Hello March.

How did it go from Christmas to March? I still have Christmas cards taped to my railing. Here is a super fast awesome update.

Quinn- cute and sweet as ever. Loves her stuffed Yo Gabba Gabba toys. Plays and sings to herself. Attended a Fancy Nancy party at our library. Got asked to be a flower girl at my little brother's wedding this summer. Goes to sleep in her rocking chair instead of her crib.



Cutest girl at the superbowl party.

 Preslie- Does all homework without being asked. Sets her own alarm and wakes up for school and gets ready on her own before anyone else in our house is coherant. Sold 180 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies last month. Is getting tired of babysitting for me. Scared of our dog. Attended Young Womens New Beginnings since she will be 12 the end of the year. Budding pianist. Beautiful, fun, creative, responsible, determined. Excited to get her unfinished room in the basement finished! Planning a Justin Bieber party for her friends on his 19th b-day.

Tristie- celebrated the one year anniversary of the day I started running. Welcomed my new nephew into the family! Den leader to 8 rowdy cub scouts. Piano Teacher to 7 students. Finance manager of our family. Sewed a cute dress for my friend's new baby. Cooked kale for the first time- Yum. Currently trying to de-junk our basement. (How does our stuff keep multiplying?) loved the special time Mack spent away with his grandma and grandpa and realized how much that kid adds to our family! I will turn 32 on Thursday!

Mack- spent 8 days with his paternal grandparents and had a blast. getting sick of winter. still pats his little sister's head. doesn't like to go too many places- not preschool or church, usually wants his friends to come to his house instead of go there. Awesome Uno player. Cut his own hair. again. sweet, sassy, funny, brilliant boy.

Writing "No Severed Arms" on a sign that we hung in our house.

Hunter- brains and good looks coming out his ears. had fun helping his Dad build his first Pinewood Derby car. WON the Pinewood Derby. Loves crazy facts about nature, science, math, etc. Does not really like piano but does it to please his Mom. And to play video games. Super sweet brother to Quinn.

Dax- kicking butt in his new job. kicking his own butt with the Power 90 (P90X) workout- he is almost to 60 days! Builds a mean Pinewood car. dedicated teachers quorum advisor. Has way too many knives, guns, and other boxes of stuff in our basement. Went to the State Capitol for work this week.  Makes his own yogurt and chocolate eclairs. Took us to St. George to celebrate his Dad's 60th birthday with the whole fam. Helped his awesome Dad finish framing Preslie's room to get it ready for drywall. Best husband ever.

 That pretty much sums it up!

RING in the New Year

We travelled to Bountiful to see Dax's brother and his family after Christmas! They took us to their fun rec center to swim. We had just arrived, changed into swimsuits and walked out of the dressing rooms and toward the fun kid pools/waterslide and everyone was evacuating that pool area. The pump had stopped working and the water level was dropping in the pool. The lifeguards said we could swim in the lap pool. Upon opening the doors to enter the lap pool area, a shreiking, high-pitched alarm bell was ringing so loudly. The alarm was so uncomforable to listen to. I snapped this pic of my husband and it makes me laugh because he looks like he wants to kill something.  All the guests at the rec center were just trying to carry on and swim but everyone had such a disturbed look on their face. And no one I asked knew how to turn it off or when it would get turned off or when the fun pool would be opened back up.

Dax is having a relaxing swim!

 

Here is a much happier picture of the crowd! 

Fifteen minutes later, the "maintenance guy" showed up and deactivated the alarm and it was the best kind of relief. Apparanly he fixed the pump in the other pool; it then opened back up and we had a great time!

Fun to be with family! Adorable kiddos!

Sunday we drove over to my parents' house and Dax cooked dinner for my parents, 3 brothers, 1 Sis-in-law, a girlfriend and my aunt plus our 6 people. It was to celebrate my Mom's birthday coming up. I love volunteering my husband to cook for people. It makes them way happy. And I don't have to do much.

 

It was great to be with my family. My Mom is a wonderful lady and everyone loves her dearly. My Dad gave my Mom a nice DeWalt drill, which she loved. I myself have inherited a love for power tools from my Mom, I believe.

 

The next day was New Year's Eve. Mid-morning, my youngest brother Trent came walking in the house and handed me a box. a RING box. I opened it to behold a beautiful, one-of-a-kind ring and knew he and Kenzie would take ringing in the new year to a whole new level! YAY! He spent the afternoon in the garage building a sign out of lumber that spelled out, "MARRY ME".  He took his girl shooting at dark (below zero temps BTW) and my brother Tyrel and his wife set up the sign for him on a hill near where they were shooting. After assembling the sign with minor mishaps, Tyrel doused the sign in gasoline and lit it on fire. And the rest will be history. Yay, Trent and Kenzie!

My New Year's Eve date was much more relaxing and low-key. I went to dinner with my man and it was a perfect way to spend the last evening of the year. I am deeply grateful for all I've been blessed with in 2012. I feel like my cup is constantly overflowing.

 

New Years day, my Dad took me and my kids over to my Uncle's house. He has trained his dog to pull kids on a sled!

