The Five Arches

Tate Turns 4!

2010-11-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

I'm in complete denial, but I guess I have to come to grips with the fact that my baby is 4. I've tried to freeze time, but it just won't work. I am completely in love with this little boy. We have so much fun together and he is my best little friend. Happy birthday Tate! We love you!

Ice Blocking and Baseball

2010-10-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

Porter's 8th birthday party consisted of lots of baseball playing and lots of ice blocking. Now I've never ice blocked before, and I have to say that it was so much fun! The fun was had by all ages. I highly recommend it if you haven't tried it yet. It was a great party! It rained the whole day of the party, and then about 5:30, just before the party was to start, the skies started to clear. It turned out to be cloudy and a little cool, but at least it stopped raining for the party.

Porter sure does love his Colorado Rockies!

Porter's Big Day

2010-10-23T15:03:00.001-07:00

I really can't believe that my little Porter turned 8. Where did the time go? I'm so proud of this guy! He is such an amazing boy. Handsome, smart, kind, thoughtful, are just a few of the words that describe him. His baptism day was a great day! He was the only one being baptized, so we enjoyed the program to ourselves. We then went back to our house for a great luncheon with all our friends and family. The weather was beautiful and the whole day was wonderful.

Yellowstone Part 2

2010-10-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

Love the Daniel Boone hats.
This day was freezing! We weren't quite prepared for it to be this cold. Brrrrrrrr!

You can't leave Yellowstone without this picture.

I think I have an obsession with waterfalls. This one is Hidden Falls which is by Jenny Lake in the Grand Tetons. It's amazing! I could hike and look for waterfalls all day long!

Allen pondering the meaning of life. I wonder if he figured it out.

Yellowstone/Island Park/Grand Tetons 2010

2010-10-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

My friend Kady updated her blog today with pictures of her Yellowstone trip and it inspired me to finally post pictures of our trip and finally catch up on our blog. We took a much-needed vacation to Island Park and Yellowstone in August. We rented a cabin with some good friends of ours in Island Park. I used to go to Island Park as a kid, and I had such fond memories of my trips there. In fact, the minute we opened the front door to our cabin, Allen and I promised each other that someday we would have property in Island Park and a place where we could take our family and spend long, lazy summer days, wasting away by the water watching for moose. It's such a fantasy, but it doesn't hurt to dream, does it? This is taken at one of the falls (upper or lower?). What a beautiful, yet terrifying place. I was trying to enjoy the beauty, but I was so fearful that one of my children would take a spill over the edge, never to be seen again. This was one of our absolute favorite parts of the trip. I remember swimming Firehole Canyon as a teenager, but I couldn't quite remember all the details, so we decided to give it a try. Up the river from this point is a little pocket of rapids that you jump in and then let it float you down to this calm area. Hannah and Porter both tried it with Allen and I. Again, it was so fun, but terrifying as well. (I think I'm starting to see a pattern forming. My mom warned me of all the dangers of Yellowstone with kids, and I'm only starting to see that now.) We jumped in the rapids, popped up, and floated, but there were a few moments where it felt like the water might suck us back in. We probably didn't use the best judgement as parents, but we all survived!

This is was taken by Mack's Inn on Henry's Fork river. The kids had a ball wading in the water and throwing rocks. We also rented canoes and tried to canoe the river going upstream. I'm a terrible canoer and I think Allen was ready to toss me in. I think we canoed at least nine miles, but only went about a mile upstream. We just went back and forth from one bank to the other. It was fun though, and actually not terrifying.

We took our bikes and were able to bike some of the trails and roads around our cabin in Island Park.

Here we are at Mesa Falls somewhere south of Island Park. We stopped there on the way to the cabin and I highly recommend this little hike to anyone headed to Island Park or Yellowstone. It was one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen. It was so lush and green, I felt like I was in a rain forest.

And now I was going to add more pictures, but I can't seem to get it to work, so I'll include a few more photos on the next post with far less commentary this time.

Rockies vs. Cubs

2010-08-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

We took the greatest road trip over the weekend. We went to Denver to see the Rockies play the Cubs. We especially wanted to take Porter to a real major-league game. He loves the Rockies and there is nothing like a night at the ball park. We were lucky enough to get tickets to the game against the Cubs. Allen just happens to be a huge Cubs fan, but he was kind enough to root for the Rockies that night.
Coors Field is beautiful! We had great seats pretty close to left field, and what a night it was!

We went in early to the game to watch batting practice. The kids got to go down close to the field and wait for foul balls. We never caught any though.

The game was amazing. It was tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the 9th when Carlos Gonzalez hit a homerun to the upper deck to win the game. The stadium went nuts and it was such a great moment.

Pioneer Day Fun!

2010-07-23T11:55:00.001-07:00

I really, really love living in Kaysville! There are lots of great things that happen in Kaysville. I also really, really, love our ward. With an activity rate at church hovering somewhere around 99.99%, I guess it isn't such a rare sight to see a primary handcart company marching itself down the road. This was the sight of our primary activity celebrating the 24th of July. Porter was chosen to pull the handcart and is kind of hidden behind our bishop. Tate was lucky enough to be able to ride in the handcart and Hannah had to walk behind. The handcart company walked a few blocks to the park for some good old pioneer fun.

I don't own much in the line of pioneer clothing, and we all know that I don't even know how to sew a button on, let alone whip up a pioneer dress for Hannah. We did the best we could with what we had, and I think the kids ended up looking okay. Definitely not authentic pioneers, but close enough.

Tate is best buddies with our next door neighbor, Josh. They rode in the handcart for awhile and then I pulled them in the wagon. I feel sorry for all of those pioneer women who had to coax their three-year olds to walk on the plains. It may have been cheating, but I called Allen and had him pick us up at the park so we wouldn't have to walk home. I guess there's a reason I wasn't born a pioneer.

Ragnar 2010

2010-07-04T10:04:00.001-07:00

I did it! I can now say that I ran Ragnar! It was questionable at times, but I actually did it. That had to have been the craziest weekend of my life. It was wonderful and hellish, all at the same time, and I can't wait to do it again. For those of you that don't know what Ragnar is, it is a relay from Logan to Park City through the back country. 188 miles! I ran with a team of 12 incredible women and we did awesome! We finished in 31 hours and came in 32nd out of 127 all women's teams.Here I am finishing my 1st leg. It was a 4-miler through Eden and Huntsville. It was also my easiest leg. The grueling runs were saved for later when you're utterly exhausted and feel like you can't move another muscle. Here is our team at the finish line. I was so inspired by these women. They are all incredible runners, but also incredible women! I'm so happy I could meet all of them.

My cousin Amy was the most incredible of them all. She did all of her runs, which were not easy, and also did an extra run for one of our teammates that had to go home because of the stomach flu. She ran a total of about 24 miles throughout the 31 hours. And her last run was titled "You Gotta be Kidding Me", and it was named that for a reason. It was straight uphill for 4 miles. It was insane and I still don't know how she managed to finish it. Amy, you're an inspiration to me! Maybe someday I can run like you!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2010-05-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we are huge baseball fans in this household. Between all of us, we now have baseball/softball games or practices, four nights of the week. It may be busy, but there's no other way I'd rather spend my time. Tate doesn't fully understand our deep love of baseball yet though. He just knows he gets hauled off to the ballpark every night of the week to watch somebody play. Anyways, Allen thought it would be fun to teach him "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Well Allen was right, it was fun teaching it to him, and now he sings it all the time. And of course, the song just isn't right without saying you'll "root, root, root for the Cubbies." They may never make it to the postseason again, but we will forever be fans!

March Fun

2010-04-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

Someday I will stay current on my blog, but for now, this will have to do. We've had an eventful first few months of the year so far. For those of you that didn't know, Allen tore his ACL early in January and just had knee reconstruction surgery in February. March was spent nursing him back to health, but all is well now, and we're trying to move on with normal life. Below are a few photos of the few things we've actually been able to do.

Tate playing at the Treehouse Museum.

Hannah played Concerto in A Minor at her piano recital and it was amazing! I'm amazed at how good she is and how beautiful she looked!

Porter played a very intense version of The Imperial March and the Star Wars Theme. He practiced for this recital probably 5000 times. Every time he'd walk by the piano, he'd stop and play his pieces. Sometimes he would stand, and sometimes he would play them with his eyes closed. All his practice paid off and he played his songs perfectly.

I love these three angels!

Allen managed to hobble around the ESA on his crutches in order to attend the Jazz game. It was a little scary going up and down the steep stairs, but he made it without any further injury, and they even won!

Porter had to make a diorama (spelling?) of an animal habitat. He chose the anaconda as his animal and the rain forest as the habitat. His diorama was voted as the best by his fellow classmates. I may have helped him just a little bit on this project.

Hannah just finished up her first season of girls basketball and it was so much fun to watch her. She scored consistently in every game and her team finished the season as the undefeated champions. With her height, she may have a real future in basketball.

I'M the next American Idol!

2010-02-05T07:31:00.000-08:00

I'll be the first to admit that we are HUGE American Idol fans, so what better way to celebrate the new season than with our own family tryouts. Each person would pick their own song and tryout for the other three judges. After long and careful deliberation, we picked our songs and began our tryouts. Allen rapped "Pants on the Ground" (an original composition from this season). I sang the smash hit from a few years ago called "I am Your Brother". Hannah was going to sing a Taylor Swift song but cracked under the pressure and couldn't finish (we still put her through to Hollywood though). But, the surprise audition of the evening came from Porter who blew us away with his version of "Pump up the Jam" complete with dancing. He took the audition very seriously and was well prepared. He, of course, got his golden ticket, along with three others from the Kaysville, UT auditions.

Dancing the night away...

2010-01-01T20:21:00.001-08:00

Our friends Rich and Lara really know how to throw a New Year's Eve party. I thought we were having a lot of fun, but I didn't know what fun was until we started playing "Just Dance" on the Wii. It is by far the funnest game I have ever played. You have to do the dance moves along with the dancer on the screen. I was a little nervous at first, considering how terrible a dancer I am, but it was so much fun! Before we even knew it, it was almost midnight. I can't believe we made it until then. Thanks to the Nye's for a fabulous night!

The men danced to "I Like to Move It", from Madagascar. They were so hilarious to watch!

The great thing about this game is that kids and grown-ups can play. It is easy enough for the kids, but still a ton of fun! Hannah was so dang good at this game. She won every round she played. I'm glad she didn't end up with my dancing genes.

Tate didn't do much dancing, but he sure had a good time!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-01T20:09:00.001-08:00

Christmas at our home was again magical this year. I began to wonder if this would be the year that Hannah would figure "it" out, but she's still as much of a believer as the younger ones. I'm actually worried that Porter will now figure it out before her. She's just so sweet and believing. The day was fun, busy, and tiring, and I forgot my camera for the majority of the day, so I only have a few pictures to share.

