Snow Babies

The kids loved the first day it snowed last week. It took forever to get them all ready to go out, but once we did they didn't want to come inside. We built a snowman(well, I built it, you know how that goes) and the kids played in the sled most of the time. It was so cute, Jake would pull Kenzie up and down the neighbors driveway and they would laugh so hard. I have loved seeing them get along better lately and play more. Even though we still have many little fights, they are becoming better friends everyday. They are very concerned about the other. After a while they wanted their bigwheels, which didn't stay out long because they wouldn't move with snow stuck all over the wheels! Now it is a few days later, and well.......no going outside until the BLIZZARD stops!

So my scanning techniques are not all that great yet, but here are my best buddies at Utah State, around 1999. Same girls as the Christmas Party pix. Yes, we loved the overalls, short or long. We always seemed to be wearing them on the same days. Those were the days. We all graduated together in Interior Design in 2000. Seems like so long ago. I feel so blessed that we are still such good friends. So many good times to look back on, we were so CRAZY!

Beehives and a Bathroom

Sarah, Rhiana, Sabrina, Makhenna, Corinne, Ryann

Last night Megan Stewart and I had our Beehives over to our house for a little Christmas Party. We had so much fun! We were missing 4 of the girls ~ yes we have a big class but we love it! The girls all wrote thank you notes to the Bishopric in our church and then we ate some really yummy food and hot chocolate. It was fun to just sit and listen to the girls and remember when I was that age! They were having such a good time just being girls and talking with each other. The best part of the night was our White Elephant gift exchange. It was too funny! Some of the girls went away with some awesome gifts and I got, well, some small glass kitty cats and a can of tuna, all wrapped neatly in a little tin can. Yes, this was thanks to Nancy ~ you knew I would get it, didn't you??!! ;) Well it was perfect because my kids are loving them! I should have stolen the cute earrings from Megan! Anyway, it was a really fun night and I think the girls had fun too. I sure love being their teacher ~ I look forward to every Sunday and seeing each of them. They each have made me want to be better and I love them like my own.

So after MANY weeks of thinking about working on painting the downstairs bathroom, I finally just got it done! I had to neglect other things, but I LOVE it and am so happy it is FINISHED! Mike is happy because he has always wanted a blue room(I guess Jake's doesn't count because it's only 1/2 blue!) I will admit painting a bathroom is way harder than I thought it would be, but definitely worth it. Not that any of you want to see our bathroom, but here are some pix.

OuR sWeeT pEa TuRNs 2!

BIRTHDAY PART ONE

Our little princess turned 2 on Sunday! I can't believe she is already 2. She has changed so much in the last year. Grown from a baby to our little girl. She LOVED having a birthday, it was really cute to watch her open presents and tell everyone she is 2. Jake insisted on being in a lot of the pictures, and also insisted on helping sister open her presents. She got a lot of fun things, thank you to grandparents, aunties and her daddy. I love her smile in these pictures, it is how she smiles lately ~ all teeth with eyes closed!

This is my favorite picture. They both obviously love the present that is being opened.


My parents gave Kenzie this princess dress with matching shoes. She wanted to wear it right away and kept it on most of the day. It came with a wand which she likes to wave at Jake. She must think she is casting a spell on him. I am sure she wishes she could.




Her new Little People princess carriage. A favorite present.


BIRTHDAY PART TWO


On Sis's actual birthday, Sunday, we went to our annual Christmas get together with my best buddies from college. This year it was in Honeyville at Brooke's cute house and we had so much fun as usual. I made sis a cake which didn't turn out as planned, but she loved it. (Yes, I know it's bad, you can laugh) Brooke and Phillip made the BEST mexican food, Carolyn made the BEST appetizers and Heather brought the BEST drinks and we just talked and the kids played.
We all had girls in the same year. Kenzie was born, then Abby, Taylor and Madison. In the pic it's Abby, Kenzie, Madison, Taylor. It has been so fun to all have girls about the same age. They are all so fun and SO cute!

Jake and his buddy Wesley just hanging out
The four of us, still good friends after all these years. I don't know what I would do without them. I wanted to scan a pic of us in college, sitting on the "A" at Utah State but something kept going wrong when I did it. When I figure it out I will post it.....I am sure the girls will be so happy about that! :) Love you guys! We had such a good time!

A Favorite Day of the Year

Growing up, our families always went to get a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We are carrying on that tradition with our family, and we have had so much fun with the kids. They LOVE running around the tree lot and Jake loves trying to find "his perfect tree". This year we found a tree we all liked, it looked the right size, then when we got it home, it was so tiny! But it is perfect. Last year was Jake's turn to help put up the star, so this year Kenzie was excited to do it.
After all the happy and sad days this week(because we have had the extreme!) we are excited to move on to a fun Christmas season!

