instantly, the computer, modem, scanner, telephone, speakers and even the movie we were watching through netflix on our wii shut down, all the little lights stopped glowing, all the noise turned into abrupt silence.

We went to turn everything back on and everything started up fine... except for the most important thing of all, our computer. :(

It was MURDERED and although it was a quick death, it was painful.

We are deeply grieving over our precious files and photos.

May they rest in peace.

We love them and will forever regret not having them backed up somewhere. :(

Someday, I'll look back at this day and laugh...

2010-07-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

This morning I had an early meeting before church started at 9am.

I've never been a morning person, especially now that I'm awake at all hours of the night feeding babies and sleeping with children buried in my armpits --just wanted to paint a clear picture. :)

So, since my meeting started at 7:30am, I thought 6:30am would give me enough time to "sleep in" and still get ready... I showered, dressed, dried my hair, put on my make up, changed diapers and gathered my Primary stuff together. I looked at the clock and it was 7:15am. Ahh! Cutting it very close, but I could do this. I just had to pack Ashton's church bag and find my shoes!

I looked over at Ashton who had been just a little too silent. He was eating a piece of chocolate. It was now melted all over my bed... all over his bare back and somehow, all over the white skirt I was wearing?!?! I grabbed a wipe and started scrubbing chocolate off my previously bathed Sunday-ready little boy when I realized my milk was coming in, poor Aiden, :( I forgot to make time to feed him. I was going to be so, so late.

( I suddenly felt like this↑, minus the post-it notes but add a two year old)

I changed my clothes, sped fed my baby, jumped into the car and arrived at the church building only to find that, somehow, I was still the first person there! How did that happen??

It made me wonder what everyone else's morning was like? :)

Welcome to the world...

2010-07-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

ELLIE KARLENE

arrived today!

Congrats to Zak and Rachel!

She was 8 pounds and 11 oz. Born at 2:10 p.m.

They gave her to her momma for 60 seconds, then rushed her away to the baby nursery to be monitored. :( She had a heart murmur and continued to have irregular heart beats all day. :( I went back to the hospital tonight at 7pm to visit and snap some pictures but she was still in the nursery. No visitors allowed.

BUT...
Last I heard, she will probably get to sleep in Rachel's hospital room tonight, so, Rachel will finally be able to spend some time with her!!

She's a cutie.

PICTURES COMING SOON!

(updated-7/18--pictures are here)!

Baby Jibberish...

2010-07-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Aiden's been saying "Dada" for awhile now, but it's taken him 7 1/2 months to finally say "Momma"...

I've been waiting and waiting, so it was music to my ears and now, he's on a roll!!

Daphne Belle♥

2010-07-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

Baby Daphne came home this past weekend! She is adorable and looks sooo much like her mommy! It was fun to hold her and only slightly intimidating with her arm up in a sling. poor baby. :(

Daphne is a very social baby, staying awake and observing our every move.

I realized something while I was holding her...

I looked at her, then over at Aiden, then back to her and realized that little Aiden isn't very little at all... in fact, he is definitely huge. Should I even call him a baby anymore? I don't know...

BUT... sweet little Daphne is tiny and precious and her soft little body just melts in your arms. I can't wait to hold her again! ♥

Coincidence or Premonition??

2010-07-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

It started off extremely cute...

Ashton wanted to play with stickers. So, I let him search through my sticker box until he picked the shimmery ladybug stickers.

He placed them all around the room, in the usual places...the floor, the bed, a shoe, the t.v.-- even on himself and Aiden.Adorable, right?

Then, I kid you not, a few hours later on television--- the same television Ashton stuck a ladybug sticker on, :) we were watching a show called, Your kid ate what, and it showed a 1 year baby who accidentally swallowed an abandoned LADY BUG sticker at a birthday party!! Ahhh! She choked on it for way too long, then had breathing problems for months and months until they realized it was still stuck in her throat, which was now extremely swollen and almost completely cutting off her airway.

The lady bug stickers all over the room were not so cute anymore.

Then, last night, I had a dream that I lost all of my teeth.

I pretty much always dream this dream and hate it...

But today, my crown fell out!!! Ahhhh! Reminding me that

a. I need to take much better care of my teeth

and

b. that nightmares can easily come true.

Thankfully, I was able to recognize the obvious warnings signs presented to me, otherwise there could've been some potential disasters in our mouths.