The kids on the Sunday after Christmas in their new church digs.
Christmas Eve was spent with Allen's family. All of the family was there except one granddaughter, so we couldn't resist the chance to get all the kids together for a picture with their grandparents. Allen's sister Heather and her family were visiting from Kentucky. We hadn't seen them in over two years, so it was so fun to see her and her family.

Another tradition, jammies on Christmas Eve. I love new jammies!

Three wise guys! This quickly became a favorite game for the kids over the Christmas break. It's amazing how their imaginations work.

I Love December

2009-12-23T07:01:00.001-08:00

December is rapidly turning into one of my favorite months. I absolutely hate winter, but I'm really trying to make the most of it. Below are a few pictures of some of the fun things we have done during the month. I guess it is possible to have fun in the snow and cold.

It's been a few years since we've attempted Temple Square, so we decided to give it a try for FHE on Monday. It was cold and very crowded, but so much fun! There is something magical about all the lights and the feel of the big city (well, as big of a city as we're going to find around here.)

To make the trip to Salt Lake more exciting, we decided to take FrontRunner. We caught the train at the Farmington station, rode it to the SLC central. From there, we rode TRAX to the Gateway where we stopped for dinner at Applebee's. Then we rode TRAX again to Temple Square. The trains were packed! It reminded me of the subway in New York, minus the rats and the smell. What a great night we had together!

Closer to home are the Lights Before Christmas in Layton Park. It's a fun little light display of various animals and assorted other shapes. Going for a donut at Krispy Kreme after makes for another great FHE.

Sledding has provided another great winter activity. We have a great little hill right around the corner from our house that is the perfect size for all of the kids.

Tate Turns Three

2009-12-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

I really, really love my little Tate, and I can't believe he's already three. I ask him everyday to stop growing, but he just won't do it. Tate is such a complete crackup! His little world revolves entirely around guns. Everything in the household can become a gun if needed; sticks, bananas, chicken nuggets, pencils, etc. Needless to say, I couldn't think of anything to get him for his birthday besides guns ( which everyone in the world was already getting him). He got cowboy guns, nerf guns, rifles, etc. I even decorated his cake with army soldiers on it.

I decided to give Tate a new room for his birthday. I'm sure he wasn't really thrilled with that as a present, but let's face it, he got enough for his birthday from everyone else. He didn't need anything from me. I absolutely refused to decorate his room with guns, so I settled for a safari/jungle theme. I had an absolute blast doing his room. He got a new bed, dresser, paint, bedspread, etc. He seems to love it!

October Fun!

2009-11-02T14:10:00.001-08:00

I've had so much fun reading everyone's Halloween posts! Thanks for inspiring me to rejoin the blogging world. I've been in a bit of a blogging rut, and I needed a good holiday with fun pictures to bring me back. Although, I seem to have forgotten how to upload pictures, so they're all out of order, but I thought I better just finish the post or I'd never get back to it. Our October was full of so many fun activities. I absolutely love the fall! It's the best time of the year!

Hermoine and Harry at grandma's Halloween party. It was scary how well Porter pulled off Harry "Porter" (as he called it).
Hannah was a good sport to participate in the donut-eating contest. My mom and dad throw a fantastic Halloween bash. Games, food, treasure hunts, etc. It's the best party around!My dad even built a coffin for the kids to play. Creepy, yes, but tons of fun!

Our next biggest event of the month was the purchase of our new dog "Snuggles". He's a 3-year old Bichon and has been such a great addition to our family. I never thought I would own a dog, but I finally gave in to the rest of the family members that have been begging for one. And I'll even admit that I kind of like him.

Here are the kids before trick-or-treating.
Allen and Hannah attended a daddy-daughter Halloween bash for Activity Days. The Indiana Jones costume was hastily thrown together at the last minute. I think Allen pulled it off pretty good. His beard could finally be used for something useful.
Building Halloween haunted gingerbread houses turned out to be one of the messiest, yet funnest activities we did all month. Hannah and Porter decorated their houses for such a long time. I had no idea they would love it so much. That will be a new tradition for us.
Last, but definitely not least, was an enjoyable evening spent at the pumpkin patch. It was such a gorgeous night and we had so much fun taking our little wagon deep into the patch, hunting for just the right pumpkin. I love fall and I love spending it with my most favorite people in the world!

Hoop Lake

2009-09-14T08:01:00.001-07:00

I finally decided that it really wouldn't kill me to go camping. I'm not much of a camper, so going to Hoop Lake in the Uintas took a lot of convincing. Luckily we had a trailer (I don't think I'm quite ready for a tent.) Can it still be considered camping if you're in a trailer? Personally, I think that's the only way to go. Anyways, this was my first trip to the Uintas and it was beautiful. We had some great friends to enjoy the experience with and I'm really glad we went.
Camping sure isn't what it used to be. Mike whipped up an outdoor movie for the kids. It ran off his generator. He's so clever! I never would have thought this would be possible in the wilderness. He even had popcorn for the kids!
We were also able to benefit from Mike and DiAnna's fun Polaris Razr. It's a big 5-man off-road vehicle. It was a ton of fun! We were able to take it clear up the mountain and through rivers and puddles. The kids absolutely loved it!

Hannah caught her first fish and Allen grilled it up for her for dinner. She loved it!
Porter also caught his first fish. He wanted no part of eating the fish though. That's my boy!
Tate and his BFF, Kelton (my friend Lara's son). They are so cute together and had so much fun!

I love these guys!

First Day of School and Random Summer Shots

2009-08-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

I really can't believe that school has started again. Where did the summer go? We had a crazy, but fun summer, and it went by way too fast. I was a little nervous for school to start today. My poor kids have gone to three different schools in three years and I was nervous for them to start another school today. I grew up in the same house my entire life, so I don't know how it feels to have to constantly make new friends. They're such troopers though, and are becoming very friendly and outgoing because of it.
Porter started 2nd grade today. He seems way too little to be in 2nd grade, but definitely smart enough. Maybe he'll hit his growth spurt this year.
Hannah started 4th grade today, which is only two years away from junior high. Yikes! That already makes me nervous.
I just love these two so much and am really going to miss them while they're in school.
This is Tate coming out of the fountains at Lagoon. It got so hot last week that we had to find lots of ways to keep cool. We had season passes to Lagoon, so one day, we just went in swimsuits and played in the fountains. I wish I would have done that more over the summer. It was so fun!
Hannah and Porter in the fountains at Lagoon.
I've always thought Tate would have made a gorgeous girl, and this proves me right. Hannah dressed him up the other morning, and sadly enough, he loved it.
Porter has been trying to save money for a new lego set, so he made cookies and lemonade one Sunday and sold them to my family at a family party. He made signs and named his business, "Porter's Snack Shack." He worked hard and made $18.00. It was so cute, and he took it very seriously. He only has $30 more to go until he has the $90 saved up. That's a lot of money for a little kid to save.
We finished up swim lessons a few weeks ago. We were lucky enough to find a lady in the neighborhood that teaches lessons in her backyard pool. It was very handy to be able to send the kids without having to drag everybody to all the lessons.

Porter turns 7!

2009-08-10T14:54:00.001-07:00

Wow! I can't believe Porter is really 7. He's still supposed to be my baby and I don't know what happened. All I know is that kids grow up way too fast! We had a great day with Porter last Friday for his birthday. I love summer birthdays! You don't have to send them off to school and you get to spend the whole day with them. We had a pizza party Friday night with family to celebrate. We did the usual pinata, but this one was made of steel or something. It would not break, even with the big kids whacking at it. We finally got a little hole in it and just ripped it open. I guess Dilly Dally's makes a quality product.
Porter chose a sports theme for his birthday, but at the last minute, asked me for a Star Wars cake, so I did the best I could on short notice and this is the final result. I know you're all very impressed with my skills!
We let Porter choose what to do with his friends and after he was given all his options, he chose to go to the Hill Aerospace Museum. Ever since the air show in June, he has been enthralled with jets and airplanes. We had a lot of fun at the museum with his friends.
Porter's favorite plane was the blackbird. That thing is amazing! I've never seen anything like it!
He's very easy to please. He was so excited over this GI Joe character, and just as excited about every other present he opened. What a great day we were able to spend with our little buddy! I think Porter is an amazing kid and I'm so grateful to be his mom. I love you buddy!

Happy 12th Anniversary to me!

2009-07-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

Allen and I were able to celebrate our 12th anniversary in style with a quick weekend trip to New York. It was way too much fun and I'm having a really hard time being home. Oh well, I got to live it up while I could, and I'm grateful we were able to go. Allen was in New York all week for work, so I decided to join him on Friday and we spent a couple of days together. I have to say that New York is one crazy city. I can't believe how many people were there and how many people I was smashed on a subway with. It was insane, but so much fun!
We were able to get some sweet seats to see Wicked. Neither of us had seen it before and I thought it was fantastic! I loved every minute of it and didn't want it to end. I can't wait to read the book and get the soundtrack.
It was so nice to enjoy a nice meal without kids. I probably should have ordered something more fancy, but I'm a sucker for a good bacon cheeseburger.
Thanks to my parents for being willing to watch my kids so we could escape for a few days. And thanks to my wonderful husband! It has been an amazing 12 years together and I couldn't ask for anything more. I love you!

What a ride!

2009-07-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our life over the past month has been a ride, to say the least. I don't have enough time or space to even begin to explain it all, so I'll summarize the month with a few photos. We were able to visit Allen's parents again in Oakland. They'll be home in a few months and we wanted to visit San Francisco one more time. Maybe not the best time for a road trip, but it was nice to escape all the craziness from the move. The above picture is at Muir Woods, a beautiful redwood forest in San Francisco.

Riding the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco.

Hannah and Porter having a ball in the freezing cold water at Rodeo Beach.
Our family right before we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. The kids were troopers and made it the whole way across.
We stopped at Donner's Pass on the way and walked around a bit.
I've taken a million pictures of our new home, but will only post the ones of my favorite spots in the house. The big master tub is one of my favorite things about the house, although I've yet to use it. I anticipate being able to use it in the future sometime, hopefully without the barbies and the GI Joe's that have enjoyed the tub before me. It's been a fight every morning so far over who gets the big tub first.
I also love the back patio!
Hannah's softball team played for the championship game, but lost. They were still able to get a trophy, and that was good enough for her.
Hannah sweating out at second base during the final game. I think she was ready for the season to be over.