 

So fun to see so many family members this trip! A happy way to start a new year.

Christmas visitors

Snow! On a Saturday when we were all home! The first snow is the best - new, white, and exciting and we can play in it because it hasn't turned into dry ice crystals yet.

Trent and Kenzie! My little bro and his girlfriend came to see us and brought us Christmas presents! I let the kids open theirs early so Trent could see their faces. They were all delighted!

Santa! He showed up at our door on the 23rd of December! So fun to have such a special visitor come see the kids.

GRANDMA and GRANDPA! They spent Preslie's b-day and Christmas with us. It was the highlight of our holiday.

The kids in their new church clothes from their other Grandpa and Grandma. Mack changed before I took the picture.

Preslie had a great 11th birthday on December 24. She got spoiled with gift cards to go shopping and some cute pillows from Grandma.

That night we gathered in the street with our neighbors around a fire for carols and cocoa. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Preslie.Then back home for delicious homemade tamales made by Dax. If I wasn't married to him, I'd marry him just for his food.

One new thing we did this year was we put the kids' names in a bowl and each drew a name out and made a present for that person. It was cute to see how excited they were to give their gift they had thought about and made for their sibling.
Santa did come again Christmas eve and spoiled us. Christmas morning was relaxing and fun. We took turns opening gifts and everyone was happy and there was a nice peaceful feeling in our home. I loved it. One highlight was Mack's gumball machine Santa brought him. I can't think of a better present for him. He loves to operate and run machines, and he loves candy. Throughout the morning Mack would periodically yell, "I got a gumball machine!" without warning. Another highlight was Grandpa's reaction to the woopie cushion costume we gave him. He was a great sport and we got a good laugh.

After all the presents were opened the kids went out in the garage and found something else left by Santa! They were so surprised!

After the kids came back inside, Mack ran over to his gumball machine and hugged it. Then he kissed it. We lounged around, some napped, and we ate a nice turkey dinner that evening. A perfect Christmas. We are blessed.

I love the days after Christmas when everyone is busy and content playing with their new toys and no one has commitments or schedules. I love Christmas at home and what a bonus to have grandparents here with us!

A few days after Christmas the kids slept out on their trampoline. It was only 35 degrees in our garage but they stayed warm and slept fine. There are some advantages to having a husband that spends a lot of time in the outdoors (warm sleeping bags). BTW, Quinn didn't sleep outside.

What a beautiful holiday and wonderful time of year! The Lord has blessed me and our family with great blessings this year!

December delights

 We kicked off December with our 4th annual Bonus Gobble. Don't you love traditions? This one is just a turkey dinner with friends that started because we decided turkey dinner is too good to have only once a year. And it stuck. There were 6 adults and 12 kids this year.

 

Another tradition we continued this year: Dax cutting a tree and bringing it home to surprise us. It is exciting to not know what our tree looks like until he shows up with it. It is a massive 12 footer. Hard to photograph because of its size. I love the natural ones with the crazy, unsymmetrical branches and aspen leaves stuck in the pine needles. So woodsy and so cool looking, all decorated indoors.

Quinn is trying to get rid of her nap even though she still needs a little one. This day she didn't have one and she fell asleep waiting to get her diaper changed..

 I picked Mack up from preschool the other day and when he smiled I screamed! He lost his first tooth at snack time. It just fell out onto his placemat and his buddy pointed it out to him.

 Every Mom loves a pic of her kids dressed up in front of the Christmas tree. There will be more of these this month, I guarantee.

FUNNY stuff my kids have said so far this month...

Coming home from the ward Christmas party where the kids saw Santa, Mack tells us, "Santa is a FAKE. He just acts way nice so all the kids will love him instead of the real Santa."

I have been trying to get Mack to do other things besides TV and video games. I know he likes to make things so I had him help me make some ornaments for a scout project. He told me, "I used to like to make things but I don't anymore."
"What do you like to do?"
"Play video games."
"What else?"
"Watch movies."
"And eat treats?"
"Yes. And grow into a giant. But I haven't done that yet."

Today I took the kids and ran a BUNCH of errands and by the time we were done, everyone was tired and hungry and Quinn was crying. I said, "Let's go to McDonalds. Do you want a Happy Meal Mack?" Quinn sniffed and said, "I want a Sad Meal." Later when we met up with Dax, I had Quinn tell him what she ate from McDonalds (chicken naggets and fetch fies) and then she said, "They made me feel so good inside!"

I can barely take such cuteness!

Crib Re-do

I decided I needed to move my piano out of my front room but didn't know where. I finally chose to put it in my girls' bedroom and booted Preslie to the basement to make room for it. When I took her bed out of there, I thought, I might as well paint while I am in the middle of this so I moved EVERYTHING out of the room and painted. It took 2 weeks of chaotic house to complete but I got it freshly painted and the piano in there. THEN, I looked at that beautiful, shiny, classy looking piano and then at Quinn's old, beat-up crib and thought, one of these things is not like the other... So I decided the crib needed a fresh look.