Independence Day

2010-07-06T23:16:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend!

Hope you did too...
Happy belated Independence Day.

A new arrival

2010-07-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world!

...and congratulations to Bradley and Jammie!

She doesn't have a name yet... three names are being debated.

She is either Alice, Daphne or Layla.

She was born July 3rd at 11:52 am and weighed 9 pounds and 1.8 oz. She is adorable, as you can see.

She broke her clavicle bone being delivered so she went straight to the NICU and hasn't been held yet- not even by her mommy or dad. :(

But her mommy and daddy visit her and can touch her little hands.

They adore her as do I.

****Update****

She has a name!!!

♥Daphne Belle♥

The tale of the candy corn candle.

2010-06-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

Many years ago, on a cold Christmas morning, a girl sat in her pajamas near the Christmas tree. She held in her hand a beautifully wrapped gift with her name on it. She waited her turn to open the gift.

Her turn arrived and she peeled back all the wrapping and tissue to reveal the extraordinary gift.

A candle.

But not just any candle... THE candle.

A candy corn scented candle!!!

This girl was very pleased.

In the beginning, the girl would smell the candle everyday. It's delicious sweet fragrance brought her so much joy!

She imagined burning the candle, but ultimately the thought of it melting away into nothingness devastated her. So, it was concluded that the candle must never be burned... that way she could enjoy it's scent forever.

She held on to the candle for many years. Smelling it, then covering it back up and safely putting it away.

Time passed and she was now a mother with children, living in a new place. Most of her things boxed up and stored away, due to lack of space... and her candle was no exception.

One day, while searching through her boxes and staring at her lifeless, packed away things, she found her candle! She realized now, as she looked at her things just sitting there, that the candle would bring greater joy if she would finally bring it in the house and burn it.

Excited about her change of heart, she went to twist open the lid, but a horrible thing happened.

It was stuck. Extremely stuck.

Rusted together by the weather and rain.

She tried and tried to open it... thinking how ironic it was that NOW it was stuck, a great feeling of waste came over her. The once perfect gift now meant nothing if unopened.

She was about to give up...

but with a final twist, bang and squeeze the lid came off!

The girl rushed into the house, found a match and wasted no time burning the candle and enjoying it at last.

...and the room was filled with the glorious smell of sweet candy corn.

The end.

Showing off the baby...

2010-06-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

I'm sure all parents believe that their babies are incredibly smart, I am no exception...

I submit a video of my 7 month old son showing off his exceptional social skills. :)

~Fantasmic~

2010-06-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

We took a spontaneous trip to Disneyland this week! We kept up our spontaneity by staying into the night and watching the amazing Fantasmic show! We waited an hour and half to stand and watch the show, but it was worth the wait. :) Our kids stayed awake and we had a great spot... we felt the water splashes and the fire's flames...

It was magical.It was incredible.It was fantastical. :)It was breathtaking.

In true Disney fashion, it was above and beyond our wildest expectations.

They did themselves proud. As always. :)

2010-06-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 31 years of marriage to my Mom and Dad.♥

They are still totally into each other.

I ♥ Dads

2010-06-20T14:41:00.001-07:00

I admit it...

Something gets extra soft and gooey inside my heart when I see a Dad with his little ones.

I have come to learn this about myself by watching this man↓ with our little boys. I love the way his voice changes when he talks to them, and how silly & playful he gets around them. He easily makes them giggle and he does everything he can do to see his little boys happy.

They adore each other.

Happy Fathers Day

to three GREAT men, My amazing Daddy.My husband's wonderful Daddy. and the perfect Daddy to my babies.

He's on the move...

2010-06-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

June 17th 2010

He's been getting ready for this day for several weeks now and finally, for the first time, today.... HE CRAWLS!

Primary $

2010-06-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I've been working on this Primary project...

(it reminds me of monopoly money) :) The kids in my ward are going to be very glad when they remember to bring their scriptures to Primary!

Growing up, uP, UP!

2010-06-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Two very exciting things have happened in my children's lives this week...The first:

Say goodbye to the baby car seat, Aiden. You are far too big for that infantile thing. Now, you have room to stretch out those adorable toes and look forward as your brother tries to steal toys from you. :) The second:

Ashton finally got his very own bed!