Tate and Porter enduring yet another softball game in the heat. Get used to it boys! We love softball in this family. Hannah's championship game just happened to be on the same night we were trying to move, so the boys were especially hot and tired.
Porter taking a breather from his hard work loading the moving truck.
Porter played coach pitch baseball this year. His favorite position was catcher.

Moab 2009

2009-06-04T14:15:00.001-07:00

We took off to Moab this year right after school got out for the kids. What better way to celebrate the end of another school year than visiting a national park named after your own family? Seriously though, we love Arches! It is one of the coolest places I've ever been. You see the most amazing things there. This year we were able to go with some of our best friends, the Nye's and the DeGroot's. We have such a good time with these families. Our kids are great friends and we get along very well. We all took trailers down and stayed in an awesome campground!
At night, we would bring out the TV and the kids would curl up for movie night while the adults played great games like "Fact or Crap". If you haven't played that one, it's a lot of fun.
Tate and his friend Kelton are about six months apart. They had a good time together. Here they are throwing rocks into a puddle left from a rainstorm the previous night.
Here we are near the "Three Gossips". That's the name of the rock formation to the left of Allen. It really looks like three ladies talking to each other.
We finally were able to line up all the kids in order of age. We have a 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2, and a 0 year old between us all. The only thing missing was a one-year old.
All the adults! Hannah took this picture for us and did a great job.
We love the Sand Dune Arch. It's one of our favorite places in the park. You can find the most amazing sand there. We spent hours playing in the cool, soft sand.
Allen and I at the top of Delicate Arch.
The little people in this picture really is our little family. I'm so proud of the kids for hiking all the way to Delicate Arch. It's not an easy hike, and they were awesome! What an amazing sight it is!
Having some fun in the pool at our campground. We'd jump in the pool everyday after we were done hiking and it felt heavenly. This vacation was so great! I would totally recommend it for those of you looking for a CHEAP, family-friendly vacation!

Recent Highlights

2009-05-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Our life has been absolutely insane for the last few weeks, so I thought I would do an all-purpose post showing some of the highlights of the last few weeks.

First, it was finally time to give the boys their annual summer haircuts. We varied between long and short over the winter, but the summer definitely calls for short hair! I almost cried when I cut off Tate's long locks, but it looks cute short and much cooler for him.

Hannah and her friend Tayler caught the entrepreneurial spirit with their lemonade stand last week. I wish I would have got a close-up of their sign. It read "Any one coin for one cup of lemonade". I suppose they weren't in it for the money, more for the social aspect. They did each make $1.35 and sold out of lemonade though, so I'd call that a success.

Porter had his first-grade awards assembly last week. He's on the end in the back row on the top picture, and the first one in line in the second picture. The lighting in the gym was terrible and we couldn't get any closer to him to get a better picture. Despite that, he managed to haul in a number of great awards. He received two reading awards, excellent attendance, most improved in math, and the principal's award for academic achievement. I wasn't sure what the principal's award was, so I asked his teacher after, and she said it was only given to the students with the highest academics in all areas. It was only given to three kids in his class. He continues to amaze me with his academic skills. Great job Porter!

Last but not least, the kids participated in their tumbling review held at Bonneville High. They had a short show to show off the tumbling skills they've learned throughout the year. Hannah's favorite was the beam, and she is so graceful on it. Her legs are so long that they just float across the beam. Porter's favorite was the trampoline and the bars. He's not so graceful, but he has fun running around and burning energy.

Bacon Salt

2009-05-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

As you all know, yesterday was Mother's Day. I really enjoy Mother's Day. Yesterday, I received a very special gift from my wonderful husband. It's this great new seasoning salt called Bacon Salt. As you can imagine, I was a little perplexed when I opened the gift. I've never even heard of Bacon Salt, let alone as a gift for Mother's Day. I was expecting something more traditional, such as a CD, lotion, etc, so I was a little surprised to see this gift. But my husband truly knows me well, and he knows my intense love of bacon. So it's not surprising that he wanted to give me a gift that makes everything taste like bacon. When it comes right down to it, I can't really think of a better gift for me. And if you thought Bacon Salt was surprising, you can imagine my shock when I also received bacon-flavored lip balm. Now I can savor the flavor of bacon on my lips all day long. Thank you Allen!

Wedding Day

2009-05-03T08:10:00.001-07:00

My little brother is officially a married man now. Last night was his wedding and it was quite an event. They had the ceremony first, then dinner, dancing, and a reception. I loved their first dance together. My brother was so nervous, but he did great! I would have been nervous too, with all those people watching your every step. Good thing he had weeks of lessons to fall back on. Hannah had the great privilege of being asked to be the flower girl. She got to wear a beautiful dress and get her hair done for the occasion. In my totally unbiased opinion, she made a BEAUTIFUL flower girl, and I have to admit that I have way more pictures of her than the bride and groom. Sorry Scott! Anyways, it was a beautiful evening and I'm glad I was able to share in their special occasion.
Tate completely monopolized Hannah on the dance floor. Any time she would try and dance with someone else, he would run to her and say "Anna, dance". She was a good sport and spent the majority of the night dancing with him.
Hannah and her cousin Ashley having some fun outside during pictures.
All the girls (minus the new bride) in my family!
Porter, his cousin Spencer, and Tate.
Here I am during the dinner with the groom.
Doesn't he look cute with a cast?
Hannah was so cute walking down the aisle. She had to throw little rose petals on her way. It was priceless!
Two of my three little angels!
Hannah and her grandpa enjoying a dance together.

Tate's bad day

2009-04-24T10:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday started out as a pretty good day. The sun was shining, we played outside, had a photo shoot for the kids, played some softball, etc., and then all heck broke loose. I went to my softball game last night (which we won!), but when I got to my phone after the game, I realized I had missed several calls, voicemails, and text messages. When I saw they were all from Allen, I immediately knew something was wrong, and I was right. Tate had fallen off the trampoline and had broken his arm. I had carpooled with three other ladies to the game, so we booked it home as fast as we could. My friend Jen drove my car home because I was such a wreck. I felt so guilty that I had been playing softball and hadn't got the messages. Poor Allen had been trying to get a hold of me, but finally gave up, and hauled all three kids to the instacare. Luckily, there was no wait, and they confirmed through x-rays that Tate had fractured a bone above his elbow. They sent him home in a sling and made an appointment for us to take him to an orthopedic specialist today. We just got back from the hospital and luckily, Tate didn't need surgery and they casted him right then. He only needs it on for three weeks, so it could have been so much worse! I'm so grateful that he didn't need surgery, for a very capable and loving husband, and for good friends that got me home from the game last night.

SLC Half-Marathon

2009-04-18T15:20:00.001-07:00

We did it! I really can't believe the big race is over. I finally put my mind to something, and accomplished my goal. The SLC half-marathon was a blast! I was fortunate enough to train and run with my cousins, Amy and Carly. We had so much fun together. I never would have made it through the race without them. We began training in January and even though we all live far apart, we kept in touch and helped each other through the training.
The kids and I after the race!

Here we are nearing the finish line at the Gateway. When we turned the final corner towards the finish line, it was the most amazing feeling. We could see our families cheering us on and it felt so great! We finished the race in 2hrs 40 min. We did have to wait for the bathrooms at mile 5 for 15 minutes, so if you take that off, we actually finished under 2:30, which was our goal. Thanks again, Amy and Carly! You guys are the greatest! And, thanks to my wonderful husband for his support and encouragement. He was amazing during the training and the race. I never could have done it without him. Next stop, MARATHON!

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

Easter was a lot of fun this year. We spent Saturday hunting Easter eggs at Grandma's house. She puts on quite an Easter party and the kids had a grand time. We got all of that done on Saturday and that made it possible to have a very nice Easter Sunday with just our little family. We went to church and then had our very own Easter feast, complete with ham, potatoes, rolls, salad, pie, and ice cream. It was yummy! Then we went for a walk and topped out the day watching America's Funniest Home Videos (the kids favorite show and a new Sunday tradition.) We had such a great time with our kids and think they are amazing children! What a great Easter weekend!

Move over Mozart!

2009-04-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

Hannah and Porter had their piano recital last night and they did such a good job. It was Porter's first recital, and he looked so little by the piano. The best part of the night was when Porter got up to play his second number. He was following a taller kid (which is basically everybody) and the bench was pulled out quite far. Apparently scooting it up would have taken too much time, so he just decided to stand and play his number. It produced quite a chuckle among the audience. I'm very proud of both kids. They practiced hard to have their songs memorized and are always so diligent with their daily practicing. Also, thanks to my mom for teaching them piano. She's a tremendous teacher and we're lucky that she's willing to teach them. Great job guys!

Rough Sunday

2009-03-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm sure all you parents out there will agree that 1:00 church time is brutal for the little ones. Tate had it especially rough this last Sunday. He was either falling asleep during dinner or crying. There was really no in between. He would get so close to sleep and his head would nod off, and then he'd wake up again. We didn't dare put him to bed for fear he'd be up all night, so we just let it go, but it was bad. He was so cross! I think we'll have to do some research on church times before we buy our next home. I refuse to buy a home with 1:00 church! Tate needs his Sunday nap and so do I!

Eyelashes to Die For

2009-03-21T14:48:00.001-07:00

I have a confession to make. I am totally jealous of my son's eyelashes. I don't really think it's fair that a two-year old boy has the long lashes that I've always wanted. He doesn't even care about lashes like I do. I have to cake on the mascara to make it even look like I have eyelashes. Lucky boy! I guess nobody ever said life was fair.

My Brush With Fame!

2009-03-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

We had a Relief Society party the other night and Brooke Walker from KSL Studio 5 was the guest speaker. She was so great and even didn't mind having her picture taken with some of us. I generally don't get to mingle with many celebrities, so it was really fun to see her in person. The party was a obviously a hat party and I had so much fun seeing all the cute hats, especially the Aretha inauguration look-alike, hand-crafted by my friend Celeste. She is one talented girl! I have made some great friends in this ward and I'll really miss them when we move. They are great examples to me and we have so much fun together!

Friday Fun!

2009-03-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

For a fun Friday activity, my dad took the kids to the model train show at the Union Station in Ogden. They really liked the model trains and had a good time looking around. Then they stumbled upon an exhibit that held them mesmerized for quite some time. It was a miniature Radiator Springs city from the movie "Cars." It was very impressive! They had cars there that I had never seen before and all the cute little shops from the movie. What a great Friday activity! Thanks Grandpa!

