My Cupcake is Cinco!

 My girl that has been four forEVER is FIVE. Yay. We had a few of her friends over for a slip n slide and cupcakes. Then that evening Uncle Matthew, Aunt Abbey and their kids came to party! Quinn's birthday always ends with fireworks since she was born on Utah's state holiday, Pioneer Day.

Quinn is a joy to be around. She loves to paint nails and is quite good at it. She is everyone's sweetheart and gives the best hugs. She sits quietly in primary and listens. She has a tender heart. She loves to be home and with Mom. She is kinda a vegetarian..prefers veg and fruit over meat. BUT. Her all time fave food is frozen raviolis that come from Wal-Mart. She can out eat a grown-up when we serve those. She is my only child that doesn't have a middle name so she gave herself the middle name, Cupcake. Perfect fit. When my other kids were giggling about her new middle name, she defended herself by telling them that cupcakes are the best and so it is actually a great name. I agree. She is onto something... naming people happy names like Cupcake, and Lemonade Stand (which is the name of a doll in our house) might be the key to a happy life.

 We took everyone fishing nearby and all the kids caught fish. Love it when they bite easy and quick.

 We headed to Vernal to check out the Dino Museum. Some call it the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. So take your pick.

 Love this next pic I snapped of Dax and his brother. They always joke that they look nothing alike but here's proof they are related!...

 We had a fun visit with those guys!
My kids all took swimming lessons. A new pool/rec center is being built in town. Looking forward to that!
This week was UBIC...stands for Uinta Basin in Celebration. It is held in our town and there are fun activities, competitions, and performances all week. Preslie, Mack, and Quinn did a drill team clinic and performed their dances on stage at the park. Preslie signed up and performed a dance solo at the UBIC talent show. We attended an art show, as well as local talent performances.

My littles rode on the drill team parade float. Preslie danced in the parade with her dance studio (farthest on the left).

The week ended with a concert at the park. This year we had a country guy Jason Michael Carroll. Fun and entertaining. It ended with an awesome firework show. We look forward to UBIC every year. Also loved the spicy mango on a stick and mango popsicles from the booths there at the park. Yum.

Dax is the new Young Men's president in our church ward. He will do great!

It's August, so that means cramming every last bit of fun in before school starts! Make it count!

melting snow, ice fishing, and spending freeze

Mack has discovered the sketch "ew!" on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. It's freaky/funny/annoying how closely Mack can imitate it. My kids even made their own episode.
Here's Hunter dressed as Sara's stepdad, Gary.

 Another ew is Quinn's creations/experiments in the kitchen. Quesadilla topped with salsa and banana.

 HIP HIP HOORAY for 11 o'clock church! We've been on time every week so far! 9 o'clock church is so 2014.

new church clothes from Warner grandparents

A great time spent ice fishing on Martin Luther King Day.

Mack and Wyatt got along so cute that day! FUN to see them be buddies.

The kids started into 2nd semester of school. Straight A's for Preslie and Hunter. Yay! Mack has scored 100% on EVERY spelling test the entire school year.

My friend Jolona caught the decorating bug after she saw my master bedroom makeover and asked me (or I invited myself) to help her transform her "cave" into a retreat. The number one thing she wants to change is how dark it is. Paint goes up on Monday!

Jo's Master: in progress

I love this delicious weather! Jo and I built frames (outside!) for some paintings she bought in the Dominican Republic 3 years ago. We stretched the paintings around the frames and they will become the inspiration/focal pieces for her bedroom. Aren't they cool? As you can see, the whole vibe of the room will change drastically.

Oh, I also got a haircut this month. Not so cute in this pic but project mode and and cute hair rarely go together. Last happy news..I switched out my dumb phone for a smart phone! It is fun. I am a simple girl and don't really use a ton of the "smart" features, but I do like that I can connect with people easier. Modern conveniences are wonderful.

Dax and I are going to do a February spending freeze. I read about the idea on a blog and I thought it would be the perfect way to get a jump start on saving for a California/Disney trip we've wanted to take for many years. Our kids are at really great ages and this is finally the year. I'm excited.

It will be tough not grocery shop for a whole month. That is why we chose to do it in February; less days. I do think it will be a great experience for our family and a great way to rotate through our food storage a bit. We sat the kids down and got them on board. We talked to them about 'wants' and 'needs' and explained that we will only be spending money on absolute necessities. (Cinnamon lips and Reece's hearts are "wants", I'm told.) We will pay our mortgage, bills, and give to our church. We will also allow ourselves to buy milk, bread, eggs and gas. I won't be stopping by the thrift store once a week and Dax won't be grabbing fast food on his lunch break. It might be hard! But I think we will learn a lot and get creative with meals as well as entertainment. Best of all, we plan to save a bunch of cash! I'll be blogging our progress.

spring blew in

HOW did it go from this..

..to bulbs sprouting up in my yard? I'm happy about it, but I thought I would have more time to complain about the snow and cold and now I'm left to complain about yard work! BOO. But yay. I love working outside but it is so overwhelming. I just want to do EVERYTHING right NOW. Project A.D.D is a struggle.

I had a GREAT birthday. I am 33 and wild and free. My Baby's breakfast is Ravioli. I love my life and my family. I'm busting out rhymes so call me Shorty.

Here are my boys testing out their egg-drop thingy for pack meeting. Hunter had the idea to get sponges and hollow out a place for an egg in the middle and then tie the sponges together.