For so many reasons, it has taken a very long time for this to happen. :(

But finally the time has come!

Hooray!

Night one, a full 5 hours were slept here.

Night two, the whole night (after falling asleep in our bed and being transfered).

Tonight is night three, we'll see how it goes.

Thank you Aiden for being a good baby and always sleeping in your crib.

Sealed with love♥

2010-06-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a happy day for my brother and his wife!

They were sealed to each other, in the Redlands Temple.

I am soooooooooooo happy for them!!

Reunited and it feels so good...

2010-06-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

We've been home since yesterday, but we're still not unpacked (I hate unpacking).

We had a great time.

We went camping at Bear lake, near Idaho, there were tents and trailers and a big open sky. Our family got to camp in one of the two cabins, which was a pretty nice luxury.

We were out in the middle of nowhere... just water, trees, dirt, critters and family to be seen. There were only a few mice sharing a pull out bed with us, nothing I couldn't handle. :) But, the last night, Andrew and I each took a child and slept on bunk beds and I got the top bunk. It was like a big slumber party. :)It was great to have all the grand kids together. They really enjoyed playing with each other.The lake was beautiful. The air was refreshing. The time away was relaxing. The company was splendid.

One year older and wiser too...

2010-06-02T19:54:00.001-07:00

I've got 15 minutes before the laundry is done and I need to finish packing

...we are going on a 13 hour car ride and arriving here.↓

ah.

But, I couldn't leave without writing about my BiRthDay

(...and my mom's birthday...and my mother in law's birthday)!!

What kind of online journal keeper would I be?My Mom and I got pedicures... I think maybe this should become a tradition? :)

Then, we went to lunch with our boys. It was soooo delicious.

Lots of cupcakes, animal print, donuts and birthday wishes made the day happy and fun!(how ever will we eat all of these cupcakes?!!)

All three of us had a hapPy haPpy birthday!

Ice cream and french fries. The two great joys in life.

2010-06-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Ashton taught Aiden how to eat his first tastes of ice cream. It made me smile.

Just look at them.

...and I captured a very important milestone in Aiden's life.

I am sure he will thank me when he is a grown man. ♥

Please sit back, relax and enjoy Aiden eating his first french fry... a momentous occasion in our family. :)

The bottom line

2010-05-31T09:50:00.000-07:00

Even though they are a full two years apart, both my boys are now comfortably wearing the same size diaper. Isn't that craZy?

I tried to keep Aiden's bottom little for as long as I could, BUT (no pun intended) his tush kept spilling out of those tiny diapers.

It's kind-of like having twins? :)

Jammie is almost ready to POP!! :)

2010-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Jammie only has 5 weeks left until her baby girl is born! Today we celebrated by throwing her a shower...

We went with a fun POP theme.

Little girl doesn't have a name, yet (I'm routing for Alice).
She will be my 4th niece and I am sooooo excited to meet her!

These are my 3 lovely pregnant sisters...
(I predict all three are carrying girls?!?)
...and my pregnant Grandma. :)

It was a fun day.

Our song...

2010-05-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

It wasn't long after Ashton was born that I realized lullabies really do help babies fall asleep. I experimented with different songs until I found just the right one for the two of us.

When I found it, we both knew it was the song. When he was tired and grouchy "our song" would always relax him enough to fall asleep...

So, when Aiden was born, I wanted to pick a special lullaby just for him. For weeks I tried new songs, but nothing seemed quite right. A song from the West Side Story, almost did the job, but, I didn't know all of the right words and that was very distracting to us both. :) One day, in desperation, I ended up borrowing Ashton's song...

...and that was the song Aiden chose.

Fast asleep he fell

(and it kind of made sense, Aiden loves everything his brother loves).

Yesterday, I was marveling at the magic of this song.

When Aiden is fussy in the car, I sing the song from the drivers seat and he falls asleep... When it's 3 in the morning and feeding him didn't do the trick, I put him back in his crib and sing it from my bed... he falls asleep. Of course, my favorite is when he's in my arms, looking up into my eyes, all quiet and sleepy. awww. I watch as his little eyes droop heavier and heavier until they're peaceful and closed.

I've been feeling a little sad that they have to share the same lullaby (I know, is that weird?),

but last night I realized it's not such a horrible thing.