Nothing to blog about

2009-02-26T14:12:00.000-08:00

For lack of nothing else to blog about, I will give a brief update on the happenings around our house. We had Parent Teacher Conferences last night and they were amazing. I try not to brag too much about my kids, but these reports definitely deserve a mention in this post. I am so proud of my kids! Hannah is doing wonderful in her academics and her teacher could not stop telling us how wonderful Hannah is to have in class. She's sweet, helpful, and has really taken a new Chinese student under her wings. His name is Li Heung and he speaks virtually no English. Hannah's teacher said she helps him with his words and is so kind to him. Porter is sailing through first grade and could probably be skipped to second grade if he were a little more mature. He's at the top of his class in all areas and is doing great. His teacher did mention a couple areas of improvement for him, which are keeping his desk area cleaner and maybe not talking to much. I can handle those kinds of improvements.

In other news, I finished a 10k race last Saturday and am absolutely addicted to this running thing. I don't know why I haven't done it before. It is such a rush to finish a race and to look back on how far you really ran. Allen's busy at work, Tate's cute as ever, and we're still looking for a home! That pretty much sums it up for us!

My first race

2009-02-11T07:41:00.001-08:00

Well, I finally did it! I ran my first 5k race. I've been running for a few months now and have absolutely loved it. I didn't really think I was ready for a race yet, but my cousin Amy talked me into running this race with her last Saturday. She's an amazing runner and I felt encouraged going with her. This race was the first in a winter racing circuit and was held in the hills above Weber State. When I say hills, I really mean hills. Had I known about all the hills beforehand, I may have chickened out. It really was pretty brutal. We finished the race in 37:00, which I'm very proud of, considering it was my first race and all the hills. We even had enough left in us to sprint to the finish line. I thought I might throw up at that moment, but I managed to hold it in.

This picture was taken after the race, hence the red faces. It was freezing that morning! My dad came to the race and took more pictures of us finishing, but I haven't received those pictures yet. I'll post more when I get them.

There's a 10k in two weeks and then a half-marathon in May, which is what I'm ultimately working for this year. Thanks again, Amy! I had a blast!

You win some, you lose some...

2009-02-07T15:46:00.000-08:00

I don't really consider myself an expert cook, but I would venture enough to say that I'm decent. I can hold my own in the kitchen and I provide my family with a good variety of meals that are usually quite good. Well, this wasn't the case last Monday.

I was making one of our favorite family meals, broccoli alfredo sauce over pasta. I've made this dish a hundred times, it's one of my go-to meals. I put in my first two ingredients that I know by heart, and then began to look for the recipe. I couldn't find it anywhere, so I guessed on the butter. I didn't think it was a big deal, but looking back, I should have taken it as omen for what was to come.

As I worked on the sauce, I put the garlic bread in the oven to cook. A little bit later, I began to smell something burning. I checked the sauce and the noodles and they were fine, so I forgot about the smell. The kids then began to tell me that something was burning. Again, I checked the noodles and sauce and everything was fine. It never occurred to me that it could be the bread burning. By the time I remembered the bread in the oven, it was way too late. That stuff was burned to a crisp. The whole house smelled terrible. I decided to shake it off and make an extra-large salad to make up for the lack of bread. I grabbed the lettuce from the crisper only to find that it was frozen solid. Unbelievable! I've never had anything freeze in the crisper. And just for your information, lettuce doesn't defrost well in the microwave. It kind of turns a strange brown color. My sauce at this point didn't look quite right either, but I kept adding butter until it looked edible.

Luckily, the sauce turned out quite nice and we ate it, even without bread or salad. We were starving after, but thank goodness for extra FHE treats on Monday nights.

Junk food binge

2009-02-03T06:15:00.001-08:00

Relatively speaking, we are not huge Super Bowl people. We knew who was playing in the game, but that was about it. Neither Allen nor I really cared who won the game, and we didn't have huge plans to party with anybody. However, we did like the thought of pigging out and having some really great junk food to munch on. We generally don't keep a lot of junk food in the house and we never just give the kids a free ticket to eat what they want, so we thought this idea of a junk food extravaganza might be kind of fun and different. We began during the halftime show which the kids really liked. We spread a blanket out on the floor in front of the TV and proceeded to eat our little hearts out. We had nachos with chili cheese dip, cookies, popcorn, and soda pop (which we never have!) This was all after a hearty Sunday dinner of steak and potatoes. Allen was so full that his stomach hurt, and I'm not sure why my stomach didn't hurt. I sure ate enough for it to hurt. The kids thought it was great fun and want to know when we're doing it again. I don't think our insides can handle it again anytime soon. Thank goodness the Super Bowl only rolls around once a year.

Hannah gets her ears pierced

2009-02-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hannah before she gets her ears pierced.
Hannah after she got her ears pierced. This picture doesn't show them very well.

I'll admit that I love to wear earrings. I wear them everywhere. I really like the big ones. I think if I don't wear them, I kind of look like a boy. For this reason, I didn't seem to care much when Hannah told me she wanted her ears pierced. I always thought I'd make her wait until she was 16 or some other outrageous age before she could do it. I think that a lot of girls in her school class have their ears pierced, therefore, she needed hers to be pierced. Surprisingly, Allen was okay with it as well. We told her everything she needed to know about the process. We told her that it would hurt, that she'd have to clean them everyday, and that she'd have to wear the same pair for six weeks. We even showed her videos on YouTube of kids having their ears pierced. She was okay with it all and still wanted to do it. So last night was the big night. She took her teddy bear with her to hold and as it turns out, she didn't even need it. She hardly even flinched. They even did her ears separately, rather than together. But, the biggest surprise of the night came when she chose blue earrings rather than pink. Who would have thought? Good job Hannah! You are one tough girl!

Jazz Game

2009-01-28T14:16:00.001-08:00

* 4 tickets to the Jazz game - Free
* Parking - $4.00
* Nachos - $4.75
* Watching your kids get their faces on the jumbotron - Priceless

Allen hooked up with some Jazz tickets from work the other night, so we took the two older kids to their first game. I don't know why we haven't gone before, because that was one of the funnest nights we've had in a long time. They were decked out in their jerseys and way excited to see the players. We picked an awesome night to go because they were playing the San Antonio Spurs, which have a lot of great players to see. It was also the Jazz Bear's birthday. To celebrate his birthday, mascots from around the league were at the game. They entertained us the entire time. They were so fun to watch! During the game, Porter began to get a little bored, so he began to watch the jumbotron. During time-outs, the camera would scan the audience and then show a close-up of people that were dancing and acting crazy. He really wanted to get his face on the jumbotron, but the odds of that happening were about 1 in 20,000 or so. I told him he needed to start dancing and then maybe the camera would show him, and man did he ever dance. He danced the robot, the stayin'alive, the wave and many other dances that I'm not quite sure what they were. He got the crowd going around him, and sure enough, there he was on the jumbotron. Once he saw his face on the screen, he went nuts! He was dancing and screaming and waving his arms. Thanks to his dancing, Hannah and I also got an appearance on the jumbotron. I would give anything to capture that moment on camera, but Allen wasn't quite quick enough with the camera, so I'll have to rely on my memory for this one. Even though the Jazz couldn't quite pull out the victory in the end, it didn't really matter. Nothing could damper our spirits after that fun night!

How Can My Little Girl be Nine Already?

2009-01-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

Hannah celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday and I can hardly believe it. My little girl is growing up so fast! Hannah was born beautiful and still is! I think Hannah is an amazing girl. She is smart, talented, sweet, and a pure delight to be around. She never complains, is always nice to others and I am so proud of the way she is growing up. Her birthday was kind of different this year because the poor girl had strep throat. She came down with it Thursday and we finally got some medicine by Friday. We had to postpone her "friend" party Friday night and tell all her friends to come next Friday instead. We tried to make Saturday extra special for her because he felt so bad about her being so sick. She started to finally perk up Saturday, so we took her to see High School Musical 3, dinner at Sizzler (her favorite) and Teddy Bear Builders. It turned out to be a really great day! Happy birthday Hannah! We love you so much!

Great Day!

2009-01-19T08:15:00.001-08:00

I haven't had much to blog about lately, so I owe my brother, Ryan a big thank-you for finally giving me something to blog about. On Saturday, they were able to have their son, Cooper, sealed to them. We were lucky enough to be there in the Bountiful Temple with them and it was an amazing experience that I will never forget. Cooper was an angel during the sealing and so darn cute! We just love that kid so much! Thanks again, Ryan and Hayley for letting us share in your special day!

Environmental Center Fun

2009-01-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

I was able to spend the day yesterday with Hannah's class at the Environmental Center. For those of you that grew up in Weber County, you'd understand the sheer joy I experienced when I heard Hannah's class was going on a field trip there. That place holds so many great memories for me, I just had to go back. It was an absolute blast! The place hasn't changed at all (except the snowshoes were quite a bit nicer than I remember and they've added a climbing wall inside). Other than that, it's the same place where countless hours of fun were had in elementary school.
My friends Jen and Kim (not pictured) braved the cold and snow with me on the field trip.
Hannah was quite the snowshoer. She had no problems navigating the hills and crossing the stream. She kept herself in the front of the pack most of the time. I forgot what good exercise snowshoeing is. My legs are really feeling it today.
Hannah is my little snow-bunny. She loves being in the snow and will stay out as long as anyone will let her. The snow at the Center was as tall as she was.
Hannah and her pals making the trek back to the bus after a fun-filled and exhausting day at the Environmental Center.

I Love Christmas!

2009-01-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is really over. My tree is still up, Christmas candy still covers the counters, and I haven't put away all of the presents yet. I guess I must be in denial. This is my favorite time of the year and I hate it when it's over. We had such a great Christmas this year. They're always great, but as the years go by, the just seem to get better and more magical. We spent time together as a family, and also spent time with extended family as well. We missed Allen's parents so much this year, but are still so grateful for their example to us as they serve the Lord in Oakland. We're grateful to be near my parents and for the support they often lend to us. We hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Porter and Hannah testing out the Wii from Santa, Christmas morning.
Hannah tested out her new sled on the day after Christmas in the fresh snow we received Christmas day.
Tate got a train set and some Legos from Santa. He played with them for about a minute before he lost interest and wanted to bother Porter and take all of his new things.
Hannah got a Hannah Montana doll and some clothes from Santa. Porter got Anakin Skywalker's starship and some Star Wars figures from Santa. Oh, and we wouldn't want to forget the ever-popular Wii we received. We know we're about a year behind on this wonderful gadget, but it's better late than never.
Tate also received a new bedspread and loves laying on his bed now.
Tate participated in the annual Christmas program as a jingle bell ringer at my parent's home on Christmas night. He wasn't much of a jingler, but he did love being in front of a crowd. The kids decked out in their new Christmas clothes for church on Sunday.

The famous tradition of jammies on Christmas Eve. I did this as a kid. I guess some things never change.
Allen set up our camera with the timer because I don't have any pictures of just the two of us. I'm impressed that it actually worked and that I like the picture.

