C'est Ma Vie!

Tulip Photo Shoot

2010-09-30T14:20:00.003-06:00

Machine Gun Fire

2010-09-30T13:35:00.002-06:00

Large fire burning near Camp Williams forces evacuations
September 20th, 2010 @ 1:28am
CAMP WILLIAMS -- Crews are working to contain a large, fast-moving fire sparked at a Camp Williams machine gun firing range Sunday.

At least 1,400 homes in Herriman have been evacuated, and more evacuations are expected to take place overnight.

Fire officials have confirmed three homes have caught fire, but did not give specific addresses. That number could grow as hundreds of homes face immediate threat.

Herriman City Mayor Josh Mills and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon have signed a declaration of State of Emergency. Gov. Gary Herbert is also on site.

Mandatory evacuation orders issued

The Unified Police Department has set up barricades enforcing evacuation orders.

Unified Fire Capt. Brad Taylor says residents of 232 homes in The Cove at Herriman Springs and all 500 homes in the High Country Estates II subdivision are under mandatory evacuation.

The city has expanded the mandatory evacuation order to homes and businesses:

South of Emmeline Drive, Butterfield Parkway and Blackridge Reservoir
On Rose Canyon Road
South of 14000 South and west of 4700 West (Juniper Point neighborhood)
Westbound 13400 South at 5600 West is shut down as well. Police have confirmed some residents have refused to leave their homes.

Red Cross sets up shelter at Herriman High School

An evacuation site has been set up at Herriman High School at 11917 S. 6000 West. The site was originally established at Fort Herriman Middle School but had to be moved when the fire got too close.

As of 11:25 p.m., close to 150 people had checked into the American Red Cross shelter at the high school. Some small animals are being accepted at the shelter, and animal control is on site.

CERT volunteers helped set up 600 cots for residents staying the night. Red Cross officials say they do not need any more volunteers at the shelter for now.

Large animals are now being evacuated to the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park at 2051 W. 11400 South.

"This is really a coordinated, collaborated effort to see what we can do to stop the fire," said Gov. Herbert.

Officials are asking residents in Salt Lake County to stay off their cell phones so emergency information can be transmitted. Residents are asked not to call 911, but to instead call Herriman City Hall at 801-446-5323. Updates are also available on Twitter at Be Ready Herriman.

Information from the American Red Cross is available by calling 801-323-7000.

Multiple agencies join forces to fight fire

Helicopters have been brought in to drop buckets of water and fire retardant to fight the blaze. Over 100 firefighters and 30 units are working to control the flames, which have spread over hundreds of acres.

More than 120 National Guardsman have been activated to help with the effort. Thirty-five CERT volunteers and 40 Herriman officials are on site as well.

Taylor says three officers have been hurt. Two were treated for smoke inhalation, one at the hospital and one on site.

A third officer was injured when he tried to stop the driver of a car at a roadblock. The driver refused to stop, and drove through, hitting the officer. He suffered minor injuries and is still working at the scene.

Training at Camp Williams ignites blaze

According to Lt. Col. Hank McIntire with the Utah National Guard, the fire broke out at the Camp Williams machine gun range during a training exercise just before 3:30 p.m. The flames spread quickly.

Earlier in the day, the fire was fueled by winds of up to 35 miles per hour. Fire officials say those gusts made it extremely difficult to fight the flames.

"Because of the wind gusts we are getting embers that are being blown a couple of hundred feet. That can start spot fires," said Taylor.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire has been launched. McIntire says no tracer rounds, which can be a fire hazard, were used in the machine gun training.

He says there are rules in place regarding what weather conditions must be present in order for that training to occur and says they will investigate whether any of those rules was broken.

"With the wind with the way it is today conditions can change very quickly," McIntire said. "So if a unit had the green light to train but the conditions changed, that's what we're trying to find out."

Residents react

Thousands of residents are dealing with the idea they may not have homes to return to.

"It's been pretty frightening for me. I've seen at least three, four homes burn down, completely collapse," said Joshua Bennett, a Herriman resident. "It's basically hell. Just out of control. There's no stopping it."

Some were concerned there weren't enough people there to fight the giant blaze.

"There were at least two houses completely engulfed in flames," said evacuee Kristin Cappo. "It's all the way down the side of the mountains, right in everybody's backyards. It doesn't really look like anybody is trying to stop it yet. There were a bunch of cul-de-sacs where nobody was even up there yet, so I just don't think they have enough people. "

One man says he returned home, only to be told he had to get out. "When I got home, I saw the fire all the way from I-80. I didn't feel good about that," he said. "I threw all my coolers and stuff and grabbed documents and important memorabilia."

John Tedrow lives in The Cove subdivision. He refused to leave his neighborhood when the mandatory evacuation notice was issued, and says he wasn't alone.

"I've just got my eyes stuck on a spot that I think, where my house might have been, still is, I don't know because I can't even get answers from the police officers down here," he said.

Tedrow says he and his neighbors were frustrated with the way officials handled the situation. Many felt blown off when they called 911 to report the fire.

"The first helicopter didn't even get up here until sometime after 6:00 tonight with water," he said. "By that time that fire had already breached, it had already come well over the mountain."

Schools may be impacted

Jordan School District officials are debating whether to close Herriman schools Monday. District spokesman Steve Dunham says anywhere between 800 and 1,200 students could be affected.

Dunham says an announcement will be made early Monday morning. Providence Hall Charter Elementary School is the first to cancel class because of the fire.

Lt. Don Hutson with the Unified Police Department says one woman has been treated for smoke inhalation. City officials are asking everyone to stay away from Herriman because congestion is becoming an issue.

"I appreciate the fact that people are working together. We've had an abundance of volunteers. That's been great, very heartwarming," said Gov. Herbert. "In fact it's almost been too much. Some of the volunteers are clogging the streets."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized federal funds to help cover 75 percent of the costs related to fighting this fire.

Gov. Herbert says he is already looking at ways to help residents affected by the fire rebuild.

"Everything that can be done is being done. We will be looking at helping people with resources, make sure we will have continued shelter capability, food, clothes, medications, those kinds of things that people will be needing over the next few days," the governor said. "This doesn't end today and it doesn't end when the fire's out. We've got some other work to do long term."

People Who Hike With Goats

2010-09-05T18:38:00.005-06:00

It has been more than 15 years since I hiked Timpanogas and I finally did it for my third time. My dad and I hiked all 18 miles on Friday, September 3rd. Nate conveniently dropped a dutch oven on his foot and had to sit this one out. It was long and hard and wonderful. My dad's ticker wasn't as ready as we thought for the incline on the hike but slowly and steadily we made it to the top.

After 8 miles up hill it was a wonderful site to see the fort at top. Almost there!

Some of my favorite things in the whole world. Waterfalls, lakes, pine trees that smell heavenly, wild flowers, amazing rock walls. I loved it.

The glacier melted so much this year that instead of sledding down the snow on garbage bags we had to sit on our haunches and slide down the steep rock hill.

We took a few more hours than anticipated so my mom called the county to give them a heads up and left more than a million messages on our phones. (We called her from the top to warn her, but she still freaked out.) I think the volunteer by Emerald lake was concerned about our late descent too so he radioed down to the bottom for them to watch out for us to make sure we made it off the mountain. We had to do the last mile by headlamp but seriously, who cares, we just hiked 18 miles in one day!

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-19T12:26:00.002-07:00

One day I will have a "pretty" Christmas tree. One day I will have a Christmas tree that looks like a department store tree; ornaments hung perfectly, creative trimming that makes people want to copy my ideas, and a shiny perfect star at the top of the tree. For now, I love this tree. Every time I walk by it my heart feels extra warm for a minute. My kids had a wonderful time decorating the tree exactly the way they wanted it to look and every day it changes a bit as they continue to rearrange it. I have kept true to my word and I haven't adjusted it one bit. The night they put on the ornaments was too fun to mess with the memory.

Good-bye Red House

2009-12-19T12:11:00.002-07:00

I love my red house. I love our beautiful flower boxes. I love that all my neighbors are only two inches away from us if I am missing an ingredient while cooking dinner, or if I am in the mood to chat there is always someone within hollering distance. After 6 years of apartment living while Nate was in dental school this house seemed like the Taj Mahal to us. What a great way to start. We feel so spoiled. Our neighbors are wonderful, our neighborhood fantastic but now we say good-bye. With the housing market being so great for buyers we decided to trade in our 1/16th of an acre lot in for a full acre lot. Thank you red house for all the wonderful memories and here's to looking for many more wondeful memories in our new green house.

Freezing at the Zoo

2009-12-19T11:46:00.003-07:00

Andy in his skier/mugger mask, Maya and Hailee

I can barely see with this hat!

The family that freezes together, stays together.

(Because they have no choice they are FROZEN!!!)

Tina (the master mind behind the event). I don't know if we should praise her for the fun night, or charge her for the doctor's bill for frost bite. Ryan, Hailee and Jessica.

The awesome 3D twinkly lights, bottomless hot chocolate cups, and great company made it all worth it.

December Dance Recital

2009-12-19T11:31:00.006-07:00

Maya dances with the Salt City STARS company. I love that they do a low-key December recital. Wear what you want and shake what your mama gave ya'.

Maya and her buddy Chloe love to pose for pictures and make up dances together. Way too cute. Chloe's mom has taken Maya to dance all this time, but now that we have moved it's time for me to pay my dues and get behind the wheel.