I had Ashton in one arm and Aiden in the other, it was 10pm and my arms were getting numb, both boys were crying and obviously needed to fall asleep... I started to sing our song and within seconds they were both asleep in my arms.

If that's not magic, I don't know what is.

You gotta eat your spinach, baby...

2010-05-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

We started our family garden a few weeks ago. It is growing beautifully and yesterday, we harvested our first batch of spinach!!

Now, it's taken me years to figure out a little secret that I'm happily about to share with you...

next time you're at Subway ordering a sandwich, try swapping that regular lettuce for spinach instead. :)

I guarantee a mOre delicious experience.

You're welcome.

Pioneer children sang as they walked...

2010-05-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

...and walked... and walked... and walked... :)

This weekend, Ashton, Grandpa T. and I dressed up and walked as pioneers in the San Bernardino Bicentennial city parade (actually, Ashton didn't walk, he got pulled in the cart... then held :). Lucky boy.

Thankfully, it was only a couple of blocks. I am amazed at those pioneers, I don't know if I would've made it.

A two way promise...

2010-05-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

This week has been crazy, but I finally came up with an idea that will help me pull off this week's Primary sharing time. It's about baptismal covenants.

So, I made this horrible cardboard and paper door :) with all of these locks to represent the covenants that we make when we are baptized. The covenants are written on the keys.Once we find all the hidden keys around the room, we can unlock each lock until the door opens and we see inside what the the Lord promises us for keeping our covenants.It's a pretty sweet deal... Phew...

Creepy crawlers

2010-05-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

I never mentioned my late night visitor... It was 3am and Aiden was ready to eat...

I woke up, rubbed my eyes and placed my bare feet onto the bedroom floor, it was then that I noticed movement near the crib. I did a double take to find this huge, fast, creepy creature.

I grabbed a nearby cup and covered it quickly near my bedside! Luckily, it only took me one try.

The whole night I worried it would escape and jump into my bed for revenge!

But, thankfully, when the morning came it was still underneath the cup. Andrew took it outside to release it and snap a picture, but then he accidentally killed it.

We did some research and found out it was a Camel Spider--actually not really a spider, not quite a scorpion, it's something in between!!

And the next day...there was ANOTHER ONE! ICk!

6 months of clean towels...

2010-05-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here's our story...I spent the eve of Aiden's 6 month anniversary in misery. So sick that I couldn't help but be reminded of what it felt like to be pregnant with the little rascal a long 6 months ago. I was unable to sleep and barfing non- stop, but this time I wasn't sure why.

I questioned everything... what did I eat, who did I touch, what am I stressing too much about, am I pregnant, what does my body need, what did it get too much of?!!! :) It was a lot and probably making me more sick. AH! So confused... I finally put together the numbing cashew allergy from the day before... duh.

...But, it wasn't duh, because the next day everyone else got sick too- just like I had! Ashton started vomiting, Andrew came seconds later and right before midnight, little Aiden joined the crowd.

It was a long night and there was vomit EVERYWHERE. My bed was covered. It soaked through the pillows. Every towel was used as a barrier, buckets were full and 7 outfits were sacrificed! I was thrown up on four times.

The first time, I was disgusted. The second time, really inconvenienced. The third time I cried, :( but by the fourth time, I was literally laughing. :) It became a crazy house!

There was a total of 42 throw ups at the end of the day. I was tired. I was dirty. My skin smelt like throw up, but more than anything I was worried about my boys.

It was around 10pm when all of them were finally sleeping. I felt a huge relief, it was OVER! --or so I hoped.

I was finishing up the 8th load of laundry when little Aiden woke from his sleep to throw up, again. I decided I couldn't let his little body go through this another night.

I put on my shoes, kissed my sleeping boys goodnight and drove to the hospital.

Aiden and I spent 6 hours in the waiting room that night. We were both wide awake and surrounded by many other worried and miserable people. We people watched and talked to a few sickos. :) Then, I finally worked up the nerve to feed him, nervous that he'd throw up on me and in front of everyone in the waiting room... but my boy did me proud! It was the first food he kept down all day! I was very excited about that and finally being seen by the ER Doctor, at 6 a.m.

We ended up being there for 11 hours, but by the time we were sent home, I knew he felt better and we were ready.