Wii!

2008-12-29T16:23:00.001-08:00

I'm a little busy these days playing our new Christmas present, the Wii. I may post pictures of Christmas someday, but I just can't seem to break away from the Wii long enough to download my pictures. For those of you that have one already, when does the initial excitement wear off and you don't feel the need to play it 24 hours a day?

Move over Andrei Kirilenko

2008-12-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

Porter just finished up his first Junior Jazz season and it was one interesting season, to say the least. I would classify Porter as a defensive specialist, much the same as Andrei Kirilenko. Not too much of an offensive threat, but you'd better watch out on defense. He was tenacious in his defending of the other team. When they are this young, they put wristbands on each player that match up with someone on the other team. This let's them know who to defend. I always felt sorry for whoever was matched up with Porter, because he wouldn't let them out of his sight. He took defense to a whole new level.
Although Porter didn't make a basket the entire season (actually, didn't even take a shot), he had a ball! He loved running the court and cheering for his teammates when they made a basket. It was really quite fun (and painful at times) to watch him play.
All in all, I would call the season a success and if awards were given, Porter would definitely win "Top Defender."

Kind of Fun

2008-12-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

If you want to play, just copy and paste this list on your blog, and highlight which ones you've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill.
24. Been to Vienna
25. Was on Television
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Learned a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Winter Fun?

2008-12-16T15:53:00.001-08:00

I'll be the first to admit that I REALLY hate winter, but there is something very fun about bundling your kids up for their first snow adventure of the year. It's all so exciting to them. They can find a million things to do outside and the cold doesn't seem to bother them at all. After the big storm on Saturday, they were begging to go outside, so I put my winter hatred aside and went out with them. They climbed the tree, went down the slide, and pulled each other on the sled. The slide is so much funner when it's covered in ice than in the summer when it's hot and your sweaty legs stick to it. You just fly off the end in the winter and land in a big pile of snow. It was a lot of fun and I'm determined to have fun this winter, whether I like it or not!

"Elf" Yourself

2008-12-11T16:26:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A Man of Many Hats

2008-12-08T07:54:00.001-08:00

It seems that every time I turn around these days, Tate has on a different hat. He loves having a hat on his head, any hat. He frequently raids Porter's stash of hats and finds new ones. He looks so cute in his hats, that I decided to take pictures of all the different ones I see him in. These are the ones he has worn lately that I got a picture of. (Please excuse the messy face on some of the shots).

Happy Birthday Tate!

2008-11-30T19:38:00.001-08:00

I can't believe my baby is 2 today! His two little years have gone by so fast to me. He is such a funny boy and makes me laugh everyday. With the other two kids being in school all day, I have been able to spend so much time with Tate. I can say that I haven't missed a thing in his first two years. I have loved the time I have been able to spend with my little man. Today was spent quietly at home hanging out and having fun together. I made Tate's favorite lasagna for dinner and baked him an extra large birthday cookie. Grandma and Grandpa Willoughby stopped by for a visit and Grandma and Grandpa Archibald spoke with Tate on the phone for a few minutes. We played with new birthday toys and had an all-around great day together. We love you Tate and can't imagine our lives without you! Blowing out his candles on his birthday "gokie".
Playing with a new dump truck sent with love from G & G Archibald in Oakland.
Playing with his new train set from G & G Willoughby.
Showing off his extra-large and extra-cute birthday smile.

What is a "real" man?

2008-11-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

My friend Celeste just blogged about how her husband just finished reading Twilight and how he was getting in trouble with the "husbands." Well, Allen just finished reading the book as well. He wanted to see the movie with me and thought he should read the book first. I personally think that is very sweet and a nice thing for a husband to do. But, you would not believe the amount of harassment Allen has taken over reading this book. He has been told he's losing his manhood and numerous other "manhood" comments. He even had one co-worker say to him "when you're done reading, drop by my desk and pick up a man-card." (whatever the heck that means). This has compelled me to write a little bit in defense of my wonderful husband. I think it takes a "real" man to admit he's read the book and that he liked it. I think the men that give him harassment are only insecure about their "manhood". Allen does many things that make him a "real" man in my opinion. He encourages me to go play softball or volleyball while he stays home with the kids. He's going to take Hannah to "The Nutcracker" ballet over Thanksgiving when all the other men are home watching football. He doesn't care that I bought Tate a baby doll for his birthday. He was up in the middle of the night with all three children, feeding, changing or anything else I needed. That's what I call a "real" man. He's the world's best dad and husband and I'm a lucky woman to have him. Thank you Allen, for reading Twilight and not being ashamed to admit it and for all those other things that make you a "real" man!

The Pinkest Pinewood Derby Car Ever!

2008-11-20T08:01:00.001-08:00

We had an awesome night last night participating in the Pinewood Derby with Hannah. Our ward invited the Activity Days girls to build a car and it was so much fun! Allen helped Hannah build her car and let her pick the paint color. She chose pink, of course. Then we decorated it with cute, girly stickers. The girls had a pretty good showing last night. Four of the top six were girls and a girl had the fastest overall time. Hannah took 6th out of 18, and swept an entire heat. We talked to her about winning and losing, but I can't tell you how good it felt when she beat some of the boys. I couldn't stop smiling and it looked like Allen might just burst when he saw how excited she was to win. At the end, she won an award for the "Girliest" car. It was a fitting award for a very girly girl. Great job Hannah!

Tate's New Bed!

2008-11-16T21:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Tate's big debut in his new "big boy" bed. Although he was getting too big for his crib, and trying to climb out, we were nervous about switching him to a bed this early. So with a little bit of reluctance, we took the crib down (for the last time) and set up his new bed. We thought he would definitely want to climb out and play for his nap, but he didn't and surprisingly slept very well. We put him to bed last night and awaited the middle of the night sound of Elmo Hokey Pokey from his room, but it never happened. He slept all night! Now I just need to potty train him, but we'll save that for another year.

I Love the 80's!

2008-11-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

As some of you may already know, my 33rd birthday is coming up this Saturday. Allen is "surprising" me with a mixed tape of my favorite songs from the 80's. For those of you that grew up in the 80's like myself, I'm sure you'll agree that the 80's produced some of the best music of all time. In order to get my absolute favorite songs on the mixed tape, Allen brought home a list of Billboards top 700 songs of the 80's for me to choose from. I only get 16 songs on my mixed tape, so it's been a hard decision, with a long process of narrowing down the list. Well, my list is finally complete, and I thought it would be fun to share with you. I really enjoyed finding out your favorite movie quotes, so please share with me your favorite 80's songs as well. My list is as follows in no particular order:

America - Neil Diamond
The Search is Over - Survivor
Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House
Sunglasses at Night - Corey Hart
Heaven - Bryan Adams
Angel - Aerosmith
867-5309 - Tommy Tutone
Missing You - John Waite
Never Surrender - Corey Hart (I loved Corey Hart when I was 13)
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
When Doves Cry - Prince
Straight From the Heart - Bryan Adams
Don't Know What You Got (Til It's Gone) - Cinderella
The Flame - Cheap Trick
When I See You Smile - Bad English
Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benatar

Honorable Mentions: I loved these songs as well, but in good conscience couldn't put them on my mixed tape.

Blame it on the Rain - Milli Vanilli
Lost in Your Eyes - Debbie Gibson
We Are the World - USA for Africa

I wish my mixed tape would hold all 700 songs, but it won't. They just don't make songs like this anymore.

I Love a Bargain

2008-11-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

As some of you may already know, I love a bargain and I love to clip coupons. Call me crazy, but I love the rush that I get when I look at a grocery receipt and see how much money I have saved. It's exhilirating! This week's shopping trip to Albertson's was especially thrilling to me (I know my life is pathetic). It was so thrilling to me that I wanted to post a picture of my deals. All of these groceries cost me $18.00 total!. The list includes:

10 cans Progresso soup

3 large tubs Country Crock butter

1 12 roll of Charmin

2 Wishbone Ranch dressing

5 Suave lotion

8 Lipton pasta sides

5 cartons Progresso chicken broth

1 Green Giant freezer vegetables w/sauce

1 Betty Crocker cake mix

1 Betty Crocker cookie mis

Thank you Albertson's and Pinching Your Pennies! My food storage has never looked so good and all for so cheap!

Sweet Movie Quotes

2008-11-08T18:01:00.001-08:00

As Allen and I watched TV last night, we somehow got started on movie quotes. We began to talk about some of our favorite lines from some classic movies (at least in our opinion). We had so much fun in doing so, that we compiled a list of our top movie quotes. Can you name any of the movies these quotes are from? We would love to hear your favorite quotes as well!

"Oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling, I can't take it anymore."

"Hey Pinnochio, where YOU going?"

"I come from a long line of overreactors."

"The machine is still on Moira."

"Bye Buddy. Hope you find your dad."

"Snakes, I hate snakes."

"Never mess with a Sicilian when death is on the line."

"This a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I AM the President. ...."

"My guess is this is the singing bush."

"Besides, we both know I'm training to become a cagefighter."

"Give me what I want and I'll go away."

"How much you want to bet I can throw a pigskin over them mountains."

Weekend in San Diego!

2008-11-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

We just got home from a fabulous weekend in San Diego. We decided at the last minute that we needed a quick little get-away. Because we fly free with JetBlue, it makes for really cheap vacations. We spent Sunday and Monday in Sea World and flew home on Tuesday. The weather was warm and perfect as it always is in San Diego. There were no crowds either day and we were able to see all the shows and do everything, at least twice.

Hannah and Porter had a ball in this bounce house. At times, they were the only ones in it, and could pretty much do whatever they wanted.

We had bunk beds in our hotel room, and they thought it was loads of fun to play on them. Up and down the ladder they went. They may have had more fun on the bunk beds then they did in Sea World.

Hannah and Porter hanging out by the pool. They love swimming and made friends with the other kids in the pool and had a great game of shark/dolphin/killer whale going. I think the other kids had been to Sea World also. Apparently marine life was on their mind.

Porter and I on the new Elmo's Flying Fish ride at Sea World. They have recently opened this fun new area in Sea World called Sesame Street's Bay of Play. It has tons of cute play areas and some fun little rides for the kids.

Porter looking for shells on Mission Beach.

The whole family got to meet Elmo and Big Bird. Tate was so enthralled with Elmo that he wouldn't look at the camera. Every picture we have is of Tate either honking Elmo's nose or poking at his eyes. I'm sure Elmo was ready to get rid of us and on to the next family.

What a Night!