Maya has been counting down for two months for her turn to "be on stage!"

Andy played his DS throughout the recital. I only let him bring it along because he saved up for it and bought it himself. He may not have learned a lesson in hard work (because sitting around and letting his allowance accumulate didn't seem all that great of a work ethic lesson), but he did learn a great lesson in patience!

Show time!

For Maya, flowers are the best part!

Gingerbread Pajama Party

2009-12-19T09:56:00.005-07:00

Pajamas plus yummy Chinese take-out equals a rockin' start to our traditional gingerbread making night! (Andy doesn't agree with the yummy part.)

The deer photo is just because I love having them visit us every day. These five came by the driveway as we were watching out the window waiting for Nate to get home for the festivities. When we put the yard in next spring I probably won't enjoy their company as much, but for now....so fun!

Summer Birthday

2009-10-05T21:48:00.002-06:00

Maya has a summer birthday so her school is celebrating her June birthday tomorrow. I had so much fun looking at some baby photos we took of her in our apartment in Queens. Someone offered to come to our home and take pictures of our little baby so we wouldn't have to mess with her nap or feeding time and we thought it was a great idea. Maya even had fun!

My Three Blondes

2009-08-14T10:04:00.004-06:00

Flowers

2009-08-14T10:01:00.002-06:00

The Making of Calvin

2009-08-14T09:52:00.004-06:00

It all started with an idea for a book report on Calvin & Hobbes, the rest is as they say...history.

The lake at Bear Lake...

2009-08-01T20:51:00.007-06:00

Bear Lake Shakes!!

Fortunately for me, Nate forgot his phone charger on this trip, but he did steal mine one time to sneak in a little bit of work....arrggghh!

How do you guys expect me to sleep on the beach with all this racket!

Andy is in the little tube behind the wave runner. He loved it!

Annual Bear Lake Events

2009-08-01T20:09:00.008-06:00

Family Olympics

Pregnant Mama Chelsea placed impressively in the race, but then could not walk the next day,

Family Talent Show

Libby danced to Eye of the Tiger since she likes to box unsuspecting victims. Very cute!

We were supposed to drive back to Salt Lake after church for school the next day but decided to stay and skip the extra drive and miss some school. Andy did some impromptu juggling sticks and I spotted Maya on some tumbling tricks since we hadn't planned on being there for the talent portion this year. I am glad we stayed because my kids love their turn in the light!

Drew showed off his impressive eating skills and managed to poop as if on cue.

Grandpa Mac showed his ability to sketch without watching what he's doing....

....a fabulous picture of Andy's eye. A great talent, but I really missed the animal interpretations he did last year.

Adam, Chelsea and Hannah pulled a Von Trapp family act for everyone.

Rob & Abby pulled some awesome swing dancing moves.

Sarah & Ted stole the show this year dressing up as each other and sharing a typical morning conversation. Hilarous!!

Uncle Dave reading his famous award winning poetry.

Some of the annual bear lake events are the highlight of the trip. There's the family talent show, olympics and of course a show at the Pickleville play house.

Bear Lake Activities

2009-08-01T19:41:00.006-06:00

Bocci Ball.

Card games in the day and tons more after the kids are in bed.

Family Picture Bingo.

Baby Drew's first hit on the pinata!

Annual Stevenson Golf Tournament. Uncle Dave took the trophy this year. Ted was quite ashamed. Mindy played well representing all the women in the family.

Andy woke up at 6:30 to play with the guys this year.

My favorite golfers!

Stevenson Family Bear Lake Trip

2009-08-01T19:21:00.003-06:00

Cousin Libby & Luke Playing Nicely

The kids had a blast making the family t-shirts this year.

Nate cookin' up a storm. We took our turn the first night and relaxed the rest of the time!

Modeling the shirts.

Grandma Ann made all the kids new pajamas!

2nd Annual End of School Year Party

2009-07-06T17:24:00.005-06:00

Taking over the neighbors walk way to get enough speed for the slip n' slide.
Taking over the baby's splash spot to cool down.

Having fun!

Staying cool in the shade.

I love popsicles and cookies!

My party rocks!

Iss A Crocodile!

2009-06-29T16:47:00.003-06:00

Setting: Luke sitting on the toilet
Luke: What's that mom?
Me: That's poop.
Luke (now whispering): No, iss a crocodile!

My little graduate...

2009-06-09T16:23:00.007-06:00

Maya graduated from Little Scholar Academy a couple weeks ago. We have really loved sending our children there. We picked the school before we moved to Utah and knew where we would be living. We've "commuted" there for the past four years between Maya and Andy. So the commute is only a 10 minute drive, but our first year we did commute from Ogden for 6 months! I can't believe I won't be driving out there three days a week anymore. I guess the commute will just be moving north now.

The morning class waiting there turn to line up in their seats.

The graduation ceremony is always lots of fun with the cutest songs from the kids. Here Maya and Carter are hugging while singing, the Shake A Friends Hand song.

Receiving her diploma!

Miss Laraine and Miss Heather...best pre-school teachers ever!

Cousin Eliza was excited to come along for the festivities. Maya was so happy to share her graduation day with her buddy.

I am so proud of you Maya. Your teachers loved having you in their class and always gave you the best reviews for being a wonderful student and friend to your classmates. Great job!

Big Boy Bed

2009-06-05T11:43:00.003-06:00

We moved Luke out of his crib and into a big boy bed. We decided to switch them out at the last minute without prepping Luke. He kept giggling while we moved the car bed into his room. When we tucked him in a few minutes later he curled up in bed, smiled at me and said, "Now I'm big!" I wasn't ready for that.

When we snuck into his room later that night to document the big move we found him like this!

Maya & Tinkerbell

2009-06-03T14:59:00.002-06:00

I love the fairies that work for Disneyland they are wonderful and worth the wait to see. They are so sweet to the kids, you would think that your child was the only one they visited with that day. The fairy in the first picture helped Maya catch pretend rain drops and then the two of them carried it carefully over to Tinkerbell and then Tinkerbell showed Maya how to water her flowers with the rain drop. Then there was still time for visiting and pictures. It was so fun to see Maya so enchanted.

Disney Shout Out to the Field Family

2009-06-03T14:48:00.002-06:00

(James, Faith & Spencer chillin' out at the hotel with us after some hard Disney partying.)

One of my favorite things about going to Disneyland is the chance to see Natalie. Natalie and Doug are friends of ours that go way back to the USU years. Natalie was my roommate and Doug was on the Arts & Lectures Committee with me. Another roommate of mine, Tiffany, and I convinced Doug that we were twins our freshman year of college, Natalie fell for his innocence! Natalie was one of the best roomies I could ever ask for, fun, fun, fun! She was the RA so there was no one to complain to when we played tag or did other crazy things in the building because she was usually in on the shenanigans. She has grown up and matured and is now a certified expert on manuevering through Disneyland. They are moving from California soon so we will miss them on our next Disney adventure but we will always be grateful for their tips and shortcuts.

Famous People's Autographs

2009-06-03T14:17:00.004-06:00

Our kids love all the characters all over the place in Disneyland and having them sign their books so we love to catch them walking around before the lines form. Luke was so excited to meet Winnie the Pooh and Tigger so we actually stood in line for them, but whenever Baloo was around he couldn't climb into my arms fast enough!

My favorite autograph attempt however was Stevie Wonder! Earlier in the day Space Mountain broke down while Maya and I were in line so they gave us passes to go to the front of any line. We love Finding Nemo and they don't accept fast passes so we headed on over to Nemo later in the day to redeem our passes. While we were waiting to be moved to the front of the line Nate spotted Stevie Wonder and his family getting lined up to ride Nemo, so we sneaked a quick picture. I promised the attendant that if he would let us on Stevie's sub that we wouldn't bother them, but he said we were going with them anyway! Since we had our autograph books with us anyway I asked someone in the group if it would be too intrusive on their family time if we asked Stevie Wonder to sign our books. It happened to be his brother who told us that since Stevie has always been blind and never learned to write letters that he didn't sign autographs. I asked him how he signed legal documents and he said that he used a thumb print. I said, "Well I don't have an ink pad with me today so I guess we're out of luck." So his brother, said, "Why don't you just meet him." We thought that was a great idea. We talked to him for just a few minutes, it was his birthday as well as his son's birthday so the family was out celebrating. After that we joked with his brother for a minute and then decided to leave them all in peace. It was a fun little moment.

Jedi Training

2009-06-03T13:53:00.006-06:00

Jedi Training Certification at Disneyland is one of their best attraction for kids that love Star Wars. They select a bunch of kids from the crowd and give them light sabers and dress them in Jedi cloaks and then teach them a few jedi moves. After they teach the kids a few moves Darth Vader, Darth Maul and Storm troopers come to take over so the kids each have to battle with their new skills. Andy loved it last year so we had to do it again.

We acted like complete maniacs, but it worked because both Maya and Andy were selected for training. Maya got a little stage fright and got all glassy eyed and a little out of it which gave the trainer some fun jokes, but when she got off stage she was so animated and happy that she was able to fight Darth Vader. It's June now, but Maya still trains her friends with the Jedi ways when they take a break from playing dolls. Today she trained another friend and Luke too.

Last year Andy successfully defeated Darth Vader so this year he was granted his wish when he was pitted against Darth Maul.

Disneyland Rides

2009-06-03T13:22:00.005-06:00

We love the rides at Disneyland. Fortunately, because of the two times we have chosen we haven't really had to deal with too many lines. Plus the rider swap option for parents is a great time saver.