It was quite an exhausting experience and definitely not how I imagined celebrating Aiden's 6 months of life, but I got my appetite back and finally some sleep so, (I feel good enough to end on a positive note) :)...what a great way to remember that life is fragile, there are opposites in all things and that we need to appreciate our bodies in all their glory and in their misery.

Now, lets all NOT throw up for awhile... :)

Update on the update...

2010-05-18T15:17:00.001-07:00

ok, so cashew allergies can't be contagious... and since we ALL ended up violently sick over here, I guess it couldn't have been the cashews. Dang it, I was so sure I discovered the mystery!! All I know is that I love cashews and they don't love me.

ANYWAY... family throwing up stories and ER post to come... someday, when I have enough energy to be social... maybe like, 20 days?

(ok, probably tomorrow) :)

Tingle, tingle, numb...delicious.

2010-05-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

This has been my favorite snack for the last couple of weeks...

Mom, remember when we met at Sams club and I talked you into trading the giant pistachio bag for these delicious cashews instead? Dad... we talked on the phone about how delicious they are and how easy it is to eat them instead of cookies because they taste so good...

and Andrew, remember how you bought this huge 2 pound container and I ate the whole thing by myself and then we bought another 2pound container yesterday?... ... well, today I found out that I am allergic to them and my loss and the numbness of my tongue is HORRIBLE. :(

He'd slay a dragon...

2010-05-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

Mothers Day ~MAGIC~

2010-05-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day!

My day was incredible.

After a long and restless night full of babies in our bed, I woke up with a horrible headache and alot to do to get ready for 9am church.

My husband, in his amazing-ness, laid my towel and outfit out for me so I could easily jump in the shower while he made me the PERFECT breakfast...

(dang, I wish I took a picture of it)

it consisted of banana 'n peaches 'n cream, yum, eggs, turkey-bacon and toast.

He woke up our boys (yes, they magically both slept in today) so that they could give me their gift together.

It was, again, PERFECT.

We magically made it to church on time.

After feeding the baby, chasing Ashton around and giving the closing prayer in Sacrament, I rushed to the Primary room to set up a very busy day. During the last hour, the Young mens presidency (lead by my sweet husband) came in and took over Primary, sending us ladies off to a cultural hall full of delicious food (thank you babe for pulling that off).

(this was just one of the many different tables) We laughed and ate and enjoyed ourselves (instead of teaching our lessons--

-one of these ladies was Andrew's FIRST kiss!--She's my secretary, I love her♥) hehe.

After church, two very special boys in our Primary were baptized.

They are 10 and 11 year old brothers. They've been coming to Primary for almost 2 years, but have never been baptized because their mom isn't a member and she didn't approve.

They were baptized today because of a very special woman in our ward who got them to church every Sunday and a prompting that I was quick to act upon one night. It is quite the story and very exciting to see them finally be baptized! How can it get any better than all of this?!!
...it does.

I have two little boys that adore me and make me happy.

A husband who makes me hand made cards and tells me he loves me everyday. :) Who takes care of me better than I deserve and whom I love deeply.

I also celebrate an amazing mother and mother- in- law --and

many other wonderful people who have influenced my life.

I am blessed and spoiled.

I hope you all feel the same way.

♥
I love being a Mother!

Full steam ahead!

2010-05-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

An old steam engine built in 1927 came into town today to celebrate the bicentennial of the San Bernardino Railroad. The whole day was a train celebration, but this train was making a grand entrance and only coming once. Andrew and Ashton stood only feet away as the train came chugging by...It's possible the whole city was there, incuding the mayor who rode in on the train. He came down to put on a skit recreating a little piece of 1920's history...

It was everything 2 train lovers could hope for.
For more information on this particular steam engine, you can go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_3751

why wouldn't you? :)

♫Who are the people♪ in your neighborhood?♫

2010-05-07T08:18:00.001-07:00

♪They're the people ♫that you meet when you're walking down the street, ♪they're the people that♫ you meet....each day! ♫

-Sesame Street

Meet Darnell.

He makes Thursdays extra special in our neighborhood.

Thursday is TRASH DAY

...and Darnell happens to be the BEST trash truck driver in the land! :)

When we hear his truck coming up the street we run outside and Ashton waits for him. Darnell sees Ashton, waves and honks his giant horn!! He makes the experience extra magical for my truck obsessed two year old!

Thank you Darnell for making Thursday Ashton's favorite day of the week!