I tell you, I am like the luckiest gal around because on my way to the store to buy the big sponges, a
HUGE thick long piece of really nice foam blew through the intersection I was approaching (the spring wind is unbelievable here- stuff blows around like mad) and I just about passed it when I said to myself, "Hey, that is a NICE piece of foam. I bet I could use it for something sometime." Then BAM! it hit me-- use it for the egg drop!

The boys had a blast making their egg-drop contraptions; Mack made one, too and competed at pack meeting. He is SO excited to be a cub scout. I am going to start him when he's 7 just on our own. The LDS church starts cubs at 8 but I need to foster this sooner while he's this pumped.

Mack is one in a billion. If you are not friends with me on Facebook, you need to be. That is, if you like to hear funny, cynical and/or messed-up stuff kids say. I have a whole notebook of things Mack has said starting at age 2 when he could speak in sentences. I post many of them on Facebook because it is just too good to keep to myself.

My Mack is a hard worker when it is his idea! He went out and dug weeds after school this day-just grabbed the shovel and went at it. He got obsessed with watching the YouTube video of Frozen's "Let It Go". It was cute/bizarre at first. Then really annoying.

So now that the snow is gone, my kids think it's summer. They BEGGED to sleep on the tramp so we put them off until the weekend and they held us to our word. We told them it was cold (in the 30s) and they insisted! They went out and all 4 of them fell asleep. When the temp dropped below freezing, Dax and I just couldn't let Quinn stay out there all night. We brought her in at 11:30pm.

In the morning it was 25 degrees and frost covered everything. I asked Mack if he had fun sleeping outside and he said, "Yes. My pillow was frosted!"

It warmed up in the day and Dax and I were able to work on our pile of rocks that isn't moving by itself. Moving a pile of rocks is about as unmotivating as it gets.

Hunter is the cutest, sweetest brother. I just love how he looks after Quinn and makes sure she is happy.
We went out exploring/hiking one day after church and the kids got all prepared..Quinn brought her backpack with a waterbottle and little wooden knife. Following in their father's footsteps..

Hiking and climbing enjoyed by all! Hunter is at the very top of this mountain..

It got tricky climbing amongst all the cracks and crevices..

Then Dax taught the kids how to baton wood with a knife. We ended up with perfect kindling for a fire. Which we built and enjoyed.

Scrolling through these pics to find a good one of all of us girls amused me...

Quinn's off..

Preslie's off..

um..

Preslie's dance teacher, Miss Heather opened up a 3-year-old class and I was able to get Quinn into it. She is so happy there; it is really cute to watch. She calls her teacher "Miss Feather".

 This is how my bar and counters have looked since my kids started school in August. It is so annoying and embarrassing and overstimulating. I get pressure in my chest just looking at the picture.. but the kids have so many papers that are "pending" and can't be put completely away. So my counters have become a dumping ground because there is always a pile, and that invites more piles. I finally came up with a solution!

 I bought a tiny set of wood drawers that fits papers in them perfectly. There are six drawers- one for each person's stuff. It sits between the bar and the window. My camera is lost right now so I can't take a pic. But AHHHHH! I can breathe! I can feed my children at the bar again!

The change of season motivates me to get to work in my house (and now yard)! I love to organize, rearrange, and de-junk. I love change and have so many projects on my list. The list grows faster than it shrinks but life is so so good.

redneck summer

 Took a trip up the canyon for some outdoor fun.

 Did some exploring, relaxing. Ate a picnic lunch.

 Dax let the kids chop branches off dead trees with his machete. They shot a bb gun at garbage found on the ground.



Redneck fun always includes a gun.

On the way out, we stopped at a pond to fish a few casts. The kids stripped down to their undies and hopped in. Mack doesn't wear underwear so he skinny-dipped.

Quinn thought it looked too fun not to join.

 A fun afternoon with my favorite people.

Day at the Lake (a Haiku)

Fun day at the lake.
Dax and I wakeboarded, YAY!
Great weather and friends.

comings and goings (and stayings home)

Quinn's 2 week check today. she is up 6 oz from her birth weight and a half inch taller.

lots and lots of reading. Mack's new fave: The Fat Cat (a book from my childhood- it has no cover and has been colored in and loved). Preslie, Hunter and I are in the middle of Fablehaven 4. Awesome. I registered the kids for school this week. Can't believe summer is almost over.. BOOO HOOOO!

Dax's bro and Abbey and Mya came out to see us and meet Quinn. Here is Matt posing as a local.

It was our area's huge annual celebration while our visitors were here. It is a week full of activities, shows, talents, pageants, a parade and always a "big" performer doing a concert at the park Saturday night followed by fireworks. This year Patty Loveless came, opened by Nathan Osmond. I stayed home with Mack and Quinn but could hear the whole concert since the park is practically in my back yard. We were bummed Patty didn't sing our favorite song of hers "I Think About Elvis". Here is Preslie so ready for the concert and looking cute in her cowgirl boots..



Earlier that day we took advantage of the fair food and festivities in the wind, rain and all..


Preslie and Hunter pooled their money and bought a little frog that now resides with their 2 fish. They named him Basin.
Having a newborn, Dax and I lacked the energy we would have liked to really party. But we had fun with what little we were able to do and are glad Matt and Abbey came out to hang with us.


Here is my attempt to show Quinn's reddish hair. It is a super pretty color, light brownish-red.


And this is probably the last pic I'll ever have of her sucking a binky. For some reason, NONE of my kids have taken a pacifier. Quinn acts like I've fed her poison when I try to put it in her mouth. She screams.