Our kids never get tired of the crazy antics in Toon Town!

I let Nate ride all the super spin rides with the kids while I take photos. No teacups for me!

Luke loves the Buzz Light Year ride. Everytime we go on a ride he can't go on one of us would take him to this ride, he loved it! Another fun one like this one is the Toy Story ride in California Adventure. It is so new they don't offer fast passes, so we only rode it once this time, but it is an awesome interactive game we can't wait to do again. This visit, the line took us an hour during low season, it was so hot and Luke had a poopy diaper. We were not getting out of line and tracking back to the stroller to start that line all over again so we (and those around us) had to endure that smell in the heat. It was a memorable ride to say the least!

One of the favorite rides for this trip was Splash Mountain. Between fast passes and rider switch cards we rode this over and over!

Breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen

2009-06-03T12:59:00.002-06:00

We love breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen! This is the best family place to eat at Disneyland. Goofy's Kitchen is an all you can eat buffet and tons of characters stop by your table for individual visits with your kids. I love the breakfast buffet; there are so many good choices whether you are in the mood for breakfast or lunch. My kids love having waffles and fruit and pink cupcakes all in the same meal. I love the eggs benedict or made to order fresh omelets and peanut butter pizza. Nate just likes paying for a meal that his kids will actually eat! This year we had visits from Pluto, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Belle, Baloo and a few other friends. Goofy was so crazy he would try and make a cake and kept dropping the ingredients, fortunately all the kids were able to leave their tables to help him pick them up and shake them like maracas to the fun music. Last year he was clumsy too so they had to help him out of another predicament and have a dance party at the same time. We also had visits last year from Hercules, Peter Pan, Captain Hook and all sorts of friends. This is a fun tradition for our family (plus it saves some time standing in lines for autographs in the park!)

Mother's Day and Disneyland

2009-06-02T22:02:00.005-06:00

For mother's day this year Nate and I decided to surprise the kids with a trip to Disneyland. It was hard finding time to pack and shop without the kids seeing anything but so worth it. After sacrament meeting Sunday we left the church and headed home. The kids asked what we were doing and we told them we had a surprise planned. Always keeping us in check Andy told us it would be unholy to leave before church was over...he soon got over it, but I'm still glad he was concerned! We went home and changed our clothes and told the kids to get in the car. (Nate had loaded the suitcases earlier and covered them up.) When we got to the Park N' Jet the kids started to really get curious. We told them where we were going once we were settled on the shuttle. They were in so much shock that they just kept asking questions over and over, reality didn't settle in until we were in the airport security line...suddenly the kids started singing and dancing and saying thank you over and over again. Seeing them so happy over the surprise was an awesome gift to myself!

This year Andy was tall enough to go on so many more rides than last January. It was fun to be able to ride rollercoasters with him. Maybe next year he will be tall enough to go on the Indiana Jones ride. We tried different shoes each day and spikey hair but we couldn't pull it off. Next time we are packing his roller-skate shoes!

Maya loves Disneyland. The whole atmosphere turns her into a little angel. She loves seeing all the characters and princesses. She is brave enough to try just about any attraction they will let her ride.

Luke was such a little man on this trip. He was patient when he couldn't go on rides and didn't fuss no matter how hard we played, suddenly he would just fall asleep for an hour or so in the stroller and then he was ready to go again.

My Own Leprechaun

2009-03-17T21:40:00.004-06:00

We really like holidays and St. Patrick's day is no exception. This year we all had fabulous green outfits, a leprechaun visited our house and he died the toilets green, messed up all our stuff and moved things around, he left footprints all over our house and even left us some yummy treats and green silly string. We ended this beautiful day with our traditional all green dinner, but this year I got a new surprise... I didn't know the leprechaun was actually one of our own.

Small Talk..

2009-02-09T20:30:00.002-07:00

January 2009

Conversation snippets in a house of little people

Luke…after I stopped him from trying to bite my hand he bit his own and then offered it to me saying, “Want some?”

Luke: if he doesn’t want to do something as he heads towards doing it keeps pausing and says, huh?, hoping you’ll forget or change your mind.

Maya: Out of the blue while driving around in the car…”If you’re walking round and you’re invisible people won’t see you and they’ll knock you over. That’s why it’s not good to be invisible.”

Maya: we were having rotisserie chicken for dinner Maya’s eyes got really BIG and she asked with a quiet curious voice, “Who’s going to eat the bum?”

Andy: “I’ve got a great idea so we never have to pay taxes.”

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Maya: Mom when I grow up I want to be a kid so I can live with you.

Andy: So, do they call people from New York, New Yorkers or storks?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Andy: Mom, wanna see my weapon I designed that may not work but could be used in war?

Desiree: Well, that’s because most of our "ancestors" came from Europe. Andy: What about our uncle-brothers?

Maya: When I grow up and we are the same age mom, let’s dance together at the basketball game.

Outside the Box

2009-02-03T20:24:00.006-07:00

(Andy and Principal Doree Strauss)

Every month Andy's school selects a theme for their "Star Student". The teachers each pick one student from their class that exemplifies that quality and they get an award in a special assembly for just the students and their parents where they tell everyone why they were selected. Andy was selected for the month of February for being "creative." Many students were chosen because of their creative abilities in writing or drawing, Andy was chosen for thinking outside the box and always coming up with new ideas and new ways to do things.

Such a perfect fit for Andy. This kid has a solution to any problem and the gears in his brain are always turning. He already debates and solves problems better than a 16-year old, so we don't know what we are going to do when he is a teenager! We are so proud of you Andy.

Since Andy is off-track we were able to celebrate the occasion by having lunch at one of his favorite restaurants, Red Robin and then we were off to Boondocks to play.

Our Happy New Year' Eve

2009-01-02T14:01:00.012-07:00

We decided to not look for a babysitter this year and

have a family friendly New Year's Eve time to go along

with our family friendly Christmas which was wonderful.

Maya and Nate at the Children's Museum Rock wall.

Luke loved playing with the balls and sending them up the chute.

Making New Year's Eve masks at the craft table.

Building a skyscraper in the construction zone.

Riding the train from the museum, to the restaurant to meet
some family for dinner, was one of the evening highlights
for the kids.

We had dinner at the Macaroni Grill with Grandma Lee
and Grandpa Frank and...

Hailee, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Tina.
(Uncle Shawn was sick so their family stayed home.)

After dinner we met up with another cousin Hannah at the

First Night Festivities where the kids had fun chasing her and

throwing snowballs. She's a good sport.

Uncle Dave had top billing in the arts pavilion

where he did performance poetry.

We made it in time to hear The Poet Michele,

Brad Thomas and Orion. I don't know if the performance

mesmerized the kids or if cuddling with their Aunt Chelsea in the

warm tent kept their attention. Dave, Adam, Chelsea and

Hannah stayed to hear some more music, but after watching

the fire dancers we headed back home to finish off the evening.

We played with silly string...

poppers...

and sparklers.

Then we went inside to watch Dick Clark and NYC

countdown to the New Year...but we actually missed the

official countdown because we all got engrossed in

West Side Story during a commerical break!

Then we put the kids to bed and were grateful for the end

of the year and are looking forward to a much quieter 2009!

Christmas Elf Card

2008-12-21T15:40:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A new way of sleeping...

2008-12-20T08:17:00.001-07:00

I HEART NYC

2008-12-02T11:03:00.014-07:00

This is Wendi. Wendi's been my best friend since elementary school. I met her on a school camping trip and we felt bad that she was all alone and asked her to hang out with our little group. Little did we know that she would be the life of the party and she has been ever since. So naturally I couldn't resist when she asked if I wanted to go to NYC for a weekend to see Little Mermaid. One of my favorite people and one of my favorite cities. Couldn't ask for more.

I've seen a bajillion Broadway shows before this trip, but Little Mermaid was my first Disney Broadway show. It was so awesome that it became the theme for our trip.

I love that NYC is alive so late at night. After our show we hit all the fun shops around Times Square that suck tourists in to blow all their money. I have never seen so many M&M's in my life. This shop is new since we moved from there and I couldn't resist bringing my kids home candy in their favorite colors. This is only part of one wall. There were four more with more colors.

When we finally woke up the next morning after our late night out we headed down to see the progress at the World Trade Center sites. It is going to be a pretty cool memorial. It was nice to be there with Wendi and see it again with fresh eyes and remember what happened to all those families and to America on 9/11.

We had so much fun shopping on this trip. We found great bargains at Century 21, H&M and of course one of my favorites...purses in Chinatown! This trip made me so homesick for New York. I wish I could go more often.

(Lourdes, Desiree, Wendi, Carol)

Our second night we met up with some friends of mine that came in from Long Island to shop, eat and see a show with us. Carol and Lourdes are two of the reasons that I love New York so much and it was good to see them again. We ate at Cafe Napoli in Little Italy, so delicious, and stopped by Ferraro's to get some of my favorite treats for dessert. It was hard to find a show that between the four of us no one had seen, so we kept with our Disney theme and saw Shrek. Cute show, probably one that you see last on your list, but still funny. The donkey stole the show just like in the movie.