2008-10-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Allen's birthday and we celebrated a nice evening together with the kids. He chose pizza and chicken wings from Domino's for dinner and ice cream for dessert. He wrestled with the kids and we watched our favorite videos on YouTube. He said it was a great birthday, until all h-e double hockey sticks broke loose. The kids were in bed, so Allen and I decided to read a little in the D&C, when out of nowhere, Allen jumps out of his chair, practically throwing his scriptures in the air. He said he saw something run across the floor to the side of him, like a big spider. We checked under the other chairs and saw nothing. I thought he was up in the night. Then we decided to look under the couch. Allen lifted the couch and I did the looking. Well, I could see something gray under the couch, but I thought it could be a toy. So I lifted the couch the next time and had Allen look. As I was lifting, he screamed MOUSE, and I dropped the couch and jumped up on the table. We did indeed have a little mouse hiding under our couch. Allen had seen something scurry across the floor and my worst nightmare was now coming true. The little guy didn't seem to want to move from under the couch, so we got into full battle mode. This included calling our hunter neighbor Dax in for reinforcements, grabbing buckets, and a long stick. Dax came over with his air soft pistol and the next thirty minutes consisted of the mouse running from one spot to another in our family room with us screaming and chasing him. His final chase came when he scurried across the kitchen floor with Allen trying to squash him with a stick and Dax shooting him with an air soft gun. He made it safely into the small crevice leading into our dishwasher. That's when we knew the chase had ended. He made it to safety, nestled somewhere inside my dishwasher or the inside of my cupboards. Dax set some peanut butter traps for us and left us alone with the mouse. We blocked off the kitchen with the coffee table and tried to resume our night. We attempted to take our mind off the mouse by watching The Office, but it didn't seem to be all that funny last night. We then tried to go to bed, but neither of us slept very well. We kept dreaming about mice and I was dreading fixing breakfast in that death trap of a kitchen. In the morning, Allen went to check our traps and he then told me the best news of my life. We had caught the mouse in one of Dax's peanut butter traps. He took the bait and was now paying the price for terrorizing us all night. I think I owe Dax a batch of peanut butter cookies. I'm glad our adventure is over for now and I'm sure Allen had a birthday he'll never forget!

The Witch, a Ghost, and Indy!

2008-10-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

My parents held their annual Halloween party last weekend. They sure know how to throw a party. This party had everything! There was pumpkin decorating, a pinata, crafts, a treasure hunt, and a spook alley. Hannah decided to be a witch this year. She wants to be a scary witch, but even when she tries to look scary, she just gets cuter. Sorry Hannah, you'll just have to be a cute witch!

Tate hates costumes, so a pillowcase ghost works out well for him. We attempted to spray his hair and paint his face, but he wouldn't sit still long enough to get the complete job done.

Porter makes an awesome Indiana Jones! He's missing his whip and bag in this picture, which top off the costume nicely. We had fun at the DI this year picking out treasures to put in his bag. Indy Jones is always looking for treasures, so that's what Porter wanted. He found a skull, a goblet, a crystal statue, and a tiki at the DI. Thank you DI!

Here are all the grandkids in the leaves. My littlest nephew, Cooper, is laying in the front and is camoflauged in the leaves. He's dressed as Tigger in an orange costume, which blends in perfectly with the leaves.

My brother and his wife made the perfect Napoleon and Deb. It was almost scary how well they pulled that off. Not only were they dressed like them, but they even acted like them. It was hilarious! This picture doesn't show the moon boots though, which was the best part.

Sleeping During Movies

2008-10-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Allen and I thought it would be fun to watch a movie last night after the kids went to bed. We made a trip to the Redbox and neither of us had seen the new Indiana Jones movie so we decided to give it a try. Now I have a real problem staying awake during movies at home. I can't seem to help it, but when the lights go off and the movie starts, I'm gone. I thought I would be able to stay during last night's show, considering the great action found in Indiana Jones. But last night was much the same as all the other nights, I just couldn't make it. I was asleep after the first twenty minutes of the show (sorry Ryan). I don't sleep continually through the whole movie. I wake up every so often to glance a bit of the show, but when I realize how lost I am, I figure I might as well just go back to sleep. As I spoke with Allen after the movie, I apologized for sleeping through yet another movie, and also asked him what happened to Indy at the end. Being a huge Indiana Jones fan, he was very disappointed with the ending. When he told me that the ending involved aliens and a spaceship, I felt no regret in sleeping through the ending. What kind of Indiana Jones movie ends with aliens and a spaceship? Maybe Steven Spielberg and George Lucas became confused with their other movies, but that just doesn't seem right. Anyways, sorry Allen, for sleeping through another movie. I'll try much harder next time!

Corn Maze

2008-10-23T09:09:00.001-07:00

We took our annual trip to the corn maze Saturday afternoon. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't pass up an afternoon in the sunshine. My sister and her family went with us and the kids had an absolute ball (until an injury occured, explanation coming). The corn maze itself was fun, but the funnest part was the big, giant slide. I don't know how many dozens of times the kids went down the slide. Tate was also loving the slide until he decided to turn around at the bottom and try and climb back up. At that moment, the next group of kids was coming down the slide and before we could get to him, they completely plowed him over. He emerged from the pile with a horrible bloody nose. We thought his nose was broken. It was bleeding so bad and had a nice lump across it. To make a long story short, our trip to the corn maze was cut a little short. We took Tate home and he looked terrible. His face was a mess and he was miserable. I expected him to wake up Sunday morning with two black eyes and some bruises, but amazingly enough, he looked great and hasn't had even other troubles. Looking back, it seems like Tate gets hurt quite a bit, but he's definitely not afraid to jump in and try all the things the big kids are doing.

Home-grown Pumpkins!

2008-10-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

This year we planted our own pumpkin plant in the garden. It was a long shot that we would actually be able to make something grow in our garden, but surprisingly enough, the pumpkins grew a ton. In fact, towards the end of the summer, they began to infiltrate the rest of the garden, cutting off all life to my poor onions. Our pumpkin crop this year yielded us eight pumpkins. They are almost all perfectly shaped and cute as can be! The kids had a great time watching them grow, and then the reward came yesterday, as we cut them off the vine, and took them for a nice wheelbarrow ride to the front porch for decorating. There is nothing like the reward from knowing you grew something yourself in your very own garden!

Frightmares Fun!

2008-10-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

My parents took all the grandkids to Frightmares at Lagoon today. They've done it for the past few years and it's becoming a fun UEA tradition. Lagoon is so much fun at this time of the year. It's decorated cute for Halloween, the crowds are smaller, and the weather is so perfect! Hannah is becoming quite the roller coaster enthusiast and will try tons of rides now. Porter is not quite tall enough for the big rides, but getting too big for the little rides. He loves Dracula's Castle and even won his first stuffed animal ever on "Break the Plate". He stepped right up and broke 2 out of 3 plates. It was so exciting to watch his baseball windup and his perfect aim at the plates. Watch out major leagues! Tate was content on the merry-go-round, making horse noises the entire time. What a great day!

My Little Scholars

2008-10-09T10:41:00.001-07:00

I felt it necessary to post some of my children's schoolwork. I am so proud of their hard work so far in school this year. Hannah may have finally realized that it's okay to do good in school, as well as have fun. She's previously been more concerned with the social aspect of school, rather than academics. But so far this year, she has aced all of her spelling tests and was even awarded
"Scholar of the Month" for her class. Now that's an award I didn't think I would ever see for her. Not that she wasn't capable, but she just hasn't been all that concerned with her schoolwork thus far in her career. Porter is also doing wonderful and has also been getting 100%'s on his spelling tests. He's always been a bit of a braniac, so this is really no surprise to Allen and I. Either way though, I am very proud of both of them. I know it's been hard for them to switch schools and start over, but they have both been tremendous and are doing great in their new school.

The Throw-up Bucket

2008-10-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

The throw-up bucket at our house has been well-used in the past couple of weeks. That dreaded feeling all started early last week when I heard that awful sound in the middle of the night when you just know your child has covered all the blankets, sheets, and sometimes walls with the throw-up. In Tate's case, he just happened to throw-up on the one night that he actually ate a good dinner, and Allen just also happened to be out of town. No sooner had I cleaned up the first round of pizza chunks, when the second round came. Because I only had one set of hands, I threw all of the soiled laundry into the tub to be rinsed out at a later time. I changed Tate and held him until he fell asleep. Then I rinsed out the blankets and pajamas, left them in the tub and crashed for the last few hours of sleep for the night. He felt much better in the morning, but I still had to face the mess of laundry in the tub. I also knew that my chances were great that the other kids would get the bug as well. We were fine for a few days, and then I heard the sound again, this time it was Porter. Thankfully, he is my best thrower-upper. He always makes it in the bucket and then just moves on with life. So he was easy. Then it was passed to Hannah, who is not easy. She moans and whimpers and then screams when it's coming. She should be the easiest by now, but is the worst, by far. To make a long story short, the throws-ups seem to have thankfully left our house and I can finally catch up on my laundry. I'm still wondering though, why does all of this happen in the middle of the night? No one ever throws up in the middle of the day. Why is that?

Great Book!

2008-09-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

I finished reading this book last night and thought I would let all of you know how great it is. For those of you that have read it, you'll know what I'm talking about, but for those who haven't it really puts it all in perspective. If you're anything like me, I go through phases where I feel like staying home and being a mother is not all it's cracked up to be. And then there are other times when I love it and wouldn't change it for the world. This book helped me to realize that this is where I need to be and I am lucky to have the opportunity to stay at home and raise my children. There will always be good days and bad days, but being a mother is the most important thing in the world!

Business Travelers

2008-09-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

This morning I dropped Allen off at the airport for his business trip to New York City this week. Although he has taken many business trips before and I'm sure there are many more to come, I still hate it when he has to leave. As I pulled out of the airport, I felt that pit in the stomach that I know won't go away until he returns home. I have tried to put my finger on this feeling many times and I still can't quite figure it out. It may come from knowing that he will see places of the world that I will never see, go to nice restaurants that I could never dream of going to, or simply the fact that I hate being apart. So as I was driving home from the airport, I decided that there must be positive things on my end that I'm just not seeing yet. So I thought about it the whole way home and came up with a few reasons why business traveling may not be so bad after all.

1. I can sleep on Allen's ultra-comfortable pillow.
2. I can have McDonald's for every meal if I so choose.
3. I can catch up on all my old episodes of Jon & Kate Plus 8 that I can't watch when Allen is
home because he can't stand the sound of Kate's voice.
4. He always brings home great souveniers for the kids.'
5. I can hog the entire bed if I want.

If anyone has discovered any more great reasons why it's great for your husband to be out of town, please share. Maybe someday, the pit in my stomach will go away, but until then, I will try and make the best of it.

Did we really go to the fair again?