2010-05-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for my sister's baby shower tomorrow night!

Money doesn't grow on trees...

2010-05-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

...and toy cars don't grow in the water.

Lets not buy these "growing" water cars anymore.

They are the worst $1.00 purchase of all time.

Mickey's house...

2010-04-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those perfect days...

We went to Disneyland after Andrew got home from work...

The weather was perfect, the freeways were clear, the Disney crowds were small, we walked right on to rides, ate delicious food, took our time, the kids were happy, the music was happy, Andrew and I were happy...

...it was one of the best times we've ever had at Disneyland.

We love "Mickey's house"--as Ashton calls it.

Matchy-matchy brothers...

2010-04-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

Aw, dressing up the kids in matching outfits and taking pictures of them... A favorite passtime for many moms. :)

I never thought I'd do it, but it was only a matter of time...

...and it turns out, I think it's kinda adorable.

(don't you wanna just kiss that squishy round belly?!)
They like it too.

Rainy days :(

2010-04-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went through our stored boxes to see which ones the rain had claimed...

We were disappointed to find out how many boxes were ruined and how many--moldy-- memories needed to be thrown away...

Soooooooooo sad.

a SISTER is someone you can laugh with...

2010-04-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

Bird is the word.

2010-04-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Ashton was outside playing and Aiden was asleep inside, so I was busy going back and forth...

I came in and sat down, to rest my oh-so-busy mommy legs, then a minute later, Ashton come running in saying "mommy, birdie, mom, birdie, birdie...." I kept saying ya, yup...birdies (only half paying attention)... but he finally said "birdie, die". I have never heard him say die before so, I turned around to see him. He was gripping a bird in his little fist!!! I, naturally, shrieked which made Ashton instantly drop the poor lifeless bird right onto the floor.

I had so many thoughts in my mind...where did this bird come from?...why would he bring it inside?...did he kill this bird?... how am I going to get it outside?.... how much soap do I need to use to wash his hands?

I knew it needed to be buried so my son wouldn't touch it again and obviously, it was up to me. So, my first objective (after taking a picture) was to find a way to get it outside...

Ziploc bags and dust pans did the trick.

Once we were outside, I asked Ashton were he found the bird... he ignored me. I asked him again, "where did this bird come from"? He pointed to the sky... I asked him to show me and he pointed to the sky, again, and said "fall, mommy".

His answer satisfied me. :(

I was half relieved that my son didn't kill him-- and half sad that the bird fell from the sky to his death, but we prepared his grave and gave him a proper burial....

(which included a lego)

Thanks little bird for falling into our lives today, you gave my son one of his first experiences with death and helped me pay extra attention to the beautiful, alive, birds all around me.

R.I.P.

Imprints of the heart...

2010-04-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

My father-in-law is so clever and thoughful with all of his grandkids. He always comes up with the most creative ways to engage them whenever they visit... This past weekend, Connor and Jeremy were in town, so he had four of his grandsons at his house and he decided to make it memorable. He gathered them together to pour and mix cement and with shovels and wheelbarrels in hand, all of the boys were in heaven (---even Aiden in the background). After the cement was mixed just right, the strong boys got to pour some cement into the box their Grandpa prepared......each of them placed their hands or feet into the cement to leave an imprint of themselves right next to his beautiful garden. It was so cool.

A frightening sight...

2010-04-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

My life has had some scary moments...I've seen horror movies, walked through haunted houses, heard creepy noises in the closet, I have personal ghost stories and nightmarish dreams, ---there was even a suicidal man screaming and swearing in my backyard last week (ya...cRaZy), but NOTHING is as horrifying as seeing your perfect little boy's face oozing in blood.

Poor kid slipped, fell and busted up his mouth and nose. :(

At first, I couldn't tell where the blood was coming from... but once we calmed down we were able to clean it up and figure it out (and after making sure he wouldn't die :), he finally fell asleep and I was able to stare at him and recognize the ridiculous amount of love I have for him...

...I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him.

I am sooooo glad that he's okay-- until the next scary thing happens...

"BRING IT"

2010-04-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I are one week into our new workout regime P90X. It's a 90 day workout program with 12 different workouts and we are sweating through them everyday and enjoying a completely new diet of low carbs, high protein, no sugar and fruits & veggies.
It's been one week and we can already see and feel BIG results!