For our last afternoon before we headed to the airport we went to see a little off-Broadway show called Alter Boyz. It was a parody of all the boy bands over the past few years. It was so funny, we literally laughed for 90 minutes straight! One of Wendi's heros from So You Think You Can Dance the TV show a few seasons ago was in the cast. I'm sad I didn't see that season, because he was hilarious. He happened to be the one right outside our exit door after the show and it was so fun to watch Wendi get a little star struck. It was a fabulous way to end a fabulous trip.

But our trip didn't actually end there. We got to the airport and found out that they had cancelled our flight because of weather (despite the fact that every other airline flying to the same place was still heading out). Our fits and pleas for help were ignored so we grabbed a cab back into the city, booked one of the last two rooms still available in our hotel, literally threw our suitcases into the room and ran down the street to the Lion King theatre minutes before the 8:00 show. There were cancellations and we got the best seats in the house. Plus no one for two rows was sitting in front of us. It really made missing our flight easier to swallow and almost made up for having to wait another day to see my family! The next flight wasn't until the following night so we hit another matinee show and enjoyed the fabulous Mary Poppins. The actress playing Mary Poppins was comparable to Julie Andrews. She did a wonderful job.

We did more shopping, playing and eating than sleeping on this trip. I forgot what a night owl Wendi is, always ready for action. Our husbands and children were so nice to let us enjoy the show and to squeeze in phone calls with us between all the playing. I love Broadway shows and can't believe we were able to squeeze in so many. It was awesome.

Wendi is a year older than me so I've spent my life copying everything she does just a step behind. We did cheerleading together in junior high and drill team together in high school. When I was engaged to Nate I was a little embarassed that he was a dentist, because Wendi was already married and to a dentist. We love so many of the same things that it's just fun. To this day we still find that we like the same things right down to driving the exact same car in the exact same color....and wouldn't you know it when we pulled out our cameras to start documenting our trip I laughed so hard because we pulled out identical blue cannon elphs. Wendi is such a great person and a great friend, I guess its okay to copy sometimes! I can't wait to do this again next year.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T15:28:00.003-07:00

I am so grateful for my wonderful little family. I only remembered to take one picture this Thanksgiving and that's this lovely photo of Nate with a pickle. When he was in high school his campaign theme one year was "Vote for Nate, he's faster than a pickle!" The ingenius strategy worked and I had to take a picture of the infamous pickle before it made it into the garbage can.

I love spending time with my kids. We try and take turns taking each of the kids out on special dates with us. This time I took Andy to CPK and the Jazz game. The afternoon before we left he took me to the side and said, "Mom, I should have told you this before, but I'm kind of embarassed that this is called a date." It was too cute. It was easy enough to convince him that it's okay because with your mom it's not the same thing as a real date, but it was a reminder that soon enough my 1st grader that gives me hugs and kisses and even lets me hold his hand at school will soon be too old for that stuff. I wish I knew how to slow it down! Andy had the best time at the game. The Jazz were playing the Milwaukee Bucks. Andy was born in Milwaukee and decided that for that game the Jazz were the enemy against his home town and was the loudest and only Bucks fan in our section.

Maya is growing up so quickly. I've never seen a four year old so obsessed with jewelry and make-up. She still is obsessed with anything pink and constantly hovering over her little brother Luke. She's such a sweet little friend, I hope that adolescence doesn't change what we have. It's nice having her on the girl team in our family. This picture was taken at her friend's birthday party at Classic Fun Center, we had fun with the scooter and bounce houses and jungle gym. I wish my basement looked like that!

Luke is my little joy that almost wasn't. We were done at two kids because I get so sick when I'm pregnant, but we decided to go against the fear in my gut and have been blessed ever since. He's such a happy little camper and so curious and into everything. I love hearing him say, "Hey, mama" with the biggest smile when I get him out of his crib each morning. He loves "jumping" and Bombee (Barney the dinosaur), cows and talking. The other day he brought me the phone and said, "I wan call my daddy, happy bithday." I dialed Nate and Luke sang Happy Birthday to him on the phone. It's his favorite song right now. Sometimes I call people in my family that are patient enough to listen to Luke babble on the phone. The other day he was wandering around with the phone and ten minutes later I realized that my poor mom was still listening to him sing Happy Birthday and telling her over and over "Um, cow moo."

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-06T21:34:00.004-06:00

A little pumpkin for me, and a little pumpkin for "Lukey."

We love the corn maze!

Each October we take the kids to a fun pumpkin patch by our house for one of our FHE activities. It's fun to watch the kids race around checking out every pumpkin. They try to find their favorite small pumpkin and their favorite giant pumpkin. This year they added small tractors for the kids to climb on and a simple corn maze.

Tagged...

2008-09-17T20:21:00.008-06:00

4 things I like about my husband
he is service oriented

he works hard

he loves me and our children

I feel myself getting happier when he walks into the room
4 movies I would watch more than once

Notting Hill

Anne of Green Gables
Pride & Prejudice

The American President (I dream of one day having a fabulous leader for our country!)
4 TV shows I watch (If I get a chance)
The Office

So You Think You can Dance
Grey's Anatomy
Dancing with the Stars
4 places I've been
New York City
Paris
Cairo
Iowa (just passing through; corn fields get old)

4 places I'd like to go
Greece

Pyramids in South America

Mount Kilamanjaro

seriously I'd go anywhere new!
4 things I would like to eat
chocolate chip cookies
homemade ice cream
thick cut french fries

fresh fruit from the Meditteranean
4 things I am looking forward to in the coming year

trip to the Wisconsin Dells

maybe a trip to NYC
finishing my allergy shots

being done with bruises from the nurse who can't give me a shot without leaving her mark

The Big Read

2008-09-17T20:21:00.005-06:00

I found this list off of my friend Amber F. 's blog and decided to check out the list for myself. It was a lot of fun!

The Big Read is a National Endowment for the Arts program designed to encourage community reading initiatives and of their top 100 books, they estimate the average adult has read only six.

Here’s what you are supposed to do:
*Look at the list and bold those we have read. *Italicize those we intend to read.*Underline the books we LOVE .
Share this list in your blog, too, if you like.

Here's what I did: I had programming issues with my post so I just italicized books I loved rather than underlining them, however if you post on it too the underlining seems to show more love!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (Do I get points for reading the first few chapters one summer in high school before I abandoned the book?)

25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (macabre, I know but I really liked this one)

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (I probably just loved that I actually finished it!)

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (Does it count that I checked it out of the library? I had to return it before I got around to reading it last summer!)

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte's Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (I don’t think it counts that I’ve seen almost every version of the Three Musketeers in movies, time to get reading I guess!)

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I’ve read 38 out of 100, not too shabby unless they gave a horrible guess about the average person having read only six off their list. I didn't italicize any I haven't read yet because of laziness with my blogging problem, but I hope to read the remaining 62 books someday. If I don’t finish them all, I intend at least to make a good dent at the list, it’s always nice to read something besides my copy of Parents magazine (which I do love, but something without a story on better potty training techniques is a nice read sometimes too!). If you love books have fun with the list. Thanks to Amber for the fun idea!

The end of summer...

2008-08-29T21:53:00.002-06:00

It's been so chilly in the mornings this week that I've begin to feel the panic that sets in when I know the warm summer days will soon be distant memories. So after school today we invited the kids on our street to come and play on the water slide one last time and had cookies and popsicles and a nice afternoon. Then for family fun night we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and had a picnic dinner at Silver Lake.

When we first got on the trail we read all the moose warnings posted and started off our walk around the lake singing "We're going on a moose hunt, we're not afraid, we're not afraid." So it was fun to find this moose track on the boardwalk at the end of the night.

It was even more fun to actually see the moose. We were worried about ending up on the news as the dumb people who got attacked by a moose after ignoring the warnings, but the mother seemed so calm with all the people and was letting her baby eat with all the people watching. So we walked around whispering and flashing the cameras with all the other people who might some day end up on the news with us too.

Bingham Copper Mine

2008-08-25T22:04:00.006-06:00

We live near Bingham Copper Mine and from the side view I think it is quite ugly. We decided to drive up through Butterfield Canyon, which is beautiful, to check the view from above and I thought it was so cool. The view is much better from above.

Originally for family night we were going to go on a hike but since the mountains on the other side of the valley were on fire, we switched our plans to visit the upper view of the copper mine. You can still see the smoke from the fire earlier in the day.

Don't let Maya's grin deceive you. When I asked her to take this photo she was convinced we were trying to have her fall down into the mine. She just wanted to get back in the car and get the picnic started. Andy was doing homework on the drive up and said, "Mom, can I take a break from this and enjoy the beautiful drive." The kid is like his parents and loves mountains and trees and nature in general.

Luke, wasn't quite sure what the point of the activity was, but was happy enough singing along to all the songs on the drive with his baby babbling. He's really into singing these days.

First Step!

2008-05-05T20:31:00.003-06:00

As I was getting the kids ready for bed Luke sat by me on the floor and stood up by himself. It was funny because there was actually a moment where I knew he was going to try and take a step by himself, and he had never tried before. He's been standing and laughing for two weeks now, but he was standing for so long and got this look on his face that I knew what was about to happen. Then it did happen. He took a step, pivoting back towards me. He was so excited and then we got so excited that we scared him for just a second. After that he kept standing and laughing and saying, one two, one two and trying to do it again. He managed two more single steps before bedtime and loved every minute of it.