Here is the crib in the bedroom before any of this madness started...

 

 Here is the room before new paint and after new paint...

 

 

I wanted to change the crib sheet to look more classy and less juvenile (although I love that crib sheet, but wanted something to go better with the piano). I walked into my local thrift store last week and found the perfect bed skirt for a full sized bed and refashioned it into a crib sized bed skirt. Does this not say "I belong in a room with a piano" ??

Once the crib skirt was done, I HAD to paint the crib black. And soon while the weather is still nice..
Here is the crib that was screaming for a paint job!...

 I primed and then painted the crib with Krylon Gloss Black spray paint. It was so beat up. I hardly noticed (or cared) until I decided to paint it. The crib isn't worth the money I spent on paint but it turned out nice.
Doesn't THIS...

 

 Go SOO much better with this?

One last before and after-

Total $ spent on this crib re-do.
primer/paint: $38
crib skirt: $6
sheet and pillowcase: free

Now for some curtains and wall decor. I have NO idea what to do!

Nutty November

Yo. November started and ended the same week, it felt like. Dax started his new duties as wildlife manager and has been adjusting to spending much more time in the office than out in the mountains which is very different for him. He has been working a lot and figuring out his new job and has been a bit stressed but doing great.
I also started a new thing this month: teaching piano lessons to 5 kids in my neighborhood. So with Preslie and Hunter (who I have taught for over a year), I have 7 students, bam, just like that. It has been fun! I pay Preslie to watch Mack and Quinn for me while I am teaching. I am still doing cub scouts but my assistant den leader had surgery so I have been managing all eight 8-year-old boys by myself once a week. I finally joined the rest of the planet and got a cell phone. I have been without one for 6 years (and survived just fine!). I am still behind the times though, because Dax's new job came with an iPhone. The kids love playing with it.

watching tv on Dax's iPhone

Dax's dad came to our house and did a bit of framing in our basement to get it all ready for drywall. He is a wonderful giving Dad and always wants to help out his kids. We have plans to finish Preslie's room and the bathroom downstairs for her.

We enjoyed Hunter's 3rd grade program. His Grandpa was able to be there to watch also. At the end, the whole 3rd grade sang "We are the world, we are the children.." and of course I teared up. They are so sweet. Hunter especially!

 Mack has been going to preschool and I think he is way too smart for it but I hope he is learning to be in a structured class with a teacher so he can prepare for kindergarten. It is also a nice break for me. I have been really trying to figure him out and love him for who he is and not wish he is something he's not. I want to help him be the best Mack he can be. A cute thing he said this month when we were all munching on some fresh pineapple..
"One time I ate a bunch of pineapple and my mouth got really buzzy." We all laughed and and I said, "Mack you have a way with.. everything." then he said,
"That's because I go to night school while you guys are asleep."

Dax and I celebrated our 12th anniversary this month. We took the kids and ate pizza at a way cool park and then went swimming at the Rec Center. It was a fun day. I have loved being married to Dax; he is the guy for me. So grateful for a good man.

Mack got some horrible puking virus and a few days later, we all got it except Preslie. Then we went to see my family in West Jordan for Thanksgiving and that night, Preslie puked her guts out and was miserable the rest the time. After we had a nice visit (except Preslie) and went home, EVERYONE in my family got sick and puked. I felt SO horrible and so embarrased and mad at myself for infecting everyone. My parents got sick, my sister and her husband and kids, my pregnant sister-in-law, my niece who goes to BYU (and all her roommates), so many people! It was a bad one.


Grandpa training up his littlest grandkid to play games. So cute!

 

Trent chasing Bowser with Quinn. She loved it.

Whenever my Dad falls asleep, someone puts the ET doll on him and takes a picture. I don't know why but we think it is way funny.

Uncle Lance took Mack to the store and let him put whatever candy he wanted in the shopping cart. Great on so many levels.

My sis and her wonderful fam. My kids went nuts all month that they were going to see these cousins.

You're never too old to snuggle with your Mama!


The weather has been beautiful and I put up my Christmas lights. It doesn't feel like it should be Christmas. For starters, it's too warm, and it just feels like December came too fast.  I really like to surprise people.. As soon as I think of some good gifts, I will start to get excited. Better hurry!

a great ending to a super month!

What a busy month...and it ended with a bang! My husband applied for the manager job at his work, interviewed and got offered the job Oct 30th! We are SO excited! He will do awesome.


Halloween seemed to last all month with all the parties and events. Here is Mack with his teacher.

Here is our porch decked out for the 200 trick-or-treaters we had visit.

I added 2 new yard sale finds to my porch decor this year: the ceramic cherub thing I painted to look freaky and a giant portrait of a creepy lady that I covered in spider webs. I think a black light would look so awesome shining on her.

 

 Here are my kiddos ready to go! So thankful for another warm Halloween!

And here are the parents of those wacky kids..

 Dax had fun standing in the shadows and scaring kids. As they left, he would wave goodbye to them with the severed arm. It was creep-tastic.

New adventures await in November and we are so grateful for the blessings we've received!