The Eye

I love scary movies. Any kind. So I was at Smith's Saturday night and had never rented from RedBox before, so I thought I would see what they had. Well I was trying to hurry because there was a long line, and saw this was PG-13 and a suspense movie so I grabbed it. It was SCARY. I don't have much else to say except more than a few times during the movie, BOTH Mike and I thought about turning it off because we were so creeped out and I wasn't sure I would sleep for a few days. But we had to see what would happen! I also didn't think it was a cheesy scary movie or predictable like some can be. Up until the very end we didn't know what was going to happen. It was really good and I recommened it for anyone who loves a scary flick.

Sleep.........

This is a blogging moment for me. I couldn't let the morning pass without blogging about this super cool moment in history. Jake has always been a terrible sleeper, and Kenzie has always been pretty good. But last night......I put Kenzie to bed at 8 and let Jake stay up until 9 when Mike got home. Usually going to bed at those times Jake will still get up about 5:30 and Kenzie about 7 or 7:30. Well they both woke up at EIGHT. Yes, EIGHT. The best part was they were both and still are so happy this morning. I am happy too! I am not feeling so great this morning so it was great to get ready and not have Kenzie in my makeup and Jake screaming for breakfast. YAY!

Slim Pickin's

I thought since I haven't posted anything on Slim Pickin's in 6 months, that it would be fun to put a few new things on there. Just 3 of our favorites!

A Pirate, A Bumblebee.......and a Golfer??

Halloween was fun. Jake was a pirate, Captain Jack of course and Kenzie was a bumblebee. They both were so excited to dress up. Kenzie LOVED her black and yellow tutu and Jake LOVED his pirate hat. They especially loved the candy they collected. Mom and dad do too!
Here is Jake with his co-conspirator, Batman ~ AKA Jaxson Burdette.Yes, I am a true pirate
Our sweet bee, picking m&m's off a pumpkin. How else do you get a kid to take pictures? Well, my kids anyway!
I love this picture! She loves to show us her "teeth".
We had to get a family golf trip in before the cold weather this week. We all drove out to Cedar Hills and Mike played nine while the kids and I enjoyed the cart. The kids especially liked all the leaves, mud and sand traps. Jake even has his own putter now, and LOVES to show Mike what he can do. Daddy and Jake........
Mommy and Jake........
A budding golfer ~ daddy's dream
A budding shopper ~ notice Mike's wallet. She is obsessed.......at the age of 2.
Daddy and his babies doing what he loves. The scenery was great, too! The kids thought the ride down the big hill was the best.
So good-bye summer. I know I've said that before but I think this might really be it. Soon we'll be on to winter activities like dressing in many layers like Ralphy's little brother on a Christmas Story, many Disney Movies, trips to the Aquarium with Karen and the kiddos, and well, just hanging out.

We are excited to say........we have a little one on the way!

I cannot keep a secret. I am the WORST at secrets.......well, baby secrets that is. I know 3 months is the "standard" to wait to tell people, but I can't. I am sure many of you think we are crazy to post this now, but I just get way too excited. We are so happy to be welcoming another little baby next June.

DONE!

Yes, they are just about done! I have been working on the kids scrapbooks forever. I still have a few things to fix here and there and a few pages to put together, but to me, they are DONE! I have Jake's life complete up until his 3rd birthday, and Kenzie's until 18 months. They are both pretty much the same day anyway! From that point on, I am planning on using Shutterfly and Snapfish for their actual "memory books" and still scrapbook the simple things like school pictures, projects, ticket stubs, cards or letters they receive, etc. I don't think I could go totally to digital ~ this is theraputic for me! I just don't think I will ever be able to stay caught up if I keep doing it this way, and the kids would end up with a million scrapbooks by the time they left for college.(Yes, I plan on doing it that long. My mom did it for me and I don't know any different!) I also have other projects I want to start. I also just got our camera software installed on the laptop after a YEAR of having it. I have been using this old Kodak version and it was terrible. So now I will have a much better way of organizing pictures. I am so happy! Relieved, too!

Six Quirks Tag

Ok so here are 6 quirks I have. Mike would say I have more like 600, so here are what I think are the top 6. I had to think of these tonight while I was mopping the floors, of course doing something that requires cleaning! (Not that anyone would ever notice, anyway because it is dirty 2 seconds later!)

1. I grew up with a mom that was a bed making nazi. No day ever went by without our beds made ~ and to her specifications. I am now that mom. Our bed has to be made just the way I like it and Mike has tried.....but I still have to fix it! At least he helps and makes the bed, right?

2. I HATE putting laundry away. I would rather curl into the fetal position. I actually love doing the laundry, up to the point of putting it away.

3. My husbands socks.....all over the house. When he was growing up, his mom used to make the kids give her a nickel for every sock she found. I do a quarter.......dang, I should have enough by now for a new car! (Love you Mike!)

4. Things have to be organized......whether it's in plastic boxes, baskets, drawers, etc. It's been hard with kids to keep it this way, but it makes me CRAZY when it's not. It drives me insane when we are about to leave and I can't find something that should have been in a box!
(Do you sense OCD?) Oh and I can't stand when things get piled up on the stairs. You know, to eventually be taken UP the stairs. I think this falls under organization.