It was like the light bulb turned on and he just wanted to attack it until he did it. The same thing happened with learning to climb stairs. Many months ago he tried the stairs and fell down twice in one day and then forever after would scream if I set him down on the steps. He hated them. Then one day a couple weeks ago I think he just got sick of being left behind as Maya and Andy went up and down the stairs that he picked a day and just went at it until he got it. The first time he climbed up he screamed literally every step that he crawled up, took a break on the landing and laughed and clapped for himself and then proceeded so scream up every step until he made it to the top and cheered again. It took him two days to decide to go down the stairs but he wanted to do it all by himself until he did it. It's fun learning how he handles new challenges. He's a very determined baby.

San Diego Zoo

2008-04-19T16:28:00.003-06:00

We had so much fun at the San Diego zoo but we don't have the photos to prove it because the camera needed another battery and it was left in the car. It was seriously hot I don't know how people come to the zoo in July here, we drank so much water I'm sure we caused a shortage. It was fun to see the giant exhibit for the polar bears and panda bears and extra nice that this huge zoo has three buses and a sky ride to make it less tiring to see it all. We were able to spend a decent amount of time at the park because it is so close to the airport, but we were grateful to have a change of clothes so we didn't have to fly home with the zoo on us. Although it was a nice weekend it was good to finally make it home and sleep in our own beds and Luke definitely was grateful to get back to his normal routine because his molars were working their way out, we're just lucky he's a good flyer or we would have not made it through this trip.

San Diego Temple

2008-04-19T16:10:00.004-06:00

Andy wanted to take a picture of the temple and I think he did a pretty good job fitting it all in. When we first arrived at the grounds the sister missionaries wanted the kids to take a quiz about the temple and prophets but they were so squirmy they let the kids off the hook. After walking around the grounds in the heat for a while they were ready to sit in the shade with the sister missionaries and I was impressed that they aced the quiz.

I love the San Diego temple, it is so beautiful. I tried to talk Nate into getting married here years ago, but he wanted to be closer to home so all of our family would attend, crazy guy. It was nice to be able to talk to the kids about the importance of temples and to see Maya get excited about getting married in a white dress someday instead of in her little rainbow dress that she tries to wear every day of the week.

More Legoland

2008-04-19T15:48:00.003-06:00

Maya loved being able to ride on the rides and she seemed to enjoy everything even though there weren't any "Princesses" running around. I think she loved having play time with her dad and being old enough to drive the cars. Luke was a trooper and held up pretty well despite the heat. The free fall ride was one of their favorites and since the line was short they kept riding it over and over. It was a nice fun day for the kids.

Legoland

2008-04-19T15:31:00.003-06:00

We had heard that Legoland was a park for kids between three and eleven years old so we decided to try it out. Legos everywhere, it couldn't have been more exciting for the kids. Maya and Andy had both saved up their allowance and were so excited to choose souvenirs from the toy shops. The thought of buying a toy with their own money was just as exciting as all the cool displays and rides. Andy bought legos, legos and legos and Maya chose a pink fairy umbrella of course.

We loved the miniature cities made completely from Legos. It was fun to see our old home New York city made up completely of Legos.

Most of the park's rides are made for the younger set so it was fun for our shorty pants kids to finally be tall enough to ride the rides!

Weekend Vacation

2008-04-19T15:03:00.004-06:00

Since I haven't finished writing about our last family vacation in January I would write about our quick weekend getaway before I forget. Nate had a regional dental meeting in San Diego last weekend so we decided to take the whole family along. We spent Friday on the beach and swimming at the hotel, Saturday we explored Legoland and Sunday we visited the San Diego Temple and the San Diego Zoo. It was a nice warm weekend.

We slept late on Friday because our plane Thursday night was delayed and we didn't make it to the hotel until 3 a.m. Not one of the kids slept a wink on the plane or on the drive to the hotel, they were so exhausted when they finally hit the sheets. By the time we got up and had breakfast it was time for Luke's nap so Nate and Luke napped in the hotel while Andy, Maya and I built a sand castle. After lunch Nate had to go to his meeting so the rest of us hit the hotel pool and hot tub. Our hotel is in the picture to the left behind Maya, the pool was nicer than the beach because the glass wall blocked the wind. Our beach day happened to be the coolest of our 3 day trip wouldn't you know it!

Perfection is a Process

2008-04-19T14:32:00.003-06:00

I serve as the primary secretary in my ward and on Thursday we had a Stake Training meeting that was wonderful. My favorite thought of the night came from the Stake President's counselor. We had learned so much that evening and had been asked to do so much more that he was started speaking about the fact that as we act upon the promptings from the Holy Ghost our abilities to recognize the spirit and receive more inspiration would increase. He spoke about the common issue in our church of feeling inadequate because everyone is trying so hard to be perfect in every area of life. He reminded us that in Matthew chapter 5 verse 48 Christ told us to follow the example of our Heavenly Father and be perfect, it isn't until the account in the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi chapter 12 verse 48 when Christ is visiting the Americas after His death that he adds that He is also perfect. It wasn't until He had completed his earthly mission that He claimed perfection. Becoming perfect is a process, something that we work on over a lifetime. I liked that thought.

Aaugh!

2008-04-02T11:45:00.001-06:00

March was full of fun things but so incredibly busy. Now that we've slowed down I'm sick. I'll never get caught up!

Tuesday Tell All: What Not to Wear

2008-03-04T20:29:00.003-07:00

We all have those pictures from the past that we wished we didn't. The ones that make us think "what were we thinking when we got dressed that morning"?

Trends are fun at the time, but can later come back to haunt us. Think overalls, high-waisted jeans and pegged pants.

This week's assignment is to pick an item from your wardrobe that you love now, but think in five years will fall into that category (or already does).

I’m a casual jeans and t-shirt kind of gal, I don’t have too many of the trendy clothes because I don’t go shopping enough to stay on top of the new fads. However, my sin is in the opposite direction, I love comfy clothes. When I lived in New York I always hoped I would get pulled off the streets by one of those make-over shows. I’m surprised my neighbors there didn’t turn me in.

At least 5 years ago my sister gave me some old workout pants of hers because I said I didn’t have anything to wear to the gym. Those pants have been my favorite clothes ever since. I wear them to the gym, the grocery store, dropping off kids at school, errands, just about anywhere. I need more pride. I can wear them through all nine months of pregnancy they are so stretched out. A few years ago a friend’s husband asked me sincerely if I had any other pants! Little did he know there are two in this set, gray and black. (In my defense we were packing to move that week and I didn’t see the point in packing and cleaning in real clothes.) As part of my being more organized for the year, sadly, I have been getting dressed in real clothes on a regular basis now. I can’t think of any time in the past few months when I have worn them anywhere besides the gym. Plus I have some new workout pants that aren’t missing the waist tie, don’t slip down on the treadmill, aren’t shredded at the feet and probably would not be comfy if I were pregnant. I should be haunted now by my love for these pants, but I can’t wait for it to be time for everyone to give up on their new year’s resolutions so I can be reunited with my old friends.

52 Blessings Week 9

2008-03-03T20:41:00.003-07:00

It may be weird with only 52 things to list that I am grateful for that I choose my couch, but I love it. We’ve had the set since we were first married and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to get rid of it. I’d have no qualms about moving them to the basement and replacing it with a nice leather sofa set someday, but I’d still have to have it somewhere in my home. It is covered with all sorts of stains, shows its age and blends right into the floor where we live but it is so incredibly comfortable. It is as soft and warm as its mossy green color and pulls you into a big hug whenever you sit down. When I’m sick, when I need a break, when I need to be cozy I don’t run to my room, I run to my couch.

The other day on my way home the temperature dropped quickly and a snowstorm quickly turned everything white. The only thing I could think about was how soon I would be able to get into some pj’s, grab a blanket, turn on the fire and cuddle on my couch. It was then that I realized that I truly love this old couch and should list it as one of my blessings.

52 Blessings Week 8: Part 4..Last but not least.

2008-02-28T16:28:00.003-07:00

Nate
I am so grateful for my husband Nate. I have an Aunt and Uncle that always have so much fun together that as a very young kid I decided my future husband would have to be my best friend. In high school for fun I made a list of qualities I wanted my spouse to have and “best friend” was on the top of that long list. In college after too many awkward dates I tossed out everything on the list but “best friend.” Then I went on a date with Nate. I wish I could say I knew right away we were destined to be married but I can at least say I knew I wanted a second date. That was big for me. I had so much fun and felt so comfortable that night. Instead of wondering how I would avoid him on campus as had happened so many times before I was intimidated and scared by the thought that he might not ask me out again. (I had an allergic reaction to horses on that first date that could make for a great post on another day.) I am so blessed that he saw beyond the puffy, bright red bloodshot eyes, wheezing throat and runny nose and asked me out again.

We’ve been married almost eight years now and he is still my best friend. Besides being a fabulous friend he is a wonderful husband and father. He does things for me and indulges in things he thinks are silly, just because he knows I love it. He gets up with the kids in the middle of the night even though he has to be up earlier than me just because he knows I have a hard time falling back to sleep. If I’ve had a rough day with the kids he slides right in and takes over and gives me a break without me having to ask even though with his line of work he might have heard just as much whining or crying that day. I know that if I were two inches from the TV remote and he was across the room if I asked him he would get me the remote. That’s Nate. He wouldn’t know how to be Nate if he weren’t taking care of someone. His love language is service. Lucky me! His kids love him and he loves them, as a family we couldn’t ask for anything more, but he still gives us everything. I can’t think of a better blessing than to have found a friend that I will love forever.

52 Blessings Week 8: Part 3

2008-02-27T15:12:00.002-07:00

How did we get from here to here so quickly!