Andrew has lost 5.5 pounds and I have lost 4!

We are actually enjoying all the salads and water our bodies are taking in.

I will put up "before" and "after" pictures after the 90 days!

(If I feel brave enough to let you see my before picture)

...as Tony Horton says, "Do your best, forget the rest"!

2010-04-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

My two adorable baby boys when they were both 4 mos. old...

Our basket runneth over...

2010-04-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

It was Aiden's first Easter and he was just as excited as the rest of us were.

We celebrated all weekend...

Saturday, we watched conference then celebrated with Andrew's family with a huge dinner and egg hunt.We discovered that Ashton is really good at finding eggs and loves every one of them.Then, Sunday, we watched the morning session at home and the second session with my family followed by another huge dinner and egg hunt!

During our egg hunt a surprise visitor hopped by... The whole weekend was filled to the max with family, food, fun and spiritual feasting.

It was perfect.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Today Jesus died for me, so I will live for him.

Blondie

2010-03-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

Andrew has wanted this to happen for a long time. :)

Whenever my hair badly needs a change I always stay safe and usually prefer to go darker... but this time, when my husband recommended some yellow, I listened... mostly, because I am a such a GREAT wife, but also because I'm quite fond of his opinion. :)

Blonde I became.

I think you can really notice outdoors....

It's been a little weird to get used to, but I'm glad I did it. It was a fun and much needed change!!

100 lies...

2010-03-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

On talk radio last week, they announced the results of a new survey that showed parents lie to their kids over 100 times a year!! They focused on the top ten lies...

1. I always paid attention in school.
2. There’s no such thing as a favorite child. All of you are my favorites.
3. Sorry, the playground is closed today.
4. Cuddles the Hamster went to live on a nice farm. Yes, the same one where your goldfish went.

5. I have Santa Claus’s cell phone number on speed dial. Do you want me to tell him how you’re acting?
6. Whoops, the KidzBop CD is in Dad’s car and he already left for work.
7. “SpongeBob” isn’t on this week. And the DVD player is broken. And the cable is out.
8. Of course I wore to work today the macaroni necklace and bracelet you made me.
9. Daddy is allergic to cats/dogs/birds/reptiles.
10. I never took drugs.

So far, I'm proud to say, I haven't used any of these lies. :)

# 8 makes me sad, I would wear it with pride... but #2 is the one that interested me the most. Andrew and I are always trying to get our parents to tell us who their favorite child is...hehe. Sometimes we work them really good, but they always tell us they "don't have favorites", now we know its such a lie! :)
(p.s. it's totally obvious that I'm one of their favorites)

Abbie Mae...

2010-03-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

My little sister, Abbie, is getting married tomorrow and we have had fun getting ready for the big day...

Our family trip to the temple was sweet and special...

...and Abbie's bachelorette party was wild and scandalous...

We can't wait for the grand finale--- tomorrow--- when she marries the man of her dreams!

*****UPDATE-----a few pics from Abbie and Brady's wedding day...

In the SPOTLIGHT...

2010-03-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

I became the Primary President in our new ward a little over a month ago. It's been a lot of fun and lots of work... ANYWAY,

Our Primary hadn't been doing spotlights, which is one of the best parts about Primary, right? So, naturally I had to bring it back, so I looked online for any ideas and literally found two.

I was totally bummed because that meant I had to get creative and come up with something on my own... and who has time for that!? :) I finally came up with this and I thought I'd share it here...

(in case another Primary leader is searching the Internet for a 3rd option). :)

SPOTLIGHT:

During closing exercises I draw a random child's name from our basket and I have all the kids stand up (I previously had them all fill out a questionaire with about 8 simple questions about themselves... their favorite primary song, game, fhe treat, color, where they'd like to serve a mission, that kind of stuff). I tell each clue one at a time and have them sit down if they know it's not them. Hopefully, by the end you'll only have your spotlight child standing, but for me that isn't always the case :) then I say "so- in -so is the Star of the day" (in the least corny way way possible)!

It turned out to be fun and easy. Just like a spotlight should be.

Inside the popcorn bag is a box of movie candy, full size candy bar, m&m's or skittles and tootsie pops. The whole thing added up to be under $2.50 each (thanks to Michaels craft store and Smart & Final candy in bulk)!!

Any one else have spotlight ideas out there??