5. I LOVE grocery shopping. I don't know if this is a quirk, but I am pretty picky about it and don't want anyone else doing it. So if any of you ever need it done for ANY reason, let me know and I will be happy to do it for you!

6. Bills entered into bill pay the first of the month. I don't know if I could ever turn over the finances to Mike because I have always done it and it makes me feel organized ~ again. I can't even let a week go by or I feel like I missed something. I just like to know it is taken care of for the month and I don't have to think about it for a while.

So I tag who I know to be quirky like me, though I may be wrong but here goes.......
Megan Madsen
Shannon
Karen
Shelby
Ramee

Pumpkins and Snow

So we have an annual tradition in our little family, and this was the 2nd year of our "tradition". We go to Cornbelly's and get their "harvest package" ~ we all pick out a pumpkin and get a bale of hay and a cornstalk. Jake remembered this year that we went last year, and was somewhat excited to go again. Doesn't he look excited? My kids rarely smile for the camera, so these are the best we could get. Still cute though, I think, but I am biased.

Kenz just wanted to push the cool cart around
You'd think they were bored or something. Why can't they just LOOK at the camera and SMILE??
We had SNOW today! Not much and it is melted now, but nevertheless there was SNOW! The kids went crazy and we had to break out the coats and boots and go outside. You can see the snow the best in this picture.
Jake was trying to catch snow on his tongue

Just being cuteI love this picture!

Last month of summer fun

I haven't posted in forever, so here are some of the fun things we have been up to the last month. We took the kids to the Utah State Fair and they had so much fun! They loved the animals. Kenzie especially loved the bunnies.........
The John Deere bikes at Hands on the Farm(Kenzie wouldn't wear her cute apron)..........
The rides! Jake LOVED all the rides.........
Jake also loved Hands on the Farm. I think that's what it was called. It was the best part of the fair. The kids got to wear an apron, and carry around a basket to all the different parts of the "farm". They got to plant seeds, harvest them, milk a cow, ride John Deere bikes, pick apples off trees, etc. In the end they trade in all their food and what they have collected for a fun dollar bill just like if they were a farmer selling their harvest. Then they take their dollar to the "grocery store". The store had all sorts of fruit and little snack packs they could buy with their "dollar". It was great!
The hubby and I were able to take a week trip to Orlando, without the kids! My mom and dad came to stay with them here and they had a blast while we were gone. Mike served his mission in Orlando and has been really wanting to go back. He has kept in touch with a few families and also wanted to show me other parts of Florida besides the touristy stuff. We were able to go to the Orlando Temple..........

Go on an Airboat ride! These are so fun! A true redneck drove us around the swamps and we saw some Alligators. It was cool to see real swamp areas. Kind of creepy too!
Redneck swampland..........They also enjoyed showing us their redneck trucks.........
Redneck backyard where they had to show us the wild hog they just caught that day!.........
and their redneck stash of aluminum cans.............I have lots of other redneck pictures but these were the best!
We also went to the beach two mornings to watch the sun come up. It was so nice to just relax on the beach at 7am and it was warm! The water was warm too! By about 9 we had to leave because it was getting too hot. Crazy, I know. We collected lots of fun shells for the kids and just had fun being together.

We played some mini putt and guess who won? Yep, me! I was pretty happy that I beat my Mike in his favorite sport! Well, a much smaller version. I wouldn't even attempt to go out against him on the real course.
We drove up to Citrus Springs to visit Adam and Caralee Horal. Adam and Mike spent many of Mike's p-days on his mission golfing. Adam was the one who first taught Mike to golf. We had so much fun visiting with them and their super cute boys. Adam and Mike did get to go real golfing on a beautiful course. I just sat in the cart.We also were able to visit with the Dunda's. They used to live in Florida when Mike was on his mission but now live in Kentucky. It was a fun coincidence that they happened to be on vacation in Orlando the same time as us so Mike was able to see them again! We met them in the Lego store and talked and talked. I wish both these families lived closer because they are so much fun!
One of the most fun parts of our trip was visiting Disney World. There was so much to see and do that you really need a week down there. We think it would be fun to take the kids when they are much older and can enjoy it. We enjoyed being kids for a day and going on all the fun rides that reminded us of when we were kids at Disney Land. I mean, you can't go to Magic Kingdom and not go on Haunted Mansion and Pirates!
And at the end of the day......we always had to come back to our good ol' rent a car, our PT Cruiser. I apologize to any of you who may have one of these, but we HATED it!! It was a gas guzzling, gutless car but it got us to where we needed to go. Good times.
So the other day, I went to hang out with my best buddies from college. This is what Jake decided to do with Heather's sidewalk chalk. He said he was drawing a "birthday cake"..........

and then said he "ate the birthday cake"! I love my little dude. What and imagination.