Luke
I am the youngest kid in my family and my mom used to always say that I was the "frosting on the cake". I always thought it was just something fun and silly she used to say to me until I met Luke Vinson Stevenson on March 12, 2007. I thought I was done having kids after two incredibly sick pregnancies, but I kept having this nagging feeling that if I didn't have just one more baby I would regret it. I am so happy we decided against better judgment to add Luke to our family as he adds the perfect touch to our little group. He couldn’t be sweeter. It wasn’t until we went on family vacation in January that we realized he could already say mama, dada, ball, no, and up. I guess that’s what happens when you are baby number three. We are so happy that “no” was not his first word. Maya taught him that on our trip. His brother and sister love to smother him with kisses and attention and love nothing more than to hear him laugh and try and say their names. He loves to follow them around and goes crazy when they go up or down stairs since he hasn’t conquered them yet. He is full of life, laughs all the time and loves to wrestle around. With Luke I have enjoyed lingering over the little moments that I didn’t always allow myself with my first two children. You can’t ever spoil a newborn baby. It’s impossible to hold them too much or rock them to sleep too much. He’s one-year old next month and this year with him has truly gone too fast in my opinion. I cheer for him with each new skill he learns but I also get a little sad that my baby is growing up.

52 Blessings Week 8: Part 2

2008-02-26T15:17:00.009-07:00

Maya

I am very grateful for my princess Maya. She is my little sweetheart and angel with a devil’s pitchfork! She has her own mind and refuses to follow anyone’s lead. She forges her own trails and isn’t afraid of anything. She can be the sweetest thing you’ve ever met; every other phrase out of her mouth is “Mommy, I love you”. She can also be the most stubborn thing; one day after being sick of nagging her to help Andy pick up their toys in the basement we just decided the next time to say calmly over and over that she could do the next activity as soon as she picked up her toys and leave it at that. The very next day we had a chance to try out our new technique. I spent two hours in the afternoon answering every request with “I’d be glad to do that when you’ve finished picking up your toys.” It came time for dinner for the rest of us and three more hours of screaming, yelling and crying (fortunately only on her part) the stand-off ended with her falling asleep in her fuzzy pink chair. We put her little sleeping body to bed and the next morning only had to spend two hours saying “Your breakfast will be ready as soon as you pick up those toys.” It took her all of three minutes to put the toys away as soon as she decided breakfast was worth putting away her things. That same stubbornness that tests our patience is also her gift which we hope to cultivate and never crush. When most kids freak out about medicine and shots she says, “I’m excited to get my shots so my body will be healthy”, she cringes for a second when the needle goes in, and then shakes it off and puts back on her brave face. She has the most beautiful smile and sings and dances her way around life and defies anyone not to love her for what she is.

Tuesday Tell All-- I have never...

2008-02-26T15:12:00.003-07:00

"To Have and Have Not", Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

"You know how to whistle dontcha' Steve? You just put your lips together and...blow."

I must admit that I have never learned how to whistle. People have shown me many times "how easy it is", including my 5-year old, but I've never seemed to be able to catch on!

52 Blessings Week 8: Part 1

2008-02-25T20:44:00.002-07:00

ANDY

I am very grateful for my son Andy. He was born Andrew Nathan Stevenson on March 24, 2002 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I never grew up thinking I would be a stay-at-home mom. I always thought that was something I would do eventually after I had done something really cool with my life. When he was born though I finally felt I had done something for which I could be proud. When they handed him to me all I could think was that the tiny little stranger was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Andy consistently challenges us, surprises us, humbles us and loves us. He is very bright and inquisitive, which is part of the challenging part, and very passionate about everything. You never have to wonder what he is feeling and whatever he is doing is full-force.

I wish I were better at journaling because I could write a whole book on the funny things Andy comes up with, thinks about and says to others. A friend called me today to tell me that she has an antique secretary (piece of furniture) upstairs in her home that Andy asked her about when he was there the day before. She loves collecting antiques and was excited to tell him all about it. After listening to her and looking at it a little longer he told her he thought it looked more Egyptian than what she had described. As an art history major she remembered that he was actually right that particular pattern on the furniture had been modeled after an Egyptian design! The other day when I was driving Andy and his friend around I overheard Andy say to his friend, “Scientists think that it is impossible to count to infinity, but I don’t agree with them.” He talks so much it’s a wonder he ever has time to actually think about anything, but he soaks it all in and never stops searching for the next step or answer and isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo.

Homestyle--Karaoke

2008-02-22T09:40:00.003-07:00

If you're reading this blog today, enjoy a little karaoke by yourself. Who cares who's listening, turn it up and belt it out!

Don McLean--American Pie
A long, long time agoI can still rememberHow that music used to make me smileAnd I knew if I had my chanceThat I could make those people danceAnd maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiverWith every paper I deliveredBad news on the doorstepI couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I criedWhen I read about his widowed brideBut something touched me deep insideThe day the music died
So bye, bye Miss American PieDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dryThem good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in RyeSingin' this’ll be the day that I die,This’ll be the day that I die
Did you write the book of loveAnd do you have faith in God aboveIf the Bible tells you soAnd do you believe in rock and rollCan music save your mortal soulAnd can you teach me how to dance real slow

Well I know that you're in love with him'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gymYou both kicked off your shoesMan, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buckWith a pink carnation and a pickup truckBut I knew I was out of luckThe day the music died

I started singin'Bye, bye Miss American PieDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dryThem good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in RyeSingin' this’ll be the day that I die,This’ll be the day that I die

Now for ten years we've been on our ownAnd moss grows fat on a rolling stoneBut that's not how it used to beWhen the jester sang for the king and queenIn a coat he borrowed from James DeanIn a voice that came from you and me
Oh and while the king was looking downThe jester stole his thorny crownThe courtroom was adjournedNo verdict was returnedAnd while Lenin read a book on MarxThe quartet practiced in the parkAnd we sang dirges in the darkThe day the music died

We were singin'Bye, bye Miss American PieDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dryThem good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye Singin' this’ll be the day that I die,This’ll be the day that I die
Helter skelter in a summer swelterThe birds flew off with a fall out shelterEight miles high and falling fastAnd landed foul on the grassThe players tried for a forward passWith the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the halftime air was sweet perfumeWhile sergeants played a marching tuneWe all got up to dance,Oh but we never got the chance‘Cause the players tried to take the fieldThe marching band refused to yieldDo you recall what was revealedThe day the music died
We started singin'Bye, bye Miss American PieDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dryThem good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye Singin' this’ll be the day that I die,This’ll be the day that I die

Oh in there we were all in one placeA generation lost in spaceWith no time left to start againSo come on Jack be nimble,Jack be quickJack flash sat on a candlestick ‘causeFire is the devil's only friendOh and as I watched him on the stageMy hands were clenched in fists of rageNo angel born in hellCould break that Satan’s spellAnd as the flames climbed high into the nightTo light the sacrificial rightI saw Satan laughing with delightThe day, the music died

He was singin'Bye, bye Miss American PieDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dryThem good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in RyeSingin' this’ll be the day that I die,This’ll be the day that I die

I met a girl who sang the bluesAnd I asked her for some happy newsBut she just smiled and turned awayI went down to the sacred storeWhere I’d heard the music years beforeBut the man there said the music wouldn't playAnd in the streets the children screamedThe lovers cried in the poet’s dreamedBut not a word was spokenThe church bells all were brokenAnd the three men I admire mostThe Father, Son and the Holy GhostThey caught the last train for the coastThe day, the music died
And they were singin'Bye, bye Miss American PieDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dryThem good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in RyeSingin' this’ll be the day that I dieThis’ll be the day that I die
They were singin’Bye, bye Miss American PieDrove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dryThem good old boys were drinkin' whiskey in RyeSingin' this’ll be the day that I die

Tuesday Tell All— Love List

2008-02-19T21:37:00.003-07:00

What do you la-la-love? When asked to write down what I love besides my husband, kids and religion it was funny to me that the only other immediate things that popped into my head were food. So the first things that topped my list were:

#1 Chocolate Milk (the pre-made kind not the powder) and #2 Chocolate Strawberries. I love so many things but apparently food is still way up there. When I relaxed and let my mind drift beyond food I thought of:

Sleeping in
Quiet Saturday’s at home with everyone
One on one time with my kids
Weekends away with Nate
Cuddling in a blanket and reading a good book on a rainy day
Girl’s night out
Book clubs
Classes
Eating out and last but certainly not least…
Every other Thursday when my whole house is clean at the same time!

52 Blessings Project Week #7

2008-02-17T21:14:00.003-07:00

Riddle: What is the greatest room in the world?

Answer: Room for improvement.

I always find the latest fashions when they are “so last season” and never hear about the cool new shows until they are on their 5th season so I am honestly happy that it’s only week 7 of the 52 Blessings Project that I am starting with. That’s an improvement for me! So for my very first thankful item I am listing 2nd chances. If we learn anything from Hollywood we should remember that it is possible to continue to reinvent ourselves until we become the people we want to be and the people we were born to be.

So reinventing ourselves Hollywood style isn't exactly what I mean, but I am grateful for the opportunity we have to learn and grow and that when we make mistakes we can try to do better the next time. I don’t have a word for 2008 like many bloggers do, but one of my main goals for 2008 is to stop complaining about the things I don’t like and try to make changes. I am trying to learn from my mistakes rather than repeat them and to continue to push myself closer to becoming the person I want to be.