2008-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again. It's the one Saturday of the year that we pull out the halter tops and the oversized belt buckles and make our way to the Utah State Fair. I'm not sure what it is that compels us to keep attending the fair year after year. Maybe it's the redneck in us or that little bit of white trash that we just can't seem to let go of, but whatever it is, I continue to find myself at the fair year in and year out. Let's face it, where else can you blow $75 in two hours on mechanical bull riding, pony rides, the big yellow slide, very unsafe carnival rides (don't even get me started on carnival workers, "carnies" as we call them), the chance to see a 5000 pound steer, and the world's junkiest souveniers. Every year as I bake in the hot sun as we walk through the pig arena, trying not to lose my lunch, I wonder why I keep putting myself through this torture. Yet somehow, as we are driving home and discussing the days events, we realize we've had a great time together and we just can't wait for next year's fair. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something great about the state fair.

Binky Boy!

2008-09-10T11:38:00.001-07:00

So my binky-addicted son is now trying to squeeze both of his binkies in his mouth at the same time. About a month ago, his first binky was falling apart, so I bought two new ones. Big mistake! Now instead of just breaking him off the first binky when it fell apart like I should have done, I'm now going to have to break him from two instead. I knew that I would have to pay for my laziness eventually. He thinks he's pretty funny though when I go to get him out of bed in the morning and he's got two shoved in his mouth. If only he would put other things in his mouth, like food!

Back to School!

2008-08-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's that time of year again. I say this every year, but the summer goes by way too fast. Although I'm glad for school to start to provide some structure, I will definitely miss the kids. We had such a great summer together and did so many fun things. Tate will also miss them, as he will be alone with me all day. It will be fun to spend some time alone with him though. Hannah and Porter were both excited for the first day, mainly because they finally got to wear their new shoes they'd been dying to wear since we got them a few weeks ago. Porter has a really great 1st grade teacher and lots of friends in his class. He even allowed me into his room to take a quick picture. I guess once you hit 3rd grade, you don't want your mother following you in on the first day to take your picture, so I sadly gave up the classroom picture with Hannah this year. Hannah's teacher is new to the school and she didn't have any friends in her class, but she came home yesterday proud that she had made two, maybe three new friends and was going to make more today. We know that she will be fine and have plenty of new friends this year. We're excited for them to be at their new school, H. Guy Child, which we have been very impressed with.

Bird Trainer For a Day

2008-08-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days of becoming an archaeologist, paleontologist, or the president. Porter has set his sights on a much grander career; bird trainer. He was picked from a large crowd to be a bird trainer for a day at the bird show at the Hogle Zoo. He had bird seed put in his hand and then a bird flew from across the stadium, perched on his arm, and ate out of his hand. He thought it was totally cool and decided then and there that he would like to become a bird trainer when he grows up!

Our Last Summer Hurrah!

2008-08-18T14:45:00.001-07:00

We just got home from one of the funnest and greatest vacations we've ever been on. We were able to visit Allen's parents on their mission in Oakland, CA. They serve at the Oakland Temple Visitor's Center and it is so beautiful there. We were able to stay with them in their mission apartment and it was so good to see them again. We did lots of great things including Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, the zoo, the redwoods, and many other things. But our most favorite thing about this vacation was being in the Visitor's Center with Allen's parents and feeling the amazing spirit that is present there. They currently have a display of some amazing statues that were sculpted to depict the miracles of Jesus Christ and they are so beautiful. We were able to visit with the sister missionaries that serve in the Center and the kids had a lot of fun with the elders. Most of all though, it was such a testimony builder to see all of the people there that are willing to give up so much to serve the Lord. What an amazing place!
Our family on the temple terrace of the Oakland Temple. They have this wonderful terrace that goes around the temple that you can walk around and the views from the top are incredible. You can see the ocean and all the way to San Francisco.
The kids having a ball in the Pacific Ocean. When we flew home, we had to fly over the ocean during takeoff and it was so hard to leave the ocean behind.
This is a picture of the kids posing with the sourdough bread guy at Boudin's bakery on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. They have the most amazing sourdough bread and they create these cool things with dough, like these scissors. We had to eat there twice because Hannah had her first taste of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and fell in love with it and had to have it again.
Our little family on the pier in San Francisco with Alcatraz in the background. We spent one whole day on the pier and had such a great time that we drove back another day and spent some more time.

Finally!

2008-08-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to take a day trip up the canyon all summer and it seems like something always comes up every Saturday. So when last Saturday rolled around and we were done with the yard work, we decided to go for it. We packed a lunch and drove to South Fork, which is just past Pineview Dam. We found a great spot to play in the river. The kids had a ball wading and throwing rocks (next time we'll bring tubes). After that we ate lunch and did some hiking. Allen led us on a trail to a really cool cave that the kids climbed through. The weather was beautiful and so were the mountains. After days like this, we always wonder why we don't do it more often. I guess life gets crazy and busy, but we are so glad that we seized the spare moments we had and enjoyed such a good time together. Allen, Hannah, and Tate on the way to the cave.
Tate took a dive off the rock he was sitting on and fell headfirst into the river. We think he only swallowed a little water, and we've crossed our fingers that he doesn't get giarrdhea, whirling disease, or any other nasty bugs from swallowing too much river water.

More Birthday Pictures!

2008-08-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Porter and his friends at his party. I think I can see more ribs than muscles. He thought it was pretty cool that all four of them were six years old.

Porter takes a pinata bashing very seriously. It's tradition to let the birthday child go first, and then you just cross your fingers that nobody else breaks it before the birthday child's turn comes around again.
This was my best attempt at an Indiana Jones cake. I think next time I will just fork over the money and order one, and save myself the stress. I worried so bad that it wouldn't be what he wanted, but in the end it was good enough for him.

Happy Birthday Porter!

2008-08-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

Porter's 6th birthday was yesterday and we had such a great day! Allen usually takes the day of work on Porter's birthday and we go swimming, but he was unable to this year so I let Porter invite a few friends over for swimming and pizza. Because we are new in the area, we only knew of a few people to invite, but it was still a lot of fun. They had a great time swimming, slip-n-sliding, and having squirt gun fights. Allen did come home a little early so we could take Porter out to dinner. We told him he could choose anywhere he wanted because it was his special day. I thought he'd choose pizza, but he chose Wendy's, of all places. Then we came home for a party with our family at our house. We had cake and ice cream, opened presents, and had a pinata. The clouds threatened to move our party indoors partway through, but they only produced a few claps of thunder and then moved it. Porter got tons of cool presents, including a Build-your-own Lightsaber, clone trooper gun, Indiana Jones legos, Star Wars legos, etc. We will now spend the next few weeks trying to assemble and figure everything out. We are so grateful for Porter. He truly is an amazing child and we can't imagine life without him. Happy Birthday Porter!

A Day at the Dam!

2008-07-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

First off, we owe a big thank you to Tim and Celeste for inviting us to go on their boat with them. We had an absolute blast on the water! It's been a long time since Allen and I have been waterskiing and it was good to try again. I emphasize the word try, because that's all I could muster was a good try. I never quite made it up on the skis, but Allen did pretty well. Before I got in the water, Allen said to me "it's just like riding a bike, once you've learned, you never forget." Well, I have to disagree with that theory, because I did once know how and I sure didn't remember how this time. It's amazing how sore you can be when you didn't even get up on the skis. The kids had a great time on the inner tube, especially Hannah. She didn't want to stop. Thanks again, Tim and Celeste for a great day!

Porter felt very in charge when he was able to work the orange flag.
Although I couldn't waterski, I gave the tube a try and it was a blast. Luckily there's not much skill involved on staying on a tube. Basically, you just hang on for dear life, especially with Celeste's crazy driving.

Baby Cooper!

2008-07-15T13:36:00.001-07:00

I am so unbelievably excited to be an aunt again. For all of you that don't know, my brother and his wife were able to adopt this little angel. They have been waiting so long for a baby and now they have Cooper and he is so amazing. He came into the world with a bang and he is going never going to be lacking in attention and love. Check out Ryan and Hayley's blog @ www.ryanhayley.blogspot.com to read his amazing birth story. It really is worth the read. Anyways, we are so excited for those two and for the wild ride of parenthood they have ahead of them. They will make amazing parents. We love you Cooper (oh, and you too Ryan and Hayley)!

Ouch!

2008-07-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

What I didn't mention about the Fourth of July was Porter's knee injury. He was jumping on a trampoline with some bigger cousins of his when he came down wrong on his left knee. He immediately started screaming and we ran over to get him off. We couldn't tell what was wrong, but we knew he was hurt because he generally doesn't cry like that. We decided not to take him to the doctor, because it was so late on the 4th and to see how his knee looked in the morning. Well, he woke up Saturday morning in a lot of pain so I took him to the Instacare. The doctor examined his leg and then told me he thought his femur was broken and that he would need a full leg cast and would potentially need surgery. Of course, all this came before the X-rays. The doctor gave me just enough information to sufficiently freak me out. To make a long story short, the X-rays were negative for a break, just some straining of the ligaments on the back side of his knee. The doctor got us some crutches which Porter loves to walk on and he's getting pretty good. We just have to keep the knee wrapped, steady Ibuprofen, and lots of rest. Porter's not doing so well on the lots of rest part. It will definitely be a long few days for him. We really hope that the strained ligaments is all it is. He woke up this morning, Sunday with a left foot that is very swollen. We have been icing it all day, but we hope that the doctor didn't miss anything. I guess we'll watch really close the next few days and hope that the swelling goes down and that this is the end of it.

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-06T14:01:00.001-07:00

We had a great Fourth of July (aside from Porter's injury). We had a great time at the Riverdale parade with our good friends, The Shaffers. We were also able to spend time with both families and other friends as well. We definitely missed Grandma and Grandpa Archibald. Grandma's patriotism is contagious and was really missed. We hope they had a good day at the Visitor's Center in Oakland where they are on their mission.

So Sweet! (when he's asleep)

2008-07-01T14:57:00.001-07:00

Tate is growing up way too fast! I can't believe he is already 19 months old. Where did my little baby go? He is getting so big and doing such cute things. He can also be a terror and a major handful. The picture of him asleep may be my favorite picture of him. He looks so sweet and innocent. Then he wakes up and the fun begins. The other picture is Tate staring at his little friend Daniel. Tate loves this baby so much. He is so sweet and gentle with him and loves to see him.

I've been tagged..Watch out you could be next!

2008-06-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks a million Linnell! I never respond to these kinds of things, but I hate to be the spoiler, so I'll do it this once. Although, I don't know if I know 4 other people that haven't already been tagged.