Confucius: Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Sir Edmund Hillary, first to summit Everest (1953): It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.

Family Vacation - Wild Animal Park Day 2

2008-02-14T13:51:00.002-07:00

On January 20th we went to San Diego's Wild Animal Park for the 2nd day of our family vacation. We walked and walked and walked and rode a little and walked around some more and saw a lot of wild animals and had a great day. I didn't realize how much walking was still involved at a zoo that claims you are the one in the cage and the animals are out free. Oh well, we burned off all the churros and popcorn at least. The baby elephants at the zoo were too adorable!

Mom, why do you keep making animal noises at me? It's getting embarassing. What if somebody recognizes me!

Family Vacation - Wild Animal Park Day 2 cont.

2008-02-14T13:29:00.003-07:00

Future blogggers. We need a photo of everything too!

Andy said, "This is the best idea ever mom!"

I did it!

We've been walking around this park for hours and

I still need to climb and burn off some energy.

Just a few minutes before this picture was taken they both said

they weren't tired or ready to leave the park!

Best Friends

2008-02-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

I'm posting right now because Nate will be home from work in 10 minutes and I'm too excited to have him home for the whole weekend to be productive any longer. I feel like the friends in this video each time he gets home at night, only their energy and enthusiam is hidden by my tired body!

Come Thou Fount...

2008-02-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

I went to a funeral yesterday. It was sad but always nice to see old friends and catch up for a minute. At the service they sang Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. It’s always been such a peaceful song to me. I would sob my eyes out a mass murderer’s funeral I’m such a softy so I just avoided looking at the mother and let the song float through my head. I spoke to her afterward and broke down anyway. My baby was rushed to the hospital twice for seizures while my husband and I were out of town and far from him this past December. We didn’t know what was wrong with him and what the outcome would be. That was the most traumatic experience I’ve ever had in my life being so far from him and not knowing if I would get to see his smile or hear his laugh again. So when I went to talk to her my heart just broke only knowing just a tiny tiny part of what her heart must be feeling. I’m grateful for my belief in God and our ability to be with our loved ones again after we die. I can’t imagine how much worse it would feel to not have the blessing of knowing that this kind of separation is only temporary.

TTA: Photo Op

2008-01-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Disneyland celebrated its 40th anniversary by burying a time capsule. They say it will be dug up in 50 years - or when the last person in line at Space Mountain gets to the front, whichever comes first. -- Jay Leno

January has been a whirlwind of activity trying to throw together a last-minute trip to Disneyland. It was worth every bit of chaos. We had nightmares before we went of tantrums and cranky kids but every moment was fun and the kids held up very well being the perfect age to enjoy all the magic Disneyland has to offer. And being off-season we didn't have to endure any of the lines that Jay Leno jokes about. Here Maya sneaks in a quick cat nap. When she woke up she was in front of Mickey Mouse's house and couldn't have been happier!

Mark on the World

2008-01-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.

Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."

I don't know anyone in the world who doesn't absolutely love President Hinckley. He is pure joy to listen to when he speaks. I had the opportunity to meet him on my mission and was so excited I swear I squoze his hand too hard because I was the last hand he shook before he exited the meeting. (We were warned before that day that he might not mingle with any of the missionaries because his arthritis was painful that day.) He taught us, even teased us, and uplifted us that day. I will always remember that day as a special one. With everyone out there I will miss him.

I still don't know why but ever since I was a little girl I have always thought it would be an extraordinary time when Monson would be the prophet. On the way to our wedding almost 8 years ago Nate and I ran into President Monson in the hallway. He introduced us to the lady he was visiting that day whom he had taught as a young missionary and she was volunteering in the Salt Lake Temple that day. He was very kind. Last night as I watched the news those feelings from my childhood came flooding over me once again. I look forward with eager anticipation and curiosity for what we all have in store for us.

Tuesday Tell All: One Week One Person

2008-01-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

This post is about where I would go if I had one week to go anywhere and do anything I wanted and with whom I would take this vacation. If I really had the opportunity to go anywhere in the world I wanted for one week I would honestly have a hard time picking. I love to travel and see new places, I dream of being able to see the entire world before I die. Well, I might skip out on the poles, I hate to be cold, but maybe I'd take a close boat tour. Man, I can't even say I'd really skip the antartic because I'd hate to miss anything. But today I choose a tour of the Greek Islands. So beautiful and so much fascinating history to boot. I'd spend the week like a sponge soaking in everything, not running and cramming it all in, but memorizing the smells and the tastes in the air and the feel of the sun.

The person is easy, that one person would be Nate. I love my hubbie very much and would post about him non-stop except for the fact that he doesn't like his personal life to be posted on the Web. Oops. Anyway he's my dream vacation partner and the picture of him up skiing is in honor of what would probably be his dream vacation. Powder, powder, powder!

TTA- Assignment Organize

2008-01-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

This week's Tell All assignment was to share ideas about how we organize our lives. Definitely not my thing since I became a stay-at-home mom. In fact being unorganized and cluttered is probably my number one complaint. I recently read Clutter’s Last Stand after my friend told me about it. It’s a fabulous book that gives you ideas on how to de-clutter your home and feel good about what you throw out. I loved it! However, when my sister asked to borrow it I couldn’t remember in which pile it was buried. She and her husband love to laugh about that!

One of my New Year’s resolutions actually is to stop complaining about being unorganized and just do it! Reading the other TTA http://tuesdaytellall.blogspot.com/ blogs has been so fun getting great ideas as I work on this. Last week I started getting on top of things by resurrecting my personal planner I made for myself last year. It’s been fabulous. I tried using a palm pilot and other expensive planners before but the only thing I got out of them was a great daily quote. So I printed out a calendar style on Word that worked for me and put it in a 3-ring notebook so I can insert papers I need to keep track of that don't need to be filed long term. I have other sections for my home projects, my kids, work, etc. I also have a small notebook that I now drag everywhere with me (an idea I got from Wendi a few months ago) so between my binder and notebook I don’t wonder where I put Andy’s notes from school anymore and I always have a place to jot down things I need to remember or lists I want to accomplish each day. It's a small step, but I'm on my way.

TTA- An Attitude of Gratitude

2007-11-20T14:29:00.001-07:00

Tina

Jen Desiree

Frank

Every year when I think of what I am most grateful for I list my husband and children. Seriously, I can't think of anything better in this world than them. This year however I would like to add my brother and sisters to my crew at the top of the list. They have been such a good support during this crazy year our family has had that I cannot thank them enough.

I've always described my brother Frank as the perfect eldest sibling that set the bar far too high for any of us following to reach and then is modest to boot. Then I have two big sisters who've always kept me in my place like only sisters can do. My sister Tina is fiercely loyal and knows how to gently offer beauty advice to keep me from becoming too sloppy. My sister Jen is the comedien who keeps things lively, waka waka, and is always willing to be supportive if I start to let my pants get too small. Now to all of them I add supportive and understanding to their lists.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Emerald City

2007-10-30T11:55:00.000-06:00

The eggs benedict at The Georgian restaurant here is delicious!

Our "living room" here was small, but the couch was comfy.

We spent last weekend in Seattle sans enfants! Yes we had a weekend trip without the kids. Nate had some kind of dental meeting where they paid for $700.00 a night suites for everyone. The room was comfortable, but didn’t seem worth that much, the robes were a little bit scratchy if you ask me, but the hotel service was fabulous I suppose. The Sonics were staying at the same hotel and other people caught sightings, but I somehow missed all the giants walking around.

I didn't hold the camera still enough to use the night aperture, but the view was nice.

While the boys were a meetin’ the girls went a shoppin’. Marianne and Kevin are friends from Nate’s residency and it was fun hanging out with them again. Marianne and Kevin live in a small town so Marianne had fun "power shopping". She would be a great shopping partner for another friend I know, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. That night Nate and I went to Jazz Alley for dinner and listened to the Average White Band. They were a pretty fun group to watch. You can't beat good music and good food at the same time. Afterwards we had a second dinner with Kevin and Marianne at the Melting Pot. I love cheese, nobody else liked the cheese entrees but the chocolate pots didn’t last at all!

Kevin and Marianne were fabulous enough to find tickets for the Seahawks game, plus a pre-game lunch with the Canadian Embassy.

We kept asking people where a good place for brunch was for the next morning and found out that one of the best places was right at our hotel, the Fairmont Olympic. We were not disappointed. Nate and I headed back over to Pike’s Place for some last minute tourist gawking and ended our trip at a Seattle Seahawks game. Other than the Super bowl I’m not a big fan of watching football on T.V., but give me live sports any day, it was so much fun.

The fish were a little bit slippery today, but they finally caught one!

The guitar player gave Nate his pick for being a good sport when they had to squeeze by our table. Nate also has a pick from Dave Letterman's band from when we lived in NYC maybe he should start a collection!

Tell All Tuesday on Thursday: What are you afraid of?

2007-10-25T21:35:00.000-06:00

I really, really don't like spiders. I met an old lady once, not the one who swallowed the spider to catch the fly, but one that decided she didn't like me because my friend thought it would be silly to tell her that I skipped out on my shower that morning because I met a spider stealing all my hot water in the shower and decided it wasn't worth competing with the scary beast that day. She told me that I would be a horrible mother one day because I was afraid of spiders. I told her that I was sure once I had kids I could muster up enough courage for them, but she wasn't convinced and went home irritated at me forever after. Seriously, she never got over it. I wish I knew where she was now if she's even alive still, now that I have kids so I could recount the many spiders I have caught and set free to keep my kids happy, or squished to oblivion to help them feel safe depending on their mood. I'm great with my kids when it comes to spiders. As for when it's just me, I'll still skip a shower any day to avoid them. I'm not afraid to admit I'm afraid of spiders.