The rules, The rules get posted at the beginning of each post. Each player answers questions then tag 4 people. Leave a comment,let tagger know when you're done.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was coming up on my 1st anniversary. Working at Century 21 Real Estate as a secretary and trying to get through school. I do remember being responsible for the yard care at our apartment complex, so we could get a break on the rent.

2. What are 5 things on my TO-DO list for today?
-Take the kids to the park for a lunch date with the ladies in my new ward. We really hope to meet some new friends that the kids will go to school with.
-Vacuum the basement.
-Pick strawberries from the garden.
-Experiment on a new dinner recipe (may end up at McDonalds for dinner)
-Watch the second to last baseball game of the summer for Hannah and Porter.

3. What are snacks I enjoy?
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. That was an easy one!

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
I would go on as many vacations as possible. We've been dying to go on the Disney Cruise and that might be our first order of business. I echo Linnell in wanting our own piece of land somewhere that we can escape to and do absolutely nothing.

5. Places I've lived.
Roy, UT
Ogden, UT
Colorado Springs, CO
South Ogden, UT

I'm tagging: Hayley, my sister-in-law @ http://www.ryanhayley.blogspot.com/
Julie, a friend from our Ogden days @ http://www.hessfamily5.blogspot.com/
Kady, a friend from our Harmons pharmacy days @http://www.kady-peterson.blogspot.com/
Shannon, my cousin @ http://ephraimallreds.blogspot.com/

Swingletons house!

2008-06-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am really going to get a new camera. None of my pictures are turning out. Maybe it's the photographer not the camera though. Oh well! I feel like I've had a million posts lately, but I had my camera in my diaper bag from the baseball game, so I snapped pictures the rest of the day. My children love to go to their Great Grandma and Grandpa Singleton's house. Hannah has nicknamed them Grandma and Granpda Swingleton because of their awesome tree swing. Last Friday, they invited us down to West Point for a pizza picnic on their back lawn that looks like it belongs in a magazine. My Grandpa is 87 and still has the best lawn in the state of Utah. Tate has really taken a liking to his Great Grandpa and loves to take rides on the riding lawnmower with him. They could stay there and play all day if I would let them. We are so lucky that they are able to have such great relationships with so many grandparents!

Swimming Lessons

2008-06-16T15:29:00.001-07:00

Porter and Hannah just finished up their swimming lessons. None of Hannah's pictures turned out. I think it's about time for a new camera. Porter made major strides this year. He's now going underwater and doesn't care if water gets on his face. That's major progress for him. Hannah has become quite the swimmer. She now swims from one end of the pool to the other and can also do the backstroke all the way. She could definitely beat me in a race. She's also learned to dive in the deep end. Maybe it's those long legs of hers that makes her such a great swimmer.

We love baseball!

2008-06-15T08:48:00.001-07:00

It's a good thing that the kids like to play baseball, because it's a requirement in this family. Not only do they love it, they are both very good at it. We put them on the same coach pitch team this year so we would only have to go to two games a week instead of four. Although we don't mind spending every night at the ballpark, we knew we would be moving mid-season and it would be harder to get to every game. They are both doing very well, and think they now need baseball pants. We did cleats this year, and I guess we'll graduate to baseball pants for next season.

Raging Waters

2008-06-08T16:37:00.001-07:00

JetBlue had their annual summer party when they rent Raging Waters for the employees and their families. We debated on whether to go or not because the weather was so terrible in the morning. We decided to brave it and we are very glad that we did. Although it was pretty chilly, the water was warm and we had a terrific time. The last picture is a picture of Tate when he fell asleep under the stroller. He was lying under it playing with the belt buckle when he conked out on us. It gave the kids a good chance to go play in the water without worrying about him. The kids had such a good time and did not want to leave when it was over. They are definitely water kids!

Summer nights

2008-05-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

We love summer nights! Now that school is out, we can stay up later and actually have some fun, although most nights we just hang out in the yard. If you give Tate his lawnmower and some puddles, he's set for the rest of the night. That frees us up to play a friendly game of baseball. When the game gets intense, then the game faces come out on the kids.

Kindergarten Program

2008-05-31T20:12:00.001-07:00

Porter's kindergarten program was so good! We went early to we could get seats front and center. Porter insisted on wearing a shirt and tie to the program. We told him he would be the only one in a tie, but he still wanted to. Sometimes he seems wise beyond his years. They sang such cute songs, but he got a little tired towards the end. His teacher, Miss Burnett, was so good to him this year. She's getting married this summer and moving, and we will really miss her. She was terrific!

Hannah's Dance Recital!

2008-05-18T19:35:00.001-07:00

Hannah had her annual dance recital on Saturday. She did a dance to the song, "It's Oh So Quiet". She did a tremendous job, and I'm not just being biased because I'm her mother. Her teacher put her right in the front in the middle because she knew the dance the best. As a sidenote, she's also caught the eye of her teacher and has been invited to dance with the competition team in the fall. She really loves it! The worst part of the recital was losing Porter after it was over. The entire auditorium at Roy High was jam-packed with people and Porter became separated from us as we were trying to leave. We were panicking and spread out to look for him, but there were literally hundreds of people trying to get out. After about 10 agonizing minutes, we found him by our car in the parking lot. Some nice gentleman saw him crying and stayed with him until we found him. That is one of my worst nightmares. It was awful. He's fine though, and we celebrated with a dinner out at Crown Burger, our personal favorite.

Camping Fun

2008-05-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

Allen and Porter were able to go to the stake father and sons outing over the weekend. They reportedly had a great time together. There were lots of boys for Porter to run around with. While they were away, those of us left at home went shopping, out to dinner and watched Hairspray. It was a fun night for us also.

A Ride on Frontrunner

2008-05-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

I was able to take the kids for a ride on Frontrunner a few days after it opened. There were a million people waiting to get in, but we were lucky enough to get one of the last seats open. We only rode from Roy to the Union Station in Ogden and back, but it was a lot of fun. The kids thought the train was super fast!

All Field Tripped Out!

2008-05-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

In the past two weeks, I have been to the Dinosaur Park twice, the Treehouse Museum, and the zoo on field trips with both kids. That's enough bus riding to last me for the next few years at least. Unfortunately I forgot the camera on Hannah's field trip so I only have pictures of Porter's. Porter thought the warthogs shown in the first picture were ROUS's. If you've seen The Princess Bride then you know what he means. The cute little redhead in a couple of the pictures is his friend Autumn and she is a doll. Maybe they'll get married someday.

World's Pickiest Eater

2008-04-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

So it just might be possible that we have the world's pickiest eater on our hands. It's gotten so bad that we an occupational therapist coming into our home twice a month to work with Tate on his eating skills. I've never seen a pickier baby than him. If it's not pasta, pizza, or french fries, he won't eat it. He won't even try a cheerio, fruit loop, macaroni and cheese, cheese, goldfish crackers, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, we've been eating a lot of pasta at our home, but it's really starting to get old. Maybe this is payback for all the grief I gave my parents about food, of which I am truly sorry for.

Hogle Zoo

2008-04-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite traditions is to go to the zoo over Spring Break. We drive down and pick up Allen from work and go to the zoo and then stop for dinner on the way home. It's always nice and cool and the animals seem to be really active when it's not so hot outside.

Happy Easter!

2008-04-03T12:37:00.001-07:00

Easter morning was pretty crazy around our house. Allen and I had to speak in Sacrament meeting, which started at 1:00. That means Allen didn't start his talk until about 11:30. I also had to do sharing time that day, so we were running around like crazy trying to get there in time. We had done all of our easter egg hunt stuff the day before though, so I think that helped the kids focus on Easter more on Sunday. We had a good day though and as it turns out, there was only about three minutes left for Allen in sacrament meeting. So his procrastination turned out okay after all.

2008-03-31T20:34:00.001-07:00

We had such a great time in San Diego. We were able to go with our good friends, the Nyes. Our kids are about the same ages and they had such a good time together. We went to Legoland the first day and then spent most of our other time at Sea World. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach. We went to Coronado Island and it is so beautiful! We were having a great time wading in the water until Hannah got plowed over by a wave. She was soaked from head to toe in her clothes. Needless to say, we left the beach after that and changed clothes back at the hotel. We also explored another site called Balboa Park, which we ended up loving. We plan on going back on our next trip. Our kids absolutely loved Sea World the best though! The nightime Shamu Rocks show was awesome. We watched it every night we were there. It wasn't very crowded and we were able to see every show and ride all of the rides. We had a super hard time coming home from this trip and back to reality.

Hannah's busy month!

2008-03-22T20:23:00.001-07:00

Hannah kept us busy this month with plenty of events. She wrote a song for the Reflections contest and it won first place in the school, then first place in the district and then second place at the region competition. We attended lots of ceremonies and she even won some cash prizes for her song. She also participated in her second piano recital. She played two numbers this time and did a great job!

Hannah's Many Birthday Parties

2008-02-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hannah's 8th birthday was quite a celebration for her. There were so many things she wanted to do, so we split them up and had probably too many parties for her. We celebrated on her birthday night with just our little family going out to dinner and to Build-A-Bear. The next night we had family over for cake and ice cream and then on Saturday afternoon, she invited 20 of her closest friends to the Treehouse Childrens Museum for another party. Overkill maybe, but lots of fun!

Hannah's Baptism Day

2008-02-12T20:36:00.000-08:00

Hannah's baptism was such a special event for our family. It's so exciting and so hard at the same time to see your first become so grown up so fast. She was so cute and sweet that day. The man that fills the font on baptism day just happened to forget on our day of course. We went early to set up chairs and realized that there was no water in the font. Allen turned it on, but Hannah was baptized in only about 18 inches of water. It was very hard for a tall dad and a tall daughter to get her under in that little of water, but they did it and it was so special. Hannah immediately went home after the celebration and wrote that baptism memory in her journal.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is new church clothes for everyone. These pictures are taken before church the Sunday after Christmas. It blows us away how fast our kids are growing up!

Hannah is almost eight now and will be baptized in February. She grows about an inch everyday and we're already frightened about her becoming a teenager.

Porter is five and quite a fun little guy. He has a killer smile and keeps us in stitches. He is at the top of his Kindergarten class in just about every category. Right now he loves anything that has to do with Star Wars.

Tate is now one and all over the place. So far this year, we've made it without any injuries ( I guess it's only been three days). He and I have a lot of fun during the day while the other kids are at school.

Christmas morning

2008-01-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas was so much fun this year. The kids

are at such great ages right now. Everything is still so magical and exciting. You can still fool them. One of our favorite traditions is Christmas Eve PJ's. We also began a new tradition this year of reading the Christmas story from the Bible and then hot chocolate before bed on Christmas Eve. It was a lot of fun.