Tuesday Tell All: If I Weren't Me....

2007-10-16T14:28:00.000-06:00

Today’s tell all theme is about what we would be doing if we weren’t who we are today. I think I missed two career paths, the first one is that I know I should have been a docent at the metropolitan museum of art. How great would that be all day to be surrounded by such beautiful art works and get to talk about them all day long. I’d show everyone my favorite pointillist paintings by Camille Pissaro, run through the modern art wing as fast as we could ignoring everything until we saw the Jackson Pollack room and then head straight to the black and white photography display. What a great way to spend your day.

Otherwise I know I should have been a professional dancer. My poor game score on the Wii dance game, Rayman Raving Rabids, has shown me that I have no rhythm, but I’m sure that 8 hours in the dance studio a day could fix that. I think reality TV is a waste of time, but I still can’t seem to get enough of dancing with the stars. If you watch the video clip it takes about a minute and a half to get to the fun dance routine, but it will make you smile.

Day out with the Girls

2007-10-15T06:27:00.000-06:00

I’m always complaining about feeling overwhelmed and I think I’m the root of my problem. I paid my sister-in-law to watch my kids for a few days so I could get our basement organized to finish it and I spent the last day playing with friends! I called Wendi to get our nails filled and we ended up eating and shopping the rest of the day. It was soooooo worth it and sooooooo much fun. I was reminded of why I spent so much of my life following her around, she makes everything a blast.

Her friend Crystal happened to be in the car in front of her on our way to lunch and so she ended up joining us. I totally recognized her from her blog and that made my new blogging hobby all the more fun and a little creepy, I felt like a stalker. Unfortunately for my time crunch problem she was as much fun as Wendi is so I have a new blog I’m going to have to frequent. My basement isn’t any closer to being framed now, I didn’t get any of our bills off in the mail, my fridge is still empty and dirty and so on, but for a few hours I didn’t even care. I can’t wait to do it again!

Big Girls Don't Cry

2007-10-11T15:17:00.000-06:00

When Luke was born Maya decided that she didn’t want to be a big girl, she wanted to be a big baby. She wanted to be swaddled like a baby, to drink from her sippy cup like it was a bottle and to cry like a baby. I knew she had adjusted to Luke’s permanence when she announced one day that she wasn’t a big baby anymore. Now if you even mention the word baby around her she gets so offended. She also started 3-year old pre-school this year and babies don’t go to school.

I think she was excited to start school because she got a pink Hello Kitty backpack to take with her. I was excited because Andy had been to pre-school there and I knew she would love it too. Her class memorizes a poem each month. Andy came home with his first poem when he was in that class two years ago and wanted to start working on it right away. Maya however, pretended to not know what a poem even was when she brought her paper home. I explained it to her and tried to have her repeat the lines after me. “Maya, say apple, apple after me.” She said, “Oh, I like apples.” I said, “Okay, say apple, apple.” Instead she starts to sing up, down, up down…and this continues until I give up for the day. She was so all over the place. The next week on Tuesday, I told her teacher when I picked her up from class how fun it was to watch the differences between her and Andy. They each had such a different approach about class. The next class, Thursday morning she told me that she thought it was funny that I told her that Maya had trouble focusing on the poem because she had stood in front of her class and had recited the whole thing that morning. I was astonished because she had never reviewed it once with me. We never made it past that first failed attempt. When she got in the car I asked her to share her poem with me. “What poem mom?” “The one you said for your class today.” “Oh, up and up and …..” She still won’t share that poem with us. I guess a big girl has to have a few things just for herself.

Andy's Prayer

2007-10-07T20:26:00.000-06:00

Andy said the family prayer tonight and I had to record what he said because I had the hardest time stifling my giggles. He said, " Heavenly Father, please bless that my daddy can always work very hard so we can have lots of money to buy everything we need. (This is where I begin holding in the laughter.) And please bless him to have enough money to pay taxes and that Maya will not do that during the prayer." (At this point Nate breaks down too.) While Andy is saying this thoughtful prayer, and Nate and I are stifling our laughs, Maya is waving her body back and forth while keeping her arms folded and eyes closed of course, and Luke thinks it's all a game and is laughing his head off. Our family is so spiritually minded it kills me! So of course after the prayer we had to ask Andy if he knew what taxes were since it's not a topic of conversation generally in our house. He said that the money from taxes is used to pay for the roads and water everybody uses. (Earlier today he was telling me about gravity and the earth's orbit and asking why some people still called Pluto a planet since it's probably really a comet or asteroid.) I don't know where this kid comes from some days. I'm just glad he's on my team.

Tell All Tuesday - Trick-or-Treat

2007-10-02T16:39:00.000-06:00

This week's Tell All subject is about what we would like to find in our trick-or-treat bags. I would love to find house-elves in my Halloween bag. I’ve been picking up after my kids too much today I guess. They could each have one that trailed behind them, helping them pick up their things or just reminding them to do it themselves. They need to learn to clean up after themselves after all; it would just be nice for someone else to have to do the reminding once in a while!

Then I would love to find tickets to Europe with a month long pass for the Eurorail. It’s been far too long since I’ve had a really good pastry, or had a chance to be embarrassed by my horrible French skills. I would actually like tickets to any far off place. I would love a vacation that’s at least two weeks to a month. That’s long enough to feel relaxed and long enough to feel the urge to get home.

At the very least I would like some good candy. I love treats!

Big Man on Campus

2007-09-30T14:23:00.000-06:00

Andy started kindergarten this fall and loves it. I volunteer in his class on Monday mornings and it’s a riot to see him in action. He told someone the other day that he hasn’t learned anything at school yet, but he is already reading better and copying all the big kids (uh-oh). He thinks he's so cool because he has some 5th grade friends. I thought he was kidding until one came over to talk to him after church today. Yikes! He barely comes up to the other kindergarteners shoulders, but he's rollin' with the big boys anyway.

He is also playing on his first soccer team. The first few games were quite a headache reminding him not to break-dance when it’s time to kick the ball in, tackle his own teammates, or fight with Maya over whatever toy she has on the sidelines. His last game was good. He didn’t jump on anyone and almost scored a goal.

Tell-All-Tuesday "You can quote me on that"

2007-09-25T21:13:00.000-06:00

I'm going to have to paraphrase my favorite quote; I hope that's not against the rules of this week's theme. My favorite quote is from one of President Hinckley's books. Sorry, I don't remember which one which is why I'm not claiming the quote is going to be word for word. When speaking about getting through trials, and just every day life he said, "The only way I know how to get things done is to get down on my knees and pray and then get up and go to work."

I love it because it reminds me that the best way to have our prayers answered is to ask for help and then roll up our sleeves and get busy with the faith that God will make everything better then we could hope for ourselves. We just need to do our part.

It ties in with my new mantra from William Ernest Henley’s poem "Invictus”: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. I’ve been trying to remember lately that I get to choose what I make of my life.

Eat Mud

2007-08-21T14:45:00.000-06:00

Andy loves to play in the mud. Here he is literally swimming in a mud pool.
He had so much fun this day.

We spent an afternoon at Moon Lake with my sisters and my parents.
All the girls managed to stay clean, but the boys had to be soaked
and scrubbed to take off the mud cake when they were done!

This last photo was taken as I asked Andy to strip down and swim in the
lake to rinse off all the mud at the end of the day. The wheels are turning
in his head debating whether or
not he should risk the frigid water or find his way
back on foot! He was a good sport after all and enjoyed his first skinny dip.

The Cast

2007-08-19T16:20:00.001-06:00

The following posts will show each member of our family showing in the That's My Life blog and the role each of us play!

Luke

2007-08-19T15:59:00.000-06:00

Luke – making his debut as the sweetest baby in the world
Likes: laughing, playing, eating, and silly faces
Dislikes: messy diapers, being hungry and loud noises

Maya

2007-08-19T15:38:00.000-06:00

Maya – reprising her favorite character of the one and only pink princess
Likes: all things pink, marshmallows, babies, and anything Andy has
Dislikes: anything that’s not her way and waiting

Andy

2007-08-19T15:23:00.000-06:00

Andy – enjoying the role of big brother, smarty-pants and cutest 5-year old in the world
Likes: candy , candy, candy, asking questions and playing with mud
Dislikes: eating anything besides candy, sitting still, and being alone

Desiree

2007-08-19T15:16:00.000-06:00

Desiree – playing her favorite character the dedicated mom and smitten wife
Likes: food, laughing, reading, buying things instead of making them yourself
Dislikes: meetings and not getting enough sleep

Nate

2007-08-19T14:41:00.000-06:00

Nate – currently playing the role of superdad and superhottie hubbie
Likes: classic rock, itty-bittty details, being outside, projects, skiing, and keeping busy
Dislikes: mushrooms, animals, and buying something instead of doing it yourself

Joining the Blogger World

2007-08-18T14:17:00.000-06:00

I am going to join the blogger world for a little while and test how much I like documenting the little things that make up our life. Hopefully I'll figure out how to save this all and my kids will forgive me for not being into scrapbooks and photo albums.